Scientific authorships and collaboration network analysis on Chagas disease: papers indexed in PubMed (1940-2009)

Chagas disease is a chronic, tropical, parasitic disease, endemic throughout Latin America. The large-scale migration of populations has increased the geographic distribution of the disease and cases have been observed in many other countries around the world. To strengthen the critical mass of knowledge generated in different countries, it is essential to promote cooperative and translational research initiatives. We analyzed authorship of scientific documents on Chagas disease indexed in the Medline database from 1940 to 2009. Bibliometrics was used to analyze the evolution of collaboration patterns. A Social Network Analysis was carried out to identify the main research groups in the area by applying clustering methods. We then analyzed 13,989 papers produced by 21,350 authors. Collaboration among authors dramatically increased over the study period, reaching an average of 6.2 authors per paper in the last five-year period. Applying a threshold of collaboration of five or more papers signed in co-authorship, we identified 148 consolidated research groups made up of 1,750 authors. The Chagas disease network identified constitutes a "small world," characterized by a high degree of clustering and a notably high number of Brazilian researchers.

Os álbuns Portugal 1934 e Portugal 1940. Dois retratos do país no Estado Novo

Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em História da Arte

SAINT LOUIS ENCEPHALITIS VIRUS IN MATO GROSSO, CENTRAL-WESTERN BRAZIL

The dengue virus (DENV), which is frequently involved in large epidemics, and the yellow fever virus (YFV), which is responsible for sporadic sylvatic outbreaks, are considered the most important flaviviruses circulating in Brazil. Because of that, laboratorial diagnosis of acute undifferentiated febrile illness during epidemic periods is frequently directed towards these viruses, which may eventually hinder the detection of other circulating flaviviruses, including the Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV), which is widely dispersed across the Americas. The aim of this study was to conduct a molecular investigation of 11 flaviviruses using 604 serum samples obtained from patients during a large dengue fever outbreak in the state of Mato Grosso (MT) between 2011 and 2012. Simultaneously, 3,433 female Culex spp. collected with Nasci aspirators in the city of Cuiabá, MT, in 2013, and allocated to 409 pools containing 1-10 mosquitoes, were also tested by multiplex semi-nested reverse transcription PCR for the same flaviviruses. SLEV was detected in three patients co-infected with DENV-4 from the cities of Cuiabá and Várzea Grande. One of them was a triple co-infection with DENV-1. None of them mentioned recent travel or access to sylvatic/rural regions, indicating that transmission might have occurred within the metropolitan area. Regarding mosquito samples, one pool containing one Culex quinquefasciatus female was positive for SLEV, with a minimum infection rate (MIR) of 0.29 per 1000 specimens of this species. Phylogenetic analysis indicates both human and mosquito SLEV cluster, with isolates from genotype V-A obtained from animals in the Amazon region, in the state of Pará. This is the first report of SLEV molecular identification in MT.

FIRST CASE OF HUMAN INFECTION BY Bertiella studeri (Blanchard, 1891) Stunkard,1940 (Cestoda; Anoplocephalidae) IN BRAZIL

SUMMARY Cestodes of the Bertiella genus are parasites of non-human primates found in Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. Species Bertiella studeri and Bertiella mucronatacould, accidentally, infect human beings. The infection occurs from ingestion of mites from the Oribatida order containing cysticercoid larvae of the parasite. The objective of this report is to register the first case of human infection by Bertiella studeri in Brazil. Proglottids of the parasite, found in the stool sample of a two-and-a-half-year-old child, were fixed, stained and microscopically observed to evaluate its morphological characteristics. Eggs obtained from the proglottids were also studied. The gravid proglottids examined matched the description of the genus Bertiella. The eggs presented a round shape, with the average diameter of 43.7 µm, clearly showing the typical pyriform apparatus of B. studeri. The authors concluded that the child was infected with Bertiella studeri,based on Stunkard's (1940) description of the species. This is the fifth case of human Bertiellosis described in Brazil through morphometric analysis of the parasite, the third in Minas Gerais State and the first diagnosed case of Bertiella studeriin Brazil.

