Biological and immunological studies of five Brazilian rabies virus isolates

Aspects of biological behavior of Brazilian rabies virus isolated from canine, bovine, equine, vampire and insectivorous bats were studied in mice. The oral infection occurred in mice fed with infected brain of insectivours bat (8.82%), canine (8.57%) and equine (3.03%). The mean period of incubation to all the isolates was 6 days after mice intracerebral inoculation, however, symptoms were variable, since hyperexcitability (canine sample), progressive paralysis of lower limbs and prolonged clinical course until death (equine sample), and mice without clinical signs before death (insectivorous bat). By immunohistochemistry IFN was detected in brains of mice inoculated with bovine and insectivorous bat samples, TNF and iNOS were detected in brains of those inoculated with insectivorous bat, bovine and canine samples, and positive GFAP astrocytes were found in all five samples. Two commercial inactivated rabies vaccines, one imported (vaccine 1) and another manufactured in Brazil (vaccine 2) were compared to evaluate their efficacy to protect against experimental rabies infection in mice, through the NIH and the CDC potency tests, using these street isolates as challenge virus. There was no statistical significant difference between the efficaccy of both vaccines, when comparing the same potency test and challenge virus strain suggesting no need to produce specific vaccines with street isolates.Estudou-se em camundongos aspectos do comportamento biológico de amostras brasileiras de virus rábico isoladas de cão, bovino, eqüino, morcegos hematófago e insetívoro. Observou-se transmissão oral em camundongos alimentados com cérebros infectados de morcego insetívoro (8,82%), cão (8,57%) e eqüino (3,03%). O período de incubação médio para todas as amostras foi de 6 dias após a inoculação intracerebral, com sintomas variando, desde hiperexitabilidade (amostra canina), paralisia progressiva principalmente de membros posteriores e maior duração do curso clínico até a morte (eqüino) e morte repentina, sem sintomas aparentes (morcego insetívoro). Pela imunoistoquímica detectou-se produção de IFN nos cérebros dos camundongos inoculados com amostra de bovino e morcego insetívoro, TNF e iNOS nos animais infectados com amostra de cão, bovino e morcego insetívoro e reação astrocitária com aumento da expressão de GFAP em todas as cinco amostras. A eficácia de 2 vacinas comerciais inativadas, uma nacional e outra importada, para a proteção contra a infecção experimental em camundongos foi avaliada através dos testes NIH e CDC, usando as amostras de campo para o desafio. Não houve diferença significativa entre o desempenho das vacinas, quando comparadas para um mesmo teste de potência e amostra de desafio sugerindo que não há necessidade de se produzir vacinas com amostras isoladas de campo

Novel and powerful 3D adaptive crisp active contour method applied in the segmentation of CT lung images

The World Health Organization estimates that 300 million people have asthma, 210 million people haveChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and, according to WHO, COPD will become the third majorcause of death worldwide in 2030. Computational Vision systems are commonly used in pulmonologyto address the task of image segmentation, which is essential for accurate medical diagnoses. Segmentationdefines the regions of the lungs in CT images of the thorax that must be further analyzed bythe system or by a specialist physician. This work proposes a novel and powerful technique named 3DAdaptive Crisp Active Contour Method (3D ACACM) for the segmentation of CT lung images. The methodstarts with a sphere within the lung to be segmented that is deformed by forces acting on it towardsthe lung borders. This process is performed iteratively in order to minimize an energy function associatedwith the 3D deformable model used. In the experimental assessment, the 3D ACACM is comparedagainst three approaches commonly used in this field: the automatic 3D Region Growing, the level-setalgorithm based on coherent propagation and the semi-automatic segmentation by an expert using the3D OsiriX toolbox. When applied to 40 CT scans of the chest the 3D ACACM had an average F-measureof 99.22%, revealing its superiority and competency to segment lungs in CT images

