Exploring Alternatives to use Master/Slave Full Duplex Switched Ethernet for Avionics Embedded Applications

The complexity of distributed real-time systems, including military embedded applications, is increasing due to an increasing number of nodes, their functionality and higher amounts of exchanged data. This higher complexity imposes major development challenges when nonfunctional properties must be enforced. On the other hand, the current military communication networks are a generation old and are no longer effective in facing such increasingly complex requirements. A new communication network, based on Full Duplex Switched Ethernet and Master/slave approach, has been proposed previously. However, this initial approach is not efficient in terms of network bandwidth utilization. In this paper we propose two new alternative approaches that can use the network bandwidth more efficiently. In addition we provide a preliminary qualitative assessment of the three approaches concerning different factors such as performance, scalability, complexity and flexibility

Atypical Pearly Penile Papules Mimicking Primary Syphilis

Letter to the editor - no abstract available</p

Estudo analítico da estabilidade dimensional longitudinal das espécies de madeira tropicais brasileiras

Brazil owns a large vegetal covering and the best utilization of these materials requires physical and mechanical characterization procedures. Equations found in the literature make easier the wood properties determination. At this context, well known authors developed the equation βl = βt/23, being βl and βt the longitudinal and tangential shrinkage percentages, for βl estimation based on the βt value specially for wood species from the Northern hemisphere. This paper aims to investigate the accuracy of this equation for fifteen tropical Brazilian wood species covering the entire range of hardwood strength classes according to the Brazilian Normative ABNT NBR7190. The average experimental values of βl and βt were 7.71% (CV = 26,71%) and 0.73% (CV = 38,76%), respectively. The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA refuted the hypothesis of equivalence between theoretical and experimental βl values (p-value = 0.0000). A linear regression model fitted to experimental values provided βl = βt/9,84 as optimal solution (p-value = 0.0000, R2 = 47,23%). According to results it is possible to conclude that the value of longitudinal shrinkage percentage of tropical Brazilian wood species is statistically 2,34 times greater than the value found in the literature, which impacts the design of timber structures procedures increasing the internal stresses in timber structural elements.O Brasil possui grande cobertura vegetal e o melhor aproveitamento desses materiais requer procedimentos de caracterização física e mecânica. Equações encontradas na literatura facilitam a determinação das propriedades da madeira. Nesse contexto, autores conhecidos desenvolveram a equação βl = βt/23, sendo βl e βt as porcentagens de retração longitudinal e tangencial, para estimativa de βl com base no valor de βl especialmente para espécies de madeira do hemisfério Norte. Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar a precisão desta equação para quinze espécies de madeiras tropicais brasileiras cobrindo toda a faixa de classes de resistência da madeira de lei de acordo com o Norma Brasileira ABNT NBR 7190. Os valores experimentais médios de βl e βt foram 7,71% (CV = 26,71 %) e 0,73% (CV = 38,76%), respectivamente. A ANOVA não paramétrica de Kruskal-Wallis refutou a hipótese de equivalência entre os valores de βl  teórico e experimental (p-valor = 0,0000). Um modelo de regressão linear ajustado aos valores experimentais forneceu βl  =βt/9,84 como solução ótima (p-valor = 0,0000, R² = 47,23%). De acordo com os resultados, é possível concluir que o valor da porcentagem de retração longitudinal das espécies de madeira tropical brasileira é estatisticamente 2,34 vezes maior que o valor encontrado na literatura, o que impacta nos procedimentos de dimensionamento de estruturas de madeira aumentando as tensões internas nas estruturas de madeira

Bacillary Angiomatosis in a HIV-positive Patient with Poor Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy

Bacillary angiomatosis is a systemic disease caused by Bartonella (B.) henselae and B. quintana. Today it is a rare disease that occurs predominantly in patients with poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy or with late diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We report on the case of a 40-year-old Caucasian female with HIV-1 and hepatitis B virus (HBV) co-infection diagnosed 17 years ago. She presented to the emergency department with an erythematous, painless nodule located on the left naso-genian fold. In the next few weeks the disease disseminated to the oral and left tarsal mucosa and to the palm of the left hand. The histopathological findings were suggestive of bacillary angiomatosis which was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The patient was treated with clarithromycin 500 mg bid per os for 3 months, with complete remission of the mucocutaneous lesions. Bacillary angiomatosis is a potentially fatal disease. Early diagnosis and treatment are critical in reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with it.</p

