Challenges and lessons from a primary care intervention in a Brazilian municipality

OBJECTIVE: To address the implementation of the Lab for Innovation in Chronic Conditions in Santo Antonio do Monte, indicating the main challenges and lessons of a new chronic condition model. METHODS: This is an observational study based on two sources of data: 1) two cross-sectional household surveys, 2013 (2012 as reference year) and 2015 (2014 as reference year), representative for the entire population and four target groups (pregnant women; children under two years old; individuals with hypertension and diabetes); medical records of individuals who self-reported having hypertension or diabetes in the household survey of 2013. A descriptive statistics analysis was performed. RESULTS: The main findings showed that the public health system is the main provider of health services, mainly primary care, in Santo Antonio do Monte. Besides, the implementation of Lab for Innovation in Chronic Conditions showed the importance of building a Primary Health Care network in small municipalities. CONCLUSIONS: Community health agents and health managers played a fundamental role in the Primary Health Care network. The case study of Santo Antonio do Monte poses some challenges and lessons that clarify future interventions on building a Primary Health Care network that is essential to provide an adequate and longitudinal care to chronic conditions

The epochs of early-type galaxy formation as a function of environment

The aim of this paper is to set constraints of the epochs of early-type galaxy formation through the 'archaeology' of the stellar populations in local galaxies. Using our models of absorption line indices that account for variable abundance ratios, we derive the stellar population parameters of 124 early-type galaxies in high and low density environments. We find that all three parameters age, metallicity, and alpha/Fe ratio are correlated with velocity dispersion. We further find evidence for an influence of the environment on the stellar population properties. Massive early-type galaxies in low-density environments appear on average ~2 Gyrs younger and slightly more metal-rich than their counterparts in high density environments. No offsets in the alpha/Fe ratios, instead, are detected. We translate the derived ages and alpha/Fe ratios into star formation histories. We show that most star formation activity in early-type galaxies is expected to have happened between redshifts 3 and 5 in high density and between redshifts 1 and 2 in low density environments. We conclude that at least 50 per cent of the total stellar mass density must have already formed at z 1, in good agreement with observational estimates of the total stellar mass density as a function of redshift. Our results suggest that significant mass growth in the early-type galaxy population below z 1 must be restricted to less massive objects, and a significant increase of the stellar mass density between redshifts 1 and 2 should be present caused mainly by the field galaxy population. The results of this paper further imply vigorous star formation episodes in massive objects at z 2-5 and the presence of evolved ellipticals around z 1, both observationally identified as SCUBA galaxies and EROs.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, plus appendix, accepted by Ap

Photoinduced intersubband transition in undoped HgCdTe multiple quantum wells

We present photoinduced intersubband absorption measurements in HgCdTe undoped quantum wells. The transition energies and the linewidths are well described by a full 8×8 k⋅p Kane model calculation. Also, based on this model we show that different in‐plane effective masses for the first and second electron subbands should be considered in order to properly fit the low energy side of the experimental spectra. The experimental results can be explained using the calculated intersubband oscillator strength with no exciton enhancement. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69671/2/APPLAB-66-22-2998-1.pd

Prime Focus Spectrograph - Subaru's future -

The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) of the Subaru Measurement of Images and Redshifts (SuMIRe) project has been endorsed by Japanese community as one of the main future instruments of the Subaru 8.2-meter telescope at Mauna Kea, Hawaii. This optical/near-infrared multi-fiber spectrograph targets cosmology with galaxy surveys, Galactic archaeology, and studies of galaxy/AGN evolution. Taking advantage of Subaru's wide field of view, which is further extended with the recently completed Wide Field Corrector, PFS will enable us to carry out multi-fiber spectroscopy of 2400 targets within 1.3 degree diameter. A microlens is attached at each fiber entrance for F-ratio transformation into a larger one so that difficulties of spectrograph design are eased. Fibers are accurately placed onto target positions by positioners, each of which consists of two stages of piezo-electric rotary motors, through iterations by using back-illuminated fiber position measurements with a wide-field metrology camera. Fibers then carry light to a set of four identical fast-Schmidt spectrographs with three color arms each: the wavelength ranges from 0.38 {\mu}m to 1.3 {\mu}m will be simultaneously observed with an average resolving power of 3000. Before and during the era of extremely large telescopes, PFS will provide the unique capability of obtaining spectra of 2400 cosmological/astrophysical targets simultaneously with an 8-10 meter class telescope. The PFS collaboration, led by IPMU, consists of USP/LNA in Brazil, Caltech/JPL, Princeton, & JHU in USA, LAM in France, ASIAA in Taiwan, and NAOJ/Subaru.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, submitted to "Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, Ian S. McLean, Suzanne K. Ramsay, Hideki Takami, Editors, Proc. SPIE 8446 (2012)

