Staphylococcus spp. Causatives of Infections and Carrier of blaZ, femA, and mecA Genes Associated with Resistance.

Staphylococcus spp. have been associated with cases of healthcare associated infections due to their high incidence in isolates from the hospital environment and their ability to cause infections in immunocompromised patients; synthesize biofilms on medical instruments, in the case of negative coagulase species; and change in genetic material, thus making it possible to disseminate genes that code for the acquisition of resistance mechanisms against the action of antibiotics. This study evaluated the presence of blaZ, femA, and mecA chromosomal and plasmid genes of Staphylococcus spp. using the qPCR technique. The results were associated with the phenotypic expression of resistance to oxacillin and penicillin G. We found that the chromosomal femA gene was present in a greater proportion in S. intermedius when compared with the other species analyzed, while the plasmid-borne mecA gene was prevalent in the S. aureus samples. The binary logistic regression performed to verify the association among the expression of the genes analyzed and the acquisition of resistance to oxacillin and penicillin G were not significant in any of the analyses, p > 0.05.

Preferência musical e risco de suicídio entre jovens / Music preference and suicide risk among youths

OBJETIVOS: Considerando-se que vários estudos internacionais indicam que a preferência musical, especialmente pelo heavy metal, correlaciona-se ao suicídio, objetivou-se na presente pesquisa conhecer as relações entre preferência musical e risco de suicídio. MÉTODOS: Participaram 200 estudantes universitários de diversos cursos de uma universidade pública da cidade de João Pessoa, PB, com idade média de 22 anos (DP = 4,77). Estes responderam à Escala Abreviada de Preferência Musical, que visa mensurar a preferência musical com relação a 14 gêneros musicais, e o Inventário de Razões para Viver (RFL), que objetiva aferir as razões que as pessoas têm para viver. RESULTADOS: De acordo com os resultados, verificaram-se correlações entre a pontuação total da RFL e os gêneros musicais convencional (positiva) e alternativo (negativa). Pôde-se ainda verificar que a preferência musical pelo estilo convencional foi um preditor de menor risco de suicídio entre jovens. CONCLUSÕES: Esta pesquisa demonstra a importância de mais uma variável, no caso a preferência musical, para entender o risco de suicídio entre jovens. Mas outros estudos devem ser realizados no contexto brasileiro para que se possa entender melhor essa relação.

OBJECTIVE: Taking into account that several international studies suggest a correlation between music preference, especially for heavy metal, and suicide, this study aimed at to know the association of music preference with potential indicators of suicide risk. METHODS: Participants were two hundred undergraduate students from a public University in João Pessoa city (Brazil). They were 22 years old (SD = 4.77). They answered the Shorted Test of Music Preference, which measures the music preference with respect to fourteen music genres, and the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL), which intents to know the reasons for living reported by people. RESULTS: Results indicated the total score of the RFL correlated itself with the preference for the music genres named as conventional (positive) and alternative (negative). Moreover, the preference for conventional genre was a predictor of lower suicide risk among youths. CONCLUSIONS: This research demonstrates the importance of one more variable, in the present work the music preference, to understand the suicidal risk between young persons. However, other studies must be carried out in the Brazilian context so that it is possible to understand better this relation.