Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 and aspergillosis: an invisible co-infection

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Aplicação da certificação LEEDTM no Brasil: contribuição ao entendimento com base em dois estudos de casos

The quest for higher sustainability standards in the Civil Construction Industry is still incipient. This research aims to study the application of the LEEDTM certification to Brazilian buildings, understanding the restrictions for its use in a reality different from the original American reference, and disseminate the analyzed results of two national case studies to put the debate in perspective. Obtained results confirmed that (1) obtaining a LEEDTM certificate is not an easy task and in Brazil it means jumping from complete lack of reference to follow North American standards; and (2) even in developed civil construction centers in Brazil, the market is not yet prepared for international green certification. There are huge obstacles to be overcome but certification opens discussion on matters never approached before in Brazil. Though limited, introduction of building certification in the Brazilian market opens discussion on subjects never treated before. Certifications, voluntary schemes and other market pull instruments play a fundamental role in market transformation for sustainability, but depend on a previous foundation regarding P&D and knowledge and technology transfer. The quest for ertification in itself should be avoided. Otherwise, it may put at risk the valuable contribution building certification can bring to market transformation

Contribuição ao entendimento da aplicação da certificação LEEDtm no Brasil com base em dois estudos de caso

No setor da construção civil, a busca por sustentabilidade ainda é incipiente. Este trabalho tem por objetivos analisar a aplicação da certificação LEEDTM a empreendimentos brasileiros, entendendo as restrições de uso em uma realidade diferente da referência original norte-americana, e disseminar os resultados obtidos para dois estudos de caso nacionais. Os resultados obtidos confirmaram que (a) a certificação LEEDTM não é tarefa fácil e, no Brasil, significa, para vários aspectos, saltar da completa ausência de referência para atender a normas americanas; e (b) mesmo em centros avançados da construção civil brasileira, o mercado ainda não está preparado para os “selos verdes” internacionais. Apesar dos obstáculos e limitações existentes, a entrada de certificações no Brasil abre a discussão para assuntos antes nunca abordados. Certificações, iniciativas voluntárias e instrumentos de market pull possuem o importante papel de propulsores da transformação do mercado da construção civil na busca da sustentabilidade. Não se pode perder de vista que estas pressupõem uma base anterior – composta de pesquisa e desenvolvimento e transferência de conhecimento e tecnologia ao mercado – para que possam se desenvolver plenamente. Deve-se evitar a ansiedade pela busca de certificação sem o preparo do mercado. Caso contrário, corre-se o risco de fragilizar o papel transformador das certificações

Investigation of the Key Parameters Affecting Wettability of a Brazilian Pre-Salt Crude Oil and Brine on Pure Minerals Through Statistical Analysis

Wettability is a fundamental property that defines the fluid’s distribution in oil reservoirs. Assessing wettability is required to model flow in porous media. Nevertheless, it involves complex intermolecular and surface forces. Contact angle measurement is a quantitative method to determine wettability. However, rock samples must be prepared to assure results representative of reservoir conditions. This work applies statistical analysis to investigate the relevance of variables involved in sample preparation (aging time, solvent used to remove the excess oil from the surface) and mineral type on the wettability of oil and brine from a Pre-Salt field on pure minerals. Since there is limited experimental wettability data at Pre-Salt conditions, this work aims to assist filling this gap. The results showed aging time and mineral type as the most important parameters for analysis. Furthermore, authors found that greater aging time in oil and point of zero charge of the mineral lead to a more oil-wet behavior.Indisponível

Institutionalization of disaster risk management in the local environment

This study aims to analyze the institutionalization of the organizational field of disaster risk management, at the local level, in Brazil. The research is developed through in-depth interviews. Data are interpreted using content analysis techniques. In particular, it appears that the civil defense units, in the organizational field researched, have structure and resources that are still inadequate and insufficient, lacking technical training and structure to develop the activity. There are entrepreneurial actions by the State, however, there is a need to foster partnerships with Education. Institutional legitimacy is still small in the social context in which it operates. There are no interfaces with urban planning for disaster mitigation. It is necessary to strengthen the process of institutionalizing disaster risk management at the local level in the researched territory

