Desalination in nuclear plants: a bibliometric study of research activity in scientific literature indexed by SCOPUS base

With the scarcity of fresh water, desalination is an important instrument to be considered for the production of non-salinized water through waste heat in the dual use of nuclear reactors. The gap that this study seeks to fill is related to the use of bibliometric method, based on information structure, about the scientific studies indexed on the evolution of the topic desalination in nuclear power plants. The objective of this work is to map the themes in the scientific literature between 1966 and the first semester of 2017. Data were collected from the research activities indexed by the SCOPUS database and analyzed with the support of bibliometric software VOSviewer. Among others, the results of the research led to the following conclusions: (1) the articles published in indexed journals represent the largest percentage of the type of instrument used for scientific dissemination, representing 64% of the documents; (2) it is estimated that between the years 2016 and 2025 the indexed research activities involving nuclear desalination continued to grow sharply

Phenoloxidase activity acts as a mosquito innate immune response against infection with semliki forest virus

Several components of the mosquito immune system including the RNA interference (RNAi), JAK/STAT, Toll and IMD pathways have previously been implicated in controlling arbovirus infections. In contrast, the role of the phenoloxidase (PO) cascade in mosquito antiviral immunity is unknown. Here we show that conditioned medium from the Aedes albopictus-derived U4.4 cell line contains a functional PO cascade, which is activated by the bacterium Escherichia coli and the arbovirus Semliki Forest virus (SFV) (Togaviridae; Alphavirus). Production of recombinant SFV expressing the PO cascade inhibitor Egf1.0 blocked PO activity in U4.4 cell- conditioned medium, which resulted in enhanced spread of SFV. Infection of adult female Aedes aegypti by feeding mosquitoes a bloodmeal containing Egf1.0-expressing SFV increased virus replication and mosquito mortality. Collectively, these results suggest the PO cascade of mosquitoes plays an important role in immune defence against arboviruses

A genome survey of Moniliophthora perniciosa gives new insights into Witches' Broom Disease of cacao

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The basidiomycete fungus <it>Moniliophthora perniciosa </it>is the causal agent of Witches' Broom Disease (WBD) in cacao (<it>Theobroma cacao</it>). It is a hemibiotrophic pathogen that colonizes the apoplast of cacao's meristematic tissues as a biotrophic pathogen, switching to a saprotrophic lifestyle during later stages of infection. <it>M. perniciosa</it>, together with the related species <it>M. roreri</it>, are pathogens of aerial parts of the plant, an uncommon characteristic in the order Agaricales. A genome survey (1.9× coverage) of <it>M. perniciosa </it>was analyzed to evaluate the overall gene content of this phytopathogen.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Genes encoding proteins involved in retrotransposition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) resistance, drug efflux transport and cell wall degradation were identified. The great number of genes encoding cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (1.15% of gene models) indicates that <it>M. perniciosa </it>has a great potential for detoxification, production of toxins and hormones; which may confer a high adaptive ability to the fungus. We have also discovered new genes encoding putative secreted polypeptides rich in cysteine, as well as genes related to methylotrophy and plant hormone biosynthesis (gibberellin and auxin). Analysis of gene families indicated that <it>M. perniciosa </it>have similar amounts of carboxylesterases and repertoires of plant cell wall degrading enzymes as other hemibiotrophic fungi. In addition, an approach for normalization of gene family data using incomplete genome data was developed and applied in <it>M. perniciosa </it>genome survey.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This genome survey gives an overview of the <it>M. perniciosa </it>genome, and reveals that a significant portion is involved in stress adaptation and plant necrosis, two necessary characteristics for a hemibiotrophic fungus to fulfill its infection cycle. Our analysis provides new evidence revealing potential adaptive traits that may play major roles in the mechanisms of pathogenicity in the <it>M. perniciosa</it>/cacao pathosystem.</p

Geostatistics applied to the study of soil physiochemical characteristics in seasonal deciduous forest areas

Utilizaram-se m\ue9todos da geoestat\uedstica na identifica\ue7\ue3o do tamanho e da estrutura da variabilidade espacial de alguns atributos f\uedsico-qu\uedmicos do solo em \ue1reas de Floresta Estacional Decidual as quais foram denominadas floresta madura, floresta secund\ue1ria e capoeir\ue3o. As \ue1reas, localizadas no munic\uedpio de Santa Tereza, RS, foram amostradas durante o per\uedodo de 2002 a 2003, compreendendo as classes de solo: Chernossolo Argil\ufavico, Cambissolo Ta e Neossolo Lit\uf3lico. Realizou-se amostragem sistem\ue1tica com grid de espa\ue7amento regular entre os pontos variando de 30 m para o capoeir\ue3o e 40 m para floresta madura e secund\ue1ria, totalizando oitenta pontos amostrais em uma \ue1rea total de 7,34 ha. Foram coletadas amostras de solo \u201cin situ\u201d para an\ue1lise em laborat\uf3rio dos atributos densidade do solo, argila, pH, pot\ue1ssio, mat\ue9ria org\ue2nica e f\uf3sforo. A estrutura da variabilidade espacial foi identificada por meio dos semivariogramas, definindo-se os par\ue2metros necess\ue1rios para a krigagem. O atributo mais vari\ue1vel foi a mat\ue9ria org\ue2nica, n\ue3o obtendo ajuste a nenhum modelo te\uf3rico de semivariograma, enquanto que o pH foi o menor. Na an\ue1lise de estrutura da variabilidade espacial por meio da geoestat\uedstica, a argila e densidade, ambas em \ue1rea de floresta secund\ue1ria, e o pH nas \ue1reas experimentais apresentaram a maior depend\ueancia espacial. O modelo gaussiano para o atributo argila obteve o maior alcance da depend\ueancia espacial, sendo 400 e 388 m, nas \ue1reas de floresta secund\ue1ria e madura respectivamente. A valida\ue7\ue3o cruzada mostrou acuracidade no ajuste dos modelos variogr\ue1ficos, tendo a vari\ue1vel pH apresentado o melhor desempenho, 0,87; 0,94 e 0,92 nas \ue1reas de floresta madura, secund\ue1ria e capoeir\ue3o respectivamente.Methods of geostatistics were used in the identification of size and structure of space variability of some physiochemical attributes of soils under seasonal deciduous forest areas, which were called mature forest, secondary forest and "capoeir\ue3o". The areas, located in Santa Tereza, RS, were sampled during the period of 2002 and 2003, comprising the soil classes: Argiluvic Chernosol, Cambisol Ta and Litholic Neosol. Systematic sampling was performed with regular spacing grid of points varying of 30 m for "capoeir\ue3o" and 40 m for mature and secondary forest, in an amount of 80 sample points in a total area of 7.34 ha. For each point, measurements "in situ" were made of the soil bulk density, clay content, pH, potassium, organic matter and phosphorus. The structure of space variability was identified through the variograms, being defined the needed parameters for the Kriging. The most variable attribute was the organic matter, being not adjusted to any model of variogram, while the pH was the least. In the analysis of the space variability structure through the geostatistics, the clay and bulk density, both in area of secondary forest, and pH in the experimental areas, had showed the biggest space dependence. The Gauss model for the clay attribute obtained the largest reach (a), being 400 m and 388 m in the areas of secondary and mature forest, respectively. The crossed validation showed accuracy in the variographic models adjustment, being the pH variable the one which presented the optimum performance, 0.87; 0.94 and 0.92 in the areas of mature forest, secondary forest and "capoeir\ue3o", respectively

