The objective of this study was to analyse the dynamics of spatial dispersion of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Brazil by correlating them to socioeconomic indicators. This is an ...ecological study of COVID-19 cases and deaths between 26 February and 31 July 2020. All Brazilian counties were used as units of analysis. The incidence, mortality, Bayesian incidence and mortality rates, global and local Moran indices were calculated. A geographic weighted regression analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between incidence and mortality due to COVID-19 and socioeconomic indicators (independent variables). There were confirmed 2 662 485 cases of COVID-19 reported in Brazil from February to July 2020 with higher rates of incidence in the north and northeast. The Moran global index of incidence rate (0.50, P = 0.01) and mortality (0.45 with P = 0.01) indicate a positive spatial autocorrelation with high standards in the north, northeast and in the largest urban centres between cities in the southeast region. In the same period, there were 92 475 deaths from COVID-19, with higher mortality rates in the northern states of Brazil, mainly Amazonas, Pará and Amapá. The results show that there is a geospatial correlation of COVID-19 in large urban centres and regions with the lowest human development index in the country. In the geographic weighted regression, it was possible to identify that the percentage of people living in residences with density higher than 2 per dormitory, the municipality human development index (MHDI) and the social vulnerability index were the indicators that most contributed to explaining incidence, social development index and the municipality human development index contributed the most to the mortality model. We hope that the findings will contribute to reorienting public health responses to combat COVID-19 in Brazil, the new epicentre of the disease in South America, as well as in other countries that have similar epidemiological and health characteristics to those in Brazil.
Unnatural amino acids with enhanced properties, such as increased complexing ability and luminescence, are considered to be highly attractive building blocks for bioinspired frameworks, such as ...probes for biomolecule dynamics, sensitive fluorescent chemosensors, and peptides for molecular imaging, among others. Therefore, a novel series of highly emissive heterocyclic alanines bearing a benzo
oxazolyl unit functionalized with different heterocyclic π-spacers and (aza)crown ether moieties was synthesized. The new compounds were completely characterized using the usual spectroscopic techniques and evaluated as fluorimetric chemosensors in acetonitrile and aqueous mixtures in the presence of various alkaline, alkaline-earth, and transition metal ions. The different crown ether binding moieties as well as the electronic nature of the π-bridge allowed for fine tuning of the sensory properties of these unnatural amino acids towards Pd
and Fe
, as seen by spectrofluorimetric titrations.
The cerebellar floccular and parafloccular lobes are housed in fossae of the periotic region of the skull of different vertebrates. Experimental evidence indicates that the lobes integrate visual and ...vestibular information and control the vestibulo-ocular reflex, vestibulo-collic reflex, smooth pursuit and gaze holding. Multiple paleoneuroanatomy studies have deduced the behaviour of fossil vertebrates by measuring the floccular fossae (FF). These studies assumed that there are correlations between FF volume and behaviour. However, these assumptions have not been fully tested. Here, we used micro-CT scans of extant mammals (47 species) and birds (59 species) to test six possible morphological-functional associations between FF volume and ecological/behavioural traits of extant animals. Behaviour and ecology do not explain FF volume variability in four out of six variables tested. Two variables with significant results require further empirical testing. Cerebellum plasticity may explain the lack of statistical evidence for the hypotheses tested. Therefore, variation in FF volume seems to be better explained by a combination of factors such as anatomical and phylogenetic evolutionary constraints, and further empirical testing is required.
Large-scale terephthalic acid production from the oxidation of
-xylene is an especially important process in the polyester industry, as it is mainly used in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) ...manufacturing, a polymer that is widely used in fibers, films, and plastic products. This review presents and discusses catalytic advances and new trends in terephthalic acid production (since 2014), innovations in terephthalic acid purification processes, and simulations of reactors and reaction mechanisms.
Six dinuclear vanadium(V) complexes have been synthesized: NH4(VO2)2(HLH) (NH41), NH4(VO2)2( t‑BuLH) (NH42), NH4(VO2)2(ClLH) (NH43), (VO2)(VO)(HLH)(CH3O) (4), (VO2)(VO)( t‑BuLH)(C2H5O) (5), and ...(VO2)(VO)(ClLH)(CH3O)(CH3OH/H2O) (6) (where HLH4 = 1,5-bis(2-hydroxybenzaldehyde)carbohydrazone, t‑BuLH4 = 1,5-bis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde)carbohydrazone, and ClLH4 = 1,5-bis(3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde)carbohydrazone). The structures of NH41 and 4–6 have been determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. In all complexes, the triply deprotonated ligand accommodates two V ions, using two different binding sites ONN and ONO separated by a diazine unit −N–N–. In two pockets of NH41, two identical VO2 + entities are present, whereas, in those of 4–6, two different VO2 + and VO3+ are bound. The highest oxidation state of V ions was corroborated by X-ray data, indicating the presence of alkoxido ligand bound to VO3+ in 4–6, charge density measurements on 4, magnetic susceptibility, NMR spectroscopy, spectroelectrochemistry, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. All four complexes characterized by XRD form dimeric associates in the solid state, which, however, do not remain intact in solution. Compounds NH41, NH42, and 4–6 were applied as alternative selective homogeneous catalysts for the industrially significant oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone. The peroxidative (with tert-butyl hydroperoxide, TBHP) oxidation of cyclohexane was performed under solvent-free and additive-free conditions and under low-power microwave (MW) irradiation. Cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone were the only products obtained (high selectivity), after 1.5 h of MW irradiation. Theoretical calculations suggest a key mechanistic role played by the carbohydrazone ligand, which can undergo reduction, instead of the metal itself, to form an active reduced form of the catalyst.
