Cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale across 11 world-wide societies.

BACKGROUND: In order to compare estimates by one assessment scale across various cultures/ethnic groups, an important aspect that needs to be demonstrated is that its construct across these groups is invariant when measured using a similar and simultaneous approach (i.e., demonstrated cross-cultural measurement invariance). One of the methods for evaluating measurement invariance is testing for differential item functioning (DIF), which assesses whether different groups respond differently to particular items. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) in societies with different socioeconomic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. METHODS: The study was organised by the International Child Mental Health Study Group. Self-reported data were collected from adolescents residing in 11 countries: Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Indonesia, Montenegro, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania and Serbia. The multiple-indicators multiple-causes model was used to test the RCADS items for DIF across the countries. RESULTS: Ten items exhibited DIF considering all cross-country comparisons. Only one or two items were flagged with DIF in the head-to-head comparisons, while there were three to five items flagged with DIF, when one country was compared with the others. Even with all cross-culturally non-invariant items removed from nine language versions tested, the original factor model representing six anxiety and depressive symptoms subscales was not significantly violated. CONCLUSIONS: There is clear evidence that relatively small number of the RCADS items is non-invariant, especially when comparing two different cultural/ethnic groups, which indicates on its sound cross-cultural validity and suitability for cross-cultural comparisons in adolescent anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Serological and molecular investigation of the prevalence of Aujeszky's disease in feral swine (Sus scrofa) in the subregions of the Pantanal wetland, Brazil.

The feral swine (FS) originated from the domestic pig and is present throughout the Brazilian wetland plain (the Pantanal). Aujeszky's disease (AD) was first serologically confirmed in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS) in 2001; however, there was no viral confirmation. The aim of this study was to investigate antibodies against-SuHV-1 in the sera of feral swine in the studied areas, detect SuHV-1 through PCR and classify the viral genome. Among the 218 animals sampled, 186 were analyzed by ELISA, resulting in 88 (47.3%) reactive samples. In the serum neutralization test (SN), 57/179 (31.8%) samples presented antibodies against the AD virus (SuHV-1). By nested PCR, 104 DNA samples were extracted for analysis and confirmed with amplification of a fragment of glycoprotein B (gB) in five samples. The SuHV-1 was detected in 12 samples by using primers for glycoprotein E (gE) and viral genome was classified as Type I by ul44 partial sequencing. The amplification of SuHV-1 glycoprotein fragments in the fetuses of seropositive sows indicate that the vertical transmission contribute to maintain SuHV-1 in a free-living feral swine population. The origin of AD in the feral swine populations of the Pantanal is unknown, however, the determination of viral latency, the vertical transmission of the antigen by the amplification of SuHV-1 glycoprotein fragments in the fetuses of seropositive sows and genome typing contribute to the elucidation of the epidemiology of this disease in the wetlands of MS, Brazil.

Situação epidemiológica da brucelose bovina no Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul / Epidemiological situation of bovine brucellosis in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Realizou-se um estudo para caracterizar a situação epidemiológica da brucelose bovina no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Foram definidos três estratos (regiões): Pantanal-corte, Planalto-corte e Planalto-leite, este último subdividido em Bolsão, Campo Grande e Dourados. Em cada estrato foram amostradas aleatoriamente propriedades e, dentro dessas, foi escolhido, de forma aleatória, um número pré-estabelecido de animais, dos quais foi obtida uma amostra de sangue. No total, foram amostrados 14.849 animais, provenientes de 1.004 propriedades. Em cada propriedade amostrada foi aplicado um questionário epidemiológico para verificar suas características e também para detectar transtornos reprodutivos que poderiam estar associados à infecção brucélica. O teste utilizado foi o do antígeno acidificado tamponado. O rebanho foi considerado positivo se pelo menos um animal foi reagente à prova sorológica. Para o Estado, a prevalência de focos foi de 41,5 por cento [36,5-44,7 por cento]. As prevalências de focos e de animais infectados por estrato foram, respectivamente, de: 59,0 por cento [52,8-64,9 por cento] e 12,6 por cento [9,1-17,2 por cento] para o estrato Pantanal-corte, e 40,6 por cento [35,8-45,5 por cento] e 4,5 por cento [2,1-9,0 por cento] para Planalto-corte. No estrato Planalto-leite, a prevalência de focos foi de 33,1 por cento [28,4-38,1 por cento]. Os fatores de risco (odds ratios, OR) associados à condição de foco foram: ter ≥500 vacas (OR = 2,46 [1,81-3,34]), ocorrência de bezerros fracos (OR = 1,20 [0,87-1,65]) e uso da inseminação artificial (OR = 0,71 [0,50-1,01]).

