Therapeutic failure of benznidazole (BZ) is widely documented in Chagas disease and has been primarily as-

Benznidazole (BZ) is one of the two drugs used for Chagas disease treatment. Nevertheless therapeutic failures of BZ have been reported, which were mostly attributed to variable drug susceptibility among Trypanosoma cruzi strains. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are involved in a variety of translocation processes and some members have been implicated in drug resistance. Here we report the characterisation of the first T. cruzi ABCG transporter gene, named TcABCG1, which is over-expressed in parasite strains naturally resistant to BZ. Comparison of TcABCG1 gene sequence of two TcI BZ-resistant strains with CL Brener BZ-susceptible strain showed several single nucleotide polymorphisms, which determined 11 amino acid changes. CL Brener transfected with TcI transporter genes showed 40-47% increased resistance to BZ, whereas no statistical significant increment in drug resistance was observed when CL Brener was transfected with the homologous gene. Only in the parasites transfected with TcI genes there was 2-2.6-fold increased abundance of TcABCG1 transporter protein. The analysis in wild type strains also suggests that the level of TcABCG1 transporter is related to BZ natural resistance. The characteristics of untranslated regions of TcABCG1 genes of BZ-susceptible and resistant strains were investigated by computational tools.

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Terrorization (LIPT) and Negative Acts QuestionnaireRevised (NAQ-R), and psychological harassment at work was well concordant with the NAQ-R. Conclusions: The Japanese version of the IVAPT showed high internal consistency reliability. While the first factor explained a large proportion of the variance, the IVAPT seems to have a unique factor structure in the Japanese sample. Concurrent validity of the IVAPT was supported by the comparison with the other scales. Psychological harassment at work, also called as mobbing or workplace bullying, a form of psychological abuse that occurs in the workplace, remained invisible for a long time 1) . Since psychological harassment started to receive attention in 1980s, it became a major topic of research in the field of organizational psychology in the 1990s 2) . While there are various definitions of psychological harassment, they commonly have four elements: 1) there is a manifestation of psychologically aggressive behaviors; 2) they are presented repeatedly and long-lasting; 3) they are carried out deliberately or unconsciously but clearly cause damage to the victims; and 4) there is an imbalance of power between parties. Thus, the concept of psychological harassment in the present study is very similar to the one presented by Moreno-Jiméneg et al.3) who conceived "the psychological harassment as continuing attitudes and hostile behavior, directed in a systematic way by one or several individuals against The IVAPT was translated into Japanese, and the translation was amended through a small pretest and a back-translation and finalized. A total of 1,810 out of 4,072 civil servants completed a questionnaire including the IVAPT. Results: Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.97 for psychological violence and 0.94 for psychological harassment at work. An exploratory factor analysis showed that the first factor explained 64.5% of the total variance. Data did not well fit to previously reported one-or three-factor structures. Psychological violence and harassment at work were more frequent among older respondents. Intensity of psychological violence was well concordant with other scales of workplace bullying, i.e., Leymann Inventory of Psychological

Twenty young male Cebus apella monkeys were infected with CA1 Trypanosoma cruzi strain and reinfected with CA1 or Tulahuen T. cruzi strains, with different doses and parasite source. Subpatent parasitemia was usually demonstrated in acute and chronic phases. Patent parasitemia was evident in one monkey in the acute phase and in four of them in the chronic phase after re-inoculations with high doses of CA1 strain. Serological conversion was observed in all monkeys; titers were low, regardless of the methods used to investigate anti-T. cruzi specific antibodies. Higher titers were induced only when re-inoculations were performed with the virulent Tulahuén strain or high doses of CA1 strain. Clinical, electrocardiographic and ajmaline test evaluations did not reveal changes between infected and control monkeys. Histopathologically, cardiac lesions were always characterized by focal or multifocal mononuclear infiltrates and/or isolated fibrosis, as seen during the acute and chronic phases; neither amastigote nests nor active inflammation and fibrogenic processes characteristic of human acute and chronic myocarditis respectively, were observed. These morphological aspects more closely resemble those found in the "indeterminate phase" and contrast with the more diffuse and progressive pattern of the human chagasic chronic myocarditis. All monkeys survived and no mortality was observed.

Hoy es compartido por la mayoría de los especialistas que los problemas derivados del estrés laboral son una de las principales

Este artículo trata sobre la presencia de los factores psicosociales en el trabajo. El objetivo del estudio fue identificar la presencia e intensidad de la violencia psicológica, el acoso laboral, los factores sociodemográficos laborales como: género, edad, estado civil, tiempo de dedicación y nivel de formación; y, establecer la relación con los niveles de estrés en docentes universitarios del sector público en Ecuador. Se avaluó a 187 docentes principales

Resumen Introducción: La evaluación de los factores psicosociales negativos o factores de riesgo psicosocial es un proceso extenso, pero en la mayoría de los métodos se recurre a la aplicación de un instrumento o escala, de las que existe una gran diversidad; sin embargo, pocas están diseñadas y validadas para su aplicación en Latinoamérica. Objetivo. Validar un instrumento evaluación de factores psicosociales para su aplicación en trabajadores en Perú. Diseño. Análisis factorial exploratorio del Cuestionario de Factores Psicosociales en el Trabajo con una población de trabajadores peruanos. Participantes. Trabajadores de Lima, Arequipa y Trujillo. Métodos. La población se constituyó con 542 sujetos que laboran en la construcción, industria textil, servicios de educación, de salud, minería, pesca y agroindustria, entre otros. El análisis estadístico se basó en la determinación del coeficiente alfa de Cronbach, porcentaje de varianza explicado y los valores eigen de cada ítem de la escala. Principales medidas de resultados. Validación del instrumento. Resultados. El coeficiente α de Cronbach del cuestionario en general fue de 0,9, lo que indica una fiabilidad excelente y por encima de los resultados de otras escalas similares. De manera individual la mayoría de los 7 factores del cuestionario obtuvieron valores satisfactorios; los que presentaron alfa de Cronbach por debajo de 0,7 fueron 'Carga de trabajo' α = ,5, que calificaría como 'Inadecuada' y 'Contenido y características de la tarea' con α = ,6, calificando como 'Adecuada pero con déficits'. Conclusiones. Es posible utilizar el 'Cuestionario de Factores Psicosociales en el Trabajo' con fines de investigación y de evaluación en las empresas en Perú. Palabras clave. Cuestionario de Factores Psicosociales; Validación; Confiabilidad. Abstract Introduction. The evaluation of negative psychosocial factors or psychosocial risk factors is a lengthy process, but the majority of methods rely on the use of an instrument or scale, of which we find a wide diversity. However, few have been designed and validated to be applied in Latin America. Objective. To validate an instrument of evaluation of psychosocial factors for its application in workers in Peru. Design. Exploratory factorial analysis of the Questionnaire of Psychosocial Factors at Work with a population of Peruvian workers. Participants. Lima, Arequipa and Trujillo workers. The population consisted in 542 subjects working in construction, textile industry, education services, health, mining, fisheries and agro-industry among others. The statistical analysis was based on the determination of the Cronbach's alpha coefficient, percentage of variance explained and the eigenvalues of each item of the scale. Results. The Cronbach α coefficient of the questionnaire in general was 0.9, indicating excellent reliability, being above the results of other similar scales. Individually most of the 7 factors of the questionnaire obtained satisfactory values. Those that presented Cronbach's alpha below 0.7 were 'Workload' α ...