De Francine Benoît e algumas das suas redes de sociabilidade: Invisibilidades, género e sexualidade entre 1940 e 1960

Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências Musicais

Portugal na Grande Guerra: a construção do «mito» de La Lys na imprensa escrita entre 1918 e 1940

O presente trabalho procura enquadrar a participação portuguesa na Grande Guerra à luz das variações da política interna. A entrada de Portugal na Grande Guerra foi sempre polémica e não mereceu o unanimismo que se verificou na maioria dos países beligerantes. Desde muito cedo, a sociedade portuguesa dividiu-se entre os que eram a favor da participação portuguesa na guerra e os que eram contra. A acrescer a estas divisões políticas juntamos as dificuldades de um país pobre e atrasado em participar na guerra mais desenvolvida e mortífera de sempre: nomeadamente as questões logísticas do treino, transporte e manutenção de um contingente militar a combater num país estrangeiro. A situação do nosso contingente enviado para a França (C.E.P.) foi piorando gradualmente, pois a falta de apoio político traduziu-se na incapacidade de substituir as tropas em combate. Chegados a Abril de 1918, o C.E.P. foi atacado e vencido pelo exército alemão, tendo, para todos os efeitos acabado enquanto força autónoma de combate. A derrota de La Lys, foi, contudo, transformada numa grande jornada de «valor» e «coragem» do soldado português. Na criação, ampliação e divulgação do «mito» de La Lys, que atravessou três regimes políticos (I República, Ditadura Militar e Estado Novo), a imprensa teve um papel crucial, em particular nos anos que medeiam entre o final da guerra e o início da década de 40 do século XX.

Mapping of Chagas disease research: analysis of publications in the period between 1940 and 2009

INTRODUCTION: Publications are often used as a measure of success in research work. Chagas disease occurs in Central and Southern America. However, during the past years, the disease has been occurring outside Latin America due to migration from endemic zones. This article describes a bibliometric review of the literature on Chagas disease research indexed in PubMed during a 70-year period. METHODS: Medline was used via the PubMed online service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine from 1940 to 2009. The search strategy was: Chagas disease [MeSH] OR Trypanosoma cruzi [MeSH]. RESULTS: A total of 13,989 references were retrieved. The number of publications increased steadily over time from 1,361 (1940-1969) to 5,430 (2000-2009) (coefficient of determination for linear fit, R²=0.910). Eight journals contained 25% of the Chagas disease literature. Of the publications, 64.2% came from endemic countries. Brazil was the predominant country (37%), followed by the United States (17.6%) and Argentina (14%). The ranking in production changed when the number of publications was normalized by estimated cases of Chagas disease (Panama and Uruguay), population (Argentina and Uruguay), and gross domestic product (Bolivia and Brazil). CONCLUSIONS: Several Latin American countries, where the prevalence of T. cruzi infection was not very high, were the main producers of the Chagas disease literature, after adjusting for economic and population indexes. The countries with more estimated cases of Chagas disease produced less research on Chagas disease than some developed countries.

Serological evidence for Saint Louis encephalitis virus in free-ranging New World monkeys and horses within the upper Paraná River basin region, Southern Brazil

Introduction Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) primarily occurs in the Americas and produces disease predominantly in humans. This study investigated the serological presence of SLEV in nonhuman primates and horses from southern Brazil. Methods From June 2004 to December 2005, sera from 133 monkeys (Alouatta caraya, n=43; Sapajus nigritus, n=64; Sapajus cay, n=26) trap-captured at the Paraná River basin region and 23 blood samples from farm horses were obtained and used for the serological detection of a panel of 19 arboviruses. All samples were analyzed in a hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay; positive monkey samples were confirmed in a mouse neutralization test (MNT). Additionally, all blood samples were inoculated into C6/36 cell culture for viral isolation. Results Positive seroreactivity was only observed for SLEV. A prevalence of SLEV antibodies in sera was detected in Alouatta caraya (11.6%; 5/43), Sapajus nigritus (12.5%; 8/64), and S. cay (30.8%; 8/26) monkeys with the HI assay. Of the monkeys, 2.3% (1/42) of A. caraya, 6.3% 94/64) of S. nigritus, and 15.4% (4/26) of S. cay were positive for SLEV in the MNT. Additionally, SLEV antibodies were detected by HI in 39.1% (9/23) of the horses evaluated in this study. Arboviruses were not isolated from any blood sample. Conclusions These results confirmed the presence of SLEV in nonhuman primates and horses from southern Brazil. These findings most likely represent the first detection of this virus in nonhuman primates beyond the Amazon region. The detection of SLEV in animals within a geographical region distant from the Amazon basin suggests that there may be widespread and undiagnosed dissemination of this disease in Brazil.

