RESUMO
Leading academic institutions, governments, and funders of research across the world have spent the last few decades fretting publicly about the need for scientists and research organisations to engage more widely with the public and be open about their research. While a global literature asserts that public communication has changed from a virtue to a duty for scientists in many countries and disciplines, our knowledge about what research institutions are doing and what factors drive their 'going public' is very limited. Here we present the first cross-national study of N = 2,030 research institutes within universities and large scientific organisations in Brazil, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. We find that institutes embrace communication with non-peers and do so through a variety of public events and traditional news media-less so through new media channels-and we find variation across countries and sciences, yet these are less evident than we expected. Country and disciplinary cultures contribute to the level of this communication, as do the resources that institutes make available for the effort; institutes with professionalised staff show higher activity online. Future research should examine whether a real change in the organisational culture is happening or whether this activity and resource allocation is merely a means to increase institutional visibility.
Assuntos
Academias e Institutos , Disseminação de Informação , Brasil , Fortalecimento Institucional , Comunicação , Europa (Continente) , Humanos , Japão , Pesquisa , Reino Unido , Estados UnidosRESUMO
Digital dermatitis (DD) is one of the main causes of lameness in dairy cattle worldwide, and it is frequently reported in high-yielding, free stall dairy herds from regions with a temperate climate. However, DD is also observed with high prevalence in grazing cattle with a low milk yield in tropical regions. To clarify whether these differences have an impact on the etiology of the disease, we studied DD lesions from all year round grazing cattle of mixed breed in Brazil using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing and fluorescent in situ hybridization. The study included samples from 66 skin lesions and 5 healthy skins collected from five farms. Both techniques showed Treponema spp. to be the most abundant bacteria, present in all but one of the samples with minimal epidermal alterations. We identified eleven different Treponema strains belonging to the six major phylotypes of Treponema which have all previously been identified in DD lesions. Furthermore, we identify Dichelobacter nodosus in DD lesions by gene sequencing and also by fluorescent in situ hybridization in almost half of biopsy specimens in areas with mild epithelial damage and together with Treponema. The present data support the hypothesis that Treponema constitutes the main pathogen responsible for DD, independent of the environment and region where cows are kept, and it further suggests D. nodosus as another potentially important pathogen.
Assuntos
Criação de Animais Domésticos/métodos , Doenças dos Bovinos/microbiologia , Dichelobacter nodosus/patogenicidade , Dermatite Digital/microbiologia , Infecções por Bactérias Gram-Negativas/veterinária , Infecções por Treponema/veterinária , Animais , Biópsia , Brasil/epidemiologia , Bovinos , Doenças dos Bovinos/epidemiologia , Doenças dos Bovinos/patologia , DNA Bacteriano/genética , DNA Bacteriano/isolamento & purificação , Dichelobacter nodosus/genética , Dichelobacter nodosus/isolamento & purificação , Dermatite Digital/epidemiologia , Dermatite Digital/patologia , Comportamento Alimentar , Feminino , Infecções por Bactérias Gram-Negativas/epidemiologia , Infecções por Bactérias Gram-Negativas/microbiologia , Infecções por Bactérias Gram-Negativas/patologia , Herbivoria , Hibridização in Situ Fluorescente , Coxeadura Animal/epidemiologia , Coxeadura Animal/microbiologia , Coxeadura Animal/patologia , Ribotipagem , Treponema/genética , Treponema/isolamento & purificação , Infecções por Treponema/epidemiologia , Infecções por Treponema/microbiologia , Infecções por Treponema/patologiaAssuntos
Colangite Esclerosante/diagnóstico por imagem , Endoscopia do Sistema Digestório/métodos , Endossonografia , Cálculos Biliares/diagnóstico por imagem , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética , Idoso , Biópsia , Colangiopancreatografia Retrógrada Endoscópica , Colangite Esclerosante/complicações , Colangite Esclerosante/terapia , Cálculos Biliares/etiologia , Cálculos Biliares/terapia , Humanos , Masculino , Valor Preditivo dos TestesRESUMO
One early application of PET/MRI in clinical practice may be the imaging of head and neck cancers. This is because the morphologic imaging modalities, CT and MR, are recognized as similarly effective tools in cross-sectional oncological imaging of the head and neck. The addition of PET with FDG is believed to enhance the accuracy of both modalities to a similar degree. However, there are a few specific scenarios in head and neck cancer imaging where MR is thought to provide an edge over CT, including perineural spread of tumors and the infiltration of important anatomical landmarks, such as the prevertebral fascia and great vessel walls. Here, hybrid PET/MR might provide higher diagnostic certainty than PET/CT or a separate acquisition of PET/CT and MR. Another advantage of MR is the availability of several functional techniques. Although some of them might enhance the imaging of head and neck cancer with PET/MR, other functional techniques actually might prove dispensable in the presence of PET. In this overview, we discuss current trends and potential clinical applications of PET/MR in the imaging of head and neck cancers, including clinical protocols. We also discuss potential benefits of implementing functional MR techniques into hybrid PET/MRI of head and neck cancers.
