Um dos estudos observacionais mais difundidos e usados em epidemiologia veterinária é o estudo do tipo transversal. Sua popularidade ocorre por fatores como baixo custo e rapidez comparados com outros tipos de estudos, além de ajudar a estimar a prevalência de uma doença (desfecho) e postular fatores associados com o desfecho, que poderão ser confirmados como fatores causais em outros tipos de estudos epidemiológicos. Porém, este tipo de estudo apresenta dois importantes desafios: a dependência dos dados, muito frequente dada a típica estrutura populacional de animais dentro do mesmo rebanho ou fazenda e a escolha da medida de associação para desfechos binários, tão frequentes neste modelo de estudo. Com o objetivo de contribuir com a compreensão global da epidemiologia do aborto bovino associado à Neospora caninum tendo em conta a estrutura populacional, construiu-se um modelo misto com os dados de um estudo transversal realizado em duas regiões do Rio Grande do Sul. Usaram-se dados de 60 propriedades amostradas em duas regiões (noroeste e sudeste) e 1256 bovinos. A percentagem de aborto dentro de cada rebanho variou entre 1% e 30%. Vacas soropositivas tiveram 6,63 vezes mais chances de ter histórico de aborto (IC 95%: 4,41-13,20). As chances de uma vaca ter histórico de aborto foram 5,18 vezes maiores na região noroeste em relação à região sudeste (IC 95%: 1,83-20,80). Um coeficiente de correlação intraclasse de 16% foi estimado, indicando que 16% da variação da ocorrência de abortamentos não explicados pelos efeitos fixos foram devido as fazendas. Já na segunda parte deste trabalho, uma revisão sistemática foi realizada considerando um conjunto diverso de revistas e jornais com o objetivo de verificar os métodos estatísticos usados e a adequação das interpretações das medidas de associação estimadas em estudos transversais na área de medicina veterinária. Um total de 62 artigos foi avaliado. A revisão mostrou que, independentemente do nível de prevalência relatado no artigo, 96% deles empregou regressão logística e, portanto, estimaram razão de chances (RC). Nos artigos com prevalência superior a 10%, 23 deles fizeram uma interpretação adequada da RC como uma “razão de chances” ou simplesmente não fizeram uma interpretação direta da RC, enquanto 23 artigos interpretaram de forma inadequada a RC, considerando-a como risco ou probabilidade. Entre os artigos com prevalência inferior a 10%, apenas três interpretaram a RC como uma “razão de chances”, cinco interpretaram como risco ou probabilidade e em um, apesar de ter estimado a razão de prevalências (RP), foi interpretado de forma inadequada. Paralelamente, com o objetivo de exemplificar o uso de métodos estatísticos que estimam diretamente a razão de prevalências (RP), medida mais adequada para os estudos transversais, um conjunto de dados obtidos a partir de um estudo transversal sobre a ocorrência de anticorpos (AC) contra o vírus da diarreia viral bovina (BVDV) foi usado. Os AC foram medidos em amostras de tanque de leite de rebanhos leiteiros localizados no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, em que os possíveis fatores associados puderam ser avaliados. Entre os métodos utilizados, as maiores discrepâncias nas medidas de associação estimadas foram observadas com a regressão logística tomando-se como referência a regressão log-binomial. Finalmente, é importante que este tipo de desafio seja atendido pelos pesquisadores que realizam estudos transversais, ou seja, considerar a estrutura das populações nas análises, cuidado ao escolher o tipo de modelo estatístico empregado para desfecho binário e interpretação dos estimadores. / The commonest study design used in veterinary epidemiology is the cross-sectional study. Its popularity lies on the fact of the short time needed and low costs compared with other types of studies; moreover, this type of study estimates prevalence and associated factors, which may be elucidated as causal in another type of epidemiological studies. However, this type of study presents two major challenges: a very common dependence between data given the typical structure of the animal population, i.e., animals within herds or farms and the choice of measure of association for binary outcomes, frequently used in this type of study. In order to contribute to the understanding of the epidemiology of bovine abortion associated with Neospora caninum, a mixed model accounting for the hierarchical structure of cattle population using data from a cross-sectional study conducted in two regions (northwest and southeast) of Rio Grande do Sul was made. Data from 60 dairy herds and 1256 sampled cattle were used. The percentage of abortions in each herd ranged between 1% and 30%. Seropositive cows were 6.63 times more likely to have a history of abortion (95% CI: 4.41 to 13.20). The chances of a cow have a history of abortion were 5.18 times higher in the northwest comparing with the southeast region (95% CI: 1.83 to 20.80). An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 16% was estimated which means that 16% of the variation in abortion occurrence not explained by the fixed effects is due to farms. In the second part of this work, a systematic review was conducted considering a range of journals and newspapers in order to verify the statistical methods used and the adequacy of the interpretations of the measures of association estimated in cross-sectional studies from the veterinary medicine field. A total of 62 articles were revised. The review showed that, regardless of the reported prevalence, 96% of them employed logistic regression, therefore estimating odds ratio (OR). From the articles that reported prevalence rates above 10%, 23 of them did a proper interpretation of OR as an odds ratio, or simply did not make a direct interpretation of the OR, while 23 articles interpreted improperly the OR as a risk or probability. Among the articles that reported prevalence rates lower than 10%, only three interpreted the OR as an odds ratio, five interpreted as a risk or probability and only one, despite the estimated prevalence ratio (PR), it was improperly interpreted. Meanwhile, in order to exemplify the use of statistical methods to estimate directly the PR, the more appropriate measure of association in cross-sectional studies, a data set obtained from a cross-sectional study to estimate the occurrence of antibodies (AB) against bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in milk was used; AB were measured in bulk tank samples from dairy herds located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and also possible associated factors were estimated. Among the methods used, major discrepancies in the measures of association estimated were observed with the logistic regression, comparing with the log-binomial regression. Finally, it is important that such challenges are met by the researchers that undertake cross-sectional studies.

