Review of a Small-scale Pelagic Longline Fishery off Northeastern Brazil

The annual catches of four small longliners operating off northeast Brazil from 1983 to 1997 were examined across different areas and locations. The total catch comprised tunas (30%), sharks (54%), billfishes (12%), and other fish species (4%). Fishing strategy and annual composition of catches showed large spatial and temporal variabilities with the dominant catches alternating among yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares; gray sharks, Carcharhinus spp.; and blue shark, Prionace glauca. Catches of blue and gray sharks showed a significant interaction among seamounts, with gray sharks occurring in maximum abundance around those seamounts that had relatively deep summits and low-sloping depth profiles. Results are discussed in terms of the various factors that may have influenced distribution of effort

Dengue epidemic in Belém, Pará, Brazil, 1996-97.

We describe clinical and epidemiologic findings during the first epidemic of dengue fever in Belém, Pará State, Brazil, in 1996-97. Of 40,237 serum samples, 17,440 (43%) were positive for dengue by virus isolation or serologic testing. No hemorrhagic cases or deaths were reported. Mycobacterium tuberculosi

Penetration of hydrogen technologies: study on the environmental impact of road transport in Portugal

Road traffic is one of the transportation sectors with faster growth and also one of the most important emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs). In this work, an analysis of the environmental benefits resulting from the introduction of hydrogen on road transport in Portugal is made. Impact is analyzed mainly looking at the pollutant emissions provided by road transport at the point of use. Emissions associated to road transport have been estimated using the software COPERT (version 4), since it provides a detailed methodology for each specific pollutant related to the vehicle fleet of a region or country, as well as the driving conditions and fuel consumption. Passenger cars, light duty vehicles and public transport buses are the vehicles categories in which the hydrogen technology is foreseen. The hydrogen penetration rates (moderate and high) are extracted from the European Project HYWAYS. Two trends are then considered, which give penetration rates of 40.0 % and 74.5 % in 2050 for the moderate and high scenarios respectively

Mortality due to systemic mycoses as a primary cause of death or in association with AIDS in Brazil: a review from 1996 to 2006

Deaths caused by systemic mycoses such as paracoccidioidomycosis, cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, candidiasis, aspergillosis, coccidioidomycosis and zygomycosis amounted to 3,583 between 1996-2006 in Brazil. When analysed as the underlying cause of death, paracoccidioidomycosis represented the most important cause of deaths among systemic mycoses (~ 51.2%). When considering AIDS as the underlying cause of death and the systemic mycoses as associated conditions, cryptococcosis (50.9%) appeared at the top of the list, followed by candidiasis (30.2%), histoplasmosis (10.1%) and others. This mortality analysis is useful in understanding the real situation of systemic mycoses in Brazil, since there is no mandatory notification of patients diagnosed with systemic mycoses in the official health system.FAPESPCNP

Effects of pitch spatial references on players’ positioning and physical performances during football small-sided games

The aim of this study was to identify the effects of adding spatial references during football small-sided games in youth players' tactical and physical performance. Twelve under-15 players performed a Gk+ 6v6+ Gk game under two playing conditions: (i) without spatial references (CONTROL condition); (ii) with spatial references, by dividing equally the pitch into three corridors and three sectors (experimental situation, LINES). Players' positional data was used to compute time-motion and tactical-related variables. The results revealed that performance under LINES situation increased the regularity in the zones occupied (~14%, Cohen's d: 0.5; ±0.3; p = 0.003) and in the distance between teammates' dyads (~19%, 0.9; ±0.2; p < 0.001). Oppositely, LINES condition decreased the longitudinal synchronization of players' displacements (0.4; ±0.2; p = 0.002), players' average speed (0.5; ±0.3; p = 0.002) and distance covered at lower (0.9; ±0.3; p < 0.001) and moderate speed (0.5; ±0.3; p < 0.001). Adding spatial references seems to promote a more structured pattern of play and increase positional regularity. However, coaches should be aware that this constraint may decrease the synchronization between players. Overall, these findings may be generalized to most invasion team sports.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ocorrência recente de infecção humana por arbovirus Rocio na região do Vale do Ribeira

