Genomic African and Native American Ancestry and Chagas Disease: The Bambui (Brazil) Epigen Cohort Study of Aging.

BackgroundThe influence of genetic ancestry on Trypanosoma cruzi infection and Chagas disease outcomes is unknown.Methodology/principal findingsWe used 370,539 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) to examine the association between individual proportions of African, European and Native American genomic ancestry with T. cruzi infection and related outcomes in 1,341 participants (aged ≥ 60 years) of the Bambui (Brazil) population-based cohort study of aging. Potential confounding variables included sociodemographic characteristics and an array of health measures. The prevalence of T. cruzi infection was 37.5% and 56.3% of those infected had a major ECG abnormality. Baseline T. cruzi infection was correlated with higher levels of African and Native American ancestry, which in turn were strongly associated with poor socioeconomic circumstances. Cardiomyopathy in infected persons was not significantly associated with African or Native American ancestry levels. Infected persons with a major ECG abnormality were at increased risk of 15-year mortality relative to their counterparts with no such abnormalities (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.80; 95% 1.41, 2.32). African and Native American ancestry levels had no significant effect modifying this association.Conclusions/significanceOur findings indicate that African and Native American ancestry have no influence on the presence of major ECG abnormalities and had no influence on the ability of an ECG abnormality to predict mortality in older people infected with T. cruzi. In contrast, our results revealed a strong and independent association between prevalent T. cruzi infection and higher levels of African and Native American ancestry. Whether this association is a consequence of genetic background or differential exposure to infection remains to be determined

Development of a machine learning model and a user interface to detect illegal swimming pools

Portuguese legislation states the compulsory reporting of the addition of amenities, such as swimming pools, to the Portuguese tax authority. The purpose is to update the property tax value, to be charged annually to the owner of each real estate. According to MarketWatch, this decade will bring a global rise to the number of swimming pools due to certain factors such as: cost reduction, increasing health consciousness, and others. The need for inspections to ensure that all new constructions are communicated to the competent authorities is therefore rapidly increasing and new solutions are needed to address this problem. Typically, supervision is done by sending human resources to the field, involving huge time and resource consumption, and preventing the catalogue from updating at a rate close to the speed of construction. Automation is rapidly becoming an absolute requirement to improve task efficiency and affordability. Recently, Deep Learn- ing algorithms have shown incredible performance results when used for object detection tasks. Based on the above, this work presents a study on the various existing object detec- tion algorithms and the implementation of a Deep Learning model capable of recognizing swimming pools from satellite images. To achieve the best results for this specific task, the RetinaNet algorithm was chosen. To provide a smooth user experience with the developed model, a simple graphical user interface was also created

Estudo de Bambuí sobre saúde e envelhecimento: metodologia e resultados preliminares de coorte de estudo de idosos no Brasil

