Colonização bacteriana assintomática da próstata em espondiloartrite axial ou outras doenças reumáticas inflamatórias crônicas

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Pública, Florianópolis, 2016Objetivo: Investigar a hipótese de que prostatite crônica, bacteriana ou estéril por hiperuricosúria, esteja relacionada a espondiloartrite axial. Métodos: Estudo transversal em 25 pacientes masculinos com espondiloartrite axial (SpA), 21 masculinos portadores de outras doenças reumáticas inflamatórias crônicas (controle inflamatório, CI) e 25 masculinos saudáveis (controle saudável, CS), com aferição dos sintomas de prostatite pelo questionário NIH-CPSI (National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index), cultura para bactérias e dosagem de ácido úrico urinário no Pre and Post Massage Test (PPMT), em amostras de urina coletadas antes e após massagem prostática. Resultados: Não houve diferença entre as medianas do escore de sintomas prostáticos NIH-CPSI dos grupos EA, CI e CS, nem houve diferença na proporção de pacientes com escores maiores que 4 entre estes grupos. Não houve diferença entre as concentrações urinárias de ácido úrico antes e após massagem prostática em nenhum dos grupos ou entre os grupos. O PPMT foi positivo (com crescimento bacteriano exclusivamente na urina pós-massagem prostática) em 3 sujeitos do grupo EA, 4 sujeitos do grupo CI e em nenhum sujeito do grupo CS (p = 0,03). Conclusão: Não se encontrou evidência que suporte a hipótese de prostatite crônica estar associada à SpA. Observou-se, porém, que a colonização bacteriana assintomática é mais comum em portadores de doenças reumáticas inflamatórias de qualquer natureza que em controles saudáveis.Abstract : Objective: To investigate the hypothesis that chronic bacterial or sterile prostatitis due to hyperuricosuria is related to axial spondyloarthritis. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 25 male patients with axial spondyloarthritis (AS), 21 male patients with other chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (inflammatory control, IC), and 25 healthy male patients (health control, HC); prostatitis symptoms were measured by the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) questionnaire, culture for bacteria, and urinary uric acid dosage in the Pre- and Post-Massage Test (PPMT) in urine samples collected before and after prostatic massage. Results: No significant difference was found in the median NIH-CPSI among the AS, IC, and HC groups, and no significant difference was found in the proportion of patients with scores higher than 4 among these groups. No significant difference was found in the urinary concentrations of uric acid before and after prostatic massage among any of the groups or between the groups. PPMT result was positive (with bacterial growth exclusively in the urine of the post-prostatic massage) in three patients in the AS group, four patients in the IC group, and none in the HC group (p = 0.03). Conclusion: We found no evidence to support the hypothesis that chronic prostatitis is associated with AS. However, asymptomatic bacterial colonization in patients with any kind of inflammatory rheumatic diseases is noted to be more common than that in healthy patients

Coherent Control of Light Scattering from Nanostructured Materials by Second-Harmonic Generation

We introduce an active, all-optical method for controlling the intensity and directionality of light scattering from single nanostructures. The method is based on the coherent interplay between linear light scattering and second-harmonic generation. The intensity and directionality of scattered light can be controlled by the phase delay and the relative angle between excitation beams. We discuss the principle of this coherent control technique and perform numerical model calculations

In the diffraction shadow: Norton waves versus surface plasmon-polaritons in the optical region

Surface electromagnetic modes supported by metal surfaces have a great potential for uses in miniaturised detectors and optical circuits. For many applications these modes are excited locally. In the optical regime, Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPPs) have been thought to dominate the fields at the surface, beyond a transition region comprising 3-4 wavelengths from the source. In this work we demonstrate that at sufficiently long distances SPPs are not the main contribution to the field. Instead, for all metals, a different type of wave prevails, which we term Norton waves for their reminiscence to those found in the radio-wave regime at the surface of the Earth. Our results show that Norton Waves are stronger at the surface than SPPs at distances larger than 6-9 SPP's absorption lengths, the precise value depending on wavelength and metal. Moreover, Norton waves decay more slowly than SPPs in the direction normal to the surface.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope compositions of organic matter in marine sediment cores from the Abrolhos region: indicators of sources and preservation

