Development of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for the rapid detection of Styphnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott as an adulterant of Ginkgo biloba (L.).

BACKGROUND: Species adulteration is a concern in herbal products, especially when plant substitutes of lower economic value replace valuable botanicals. Styphnolobium japonicum is well known as a potential adulterant of Ginkgo biloba, which is one of the most demanded medicinal plants due to its wide use in pharmaceuticals, food supplements, and traditional medicine. Despite bearing some resemblance to ginkgo's flavonol composition, S. japonicum lacks many of G. biloba's desired therapeutic properties. To prevent adulteration practices, it is crucial to implement rigorous quality control measures, including fast and simple diagnostic tools that can be used on-field. PURPOSE: This study aims to develop for the first time a species-specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method for the fast identification of S. japonicum in ginkgo-containing products. METHODS: A set of four specific primers (SjF3, SjB3, SjFIP, and SjBIP) and loop primers (SjLF and SjLB) were designed for a LAMP based assay using the 5.8S partial sequence and the internal transcribed spacer 2 of nuclear ribosomal DNA of S. japonicum. RESULTS: The successful amplification of the LAMP assay was inspected through visual detection, with the highest intensity recorded at the optimal conditions set at 68 °C for 40 min. The primers showed high specificity and were able to accurately discriminate S. japonicum from G. biloba and 49 other species of medicinal plants. Furthermore, the proposed LAMP assay proved to be fast, selective, and highly sensitive, as demonstrated by the absolute and relative limits of detection, which were reached at 0.5 pg for S. japonicum DNA and 0.01 % S. japonicum in G. biloba, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This novel approach allows easy identification and discrimination of S. japonicum as a potential adulterant of G. biloba, thus being a useful tool for quality control. Compared to chromatographic or PCR-based methods, the assay proved to be fast, sensitive and did not require expensive equipment, thus offering the possibly usage in field analysis.

Meta-learning approach for bacteria classification and identification of informative genes of the Bacillus megaterium: tomato roots tissue interaction.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) are bacteria that colonize the plant roots. These beneficial bacteria have an influence on plant development through multiple mechanisms, such as nutrient availability, alleviating biotic and abiotic stress, and secrete phytohormones. Therefore, their inoculation constitutes a powerful tool towards sustainable agriculture and crop production. To understand plant-PGPRs interaction we present the classification of PGPR using machine learning and meta-learning classifiers namely Support Vector Machine (SVM), Kernel Logistic Regression (KLR), meta-SVM and meta-KLR to predict the presence of Bacillus megaterium inoculated in tomato root tissues using publicly available transcriptomic data. The original dataset presents 36 significantly differentially expressed genes. As the meta-KLR achieved near-optimal performance considering all the relevant metrics, this meta learner was afterwards used to identify the informative genes (IGs). The outcomes showed 157 IGs, being present all significantly differentially expressed genes previously identified. Among the IGs, 113 were identified as tomato genes, 5 as Bacillus subtilis proteins, 1 as Escherichia coli protein and 6 were unidentified. Then, a functional enrichment analysis of the tomato IGs showed 175 biological processes, 22 molecular functions and 20 KEGG pathways involved in B. megaterium-tomato interaction. Furthermore, the biological networks study of their Arabidopsis thaliana orthologous genes identified the co-expression, predicted interaction, shared protein domains and co-localization networks. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-023-03690-0.

Diálogos sobre políticas públicas de saúde: um olhar da revisão integrativa / Dialogues on public health policies: an integrative review / Diálogos sobre políticas de salud pública: una visión desde la revisión integradora

