The introduction of dengue follows transportation infrastructure changes in the state of Acre, Brazil : a network-based analysis.

Human mobility, presence and passive transportation of Aedes aegypti mosquito, and environmental characteristics are a group of factors which contribute to the success of dengue spread and establishment. To understand this process, we assess data from dengue national and municipal basins regarding population and demographics, transportation network, human mobility, and Ae. aegypti monitoring for the Brazilian state of Acre since the first recorded dengue case in the year 2000 to the year 2015. During this period, several changes in Acre?s transport infrastructure and urbanization have been started. To reconstruct the process of dengue introduction in Acre, we propose an analytic framework based on concepts used in malaria literature, namely vulnerability and receptivity, to inform risk assessments in dengue-free regions as well as network theory concepts for disease invasion and propagation. We calculate the probability of dengue importation to Acre from other Brazilian states, the evolution of dengue spread between Acrean municipalities and dengue establishment in the state. Our findings suggest that the landscape changes associated with human mobility have created favorable conditions for the establishment of dengue virus transmission in Acre. The revitalization of its major roads, as well as the increased accessibility by air to and within the state, have increased dengue vulnerability. Unplanned urbanization and population growth, as observed in Acre during the period of study, contribute to ideal conditions for Ae. aegypti mosquito establishment, increase the difficulty in mosquito control and consequently its local receptivity

Incidence of binge drinking in a cohort of university students of the south-east region of brazil, 2010-2011.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of binge and at-risk alcohol consumption among new-entrant students in a public university in the South-East Region of Brazil. Methods: Longitudinal study undertaken with a random sample of undergraduates (N=1,168) in the first semesters of 2010 (n=256) and 2011 (n=183). In order to evaluate drinking patterns, participants were classified as abstainers, light, moderate, binge or heavy binge drinkers. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire score was used to define the risk categories for consumption: low risk, risk, harmful use and probable dependence. Statistical analysis was undertaken using Stata software, version 11.0. Results: Amongst the 256 students evaluated, 51.6% were women and 64.5% were aged ?19 years. The prevalence of consumption of alcoholic beverages was 75.8%. The average age of onset of alcohol consumption was 15.7?1.9 years. The incidence of binge + heavy drinkers was 2.6/100 persons per year, with vulnerability shown in individuals of male sex and of age 19 years or more. The incidence of risk level drinkers was 2.0/100 persons per year and greater for individuals of male sex and younger than 19 years. Conclusion: The students of this institution are at high risk for problems associated with alcohol use

Anti-serum validation for use in immunohistochemistry for Trypanosoma cruzi detection.

Introduction: The detection of Trypanosoma cruzi in tissue samples is important in many situations, such as testing of the reactivation of the infection. The detection of T. cruzi nests in endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) may be useful to evaluate graft rejection. Given their scarcity, such nests are not routinely identified. To increase the diagnosis sensitivity, immunohistochemistry (IHC) may serve as a promising strategy. Here, we validate an antiserum for the detection of T. cruzi infection by IHC. Methods: We used 1) positive controls (PCs) ? 13 EMB, 12 skin biopsies, and 1 heart with T. cruzi nests as sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE); 2) negative controls ? a) 10 explant hearts and 10 EMB with no amastigote nests or clinical/laboratory signs of chagasic infection; and b) eight samples with leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis, or histoplasmosis; and 3) Cases ? 31 EMB of chagasic patients with no parasite nests in HE sections but detected positive for T. cruzi DNA by polymerase chain reaction. As a primary antibody, a hyperimmune serum from T. cruzi-infected rabbits was used. Results: IHC results were positive for 21 of 26 PCs (80.8%) and one case of cutaneous leishmaniasis. In 4 of 31 cases, IHC revealed nests (12.9%), which were undetected by conventional histological examination. Conclusions: This study shows that IHC with the tested antiserum increases the sensitivity of the diagnosis and may be recommended for routine use in EMB analyses of cardiac transplant patients with Chagas disease

Avalia??o da contamina??o de sedimentos por elementos tra?o e an?lise da comunidade zooplanct?nica em uma ?rea afetada pela explora??o aur?fera hist?rica no Sudoeste (SE) do Quadril?tero Ferr?fero, Alto Rio Doce, MG, Brasil.

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a composi??o geoqu?mica de amostras de sedimentos (fundo e margem) e a rela??o dos seguintes elementos: Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni e Zn, derivados da explora??o aur?fera que ocorreu na ?rea de estudo, com a comunidade zooplanct?nica. M?todos: Amostras de sedimento de margem e fundo foram coletadas em quatro pontos ao longo da ?rea de estudo, nos meses de junho/2010 (seca) e mar?o/2011 (chuva). Foram realizadas tr?s tipos de an?lise: granulom?trica, mineral?gica por difratometria de Raios-X e geoqu?mica por ICPOES, sendo que para as duas ?ltimas, foram utilizadas somente a fra??o silte/argila (<0.062 mm), e os resultadosforam comparados com os seguintes valores de refer?ncia: Valores de Refer?ncia Local (Costa et al., 2010), Valores de Refer?ncia de Qualidade (S?o Paulo, 2005) e TEC e PEC (MacDonald et al., 2000). Para a identifica??o taxon?mica da comunidade zooplanct?nica, foram coletadas amostras (fundo e margem) em frascos de polietileno, suspendidas com ?gua deionizada (margem somente), coradas com corante vital Rosa-de-Bengala, e fixadas com formalina 4%. Resultados: As concentra??es de As no ponto Col foram 18 vezes mais elevadas do que o Valor de Refer?ncia Local (3.84 mg.kg?1). O c?dmio apresentou concentra??es bem acima daquelas estabelecidas pelo VRQ (<0.5 mg.kg?1) e PEC (4.98 mg.kg?1) em quase todos os pontos amostrados, independente da sazonalidade. As seguintes esp?cies zooplanct?nicas foram identificadas: Arcella costata (Ehrenberg, 1847), Arcella discoides (Ehrenberg, 1843), Arcella vulgaris (Ehrenberg, 1830), Centropyxis aculeata (Ehrenberg, 1838), Centropyxis ecornis (Ehrenberg, 1841), Difflugia sp., Difflugia acuminata (Ehrenberg, 1838), Euglypha laevis (Perty, 1849), Trynema enchelys (Ehrenberg, 1938), Asplanchna priodonta (Gosse, 1850), e Bedelloida, sendo que aproximadamente 81% pertence ao grupo Protozoa. Conclus?es: A ?rea de estudo, com exce??o do ponto Tripu? encontra-se impactada pela explora??o hist?rica do ouro na regi?o, como tamb?m, pela crescente urbaniza??o. Dentre os elementos considerados mais t?xicos ? biota, As e Cd violaram seus respectivos valores de refer?ncia (LRV, QRV, PEC e TEC) na ?rea estudada. Apesar das altas concentra??es de elementos maiores e tra?o encontradas nos pontos a jusante, esp?cies de testaceas foram identificadas, sugerindo que este grupo tenha uma capacidade de se adaptar ? situa??es adversas.The aim was to verify the geochemical composition of sediments samples (riverbed and bank) and the relationship of the following elements: Al, As, Cd. Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn with the zooplankton community. Methods: Bank and riverbed sediments were collected in four sampling points along the studied area, in June/2010 (dry season) and March/2011 (rainy season). Three types of analysis were performed: granulometric, mineralogical (by X-Ray diffractometer) and geochemical (by ICPOES), where for the last two types, only a fraction of silt/clay (<0.062 mm) was used, and the results were compared with the following reference values: Local Reference Value (Costa et al., 2010), Quality Reference Values (S?o Paulo, 2005), PEC and TEC values (MacDonald et al., 2000). For identification of the zooplankton community, riverbed and bank samples were collected in polyethylene bottles, suspended with deionized water (bank sample only), stained with Rose Bengal and preserved in formalin at 4%. Results: As concentrations at Col sampled point were 18 times greater than the Local Reference Value (3.84 mg.kg?1). Cd concentrations were greater than the values established by the QRV (<0.5 mg.kg?1) and PEC (4.98 mg.kg?1) in almost all the sampled points, regarding seasonality. The following zooplanktonic species were identified: Arcella costata (Ehrenberg, 1847), Arcella discoides (Ehrenberg, 1843), Arcella vulgaris (Ehrenberg, 1830), Centropyxis aculeata (Ehrenberg, 1838), Centropyxis ecornis (Ehrenberg, 1841), Difflugia sp., Difflugia acuminata (Ehrenberg, 1838), Euglypha laevis (Perty, 1849), Trynema enchelys (Ehrenberg, 1938), Asplanchna priodonta (Gosse, 1850), and Bedelloida, with, approximately 81% belonging to the Protozoa group. Conclusions: The studied area, with the exception of the Tripu? point, was found to be impacted by historical gold exploration in the region, as well as by the growing urbanization. Within the elements considered to be the most toxic to the biota, As and Cd violated all their reference values. In spite of high concentrations of major and trace elements encountered at downstream points, testacea species were identified, suggesting that this group has the capacity to adapt to adverse situations

Performance of rapid prescreening and 100% rapid review as internal quality control methods for cervical cytopathology.

Background An objective of quality control for cervical cytopathology is reducing high rates of false?negative results of laboratory tests. Therefore, methods to review smears such as rapid prescreening and 100% rapid review, which have shown better performance detecting false?negative results, have been widely used. The performance of rapid prescreening and the performance of 100% rapid review as internal quality control methods for cervical cytology examinations were evaluated. Methods For 24 months, 9318 conventional cervical cytology smears underwent rapid prescreening and routine screening. The 100% rapid review method was performed for 8244 smears classified as negative during routine screening. Any discordant results underwent detailed review to define the final diagnosis. This was considered the gold standard for evaluating the performance of rapid prescreening and 100% rapid review. Results Routine screening showed increases of 13.3% and 11.5% in the detection of abnormal smears with rapid prescreening and 100% rapid review, respectively. The relative percentage variation showed a 38.1% increase in the diagnosis of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance with routine screening and rapid prescreening and a 12.5% increase in the diagnosis of atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high?grade squamous intraepithelial lesion with both rapid prescreening and 100% rapid review. Sensitivity rates of rapid prescreening and routine screening were 48.2% and 83.2%, respectively. Sensitivity rates of rapid prescreening and 100% rapid review were 65.7% and 57.8%, respectively, for detecting false?negative results. Conclusions Inclusion of rapid prescreening and/or 100% rapid review improved the diagnostic sensitivity of the cervical cytology examination and reduced false?negative results of routine screening and can provide good quality control

Effects of Fe(III) and quality of humic substances on As(V) distribution in freshwater : use of ultrafiltration and Kohonen neural network.

Humic substances (HS) are ubiquitous organic compounds able to affect mobility and availability of arsenic (As) in aquatic systems. Although it is known that associations between HS and As occur mainly via iron (Fe)-cationic bridges, the behaviour and distribution of this metalloid in HS- and Fe-rich environments is still not fully understood. In this paper, the quality of HS from different rivers in Brazil and Germany and its influence on the behaviour of As(V) under different Fe(III) concentrations were investigated. HS were extracted from four different rivers (Cascatinha, Holtemme, Selke and Warme Bode), characterised and fractionated into different molecular weight sizes (10, 5 and 1 kDa). Complexation tests were performed using an ultrafiltration system and 1 kDa membranes. All data was analysed using the Kohonen neural network (SOM e Self organising maps). All samples, except Selke, exhibited similar results of free As (<1 kDa). The results suggested that associations between HS, Fe and As were dependent on nitrogen (N)earomatic carbon (C), amount of sulphur (S) and the molecular size of the HS. Although all HS appeared to be similar after looking at most variables analysed, the SOM could discriminate them into three different groups. Characterisation of the HS indicated that they had terrestrial material (from C3 plants) as precursor material. Most of the As and Fe was distributed in the fractions of higher (>10 kDa) and lower (<1 kDa) size. HS quality is an important factor to take into account when studying the behaviour of As in HS-rich environments

Distribution and bioavailability of arsenic in natural waters of a mining area studied by ultrafiltration and diffusive gradients in thin films.

The distribution of metals and metalloids among particulate, dissolved, colloidal, free, and labile forms in natural waters is of great environmental concern since it determines their transportation behaviour and bioavailability. Organic matter can have an important role for this distribution process, since it is an important complexing agent and ubiquitous in the aquatic environment. We studied the distribution, mobility and bioavailability of Al, As and Fe in natural waters of a mining area (Quadril atero Ferr?fero, Brazil) and the influence of organic matter in these processes. Water samples were taken from 12 points during the dry and rainy seasons, filtrated at 0.45 mm and ultrafiltrated (<1 kDa) to separate the particulate, colloidal and free fractions. Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) were deployed at 5 sampling points to study the labile part of the elements. Total and dissolved organic carbon and the physicochemical parameters were measured along with the sampling. The results of ultrafiltration (UF) and DGT were compared. The relationship among the variables was studied through multivariate analysis (Kohonen neural network), which showed that the seasonality did not impact most of the samples. Fe and Al occurred mainly in the particulate fraction whereas As appeared more in the free fraction. Most of the dissolved Fe and Al were inert (colloidal form) while As was more labile and bioavailable. The results showed that sampling points with a higher quantity of complexed Fe (colloidal fraction) showed less labile As, which may indicate formation of ternary complexes among organic matter, As and Fe

Additional file 2 of Surveillance of dengue vectors using spatio-temporal Bayesian modeling

Animated map for SA1. Animated map of weekly changes in the number of eggs in SA1 throughout the study period. This file can be viewed with: QuickTime Player. (MP4 11980 kb

Additional file 1 of Surveillance of dengue vectors using spatio-temporal Bayesian modeling

Validation analysis for SA6. Validation analysis per trap for SA6 throughout the study period. (PDF 23.6 Kb