Assuntos
Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço/diagnóstico , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética/métodos , Tomografia por Emissão de Pósitrons/métodos , Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço/diagnóstico por imagem , Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço/radioterapia , Humanos , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética/tendências , Tomografia por Emissão de Pósitrons/tendênciasRESUMO
Newborn infections are responsible for approximately one-third of the estimated 4.0 million neonatal deaths that occur globally every year...
Assuntos
Humanos , Centros de Saúde , Mortalidade Infantil , Recém-Nascido , PesquisaRESUMO
La sociedad de conocimiento crea condiciones favorables para la comunicación de la ciencia, mientras coloca a los periodistas científicos bajo presión. Los periodistas que trabajan al ritmo de la ciencia son actores clave en la cadena de comunicación que mantiene vivo el vasto diálogo de la ciencia en la sociedad, pero su situación profesional se está tornando precaria. Los estudios recientes se centran en observaciones sistemáticas sobre las condiciones de trabajo, la ética profesional y el futuro de la ciencia del reportaje en los medios masivos. Estos estudios nos permiten evaluar tendencias y poner en perspectiva la percepción de crisis en la profesión. El artículo informa algunos resultados interpretados a la luz de tendencias más abarcadoras respecto de la relación cienciasociedad y de la necesidad de una esfera científica pública dinámica...
Assuntos
Humanos , Jornalismo Científico , Ciência , Condições de Trabalho , Pesquisa , Jornalismo , Relações Públicas , Ética ProfissionalRESUMO
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Nicaragua is highly endemic for hepatitis A. We aimed to provide an estimate of the change in the age-specific risk of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection based on serological data from cross-sectional and longitudinal samples collected in León, Nicaragua, in 1995/96 (n = 979) and 2003 (n = 494). METHODS: The observed age-specific prevalence of anti-HAV antibodies was correlated to the age-specific risk of infection by calculating the probability of freedom from infection at a specific age. RESULTS: The proportion of seropositive children aged 1.5 to 6 years was 42% in 2003 compared to 67% in 1995/96. Estimated annual risk of infection for a 3-year old child was 30% (95% CI: 27.0%, 33.1%) in 1995 and 15.5% (95% CI: 12.4%, 19.0%) in 2003. There was good agreement between estimates based on cross-sectional and longitudinal data. The age-specific geometric mean of the quantified anti-HAV antibody levels assessed in 2003 was highest at age 4 and decreased steadily up to age 40. CONCLUSIONS: The substantially lower risk of HAV infection in 2003 than in 1995 for young children indicates a beginning transition from high to intermediate endemicity in León, Nicaragua. Consecutive age-stratified serosurveys are useful to assess changes in risk of infection following public health interventions. The decreasing age-specific GMC of anti-HAV antibodies during adulthood in a country with endemic HAV indirectly suggests that ongoing HAV exposure in the community has marginal boosting effect on antibody levels once protective immunity has been established by natural infection.