As políticas públicas com ênfase na saúde vêm adquirindo espaço nas discussões das últimas décadas, principalmente após a instituição do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), considerado uma das maiores conquistas sociais do país. Este trabalho busca verificar as evidências científicas no diálogo entre as políticas de saúde do SUS com a política de atenção integral à saúde da mulher e educação em saúde. Para isso, realizou-se uma revisão integrativa de literatura em duas bases de dados, SciELO e Scopus/Elsevier. A amostra final foi composta por seis artigos, que foram submetidos à análise. Identificaram-se os objetivos, as diretrizes, a organização e o funcionamento de algumas políticas de saúde a partir do SUS, no campo específico da política de atenção integral à saúde da mulher e das discussões em relação à educação em saúde. Os artigos apontaram para a democratização das ações e dos serviços de saúde a partir do SUS, que permitiram externar um olhar para a garantia dos serviços de saúde na atenção à saúde da mulher, independentemente de classes sociais e condições de vida. As ações de educação em saúde, por sua vez, passaram por ajustes discretos na maior parte do tempo, pontuados por momentos de transformações e implementações de serviços de promoção e prevenção à saúde. Espera-se que o desenvolvimento das ações de educação em saúde seja interface constante da Política Nacional de Saúde e da Política Nacional de Educação Permanente em Saúde, caso contrário, tais práticas poderão se tornar esporádicas em determinadas épocas ou em governos específicos, acarretando uma lacuna entre teoria e prática.

Public health care policies have been gaining prominence in recent decades, especially after implementation of the Unified Health System (SUS), considered a major social achievement for Brazil. This integrative literature review sought to verify the scientific evidence on the dialogue between SUS health policies and comprehensive women's health care and health education. Bibliographic search was carried out in the Scielo and Scopus/Elsevier databases, resulting in a final sample of six articles selected for analysis. Objectives, guidelines, organization, and operation of some SUS health policies for comprehensive women's health care and discussions regarding health education were identified. The articles pointed to the democratization of health actions and services from the SUS, which allowed to ensure women's health care services, regardless of social class and living conditions. Health education actions, in turn, underwent minor adjustments marked by moments of transformation and implementation of health promotion and prevention services. Health education actions should be a constant interface between the National Health Policy and the National Policy for Permanent Health Education, lest they become sporadic actions at specific times or governments, entailing a gap between theory and practice.

Las políticas públicas con énfasis en la salud vienen ganando terreno en las discusiones en las últimas décadas, especialmente a partir de la instauración del Sistema Único de Salud (SUS), considerado una de las mayores conquistas sociales de Brasil. Este trabajo busca verificar la evidencia científica en el diálogo entre las políticas de salud del SUS con la política de atención integral a la salud de la mujer y la educación en salud. Para ello, se realizó una revisión integradora de la literatura en dos bases de datos, SciELO y Scopus/Elsevier. La muestra final estuvo compuesta por seis artículos, que fueron sometidos a análisis. Se identificaron objetivos, directrices, organización y funcionamiento de algunas políticas de salud basadas en el SUS, en el campo específico de la política de atención integral a la salud de la mujer y las discusiones sobre educación en salud. Los artículos apuntaron a la democratización de las acciones y servicios de salud del SUS, permitiendo una mirada a la garantía de los servicios de salud en la atención a la salud de la mujer, independientemente de la clase social y las condiciones de vida. Por otra parte, las acciones de educación en salud sufrieron ajustes discretos la mayor parte del tiempo, puntuados por momentos de transformación e implementación de servicios de promoción y prevención de la salud. Se espera que el desarrollo de acciones de educación en salud sea una interfaz constante de la Política Nacional de Salud y la Política Nacional de Educación Permanente en Salud, de lo contrario, puede convertirse en prácticas esporádicas en determinados momentos o en gobiernos específicos, provocando un desfase entre teoría y práctica.

Metalearning approach for leukemia informative genes prioritization.

The discovery of diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers is fundamental to optimize therapeutics for patients. By enhancing the interpretability of the prediction model, this work is aimed to optimize Leukemia diagnosis while retaining a high-performance evaluation in the identification of informative genes. For this purpose, we used an optimal parameterization of Kernel Logistic Regression method on Leukemia microarray gene expression data classification, applying metalearners to select attributes, reducing the data dimensionality before passing it to the classifier. Pearson correlation and chi-squared statistic were the attribute evaluators applied on metalearners, having information gain as single-attribute evaluator. The implemented models relied on 10-fold cross-validation. The metalearners approach identified 12 common genes, with highest average merit of 0.999. The practical work was developed using the public datamining software WEKA.

