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► HDV infection was found outside of Amazon region in Brazil. ► African genotype (HDV-8) was found in infected cases. ► Probably HDV-8 was introduced in Brazil from Africa during ...slave trade. ► Clinical and epidemiological studies are need to clarify the presence of HDV in other areas in Brazil.
Hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) is endemic worldwide, but its prevalence varies in different geographical areas. While in the Brazilian Amazon, HDV is known to be endemic and to represent a significant public health problem, few studies have assessed its prevalence in other regions in the country. This study evaluated the seroprevalence of HDV among HBsAg chronic carriers from Maranhão state, a region located in the Northeast of Brazil. Among 133 patients, 5 had anti-HD, of whom 3 had HDV RNA. HDV genotypes were characterized by Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequences from the HDAg coding region. HDV-3 was identified in one patient who lives in Maranhão, but was born in Amazonas state (Western Amazon basin). Phylogenetic analysis shows that this HDV-3 sequence grouped with other HDV-3 sequences isolated in this state, which suggests that the patient probably contracted HDV infection there. Surprisingly, the other two patients were infected with HDV-8, an African genotype. These patients were born and have always lived in Urbano Santos, a rural county of Maranhão state, moreover they had never been to Africa and denied any contact with people from that continent. This is the first description of the HDV-8 in non-native African populations. This genotype may have been introduced to Brazil through the slaves brought to the country from the West Africa regions during the 16–18th centuries. Our results indicate that the need of clinical and epidemiological studies to investigate the presence of this infection in other areas in Brazil.
Coupled vehicle–skin models for drug release Barbeiro, S.; Ferreira, J.A.
Computer methods in applied mechanics and engineering,
05/2009, Letnik:
198, Številka:
27
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Percutaneous absorption of a drug delivered by a vehicle source is usually modeled by using diffusion Fick’s law. In this case, the model consists in a system of partial differential equations of ...diffusion type with a compatibility condition on the transition boundary between the vehicle and the skin. Using this model, the fractional drug release in both components – vehicle and skin – is proportional to the square root of the release time. Often experimental results show that the predicted drug concentration distribution in the vehicle and in the skin by the Fick’s model does not agree with experimental data. In this paper, we present a non-Fickian mathematical model for the introduced percutaneous absorption problem. In this new model, the Fick’s law for the flux is modified by introducing a non-Fickian contribution defined with a relaxation parameter related to the properties of the components. Combining the flux equation with the mass conservation law, a system of integro-differential equations is established with a compatibility condition on the boundary between the two components of the physical model. The stability analysis is presented. In order to simulate the mathematical model, its discrete version is introduced. The stability and convergence properties of the discrete system are studied. Numerical experiments are also included.
BRAZILDAM: A BENCHMARK DATASET FOR TAILINGS DAM DETECTION Ferreira, E.; Brito, M.; Balaniuk, R. ...
International archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences.,
11/2020, Letnik:
XLII-3/W12-2020
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In this work we present BrazilDAM, a novel public dataset based on Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 satellite images covering all tailings dams cataloged by the Brazilian National Mining Agency (ANM). The ...dataset was built using georeferenced images from 769 dams, recorded between 2016 and 2019. The time series were processed in order to produce cloud free images. The dams contain mining waste from different ore categories and have highly varying shapes, areas and volumes, making BrazilDAM particularly interesting and challenging to be used in machine learning benchmarks. The original catalog contains, besides the dam coordinates, information about: the main ore, constructive method, risk category, and associated potential damage. To evaluate BrazilDAM’s predictive potential we performed classification essays using state-of-the-art deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNNs). In the experiments, we achieved an average classification accuracy of 94.11% in tailing dam binary classification task. In addition, others four setups of experiments were made using the complementary information from the original catalog, exhaustively exploiting the capacity of the proposed dataset.
