Recording Historical Variations in Agricultural Areas Caused by Landslides and River Floods between 1977 and 2012 through Participatory Mapping in the Foothills of the Atacama Desert, Chile.

In arid areas, rural communities can be affected by erosive phenomena caused by intense rainfall. By involving such communities in participatory mapping over the last few decades, our ability to analyse the effects of these phenomena has been enhanced. The aim of this study was to evaluate participatory mapping as a tool for spatially analysing agricultural variations caused by erosive phenomena, using local people to identify chronologies of physical events so we could analyse their effects on agriculture. The study was conducted in Laonzana, Tarapacá Valley, in northern Chile. We selected the participants for the participatory mapping using specific criteria, and carried out field activities in different phases, which allowed the identification, georeferencing and registration (through participatory mapping) of the information collected in the field and from the collective memories of the participants. Three periods were studied. This provided evidence for a decrease in the number of productive sites, these being limited to the vicinity of the village. The participatory mapping technique has become a useful tool in desert and mountainous areas with low population densities for recovering experiential information from communities.

Correlation among three non-invasive methods (APRI, FIB-4 and Transient elastography) to evaluate liver function and stiffness in patients with viral hepatitis c or schistosomiasis mansoni

Both chronic viral hepatitis and schistosomiasis are potentially serious causes of liver fibrosis. Several studies suggest, however, that hepatic fibrosis may be reversible, which highlights the importance, not only of early diagnosis, but, above all, observing this while monitoring the disease. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between three non-invasive methods for classification of hepatic fibrosis in patients with viral hepatitis or schistosomiasis. The sample consisted of 45 patients with chronic hepatitis with HCV and 17 with schistosomiasis. Medical records were analyzed for data collection related to sex, body mass index (BMI) and laboratory testing for biochemical markers. The evaluation was carried out by means of the following hepatic diagnostic methods: APRI, FIB-4 and Transient Elastography (Fibroscan), and the subsequent correlation analysis by Spearman test (r). There was a predominance of males among patients with HCV (64.4%). HCV patients also presented the highest average age (54.8 years) and high levels of AST and ALT. Positive correlation was noted between APRI and FIB-4 results in patients of both groups; positive correlation between APRI and Transient Elastography in patients with HCV; and positive correlation between FIB-4 and Elastography in patients with HCV or schistosomiasis. Our data suggest that the non-invasive methods for diagnosis and monitoring of hepatic fibrosis present a high degree of acceptance, especially in patients with HCV.

Steatosis in chronic hepatitis C: relationship to the virus and host risk factors.

BACKGROUND: Steatosis occurs frequently in hepatitis C. However, the mechanisms leading to this lesion are still unknown, and the role of steatosis in the progression of the disease remains controversial. The aim of the present paper was to determine the prevalence of steatosis in hepatitis C and its association with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype, viral load and the presence of risk factors for steatosis, and to analyze the association between steatosis and the intensity of liver disease. METHODS: Patients infected with HCV who underwent liver biopsy were included. Patients coinfected with hepatitis B virus and/or human immunodeficiency virus and those previously treated for hepatitis C were excluded. The following risk factors for steatosis were investigated: obesity (body mass index [BMI] > 25 kg/m(2)), diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, alcoholism, and use of potential steatosis-inducing drugs. Histological analysis evaluated the presence of steatosis, the degree of periportal activity and staging. Patients with and without steatosis were compared regarding demographic, epidemiological, laboratory and histological characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was applied to identify variables that were independently associated with the presence of steatosis. RESULTS: Ninety patients (55 men, 35 women) with a mean age of 45 +/- 13 years were included. The prevalence of steatosis was 67%. Variables that remained independently associated with steatosis were age, female gender, obesity and genotype 3. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of steatosis in hepatitis C was high. Risk factors usually related to steatosis such as age, female gender and obesity, as well as genotype 3, were independently associated with the presence of steatosis. Steatosis was not independently associated with the intensity of histological liver disease.