Takayasu arteritis: showed by a hypertensive crisis

Takayasu Arteritis (TA) is a primary granulomatous large vessel vasculitis, affecting predominantly young women1. It mainly affects the aorta and its major branches. TA and the required immunosuppressive therapy cause considerable morbidity and mortality2. Early in the disease course, symptoms can be non-specific, leading to a difficult diagnosis3. Consequences of vascular stenosis, occlusions, and, less commonly, vascular dilation, account for the typical clinical presentation; the latter can sometimes lead to aneurysmal rupture or dissection. Though the importance of a comprehensive history and a thorough physical examination cannot be over-emphasized, clinical assessment is frequently inaccurate when evaluating disease activity, which may sometimes progress silently. Also the diagnostic modalities currently used are unsatisfactory. X-Ray angiography, the "gold standard" for TA diagnosis, can image luminal defects but does not detect changes of the vessel wall4. The diagnosis of TA can be confirmed with histopathological examination; however, tissue from blood vessels is obtained only in the minority of patients requiring a surgical intervention. There are currently no specific biomarkers for diagnosing TA. Identifying disease activity in TA is challenging3.Glucocorticosteroids are anchor drugs for this disease, like other vasculitis. Most cases in Japan respond with 0.3-0.5 mg/kg/day prednisolone, but we frequently found that some patients revealed flare-ups during tapering of glucocorticosteroids. Since TAK mainly affects young women, side-effects of glucocorticosteroids, especially moon face, severely damage their quality of life. Immunosuppressive agents, including methotrexate, cyclosporine, cy-clophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil and TACROLIMUS have been used for patients with TAK. Biological agents targeting tumor necrosis factor (TNF) have also been used for patients with TAK. Since IL-6 is highly expressed within inflamed arteries and serum levels correlate with disease activity, block-ing IL-6 showed effectiveness in TA. Tocilizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody against the IL-6 receptor, and the first report of successful use of tocilizumab in a patient with refractory TA was published in 2008. Later, nine additional cases of TA treated with tocilizumab 8 mg/kg every 4 weeks were reported. In the majority of the cases, disease activity improved and CS doses were discontinued or tapered. Abatacept is another promising biologic agent inhibiting the co-stimulation of T cells, and is currently being investigated in the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial of LVV patients including TA7.This article aims the description of a clinical case of a serious appearance form of an uncommon disease, Takayasu's arteritis

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Platypnoea-Orthodeoxia Syndrome: An Intriguing Diagnosis.

Platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) is an uncommon clinical entity characterized by dyspnoea and hypoxaemia induced by upright posture and relieved by recumbence. It is often associated with right-to-left shunting through a patent foramen ovale (PFO) or an atrial septal defect. We report the case of a 79-year-old woman with hypoxaemia initially attributed to a pulmonary infection but persisting after successful treatment. Being in the upright position triggered the hypoxaemia. A thoracic CT angiogram and ventilation/perfusion lung scan excluded a pulmonary embolism, but a transoesophageal echocardiogram with a bubble test showed a PFO with a right-to-left shunt, without pulmonary hypertension. The patient underwent percutaneous closure of the PFO which led to prompt symptom relief and full functional recovery. LEARNING POINTS: Platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome is an uncommon condition that should be suspected in the presence of unexplained positional hypoxaemia.A high level of suspicion is required and the diagnosis can be safely established by tilt-table transoesophageal echocardiography.Percutaneous closure of a patent foramen ovale is safe and effective even in elderly patients.

Chorea, Pruritus and Polycythemia: Looking for Clues.

