No induction of antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes during continuous exposure to eugenol and citral

The aim of this study was to evaluate the adaptation response of Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S.aureus (MRSA), and Listeria monocytogenes to the essential oil (EO), eugenol, and citral. The minimum inhibitory concentration of eugenol and citral was determined by agar dilution and microdilution. Adaptation to eugenol and citral was done by sequential exposure of the pathogens to increasing concentrations of the essential oils. The M2-A9 standard was used to determine the antibiotic susceptibility. The effect of eugenol and citral on the adherence ability was evaluated by the crystal violet assay. The impact of adaptation to eugenol on virulence was estimated using the Galleria mellonella model. No development of resistance to the components and antibiotics was observed in the adapted cells of S.aureus, MRSA, and L.monocytogenes. Eugenol and citral at subinhibitory concentration reduced the bacterial adherence. Adaptation to subinhibitory concentration of eugenol affected the virulence potential of S.aureus, MRSA, and L.monocytogenes. Eugenol and citral do not pose a risk of resistance development in a continuous mode of use. These EO components showed a high efficacy as antistaphylococcal and antilisterial biofilm agents. Adaptation at subinhibitory concentration of eugenol protected the larvae against listerial and staphylococcal infection.FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia [PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Supervised Topical Key Phrase Extraction of News Stories using Crowdsourcing, Light Filtering and Co-reference Normalization

Fast and effective automated indexing is critical for search and personalized services. Key phrases that consist of one or more words and represent the main concepts of the document are often used for the purpose of indexing. In this paper, we investigate the use of additional semantic features and pre-processing steps to improve automatic key phrase extraction. These features include the use of signal words and freebase categories. Some of these features lead to significant improvements in the accuracy of the results. We also experimented with 2 forms of document pre-processing that we call light filtering and co-reference normalization. Light filtering removes sentences from the document, which are judged peripheral to its main content. Co-reference normalization unifies several written forms of the same named entity into a unique form. We also needed a "Gold Standard" - a set of labeled documents for training and evaluation. While the subjective nature of key phrase selection precludes a true "Gold Standard", we used Amazon's Mechanical Turk service to obtain a useful approximation. Our data indicates that the biggest improvements in performance were due to shallow semantic features, news categories, and rhetorical signals (nDCG 78.47% vs. 68.93%). The inclusion of deeper semantic features such as Freebase sub-categories was not beneficial by itself, but in combination with pre-processing, did cause slight improvements in the nDCG scores.Comment: In 8th International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC 2012

The first detection of Leishmania major in naturally infected Sergentomyia minuta in Portugal

Phlebotomine sandflies of the genus Sergentomyia are widely distributed throughout the Old World. It has been suggested that Sergentomyia spp are involved in the transmission of Leishmania in India and Africa, whereas Phlebotomus spp are thought to be the sole vectors of Leishmania in the Old World. In this study, Leishmania major DNA was detected in one Sergentomyia minuta specimen that was collected in the southern region of Portugal. This study challenges the dogma that Leishmania is exclusively transmitted by species of the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World.EU/FEDER [PTDC/CVT/112371/2009]; EU [FP7-261504 EDENext]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Method for semi-automated image segmentation of blood vessels in MRI images

INTRODUCTION Atherosclerosis is considered the main pathological process responsible for ischemic stroke [1]. It consists in the accumulation of fatty materials (plaque) in the wall of blood vessels. This phenomenon leads the vessel to thicken, which, consequently, results in less expansion of the vessel within a cardiac cycle. Also, the vessel tends to expand unevenly in the different directions. Medical imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging have been greatly used for diagnosis of atherosclerosis through visual evaluation of the images. However, due to the qualitative nature of these procedures, one can lead to ambiguous results depending on the quality of the obtained images and on the accuracy of the operator. Also, this procedure is very time-consuming, taking about 7-9 minutes per sequence of 16 phases. This project proposes a method for segmentation of vessels in MRI images with the use of image processing techniques coded in MATLAB, in order to solve time and accuracy issues. METHODS The developed program consists in five main parts: Data Input, User Input, Analysis and Correction, Radial Segmentation and Data Output. Data Input gathers all the necessary data such as the MRI scans and its parameters. The images are resized and have the contrast increased., User Input prompts the user to click in specific spots on the desired vessel, which is being shown as a figure. They are used as references for setting threshold values in respect to each direction from the center of the vessel. Then, the program runs by itself in Analysis and Correction by evaluating intensity values as a function of the angle from the center of the vessel (where zero degrees is east), interpolating it and then calculating intensity threshold as a function of the angle. In Radial Segmentation, sets of vectors are grown radially from the center of the vessel. They will stop growing once the threshold value in the current direction is reached in its extremity. Each vector length is recorded in an array that is used to calculate an average area of the vessel for each phase. Finally, in Data Output, the boundaries of the vessel are shown in a set of images (Figure 1), and the area values and dilation percentage are printed on the screen.   Figure 1. Final plots. Each frame corresponds to one cardiac phase. The segmented boundaries are shown as green lines. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Manual measurements made by 3 individuals on 1400 images of 10 volunteers, have been compared to the same measurements made by the program. It has been obtained a p-value of approximately 0.94, consequently showing that there is no significant statistical difference between manual and the semi-automated measurements. The time consumed in the process was reduced by a factor of 24, from about 8m per about 20s per sequence of 16 phase slides. Furthermore, one can use the sharp and accurate segmented borders of the vessel in order to qualitatively analyse the patient’s vessel

O CAMPUS DE ARARANGUÁ DA UFSC E A RELAÇÃO COM A COMUNIDADE DO SUL DO ESTADO DE SANTA CATARINA: UMA REFLEXÃO ATRAVÉS DA GESTÃO SOCIAL

O objetivo deste artigo consiste em analisar a relação da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) com a comunidade do sul do Estado de Santa Catarina no processo implantação do Campus Araranguá a partir das categorias de análise pluralismo e bem comum definidos por Tenório et al. (2008), e também verificar os resultados alcançados com a implantação do Campus junto a comunidade do entorno. Este artigo caracterizou-se por um estudo de caso dentro de uma abordagem qualitativa, utilizando as técnicas de pesquisa descritiva e bibliográfica. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio da aplicação de entrevistas semiestruturadas com atores diretamente envolvidos no processo de discussão e implantação do Campus de Araranguá, divididos em Grupo A e Grupo B. Os dados coletados foram analisados e compreendidos por meio da aplicação da técnica de análise de conteúdo. Verificou-se a participação e inclusão de diferentes atores sociais no processo de implantação do Campus da UFSC, com destaque para a atuação ativa de representantes da sociedade civil organizada de Araranguá. Além da importância na formação das pessoas para o crescimento e desenvolvimento da cidade e demais municípios da região, constatou-se atuação da Universidade em parceria com as comunidades em projetos de pesquisa e extensão

Leishmania infection and host-blood feeding preferences of phlebotomine sandflies and canine leishmaniasis in an endemic European area, the Algarve Region in Portugal

The Algarve Region (AR) in southern Portugal, which is an international tourist destination, has been considered an endemic region of zoonotic leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum since the 1980s. In the present study, phlebotomine and canine surveys were conducted to identify sandfly blood meal sources and to update the occurrence of Leishmania infection in vectors and dogs. Four sandfly species were captured: Phlebotomus perniciosus, Phlebotomus ariasi, Phlebotomus sergenti and Sergentomyia minuta. In one P. perniciosus female, L. infantum DNA was detected. Blood meal tests showed that this species had no host preferences and was an opportunistic feeder. An overall canine leishmaniasis (CanL) seroprevalence of 16.06% was found; the seroprevalence was 3.88% in dogs housed in kennels and 40.63% in dogs that attended veterinary clinics. The simultaneous occurrence of dogs and P. perniciosus infected with L. infantum in the AR indicates that the region continues to be an endemic area for CanL. Our results reinforce the need for the systematic spatial distribution of phlebotomine populations and their Leishmania infection rates and the need to simultaneously perform pathogen monitoring in both invertebrate and vertebrate hosts to investigate the transmission, distribution and spreading of Leishmania infection.EU/FEDER/FCT [POCI/CVT/56357/2004]; EU [FP7-261504 EDENext (091)]; FCT fellowship [SFRH/BPD/44082/2008]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Water vapor pressure deficit in Portugal and implications for the development of the invasive African citrus psyllid trioza erytreae

African citrus psyllid (Trioza erytreae (Del Guercio)) is a vector insect of the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter africanus, the putative causal agent of Huanglongbing, the most devastating citrus disease in the world. The insect was found on the island of Madeira in 1994 and in mainland Portugal in 2015. Present in the north and center of the country, it is a threat to Algarve, the main citrus-producing region. Trioza erytreae eggs and first instar nymphs are sensitive to the combination of high temperatures and low relative humidity. Daily maximum air temperature and minimum relative humidity data from 18 weather stations were used to calculate the water vapor pressure deficit (vpd) from 2004 to 2018 at various locations. Based on the mean vpd and the number of unfavorable days (vpd < 34.5 and vpd < 56 mbar) of two time periods (February to May and June to September), less favorable zones for T. erytreae were identified. The zones with thermal and water conditions like those observed in the Castelo Branco and Portalegre (Center), Beja (Alentejo), Alte, and Norinha (Algarve) stations showed climatic restrictions to the development of eggs and first instar nymphs of African citrus psyllid. Effective control measures, such as the introduction and mass release of Tamarixia dryi (Waterson), a specific parasitoid, and chemical control are necessary in favorable periods for T. erytreae development, such as in spring and in areas with limited or no climate restrictions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Creating Peace: The Education for Global Peace Sustainability Project