Assuntos
Hepatite A/sangue , Hepatite A/diagnóstico , Hepatite A/epidemiologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Controle de Doenças Transmissíveis , Estudos Transversais , Monitoramento Epidemiológico , Feminino , Vírus da Hepatite A , Humanos , Lactente , Estudos Longitudinais , Masculino , Nicarágua , Prevalência , Risco , Adulto JovemRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Timing is critical for efficient hepatitis A vaccination in high endemic areas as high levels of maternal IgG antibodies against the hepatitis A virus (HAV) present in the first year of life may impede the vaccine response. OBJECTIVES: To describe the kinetics of the decline of anti-HAV maternal antibodies, and to estimate the time of complete loss of maternal antibodies in infants in León, Nicaragua, a region in which almost all mothers are anti-HAV seropositive. METHODS: We collected cord blood samples from 99 healthy newborns together with 49 corresponding maternal blood samples, as well as further blood samples at 2 and 7 months of age. Anti-HAV IgG antibody levels were measured by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). We predicted the time when antibodies would fall below 10 mIU/ml, the presumed lowest level of seroprotection. RESULTS: Seroprevalence was 100% at birth (GMC 8392 mIU/ml); maternal and cord blood antibody concentrations were similar. The maternal antibody levels of the infants decreased exponentially with age and the half-life of the maternal antibody was estimated to be 40 days. The relationship between the antibody concentration at birth and time until full waning was described as: critical age (months)=3.355+1.969 × log(10)(Ab-level at birth). The survival model estimated that loss of passive immunity will have occurred in 95% of infants by the age of 13.2 months. CONCLUSIONS: Complete waning of maternal anti-HAV antibodies may take until early in the second year of life. The here-derived formula relating maternal or cord blood antibody concentrations to the age at which passive immunity is lost may be used to determine the optimal age of childhood HAV vaccination.
Assuntos
Sangue Fetal/imunologia , Anticorpos Anti-Hepatite A/sangue , Vírus da Hepatite A/imunologia , Imunidade Materno-Adquirida , Adolescente , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Técnicas Imunoenzimáticas , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Estudos Longitudinais , Masculino , Nicarágua , Gravidez , Fatores de Tempo , Adulto JovemRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Pneumonia causes more child deaths than does any other disease. Observational studies have indicated that smoke from household solid fuel is a significant risk factor that affects about half the world's children. We investigated whether an intervention to lower indoor wood smoke emissions would reduce pneumonia in children. METHODS: We undertook a parallel randomised controlled trial in highland Guatemala, in a population using open indoor wood fires for cooking. We randomly assigned 534 households with a pregnant woman or young infant to receive a woodstove with chimney (n=269) or to remain as controls using open woodfires (n=265), by concealed permuted blocks of ten homes. Fieldworkers visited homes every week until children were aged 18 months to record the child's health status. Sick children with cough and fast breathing, or signs of severe illness were referred to study physicians, masked to intervention status, for clinical examination. The primary outcome was physician-diagnosed pneumonia, without use of a chest radiograph. Analysis was by intention to treat (ITT). Infant 48-h carbon monoxide measurements were used for exposure-response analysis after adjustment for covariates. This trial is registered, number ISRCTN29007941. FINDINGS: During 29,125 child-weeks of surveillance of 265 intervention and 253 control children, there were 124 physician-diagnosed pneumonia cases in intervention households and 139 in control households (rate ratio [RR] 0·84, 95% CI 0·63-1·13; p=0·257). After multiple imputation, there were 149 cases in intervention households and 180 in controls (0·78, 0·59-1·06, p=0·095; reduction 22%, 95% CI -6% to 41%). ITT analysis was undertaken for secondary outcomes: all and severe fieldworker-assessed pneumonia; severe (hypoxaemic) physician-diagnosed pneumonia; and radiologically confirmed, RSV-negative, and RSV-positive pneumonia, both total and severe. We recorded significant reductions in the intervention group for three severe outcomes-fieldworker-assessed, physician-diagnosed, and RSV-negative pneumonia--but not for others. We identified no adverse effects from the intervention. The chimney stove reduced exposure by 50% on average (from 2·2 to 1·1 ppm carbon monoxide), but exposure distributions for the two groups overlapped substantially. In exposure-response analysis, a 50% exposure reduction was significantly associated with physician-diagnosed pneumonia (RR 0·82, 0·70-0·98), the greater precision resulting from less exposure misclassification compared with use of stove type alone in ITT analysis. INTERPRETATION: In a population heavily exposed to wood smoke from cooking, a reduction in exposure achieved with chimney stoves did not significantly reduce physician-diagnosed pneumonia for children younger than 18 months. The significant reduction of a third in severe pneumonia, however, if confirmed, could have important implications for reduction of child mortality. The significant exposure-response associations contribute to causal inference and suggest that stove or fuel interventions producing lower average exposures than these chimney stoves might be needed to substantially reduce pneumonia in populations heavily exposed to biomass fuel air pollution. FUNDING: US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and WHO.