Aim and Methods
Although the antimicrobial activity of extracts from several mushroom species has been reported, studies with the individual compounds present in that extracts are scarce. Herein, the ...antimicrobial activity of different phenolic compounds identified and quantified in mushroom species from all over the world was evaluated. Furthermore, a structure–activity relationship (SAR) analysis and molecular docking studies were performed, in order to provide insights into the mechanism of action of potential antimicrobial drugs for resistant micro‐organisms.
Results
2,4‐Dihydroxybenzoic and protocatechuic acids were the phenolic compounds with higher activity against the majority of Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacteria. Furthermore, phenolic compounds inhibited more MRSA than methicillin‐susceptible Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA was inhibited by 2,4‐dihydroxybenzoic, vanillic, syringic (MICs = 0·5 mg ml−1) and p‐coumaric (MIC = 1 mg ml−1) acids, while these compounds at the same concentrations had no inhibitory effects against methicillin‐susceptible Staph. aureus.
Conclusions
The presence of carboxylic acid (COOH), two hydroxyl (OH) groups in para and ortho positions of the benzene ring and also a methoxyl (OCH3) group in the meta position seems to be important for anti‐MRSA activity.
Significance and Impact of the Study
Phenolic compounds could be used as antimicrobial agents, namely against some micro‐organisms resistant to commercial antibiotics.
Objective
The diagnosis of oral lesions is often challenging for primary healthcare providers, which explains the high number of referrals to specialist care. This favors increases in waiting lines ...and delays in diagnosis, contributing to high mortality rates from oral cancer. This study aimed to summarize the experience of the EstomatoNet, a telediagnosis program catering to primary care dentists and physicians from southern Brazil.
Study design
This exploratory study included all queries received by EstomatoNet from June 2015 to December 2016. Health providers (71 dentists and 18 physicians from primary care) submitted requests including clinical information and photographs of oral lesions by means of a cloud‐based platform. Specialized oral medicine teleconsultants received the data, conveyed a diagnostic hypothesis, and conveyed management recommendations.
Results
Actinic cheilitis (n = 41, 15.8%), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 22, 8.5%), and inflammatory hyperplasia (21, 8.1%) were the most frequent diagnoses. Teleconsultants recommended referral to specialists in 42.9% of the cases, total biopsy in 23.6%, and follow‐up in 16.2%. After the EstomatoNet use, the intention to refer the patients to face‐to‐face consultation reduced from 96.9% to 35.1%.
Conclusion
Telediagnosis for oral lesions is feasible and has potential to improve the quality of primary health care by bridging the gap between primary and specialized health care.
During 2009–2012, wild animals and their ticks were sampled in two areas within the Amazon biome of Brazil, in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. Animal tissues, blood, and ticks were molecularly ...tested for Rickettsia and Coxiella DNA. A total of 182 wild animals were sampled, comprising 28 mammalian, five avian, and three reptilian species. Animal tissues or blood were all negative for Rickettsia or Coxiella DNA. A total of 454 ticks (22 larvae, 226 nymphs, 127 males, 79 females) were collected from 52 (28.6 %) animals, and identified into 15 species: Amblyomma cajennense, A. naponense, A. humerale, A. nodosum, A. goeldii, A. oblongoguttatum, A. longirostre, A. calcaratum, A. coelebs, A. pacae, A. geayii, A. rotundatum, A. auricularium, A. ovale, and Haemaphysalis juxtakochi. While no Coxiella DNA was identified in ticks, six Rickettsia species were detected in the ticks. “Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii” was the most common agent, detected in four tick species, A. cajennense, A. auricularium, A. longirostre, and A. humerale. The second most common agent, R. bellii, was detected in A. humerale and A. naponense. Rickettsia rhipicephali was detected in H. juxtakochi, and R. felis in A. humerale. Two possible new Rickettsia species were detected in A. naponense ticks, namely, a novel spotted fever group agent close-related to R. africae in Pará, and a novel Canadensis group agent in Mato Grosso. Results of the present study expand our knowledge on the tick fauna, and on the yet infantile knowledge of tick-borne rickettsiae in the Amazon biome.
The development of sustainable processes and products through innovative catalytic materials and procedures that allow a better use of resources is undoubtedly one of the most significant issues ...facing researchers nowadays. Environmental and economically advanced catalytic processes for selective oxidation of alcohols are currently focused on designing new catalysts able to activate green oxidants (dioxygen or peroxides) and applying unconventional conditions of sustainable significance, like the use of microwave irradiation as an alternative energy source. This short review aims to provide an overview of the recently (2015-2020) discovered homogeneous aerobic and peroxidative oxidations of primary and secondary alcohols catalyzed by copper complexes, highlighting new catalysts with potential application in sustainable organic synthesis, with significance in academia and industry.
In this review, the roles of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) and RTIL based solvent systems as proposed alternatives for conventional organic electrolyte solutions are described. Ionic liquids ...are introduced as well as the relevant properties for their use in electrochemistry (reduction of ohmic losses), such as diffusive molecular motion and ionic conductivity. We have restricted ourselves to provide a survey on the latest, most representative developments and progress made in the use of ionic liquids as electrolytes, in particular achieved by the cyclic voltammetry technique. Thus, the present review comprises literature from 2015 onward covering the different aspects of RTILs, from the knowledge of these media to the use of their properties for electrochemical processes. Out of the scope of this review are heat transfer applications, medical or biological applications, and multiphasic reactions.
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