Improving the quality control of drinking water in Nicaragua through proficiency testing in a metrological multilateral cooperation project.

The United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that drinking water is essential to the realization of all human rights in a 2010 resolution. Supporting and strengthening the quality infrastructure in countries throughout the world guarantees more reliable water quality analyses, thus reducing the risks to consumers' health. The present paper describes a multilateral cooperation project developed in Nicaragua to improve the country's quality infrastructure and, in turn, the quality control of drinking water. The project was developed with the support of National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) from the Inter-American Metrology System (SIM), the Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and the participation of research institutes and laboratories in Nicaragua. Several mechanisms such as awareness seminars, workshops, metrological screenings, peer review of the laboratories' quality systems, and organizing proficiency testing (PT) were used to successfully achieve the cooperation goal. As a result, technical infrastructure for the organization of PT rounds in Nicaragua was implemented to evaluate the relevant physicochemical parameters such as pH, chloride (Cl-), and nitrate (NO3-) in drinking water. The results from the PT rounds which took place during the two-year cooperation project showed substantial improvement in the performances of the participating laboratories, and therefore, in their measurement methods. Finally, this article shows how multilateral cooperation projects can strengthen the quality infrastructure, improving and ensuring the quality control of drinking water.

Deconstructing compassionate conservation.

Compassionate conservation focuses on 4 tenets: first, do no harm; individuals matter; inclusivity of individual animals; and peaceful coexistence between humans and animals. Recently, compassionate conservation has been promoted as an alternative to conventional conservation philosophy. We believe examples presented by compassionate conservationists are deliberately or arbitrarily chosen to focus on mammals; inherently not compassionate; and offer ineffective conservation solutions. Compassionate conservation arbitrarily focuses on charismatic species, notably large predators and megaherbivores. The philosophy is not compassionate when it leaves invasive predators in the environment to cause harm to vastly more individuals of native species or uses the fear of harm by apex predators to terrorize mesopredators. Hindering the control of exotic species (megafauna, predators) in situ will not improve the conservation condition of the majority of biodiversity. The positions taken by so-called compassionate conservationists on particular species and on conservation actions could be extended to hinder other forms of conservation, including translocations, conservation fencing, and fertility control. Animal welfare is incredibly important to conservation, but ironically compassionate conservation does not offer the best welfare outcomes to animals and is often ineffective in achieving conservation goals. Consequently, compassionate conservation may threaten public and governmental support for conservation because of the limited understanding of conservation problems by the general public.

Deconstrucción de la Conservación Compasiva Resumen La conservación compasiva se enfoca en cuatro principios: no causar daño; los individuos importan; la integración de los animales individualmente; y la coexistencia pacífica entre los humanos u los animales. Recientemente, la conservación compasiva ha sido promovida como una alternativa a la filosofía convencional de la conservación. Creemos que los ejemplos presentados por los conservacionistas compasivos han sido elegidos arbitraria o deliberadamente por estar enfocados en los mamíferos; por ser inherentes y no compasivos; y por ofrecer soluciones de conservación poco efectivas. La conservación compasiva se enfoca arbitrariamente en las especies carismáticas, principalmente los grandes depredadores y los megaherbívoros. La filosofía no es compasiva cuando deja que los depredadores invasores dentro del ambiente causen daño a un vasto número de individuos nativos o usa el miedo al daño por superdepredadores para aterrorizar a los mesodepredadores. El entorpecimiento del control de especies exóticas (megafauna, depredadores) in situ no mejorará las condiciones de conservación de la mayoría de la biodiversidad, incluso si los conservacionistas compasivos no dañan a los individuos exóticos. Las posiciones que toman los llamados conservacionistas compasivos sobre especies particulares y sobre las acciones de conservación podrían extenderse para entorpecer otros tipos de conservación, incluyendo las reubicaciones, el encercado para la conservación y el control de la fertilidad. El bienestar animal es increíblemente importante para la conservación e irónicamente, la conservación compasiva no ofrece los mejores resultados de bienestar para los animales y comúnmente es poco efectiva en el logro de los objetivos de conservación. Como consecuencia, la conservación compasiva puede poner en peligro el apoyo público y del gobierno que tiene la conservación debido al entendimiento poco limitado que tiene el público general sobre los problemas de conservación.