Assuntos
Poluição do Ar em Ambientes Fechados/efeitos adversos , Culinária , Incêndios , Pneumonia/prevenção & controle , Madeira , Poluição do Ar em Ambientes Fechados/prevenção & controle , Monóxido de Carbono/análise , Exposição Ambiental/efeitos adversos , Guatemala/epidemiologia , Humanos , Lactente , Pneumonia/diagnóstico , Pneumonia/epidemiologia , Vigilância da População , Infecções por Vírus Respiratório Sincicial/epidemiologia , Índice de Gravidade de Doença , Fumaça/efeitos adversosRESUMO
Identification of simple signs and symptoms that predict severe illness needing referral for admission of young infants is critical for reducing mortality in developing countries. Infants <2 months of age presenting to two hospitals in La Paz, Bolivia (n=1082) were evaluated by nurses for signs and symptoms, and independently by physicians for the need for admission. In young neonates, sensitivity of individual clinical signs was >35% for measured temperature ≥ 37.5° C (65%); all signs had specificity >85%. Odds ratios (ORs) for association of individual clinical signs with need for urgent hospital management were highest (>5) for history of difficulty feeding, not feeding well and fever. Clinical signs or symptoms are useful for primary healthcare workers to identify young infants with serious illness needing admission, and have been incorporated into the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness algorithm for use in Bolivia and elsewhere in Latin America.
Assuntos
Indicadores Básicos de Saúde , Hospitalização/estatística & dados numéricos , Doenças do Recém-Nascido/diagnóstico , Triagem/estatística & dados numéricos , Algoritmos , Bolívia/epidemiologia , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Seguimentos , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Doenças do Recém-Nascido/epidemiologia , Modelos Logísticos , Masculino , Razão de Chances , Valor Preditivo dos Testes , Encaminhamento e Consulta/estatística & dados numéricos , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Índice de Gravidade de DoençaRESUMO
Nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ), added in vitro to murine spleen cells in the picomolar range, suppressed antibody formation to sheep red blood cells in a primary and a secondary plaque-forming cell assay. The activity of the peptide was maximal at 10(-12) M, with an asymmetric U-shaped dose-response curve that extended activity to 10(-14) M. Suppression was not blocked by pretreatment with naloxone. Specificity of the suppressive response was shown using affinity-purified rabbit antibodies against two N/OFQ peptides and with a pharmacological antagonist. Antisera against both peptides were active, in a dose-related manner, in neutralizing N/OFQ-mediated immunosuppression, when the peptide was used at concentrations from 10(-12.3) to 10(-11.6) M. In addition, nociceptin given in vivo by osmotic pump for 48 h suppressed the capacity of spleen cells placed ex vivo to make an anti-sheep red blood cell response. These studies show that nociceptin directly inhibits an adaptive immune response, i.e., antibody formation, both in vitro and in vivo.