A Saint Louis encephalitis and Rocio virus serosurvey in Brazilian horses

Introduction Arboviruses are an important public health problem in Brazil, in especially flaviviruses, including the Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) and the Rocio virus (ROCV), are especially problematic. These viruses are transmitted to humans or other vertebrates through arthropod bites and may cause diseases with clinical manifestations that range from asymptomatic infection, viral hemorrhagic fever to encephalitis. Methods A serological survey of horses from various regions of Brazil using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with recombinant SLEV domain III peptides and ROCV E protein as antigens. Results Overall, 415 (55.1%) of the 753 horses that were screened were seropositive for flavivirus and, among them, monotypic reactions were observed to SLEV in 93 (12.3%) and to ROCV in 46 (6.1%). These results suggested that these viruses, or other closely related viruses, are infecting horses in Brazil. However, none of the studied horses presented central nervous system infection symptoms. Conclusions Our results suggest that SLEV and ROCV previously circulated among horses in northeast, west-central and southeast Brazil.

A adaptação do Palácio Foz para sede do secretariado nacional de informação a intervenção da DGEMN e de Luís Benavente no mobiliário e decoração de interiores (1940‑1953)

Em 1940, o Palácio Foz foi adquirido pelo Estado Português e foi decidido queseria ocupado pelo Secretariado da Propaganda Nacional (SPN/SNI) e pela Inspecção- Geral dos Espectáculos. No ano seguinte deu-se o início da recuperação do edifício, conforme projeto do arquiteto Luís Benavente (1902-1993), ao serviço da Direção Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (DGEMN). O trabalho de Benavente consistiu na reelaboração do espaço exterior e interior, que não só procurava restituir ao edifício a sua feição original do século xviii, como também criar espaços adaptados às funções da instituição estatal. Em 1947, a Comissão para a Aquisição de Mobiliário esteve envolvida, juntamente com o SNI, no planeamento de mobiliário e decoração do Palácio. Luís Benavente empenhou-se em seleccionar objetos artísticos e decorativos, mas interveio igualmente no projeto de mobiliário. Os objetos foram escolhidos em antiquários, mas também se desenharam móveis de inspiração historicista, que eram considerados como os mais ajustados ao estilo do Palácio.

Recensão: Perrin, Michel Jean‑Louis – "L’iconographie de la gloire à la sainte croix de raban maur"

Recensão de: Michel Jean‑Louis Perrin – "L’Iconographie de la Gloire à la Sainte Croix de Raban Maur". (Répertoire Iconographique de la Littérature du Moyen âge 1.) Turnhout: Brepols, 2009.

Biologia de Anofelinos Amazônicos. XIII. Estudo do ciclo biológico de Anopheles nuñez-tovari Gabaldon, 1940 (Diptera, Culicidae)

No estudo do ciclo biológico de Anopheles nuñez-tovari foram analisadas 108 posturas, totalizando 13.999 ovos. A média de ovos postos por postura foi de 128,83 + 4,85 e uma taxa de eclosão elevada de 84,06%. Foi constatado qe 89% dos ovos eclodem com 48 horas após a oviposição, mostrando, no total, um período médio de eclosão de 1,86 + 0,004 dias. A média de ovos eclodidos por postura foi de 109,39 + 5,26. Os dados de correlação entre ovos postos e ovos eclodidos evidenciaram que à medida que aumenta o número de ovos por postura há também um aumento correspondente na taxa de eclosão . Contudo, quando as posturas são reunidas em intervalos de classe de 40 ovos, constatou-se que não há correlação para algumas delas. Para as fases imaturas, verificou-se que existem diferenças no tempo de desenvolvimento, sendo o estádio 4o - pupa - o mais longo, apresentando uma média de 3,15 + 0,03 dias. A menor média foi observada para os estádios 2o - 3o com 1,46 + 0,02 dias. Valores intermediários foram constatados para os estádios 1o - 2o, 3o - 4oe estágio de pupa - adulto (2,34 + 0,02; 1,67 + 0,02 e 1,54 + 0,01 dias, respetivamente). Para o ciclo completo ovo-adulto observou-se um tempo médio de desenvolvimento de 12,02 + 0,04 dias. As maiores taxas de mortalidade foram verificadas para o 4o. estádio (19,6%0) e para o estádio até a emergência do imago, foi de 71,40%, sendo um valor elevado segundo os dados da literatura. A comparação dos períodos do desenvolvimento entre A. nuñez-tovari com A. darlingi e A. trannulatuspossibilitou considerar A. nuñez-tovari como mais próxima da primeira espécie.