New Cost-Benefit of Brazilian Technology for Vector Surveillance Using Trapping System

The recent introduction of chikungunya and Zika virus and their subsequent dispersion in the Americas have encouraged the use of novel technologies for adult Aedes surveillance to improve vector control. In Brazil, two platforms for surveillance of eggs and gravid Aedes aegypti have been developed. First, it consists of using data of sampling of eggs in ovitraps associated with GIS technologies to monitor Aedes spp. populations. Although effective, it is not realistic to use in a large-scale epidemic scenario as it requires a large amount of human resources for field and laboratory activities. Second, it consists of trapping female Ae. aegypti citywide at fine spatial and temporal scales for vector surveillance (MI-Aedes) to detect high Aedes infestation areas using a GIS environment and the identification of arbovirus-infected trapped mosquitoes by RT-PCR (MI-Virus platforms). Such integration of continuous vector surveillance and targeting vector control in hotspot areas is cost-effective (less than US$ 1.00/person/year), and it has been shown to reduce mosquito population and prevent dengue transmission. The main advantage of the MI-Aedes platform over traditional mosquito surveillance is the integration of continuous vector monitoring coupled with an information technology platform for near real-time data collection, analysis, and decision-making. The technologies also provide data to model the role of climate on the vector population dynamics

Modeling the Thermosphere as a Driven-dissipative Thermodynamic System

Thermospheric density impacts satellite position and lifetime through atmospheric drag. More accurate specification of thermospheric temperature, a key input to current models such as the High Accuracy Satellite Drag Model, can decrease model density errors. This paper improves the model of Burke et al. (2009) to model thermospheric temperatures using the magnetospheric convective electric field as a driver. In better alignment with Air Force satellite tracking operations, we model the arithmetic mean temperature, T 1/2, defined by the Jacchia (1977) model as the mean of the daytime maximum and nighttime minimum exospheric temperatures occurring in opposite hemispheres at a given time, instead of the exospheric temperature used by Burke et al. (2009). Two methods of treating the solar ultraviolet (UV) contribution to T 1/2 are tested. Two model parameters, the coupling and relaxation constants, are optimized for 38 storms from 2002 to 2008. Observed T 1/2 values are derived from densities and heights measured by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellite. The coupling and relaxation constants were found to vary over the solar cycle and are fit as functions of F 10.7a, the 162 day average of the F 10.7 index. Model results show that allowing temporal UV variation decreased model T 1/2 errors for storms with decreasing UV over the storm period but increased T 1/2 errors for storms with increasing UV. Model accuracy was found to be improved by separating storms by type (coronal mass ejection or co‐rotating interaction region). The model parameter fits established will be useful for improving satellite drag forecasts

Consumo de tabaco y pseudoartrosis en cirugía lumbar instrumentada: Estudio comparativo

El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar si en los pacientes fumadores de más de 20 cigarrillos al día había una incidencia más alta de pseudoartrosis que en los pacientes no fumadores. El estudio retrospectivo se efectuó en un grupo de 100 pacientes (50 fumadores y 50 no fumadores), intervenidos por problemas degenerativos del caquis mediante artrodesis instrumentada y posterolateral a nivel lumbosacro. Cincuenta y tres pacientes eran varones y 47 mujeres, con una edad media de 49+-10 años. Para determinar la incidencia de pseudoartrosis se valoraron las masas de fusión a los 6 y 24 meses de la intervención y la situación clínica del paciente. A siete de los 100 pacientes se les diagnosticó pseudoartrosis (2 no fumadores y 5 fumadores); los 93 restantes que no presentaron pseudoartrosis, 48 correspondían a pacientes no fumadores y 45 eran fumadores (p=0,24). No hemos podido demostrar la asociación entre consumo de tabaco y mayor índice de pseudoartrosis en pacientes intervenidos de artrodesis lumbosacra.The aim of this study was to determine whether smokers (more than 20 cigarettes per day) had higher rate of pseudoarthrosis than the non-smokers after lumbar fusion. A retrospective study was designed with 100 patients (50 smokers and 50 non-smokers). All the patients were operated on, by doing a posterolateral fusion with instrumentation (transpedicular fixation), due to degenerative pathology of the lumbar spine. Fifty-three patients were males and 47 were females, with an average age of 49+-10 years. To determinate pseudoarthrosis two types of evaluation were performed: Radiographic evaluation in plain radiographs at 6 and 24 months after surgery and clinical assessment. Seven out of 100 patients were diagnosed as pseudoarthrosis (2 non-smokers and 5 smokers) and, of the remaining 93 patients, 48 were non-smokers and 28 smokers (p=0.24). No evidence was found of correlation between cigarette smoking and a higher rate of pseudoarthrosis in patients with an instrumental arthrodesis of the lumbar spine