The presence of IgM antibodies to Rocio in sera of two children from rural area of Ribeira Valley, Brazil, was detected by MAC-ELISA. This new arbovirus of the Flaviviridae family was responsible for an extensive encephalitis epidemic that occurred in the region in 1975-1977. Since 1980 no human disease caused by this virus has been diagnosed. An improvement on surveillance of Rocio infections and on the researches for virus identification in suspected vectors and reservoirs is necessary.Descreve-se o achado sorológico de anticorpos IgM para vírus Rocio em duas crianças da área rural do Vale do Ribeira, Estado de São Paulo. O vírus Rocio foi responsável por extensa epidemia de encefalite na região em 1975-1977. Desde 1980 não têm sido diagnosticados casos de doença. Impõe-se a ativação de medidas dirigidas à vigilância epidemiológica desta arbovirose

Preliminary Results of Circle and J-Style Hook Comparisons in the Brazilian Pelagic Longline Fishery

Preliminary studies in western North Atlantic pelagic longline fisheries indicate that a change in terminal gear from J-style hooks to circle hooks may reduce bycatch mortality. However, such studies have not examined the impact of this change in the equatorial fishery. Catch composition, catch rates, hooking location, and condition at haulback were monitored during 26 sets in the commercial longline fishery operating in the western equatorial South Atlantic where circle (size 18/0, non-offset) and J-style (size 9/0 and 10/0, 10° offset) hooks were deployed in an alternating fashion. Catch rates for yellowfin tuna, swordfish, and a composite “all fishes” category were significantly (P \u3c 0.05) higher for circle hooks. Bigeye tuna, swordfish, sailfish, and yellowfin tuna were hooked significantly more often externally than internally. Yellowfin tuna were over eight times more likely to be hooked in the mouth with circle hooks than with J-style hooks. Bigeye tuna and sailfish showed significantly higher rates of survival at haulback with circle hooks. The results suggest that the use of size 18/0 non-offset circle hooks in the equatorial pelagic longline fishery may increase the survival of bycatch species at haulback with minimal detrimental effects on the catches of target species

West Nile virus infection in the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus): a model for West Nile encephalitis.

This report describes a new hamster model for West Nile (WN) virus encephalitis. Following intraperitoneal inoculation of a New York isolate of WN virus, hamsters had moderate viremia of 5 to 6 days in duration, followed by the development of humoral antibodies. Encephalitic symptoms began 6 days after infection; about half the animals died between the seventh and 14th days. The appearance of viral antigen in the brain and neuronal degeneration also began on the sixth day. WN virus was cultured from the brains of convalescent hamsters up to 53 days after initial infection, suggesting that persistent virus infection occurs. Hamsters offer an inexpensive model for studying the pathogenesis and treatment of WN virus encephalitis

Cell walls of the dimorphic fungal pathogens Sporothrix schenckii and Sporothrix brasiliensis exhibit bilaminate structures and sloughing of extensive and intact layers

This work was supported by the Fundação Carlos Chagas de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), grants E-26/202.974/2015 and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), grants 229755/2013-5, Brazil. LMLB is a senior research fellow of CNPq and Faperj. NG acknowledged support from the Wellcome Trust (Trust (097377, 101873, 200208) and MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (MR/N006364/1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