OBJECTIVE: A cohort study has been designed to identify predictors of adverse health events in the elderly. The methodology of the study and preliminary descriptive results are presented. METHODS: The study population comprises all residents of Bambuí (Minas Gerais, Brazil), aged 60 or more years (n=1.742). From these, 92.2% were interviewed and 85.9% underwent clinical examination, consisting of haematological and biochemical tests, serology for Trypanosoma cruzi, anthropometric and blood pressure measures and electrocardiogram. Aliquots of serum, plasma and DNA were stored for future investigations. The baseline interview included sociodemographic characteristics, self-referred health condition and history of selected diseases, medication use, health service use, source of medical care, physical activities, smoking, drinking and eating habits, reproductive history, physical functioning, life events, social support and mental health. Individuals are being followed up annually. RESULTS: The following characteristics predominated among participants: women (60,0%), married (48.9%) or widowed (35.4%), people living in households with up to 2 residents (73.8%), heads of family (76.7%), people with monthly income between 1.00 and 2.99 Brazilian minimum wages (62.0%) and people with up to 4 years of schooling (89.1%). The median age was 68 years. Among the cohort members, only 1.7% were lost in the first follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: In general, the characteristics of the study population were very similar to those from other epidemiological studies of the elderly based on large Brazilian cities. The small number of losses to follow-up indicates that the choice of Bambuí was adequate, assuring the feasibility of a long term cohort study.OBJETIVO: Um estudo de coorte está sendo desenvolvido para identificar fatores preditores de eventos adversos à saúde em idosos. São apresentados a metodologia do estudo e os resultados descritivos preliminares. MÉTODOS: A população estudada é constituída por todos os residentes na cidade de Bambuí, Minas Gerais, com 60 ou mais anos de idade (n=1.742). Destes, 92,2% foram entrevistados e 85,9% foram submetidos a exames hematológicos e bioquímicos, sorologia para Trypanosoma cruzi , medidas antropométricas e de pressão arterial e eletrocardiograma. Alíquotas de soro, plasma e DNA foram estocadas para futuras investigações. A entrevista da linha de base do estudo incluiu: características sociodemográficas, percepção da saúde e morbidade auto-referida, uso de medicamentos, acesso a serviços de saúde e a planos de saúde, atividades físicas, uso de fumo e de álcool, hábitos alimentares, história reprodutiva, função física, eventos da vida, recursos sociais e saúde mental. Os participantes estão sendo acompanhados anualmente. RESULTADOS: As seguintes características predominaram entre os participantes: mulheres (60%), casados (48,9%) ou viúvos (35,4%), residentes em domicílios com até 2 pessoas (73,8%), chefes de família (76,7%), pessoas com renda mensal entre 1 e 2,99 salários-mínimos (62%) e pessoas com 4 ou menos anos de escolaridade (89,1%). A mediana da idade foi igual a 68 anos. Somente 1,7% dos membros da coorte foram perdidos no primeiro acompanhamento. CONCLUSÕES: Em geral, as características da população estudada foram muito semelhantes às de participantes de outros estudos epidemiológicos sobre envelhecimento, desenvolvidos em grandes cidades brasileiras. A pequena perda para acompanhamento mostra que a escolha de Bambuí foi adequada, garantindo a viabilidade de um estudo prospectivo de longa duração

Ateliês de corpo e arte: inventividade, produção estética e participação sociocultural

Following up body & art ateliers in the Artistic Compositions and Occupational Therapy Program (PACTO-USP) favored the systematization of group practices articulating body and artistic experimentations with people in social vulnerability’s situations. Based on action-research, a study and a critical analysis have been done and identified affirmative aspects of the proposal. The results pointed out two analysis categories: art and body ateliers and joint experience as fruitful moments of the project. The experience highlighted: the importance of following up the group in these doings; the going deeper in the body and art ateliers’ studies and practices; the observation and reports on changes in participants’ general mood, in their daily life and in their lives; and the dynamic of the socio-cultural processes occurred in the group’s social participation and cultural circulation.O acompanhamento dos ateliês de corpo e arte no Programa Composições Artísticas e Terapia Ocupacional (pacto -USPp) favoreceu a sistematização de práticas grupais que articulam experimentações com o corpo e com a arte com populações em situação de vulnerabilidade social. Com base na pesquisa-ação, produziu-se um estudo e uma análise crítica da intervenção que identificaram aspectos afirmativos da proposta. Os resultados apontaram as categorias de análise ateliês de corpo e arte e convivência como momentos fecundos do projeto. A experiência ressaltou: a importância do acompanhamento do grupo nestes fazeres; o aprofundamento nos estudos e práticas dos ateliês de corpo e arte; a observação e relatos sobre modificações na disposição geral dos participantes, em seus cotidianos e em suas vidas; e a dinamização de processos socioculturais na participação e circulação cultural

How oogenesis analysis combined with dna barcode can help to elucidate taxonomic ambiguities: A polychaete study-based approach