Chorea is a movement disorder usually due to vascular, hereditary, metabolic or drug-induced causes, and has rarely been reported in association with polycythemia vera (PV). Polycythemic chorea is an uncommon clinical entity that occurs more often in elderly women. PV is a treatable cause of chorea and must be considered during the diagnostic approach. We report the case of a 75-year-old woman with involuntary movements of the mouth and face with subsequent involvement of the trunk and limbs who was admitted for investigation of the chorea. The patient had the haematological attributes of PV and a positive mutation in the janus kinase 2 (JAK2) gene, and was therefore treated with hydroxyurea which led to a marked reduction in the chorea and improvement in haematological parameters. Various aetiologies of chorea must be considered in the elderly. The present case illustrates the importance of considering PV in the differential diagnosis, since its treatment leads to chorea resolution, thus avoiding serious complications. LEARNING POINTS: Polycythemia vera is a sporadic myeloproliferative disorder of the haematopoietic stem cells and is a treatable cause of chorea.Chorea is a movement disorder with various aetiologies that is difficult to diagnose.Prompt treatment of polycythemia vera will lead to resolution of the chorea, with aspirin and phlebotomy being recommended in low-risk cases and hydroxyurea in high-risk cases.

Prevalence of Pathogens in Poultry Meat: A Meta-Analysis of European Published Surveys.

The objective of this study was to investigate and summarize the levels of incidence of Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Campylobacter spp. in poultry meat commercialized in Europe. After systematic review, incidence data and study characteristics were extracted from 78 studies conducted in 21 European countries. Pooled prevalence values from 203 extracted observations were estimated from random-effects meta-analysis models adjusted by pathogen, poultry type, sampling stage, cold preservation type, meat cutting type and packaging status. The results suggest that S. aureus is the main pathogen detected in poultry meat (38.5%; 95% CI: 25.4⁻53.4), followed by Campylobacter spp. (33.3%; 95% CI: 22.3⁻46.4%), while L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. present lower prevalence (19.3%; 95% CI: 14.4⁻25.3% and 7.10%; 95% CI: 4.60⁻10.8%, respectively). Despite the differences in prevalence, all pathogens were found in chicken and other poultry meats, at both end-processing step and retail level, in packed and unpacked products and in several meat cutting types. Prevalence data on cold preservation products also revealed that chilling and freezing can reduce the proliferation of pathogens but might not be able to inactivate them. The results of this meta-analysis highlight that further risk management strategies are needed to reduce pathogen incidence in poultry meat throughout the entire food chain across Europe, in particular for S. aureus and Campylobacter spp.

Promoção da saúde mental das professoras do ensino básico: Contributos do enfermeiro especialista em cuidados de saúde primários / Mental health promotion of female elementary school teachers: Contributions from primary health care nurse specialists

Pela presença de ansiedade e mal-estar físico e psicológico que envolve a atividade docente, considera-se importante investir na promoção da saúde mental das professoras. Neste sentido, inserido no âmbito do projeto estruturante da Unidade de Investigação em Ciências da Saúde: Enfermagem, Promoção do Bem-estar sócio emocional do indivíduo e grupos ao longo da vida e no âmbito do projeto de extensão à comunidade da Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra projeto Desvendar cujo berço das experiências piloto é a Unidade de Cuidados na Comunidade Norton de Matos de Coimbra, decidiu-se realizar um estudo com o objetivo de avaliar o impacto de um programa de relaxamento terapêutico sobre o bem-estar psicológico, perceção de stresse e ansiedade das professoras do Ensino Básico do 2º e 3º Ciclos. Trata-se de um estudo pré-experimental que envolveu uma amostra de 22 professoras de duas escolas no Conselho de Coimbra cuja área de abrangência pertence ao Centro de Saúde Norton de Matos. Foram sujeitas a um programa de relaxamento terapêutico que inclui 6 sessões em grupo com periocidade semanal, baseado essencialmente na técnica de relaxamento progressivo de Jacobson, realizado no período de fevereiro a maio de 2016. Foram respeitados todos os procedimentos ético-formais e institucionais ao longo do processo de investigação. A avaliação da eficácia do programa foi realizada antes e após intervenção tendo por base os seguintes instrumentos: bem-estar psicológico - Escala Bem-estar Psicológico - (Ribeiro & Cummins, 2008), stresse - Escala de Perceção do Stresse - (adaptada por Ribeiro e Marques, 2009) e ansiedade - Escala Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD - 7), (Spitzer et al., 2006). No teste de hipóteses, foi utilizado o teste t para amostras emparelhadas. Dos resultados obtidos destacam-se os efeitos do programa de relaxamento na evolução positiva das dimensões ?Relações Positivas com os Outros? (p=0,017) e ?Objetivos de Vida? (p=0,039) inerentes ao Bem-estar Psicológico, apesar de não se validar a hipótese formulada na sua globalidade (p=0,115); a diminuição da Perceção do Stresse das professoras (p=0,000) e diminuição dos níveis de Ansiedade (p= 0,038). Em termos de conclusão, considerando os efeitos positivos de um programa de relaxamento terapêutico na promoção da saúde mental e atendendo à necessidade urgente de mudança de paradigma de cuidados de saúde com enfase nos modelos positivos, salutogénico e ecológicos, sublinha-se a criação de projetos de promoção da saúde mental dos trabalhadores em Cuidados de Saúde Primários, com a participação ativa do enfermeiro especialista em saúde mental.