Improving WiFi communication with surface nodes at near-shore on tidal waters

Wireless radio links deployed in aquatic areas (e.g., sea, rivers, lakes, estuaries) are affected by the conductive properties of the water surface, strengthening signal reflections and increasing destructive interference. Recurrent natural phenomena (e.g. tides or waves) cause shifts in water levels further impairing propagation over water surfaces. In this work, we aim to mitigate the detrimental impact of tides on link quality by providing tailored link distance/height-design regions that minimize average path losses. We focus on line-of-sight (LOS) over-water links between onshore stations and different types of surface nodes, namely AUVs, buoys, or USVs, using 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands. Analytical results targeting mission data transfer scenarios demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms, in both frequency bands, the common practice of placing (i) onshore antennas at the largest possible height and/or (ii) surface nodes at a short but arbitrary distance from the shore. A longer version of this summary was presented at IEEE/MTS OCEANS 2021.This work was partially supported by National Funds through FCT/MCTES (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), within the CISTER Research Unit (UIDP/UIDB/04234/2020) and by FCT through the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Regional Operational Programme (ROP) Norte 2020, under grant 2020.06685.BDinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identification of type III secretion substrates of Chlamydia trachomatis using Yersinia enterocolitica as a heterologous system

BACKGROUND:Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular human pathogen causing ocular and urogenital infections that are a significant clinical and public health concern. This bacterium uses a type III secretion (T3S) system to manipulate host cells, through the delivery of effector proteins into their cytosol, membranes, and nucleus. In this work, we aimed to find previously unidentified C. trachomatis T3S substrates.RESULTS:We first analyzed the genome of C. trachomatis L2/434 strain for genes encoding mostly uncharacterized proteins that did not appear to possess a signal of the general secretory pathway and which had not been previously experimentally shown to be T3S substrates. We selected several genes with these characteristics and analyzed T3S of the encoding proteins using Yersinia enterocolitica as a heterologous system. We identified 23 C. trachomatis proteins whose first 20 amino acids were sufficient to drive T3S of the mature form of beta-lactamase TEM-1 by Y. enterocolitica. We found that 10 of these 23 proteins were also type III secreted in their full-length versions by Y. enterocolitica, providing additional support that they are T3S substrates. Seven of these 10 likely T3S substrates of C. trachomatis were delivered by Y. enterocolitica into host cells, further suggesting that they could be effectors. Finally, real-time quantitative PCR analysis of expression of genes encoding the 10 likely T3S substrates of C. trachomatis showed that 9 of them were clearly expressed during infection of host cells.CONCLUSIONS:Using Y. enterocolitica as a heterologous system, we identified 10 likely T3S substrates of C. trachomatis (CT053, CT105, CT142, CT143, CT144, CT161, CT338, CT429, CT656, and CT849) and could detect translocation into host cells of CT053, CT105, CT142, CT143, CT161, CT338, and CT429. Therefore, we revealed several C. trachomatis proteins that could be effectors subverting host cell processes.(undefined

Faculty Development at Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine at University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP): A contextualized historical review

The objective of this article is to historically contextualize Faculty Development (FD) actions carried out at the Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine at University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), since its foundation up until the creation of the Center for Faculty Development (CDDE) in Health Professions Education (HPE). CDDE is the first formal unit of the institution with the mission to support educators (Faculty Members and Preceptors) to improve their educational practices: to teach, facilitate learning, assess, design curriculum, and evaluate programs. We present here an overview for the concept of Faculty Development, the role of international funding foundations and local government regulations in the consolidation of these activities in Brazil. We also describe the school administration actions and pioneer Faculty members that created the foundations for the first Faculty Development Center at FMRP-USP. Finally, we address the context of the creation of the CDDE and the describe participants characteristics of the first five editions of the Essentials Skills Module on HPE.O objetivo desse artigo é contextualizar historicamente as ações de desenvolvimento docente realizadas na Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (FMRP-USP) desde sua fundação até a criação do Centro de Desenvolvimento Docente para o Ensino (CDDE) para as Profissões da Saúde, que foi a primeira unidade formal da instituição para a educação para o ensino dos seus professores e preceptores. Apresentamos um panorama sobre o conceito atual de desenvolvimento docente, o papel de fundações internacionais de fomento e de regulamentações governamentais locais na consolidação dessas atividades no país, além de ações dos diretores e professores da Faculdade de Medicina visando a capacitação profissional para o exercício da docência desde a sua fundação. Finalmente, abordamos o contexto de criação do CDDE, os profissionais participantes e dados da participação docente nas cinco primeiras edições do “Módulo Básico” de ensino para as profissões da saúde na FMRP-USP, o primeiro e mais importante programa estruturado de capacitação docente oferecido pelo centro

