Reflexões sobre distanciamento, isolamento social e quarentena como medidas preventivas da COVID-19

Objetivo: Refletir sobre distanciamento, isolamento social e quarentena como medidas de prevenção da infecção em massa pelo SARSCoV-2, vírus responsável pela COVID-19. Métodos: Ensaio teórico reflexivo, embasado em ideias de estudiosos do tema, mediante levantamento bibliográfico no Google Acadêmico, na PUBMED/MEDLINE, em site oficial e jornais online, selecionados a partir das palavras-chave “COVID-19”, “distanciamento social”, “isolamento social”, “quarentena” e suas combinações. Resultados e Discussão: Distanciamento, isolamento social e quarentena são medidas preventivas de extrema importância para a redução da velocidade e a disseminação da infecção entre indivíduos. Além de frear a mortalidade causada pela doença, envolvem aspectos de natureza emocional, psicológica, biológica, social, cultural, política e espiritual. Requer utilização de estratégias de enfrentamento, como mudanças no estilo de vida, manter boas relações interpessoais online, afastar-se do excesso de informações sobre a doença, realizar atividades de lazer, exercer a solidariedade, entre outros. Conclusão: Embora essas medidas preventivas acarretem prejuízos à economia mundial, às relações governamentais e de trabalho, mostram-se como grande oportunidade de a sociedade vir a ter uma melhor compreensão da vida em coletividade, dos estados ressignificarem as suas práticas e, ainda, das pessoas reavaliarem o que é mesmo importante em suas vidas

Reflexões sobre distanciamento, isolamento social e quarentena como medidas preventivas da COVID-19

Objetivo: Refletir sobre distanciamento, isolamento social e quarentena como medidas de prevenção da infecção em massa pelo SARSCoV-2, vírus responsável pela COVID-19. Métodos: Ensaio teórico reflexivo, embasado em ideias de estudiosos do tema, mediante levantamento bibliográfico no Google Acadêmico, na PUBMED/MEDLINE, em site oficial e jornais online, selecionados a partir das palavras-chave “COVID-19”, “distanciamento social”, “isolamento social”, “quarentena” e suas combinações. Resultados e Discussão: Distanciamento, isolamento social e quarentena são medidas preventivas de extrema importância para a redução da velocidade e a disseminação da infecção entre indivíduos. Além de frear a mortalidade causada pela doença, envolvem aspectos de natureza emocional, psicológica, biológica, social, cultural, política e espiritual. Requer utilização de estratégias de enfrentamento, como mudanças no estilo de vida, manter boas relações interpessoais online, afastar-se do excesso de informações sobre a doença, realizar atividades de lazer, exercer a solidariedade, entre outros. Conclusão: Embora essas medidas preventivas acarretem prejuízos à economia mundial, às relações governamentais e de trabalho, mostram-se como grande oportunidade de a sociedade vir a ter uma melhor compreensão da vida em coletividade, dos estados ressignificarem as suas práticas e, ainda, das pessoas reavaliarem o que é mesmo importante em suas vidas

Widespread nasal carriage of Mycobacterium lepraeamong a healthy population in a hyperendemic region of northeastern Brazil.

A case-control study was conducted to determine the presence ofMycobacterium lepraeDNA in nasal secretions of leprosy cases and nonleprosy individuals in Fortaleza, Brazil. It included 185 cases identified by physicians at the Dona Libânia National Reference Centre for Sanitary Dermatology (CDERM). A control group (Co) (n = 136) was identified among individuals from CDERM not diagnosed as leprosy cases. To augment the spatial analysis of M. leprae specific repetitive element (RLEP) positive prevalence, an external group (EG) (n = 121), a convenience sample of healthy students, were included. Polymerase chain reaction for the RLEP sequence was conducted for all participants. Prevalence of RLEP positivity for cases and Co were 69.2% and 66.9%, respectively, significantly higher than for EG (28.1%), and reported elsewhere. Male sex, belonging to a lower socioeconomic status (D/E), history of a previous contact with a case and being older, were associated with being a leprosy case. Our geographical analysis demonstrated that the bacillus is widespread among the healthy population, with clusters of RLEP positive multibacillary cases concentrated in distinct areas of the city. Our results suggest that in endemic areas, as in Fortaleza, surveillance for both nonhousehold leprosy contacts and members of the general population living in cluster areas should be implemented

Evaluation of the Genotoxicity of Endodontic Materials for Deciduous Teeth Using the Comet Assay

Objective: To evaluate genotoxicity of zinc oxide, P. A. calcium hydroxide, mineral trioxide aggregate and an iodoform paste using comet assay on human lymphocytes. Material and Methods: Two positive controls were used: methyl-methanesulfonate for the P.A. calcium hydroxide and mineral trioxide aggregate; and doxorubicin for the iodoform paste and zinc oxide. There were also two negative controls: distilled water for the P.A. calcium hydroxide and mineral trioxide aggregate; and DMSO for the iodoform paste and zinc oxide. Comets were identified using fluorescence microscopy and 100 of them were counted on each of the three slides analyzed per drug test. A damage index was established, taking into consideration the score pattern that had previously been determined from the size and intensity of the comet tail. Analysis of variance, followed by Tukey’s test, was used to compare the means of the DNA damage indices. Results: The DNA damage index observed for mineral trioxide aggregate (7.08 to 8.58) and P.A. calcium hydroxide (6.50 to 8.33), which were similar to negative control index. On the other hand, damage index for zinc oxide (104.7 to 218.50) and iodoform paste (115.7 to 210.7) were similar to positive control index. Conclusion: Iodoform paste and zinc oxide showed genotoxicity at all concentrations used

Genomic epidemiology unveils the dynamics and spatial corridor behind the Yellow Fever virus outbreak in Southern Brazil

Despite the considerable morbidity and mortality of yellow fever virus (YFV) infections in Brazil, our understanding of disease outbreaks is hampered by limited viral genomic data. Here, through a combination of phylogenetic and epidemiological models, we reconstructed the recent transmission history of YFV within different epidemic seasons in Brazil. A suitability index based on the highly domesticated Aedes aegypti was able to capture the seasonality of reported human infections. Spatial modeling revealed spatial hotspots with both past reporting and low vaccination coverage, which coincided with many of the largest urban centers in the Southeast. Phylodynamic analysis unraveled the circulation of three distinct lineages and provided proof of the directionality of a known spatial corridor that connects the endemic North with the extra-Amazonian basin. This study illustrates that genomics linked with eco-epidemiology can provide new insights into the landscape of YFV transmission, augmenting traditional approaches to infectious disease surveillance and control

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost