Anti-Toxoplasma Activity of 2-(Naphthalene-2-γlthiol)-1H Indole

Background:

This study was undertaken to evaluate the viability, infectivity and immunity of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites exposed to 2-(naphthalene-2-ylthio)-1H-indole.

Methods:

Tachyzoites of RH strain were incubated in various concentrations of 2-(naphthalene-2-ylthio)-1H-indole (25–800 μM) for 1.5 hours. Then, they were stained by PI and analyzed by Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). To evaluate the infectivity, the tachyzoites exposed to the different concentrations of the compound were inoculated to 10 BALB/c mice groups. For Control, parasites exposed to DMSO (0.2% v/v) were also intraperitoneally inoculated into two groups of mice. The immunity of the exposed tachyzoites was evaluated by inoculation of the naïve parasite to the survived mice.

Results:

The LD₅₀ of 2-(naphthalene-2-ylthio)-1H-indole was 57 μmol. The longevity of mice was dose dependent. Five mice out of group 400μmol and 3 out of group 800μmol showed immunization to the parasite.

Conclusion:

Our findings demonstrated the toxoplasmocidal activity of the compound. The presence of a well-organized transporter mechanism for indole compounds within the parasite in conjunction with several effective mechanisms of these compounds on Toxoplasma viability would open a window for production of new drugs and vaccines.     

Global health priorities - priorities of the wealthy?

Health has gained importance on the global agenda. It has become recognized in forums where it was once not addressed. In this article three issues are considered: global health policy actors, global health priorities and the means of addressing the identified health priorities. I argue that the arenas for global health policy-making have shifted from the public spheres towards arenas that include the transnational for-profit sector. Global health policy has become increasingly fragmented and verticalized. Infectious diseases have gained ground as global health priorities, while non-communicable diseases and the broader issues of health systems development have been neglected. Approaches to tackling the health problems are increasingly influenced by trade and industrial interests with the emphasis on technological solutions.     

Is the incidence of hypospadias increasing? Analysis of Finnish hospital discharge data 1970-1994

Reports suggesting an increasing incidence of male genitourinary anomalies such as hypospadias, possibly related to environmental factors such as environmental estrogen-like compounds, have recently received considerable publicity. These reports are based on birth defects registry data, and there may be variation in the completeness of the registries used. We analyzed temporal trends in the prevalence of hypospadias in Finland to assess the previously reported low overall prevalence and to detect any possible increasing tendencies during the past decade. We identified all patients who were surgically treated for hypospadias before the age of 9 years among boys born 1970-1986 in the national hospital discharge registry. We calculated the cumulative prevalence by dividing the number of patients by the number of male births, and we used Poisson regression analysis. Out of 549,176 boys born in Finland in 1970-1986, 1,543 were treated for hypospadias by the age of 8 years (28.1 surgically treated patients per 10,000 male live births; 95% confidence interval, 26.7-29.5). The prevalence of hypospadias in Finland remained constant throughout the study period and appears to have been approximately three times higher than previously reported. Changes in completeness of registration may account for a substantial proportion of the reported increases in the prevalence of hypospadias in Finland and possibly also elsewhere.     

Parental practices for prevention of home poisoning in children 1-6 years of age

On the basis of calls to the US poison control centers, each year more than 1 million children less than 5 years of age experience potentially toxic ingestions. Several prevention efforts and interventions have been tried to protect young children from poisonings occurring in their homes. The purpose of this study was to determine practices of parents and caregivers of children 1–6 years of age about home poisoning prevention. Seventy-six participants answered an anonymous survey. Caregivers demonstrated poor knowledge about the home poisoning prevention strategies. Only 20% of the participants knew the telephone number of the poison control center and 49% had it near the telephone in case of an emergency. This lack of knowledge was not related to gender, educational level, or occupation. Primary care physicians need to reinforce the orientation about poisoning prevention techniques to all caregivers in order to prevent accidental poisonings in small children.     

Trends and spatial distribution of deaths of children aged 12-60 months in São Paulo,Brazil, 1980-98

OBJECTIVE: To describe trends in the mortality of children aged 12-60 months and to perform spatial data analysis of its distribution at the inner city district level in São Paulo from 1980 to 1998. METHODS: Official mortality data were analysed in relation to the underlying causes of death. The population of children aged 12-60 months, disaggregated by sex and age, was estimated for each year. Educational levels, income, employment status, and other socioeconomic indices were also assessed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software was used for the statistical processing of time series. The Cochrane-Orcutt procedure of generalized least squares regression analysis was used to estimate the regression parameters with control of first-order autocorrelation. Spatial data analysis employed the discrimination of death rates and socioeconomic indices at the inner city district level. For classifying area-level death rates the method of K-means cluster analysis was used. Spatial correlation between variables was analysed by the simultaneous autoregressive regression method. FINDINGS: There was a steady decline in death rates during the 1980s at an average rate of 3.08% per year, followed by a levelling off. Infectious diseases remained the major cause of mortality, accounting for 43.1% of deaths during the last three years of the study. Injuries accounted for 16.5% of deaths. Mortality rates at the area level clearly demonstrated inequity in the city''s health profile: there was an increasing difference between the rich and the underprivileged social strata in this respect. CONCLUSION: The overall mortality rate among children aged 12-60 months dropped by almost 30% during the study period. Most of the decline happened during the 1980s. Many people still live in a state of deprivation in underserved areas. Time-series and spatial data analysis provided indications of potential value in the planning of social policies promoting well-being, through the identification of factors affecting child survival and the regions with the worst health profiles, to which programmes and resources should be preferentially directed.     

Critical reflexive education of nurses from the nursing undergraduate program offered by the School of Medicine of Marília - FAMEMA

The study aimed at learning with the undergraduate students enrolled at the Nursing Undergraduate Program offered by FAMEMA about how they are building their education with the purpose of forming a critical reflexive professional as well as identifying the differences perceived by the students with respect to the logic of the Pedagogical Political Plan. The subjects were students finishing the fourth year of the undergraduate program. Authors used the focal group and semi-structured interviews as research techniques. The empirical data were organized according to the technique of Collective Subject Discourse followed by thematic analysis. Authors evidenced that the students were able to elaborate a critique with respect to the Pedagogical Plan, discriminating and perceiving the problems, the changes that occurred and the conflicts generated in a Project of this nature. When they experience reality, students also have conflicts that permeate the relationships they build in their lives, questioning nurses' role, reflecting about their ethical posture, the basis for the argumentation and support to their practice working as a team.     

Geostatistical analysis of leprosy cases in the State of São Paulo, 1991-2002

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the spatial pattern of leprosy case occurrences in order to identify areas with a probability of disease transmission risks. METHODS: This was an ecological study in which the analysis units were municipalities in the State of S?o Paulo that were georeferenced at their centroids. The data source was the electronic database of notified leprosy cases at the Epidemiological Surveillance Center of the State of S?o Paulo, from 1991 to 2001. Geostatistical techniques were used for detecting areas with a probability of leprosy risk, and for quantifying the spatial dependency of cases. RESULTS: The spatial dependence detected extended outwards to 0.55 degrees from the georeferenced coordinates, which corresponded to approximately 60 km. The main areas identified as presenting a probability of risk were the northeastern, northern and northwestern regions of the State. CONCLUSIONS: Verification of areas with the probability of leprosy risk using spatial dependence analysis may be a useful tool for assessing health conditions and planning budget allocations.     

Gérard Abraham van Rijnberk, editor-in-chief of the Dutch Journal of Medicine 1913-1946

Gérard Abraham van Rijnberk (1875-1953), a professor of physiology, was the longest-reigning editor-in-chief in the history of The Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde (Dutch Journal of Medicine). During his 33 years in office the Journal and the Vereniging Nederland-sch Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde (Dutch Journal of Medicine Society) prospered. Van Rijnberk started the historical library of the Society. World War II ended the long-standing connection with the Nederlandsche Maatschappij tot bevordering der Geneeskunst (NMG; The Dutch Medical Association). The NMG was closed down by the German occupier, but Van Rijnberk pursued publication of the Journal, which led to accusations of collaboration. After the war, the Journal continued independently of Medisch Contact, the journal of the NMG.     

Professional autonomy - is it the future of general practice?

Internationally, rising financial costs and increasing expectations of health care delivery have increased regulation and decreased the autonomy of general practitioners and other health care professionals. This article explores professional autonomy within Australian general practice, and outlines the importance of autonomy in systems approaches to organisational change in general practice.     

“Health inequalities in Armenia - analysis of survey results”

Introduction

This study sought to identify factors associated with health service utilisation by individuals with mental disorders in a Canadian catchment area.

Methods

To be included in the study, participants had to be aged between 15 and 65 and reside in the study location. Data was collected randomly from June to December 2009 by specially trained interviewers. A comprehensive set of variables (including geospatial factors) was studied using the Andersen's behavioural health service model. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were carried out.

Results

Among 406 individuals diagnosed with mental disorders, 212 reported using a mental health service at least once in the 12 months preceding the interviews. Emotional problems and a history of violence victimisation were most strongly associated with such utilisation. Participants who were middle-aged or deemed their mental health to be poor were also more likely to seek mental healthcare. Individuals living in neighbourhoods where rental accommodations were the norm used significantly fewer health services than individuals residing in neighbourhoods where homeownership was preponderant; males were also less likely to use services than females.

Conclusions

Our study broke new ground by uncovering the impact of longstanding violence victimisation, and the proportion of homeownership on mental health service utilisation among this population. It also confirmed the prominence of some variables (gender, age, emotional problems and self-perceived mental health) as key enabling variables of health-seeking. There should be better promotion of strategies designed to change the attitudes of males and youths and to deal with violence victimisation. There is also a need for initiatives that are targeted to neighbourhoods where there is more rental housing.     

Centenary of tele-electrocardiography and telephonocardiography - where are we today?

Telecardiology applications can be categorized as pre-hospital, in-hospital and post-hospital. The major purpose of pre-hospital 12-lead electrocardiographic diagnosis is the early detection of acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation and the communication of that information to the receiving emergency physician before the arrival of the patient. In-hospital telecardiology is used between small hospitals in rural regions and main hospitals. Telemedicine here has the potential to improve access to echocardiography diagnoses in the intensive care unit, emergency room and newborn nursery. In some centres, urgent echocardiography is performed during weekends, evenings and overnight to assess ventricular function, ischaemia, pericardial effusion, valvular disease and heart donor status. Post-hospital applications include teleconsulting between GPs and specialists, home telenursing for chronic cardiac diseases and the diagnosis of arrhythmias. Telecardiology is one of the fastest-growing fields in telemedicine. There is already a significant quantity of published clinical data, with some randomized multi-centre trials to answer the most important questions definitively. Telecardiology in some fields such as emergency and chronic care undoubtedly improves the quality of health care and helps to contain rising costs. Telecardiology has yet to reach maturity, but the evidence to date indicates that it has made a good start.