Testosterone therapy for women with low sexual desire : a position statement from the Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Objective: To summarize current evidence regarding testosterone treatment for women with low sexual desire. Materials and methods: The Female Endocrinology and Andrology Department of the Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism invited nine experts to review the physiology of testosterone secretion and the use, misuse, and side effects of exogenous testosterone therapy in women, based on the available literature and guidelines and statements from international societies. Results: Low sexual desire is a common complaint in clinical practice, especially in postmenopausal women, and may negatively interfere with quality of life. Testosterone seems to exert a positive effect on sexual desire in women with sexual dysfunction, despite a small magnitude of effect, a lack of long-term safety data, and insufficient evidence to make a broad recommendation for testosterone therapy. Furthermore, there are currently no testosterone formulations approved for women by the relevant regulatory agencies in the United States, Brazil, and most other countries, and testosterone formulations approved for men are not recommended for use by women. Conclusion: Therefore, testosterone therapy might be considered if other strategies fail, but the risks and benefits must be discussed with the patient before prescription

Interpersonal and affective dimensions of psychopathic traits in adolescents : development and validation of a self-report instrument

We report the development and psychometric evaluations of a self-report instrument designed to screen for psychopathic traits among mainstream community adolescents. Tests of item functioning were initially conducted with 26 adolescents. In a second study the new instrument was administered to 150 high school adolescents, 73 of who had school records of suspension for antisocial behavior. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 4-factor structure (Impulsivity α = .73, Self-Centredness α = .70, Callous-Unemotional α = .69, and Manipulativeness α = .83). In a third study involving 328 high school adolescents, 130 with records of suspension for antisocial behaviour, competing measurement models were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. The superiority of a first-order model represented by four correlated factors that was invariant across gender and age was confirmed. The findings provide researchers and clinicians with a psychometrically strong, self-report instrument and a greater understanding of psychopathic traits in mainstream adolescents

Efeito de previsibilidade temporal de perturbações posturais e demanda de precisão de tarefa manual no desempenho em tarefa dual

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a integração entre os componentes manual e postural em uma tarefa motora dual em resposta a perturbações que afetam a ambos os componentes. Foram avaliados oito adultos jovens em uma tarefa requisitando resposta reativa a uma perturbação postural causada por liberação de carga, enquanto apontando um laser continuamente para um alvo circular. As comparações foram feitas em função da combinação de dois fatores: (a) previsibilidade do momento da perturbação postural, com dica temporal versus sem dica; e (b) demanda de precisão da tarefa manual, contrastando alvos com diâmetros de 2 cm (alta restrição) versus 20 cm (baixa restrição). Os resultados revelaram que a previsibilidade do tempo de perturbação reduziu a amplitude de oscilação dos movimentos manuais e diminuiu a correlação entre respostas manuais e posturais, enquanto que o a amplitude de excursão do centro de pressão foi reduzida na condição de previsibilidade temporal da perturbação associada à baixa restrição da tarefa manual. Este estudo revela a factibilidade do método aqui empregado para avaliar a integração entre controle postural e de tarefas manuais, na busca de melhor compreender a regulação de ações duais dessa natureza realizadas frequentemente em nosso cotidiano

Dynamical mechanism for sharp orientation tuning in an integrate-and-fire model of a cortical hypercolumn

Orientation tuning in a ring of pulse-coupled integrate-and-fire (IF) neurons is analyzed in terms of spontaneous pattern formation. It is shown how the ring bifurcates from a synchronous state to a non-phase-locked state whose spike trains are characterized by clustered but irregular fluctuations of the interspike intervals (ISIs). The separation of these clusters in phase space results in a localized peak of activity as measured by the time-averaged firing rate of the neurons. This generates a sharp orientation tuning curve that can lock to a slowly rotating, weakly tuned external stimulus. Under certain conditions, the peak can slowly rotate even to a fixed external stimulus. The ring also exhibits hysteresis due to the subcritical nature of the bifurcation to sharp orientation tuning. Such behavior is shown to be consistent with a corresponding analog version of the IF model in the limit of slow synaptic interactions. For fast synapses, the deterministic fluctuations of the ISIs associated with the tuning curve can support a coefficient of variation of order unity.<br/