Polychaetes are common in coastal and estuarine environments worldwide and constitute one of the most complex groups of marine invertebrates. The morpho-physiology of the female reproductive system (FRS) can be understood by using histological tools to describe reproductive cycle and gametogenesis paths and, among other purposes, aiming to identify and differentiate polychaete species. However, this histology-based approach is rarely combined with molecular tools, which is known to accurately delimitate species. In the same way, the description and understanding of oogenesis and vitellogenesis paths within polychaetes are lacking for most families, narrowing the range of its utility. Therefore, the present study aims to describe the oogenesis in three polychaete species common and abundant on the South American Atlantic coast (Laeonereis culveri, Scolelepis goodbodyi and Capitella biota) and investigate the utility of reproductive features and gametogenesis as a relevant associate knowledge to discriminate species, particularly useful for putative cryptic species, integrated with morphological and molecular data. In a first attempt, the results obtained herein allow the authors to describe two new subtypes of oogenesis, dividing it in extraovarian oogenesis type I and II and intraovarian type I and II. The results also demonstrate that the following histological characters of the FRS can be relevant for the separation of related species: a) oogenesis type, b) occurrence or absence of a true ovary, c) ovary tissue organization, d) type of accessory cells present, and e) oocyte morphology. Additionally, these histological features of FRS, when compared with correlated species studied under this scope, converge with the genetic data. The analysis of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) barcode sequences differentiates between North and South American Atlantic populations of L. culveri (16.78% genetic distance), while in S. goodbodyi and C. biota it discriminates them from their congeneric species. These results highlight theOs poliquetas são comuns em ambientes costeiros e estuarinos em todo o mundo e constituem um dos grupos mais complexos de invertebrados marinhos. A morfo-fisiologia do sistema reprodutor feminino (FRS) pode ser compreendida por meio de ferramentas histológicas para identificar e diferenciar estes anelídeos. No entanto, essa abordagem histológica raramente é combinada com ferramentas moleculares, amplamente conhecidas por delimitar espécies congenéricas ou crípticas com maior precisão. Do mesmo modo, a descrição e o entendimento da oogênese e vitelogênese dentre os poliquetas, para a maioria das famílias, é ainda limitado. Portanto, o presente estudo tem como objetivo descrever a oogênese em três espécies de poliquetas comuns e abundantes na costa sul-americana (Laeonereis culveri, Scolelepis goodbodyi e Capitella biota) e investigar a utilidade das características reprodutivas e da gametogênese como um conhecimento associado relevante para discriminar espécies, particularmente útil para espécies crípticas putativas, integradas a dados morfológicos e moleculares. Os resultados aqui obtidos permitiram descrever dois novos subtipos de oogênese, dividindo-a em oogênese extra-ovariana dos tipos I e II e intra-ovariana dos tipos I e II. Os resultados também demonstram que os seguintes caracteres histológicos do FRS podem ser relevantes para a separação de espécies relacionadas: a) tipo de oogênese, b) presença ou ausência de um ovário verdadeiro, c) organização tissular ovariana, d) tipo de células acessórias presentes e, e) morfologia do ovócito. Além disso, essas características histológicas do FRS, quando comparadas às espécies correlatas estudadas sob esse escopo, convergem com os dados genéticos separando espécies putativas e congenéricas. As análises com DNA barcode demonstraram que em L. culveri é possível diferenciar as populações atlânticas Norte e Sul-americanas (16,78% de distância genética), enquanto para S. goodbodyi e C. biota fica evidente sua distinção com espécies congenéricas. Esses resultados destacam a importância da abordagem com múltiplas ferramentas e mostram que tanto a histologia quanto a histo-fisiologia do FRS e o DNA barcode podem ser usados para identificar e discriminar espécies crípticas e potencialmente crípticas, o que geralmente não é possível quando se utilizam apenas caracteres morfológicos. Além disso, esses caracteres também podem ser úteis na diferenciação de espécies relacionadas e / ou populações geograficamente distintas desses poliquetas.The authors would like to thank IB/UNICAMP, IO/USP and CEBIMar/USP for providing logistic support. In addition, the authors would like to thank the CBMA and the IB-S for the technical support. This work was supported by the FAPESP (Grants no 2011/50317-5, 2015/25623-6, 2017/06167-5) and CNPq through a productivity grant to A.C.Z.A (306534/2015-0). M.A.L.T was supported by a PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/131527/2017) from FCT. P.E.V. was supported by a Post-Doctoral Fellowships (BPD1/next-sea/2018, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000032). F.O.C. and the University of Minho contribution was supported by the strategic programme UID/BIA/04050/2013 POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007569