Introduction The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of GBS colonization in pregnant women in a public health service.Methods A study of 496 pregnant women at 35-37 gestational weeks was conducted from September 2011 to March 2014 in 21 municipalities of the 18th Health Region of Paraná State. Vaginal and anorectal samples of each woman were plated on sheep blood agar, and in HPTH and Todd-Hewitt enrichment broths.Results Of the 496 pregnant women, 141 (28.4%) were positive for GBS based on the combination of the three culture media with vaginal and anorectal samples. The prevalence was 23.7% for vaginal samples and 21.9% for anorectal ones. Among the variables analyzed in this study, only urinary infection was a significant factor (0.026) associated with GBS colonization in women.Conclusions Based on these results, health units should performs universal screening of pregnant women and hospitals should provide adequate prophylaxis, when indicated.

The evaluation soil quality after bioremediation processes solely on chemical data does not include the effects of toxic substances in organisms. Thus, ecotoxicological assays with seeds are applied to assess the effect of toxic substances in organisms according to their germination sensitivity. The objective of this study was to evaluate a contaminated soil with diesel, biodiesel and waste lubricat oil in ecotoxicological bioassays using seeds of Cucumis sativus (cucumber), Brassica oleracea (kale) and Barbarea verna (cress) as test organisms. The sample of contaminated soil was buried to allow contact with microorganisms that are naturally present in the soil and can be capable to biodegrade the contaminant. Each soil sample was removed monthly and the potential toxicity of contaminants was evaluated by examining germination rates according to biodegradation time in soil. The results indicate that the species Barbarea verna is not a good test organism due to its low germination rate. The study suggest that the contact of waste lubricant oil and diesel with the embryo was hampered by the seed coats and the hydrophobicity these substances, preventing the entry of substances which may be toxic to the embryo. Also, Cucumis sativus and Brassica oleracea showed that after two months of biodegradation, biodiesel is the most toxic contaminant during seed development.

SUMMARY This study reports the fauna and frequency of sandflies in domestic animal shelters, residences and other ecotopes in rural areas of the municipality of Bandeirantes, Paraná State. Sandflies were collected twice in eight rural villages by using Falcon traps from 8pm to 6am in 2008. In these localities 4,790 sandflies were collected, which were represented by ten sandfly species, prevailing of Nyssomyia neivai and Nyssomyia whitmani species. It was observed that animal shelters are the domestic ecotopes where there is the greatest frequency of these insects. The localities where the collections were made had the environmental characteristics that allow the persistence of transmission of parasites from the American tegumentary leishmaniasis. Although the fauna and the behavior of sandflies species are similar in different localities, the method of controlling these insects should be adjusted to the environmental characteristics of each one of the most diverse endemic areas of American tegumentary leishmaniasis in the municipalities of Paraná State.

The dispersal of and the existence of memory in sand flies were measured in a transmission area of cutaneous leishmaniasis, in the municipality of Bandeirantes, Paraná, Brazil. Sand flies were caught in a rural area, with Shannon trap installed in the forest and three Falcão traps installed in a human-inhabited environment (HIE) and three others in an impacted environment presently uninhabited by humans (EUH), from 1800 to 0600 hours. The captured sand flies were marked with yellow, blue, or red fluorescent powder, according to the environments where they were captured. All marked sand flies were released at 0700 hours at a point between the three environments. The recaptures were made with 28 Falcão traps, distributed in the environments from for 10 consecutive days. The sand flies recaptured were examined under a stereomicroscope and later identified. It was concluded that sand flies are able to disperse over an average distance of 73 m, reaching 130 m in 24 h, showing that: 1) the sand flies were attracted with different intensities to each environment, and the ability to move among different environments allows the existence of enzootic cycle of Leishmania; 2) the sand flies possess a spatial memory, olfactory memory, or both, that enable them to return to the environment where they were captured initially, although the distances were different.

Objetivo: verificar sintomas depressivos em gestantes adolescentes em unidade básica de saúde. Métodos: Cinquenta e cinco adolescentes grávidas foram entrevistadas na unidade de saúde. Para a coleta de dados, foram utilizados dois instrumentos: um para dados sociais, demográficos, obstétricos, relações familiares e eventos de violência, e outro para avaliar os sintomas depressivos - Inventário de Depressão de Beck. Resultados: 10,9% das entrevistadas tinham história prévia de depressão ou ansiedade e 3,6% apresentavam um desses problemas no momento da entrevista. 63,6% das adolescentes relataram ter sofrido algum evento estressante no último ano. 49,1% das adolescentes grávidas apresentam sintomas depressivos variando entre leve, moderado e grave. Conclusões: é essencial identificar os primeiros sintomas depressivos em gestantes, para que elas sejam encaminhadas ao serviço especializado, ou detectar a presença de uma equipe de saúde mental em um centro de saúde, para prestar um tratamento adequado e um cuidado de qualidade e humanizado.