Organic matter is an important source of information on the transport and consolidation processes of sediments. In this study, the isotopes of carbon and nitrogen (δ13C and δ15N), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio, and 13C-NMR were utilized to understand the origin and behavior of organic material in the Abrolhos region. It were analyzed nine sediment cores taken from a mangrove, a channel between the mainland and the coral reefs. The average value of the C/N ratio in the mangrove was 18, which characterizes purely terrigenous areas. For the reefs, the average value of the C/N ratio was 8,which is characteristic of marine and coastal regions. For the sediment cores taken from the channel, the average value of the C/N ratio was 10, a typical value of areas under the influence of mangroves. The mean values of δ13C were -26.9‰ for the mangrove, -20.7‰ for the channel region, and -18.2‰ for the reefs. This variation is associated with the main source of organic matter, which in the mangrove is derived from vascular plants (mainly C3 metabolism) and for the reefs is derived from phytoplankton. The 13C-NMR results corroborate the isotopic and elemental analyses. The analyses of these cores indicate that the anthropogenic influence on the coast did not significantly alter the composition of the material that has been deposited in about the last 80 years in the region of study.A matéria orgânica é uma fonte de informação importante nos processos\ud de transporte e consolidação de sedimentos. Neste estudo, foram utilizados\ud isótopos de carbono e de nitrogênio (δ13C e δ15N), carbono orgânico total\ud (TOC), nitrogênio total, razão carbono/nitrogênio (C/N) e 13C-NMR para\ud entender a origem e o comportamento do material orgânico na região de\ud Abrolhos. Foram analisados nove testemunhos de sedimentos coletados em\ud um manguezal, em um canal e em recifes de corais. O valor médio da razão\ud C/N no manguezal foi de 18, o que caracteriza áreas puramente terrígenas.\ud Nos recifes, esse valor foi de 8, característico de regiões marinhas e costeiras,\ud e, nos testemunhos de sedimentos coletados no canal, foi de 10, um valor\ud típico de áreas sob a influência de manguezais. O valor médio de δ13C foi de\ud -26,9‰ para o manguezal, -20,7‰ para a região do canal e -18,2‰ para os\ud recifes. Essa variação é associada com a principal fonte de matéria orgânicaa qual, no manguezal, é derivada de plantas vasculares (principalmente de\ud metabolismo C3) e, nos recifes, é derivada de fitoplâncton. Os resultados de\ud 13C-NMR corroboram as análises isotópicas e elementais. As análises dos\ud testemunhos indicam que a influência antropogênica da região costeira não\ud altera significantemente a composição do material que tem sido depositado\ud nos últimos 80 anos na região estudad

Geochemical Characterization of Two Ferruginous Meromictic Lakes in the Upper Midwest, USA

To elucidate the role of (bio)geochemical processes that fueled iron and carbon cycling in early Earth oceans, modern environments with similar geochemical conditions are needed. As the range of chemical, physical, and biological attributes of the Precambrian oceans must have varied in time and space, lakes of different compositions are useful to ask and answer different questions. Tropical Lake Matano (Indonesia), the largest known ferruginous lake, and Lake Pavin (France), a meromictic crater lake, are the two best studied Precambrian ocean analogs. Here we present seasonal geochemical data from two glacially formed temperate ferruginous lakes: Brownie Lake (MN) and Canyon Lake (MI) in the Upper Midwest, USA. The results of seasonal monitoring over multiple years indicate that (1) each lake is meromictic with a dense, anoxic monimolimnion, which is separated from the less dense, oxic mixolimnion by a sharp chemocline; (2) below this chemocline are ferruginous waters, with maximum dissolved iron concentrations \u3e1 mM; (3) meromixis in Brownie Lake is largely anthropogenic, whereas in Canyon Lake it is natural; (4) the shallow chemocline of Brownie Lake and high phosphorus reservoir make it an ideal analog to study anoxygenic photosynthesis, elemental ratios, and mineralogy; and (5) a deep penetrating suboxic zone in Canyon Lake may support future studies of suboxic microbial activity or mineral transformation