RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Cervical Cancer (CC) has become a public health concern of alarming proportions in many developing countries such as Mexico, particularly in low income sectors and marginalized regions. As such, an early detection is a key medical factor in improving not only their population's quality of life but also its life expectancy. Interestingly, there has been an increase in the number of reports describing successful attempts at detecting cancer cells in human tissues or fluids using trained (sniffer) dogs. The great odor detection threshold exhibited by dogs is not unheard of. However, this represented a potential opportunity to develop an affordable, accessible, and non-invasive method for detection of CC. METHODS: Using clicker training, a male beagle was trained to recognize CC odor. During training, fresh CC biopsies were used as a reference point. Other samples used included cervical smears on glass slides and medical surgical bandages used as intimate sanitary pads by CC patients. A double-blind procedure was exercised when testing the beagle's ability to discriminate CC from control samples. RESULTS: The beagle was proven able to detect CC-specific volatile organic compounds (VOC) contained in both fresh cervical smear samples and adsorbent material samples. Beagle's success rate at detecting and discriminating CC and non-CC odors, as indicated by specificity and sensitivity values recorded during the experiment, stood at an overall high (>90%). CC-related VOC in adsorbent materials were detectable after only eight hours of use by CC patients. CONCLUSION: Present data suggests different applications for VOC from the uterine cervix to be used in the detection and diagnosis of CC. Furthermore, data supports the use of trained dogs as a viable, affordable, non-invasive and, therefore, highly relevant alternative method for detection of CC lesions. Additional benefits of this method include its quick turnaround time and ease of use while remaining highly accurate and robust.
Assuntos
Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/diagnóstico , Animais , Biomarcadores Tumorais/metabolismo , Cães , Método Duplo-Cego , Detecção Precoce de Câncer , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Odorantes , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/metabolismoRESUMO
El objetivo de esta investigación es diseñar y validar una escala para medir la alfabetización alimentaria entre estudiantes universitarios. Su validez se basó en análisis de contenido, de consistencia interna, factorial exploratorio y factorial confirmatorio, aplicados sobre datos correspondientes a estudiantes universitarios de 18 a 25 años, de los programas de administración y nutrición de una universidad mexicana. Los resultados indican que medir la alfabetización alimentaria entre estudiantes universitarios debe considerar cuatro componentes: la selección de insumos y alimentos, el consumo de alimentos con calidad nutricional y en la cantidad apropiada, las actitudes acerca de lo importante que es desarrollar hábitos de alimentación saludables y la percepción del control que las personas tienen sobre su propia alimentación. Una de las principales limitaciones de esta investigación consiste en que la muestra es muy específica, por lo cual, la validación de la escala entre muestras estudiantiles más amplias es una oportunidad para desarrollar futuras investigaciones. Los hallazgos obtenidos son de interés para académicos que participan en el diseño de programas educativos enfocados en el desarrollo de hábitos alimenticios saludables, así como de personas responsables de instrumentar políticas, programas e iniciativas en materia de nutrición, alimentación y salud tendientes a mejorar el bienestar general de la población.
This paper aims to design and validate a scale to measure food literacy among university students. We performed content, internal consistency, exploratory factor, and confirmatory factor analyses, based on data corresponding to management and nutrition university students aged 18-25, at a Mexican university. Our results indicate that measuring food literacy among university students must consider four components: the selection of supplies and foods, the consumption of meals with nutritional quality and in the appropriate quantity, attitudes about the importance of developing healthy eating habits, and the perception of control that consumers have about their diet. One of the main limitations of this study is that the sample is very specific, so the validation of the scale among larger student samples is an opportunity to develop future research. Our findings are of interest to academics who participate in the design of educational programs focused on the development of healthy eating habits, as well as to the designers and developers of policies, programs, and initiatives regarding nutrition, food, and health aimed at improving general well-being.