A study to characterize the epidemiological status of bovine brucellosis in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul was carried out. The State was divided in three regions: beef cattle Pantanal, beef cattle Plateau, and dairy cattle Plateau. Herds were randomly sampled in each region and a pre-established number of animals were sampled in each of these herds. A total of 14,849 serum samples from 1,004 herds were collected. In each herd, it was applied an epidemiological questionnaire focused on herd traits as well as clinical signs that could be associated with the brucellosis infection. The serum samples were tested for antibodies against Brucella spp. by the Rose-Bengal test. The herd was considered positive if at least one animal was positive. The prevalence of infected herds in the State was 41.5 percent [36.5-44.7 percent]. The prevalence of infected herds in the regions were, respectively: 40.6 percent [35.8-45.5 percent] for beef cattle Plateau, 59.0 percent [52.8-64.9 percent] for beef cattle Pantanal, and 33.1 percent [28.4-38.1 percent] for dairy cattle Plateau. The risk factors (odds ratio, OR) associated with the presence of the infection were: herd size larger than 500 cows (OR = 2.46 [1.81-3.34]), birth of weak calf (OR = 1.20 [0.87-1.65]), and use of artificial insemination (OR = 0.71 [0.50-1.01]).

Computing with phase locked loops: choosing gains and delays.

We simulate a four-node fully connected phase-locked loop (PLL) network with an architecture similar to the neural network proposed by Hoppensteadt and Izhikevich (1999, 2000), using second-order PLLs. The idea is to complement their work analyzing some engineering questions like:how the individual gain of the nodes affects the synchronous state of whole network; how the individual gain of the nodes affects the acquisition time of the whole network; how close the free-running frequencies of the nodes need to be in order to the network be able to acquire the synchronous state; how the delays between nodes affect the synchronous state frequency. The computational results show that the Hoppensteadt-Izhikevich network is robust to the variation of these parameters and their effects are described through graphics showing the dependence of the synchronous state frequency and acquisition time with gains, free-running frequencies, and delays.

Global and partial synchronism in phase-locked loop networks.

We analytically investigate the existence of global and partial synchronism in neural networks where each node is represented by a phase oscillator. Partial synchronism, which is important to pattern recognition, can be caused by increasing the natural frequency of an oscillator and restricting the frequencies of others in certain ranges.

The treatment of allergic rhinitis improves the recovery from asthma and upper respiratory infections.

Forty-six asthmatic children with repeated respiratory infections presented symptoms of allergic rhinitis. All patients were treated locally for allergic rhinitis either with disodium cromoglycate or beclomethasone dipropionate. After six months of treatment, 95% of the children showed improvement of allergic rhinitis and 84% improvement of bronchial asthma, as well as fewer infections. We concluded that allergic rhinitis plays an important role in facilitating infections of the upper respiratory tract, and a possible association of rhinitis, viral infections and bronchial asthma is discussed.

The status of women in medicine at the Brown University School of Medicine.

Although the number of women medical faculty appointed and promoted at the School of Medicine has increased gradually since 1987, the extent to which women have advanced in academic medicine and the timeliness of their movement forward are of concern. With women constituting nearly 20% of the medical faculty at Brown, and comprising only 5% of professorial appointments, it is easy to see the disparities. While the Brown University School of Medicine stands out as one of less than a dozen medical schools with an Office of Women in Medicine, clearly there is still much to accomplish in this domain. Progress may be accelerated through networking and advocacy promoted by professional development programs sponsored by offices for women in medicine and organizations as RIMWA. Offering women medical faculty a forum to discuss issues as departmental promotion criteria in academic medicine and to link up with other women physicians, ultimately serves not only women faculty but their institution. Providing role models is critical to assist women medical students in looking well ahead to plan for their own career development. In creating opportunities for dialogue among women in medicine at all levels in the medical school environment and among women physicians in the nearby community, institutions take an essential step forward towards supporting women's advancement in medicine.

Parents' and physicians' perceptions of facial plastic surgery in children with Down's syndrome.

This study was designed to investigate both parents' and physicians' attitudes and perceptions concerning facial plastic surgery in persons with Down's syndrome. The results of this inquiry revealed that more physicians (63%) than parents (28%) feel that the children's facial features negatively affect their social development; most parents (85%) see their children well accepted by society whereas only 4% of physicians do so; approximately half of the physicians (51%) and parents (41%) thought that after hypothetical facial plastic surgery a child with Down's syndrome may accomplish more socially; the majority of the parents (92%) and physicians (76%) were concerned with the risk of the operation; and only 13% of parents but 44% of physicians indicated that facial plastic surgery should be done on children with Down's syndrome.

Florence Nightingale on public health nursing.

Florence Nightingale, in addition to her role in initiating nursing education programs, was also involved in developing nursing for the sick poor at home and in workhouses through her work for poor law and workhouse reform of the 1860s. Her writings on public health nursing--11 items that were written during a space of more than 30 years--emphasize the need for special training for public health nurses, the importance of sanitation and disease prevention through the nurse's teaching of the sick poor, and the demoralizing nature of poverty and pauperization.