Assuntos
Imunidade Adaptativa/efeitos dos fármacos , Imunossupressores/farmacologia , Peptídeos Opioides/farmacologia , Imunidade Adaptativa/imunologia , Animais , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Eritrócitos/efeitos dos fármacos , Eritrócitos/imunologia , Feminino , Soros Imunes/farmacologia , Imunossupressores/administração & dosagem , Imunossupressores/antagonistas & inibidores , Técnicas In Vitro , Infusões Subcutâneas , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C3H , Naloxona/farmacologia , Antagonistas de Entorpecentes/farmacologia , Peptídeos Opioides/administração & dosagem , Peptídeos Opioides/antagonistas & inibidores , Baço/efeitos dos fármacos , Baço/imunologia , NociceptinaRESUMO
A chemo-organotrophic, aerobic, non-motile strain, MWH-BRAZ-DAM2D(T), isolated from a freshwater pond in Brazil, was characterized phenotypically, phylogenetically and chemotaxonomically. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated affiliation of the strain with the genus Limnohabitans (Comamonadaceae, Betaproteobacteria). 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities between the isolate and Limnohabitans curvus MWH-C5(T), representing the type species of the genus, and the type strains of Limnohabitans parvus and Limnohabitans planktonicus were 98.2, 96.5 and 97.0â%, respectively. DNA-DNA reassociation analyses with DNA of the type strains of all three previously described Limnohabitans species revealed similarity values in the range 26.2-44.6â%. The predominant fatty acids of the isolate were C(16â:â1)ω7c/ω6c, C(16â:â0), C(12â:â0) and C(8â:â0) 3-OH, the major quinone was ubiquinone Q-8 and the DNA G+C content was 55.8 mol%. The isolate could be discriminated from the type strains of the three Limnohabitans species by several phenotypic traits including differences in the utilization of several carbon sources. Based on the phylogeny of the isolate and its differences from the three most closely related species, the isolate represents a novel species for which the name Limnohabitans australis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MWH-BRAZ-DAM2D(T) (=DSM 21646(T)=CCUG 56719(T)).
Assuntos
Comamonadaceae/classificação , Filogenia , Lagoas/microbiologia , Técnicas de Tipagem Bacteriana , Composição de Bases , Brasil , Comamonadaceae/genética , Comamonadaceae/isolamento & purificação , DNA Bacteriano/genética , Ácidos Graxos/química , Água Doce/microbiologia , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Hibridização de Ácido Nucleico , RNA Ribossômico 16S/genética , Análise de Sequência de DNA , Ubiquinona/químicaRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: We assessed mortality associated with immunologic and virologic patterns of response at 6 months of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-infected individuals from resource-limited countries in Africa and South America. METHODS: Patients who initiated HAART between 1996 and 2007, aged 16 years or older, and had at least 1 measurement (HIV-1 RNA plasma viral load or CD4 cell count) at 6 months of therapy (3-9 month window) were included. Therapy response was categorized as complete, discordant (virologic only or immunologic only), and absent. Associations between 6-month response to therapy and all-cause mortality were assessed by Cox proportional hazards regression. Robust standard errors were calculated to account for intrasite correlation. RESULTS: A total of 7160 patients, corresponding to 15,107 person-years, were analyzed. In multivariable analysis adjusted for age at HAART initiation, baseline clinical stage and CD4 cell count, year of HAART initiation, clinic, occurrence of an AIDS-defining condition within the first 6 months of treatment, and discordant and absent responses were associated with increased risk of death. CONCLUSIONS: Similar to reports from high-income countries, discordant immunologic and virologic responses were associated with intermediate risk of death compared with complete and no response in this large cohort of HIV-1 patients from resource-limited countries. Our results support a recommendation for wider availability of plasma viral load testing to monitor antiretroviral therapy in these settings.
Assuntos
Fármacos Anti-HIV/uso terapêutico , Infecções por HIV/tratamento farmacológico , Infecções por HIV/mortalidade , HIV-1 , Adulto , África/epidemiologia , Terapia Antirretroviral de Alta Atividade/mortalidade , Contagem de Linfócito CD4 , Monitoramento de Medicamentos , Feminino , Infecções por HIV/imunologia , Humanos , Masculino , Análise Multivariada , Modelos de Riscos Proporcionais , América do Sul/epidemiologia , Carga ViralRESUMO
O livro enfoca, além do texto, duas fontes pouco utilizadas em trabalhos na área da administração: a imagem e o som. A obra está dividida em quatro partes: construção do corpus da pesquisa; enfoques analíticos; uso do computador e; exposição de questões práticas.