The main goal of the theoretical part of submitted theses is to describe the field of specialized treatment of imprisoned drug users. The author's emphasis is to put the specialized treatment to a broader frame of the Risk-needs theory as well as to the frame of physical diseases and mental disorders that are often associated with addiction or drug abuse. Different kinds of specialized interventions that are usually used for treatment of imprisoned drug users in different countries are described. There is although demonstrated in which way these interventions are implemented in Czech prison system. By these interventions are especially meant treatment on the entry at the prison, detoxification, counselling and other programs and interventions with low intensity. Especial emphasis is put on residential prison programmes such as prison therapeutic communities for drug users and on opioid substitution treatment. A great number of pages are dedicated to the research of effectivity of treatment programmes. In the practical part of submitted theses results of cross-sectional study that was implemented in all Czech prisons in three waves in 2010, 2012 and 2014 are presented. Representative samples of Czech prisoners were chosen for the purpose of this cross-sectional study. These prisoners were asked to...

Smoking and tobacco industry is one of the most regulated area in majority of world's countries. It's because of government's effort to reduce the smoking prevalence and to protect the public health. But each individual is responsible for his own health, not the state. One of the most frequent measure taken in the fight against smoking is Tobacco advertising ban. However proportion of smokers in population hasn't decreased when the law came into force in Czech republic. It emerges from a variety of surveys that there's not a signifiicant relation between an advertising and consumption of tobacco products. Another measure is the health warnings on tobacco products, which doesn't influence the quantity of smokers at all. Entire smoking ban in privately owned public places harms the proprietary rights. An increasing of excise duty leads to increase in price of cigarettes and thus motivates consumers to go over to cheap cigarettes or smoking tobacco. At the same time the black market grows. The only impact of regulation is relative decrease of tax revenues as well as products' quality, and the rise in the criminality connected with the tax evasion and the cigarettes' black market.

This diploma thesis is based on a study of seven year old children Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) processed by Institute of Endocrinology sponsored by WHO Europe and MZ ČR and on a study of adolescents Childhood Obesity Prevalence And Treatment (COPAT) organized by Institute of Endocrinology sponsored by Norway grants and MŠMT ČR. These studies were focused on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents and on factors possibly related to origin of overweight and obesity. Obesity is a severe chronical multifactorial disease that significantly affects health conditions and development of children. Obesity, as a risk factor, is involved in origin of cardiometabolic problems (II. type diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia), cancer, musculosceletal problems and reproductive system disorders (infertility, hypogonadism, polycystic ovary syndrome, disorders of sexual development in children). Preventive programs, focused on childhood obesity, are important part of health care. These programs are based on results of factors involved in the origin of obesity. The aim of this thesis is determine and compare the prevalence of overweight and obesity in seven year old children and adolescents by classification of Czech republic, WHO...

iv Abstract This thesis uncovers the long-term development of overweight and obesity prevalence in the Czech Republic and finds the associations with relevant lifestyle risk factors and determinants of health. Periodically collected interview and examination survey data from 1993 to 2019 are standardised and used to perform a pooled analysis to inspect trends within the cross-sectional units. The binomial logistic regression is used to estimate changes in the odds of being overweight given a set of socio-economic and lifestyle-related predictors, and to inspect time trends in their magnitude and significance. Adjustment to historical data is calculated to account for methodological changes in BMI classification scheme to ensure comparability of survey outcomes. In addition, the response bias in self-reported anthropometric measurements is confirmed and quantified. Finally, the most recent data (2019) for obesity rates are updated accordingly to reflect this finding. The true prevalence of overweight in the Czech adult population is calculated to 75.8% for men and 58.8% for women, which is higher than interview survey results by 7.7 and 9.6 percentage points respectively. These adjusted results may be utilised by users of survey outcomes to build their analyses on validated data, together with other...

Diploma thesis "Lifestyle as a determinant of overweight and obesity" focuses on risk factors determination which influences overweight and obesity in population in regards to failure of programmes dealing with this topic. Main goal of this thesis is to understand current lifestyle of chosen group of people because traditional understanding for reasons of overweight and obesity - higher energy income than outcome - seems to be insufficient. Further target is current Czech policy analysis, especially part of policy dealing with overweight and obesity prevention and its connection with European Union. In the first part of the thesis reader takes up with overweight and obesity as itself. This is followed by targets and research questions definition. Primary method is qualitative research. There is no generally accepted definition for this kind of research and therefore this method is briefly described here. Method used for policy analysis is content analysis. For this part i used domestic public policy documents as well as abroad ones. The next chapter is devoted to the theoretical recurrences and conceptualization of basic terms which are basement for this work. The chapter focused on development of obesity prevention policy briefly introduces into policy creation from its origins as a protection of...

This dissertation is focused on currently one of the most burning social problem - childhood obesity in Czech Republic. We have tried to find out a childhood prevalence obesity, its causes, social risks and expected dangers and we evaluated possible solutions for the prevention of obesity. A research problem of the thesis is the growing prevalence of childhood obesity in the Czech Republic in the context of developing its ineffectively controlled determinant. Our research targets on children, more precisely said on pupils of four primary schools (in the Bílina city). Among the objectives of the thesis belongs a pupil categorization according to BMI (body mass index). A principal goal is an evaluation of level of support for children to a healthy lifestyle by primary schools. Data have been collected from the children themselves, as well as from the school management and the respective school founder (city or region). The results of the research point out that a prevalence of childhood obesity (for a sample of the pupils of bílina's primary schools) corresponds to the current development and proportional representation of overweight and obesity in our country. The case studies which are output as research section aimed at encouraging children to a healthy lifestyle from the school and the research...