Directrices prácticas para programas de apoyo entre personas con enfermedad mental / Practical guidelines for peer support programmes for mental health problems

Introducción. Este estudio tiene como objetivo determinar los principios orientadores para la implementación de programas de apoyo entre personas con problemas de salud mental en Portugal. Material y métodos. Este estudio ha sido dividido en 2 fases. En la primera se realizó una revisión sistemática de 112 artículos indexados en las bases de datos de ISI y EBSCO (2001-2012). En la segunda fase se llevó a cabo un panel con metodología Delphi y 2 rondas formado por profesionales, investigadores y personas con problemas de salud mental. El objetivo era analizar los enunciados generados a partir de la revisión sistemática previa. Los datos fueron analizados con NVivo 9 y SPSS 19. Resultados. Durante la ronda Delphi participaron inicialmente 72 expertos, de los cuales 44 participaron en la segunda ronda. Se alcanzó un consenso del 84% sobre las principales afirmaciones. A partir de estos resultados, se destacan 8 ámbitos principales que cubren las siguientes áreas: objetivos de apoyo de los iguales, selección de los proveedores de apoyo, capacitación y acreditación, papel de los profesionales de salud mental, papel de los proveedores de apoyo, acceso a los proveedores de apoyo, cuidado de los proveedores de apoyo, y programa de evaluación. Conclusiones. El apoyo de iguales aplicado a la enfermedad mental está todavía poco explorado y rodeado de cierta controversia y ambigüedad. Sin embargo, si cuenta con una buena organización y supervisión parece mejorar la calidad de vida y la inclusión social de las personas con enfermedad mental. Este hecho demuestra la importancia de realizar estudios que incrementen nuestro conocimiento acerca de dichos programas y se elaboren directrices para su aplicación. Este consenso nacional se puede utilizar como punto de partida para el diseño e implementación de programas de apoyo de iguales en las organizaciones de salud mental (AU)

Introduction. This study aims to determine the guiding principles for the implementation of peer support programmes in Portugal. Material and methods. The study was divided in 2 phases. In the first phase a systematic review of 112 papers indexed in ISI and EBSCO databases (2001 to 2012) was conducted. In the second phase clinicians, researchers, and people with psychiatric disabilities were invited to take part in a two-round online survey based on the Delphi process to rate the importance of statements generated from the systematic review. Data were analysed with NVivo 9 and SPSS 19. Results. During the Delphi round 72 experts were contacted, 44 participated in the second round. A consensus was achieved on major statements, with 84% of the sentences obtaining a consensus and 8 key recommendations covering goals of peer support, selection of peer supporters, training and accreditation, role of mental health professionals, role of peer supporters, access to peer supporters, looking after peer supporters, and programme evaluation were based on these statements. Conclusions. Use of peer support for mental health problems is still underexplored and surrounded by some controversy and ambiguity. However, its organization and proper monitoring appears to enhance the quality of life and social inclusion of people with mental illness. This highlights the importance of conducting studies that increase our knowledge of these programmes and determining guidelines for their implementation. This national consensus may be used as a starting point for the design and implementation of peer support programmes in mental health organizations (AU)