Prevalence of metabolic components in university students

OBJETIVO: identificar a frequência dos componentes da síndrome metabólica em estudantes universitários. MÉTODO: estudo descritivo com 550 estudantes, de diversos cursos de uma universidade pública. Os dados socioeconômicos, o estilo de vida e os componentes da síndrome metabólica foram preenchidos por meio de um formulário. A coleta de sangue foi realizada na própria universidade por um laboratório de análises clínicas contratado. RESULTADOS: 66,2% eram do sexo feminino, com idade média de 22,6+4,41; 71,7% eram sedentários; 1,8% afirmaram fumar e 48,5% estavam classificados como de médio risco para o alcoolismo. Ainda, 5,8% apresentavam circunferência abdominal elevada e 20,4% excesso de peso; 1,3% e 18,9% estavam com a glicemia de jejum e triglicerídeos elevados, respectivamente; 64,5% apresentaram lipoproteínas de alta densidade colesterol baixo e 8,7% níveis pressóricos compatíveis com pressão arterial limítrofe. Assim, da amostra, 64,4% apresentaram pelo menos um componente para síndrome metabólica; 11,6% tinham dois e 3,5% tinham três ou mais. CONCLUSÃO: boa parte da população já apresenta componentes para síndrome metabólica e esse perfil reforça a importância do diagnóstico precoce com o intuito de reduzir o risco de desenvolvimento de comorbidades crônicas.OBJETIVO: identificar la frecuencia de los componentes del Síndrome Metabólico (SM) en estudiantes universitarios. MÉTODO: estudio descriptivo con 550 estudiantes, de diversos cursos de una universidad pública. Los datos socioeconómicos, el estilo de vida y los componentes del SM fueron informados por medio de un formulario. La recolección de sangre fue realizada en la propia universidad por un laboratorio contratado de análisis clínicos. RESULTADOS: 66,2% eran del sexo femenino, con edad promedio de 22,6+ 4,41; 71,7% eran sedentarios; 1,8% afirmaron fumar; y 48,5% estaban clasificados como de mediano riesgo para el alcoholismo. 5,8% presentaban circunferencia abdominal elevada y 20,4% exceso de peso; 1,3% y 18,9% estaban con la glucemia de ayuno y los triglicéridos elevados, respectivamente; 64,5% presentaron Colesterol HDL bajo y 8,7% niveles de presión compatibles con la presión arterial limítrofe. Así, de la muestra, 64,4% presentaron por lo menos un componente para SM; 11,6% tenían dos y 3,5% tenían tres o más. CONCLUSIÓN: buena parte de la población ya presenta componentes para síndrome metabólico y ese perfil refuerza la importancia del diagnóstico precoz con la finalidad de reducir el riesgo de desarrollar enfermedades concomitantes crónicas.OBJECTIVE: to identify the frequency of components of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) among university students. METHOD: descriptive study with 550 students, from various courses run by a public university. The socioeconomic data, lifestyle, and components of MetS were filled out using a questionnaire. Blood sample collection was undertaken in the university itself by a contracted clinical analysis laboratory. RESULTS: 66.2% were female, with a mean age of 22.6±4.41; 71.7% were sedentary; 1.8% stated that they smoke; and 48.5% were classified as at medium risk for alcoholism. 5.8% had raised abdominal circumference and 20.4% had excess weight; 1.3% and 18.9% had raised fasting blood glucose levels and triglycerides, respectively; 64.5% had low HDL cholesterol and 8.7% had blood pressure levels compatible with borderline high blood pressure. Thus, of the sample, 64.4% had at least one component for MetS; 11.6% had two, and 3.5% had three or more. CONCLUSION: a significant proportion of the population already has the components for metabolic syndrome, and this profile reinforces the importance of early diagnosis so as to reduce the risk of developing chronic comorbidities

Carbon sequestration potential of second-growth forest regeneration in the Latin American tropics

Regrowth of tropical secondary forests following complete or nearly complete removal of forest vegetation actively stores carbon in aboveground biomass, partially counterbalancing carbon emissions from deforestation, forest degradation, burning of fossil fuels, and other anthropogenic sources. We estimate the age and spatial extent of lowland second-growth forests in the Latin American tropics and model their potential aboveground carbon accumulation over four decades. Our model shows that, in 2008, second-growth forests (1 to 60 years old) covered 2.4 million km2 of land (28.1%of the total study area).Over 40 years, these lands can potentially accumulate a total aboveground carbon stock of 8.48 Pg C (petagrams of carbon) in aboveground biomass via low-cost natural regeneration or assisted regeneration, corresponding to a total CO2 sequestration of 31.09 Pg CO2. This total is equivalent to carbon emissions from fossil fuel use and industrial processes in all of Latin America and the Caribbean from1993 to 2014. Ten countries account for 95% of this carbon storage potential, led by Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. We model future land-use scenarios to guide national carbon mitigation policies. Permitting natural regeneration on 40% of lowland pastures potentially stores an additional 2.0 Pg C over 40 years. Our study provides information and maps to guide national-level forest-based carbon mitigation plans on the basis of estimated rates of natural regeneration and pasture abandonment. Coupled with avoided deforestation and sustainable forestmanagement, natural regeneration of second-growth forests provides a low-costmechanism that yields a high carbon sequestration potential with multiple benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services. © 2016 The Authors

Biodiversity recovery of Neotropical secondary forests

Old-growth tropical forests harbor an immense diversity of tree species but are rapidly being cleared, while secondary forests that regrow on abandoned agricultural lands increase in extent. We assess how tree species richness and composition recover during secondary succession across gradients in environmental conditions and anthropogenic disturbance in an unprecedented multisite analysis for the Neotropics. Secondary forests recover remarkably fast in species richness but slowly in species composition. Secondary forests take a median time of five decades to recover the species richness of old-growth forest (80% recovery after 20 years) based on rarefaction analysis. Full recovery of species composition takes centuries (only 34% recovery after 20 years). A dual strategy that maintains both old-growth forests and species-rich secondary forests is therefore crucial for biodiversity conservation in human-modified tropical landscapes. Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

2D shape recognition using an integrated sequential technique and polygonal models.

Esta tese apresenta uma nova metodologia para reconhecimento de formas em 2D u t i - lizando modelos poligonais e seus atributos geométricos, bem como a implementação desta metodologia em um sistema de visão artificial. Esta metodologia possibilita tratar os processos de modelagem e reconhecimento de formas como parte de um mesmo problema, através do uso de funções discriminantes. 0 sistema desenvolvido contem significantes inovações, tanto no processo de modelagem poligonal como no de casamento de modelos, através da geração e verificação de hipóteses. Dentre estas destaca-se a execução das tarefas de maneira sequencial e integrada, e o uso de funções discriminantes com valor de limiar angular variável, para o agrupamento e verificação de hipóteses. São testadas cinco técnicas diferentes de avaliação de hipóteses, utilizando cinco cenas distintas. Conclui-se que o sistema resultante e capaz de reconhecer e localizar formas 2D isoladas ou parcialmente visíveis, posicionadas aleatoriamente.This thesis presents a new methodology for polygonal model based 2D shape recognition. This methodology enables a unified treatment to the model building and recognition problems, through the use of discriminant functions. An artificial vision system implementing the proposed methodology is also described. Among the relevant innovations presented by the system, one can mention the integration of the sequential procedures required and the use of discriminant functions with variable angular thresholds, for hypothesis grouping and validation. Five different hypothesis evaluation techniques have been tested, for five distinct test scenes. The resulting system is able to deal with 2D shapes, isolated or superposed (partially visible) and randomly positioned

Recognition of two-dimensional objects using polygonal modeling.

Esta dissertação apresenta um sistema capaz de reconhecer e localizar objetos em bidimensionais, isolados ou sobrepostos, que utiliza os atributos globais e locais extraídos dos modelos poligonais dos objetos. As estratégias usadas, pelo sistema aqui desenvolvido, estão intimamente ligadas á forma de modelamento dos objetos. Um novo algorítmo para modelamento poligonal de objetos bidimensionais foi proposto. Este algoritmo aqui proposto possui algumas características relevantes tais como: produz número de segmentos (lados do polígno) variável, dependendo apenas da precisão desejada: permite extração de medidas geométricas do modelo do objeto durante o processo de modelamento; integra em uma única etapa os processos de segmentação, de modelamento e de extração de características. A operação do algoritmo é descrita em detalhes nesta dissertação, resultados experimentais são apresentados e conclusões são tiradas a respeito das vantagens do método e possíveis aplicações futuras.This dissertation presents a system capable of recognizing and locating objects in two-dimensional, isolated or overlapping, using the global and local attributes extracted from the polygonal models of the objects. The strategies used, by the system developed here, are closely linked to the way objects are modeled. A new algorithm for polygonal modeling of two-dimensional objects has been proposed. This algorithm has some relevant characteristics such as: it produces variable number of segments (sides of the polygon), depending only on the desired precision: it allows extraction of geometric measurements of the object model during the modeling process; integrates in a single step the processes of segmentation, modeling and extraction of characteristics. The operation of the algorithm is described in detail in this dissertation, experimental results are presented and conclusions are drawn regarding the advantages of the method and possible future applications

Qualidade de cafés especiais: uma avaliação sensorial feita com consumidores utilizando a técnica MFACT

RESUMO A qualidade sensorial de cafés especiais, cujas características se relacionam com o meio geográfico é apreciada pelo setor produtivo e o mercado, no qual, uma relação comercial é pautada na livre escolha, por parte do consumidor e na agregação de valores e diferenciação de preços em função da qualidade do produto. Neste cenário, focar as tendências dos consumidores é primordial para que um café seja diferenciado em relação aos demais; para isso, novas metodologias de análise devem ser exploradas para que os resultados sejam dignos de contemplaram inúmeros fatores inerentes às particularidades de cada consumidor e/ou produto. Com esse propósito, o objetivo desse artigo é propor o uso da técnica de múltiplos fatores aplicada a tabelas de contingência (MFACT), em dados categorizados obtidos em um experimento sensorial realizado com diferentes grupos de consumidores com a finalidade de identificar similaridades entre quatro cafés especiais. Concluiu-se que o uso dessa técnica é viável, por permitir discriminar os cafés especiais produzidos em diferentes ambientes (altitudes) e processamentos, considerando a heterogeneidade entre os consumidores envolvidos na análise sensorial