Fecal steroid hormones reveal reproductive state in female blue whales sampled in the Gulf of California, Mexico.

Steroid hormone assessment using non-invasive sample collection techniques can reveal the reproductive status of aquatic mammals and the physiological mechanisms by which they respond to changes in their environment. A portion of the eastern North Pacific blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) population that seasonally visits the Gulf of California, Mexico has been monitored using photo-identified individuals for over 30 years. The whales use the area in winter-early spring for nursing their calves and feeding and it therefore is well suited for fecal sample collection. Using radioimmunoassays in 25 fecal samples collected between 2009 and 2012 to determine reproductive state and stress, we validated three steroid hormones (progesterone, corticosterone and cortisol) in adult female blue whales. Females that were categorized as pregnant had higher mean fecal progesterone metabolite concentrations (1292.6 ±â€¯415.6 ng·g-1) than resting and lactating females (14.0 ±â€¯3.7 ng·g-1; 23.0 ±â€¯5.4 ng·g-1, respectively). Females classified as pregnant also had higher concentrations of corticosterone metabolites (37.5 ±â€¯9.9 ng·g-1) than resting and lactating females (17.4 ±â€¯2.0 ng·g-1; 16.8 ±â€¯2.8 ng·g-1, respectively). In contrast, cortisol metabolite concentrations showed high variability between groups and no significant relationship to reproductive state. We successfully determined preliminary baseline parameters of key steroid hormones by reproductive state in adult female blue whales. The presence of pregnant or with luteal activity and known lactating females confirms that the Gulf of California is an important winter-spring area for the reproductive phase of these blue whales. The baseline corticosterone levels we are developing will be useful for assessing the impact of the increasing coastal development and whale-watching activities on the whales in the Gulf of California.

Comparação entre três metodologias: ELISA, hematoaglutinação passiva e imunofluorescência indireta para detecção de anticorpos anti-Trypanosoma cruzi em soro humano em amostragempopulacional de regiões endêmica e não endêmica: avaliação da frequência da positividade da sorologia para doença de Chagas em diferentes grupos etários de região endêmica / Comparison among three methodologies: enzime immunoassay, passive hemagglutination and indirect immunofluorescence for the detection of IgG antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi in human sera from endemic and nonendemic regions

Os autores comparam três métodos laboratoriais largamente empregados para a dosagem de anticorpos IgG anti-Trypanosoma cruzi em soro humano: Hemaglutinação Passiv (Chagasteste Trilab), Imunofluorescência Indireta (Suspensão Liofilizada de Trypanosoma cruzi Trilab, Conjugado anti-IgG Difco) e Ensaio Imuno Enzimático (Gull Laboratories); também efetuam a pesquisa de IgM Trypanosoma Cruzi por Imunofluorescência (Suspensão Liofilizada de Trypanosoma cruzi Trilab, Conjugado anti-IgM Difco). Analisam 300 amostras de soro, sendo 150 de moradores da região endêmica de Joaquim Távora e Santo Antônio de Platina, PR. A pesquisa de anticorpos IgM foi negativa em todas as amostras. A avaliação dos anticorpos IgG apresentou três amostras com resultados positivos por Hemaglutinação e Imunofluorescência, e negativos por Elisa. Os resultados sugerem bons níveis de correlação entre as três metodologias e os resultados discrepantes são analisados. As amostras provenientes de região endêmica foram divididas em três grupos de acordo com a idade: A (<13 anos), B (13-50 anos) e C (> 50 anos). A incidência de positividade de Imunofluorescência –igG para Doença de Chagas foi significantemente maior nos grupos B e C quando comparadas com a do grupo A (p<0,001).

Central de medicamentos e o sistema industrial farmacêutico / Central pharmaceutical drugs and industrial system

Foram compilados os resultados conseguidos pela Central de Medicamentos, em quinze anos de atuação (1971-1985), sob o aspecto administrativo, atividades sem (Produção, Distribuição e Pesquisa), Programa de Modernização e Controle de Qualidade. Este conjunto de dados, bem como as novas propostas de atuação da CEME a partir de 1986 estão inseridas em estudo sobre o Sistema Industrial Farmacêutico e o momento histórico em que ocorreram.