Models and tools for value systems analysis in collaborative environments

Dissertation to obtain the degree of Doctor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, specialization of Collaborative Networks

Analysis of the clonal relationship among clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis by different typing methods

Salmonella Infantis has been the second most common serovar in Argentina in the last two years, being isolated mostly from paediatric hospitalised patients. In order to determine the clonal relationship among Salmonella Infantis strains, we examined 15 isolates from paediatric patient faeces in Argentina (12 geographically related and 3 geographically non-related) by using antimicrobial susceptibility, plasmid profiling, repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP) PCR, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) PCR, and low-frequency restriction analysis of chromosomal DNA by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Four Spanish strains were included as controls of clonal diversity in molecular techniques. Antibiotype and plasmid profile was not useful as epidemiological tools. PFGE and REP-PCR were able to discriminate between Argentinean and Spanish isolates of Salmonella Infantis allowing to detect genetically related strains in three different cities. This finding indicates that a possible spread of a clone of this serovar in the North-eastern Region of Argentina has taken place in 1998.

Lean, agile, resilient and green supply chain management interoperability assessment methodology

Dissertação para obtenção de grau de Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (MEGI)

Urban sprawl analysis and modeling in Asmara, Eritreia: Application of Geospatial Tools

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Urban land cover change detection analysis and modeling spatio-temporal Growth dynamics using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques: A case study of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

DETECTION OF Leishmania (Viannia) IN Nyssomyia neivai AND Nyssomyia whitmani BY MULTIPLEX POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION, IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL

Sandflies transmit pathogens of leishmaniasis. The natural infection of sandflies by Leishmania (Viannia) was assessed in municipalities, in the state of Paraná, in Southern Brazil. Sandflies were collected with Falcão and Shannon traps. After dissection in search of flagellates in digestive tubes and identification of the species, female sandflies were submitted to the Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (multiplex PCR) for detection of the fragment of the kDNA of Leishmania (Viannia) and the fragment from the IVS6 cacophony gene region of the phlebotomine insects. The analysis was performed in pools containing seven to 12 guts from females of the same species. A total of 510 female sandflies were analyzed, including nine Migonemyia migonei, 17 Pintomyia fischeri, 216 Nyssomyia neivai, and 268 Nyssomyia whitmani. Although none of the females was found naturally infected by flagellates through dissection, the fragment of DNA from Leishmania (Viannia) was shown by multiplex PCR in one sample of Ny. neivai (0.46%) and three samples of Ny. whitmani (1.12%). It was concluded that Ny. neivai and Ny. whitmani are susceptible to Leishmania infection, and that multiplex PCR can be used in epidemiological studies to detect the natural infection of the sandfly vector, because of its sensitivity, specificity and feasibility.

Stochastic modeling of the thermal and catalytic degradation of polyethylene using simultaneous DSC/TG analysis

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Química e Bioquímica

Rickettsia typhi IN RODENTS AND R. felis IN FLEAS IN YUCATÁN AS A POSSIBLE CAUSAL AGENT OF UNDEFINED FEBRILE CASES

Rickettsia typhi is the causal agent of murine typhus; a worldwide zoonotic and vector-borne infectious disease, commonly associated with the presence of domestic and wild rodents. Human cases of murine typhus in the state of Yucatán are frequent. However, there is no evidence of the presence of Rickettsia typhi in mammals or vectors in Yucatán. The presence of Rickettsia in rodents and their ectoparasites was evaluated in a small municipality of Yucatán using the conventional polymerase chain reaction technique and sequencing. The study only identified the presence of Rickettsia typhi in blood samples obtained from Rattus rattus and it reported, for the first time, the presence of R. felis in the flea Polygenis odiosus collected from Ototylomys phyllotis rodent. Additionally, Rickettsia felis was detected in the ectoparasite Ctenocephalides felis fleas parasitizing the wild rodent Peromyscus yucatanicus. This study’s results contributed to a better knowledge of Rickettsia epidemiology in Yucatán.

NEW PRIMERS FOR DETECTION OF Leishmania infantum USING POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

SUMMARY Leishmania infantum causes visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the New World. The diagnosis of VL is confirmed by parasitological and serological tests, which are not always sensitive or specific. Our aim was to design new primers to perform a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for detecting L. infantum. Sequences of the minicircle kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) were obtained from GenBank, and the FLC2/RLC2 primers were designed. Samples of DNA from L. infantum, Leishmania amazonensis, Leishmania braziliensis, Leishmania guyanensis, Leishmania naiffi, Leishmania lainsoni, Leishmania panamensis, Leishmania major and Trypanosoma cruzi were used to standardize the PCR. PCR with FLC2/RLC2 primers amplified a fragment of 230 bp and the detection limit was 0.2 fg of L. infantum DNA. Of the parasite species assayed, only L. infantum DNA was amplified. After sequencing, the fragment was aligned to GenBank sequences, and showed (99%) homology with L. infantum. In the analysis of blood samples and lesion biopsy from a dog clinically suspected to have VL, the PCR detected DNA from L. infantum. In biopsy lesions from humans and dogs with cutaneous leishmaniasis, the PCR was negative. The PCR with FLC2/RLC2 primers showed high sensitivity and specificity, and constitutes a promising technique for the diagnosis of VL.

Analysis of the intranuclear life of nonsense transcripts

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Biologia, Especialidade de Biologia Molecular

Urban land use and land cover change analysis and modeling a case study area Malatya, Turkey

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

The effect of demand information sharing in a supply chain under demand uncertainty: a simulation study

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial

Analysis of Highly Conserved Regions of the 3'UTR of MECP2 Gene in Patients with Clinical Diagnosis of Rett Syndrome and Other Disorders Associated with Mental Retardation

In this work we explored the role of the 3'UTR of the MECP2 gene in patients with clinical diagnosis of RTT and mental retardation; focusing on regions of the 3'UTR with almost 100% conservation at the nucleotide level among mouse and human. By mutation scanning (DOVAM-S technique) the MECP2 3'UTR of a total of 66 affected females were studied. Five3'UTR variants in the MECP2 were found (c.1461+9G>A, c.1461+98insA, c.2595G>A, c.9961C>G and c.9964delC) in our group of patients. None of the variants found is located in putative protein-binding sites nor predicted to have a pathogenic role. Our data suggest that mutations in this region do not account for a large proportion of the RTT cases without a genetic explanation.

Critical analysis: Portuguese 9th grade exam results and socioeconomic factors

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Lean performance measures in a supply chain

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial