The role of pneumococcal carbon metabolism in colonisation and invasive disease

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common asymptomatic commensal of the human nasopharynx. However, it is better known as a threatening pathogen that causes serious diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis, as well as other less severe but more prevalent infections (e.g. otitis media). With the increase of antibiotic resistance and the limited efficacy of vaccines, pneumococcal infections remain a major problem. Therefore, the discovery of new therapeutic targets and preventive drugs are in high demand.(...)Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologi

Zika, chikungunya and dengue: the causes and threats of new and re-emerging arboviral diseases.

The recent emergence and re-emergence of viral infections transmitted by vectors-Zika, chikungunya, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile, yellow fever and others-is a cause for international concern. Using as examples Zika, chikungunya and dengue, we summarise current knowledge on characteristics of the viruses and their transmission, clinical features, laboratory diagnosis, burden, history, possible causes of the spread and the expectation for future epidemics. Arboviruses are transmitted by mosquitoes, are of difficult diagnosis, can have surprising clinical complications and cause severe burden. The current situation is complex, because there is no vaccine for Zika and chikungunya and no specific treatment for the three arboviruses. Vector control is the only comprehensive solution available now and this remains a challenge because up to now this has not been very effective. Until we develop new technologies of control mosquito populations, the globalised and urbanised world we live in will remain vulnerable to the threat of successive arbovirus epidemics

Práticas docentes de leitura e escrita no quarto e quinto anos do Ensino Fundamental, em escolas públicas do município de Vitória (ES)

A presente pesquisa, desenvolvida na linha Cultura, Currículo e Formação de Educadores, pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, tem como objetivo investigar práticas docentes consideradas pelas professoras do 4º e 5º anos do EF como promotoras de leitura e escrita em escolas do Sistema Municipal de Educação Vitória(ES). Apoiamo-nos, para isso, na base teórica da perspectiva histórico-cultural a partir de Bakhtin (2003, 2010); Freitas (2007, 2012) e Fichtner (2012). Levamos em consideração os conceitos de sujeito, linguagem e texto desenvolvidos por Bakhtin (2003, 2010); de educação e dialogicidade em Freire (1967, 1987, 1997, 2010); e de parceria em Foerste (2005); dentre outros, no sentido de buscar respostas para as perguntas: que práticas docentes estão sendo consideradas pelas professoras desses dois anos de escolarização como promotoras de leitura e escrita? Que políticas têm promovido tais práticas? Quem são os beneficiados/prejudicados por tais formas de ensinar? A pesquisa se deu por meio de um estudo de caso realizado durante o ano letivo de 2013 com docentes que atuam junto às turmas em questão, em duas escolas do EF. Utilizamos como procedimentos para a produção de dados a observação participante, o questionário, a entrevista, o acompanhamento de atividades desenvolvidas nos cadernos de alunos e a análise documental. A análise dos dados foi organizada a partir das categorias sujeito, linguagem e texto. Os resultados evidenciam que, conforme a concepção bakhtiniana de linguagem e a freireana de educação, as práticas docentes observadas ainda não sinalizam a promoção da leitura e da escrita junto aos alunos do 4º e 5º anos EF, sendo necessário para isso que se repensem as políticas públicas, em especial as voltadas para a formação de professores, com o intuito de beneficiar os estudantes oferecendo-lhes uma formação que lhes permita ter a consciência de que o centro de gravidade da linguagem não reside nas normas, mas na significação que essa forma adquire no contexto, na interação com outros sujeitos.This research, developed on line of Culture, Curriculum and Teachers’ Formation, by the Federal University of Espirito Santo’s Postgraduate Program, aims to investigate the teaching practices considered by teachers of 4th and 5th years of Elementary School as promoters of reading and writing on Municipal Education System of Vitoria (ES) schools. For this, we use the theoretical base of historical and cultural perspective starting with Bakhtin (2003, 2010); Freitas (2007, 2012) e Fichtner (2012) to support us. We considered the concepts of subject, language and texts developed by Bakhtin (2003, 2010); of education and dialogicity on Freire (1967, 1987, 1997, 2010); and of partnership in Foerste (2005). Among others, to search answers to the following questions: what teaching practices are been considered by the teachers of two years of schooling as promoters of reading and writing? What policies have promoted those practices? Who are the benefited/harmed by those policies? The research was made through a case study performed during all the school year 2013 with teachers that work together to the referred classes on two schools of Elementary School. We use the participant’s observation, questionnaire, interview, monitoring of the developed activities on students notebook and documents’ analysis as procedures for the data’s production. The data analysis was organized starting the subject, language and text categories. The results show that, according with language conception of Bakhtin and Freire's education conception, the teaching practices observed don’t signal yet the promotion of reading and writing with students of 4th and 5th years of Elementary School. For this, is necessary to rethink public policies, especially the ones directed to training teachers with order to benefit the students offering a training that allow them to have the conscience that the gravity center of the language is not in the rules, but at the signification that this shape acquires on the context, in interaction with other subjects

Transcriptional and metabolic effects of glucose on Streptococcus pneumoniae sugar metabolism