Vírus da hepatite G em doadores de sangue anti-vhc positivos do hemocentro de pernambuco / Viremia of hepatitis G virus in blood donors with positive anti-HCV hemocentro of the Pernambuco

O estudo realizado com o objetivo de verificar a ocorrência da viremia do vírus da hepatite G em doadores do sangue com os anticorpos contra o vírus do hepatitis C (anti-HCV), como também descrever fatores epidemiológicos relacionados. Cinquenta e nove doadores de sangue anti-HCV positivos da Fundaçäo de Hematologia e Hemoterapia de Pernambuco (HEMOPE) foram estudados entre 1996 e 1997.A informaçäo foi obtida com a entrevista médica, no momento em que a amostra do sangue era coletada para a detecçäo do HGV-RNA, com a reaçäo em cadeia da polimerase (PCR), e a mediçäo dos níveis do séricos do ALT E do AST. A ocorrência da viremia foi verificada para HGV em 3,4por cento da populaçäo estudada. dos 59 doadores anti-HCV positivos, 89,8por cento eram do sexo masculino e 84, 7 por cento pertenceu a uns grupos de idade mais novos (20-49 anos). A elevaçäo dos níveis do sérico de ALT foi observada em 44,1por cento e de AST em 37,3 por cento dos doadores anti-HCV positivos. Entre os dois doadores anti-HCV E RNA-HGV positivos, um apresentou o aumento dos enzimas hepáticas. os fatores epidemiológicos identificados podem näo estar envolvidos com a infecçäo por HGV, possivelmente por causa do pequeno tamanho da amostra

Efeito da vacina contra hepatite B em indivíduos com anticorpos contra o antígeno central da hepatite B (anti-HBc) como único mercador / Effect of the hepatitis B vaccine in indididuals with antibodies against the central antigen of hepatitis B virus as the sole marker

Indivíduos repetidamente positivos para o anticorpo contra o antígeno central da hepatite B (anti-HBc), mas nao reativos para o antígeno de superficie (HBsAg) assim como para o seu anticorpo (anti-HBs), podem ter seu teste falso-positivo, ser ainda portadores do VHB ou ter infecçao passada já resolvida. Doadores de sangue com esse padrao sorológico receberam vacina contra o vírus da hepatite B (VHB), com o intuito de estimular o surgimento de anti-HBs na circulaçäo. Dos 33 indivíduos incluidos no estudo, 13 (39por cento) positivaram o anti-HBs após uma dose de vacina. Dos 20 restantes, 15 (75por cento) aresentaram soroconversäo do anti-HBs após duas doses e um depois de tres doses. No total, 29 (88por cento) seroconverteram. Dos 33, 24 foram submetidos a pesquisa de DNA do VHB por tecnica de cadeia de polimerase. O exame foi negativo em todos. Os autores sugerem que estimular o surgimento de anti-HBs atraves de desafio de vacina contra o VHB pode ser uma maneira acessivel de tranquilizar os doadores de sangue com anti-HBc isolado que seroconverteram posteriormente, assegurando-lhes seu bom prognostico

Estudo da mutaçäo pré-core no nucleotídeo (NT) 1896 entre portadores da infecçäo crônica pelo vírus da hepatite B (HBV) / Study of the precore mutation at the nucleotide 1896 in carriers of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) cronic infection

Dados sobre a prevalência e o significado da mutaçao pré-core 1896 do vírus da hepatite B (HBV) em portadores crônicos deste vírus sao variáveis na literatura. Este trabalho teve como objetivos: 1) Determinar a prevalência desta mutaçao em portadores crônicos do HBV e comparar características bioquímicas, sorológicas, virológicas e histológicas entre portadores da infecçao pelas variantes selvagem e mutante. Foram incluídos portadores crônicos do HBV (HBsAg e anti-HBc positivos > 6m) e excluídos os que apresentassem: anti-HCV positivo, doença auto-imune, insuficiência renal crônica em diálise, uso de drogas imunossupressoras, antivirais ou potencialmente hepatotóxicas. Foram analisados os parâmetros idade, sexo, etnia, fator de risco para aquisiçao do HBV, níveis de alanino-aminotransferase (ALT), albumina (ALB) e atividade de protrombina (AP) séricos e, nos submetidos à biópsia hepática, avaliou-se estadiamento, atividade portal/periportal e lobular. Em todos pesquisou-se o HBV-DNA por PCR duplo e nos positivos realizou-se a pesquisa da mutaçao pré-core nt 1896, utilizando-se a enzima de restriçao BSU-361. As características dos pacientes com e sem mutaçao foram comparadas. Cento e sete pacientes foram estudados entre 01191 e 03199. A média da idade foi 37ñ12 anos, 83 (78 por cento) eram homens e 69 (64,5 por cento) HBeAg negativo. O HBV-DNA foi positivo em 79 (74 por cento). A mutaçao pré-core no nt. 1896 foi detectada em 20 pacientes o que correspondeu a 18,7 por cento do total de HBsAg positivo e a 25,3 por cento dos que apresentaram HBV-DNA. Esta mutaçao ocorreu em 19 (27,2 por cento) dos 69 pacientes que eram HBeAg negativo, o que correspondeu a 46,3 por cento dos que apresentaram a pesquisa do HBV-DNA positiva...