Abstract
Introduction
IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a relapsing-remitting immune-mediated condition that affects multiple organ systems. Case reports of suspected cardiovascular involvement in ...IgG4-RD have emerged though no study has systematically assessed the cardiovascular phenotype of IgG4-RD using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging.
Purpose
We systematically assessed patients with IgG4-RD using CMR to identify the cardiovascular manifestations, and compared them to controls.
Methods
We recruited 11 patients with histologically-confirmed IgG4-RD (6 female, 61±11 years, 9 with active disease (8 with pancreatic involvement, 3 parotid, 5 bile ducts, 5 kidneys and 3 cardiovascular)). Patients underwent CMR at 1.5T including cine, myocardial tagging, native T1-mapping, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), extracellular volume (ECV) and quantitative stress perfusion mapping. Results were compared to 10 healthy controls with no cardiac disease (50% female, 35±8 years). Results are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD) unless otherwise stated.
Results
Patients with IgG4-RD had similar cardiac geometry to the reference group (Table 1), with similar biventricular and bi-atrial volumes. However, despite similar biventricular ejection fractions compared to controls (patient LVEF: 55-67%, RVEF: 51-65%), IgG4-RD patients showed significantly reduced global longitudinal strain (GLS) (-16.8 ± 2.3% vs -18.7 ± 1.6%, p=0.045). Furthermore, 64% (7/11) of IgG4-RD patients showed LGE, 6 of whom showed non-ischaemic patterns (Figure 1). Male IgG4-RD patients (n=5) as a group showed a significantly higher average myocardial T1 value relative to the reference group, with 3/5 male patients having an abnormally high myocardial T1 (above the 2SD limit of normal). Female IgG4-RD patients (n=6) had similar and normal myocardial T1 values to the reference group. ECV did not significantly differ between the two groups. IgG4-RD patients showed a significantly reduced global myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR), including two patients with a qualitative inducible perfusion defect. Only 3 out of the 11 IgG4-RD patients had a completely normal CMR.
Conclusion
Patients with IgG4-RD show frequent cardiac abnormalities as revealed by advanced CMR phenotyping. These include subclinical systolic dysfunction, ischaemic and non-ischaemic myocardial fibrosis, reduced myocardial perfusion reserve, and elevated myocardial T1 times. These abnormalities have been described in inflammatory cardiovascular diseases, supporting a plausible pathophysiological link with IgG4-RD. Future work in larger and multicentre cohorts is warranted, to systematically define the novel cardiovascular phenotype of IgG4-RD.Table 1Figure 1
The antioxidant properties of almond green husks (Cvs. Duro Italiano, Ferraduel, Ferranhês, Ferrastar and Orelha de Mula), chestnut skins and chestnut leaves (Cvs. Aveleira, Boa Ventura, Judia and ...Longal) were evaluated through several chemical and biochemical assays in order to provide a novel strategy to stimulate the application of waste products as new suppliers of useful bioactive compounds, namely antioxidants. All the assayed by-products revealed good antioxidant properties, with very low EC₅₀ values (lower than 380 μg/mL), particularly for lipid peroxidation inhibition (lower than 140 μg/mL). The total phenols and flavonoids contents were also determined. The correlation between these bioactive compounds and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, reducing power, inhibition of β-carotene bleaching and inhibition of lipid peroxidation in pig brain tissue through formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, was also obtained. Although, all the assayed by-products proved to have a high potential of application in new antioxidants formulations, chestnut skins and leaves demonstrated better results.
Abstract
Objective
The authors sought to describe the protocol of a randomized controlled trial that will investigate the effects of the TEXT4myBACK self-management text message intervention compared ...with control in people with low back pain (LBP).