MarinEye - A tool for marine monitoring

This work presents an autonomous system for marine integrated physical-chemical and biological monitoring – the MarinEye system. It comprises a set of sensors providing diverse and relevant information for oceanic environment characterization and marine biology studies. It is constituted by a physicalchemical water properties sensor suite, a water filtration and sampling system for DNA collection, a plankton imaging system and biomass assessment acoustic system. The MarinEye system has onboard computational and logging capabilities allowing it either for autonomous operation or for integration in other marine observing systems (such as Observatories or robotic vehicles. It was designed in order to collect integrated multi-trophic monitoring data. The validation in operational environment on 3 marine observatories: RAIA, BerlengasWatch and Cascais on the coast of Portugal is also discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Avaliação do emprego de cartões FTA para o transporte do DNA de Pasteurella multocida e pesquisa de genes associados à virulência em cepas isoladas de cólera aviária nos Estados Unidos

Fowl Cholera (FC) is a disease caused by Pasteurella multocida. The severity of this disease is partly caused by virulence factors. Genes encoding fimbriae, capsule, sialidases and proteins for iron metabolism may be related to P. multocida’s ability to infect the host. Besides to examining DNA for the presence of virulence genes, DNA is essential for the diagnostic and FTA cards are an alternative for genetic material transport. The study aims to evaluate the viability of P. multocida DNA transport using the cards and to detect 14 virulence genes in 27 strains isolated from FC cases in the United States by multiplex-PCR. No growth was observed in any of the FTA cards, which was essential to assess the security. Furthermore, DNA detection was possible in 100% of the samples, independent of the storage period (7 to 35 days) and temperature (4°C and 37°C). ptfA, exbd-tonB, hgbA, nanB, oma87, hyaD-hyaC, sodC, hgbB, sodA, nanH and pfhA genes were detected in more than 80% of the samples. FTA cards have proven to be a viable and safe tool for DNA transport of P. multocida. A majority of genes showed a high frequency, which was similar to strains isolated from FC cases.Cólera aviária (CA) é uma doença causada pela bactéria Pasteurella multocida e a severidade dos casos é em parte justificada por fatores de virulência. Genes codificando fímbrias, cápsulas, sialidases, dismutases e proteínas do metabolismo férrico podem ser relacionados à capacidade do agente em infectar o hospedeiro. Além da obtenção do DNA para pesquisa de genes de virulência, o material genético é fundamental para o diagnóstico, e os cartões FTA seriam uma alternativa no transporte de microrganismos. Os objetivos da presente pesquisa foram avaliar a viabilidade do transporte de DNA de P. multocida através dos cartões e detectar 14 genes de virulência em 27 cepas isoladas de CA nos Estados Unidos, por meio de multiplex-PCR. Nenhuma das amostras para análise microbiológica da segurança dos cartões apresentou crescimento. Foi possível a detecção do DNA em 100% das amostras, independentemente do tempo de estocagem (sete a 35 dias) e das temperaturas (4°C e 37°C) avaliadas. Genes ptfA, exbd-tonB, hgbA, nanB, oma87, hyaD-hyaC, sodC, hgbB, sodA, nanH e pfhA foram detectados em mais de 80% das amostras. Os cartões FTA demonstraram ser uma ferramenta viável e segura para o transporte do DNA de P. multocida. A maioria dos genes apresentou uma alta frequência, compatível com isolados de CA