[Frequency of diabetic retinopathy and associated factors in Puerto Montt, Chile].

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is an important cause of decreased visual acuity, whose prevalence has increased between 1990 and 2020. In Chile the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was estimated at 24.8%.

Prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar in the city of Campina Grande, in northeastern Brazil.

There is a clear need to perform epidemiological studies to find the true prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica around the world. The evaluation of this prevalence has been hindered by the existence of two different species which are morphologically identical, but genetically different, namely E. histolytica, which causes amebiasis, and E.

Ascaris lumbricoides infection and parasite load are associated with asthma in children.

Introduction: Association between Ascaris lumbricoides infection and asthma is a controversial subject that has been studied by several authors based on the hygiene theory. This work contributes to better understanding this issue.

Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study involving 1,004 children from a neighborhood of low socioeconomic status in Campina Grande, Paraíba, northeastern Brazil.

Severity of atopic dermatitis and Ascaris lumbricoides infection: an evaluation of CCR4+ and CXCR3+ helper T cell frequency.

Introduction: Ascaris lumbricoides-infected patients present lower prevalence of severe atopic dermatitis.

Methods: Peripheral blood of infected children with atopic dermatitis was assessed by flow cytometry of the frequency of Th1 and Th2 cells through the expression of CXCR3 and CCR4 chemokine receptors, respectively.

Results: Helminth-free patients with atopic dermatitis presented a high frequency of CCR4+Th2 cells.

Effect of dopamine and serotonin receptor antagonists on fencamfamine-induced abolition of latent inhibition.

The purpose of this investigation was to verify the role of dopamine and serotonin receptors in the effect of fencamfamine (FCF) on latent inhibition. FCF is a psychomotor stimulant with an indirect dopaminergic action. Latent inhibition is a model of attention.

Indatraline: synthesis and effect on the motor activity of Wistar rats.

A new approach for the synthesis of indatraline was developed using as the key step an iodine(III)-mediated ring contraction of a 1,2-dihydronaphthalene derivative. Behavioral tests were conducted to evaluate the effect of indatraline and of its precursor indanamide on the motor activity of Wistar rats. Specific indexes for ambulation, raising and stereotypy were computed one, two and three hours after i.

Atopic dermatitis and ascariasis in children aged 2 to 10 years.

Objective: To assess the association between atopic dermatitis (AD) and ascariasis in 2 to 10-aged children from the neighborhood Pedregal, in the city of Campina Grande, Brazil, an area of low socioeconomic index.

Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with the use of the standard questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) and stool parasitological exam for Ascaris lumbricoides. The dependent variable was AD diagnosis: absent, mild, and severe.

Patterns of ecstasy use and associated harm: results of a Brazilian online survey.

The aim of this study was to gather information about ecstasy users in Brazil, particularly on issues related to risks associated to the use of the drug, so as to offer a basis to prevention projects. A total of 1,140 Brazilian ecstasy users answered an online questionnaire from August 2004 to February 2005. Participants were predominantly young single heterosexual well-educated males from upper economical classes.

Reliability, validity and classification accuracy of the South Oaks Gambling Screen in a Brazilian sample.

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability, validity and classification accuracy of the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) in a sample of the Brazilian population. Participants in this study were drawn from three sources: 71 men and women from the general population interviewed at a metropolitan train station; 116 men and women encountered at a bingo venue; and 54 men and women undergoing treatment for gambling. The SOGS and a DSM-IV-based instrument were applied by trained researchers.

Diethylpropion produces psychostimulant and reward effects.

Diethylpropion (DEP) is a stimulant drug widely used for weight control in Brazil and other American countries. However, its effects on behavior and addiction potential are not yet well known. Data suggest that sensitization resulting from pre-exposure to psychostimulants could be a possible risk factor in subsequent drug addiction.

Relationship between ethanol and sucrose self-administration and schedule-induced polydipsia.

Studies have suggested a relationship between drug abuse and compulsive behaviors. The present experiments investigated the relationship between schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP) and self-administration (SA) of ethanol and sucrose. SIP served as a model of compulsive behavior, and oral self-administration on a progressive-ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement assessed the reinforcing value of either a 10% ethanol solution or an isocaloric sucrose solution.

[Pathological gambling and its consequences for public health].