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a strictly fermentative human pathogen that relies on carbohydrate metabolism to generate energy for growth. The nasopharynx colonised by the bacterium is poor in free sugars, but mucosa lining glycans can provide a source of sugar. In blood and inflamed tissues glucose is the prevailing sugar. As a result during progression from colonisation to disease S. pneumoniae has to cope with a pronounced shift in carbohydrate nature and availability. Thus, we set out to assess the pneumococcal response to sugars found in glycans and the influence of glucose (Glc) on this response at the transcriptional, physiological and metabolic levels. Galactose (Gal), N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and mannose (Man) affected the expression of 8 to 14% of the genes covering cellular functions including central carbon metabolism and virulence. The pattern of end-products as monitored by in vivo 13C-NMR is in good agreement with the fermentation profiles during growth, while the pools of phosphorylated metabolites are consistent with the type of fermentation observed (homolactic vs. mixed) and regulation at the metabolic level. Furthermore, the accumulation of α-Gal6P and Man6P indicate metabolic bottlenecks in the metabolism of Gal and Man, respectively. Glc added to cells actively metabolizing other sugar(s) was readily consumed and elicited a metabolic shift towards a homolactic profile. The transcriptional response to Glc was large (over 5% of the genome). In central carbon metabolism (most represented category), Glc exerted mostly negative regulation. The smallest response to Glc was observed on a sugar mix, suggesting that exposure to varied sugars improves the fitness of S. pneumoniae. The expression of virulence factors was negatively controlled by Glc in a sugar-dependent manner. Overall, our results shed new light on the link between carbohydrate metabolism, adaptation to host niches and virulence

Effects of respiratory disease and age in quadriceps muscle mass: a pilot study with ultrasonography

No abstract available.publishe

Effects of respiratory disease and age in quadriceps muscle mass: a pilot study with ultrasonography

Sem resumo disponível.publishe

Evaluation of record linkage of two large administrative databases in a middle income country: stillbirths and notifications of dengue during pregnancy in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Due to the increasing availability of individual-level information across different electronic datasets, record linkage has become an efficient and important research tool. High quality linkage is essential for producing robust results. The objective of this study was to describe the process of preparing and linking national Brazilian datasets, and to compare the accuracy of different linkage methods for assessing the risk of stillbirth due to dengue in pregnancy. METHODS: We linked mothers and stillbirths in two routinely collected datasets from Brazil for 2009-2010: for dengue in pregnancy, notifications of infectious diseases (SINAN); for stillbirths, mortality (SIM). Since there was no unique identifier, we used probabilistic linkage based on maternal name, age and municipality. We compared two probabilistic approaches, each with two thresholds: 1) a bespoke linkage algorithm; 2) a standard linkage software widely used in Brazil (ReclinkIII), and used manual review to identify further links. Sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) were estimated using a subset of gold-standard data created through manual review. We examined the characteristics of false-matches and missed-matches to identify any sources of bias. RESULTS: From records of 678,999 dengue cases and 62,373 stillbirths, the gold-standard linkage identified 191 cases. The bespoke linkage algorithm with a conservative threshold produced 131 links, with sensitivity = 64.4% (68 missed-matches) and PPV = 92.5% (8 false-matches). Manual review of uncertain links identified an additional 37 links, increasing sensitivity to 83.7%. The bespoke algorithm with a relaxed threshold identified 132 true matches (sensitivity = 69.1%), but introduced 61 false-matches (PPV = 68.4%). ReclinkIII produced lower sensitivity and PPV than the bespoke linkage algorithm. Linkage error was not associated with any recorded study variables. CONCLUSION: Despite a lack of unique identifiers for linking mothers and stillbirths, we demonstrate a high standard of linkage of large routine databases from a middle income country. Probabilistic linkage and manual review were essential for accurately identifying cases for a case-control study, but this approach may not be feasible for larger databases or for linkage of more common outcomes

Symptomatic dengue infection during pregnancy and the risk of stillbirth in Brazil, 2006-12: a matched case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Maternal infections during pregnancy can increase the risk of fetal death. Dengue infection is common, but little is known about its role in fetal mortality. We aimed to investigate the association between symptomatic dengue infection during pregnancy and fetal death. METHODS: We did a nested case-control study using obstetrician-collected data from the Brazilian livebirth information system (SINASC), the mortality information system (SIM), and the national reportable disease information system (SINAN). We identified all pregnancies ending in stillbirth and a random sample of livebirths between Jan 1, 2006, and Dec 31, 2012. We did linkage to determine which mothers were diagnosed with dengue infection during pregnancy. By use of stillbirths as cases and a sample of matched livebirths as a control, we calculated matched odds ratios (mORs) using conditional logistic regression adjusted for maternal age and education. FINDINGS: 275 (0·2%) of 162 188 women who had stillbirths and 1507 (0·1%) of 1 586 105 women who had livebirths were diagnosed with dengue infection during pregnancy. Symptomatic dengue infection during pregnancy almost doubled the odds of fetal death (mOR 1·9, 95% CI 1·6-2·2). The increase in risk was similar when analyses were restricted to laboratory-confirmed cases of dengue infection (1·8, 1·4-2·4). Severe dengue infection increased the risk of fetal death by about five times (4·9, 2·3-10·2). INTERPRETATION: Symptomatic dengue infection during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of fetal death. We recommend further epidemiological and biological studies of the association between dengue and poor birth outcomes to measure the burden of subclinical infections and elucidate pathological mechanisms. FUNDING: Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Horizon 2020

Fluorometric determination of ethidium bromide efflux kinetics in Escherichia coli

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