Assuntos
Entrevistas como Assunto/métodos , Pesquisa Qualitativa , Recursos Audiovisuais , SomRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To analyse the early loss of patients to antiretroviral therapy (ART) programmes in resource-limited settings. METHODS: Using data on 5491 adult patients starting ART (median age 35 years, 46% female) in 15 treatment programmes in Africa, Asia and South America with (3) 12 months of follow-up, we investigated risk factors for no follow-up after treatment initiation, and loss to follow-up or death in the first 6 months. FINDINGS: Overall, 211 patients (3.8%) had no follow-up, 880 (16.0%) were lost to follow-up and 141 (2.6%) were known to have died in the first 6 months. The probability of no follow-up was higher in 2003-2004 than in 2000 or earlier (odds ratio, OR: 5.06; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.28-20.0), as was loss to follow-up (hazard ratio, HR: 7.62; 95% CI: 4.55-12.8) but not recorded death (HR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.44-2.36). Compared with a baseline CD4-cell count (3) 50 cells/microl, a count < 25 cells/microl was associated with a higher probability of no follow-up (OR: 2.49; 95% CI: 1.43-4.33), loss to follow-up (HR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.23-1.77) and death (HR: 3.34; 95% CI: 2.10-5.30). Compared to free treatment, fee-for-service programmes were associated with a higher probability of no follow-up (OR: 3.71; 95% CI: 0.97-16.05) and higher mortality (HR: 4.64; 95% CI: 1.11-19.41). CONCLUSION: Early patient losses were increasingly common when programmes were scaled up and were associated with a fee for service and advanced immunodeficiency at baseline. Measures to maximize ART programme retention are required in resource-poor countries.
Assuntos
Terapia Antirretroviral de Alta Atividade/estatística & dados numéricos , Continuidade da Assistência ao Paciente/estatística & dados numéricos , Países em Desenvolvimento , Infecções por HIV/tratamento farmacológico , Infecções por HIV/mortalidade , HIV-1 , Aceitação pelo Paciente de Cuidados de Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Adolescente , Adulto , África/epidemiologia , Terapia Antirretroviral de Alta Atividade/classificação , Terapia Antirretroviral de Alta Atividade/economia , Ásia/epidemiologia , Contagem de Linfócito CD4 , Feminino , Infecções por HIV/imunologia , Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde , Humanos , Cooperação Internacional , Modelos Logísticos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Avaliação de Programas e Projetos de Saúde , Modelos de Riscos Proporcionais , Informática em Saúde Pública , Fatores de Risco , América do Sul/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Endomorphin 1 (EM-1) and endomorphin 2 (EM-2) were tested for their capacity to alter immune function. Addition of either of these peptides to murine spleen cells in vitro inhibited antibody formation to sheep red blood cells in a bi-phasic dose dependent manner. Maximal inhibition was achieved at doses in the range of 10(-13) to 10(-15)M. Neither naloxone (general opioid receptor antagonist) nor CTAP (selective mu opioid receptor antagonist) blocked the immunosuppressive effect. To show that there was specificity to the immunosuppressive activity of the peptides, affinity-purified rabbit antibodies were raised against each of the synthetic EM peptides haptenized to KLH and tested for capacity to inhibit immunosuppression. Antibody responses were monitored by a standard solid phase antibody capture ELISA, and antibodies were purified by immunochromatography using the synthetic peptides coupled to a Sepharose 6B resin. Verification of the specificity of affinity-purified antisera was performed by immunodot-blot and solid-phase RIA assays. The antisera specific for both EM-1 and EM-2 neutralized the immunosuppressive effects of their respective peptides in a dose-related manner. Control normal rabbit IgG had no blocking activity on either EM-1 or EM-2. These studies show that the endomorphins are immunomodulatory at ultra-low concentrations, but the data do not support a mechanism involving the mu-opioid receptor.