Dengue in Madeira Island

This is a preprint of a paper whose final and definite form will be published in the volume Mathematics of Planet Earth that initiates the book series CIM Series in Mathematical Sciences (CIM-MS) published by Springer. Submitted Oct/2013; Revised 16/July/2014 and 20/Sept/2014; Accepted 28/Sept/2014.Dengue is a vector-borne disease and 40% of world population is at risk. Dengue transcends international borders and can be found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, predominantly in urban and semi-urban areas. A model for dengue disease transmission, composed by mutually-exclusive compartments representing the human and vector dynamics, is presented in this study. The data is from Madeira, a Portuguese island, where an unprecedented outbreak was detected on October 2012. The aim of this work is to simulate the repercussions of the control measures in the fight of the disease

Disclosing the potential of Cupressus leylandii A.B. Jacks & Dallim, Eucalyptus globulus Labill., Aloysia citrodora Paláu, and Melissa officinalis L. hydrosols as eco-friendly antimicrobial agents

Antimicrobial resistance is a major global health concern, threatening the effective prevention and treatment of infections caused by microorganisms. These factors boosted the study of safe and green alternatives, with hydrosols, the by-products of essential oils extraction, emerging as promising natural antimicrobial agents. In this context, four hydrosols obtained from Cupressus leylandii A.B. Jacks & Dallim, Eucalyptus globulus Labill., Aloysia citrodora Paláu and Melissa officinalis L. were studied. Their chemical composition comprises neral, geranial, 1,8-cineole, terpinen- 4-ol, and oplopanonyl acetate, compounds with recognised antimicrobial activity. Concerning antimicrobial activity, significant differences were found using different hydrosol concentrations (10–20% v/v) in comparison to a control (without hydrosol), showing the potential of the tested hydrosols to inhibit the microbial growth of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. A. citrodora hydrosol was the most effective one, inhibiting 90% of E. coli growth and 80% of C. albicans growth, for both hydrosol concentrations (p < 0.0001). With hydrosol concentration increase, it was possible to observe an improved antimicrobial activity with significant reductions (p < 0.0001). The findings of this work indicate the viability of reusing and valuing the hydrosols, encouraging the development of green applications for different fields (e.g., food, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics).Financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to LSRE-LCM (UIDB/50020/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020), ALiCE (LA/P/0045/2020), CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020), and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021). FCT for the SFRH/BD/148124/2019 Heloísa Helena Scorsato de Almeida research grant. Pedro Crugeira thanks OleaChain (NORTE-06-3559-FSE14 000188) for his research contract. GreenHealth project (Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fecal pollution in water from storm sewers and adjacent seashores in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

A study on the distribution patterns of enteropathogenic bacteria polluting the shoreline in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, was carried out based on 72 samples obtained from three storm sewers and adjoining beach locations, Praia do Meio (PM), Areia Preta (AP) and Ponta Negra (PN). From each location, 12 water samples were taken and analyzed for fecal coliforms (FC) and Escherichia coli. In AP, two (16.7%) of the seawater samples and five (41.7%) of the storm sewer samples yielded values above 1.1 × 107 FC/100 ml, whereas only one (8.3%) of the samples from PM reached this level. There was no correlation (p > 0.05) between rainfall indeces and FC values. A total of 64 E. coli isolates were obtained: 37 from the storm sewer samples and 27 from the seawater samples. Of these isolates, four (O143, two O112ac, and O124) were enteroinvasive and two (O111 and O125) were enteropathogenic. Resistance to antibiotics and to heavy metals was also analyzed. Almost 36% of the E. coli strains isolated were resistant to more than one antibiotic. All strains were resistant to zinc and copper at the highest concentration tested (250 μg/ml), and several (23.4%) were resistant to mercury at 50 μg/ml. Our results agreed with previous reports that antibiotic resistance is commonly associated with heavy-metal resistance in pathogens. [Int Microbiol 2004; 7(3):213–218

Biosynthesis of antioxidant xanthan gum by Xanthomonas campestris using substrates added with moist olive pomace

Moist olive pomace (MOP) is a high moisture content by-product of the olive oil industry. Managing this recalcitrant residue (transport, storage, and drying) is a priority demanding investment in finding alternative valorisation routes. In this context, the biosynthesis of xanthan gum (XG) incorporating MOP in the substrate (0.0 %, 5.0 %, 10.0 %, 15.0 %, 20.0 %, 25.0 %, 30.0 % and 50.0 %) to induce bacterial stress was attempted. XG biosynthesis yield was quantified, and the product was characterised by structural analysis (FTIR), thermal behaviour (TG), rheology and antioxidant capacity. Relative to the control (sample with no added MOP), a significant increase in XG biosynthesis was found for concentrations up to 30.0 % MOP. In particular, for XG produced with 15 % MOP, a 50.91 % (p < 0.0001) increase was achieved, together with 395.78 % for viscosity. In general, XG produced with MOP presence showed antioxidant activity, a value-added property, especially for applications in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic areas. The results indicated that the stress imposed by the MOP induced a microbial response leading to XG production increase, structural and viscosity modifications, and antioxidant properties incorporation. Overall, this work points out a new MOP application contributing to the sustainability of the olive oil productive chain from a biobased circular economy perspective.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020), and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021). Project OleaChain “Skills for sustainability and innovation in the value chain of traditional olive groves in the Northern Inland of Portugal” (NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000188) for P.J.L. Crugeira and A.I.G. Rodrigues contracts. FCT for the PhD research grant of H.H.S. Almeida (SFRH/BD/148124/2019). National funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program contract of A. Santamaria-Echart.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Papilomavírus humano e anormalidades cervicais em mulheres do sistema de saúde privado e público no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

