Discovering the healthcare beliefs and practices of rural mestizo Ecuadorians. An ethnonursing study / Creencias y prácticas del cuidado de salud de mestizos que habitan en zona rural de Ecuador: Un estudio de etnoenfermería / Crenças e práticas do cuidado de saúde de mestiços que habitam em zona rural do Equador: Um estudo de etno-enfermagem

Objetivo. Describir y entender las creencias y prácticas del cuidado de salud de mestizos que habitan en zona rural de Ecuador. Metodología. Se desarrolló un estudio con el método de etnoenfermería de Leininger. Fueron entrevistados 28 informantes en Tosagua, Ecuador. Resultados. El análisis de los datos reveló cuatro temas: (a) la espiritualidad y la oración son necesarias para la salud y el bienestar, (b) Compartir la vida con la gente afecta positivamente la salud y el bienestar, (c) La incorporación de la medicina tradicional y la moderna es esencial para la salud (d) el contexto ambiental está más allá del control de las personas y afecta en gran medida la salud y el bienestar. Conclusión. Los resultados son consistentes con la cultura de los ecuatorianos mestizos que habitan zonas rurales y que viven en comunidad. Las enfermeras y otros trabajadores de la salud deben proveer un cuidado que sea aceptable, culturalmente congruente y que promueva la salud en el Ecuador rural.

Objetive. To discover and understand the healthcare beliefs and practices of mestizo Ecuadorians within rural Ecuador. Methodology. An ethnonursing method developed by Leininger was used to guide this study and four phases of qualitative data analysis. 28 informants were interviewed in Tosagua, Ecuador. Results. Data analysis revealed four themes (a) Spirituality and prayer necessary for health and well-being, (b) Sharing life with people positively affects health and well-being, (c) Incorporation of both traditional and modern medicine is essential to health (d) Environmental context beyond the control of the people greatly affect health and well-being. Conclusion. The findings are consistent with the cultural life ways of rural mestizo Ecuadorians who live in community with one another. These results can be used to enable nurses and other healthcare workers to provide care that is acceptable, culturally congruent and promotes health in rural Ecuador.

Objetivo. Descrever e entender as crenças e práticas do cuidado de saúde de mestiços que habitam em zona rural do Equador. Metodologia. Desenvolveu-se um estudo com o método de etno-enfermagem de Leininger. Foram entrevistados 28 informantes em Tosagua, Equador. Resultados. A análise dos dados revelou quatro temas (a) a espiritualidade e a oração são necessárias para a saúde e o bem-estar, (b) Compartilhar a vida com as pessoas afeta positivamente à saúde e ao bem-estar, (c) A incorporação da medicina tradicional e a moderna é essencial para a saúde (d) o contexto ambiental está além do controle das pessoas e afeta em grande parte à saúde e ao bem-estar. Conclusão. Os resultados são consistentes com a cultura dos equatorianos mestiços que habitam zonas rurais e que vivem em comunidade. As enfermeiras e outros trabalhadores da saúde devem prover um cuidado que seja aceitável, culturalmente congruente e que promova a saúde no Equador rural.

Esrrg functions in early branch generation of the ureteric bud and is essential for normal development of the renal papilla.

Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUTs) are common disorders of human development affecting the renal parechyma, renal pelvis, ureter, bladder and urethra; they show evidence of shared genetic aetiology, although the molecular basis of this remains unknown in the majority of cases. Breakpoint mapping of a de novo, apparently balanced, reciprocal translocation associated with bilateral renal agenesis has implicated the gene encoding the nuclear steroid hormone receptor ESRRG as a candidate gene for CAKUT. Here we show that the Esrrg protein is detected throughout early ureteric ducts as cytoplasmic/sub-membranous staining; with nuclear localization seen in developing nephrons. In 14.5-16.5 dpc (days post-conception) mouse embryos, Esrrg localizes to the subset of ductal tissue within the kidney, liver and lung. The renal ductal expression becomes localized to renal papilla by 18.5 dpc. Perturbation of function was performed in embryonic mouse kidney culture using pooled siRNA to induce knock-down and a specific small-molecule agonist to induce aberrant activation of Esrrg. Both resulted in severe abnormality of early branching events of the ureteric duct. Mouse embryos with a targeted inactivation of Esrrg on both alleles (Esrrg(-/-)) showed agenesis of the renal papilla but normal development of the cortex and remaining medulla. Taken together, these results suggest that Esrrg is required for early branching events of the ureteric duct that occur prior to the onset of nephrogenesis. These findings confirm ESRRG as a strong candidate gene for CAKUT.