Peace concepts, aspirations, propositions and tactics have changed throughout history. Historic age, culture, politics and science affected the thoughts about the ideal of an everlasting peace -the eternal dream –but peace has been mostly considered a nobel aim, and the capacity for peace was predominantly contemplated as an individual and social virtue, and a learning asset. Therefore, throughout the years, peace education programs emerged. The current state of the world keeps reminding us that more efforts to create peace are not redundant, and that there is an urgency to keep developing and spreading more initiatives on education for peace, in particular scientifically based, rigorously assessed, flexible, and straightforward programs that can be deliver to the simplest and the most complex world arenas. This article addresses a framework for a humble, but also distinguished and valuable input to understanding and promoting peace, that refers to the contribution that surfaced from the emergent positive psychology movement, namely its studies on collective wellbeing and public happiness. Positive psychology is the scientific study of what enablesindividuals and communities to thrive, and peace is clearly one crucial aspect towards human flourishing.Both –positive peace building education and positive psychology -are strengths-oriented and aim for the optimization of the best in people, focusing attention and strategies in developing the peak functioning of individuals, groups, communities and nations. The study and promotion of virtuousness, goodness, social cohesion, justice and wellbeing is therefore inherent to the framework of the Education for Global Peace Sustainability Project -E=GPS. The contextualization and specifics of the program,and its consubstantiation and aims, are therefore detailed.Os conceitos de paz, e as aspirações, proposições e tácticas pela pacificação, mudaram ao longo da história. O momento histórico, a cultura, a politica e a ciência afectaram os pensamentos sobre o ideal de uma paz duradoura -o sonho eterno -mas a paz tem sido considerada, genericamente, um objectivo nobre, tendo a capacitação para a paz sido predominantemente contemplada como uma virtude individual e social e um recurso de aprendizagem relevante. Em consequência, ao longo dos anos foram surgindo programas de educação para a paz. O estado atual do mundo continua a lembrar-nos que não é redundante realizar mais esforços para gerar a paz, e que há mesmo uma urgência para continuar a desenvolver e difundir mais iniciativas sobre educação para a paz, em especial que tenham base científica, avaliação rigorosa, sejam flexíveis e possam ser aplicados nas arenas mundiais mais simples e nas mais complexas. Este artigo aborda uma proposta para uma contribuição humilde, mas também distinta e considerada valiosa, para entender e promover a paz, e refere-se à contribuição que emergiu do recente movimento de psicologia positiva, ou seja, dos estudos sobre bem-estar coletivo e felicidade pública. A psicologia positiva é o estudo científico do que permite que os indivíduos e as comunidades prosperem, e a paz é claramente um aspecto crucial para o florescimento humano. Ambos -educação positiva para a construção da paz e psicologia positiva -são orientados para a optimização do melhor das pessoas, concentrando atenção e estratégias no desenvolvimento do funcionamento óptimo dos indivíduos, grupos, comunidades e nações. O estudo e a promoção da virtuosidade, do bem, da coesão social, da justiça e do bem-estar é, portanto, inerente ao quadro do Projecto de Educação para a Paz Global Sustentável (E=GPS). A contextualização e as especificidades do programa, e a sua consubstanciação e objectivos, são detalhados neste texto

Key Phrase Extraction of Lightly Filtered Broadcast News

This paper explores the impact of light filtering on automatic key phrase extraction (AKE) applied to Broadcast News (BN). Key phrases are words and expressions that best characterize the content of a document. Key phrases are often used to index the document or as features in further processing. This makes improvements in AKE accuracy particularly important. We hypothesized that filtering out marginally relevant sentences from a document would improve AKE accuracy. Our experiments confirmed this hypothesis. Elimination of as little as 10% of the document sentences lead to a 2% improvement in AKE precision and recall. AKE is built over MAUI toolkit that follows a supervised learning approach. We trained and tested our AKE method on a gold standard made of 8 BN programs containing 110 manually annotated news stories. The experiments were conducted within a Multimedia Monitoring Solution (MMS) system for TV and radio news/programs, running daily, and monitoring 12 TV and 4 radio channels.Comment: In 15th International Conference on Text, Speech and Dialogue (TSD 2012