The article aimed to characterize pathological gambling, showing the main consequences of this disorder. Bibliographic survey on this theme was conducted, covering both national and international literature. Publications whose main findings emphasized related prevalence, social and economic costs, gambling legalization and resulting impact on public health, were selected.

[Analysis of spontaneous comments posted by ecstasy users participating in an online survey].

Objective: To analyze the contents of spontaneous comments posted by ecstasy users participating in an online survey that constitutes phase one of a harm reduction project (projeto Baladaboa) aimed at users of this drug.

Method: Of the 1,140 individual respondents, 412 posted unprompted comments. These comments were grouped into five categories (irrelevant, drugs, testimonies, survey, and project) and submitted to content analysis.

Assessment of municipal solid waste compost quality using standardized methods before preparation of plant growth media.

The quality of compost and its suitability for agricultural application depend upon physical and chemical parameters such as water-holding capacity, porosity, pH, electrical conductivity, C/N ratio, available nutrients and the absence of toxic substances. In the present study a complete characterization of an industrial municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) based on standardized European methods (CEN) for soil improvers and growing media was obtained, and compared with the quality of other Spanish composted biowaste and conventional substrates such as peat and pine bark. The MSWC was obtained from the main composting plant in Galicia (Spain), which processes organic waste that has been separated at origin and collected from more than 100 000 inhabitants.

Enhancement of non-dominant hand motor function by anodal transcranial direct current stimulation.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive powerful method to modulate brain activity. It can enhance motor learning and working memory in healthy subjects. To investigate the effects of anodal tDCS (1 mA, 20 min) of the dominant and non-dominant primary motor cortex (M1) on hand motor performance in healthy right-handed volunteers, healthy subjects underwent one session of both sham and active anodal stimulation of the non-dominant or dominant primary motor cortex.

[Transcranial magnetic stimulation in neuropsychology: new horizons for brain research].

This review addresses the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation as a research tool of neuropsychological functions. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive and painless technique to modulate brain function that can be applied to conscious human beings and is based on a variable magnetic field. Using this technique, it is possible to generate virtual transient lesions in healthy people or modulate the brain activity, increasing or decreasing the activity of the stimulated areas.

Phenotypic characterization of food waste degrading Bacillus strains isolated from aerobic bioreactors.

A phenotypic characterization of seventeen Bacillus strains isolated from aerobic thermophilic bioreactors of a food waste processing company was carried out, using fatty acid and enzymatic activity profiles. It was observed that each species possessed a typical fatty acid and enzymatic production profile. Bacillus licheniformis strains exhibited the most significant enzyme production.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of prefrontal cortex enhances working memory.

Previous studies have claimed that weak transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) induces persisting excitability changes in the human motor cortex that can be more pronounced than cortical modulation induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation, but there are no studies that have evaluated the effects of tDCS on working memory. Our aim was to determine whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation, which enhances brain cortical excitability and activity, would modify performance in a sequential-letter working memory task when administered to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Fifteen subjects underwent a three-back working memory task based on letters.

Cellular hamartoma resembling gastrointestinal stromal tumor: a solid tumor of the pancreas expressing c-kit (CD117).

Solid tumors of the pancreas are usually neoplastic. We report on two adult patients, each with a solid tumor of the pancreas that presented with an unusual histology and seemed to follow a benign course. The tumors, one located in the body and one in the tail, were well demarcated and composed of irregularly arranged but well-differentiated acini and small intralobular and interlobular ducts embedded in predominantly hypocellular fibrotic tissue that contained fascicles of cytologically bland spindle cells.

Characteristics of ecstasy users in Sãio Paulo, Brazil.

The present study was aimed at identifying patterns of Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine-MDMA) use in the city of São Paulo. Ecstasy users were recruited through the snowball technique. Using the same technique, a non-user control group was recruited among individuals that had never tried the drug but shared with users a similar life style.

Ecstasy (MDMA): effects and patterns of use reported by users in São Paulo.

Objective: As there are no studies about the use of ecstasy in Brazil, our aim was to identify the effects and patterns of use of this substance among users in the city of São Paulo.

Methods: Subjects were recruited through the snowball technique. Fifty-two subjects of both genders who had been using ecstasy frequently and recently were interviewed.