This article reports the HPV status and cervical cytological abnormalities in patients attended at public and private gynecological services from Rio de Janeiro State. It also comments the performance of each HPV DNA tests used. A set of 454 women from private health clinics was tested by routine Capture Hybrid II HPV DNA assay. Among these, 58.4% presented HPV and nearly 90% of them were infected by high risk HPV types. However, this group presented few premalignant cervical lesions and no invasive cervical cancer was registered. We also studied 220 women from low income class attended at public health system. They were HPV tested by polymerase chain reaction using My09/11 primers followed by HPV typing with E6 specific primers. The overall HPV prevalence was 77.3%. They also showed a high percentage of high squamous intraepithelial lesion-HSIL (26.3%), and invasive cervical carcinoma (16.3%). HPV infection was found in 93.1% and 94.4% of them, respectively. The mean ages in both groups were 31.5 and 38 years, respectively. In series 1, HPV prevalence declined with age, data consistent with viral transient infection. In series 2, HPV prevalence did not decline, independent of age interval, supporting not only the idea of viral persistence into this group, but also regional epidemiological variations in the same geographic area. Significant cytological differences were seen between both groups. Normal and benign cases were the most prevalent cytological findings in series 1 while pre-malignant lesions were the most common diagnosis in the series 2. HPV prevalence in normal cases were statistically higher than those from series 1 (p < 0.001), indicating a higher exposure to HPV infection. Women from both samples were referred for previous abnormal cytology. However, socio-demographic evidence shows that women from series 1 have access to treatment more easily and faster than women from series 2 before the development of pre-malignant lesions. These data provides baseline support for the role of social inequalities linked to high risk HPV infection leading to cervical cancer. Broadly screening programs and the development of safe and effective vaccines against HPV would diminish the toll of this disease that affect mainly poor women.Este artigo analisa a infecção por HPV e anormalidades citológicas cervicais encontradas em pacientes atendidas em serviços ginecológicos dos sistemas de saúde público e privado do estado do Rio de Janeiro. O trabalho também avalia os testes utilizados para detecção de DNA do HPV em cada população estudada. Um grupo de 454 mulheres oriundas de serviços da rede privada de saúde foi testado por Captura do Híbrido II. Destas, 58,4% apresentaram infecção por HPV e cerca de 90% delas estavam infectadas por HPV de alto risco. Este grupo, entretanto, apresentava poucos casos de lesões cervicais pré-malígnas e nenhum caso de câncer. Estudamos, também, 220 mulheres de baixo nível econômico atendidas no serviço de saúde pública que foram testadas para HPV pela reação da polimerase em cadeia utilizando-se os oligonucleotídeos My09/My11. A identificação dos tipos foi efetuada por amplificação com oligonucleotídeos específicos para a região E6 do genoma viral. A prevalência de HPV nesta população foi de 77.3%, observando-se uma alta porcentagem de casos de neoplasias intraepiteliais cervicais de alto grau (26,3%) e de carcinoma cervical invasivo (16,3%). A infecção por HPV foi achada em, respectivamente, 93,1% e 94,4% destes casos. A média de idade em ambos os grupos era de 31,5 e 38 anos, respectivamente. Na série 1, a prevalência da infecção por HPV decresce com a idade, enquanto na série 2 ela não desaparece, dando suporte não só à idéia de persistência viral neste grupo, mas também a variações epidemiológicas na mesma área geográfica. Diferenças significativas foram vistas nos dois grupos. Casos normais e benignos foram incidentes na série 1, enquanto as lesões malígnas predominaram na série 2. Ao contrário, casos normais infectados por HPV eram prevalentes na série 2 (p < 0.001), indicando maior exposição ao vírus. Embora as mulheres de ambos os grupos tenham sido incluídas no estudo por apresentarem citologia anormal, evidências sócio-demográficas demonstram que mulheres da série 1 tem acesso mais fácil e rápido ao tratamento do que as mulheres da série 2 antes que as lesões pré-malígnas se desenvolvam. Estes resultados fornecem dados sobre o papel das desigualdades sociais associadas à infecção por HPV de alto risco na progressão do câncer cervical. Programas de prevenção abrangentes e o desenvolvimento de vacinas eficazes e seguras contra o HPV poderiam reduzir o tributo desta doença que afeta principalmente mulheres pobres