Quiste óseo simple: estudio comparativo de diferentes métodos de tratamiento

Se han revisado 27 quistes óseos esenciales con una edad media de 13,4 años y un seguimiento medio de 6 años. Valorados clínica y radiológicamente conforme a los criterios de Neer, no se ha observado curación espontánea en los quistes que se dejaron evolucionar (5 casos), ni en ninguno de los que presentaron una fractura a su nivel (16 casos), que necesitaron tratamiento posterior. Tras curetaje de la cavidad y relleno con injerto óseo (11 casos) se han obtenido mejores resultados que tras infiltración intraquística de corticoides (11 casos) al observarse más curaciones completas (63,6 frente a 27,3%) y menos recidivas (9,1 frente a 27,3%), pero con un índice de complicaciones superior (14, frente a 0%).We have reviewed 27 simple bone cyst, with a mean age of 13.4 years oíd and a follow-up of 6 years. They were evaluated clinically and radiologically according to the Neer criteria. There were no healing in any bone cyst leaved to its spontaneous evolution (5 cases), neither in cyst with a fracture at its level (16 cases) in wich there were fracture consolidation withouth bone cyst healing. The results which curettage and bone grafting (11 cases) were better than those with intracystic steroid infiltrations (11 cases), with more complete healing (63.6% versus 27.3%) and less recidives (9.1% versus 27.3%), but more complications (14.2% versus 0%)

El forage descompresivo en la necrosis isquémica de la cabeza femoral : experiencia clínica en 34 casos

Se analizan los resultados obtenidos mediante el forage descompresivo de caderas afectas de necrosis isquémica de la cabeza femoral. Se efectuaron 34 forages en 27 pacientes, siendo la edad media de 44 años. Veintitrés caderas se clasificaron como estadio I de Ficat y 11 como estadio II. En cuanto a su etiología 17 caderas se consideraron idiopáticas, en 15 había antecedentes de ingesta elevada de alcohol, 1 presentaba antecedentes de ingesta de corticoides y otra había sufrido una fractura luxación de cadera 6 meses antes. Tras un seguimiento medio de 74 meses, el 74% de pacientes en estadio I permanecen asintomáticos y estabilizados radiológicamente y sólo en el 18% del estadio II se obtuvo dicha estabilización. Se concluye que el forage descompresivo estaría sólo indicado en el estadio I de Ficat; en el estadio II los malos resultados obtenidos nos hacen dudar de su eficacia, máxime si la etiología es alcohólica.We analysed the results obtained using the core decompression technique in hips with avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Thirty four core decompression were performed on 27 patients. The average age was 44. Twenty three hips were found to be Ficat stage I and 11 were stage II. As to the ethiology, 17 hips were idiopathic, 15 had a history of high alcohol intake, 1 had been treated with steroids and another one underwent a fracture-dislocation of the hip previously. After an average follow-up of 74 months, 74% stage I patients were asymptomatic and radiologically stable, whilst only 18% of stage II patients could be considered as radiologically stable. In conclusion, core decompression tecnique should be indicated only in stage I patients. The reliability of this technique in stage II patients is doubtful, specially in alcoholic patients as is shown by own poor results

On the equivalence between Implicit Regularization and Constrained Differential Renormalization

Constrained Differential Renormalization (CDR) and the constrained version of Implicit Regularization (IR) are two regularization independent techniques that do not rely on dimensional continuation of the space-time. These two methods which have rather distinct basis have been successfully applied to several calculations which show that they can be trusted as practical, symmetry invariant frameworks (gauge and supersymmetry included) in perturbative computations even beyond one-loop order. In this paper, we show the equivalence between these two methods at one-loop order. We show that the configuration space rules of CDR can be mapped into the momentum space procedures of Implicit Regularization, the major principle behind this equivalence being the extension of the properties of regular distributions to the regularized ones.Comment: 16 page

Effect of molecular and electronic structure on the light harvesting properties of dye sensitizers

The systematic trends in structural and electronic properties of perylene diimide (PDI) derived dye molecules have been investigated by DFT calculations based on projector augmented wave (PAW) method including gradient corrected exchange-correlation effects. TDDFT calculations have been performed to study the visible absorbance activity of these complexes. The effect of different ligands and halogen atoms attached to PDI were studied to characterize the light harvesting properties. The atomic size and electronegativity of the halogen were observed to alter the relaxed molecular geometries which in turn influenced the electronic behavior of the dye molecules. Ground state molecular structure of isolated dye molecules studied in this work depends on both the halogen atom and the carboxylic acid groups. DFT calculations revealed that the carboxylic acid ligands did not play an important role in changing the HOMO-LUMO gap of the sensitizer. However, they serve as anchor between the PDI and substrate titania surface of the solar cell or photocatalyst. A commercially available dye-sensitizer, ruthenium bipyridine (RuBpy), was also studied for electronic and structural properties in order to make a comparison with PDI derivatives for light harvesting properties. Results of this work suggest that fluorinated, chlorinated, brominated, and iyodinated PDI compounds can be useful as sensitizers in solar cells and in artificial photosynthesis.Comment: Single pdf file, 14 pages with 7 figures and 4 table