This research was conducted in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, with a sample of battered women selected from a government shelter called the "Casa Viva Maria". We analyzed data on 110 women staying at the shelter during the previous two years (January 1996-June 1998). The profile of the women was as follows: abused women were young (mean age 29 years), all had low socioeconomic status, 12% were illiterate, 21% were black, 80% reported frequent abuse by their partners, and 18% had returned to violent homes. The researchers visited 34 former lodgers from the shelter and invited them to participate in a series of evaluation workshops. A total of 118 persons, including mothers and children, attended three evaluation meetings. During this process, researchers encouraged participants to express opinions, perceptions, and feelings about their past experience in the shelter and their own concept of violence. Finally, a focal group was organized with the "Viva Maria" staff members. Female workers reported how their job had been helpful for their personal development and had helped change their own lives.

Genital mycoplasmas are natural inhabitants of the male urethra and are potentially pathogenic species playing an aetiological role in both genital infections and male infertility. This study aims to determine the presence of Mycoplasma genitalium DNA in urine samples of HIV-1-infected men in São Paulo city. Realtime polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using the primers My-ins and Mgso-2 and the Taqman probe Mgen-P1 as described previously. A total of 223 HIV-1-infected men were tested with a mean age of 44 years. Thirteen (5.8%) presented M. genitalium in urine and the co-infection was more common among homosexual men (76.9% versus 51.9%, P < 0.26). In conclusion, realtime PCR was a useful and rapid method for detecting M. genitalium DNA in urine samples. Further studies should be conducted to assess the clinical significance of these results on HIV transmission and its impact on HIV viral load.