Methods
A single-blind (assessor and statistician), randomized controlled trial with economic analysis and process evaluation will be conducted. A total of 304 people with non-specific LBP of less than 12 weeks will be enrolled and randomly allocated either to TEXT4myBACK intervention or control groups. The TEXT4myBACK intervention group will receive 4 semi-personalized text messages per week providing advice, motivation, and information about LBP, physical activity, sleep, mood, use of care, and medication during 12 weeks. The control group will receive 1 text message with a link to a LBP and diet online information package. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months. The primary outcome will be function assessed with the Patient-Specific Functional Scale. Secondary outcomes will include pain intensity, physical activity participation, sedentary behavior, global impression of change, health-related quality of life, and eHealth literacy. Data on demographic characteristics, smallest worthwhile change (ie, smallest function scored needed to be achieved at the end of the intervention to consider it to be worthwhile), health care utilization, and adverse events (ie, any new health issue that occurs during participation in the study) will be collected. An economic and process evaluation will also be conducted.
Impact
This study will assess if a self-management text message intervention is effective and cost-effective in improving function of people with LBP. This study can inform clinical practice of a simple, scalable, and affordable intervention for managing LBP.
The organic acids present in beer provide important information on the product's quality and history, determining organoleptic properties and being useful indicators of fermentation performance. NMR ...spectroscopy may be used for rapid quantification of organic acids in beer and different NMR-based methodologies are hereby compared for the six main acids found in beer (acetic, citric, lactic, malic, pyruvic and succinic). The use of partial least squares (PLS) regression enables faster quantification, compared to traditional integration methods, and the performance of PLS models built using different reference methods (capillary electrophoresis (CE), both with direct and indirect UV detection, and enzymatic essays) was investigated. The best multivariate models were obtained using CE/indirect detection and enzymatic essays as reference and their response was compared with NMR integration, either using an internal reference or an electrical reference signal (Electronic REference To access In vivo Concentrations, ERETIC). NMR integration results generally agree with those obtained by PLS, with some overestimation for malic and pyruvic acids, probably due to peak overlap and subsequent integral errors, and an apparent relative underestimation for citric acid. Overall, these results make the PLS-NMR method an interesting choice for organic acid quantification in beer.
Armadillos are specialist diggers and their burrows are used to find food, seek shelter and protect their pups. These burrows can also be shared with dozens of vertebrate and invertebrate species ...and; consequently, their parasites including the zoonotics. The aim of this study was to diagnose the presence of zoonotic parasites in four wild‐caught armadillo species from two different Brazilian ecosystems, the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) and the Pantanal (wetland). The investigated parasites and their correspondent diseases were: Toxoplasma gondii (toxoplasmosis), Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas disease), Leishmania spp., (leishmaniasis), Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Paracoccidioidomicosis) and Mycobacterium leprae (Hansen's disease). Forty‐three free‐living armadillos from Pantanal and seven road‐killed armadillos from the Cerrado were sampled. Trypanosoma cruzi DTU TcIII were isolated from 2 out of 43 (4.65%) armadillos, including one of them also infected with Trypanosoma rangeli. Antibodies anti‐T. gondii were detected in 13 out of 43 (30.2%) armadillos. All seven armadillos from Cerrado tested positive for P. brasiliensis DNA, in the lungs, spleen, liver fragments. Also, by molecular analysis, all 43 individuals were negative for M. leprae and Leishmania spp. Armadillos were infected by T. cruzi, T. rangeli, P. brasiliensis and presented seric antibodies to T. gondii, highlighting the importance of those armadillos could have in the epidemiology of zoonotic parasites.
Composites materials and structures are increasingly used to replace conventional materials in civilian and defence-related maritime transportation and infrastructure such as naval vessels, ...submarines, civilian ships, and oil platforms for its better performance-to-weight ratio and electro-magnetic signature control. However, when subjected to under water explosions (UNDEX), navel composite structures experience highly nonlinear deformations and damages. Such transient deformation phenomena of composites and associated multiscale damages have been a subject of research for many years. This review aims to provide historical and methodological overviews of significant research and contributions in this area over the last 20 years from experimental programs, modelling approaches, post-mortem analysis techniques, analytical approximation and recently emerging area of data-led predictive simulations. UNDEX event is often described by a series of events including (a) the formation of the arriving shock wave, (b) the attenuation of the initial shock wave, (c) development of cavitation due to the reflected tension wave from free surface or the structural obstacles, (d) fluid-structure interaction-induced deformation and associated (e) cavitation coalescence and collapse. Such interconnected dynamic events and their influences on the behaviours of composite structures are subjected to extensive research and therefore summarised in this review work to highlight state-of-the-art field and laboratory-scaled experimental programs including investigations on low temperature and cavitation’s influences. Furthermore, the ongoing increase in the computing power and the development of advanced numerical methods have made it possible for multiscale and multi-physics simulations capturing the complex fluid dynamics associated with UNDEX. Over ten different modelling approaches, hydrocodes and their hybrid combination are summarised and discussed for potential applications. Review on current computational approaches also reveals the shortcomings of predictive modelling due to unavoidable simplifications, empirical assumptions on limited experimental data. Therefore, this work also provides a brief discussion on how data-led modelling approach such as artificial neural networks or deep learning, which is based largely on experimental data, could provide powerful assistance to analytical and deterministic numerical analysis.
•Seroprevalence estimates were made for Trichinella spp. and T. gondii in feral swine during a cross-sectional survey.•Serum samples were collected and tested from 3247 feral pigs from 2006 to 2010 ...and 984 feral pigs in 2012–2013.•Seroprevalence to Trichinella spp. and T.gondii was 3.0% and 17.7% in 2006–10, and 2.9% and 28.4% in 2012–13, respectively.•Pig tongues (n=330) were analyzed for Trichinella muscle larvae (ML); 1.81% were positive for T. spiralis ML.•Contact between feral and non-biosecure domestic pigs has the potential to introduce these pathogens into domestic herds.
Trichinella spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are important zoonotic parasites that infect warm blooded animals and humans worldwide. Among domesticated food animals, pigs are the main host for Trichinella spiralis. Pigs, chickens, sheep, and goats are known to be infected with T. gondii at varying rates, depending on husbandry. Infections in wildlife with these parasites are generally higher than in domesticated species. Feral swine act as reservoirs of infection in the sylvatic ecosystem for Trichinella spp. and T. gondii, acting as sources of infection for peridomestic carnivores whose home ranges overlap with domestic pigs. Feral swine can have direct contact with non-biosecure domestic pigs, presenting opportunity for direct disease transmission through cannibalistic behavior. Determination of the prevalence of Trichinella spp. and T. gondii infection in feral swine is needed to understand the risk of transmission of these parasites to domestic pigs. A cross-sectional serological survey was conducted between 2006 and 2010 to estimate the antibody prevalence of Trichinella spp. and T. gondii and risk factors associated with infection in feral swine in the USA. Serum samples were tested from 3247 feral pigs from 32 states; results are reported from 26 states. Maximum entropy ecological niche modeling and spatial scan statistic were utilized to predict the geographic range and to examine clusters of infection of Trichinella spp. and T. gondii in feral pigs. The seroprevalence of antibodies to Trichinella spp. and T. gondii was 3.0% and 17.7%, respectively. Species distribution modeling indicated that the most probable distribution areas for both parasites was similar, concentrated primarily in the South and the Midwest regions of the USA. A follow up survey conducted during 2012–2013 revealed that 2.9% of 984 sampled feral swine were seropositive for Trichinella spp., and 28.4% were seropositive for T. gondii. Three hundred and thirty (330) tongues were collected from the 984 sampled animals during 2012–2013; 1.81% were tissue positive for T. spiralis muscle larvae; no other genotypes were found. The potential exists for introduction of these pathogens into domestic herds of non-biosecure domestic pigs as a result of increasing overlap of the range of feral pigs with non-biosecure domestic pigs production facilities in the USA.
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