Parasites with exclusive vertical transmission from host parent to offspring are an evolutionary puzzle. Any fitness costs for infected hosts risk the selective elimination of these parasites because their fitness is linked to host reproduction. One of the main evolutionary transitions from parasitism towards beneficial or mutualistic associations may therefore encompass a change from horizontal transmission to vertical transmission. In this thesis, the experimental evolution study on Paramecium and Holospora supports this hypothesis. The parasite nearly entirely lost horizontal transmission capacity in a treatment favouring vertical transmission and low virulence. However, many vertically transmitted parasites e.g. Caedibacter taeniospiralis impose detectable costs to their hosts. This endosymbiont imposes context-dependent costs to its host Paramecium tetraurelia. Fitness of infected paramecia was reduced in resource-limited conditions at all experimentally tested temperatures (16-32°C). These universal fitness costs along the temperature gradient necessitate universal cost compensation that can be the ‘killer trait’ that eliminates uninfected competitors. At acute heat stress the loss of infection indicates that cost compensation is impossible, thereby restricting conditions for parasite persistence. Surprisingly, the parasite persists in permanent stress and optimal temperature conditions. Caedibacter was able to adapt to high temperature conditions by increasing its number in the populations but without reducing virulence in high temperature conditions. Acute and intense stress harms the parasite and causes its extinction but the parasite was able to evolve and adapt to stress conditions. Moreover, the parasite reacts exactly in the opposite direction as it was expected. They do not suffer from stressful conditions, they benefit.

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / Aim: A paucity of information on chiropractic patients presenting in public community clinics in South Africa (SA) exists. The purpose of this study was to carry out a demographic and disease survey of the patients that presented to the Marburg Haven Clinic, so to identify the patients that presented in a rural community outreach programme. Methods: A retrospective analysis on the patient files at Marburg Haven Clinic was completed in September 2012. Data recorded included demographic data, presenting complaints, patient history and management protocols. Results: Data of 117 patients were documented. Most patients were female (76.1%), with a mean age of 53.3 years. Indian patients (50.4%) presented most often, with a quarter of the patients unemployed (26.5%) or pensioners (21.4%). Of the employed patients, 26.5% had not specified the type of occupation and 9.4% were non-manual workers. Musculoskeletal complaints (21.2%) were the most common complaints at the Marburg Haven Clinic, with the primary diagnosis of sacroiliac syndrome (16.2%), followed by general myofascitis (22.4%). Common co-morbidities reported were hypertension, diabetes and asthma. Less than half the patient population had undergone previous surgeries and/or sought previous treatment from other medical practitioners. Sixteen patients were contra-indicated for manipulation. Common treatment protocols used were spinal manipulation, spinal mobilisation and stretching. Conclusion: This is a demographic and descriptive study of a public community outreach centre in South Africa. In relation to international studies, similarities were that the majority of the patients were female, anatomical sites of complaint (lumbar and cervical pain), common usage of radiographs, co-morbidities including cardiovascular and endocrine pathologies and manipulation were used as the treatment of choice. A prospective longitudinal study with more specific criteria for patient tracking and more defined data capture requirements is recommended to more accurately gather all data within similar settings.

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / Objectives: To determine the prevalence and risk factors of amateur outdoor and indoor volleyball players in a KwaZulu-Natal North Coast region. Methods: The location of the study was the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast region, which includes two of its districts, viz, Tongaat (Indoor) and Kwa Dukuza (Outdoor). A total of 115 out of a possible 160 volleyball players participated in this study which comprised of 68 outdoor and 47 indoor players. The answering of the questionnaires was done on separate days for both the districts. On the allocated days, they were given a letter of information (Appendix B) to read and the questionnaires (Appendix C) to answer. Participation in the study was voluntary and consent was given by filling in the questionnaire. The researcher was present on this day to supervise and to collect the completed questionnaires immediately after the session was completed. Results: Out of a total of 115 participants, 79 (68.7%) of the participants sustained an injury due to volleyball. According to results found in this study, the knee, ankle and shoulder were the most frequently injured sites. 79 Participants reported to have sustained an injury, 67 participants reported to have a present injury and 60 participants reported a worst injury. The knee was found to be the most injured site in both the outdoor and indoor participants, followed by the ankle. The results in this study show that the use of protective gear can help minimise injury rates. 6 Conclusion: The prevalence and risk factors of amateur outdoor and indoor volleyball players in a KwaZulu-Natal North Coast region has been discussed in this study. With regards of number of injuries, the results have shown that there is no significant difference between outdoor and indoor volleyball players. In terms of the site of injuries, the lower limb was affected the most in comparison to the rest of the body. Results in this study have shown that outdoor players sustained more knee injuries whilst indoor players showed a high number of ankle injuries.