Development of an urban molecular xenomonitoring system for lymphatic filariasis in the Recife Metropolitan Region, Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Molecular xenomonitoring (MX)-pathogen detection in the mosquito rather than human-is a promising tool for lymphatic filariasis (LF) surveillance. In the Recife Metropolitan Region (RMR), the last LF focus in Brazil, Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes have been implicated in transmitting Wuchereria bancrofti parasites. This paper presents findings on the ideal mosquito collection method, mosquito dispersion, W. bancrofti infection in mosquitoes and W. bancrofti antigen in humans to aid MX development. METHODS: Experiments occurred within two densely populated urban areas of Olinda, RMR, in July and August 2015. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light traps were compared to battery-powered aspirators as collection methods, and mosquito dispersion was measured by mosquito mark release recapture (MMRR). Female Cx. quinquefasciatus were tested by PCR for W. bancrofti infection, and study area residents were screened by rapid tests for W. bancrofti antigen. RESULTS: Aspirators caught 2.6 times more total Cx. quinquefasciatus, including 38 times more blood-fed and 5 times more gravid stages, than CDC light traps. They also collected 123 times more Aedes aegypti. Of the 9,644 marked mosquitoes released, only ten (0.01%) were recaptured, nine of which were < 50m (34.8m median, 85.4m maximum) from the release point. Of 9,169 unmarked mosquitoes captured in the MMR, 38.3% were unfed, 48.8% blood-fed, 5.5% semi-gravid, and 7.3% gravid. PCR on 182 pools (1,556 mosquitoes) found no evidence of W. bancrofti infection in Cx. quinquefasciatus. Rapid tests on 110 of 111 eligible residents were all negative for W. bancrofti antigen. CONCLUSIONS: Aspirators were more effective than CDC light traps at capturing Ae. aegypti and all but unfed stages of Cx. quinquefasciatus. Female Cx. quinquefasciatus traveled short (< 86m) distances in this urban area. Lack of evidence for W. bancrofti infection in mosquitoes and antigen in humans in these fine-scale studies does not indicate that LF transmission has ceased in the RMR. A MX surveillance system should consider vector-specific collection methods, mosquito dispersion, and spatial scale but also local context, environmental factors such as sanitation, and host factors such as infection prevalence and treatment history

Linking compact dwarf starburst galaxies in the resolve survey to downsized blue nuggets

Abstract We identify and characterize compact dwarf starburst (CDS) galaxies in the RESOLVE survey, a volume-limited census of galaxies in the local universe, to probe whether this population contains any residual “blue nuggets,” a class of intensely star-forming compact galaxies first identified at high redshift z. Our 50 low-z CDS galaxies are defined by dwarf masses (stellar mass M* &amp;lt; 109.5 M⊙), compact bulged-disk or spheroid-dominated morphologies (using a quantitative criterion, \mu _\Delta &gt; 8.6), and specific star formation rates above the defining threshold for high-z blue nuggets (log SSFR [Gyr−1] &amp;gt; −0.5). Across redshifts, blue nuggets exhibit three defining properties: compactness relative to contemporaneous galaxies, abundant cold gas, and formation via compaction in mergers or colliding streams. Those with halo mass below Mhalo ∼ 1011.5 M⊙ may in theory evade permanent quenching and cyclically refuel until the present day. Selected only for compactness and starburst activity, our CDS galaxies generally have Mhalo ≲ 1011.5 M⊙ and gas-to-stellar mass ratio ≳1. Moreover, analysis of archival DECaLS photometry and new 3D spectroscopic observations for CDS galaxies reveals a high rate of photometric and kinematic disturbances suggestive of dwarf mergers. The SSFRs, surface mass densities, and number counts of CDS galaxies are compatible with theoretical and observational expectations for redshift evolution in blue nuggets. We argue that CDS galaxies represent a maximally-starbursting subset of traditional compact dwarf classes such as blue compact dwarfs and blue E/S0s. We conclude that CDS galaxies represent a low-z tail of the blue nugget phenomenon formed via a moderated compaction channel that leaves open the possibility of disk regrowth and evolution into normal disk galaxies