O impacto da formação no desempenho da arbitragem no futebo

Those responsible for global football refereeing have encouraged the development of formal training programs that meet the requirements of referee activity. Thus, this study aimed to: i) analyze the perceptions of expert referees about the introduction of formal training programs throughout the career (Academy of refereeing - AA - for football referees) in Portugal; (ii) verify the impact of the AA on the referees' performance in referees who participated in this training model and those who did not participate. For this purpose, 2 complementary studies were conducted. In study 1, five Portuguese football refereeing experts were interviewed, based on a semi-structured interview, with content analysis. In study 2, the performance of the referees of the national ranking of 2009-18 (N=243) were collected, and were grouped according to their training: Group 1 (n=82)  promoted directly; Group 2 (n=86) promoted from categories after training in AA; Group 3 (n=75) elements that have not been promoted. The results of study 1 revealed: i) a significant change in the training curriculum of Portuguese referees since 2013-14; (ii) the existence of gaps in the formative and classification process; iii) the existence of a culture of individualism and competition in the sector. The results of study 2 revealed only significant differences between the G3 and G2 groups. It was concluded that improvements in the training process were realized, although there were no significant improvements in performance. Experience was identified as the variable that positively influenced the referees’ performance.Los responsables del arbitraje a nivel mundial han alentado el desarrollo de programas de formación formal, adecuados a las necesidades de la actividad de los árbitros de fútbol. De ahí que, este estudio tuvo como objetivo: i) analizar las percepciones de los árbitros expertos sobre la introducción de programas de formación formal a lo largo de su carrera (Academia de Arbitraje - AA - para árbitros de fútbol) en Portugal; ii) comprobar el impacto de AA en las calificaciones de los árbitros entre los árbitros que participaron en este modelo de capacitación y los que no lo hicieron. Para ello, se realizaron 2 estudios complementarios. En el estudio 1, se entrevistó a cinco expertos portugueses en arbitraje de fútbol, partiendo de una entrevista semiestructurada, con el análisis de contenido. En el estudio 2, se recogieron las calificaciones de los árbitros de la plantilla nacional 2009-18 (N = 243), que se agruparon de acuerdo con su formación: Grupo 1 (n = 82) promovidos directamente; Grupo 2 (n = 86) promovidos de categoría tras su formación en AA; Grupo 3 (n = 75) los que no fueron promovidos. Los resultados del estudio 1 revelaron: i) un cambio significativo en la estructuración de la formación de los árbitros portugueses tras la temporada 2013-14; ii) la existencia de lagunas en el proceso formativo y de clasificación; iii) la existencia de una cultura de individualismo y exigencia en el sector. Los resultados del estudio 2 solo revelaron diferencias significativas entre G3 y G2. Se concluye que se observaron mejoras en el proceso de formación, aunque no hubo mejoras significativas en el desempeño a nivel de la clasificación. La variable experiencia se identificó como un factor que influyó positivamente en la clasificación.Os responsáveis pela arbitragem em termos mundiais têm estimulado o desenvolvimento de programas de formação formal que respondam às exigências da atividade de árbitro de futebol. Assim, este estudo pretendeu: i) analisar a perceções de árbitros especialistas sobre a introdução de programas de formação formais ao longo da carreira (Academia de Arbitragem – AA - para árbitros de futebol) em Portugal; ii) verificar o impacto da AA nas classificações dos árbitros entre árbitros que participaram neste modelo de formação e os que não integraram. Para tal foram realizados 2 estudos complementares. No estudo 1 foram entrevistados cinco especialistas portugueses de arbitragem de futebol, a partir de uma entrevista semiestruturada, com respetiva análise de conteúdo. No estudo 2 recolheram-se as classificações dos árbitros dos quadros nacionais de 2009-18 (N=243), tendo sido agrupadas de acordo com a sua formação: Grupo 1 (n=82) promovidos diretamente; Grupo 2 (n=86) promovidos de categorias após formação na AA; Grupo 3 (n=75) elementos que não foram promovidos. Os resultados do estudo 1 revelaram: i) uma mudança significativa na estruturação da formação dos árbitros portugueses a partir da época de 2013-14; ii) a existência de lacunas no processo formativo e classificativo; iii) a existência de uma cultura de individualismo e exigência no setor. Os resultados do estudo 2 apenas revelaram diferenças significativas entre o G3 e o G2. Conclui-se que foram percecionadas melhorias no processo de formação, embora não se verificaram melhorias significativas no desempenho classificativo. A variável experiência foi identificada como fator que influiu positivamente o desempenho classificativo