Characterization of Dengue Virus Type 2: New Insights on the 2010 Brazilian Epidemic

Dengue viruses (DENV) serotypes 1, 2, and 3 have been causing yearly outbreaks in Brazil. In this study, we report the re-introduction of DENV2 in the coast of São Paulo State. Partial envelope viral genes were sequenced from eighteen patients with dengue fever during the 2010 epidemic. Phylogenetic analysis showed this strain belongs to the American/Asian genotype and was closely related to the virus that circulated in Rio de Janeiro in 2007 and 2008. The phylogeny also showed no clustering by clinical presentation, suggesting that the disease severity could not be explained by distinct variants or genotypes. The time of the most recent common ancestor of American/Asian genotype and the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (SP/RJ) monophyletic cluster was estimated to be around 40 and 10 years, respectively. Since this virus was first identified in Brazil in 2007, we suggest that it was already circulating in the country before causing the first documented outbreak. This is the first description of the 2010 outbreak in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and should contribute to efforts to control and monitor the spread of DENVs in endemic areas

Amplitude de movimento de quadril associada ao índice de massa corporal em idosos

Introduction: Range of motion (ROM) is defined as the angular displacement of a joint. This displacement is necessary for performing functional activities and varies from individual to individual depending on age, gender, physical activity, presence or absence of dysfunction, and degree of muscle strength. WMD assessment is used in physical assessment to identify joint limitations and enable practitioners to quantitatively monitor the effectiveness of the interventions applied. Objective: To analyze hip range of motion associated with body mass index in the elderly. Materials and Method: The study was an experimental cross-sectional research with quantitative approach. Sixty elderly (30 Senior Citizenship Center - CCI and 30 Outdoor Academies - AAL) aged 60 to 70 years old, of both sexes, were evaluated. Results and discussion: The study showed a prevalence of female elderly, who practiced activities independently and who had at least one type of injury. At the ICC there was the presence of a Physical Education professional, which was not found in AAL. The most common diseases between the two groups were Hypertension, Diabetes and Osteoarthritis. In both again, BMI was high and ROM was low, and when correlated with ROM was inversely proportional. Conclusion: It is concluded that the prevalence of overweight elderly, injured and physical activity practitioners without an individualized exercise program can contribute to low ROM.Introdução: A amplitude de movimento (ADM) é definida como o deslocamento angular de uma articulação. Esse deslocamento é necessário para a realização de atividades funcionais e varia de indivíduo para indivíduo dependendo da idade, sexo, prática de atividade física, presença ou ausência de disfunção e o grau de força muscular. A avaliação da ADM é utilizada na avaliação física para identificar limitações articulares e permitir aos profissionais o acompanhamento de modo quantitativo a eficácia das intervenções aplicadas. Objetivo: analisar a amplitude de movimento de quadril associada ao índice de massa corporal em idosos. Matérias e Método:  O estudo tratou-se de uma pesquisa experimental, transversal com abordagem quantitativa. Foram avaliados 60 idosos (30 Centro de Convivência dos Idosos - CCI e 30 das Academias ao Ar Livre - AAL) com idade entre 60 a 70 anos, de ambos os sexos. Resultados e discussão: O estudo apresentou prevalência de idosos do sexo feminino, que praticavam atividades de forma independente e que possuíam pelo menos um tipo de lesão. No CCI havia a presença de um profissional de Educação Física, o que não foi constatado na AAL. As doenças mais comuns entre os dois grupos foram Hipertensão, Diabetes e Osteoartrites. Em ambos novamente, o IMC apresentou-se elevado e a ADM baixa, e quando correlacionado com a ADM mostrou-se inversamente proporcional. Conclusão: Conclui-se que a prevalência de idosos com sobrepeso, lesionados e praticantes de atividade física sem um programa de exercícios individualizados podem contribuir para a ADM baixa.       &nbsp

Inference of gene regulatory networks from time series by Tsallis entropy

Background: The inference of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) from large-scale expression profiles is one of the most challenging problems of Systems Biology nowadays. Many techniques and models have been proposed for this task. However, it is not generally possible to recover the original topology with great accuracy, mainly due to the short time series data in face of the high complexity of the networks and the intrinsic noise of the expression measurements. In order to improve the accuracy of GRNs inference methods based on entropy (mutual information), a new criterion function is here proposed. Results: In this paper we introduce the use of generalized entropy proposed by Tsallis, for the inference of GRNs from time series expression profiles. The inference process is based on a feature selection approach and the conditional entropy is applied as criterion function. In order to assess the proposed methodology, the algorithm is applied to recover the network topology from temporal expressions generated by an artificial gene network (AGN) model as well as from the DREAM challenge. The adopted AGN is based on theoretical models of complex networks and its gene transference function is obtained from random drawing on the set of possible Boolean functions, thus creating its dynamics. On the other hand, DREAM time series data presents variation of network size and its topologies are based on real networks. The dynamics are generated by continuous differential equations with noise and perturbation. By adopting both data sources, it is possible to estimate the average quality of the inference with respect to different network topologies, transfer functions and network sizes. Conclusions: A remarkable improvement of accuracy was observed in the experimental results by reducing the number of false connections in the inferred topology by the non-Shannon entropy. The obtained best free parameter of the Tsallis entropy was on average in the range 2.5 <= q <= 3.5 (hence, subextensive entropy), which opens new perspectives for GRNs inference methods based on information theory and for investigation of the nonextensivity of such networks. The inference algorithm and criterion function proposed here were implemented and included in the DimReduction software, which is freely available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/dimreduction and http://code.google.com/p/dimreduction/.Fundacao de Amparo e Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenacao de Aperfeicofamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq

Educomunicação e suas áreas de intervenção: Novos paradigmas para o diálogo intercultural

oai:omp.abpeducom.org.br:publicationFormat/1O material aqui divulgado representa, em essência, a contribuição do VII Encontro Brasileiro de Educomunicação ao V Global MIL Week, da UNESCO, ocorrido na ECA/USP, entre 3&nbsp;e 5 de novembro de 2016. Estamos diante de um conjunto de 104 papers executivos, com uma média de entre 7 e 10 páginas, cada um. Com este rico e abundante material, chegamos ao sétimo e-book publicado pela ABPEducom, em seus seis primeiros anos de existência. A especificidade desta obra é a de trazer as “Áreas de Intervenção” do campo da Educomunicação, colocando-as a serviço de uma meta essencial ao agir educomunicativo: o diálogo intercultural, trabalhado na linha do tema geral do evento internacional: Media and Information Literacy: New Paradigms for Intercultural Dialogue