Trans fat labeling and levels in U.S. foods: assessment of gas chromatographic and infrared spectroscopic techniques for regulatory compliance.

Trans fatty acids are found in a variety of foods like dairy and meat products, but the major dietary sources are products that contain commercially hydrogenated fats. There has been a renewed need for accurate analytical methods for the quantitation of total trans fat since mandatory requirements to declare the amount of trans fat present in food products and dietary supplements were issued in many countries. Official capillary GC and IR methodologies are the two most common validated methods used to identify and quantify trans fatty acids for regulatory compliance. The present article provides a comprehensive discussion of the GC and IR techniques, including the latest attenuated total reflection (ATR)-FTIR methodology called the negative second derivative ATR-FTIR procedure, which is currently being validated in an international collaborative study. The identification and quantitation of trans fatty acid isomers by GC is reviewed and an alternative GC method is proposed using two temperature programs and combining their results; this proposed method deals more effectively with the resolution of large numbers of geometric and positional monoene, diene, and triene fatty acid isomers present in ruminant fats. In addition, the different methylation procedures that affect quantitative conversion to fatty acid methyl esters are reviewed. There is also a lack of commercial chromatographic standards for many trans fatty acid isomers. This review points to potential sources of interferences in the FTIR determination that may lead to inaccurate results, particularly at low trans levels. The presence of high levels of saturated fats may lead to interferences in the FTIR spectra observed for trans triacylglycerols (TAGs). TAGs require no derivatization, but have to be melted prior to IR measurement. While GC is currently the method of choice, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy is a viable, rapid alternative, and a complementary method to GC for a more rapid determination of total trans fats for food labeling purposes.

Genetic background influences embryonic lethality and the occurrence of neural tube defects in Men1 null mice: relevance to genetic modifiers.

Germline mutations of the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) gene cause parathyroid, pancreatic and pituitary tumours in man. MEN1 mutations also cause familial isolated primary hyperparathyroidism (FIHP) and the same MEN1 mutations, in different families, can cause either FIHP or MEN1. This suggests a role for genetic background and modifier genes in altering the expression of a mutation. We investigated the effects of genetic background on the phenotype of embryonic lethality that occurs in a mouse model for MEN1. Men1(+/-) mice were backcrossed to generate C57BL/6 and 129S6/SvEv incipient congenic strains, and used to obtain homozygous Men1(-/-) mice. No viable Men1(-/-) mice were obtained. The analysis of 411 live embryos obtained at 9.5-16.5 days post-coitum (dpc) revealed that significant deviations from the expected Mendelian 1:2:1 genotype ratio were first observed at 12.5 and 14.5 dpc in the 129S6/SvEv and C57BL/6 strains respectively (P<0.05). Moreover, live Men1(-/-) embryos were absent by 13.5 and 15.5 dpc in the 129S6/SvEv and C57BL/6 strains respectively thereby indicating an earlier lethality by 2 days in the 129S6/SvEv strain (P<0.01). Men1(-/-) embryos had macroscopic haemorrhages, and histology and optical projection tomography revealed them to have internal haemorrhages, myocardial hypotrophy, pericardial effusion, hepatic abnormalities and neural tube defects. The neural tube defects occurred exclusively in 129S6/SvEv embryos (21 vs 0%, P<0.01). Thus, our findings demonstrate the importance of genetic background in influencing the phenotypes of embryonic lethality and neural tube defects in Men1(-/-) mice, and implicate a role for genetic modifiers.