A low-cost HPV immunochromatographic assay to detect high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Objective To evaluate the reproducibility and accuracy of the HPV16/18-E6 test. Methods The study population was comprised of 448 women with a previously abnormal Pap who were referred to the Barretos Cancer Hospital (Brazil) for diagnosis and treatment. Two cervical samples were collected immediately before colposcopy, one for the hr-HPV-DNA test and cytology and the other for the HPV16/18-E6 test using high-affinity monoclonal antibodies (mAb). Women with a histologic diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or 3 were considered to be positive cases. Different strategies using a combination of screening methods (HPV-DNA) and triage tests (cytology and HPV16/18-E6) were also examined and compared. Results The HPV16/18-E6 test exhibited a lower positivity rate compared with the HPV-DNA test (19.0% vs. 29.3%, p<0.001) and a moderate/high agreement (kappa = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.60-0.75). It also exhibited a significantly lower sensitivity for CIN2+ and CIN3+ detection compared to the HPV-DNA test and a significantly higher specificity. The HPV16/18-E6 test was no different from cytology in terms of sensitivity, but it exhibited a significantly higher specificity in comparison to ASCH+. A triage test after HPV-DNA detection using the HPV16/18-E6 test exhibited a significantly higher specificity compared with a triage test of ASCH+ to CIN2+ (91.8% vs. 87.4%, p = 0.04) and CIN3+ (88.6% vs. 84.0%, p = 0.05). Conclusion The HPV16/18-E6 test exhibited moderate/high agreement with the HPV-DNA test but lower sensitivity and higher specificity for the detection of CIN2+ and CIN3+. In addition, its performance was quite similar to cytology, but because of the structural design addressed for the detection of HPV16/18-E6 protein, the test can miss some CIN2/3+ lesions caused by other high-risk HPV types.Cancer Prevention Department, Center for the Researcher Support and Pathology Department of the Barretos Cancer Hospital. This study was supported by CNPq 573799/2008-3 and FAPESP 2008/57889-1info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cardiac-Oxidized Antigens Are Targets of Immune Recognition by Antibodies and Potential Molecular Determinants in Chagas Disease Pathogenesis

Trypanosoma cruzi elicits reactive oxygen species (ROS) of inflammatory and mitochondrial origin in infected hosts. In this study, we examined ROS-induced oxidative modifications in the heart and determined whether the resultant oxidized cardiac proteins are targets of immune response and of pathological significance in Chagas disease. Heart biopsies from chagasic mice, rats and human patients exhibited, when compared to those from normal controls, a substantial increase in protein 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), malondialdehyde (MDA), carbonyl, and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) adducts. To evaluate whether oxidized proteins gain antigenic properties, heart homogenates or isolated cardiomyocytes were oxidized in vitro and one- or two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-GE)/Western blotting (WB) was performed to investigate the proteomic oxidative changes and recognition of oxidized proteins by sera antibodies in chagasic rodents (mice, rats) and human patients. Human cardiomyocytes exhibited LD50 sensitivity to 30 µM 4-HNE and 100 µM H2O2 at 6 h and 12 h, respectively. In vitro oxidation with 4-HNE or H2O2 resulted in a substantial increase in 4-HNE- and carbonyl-modified proteins that correlated with increased recognition of cardiac (cardiomyocytes) proteins by sera antibodies of chagasic rodents and human patients. 2D-GE/Western blotting followed by MALDI-TOF-MS/MS analysis to identify cardiac proteins that were oxidized and recognized by human chagasic sera yielded 82 unique proteins. We validated the 2D-GE results by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and WB and demonstrated that oxidation of recombinant titin enhanced its immunogenicity and recognition by sera antibodies from chagasic hosts (rats and humans). Treatment of infected rats with phenyl-α-tert-butyl nitrone (PBN, antioxidant) resulted in normalized immune detection of cardiac proteins associated with control of cardiac pathology and preservation of heart contractile function in chagasic rats. We conclude that ROS-induced, cardiac-oxidized antigens are targets of immune recognition by antibodies and molecular determinants for pathogenesis during Chagas disease

Polarimetric SAR Image Segmentation with B-Splines and a New Statistical Model

We present an approach for polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image region boundary detection based on the use of B-Spline active contours and a new model for polarimetric SAR data: the GHP distribution. In order to detect the boundary of a region, initial B-Spline curves are specified, either automatically or manually, and the proposed algorithm uses a deformable contours technique to find the boundary. In doing this, the parameters of the polarimetric GHP model for the data are estimated, in order to find the transition points between the region being segmented and the surrounding area. This is a local algorithm since it works only on the region to be segmented. Results of its performance are presented