[Practical guidelines for peer support programmes for mental health problems]. / Directrices prácticas para programas de apoyo entre personas con enfermedad mental.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to determine the guiding principles for the implementation of peer support programmes in Portugal. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was divided in 2 phases. In the first phase a systematic review of 112 papers indexed in ISI and EBSCO databases (2001 to 2012) was conducted. In the second phase clinicians, researchers, and people with psychiatric disabilities were invited to take part in a two-round online survey based on the Delphi process to rate the importance of statements generated from the systematic review. Data were analysed with NVivo 9 and SPSS 19. RESULTS: During the Delphi round 72 experts were contacted, 44 participated in the second round. A consensus was achieved on major statements, with 84% of the sentences obtaining a consensus and 8 key recommendations covering goals of peer support, selection of peer supporters, training and accreditation, role of mental health professionals, role of peer supporters, access to peer supporters, looking after peer supporters, and programme evaluation were based on these statements. CONCLUSIONS: Use of peer support for mental health problems is still underexplored and surrounded by some controversy and ambiguity. However, its organization and proper monitoring appears to enhance the quality of life and social inclusion of people with mental illness. This highlights the importance of conducting studies that increase our knowledge of these programmes and determining guidelines for their implementation. This national consensus may be used as a starting point for the design and implementation of peer support programmes in mental health organizations.

Peer support for people with mental illness / Suporte interpares na doença mental

Background Peer support is a mutual aid system based on the belief that someone who faced/overcome adversity can provide support, encouragement and guidance to those who experience similar situations. Objective: To conduct a systematic review that describes this concept and characterizes peer supporters, its practice and efficacy. Method: Research on ISI Web of Science, EBSCO Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection and Medline databases (from 2001 to December 2013) was conducted using as keywords “mental illness”, “mental health”, “psychiatric disability”, “mental health services”, combined with “peer support”, “mutual support”, “self-help groups”, “consumers as providers”, “peer-run services”, “peer-run programs” and “social support”. Results: We found 1,566 articles and the application of both the exclusion (studies with children, teenagers and elderly people; disease in comorbidity; peer support associated to physical illnesses or family members/caregivers) and the inclusion criteria (full text scientific papers, peer support or similar groups directed for schizophrenia, depression, bipolar or psychotic disorders) lead to 165 documents, where 22 were excluded due to repetition and 31 to incomplete text. We analyzed 112 documents, identifying as main peer support categories: characterization, peer supporter, practices and efficacy. Discussion Despite an increasing interest about this topic, there is no consensus, suggesting realizing more studies...

Contexto: O suporte interpares é um sistema de ajuda mútua baseado na crença de que alguém que enfrentou/superou adversidades pode oferecer apoio, encorajamento e orientação a outros que enfrentam situações similares. Objetivo: Realizar uma revisão sistemática que caracterize o suporte interpares como prática, analise a sua eficácia e caracterize os pares prestadores de suporte interpares. Método: Pesquisa nas bases de dados ISI Web of Science, EBSCO Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection e Medline (2001 a dezembro de 2013), utilizando as palavras-chave “mental illness”, “mental health”, “psychiatric disability”, “mental health services”, combinadas com “peer support”, “mutual support”, “self-help groups”, “consumers as providers”, “peer-run services”, “peer-run programs” e “social support”. Resultados: Encontraram-se 1.566 artigos e foram aplicados os critérios de exclusão (artigos com crianças, adolescentes e idosos; doença mental em comorbidade; suporte interpares em doenças físicas ou familiares/cuidadores) e de inclusão (revistas científicas com texto integral disponível; suporte interpares ou grupos similares dirigidos a esquizofrenia, depressão, transtorno bipolar e outras perturbações psicóticas), resultando em 165 documentos. Excluíram-se 22 por repetição e 31 por texto incompleto, resultando em 112, os quais se identificaram como principais categorias do suporte interpares: caracterização, prestador de suporte, práticas e eficácia. Conclusão: Existe interesse crescente pelo tema, embora alguns domínios não sejam consensuais, sugerindo necessidade de mais estudos...