Evaluation of zona pellucida birefringence intensity during in vitro maturation of oocytes from stimulated cycles

Background: This study evaluated whether there is a relationship between the zona pellucida birefringence (ZP-BF) intensity and the nuclear (NM) and cytoplasmic (CM) in vitro maturation of human oocytes from stimulated cycles.Results: The ZP-BF was evaluated under an inverted microscope with a polarizing optical system and was scored as high/positive (when the ZP image presented a uniform and intense birefringence) or low/negative (when the image presented moderate and heterogeneous birefringence). CM was analyzed by evaluating the distribution of cortical granules (CGs) throughout the ooplasm by immunofluorescence staining. CM was classified as: complete, when CG was localized in the periphery; incomplete, when oocytes presented a cluster of CGs in the center; or in transition, when oocytes had both in clusters throughout cytoplasm and distributed in a layer in the cytoplasm periphery Nuclear maturation: From a total of 83 germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes, 58 of oocytes (69.9%) reached NM at the metaphase II stage. From these 58 oocytes matured in vitro, the high/positively scoring ZP-BF was presented in 82.7% of oocytes at the GV stage, in 75.8% of oocytes when at the metaphase I, and in 82.7% when oocytes reached MII. No relationship was observed between NM and ZP-BF positive/negative scores (P = 0.55). These variables had a low Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = 0.081). Cytoplasmic maturation: A total of 85 in vitro-matured MII oocytes were fixed for CM evaluation. Forty-nine oocytes of them (57.6%) showed the complete CM, 30 (61.2%) presented a high/positively scoring ZP-BF and 19 (38.8%) had a low/negatively scoring ZP-BF. From 36 oocytes (42.3%) with incomplete CM, 18 (50%) presented a high/positively scoring ZPBF and 18 (50%) had a low/negatively scoring ZP-BF. No relationship was observed between CM and ZP-BF positive/negative scores (P = 0.42). These variables had a low Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = 0.11).Conclusions: The current study demonstrated an absence of relationship between ZP-BF high/positive or low/negative score and nuclear and cytoplasmic in vitro maturation of oocytes from stimulation cycles

Being physically active leads to better recovery prognosis for people diagnosed with COVID-19: A cross-sectional study

The regular practice of physical activity helps in the prevention and control of several non-communicable diseases. However, evidence on the role of physical activity in mitigating worsening clinical outcomes in people with COVID-19 is still unclear. The aim of this study was to verify whether different levels of physical activity provide protection for clinical outcomes caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 509 adults (43.8 +/- 15.71 years; 61.1% female) with a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 residing in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Participants were interviewed by telephone to determine the severity of the infection and the physical activity performed. Binary logistic regression was used to indicate the odds ratio (OR) of active people reporting less harmful clinical outcomes from COVID-19. Active people had a lower chance of hospitalization, fewer hospitalization days, less respiratory difficulty and needed less oxygen support. The results suggest that active people, compared to sedentary people, have a lower frequency of hospitalization, length of stay, breathing difficulty and need for oxygen support. These results corroborate the importance of public policies to promote the practice of physical activity, in order to mitigate the severity of the clinical outcomes of COVID-19.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio