Perceived self-esteem, resilience and stress of students entering a nursing degree

This study aimed to evaluate perceived self-esteem, resilience and stress of students entering a nursing degree. Cross-sectional study with 122 students (104 women and 18 men) of the firstsemester of a private institution in Distrito Federal. Evaluations were performed in March 2019. Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Resilience in Higher Education and Perceived Stress, as well as a socio-economic questionnaire were used. All procedures were carried out using the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and GraphPad Prism 6. The comparison of perceived stress between groups demonstrated that less stressed individuals were younger (19.1 ± 1.9 years old vs 22.5 ± 7.4; p = 0.030)and presented higher resilience scores (147.0 ± 16.3 vs 125.0 ± 22.5; p < 0.001). The comparison of self-esteem tertiles showed that individuals with better self-esteem were more resilient (146.0 ± 17.65 vs 133.85 ± 24.84; p = 0.037). Spearman's correlation demonstrated a negative relation between resilience score and perceived stress (r = -0.415 p = < 0.001). Students had already entered university presenting psychical deficits, such as increased stress and low self-esteem and resilience.

Resistance to amoxicillin, clarithromycin and ciprofloxacin of Helicobacter pylori isolated from Southern Brazil patients.

INTRODUCTION: Helicobacter pylori is a bacteria which infects half the world population and is an important cause of gastric cancer. The eradication therapy is not always effective because resistance to antimicrobials may occur. The aim of this study was to determine the susceptibility profile of H. pylori to amoxicillin, clarithromycin and ciprofloxacin in the population of Southern Brazil. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty four samples of H. pylori were evaluated. The antibiotics susceptibility was determined according to the guidelines of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and the Comité de l'Antibiogramme de la Société Française de Microbiologie. RESULTS: Six (11.1%) H. pylori isolates were resistant to clarithromycin, one (1.9%) to amoxicillin and three (5.5%) to ciprofloxacin. These indices of resistance are considered satisfactory and show that all of these antibiotics can be used in the empirical therapy. CONCLUSION: The antibiotics amoxicillin and clarithromycin are still a good option for first line anti-H. pylori treatment in the population of Southern Brazil.

RESISTANCE TO AMOXICILLIN, CLARITHROMYCIN AND CIPROFLOXACIN OF Helicobacter pylori ISOLATED FROM SOUTHERN BRAZIL PATIENTS / Resistência à amoxicilina, claritromicina e ciprofloxacina de Helicobacter pylori isolados de pacientes do Sul do Brasil

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori is a bacteria which infects half the world population and is an important cause of gastric cancer. The eradication therapy is not always effective because resistance to antimicrobials may occur. The aim of this study was to determine the susceptibility profile of H. pylori to amoxicillin, clarithromycin and ciprofloxacin in the population of Southern Brazil. Material and methods: Fifty four samples of H. pylori were evaluated. The antibiotics susceptibility was determined according to the guidelines of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and the Comité de l'Antibiogramme de la Société Française de Microbiologie. Results: Six (11.1%) H. pylori isolates were resistant to clarithromycin, one (1.9%) to amoxicillin and three (5.5%) to ciprofloxacin. These indices of resistance are considered satisfactory and show that all of these antibiotics can be used in the empirical therapy. Conclusion: The antibiotics amoxicillin and clarithromycin are still a good option for first line anti-H. pylori treatment in the population of Southern Brazil.

Introdução: Helicobacter pylori é uma bactéria que infecta metade da população mundial e é considerada importante causa de câncer gástrico. A terapia de erradicação nem sempre é eficaz, pois pode ocorrer a resistência aos antimicrobianos. Este estudo determinou a sensibilidade de H. pylori frente à amoxicilina, claritromicina e ciprofloxacina na população do Sul do Brasil. Material e métodos: Foram avaliadas 54 amostras de H. pylori. A sensibilidade aos antibióticos foi determinada segundo as orientações da British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy e do Comité de l'Antibiogramme de la Société Française de Microbiologie. Resultados e discussão: Sete (13%) isolados de H. pylori foram resistentes à claritromicina, um (1,9%) à amoxicilina e três (5,5%) à ciprofloxacina. Estes índices são satisfatórios e demonstram que esses antibióticos podem ser utilizados na terapia empírica. Conclusão: Os antibióticos amoxicilina e claritromicina ainda são uma boa opção no tratamento de primeira linha anti-H. pylori na população do Sul do Brasil.

Detection of Schistosoma mansoni eggs in feces through their interaction with paramagnetic beads in a magnetic field.

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of intestinal schistosomiasis in low endemic areas is a problem because often control measures have reduced egg burdens in feces to below the detection limits of classical coproparasitological methods. Evaluation of molecular methods is hindered by the absence of an established standard with maximum sensitivity and specificity. One strategy to optimize method performance, where eggs are rare events, is to examine large amounts of feces. A novel diagnostic method for isolation of Schistosoma mansoni eggs in feces, and an initial evaluation of its performance is reported here. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Known amounts of S. mansoni eggs were seeded into 30 g of normal human feces and subjected to a sequence of spontaneous sedimentation, sieving, Ritchie method, incubation and isolation through interaction with paramagnetic beads. Preliminary tests demonstrated the efficacy of lectins as ligands, but they also indicated that the paramagnetic beads alone were sufficient to isolate the eggs under a magnetic field through an unknown mechanism. Eggs were identified by microscopic inspection, with a sensitivity of 100% at 1.3 eggs per gram of feces (epg). Sensitivity gradually decreased to 25% at a concentration of 0.1 epg. In a preliminary application of the new method to the investigation of a recently established focus in southern Brazil, approximately 3 times more eggs were detected than with the thick-smear Kato-Katz method. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The novel S. mansoni detection method may significantly improve diagnosis of infections with low burdens in areas of recent introduction of the parasite, areas under successful control of transmission, or in infected travelers. It may also improve the evaluation of new treatments and vaccines.

Low susceptibility of Achatina fulica from Brazil to infection with AngioIylus costaricensis and A. cantonensis.

Introduction of Achatina fulica in Brazil has led to serious concerns about its role as vector for metaIylid worms: AngioIylus costaricensis and A. cantonensis. Experimental infection with both parasites was performed to evaluate the potential risk for their transmission by the giant African snail. Groups of 5 animals, both wild and bred at captivity were exposed at different inocula: 1, 5, and 10 x 10(3) L1 of A. costaricensis and A. cantonensis. In all groups, few snails got infected and parasitic burden was low. Two different ways of infection were tested: ingestion produced higher numbers of L3 than the inoculation through an artificial hole in the shell. We also report the parasitological examination of 6 batches of wild A. fulica from Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil: only 1 out of 244 animals were infected with metaIylid larvae. Taken together these data indicate that the giant African snail occurring in Southern Brazil is not a permissive host for both AngioIylus species and does not represent a significant risk for transmission of these parasites.

Low susceptibility of Achatina fulica from Brazil to infection with AngioIylus costaricensis and A. cantonensis

Introduction of Achatina fulica in Brazil has led to serious concerns about its role as vector for metaIylid worms: AngioIylus costaricensis and A. cantonensis. Experimental infection with both parasites was performed to evaluate the potential risk for their transmission by the giant African snail. Groups of 5 animals, both wild and bred at captivity were exposed at different inocula: 1, 5, and 10 ´ 10³ L1 of A. costaricensis and A. cantonensis. In all groups, few snails got infected and parasitic burden was low. Two different ways of infection were tested: ingestion produced higher numbers of L3 than the inoculation through an artificial hole in the shell. We also report the parasitological examination of 6 batches of wild A. fulica from Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil: only 1 out of 244 animals were infected with metaIylid larvae. Taken together these data indicate that the giant African snail occurring in Southern Brazil is not a permissive host for both AngioIylus species and does not represent a significant risk for transmission of these parasites.