The effect of information about false negative and false positive rates on people's attitudes towards colorectal cancer screening using faecal occult blood testing (FOBt).

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of numeric risk information about false negative (FN) and false positive (FP) rates in faecal occult blood testing (FOBt) on attitudes towards screening. METHODS: 95 people aged 45-59, living in England, read 6 hypothetical vignettes presented online about the use of FOB testing to detect bowel cancer, in which information about FN and FP rates was systematically varied. RESULTS: Both verbal and numeric FN risk information reduced people's interest in screening compared with no FN information. Numeric FN risk information reduced people's perceptions of screening effectiveness and lowered perceived trust in the results of screening compared with both verbal FN information and no FN information. FP information did not affect attitudes towards FOB testing. There was limited evidence that FN information reduced interest and perceptions of screening effectiveness more in educated groups. CONCLUSION: Numeric FN risk information decreased people's perceptions of screening effectiveness and trust in the results of screening but did not affect people's interest in screening anymore than verbal FN risk information. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Numeric FN information could be added to patient information without affecting interest in screening, although this needs to be replicated in a larger, more representative sample.

Efeito da uréia no alongamento e enraizamento de microplantas de bananeira in vitro / Effect of urea on in vitro growth and rooting of banana microplants

A micropropagação de bananeira (Musa spp.) via ápices caulinares já está bem estabelecida para diversas cultivares. Entretanto, podem ser feitos aperfeiçoamentos nos protocolos visando a obtenção de mudas mais vigorosas. Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, verificar a adição de nitrogênio na forma de uréia em diferentes concentrações (0, 100, 200, 400 e 800 mg L-1), no alongamento e enraizamento de brotos das cultivares Grande Naine, Prata Anã, Maçã e Nanicão. Houve efeito positivo da uréia no crescimento dos explantes, na produção de raízes e de massa seca para a cultivar Maçã, até 200 mg L-1 de uréia. As cultivares Prata Anã e Grande Naine não foram beneficiadas com a adição de uréia, e a concentração de 800 mg L-1 gerou morte das microplantas dessas cultivares e da cultivar Maçã. 'Nanicão' foi mais tolerante às altas concentrações de uréia, e a concentração de 800 mg L-1 foi ótima para seu desenvolvimento. Além disso, a uréia induziu brotações em 'Nanicão' nas concentrações mais baixas.

Banana (Musa spp.) micropropagation via shoot tips has already been established for many cultivars. However, protocol adjustments aiming to obtain more vigorous plants can be made. The aim of this work was to verify the nitrogen addition in the form of urea on different concentrations (0, 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg L-1) on shoot growth and rooting of Grande Naine, Prata Anã, Maçã and Nanicão cultivars. There was a positive urea effect on Maçã shoot growth, dry matter production and rooting up to 200 mg L-1 concentrations. Prata Anã and Grande Naine cultivars were not benefited by urea addition, while 800 mg L-1 concentration lead to death of microplants. However, Nanicão cultivar was more tolerant to higher urea concentrations, and 800 mg L-1 was optimal for its development. Moreover, urea induced shoot growth on 'Nanicão' at lower concentrations.

Hepatite B no Município de Ribeirão Preto (SP): um estudo envolvendo cirurgiões-dentistas e auxiliares odontológicos / Hepatitis B on the city of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil: a study envolving dentists and dental assistants

Foi realizada uma pesquisa com cirurgiões-dentistas (CDs) e auxiliares odontológicos (AOs) das redes pública e privada, no município de Ribeirão Preto,SP – Brasil, com os objetivos de: 1. avaliar a cobertura vacinal e a efetividade da vacinação contra a hepatite B; 2. verificar o uso de equipamentos de proteção individual (EPIs) na rotina de trabalho; 3. verificar a prevalência de marcadores sorológicos do HBV; 4. analisar possíveis associações entre marcadores sorológicos do HBV e alguns fatores de risco de infecção pelo vírus. Estavam vacinados com três doses ou mais da vacina contra a hepatite B 80,6 por cento dos CDs (80,8 por cento da rede pública e 80,6 por cento da rede privada) e 24,8 por cento dos AOS(82,6 por cento da rede pública e 13,2 por cento da rede privada). A prevalência de anti-HBs entre os vacinados com três doses ou mais da vacina foi de 84,3 por cento - 84,6 por cento entre CDs e 82,8 por cento entre AOs. A prevalência dos marcadores sorológicos do HBV ficou assim distribuída: HBsAg, 0,5 por cento entre CDs, não encontrado entre AOs; anti-HBc, 9,5 por cento entre CDs (IC 95 por cento: 5,4 por cento - 13,5 por cento) e 2,9 por cento entre AOs (IC 95 por cento: 0,1 por cento - 5,7 por cento);anti-HBs, 78,1 por cento entre CDs (IC 95 por cento: 72,3 por cento - 83,8 por cento) e 29,9 por cento entre AOs (IC 95 por cento: 22,2 - 37,6 por cento). Os EPIs mais utilizados pelos CDs eram as luvas, com percentual de 98,0 por cento, e a máscara, com 96,5 por cento, no atendimento de todos os pacientes. Os CDs da rede privada utilizavam os seguintes EPIs: luvas, 97,7 por cento; máscara, 96,0 por cento; óculos de proteção, 70,3 por cento; avental, 55,4 por cento; gorro 32,6 por cento. Os CDs da rede pública usavam os seguintes EPIs: luvas e máscaras, 100,0 por cento; avental, 88,5 por cento; óculos de proteção, 65,4 por cento; gorro, 30,8 por cento. O EPI mais utilizado pelos AOs eram as luvas, com percentual de 97,1 por cento. Os AOs da rede pública utilizavam: luvas, 100,0 por cento; avental, 95,7 por cento; máscara, 78,3 por cento; óculos de proteção; 34,8 por cento; gorro, 17,4 por cento. Os AOs da rede privada utilizavam: luvas, 96,5 por cento; máscara, 37,7 por cento; avental, 28,1 por cento; óculos de proteção, 11,4 por cento; gorro, 10,5 por cento. Dos AOs da rede privada, 3,5 por cento referiram não usar nenhum EPI.

Poroceratoses: estudo clínico de 15 casos / Porokeratosis: a clinical study of fifteen cases

As poroceratoses constituem um grupo de genodermatoses raras com ampla variedade de manifestaçöes, caracterizadas por uma margem ceratósica periférica distinta que corresponde histologicamente à lamela cornóide. Os autores estudaram 15 pacientes (12 femininos; 3 masculinos) com diagnóstico clínico e histopatológico de poroceratose. Sete pacientes apresentaram poroceratose actínica disseminada superficial (PADS), cinco apresentaram a forma em placas (poroceratose clássica de Mibelli) e três apresentaram lesöes em distribuiçäo linear (poroceratose linear). Desenvolvimento de carcinoma espinocelular foi observado em dois pacientes. Uma revisäo dos aspectos clínicos e etiológicos desta doença é também apresentada

Histoplasmose cutânea na síndrome de imunodeficiência adquirida: relato de quatro casos / Cutaneous histoplasmosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: report of four cases

Apresentamos quatro pacientes com histoplasmose cutânea associada a infecçäo pelo vírus da imunodeficiência humana. As manifestaçöes clínicas foram variadas. Os aspectos clínicos e laboratoriais desta doença säo discutidos

Estudo comparativo entre três materiais utilizados no preenchimento das perfuraçöes provocadas durante o preparo para retentor intra-radicular / Comparative study of three materials utilized to fill perfurations made during the intra-radicular dowel preparation

Foram analisados, sob a luz da microscopia eletrônica de varredura, 15 dentes perfurados durante a preparaçäo do espaço intra-radicular para receber um retentor. Estas perfuraçöes foram preenchidas com diferentes materiais: amálgama, Lumicon e cimento N-Rickert, distribuídos em cinco grupos distintos, objetivando encontrar aquele que apresentasse melhor adaptaçäo marginal. Dentre as fotomicrografias examinadas, o grupo de Lumicon e amálgama (GLA) foi o que melhor adaptaçäo mostrou junto às paredes de perfuraçäo