Ecoepidemiology and biology of Eratyrus mucronatus Stål, 1859 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae), a sylvatic vector of Chagas disease in the Brazilian Amazon

Introduction Eratyrus mucronatus Stål, 1859 is a wild triatomine vector of Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas, 1909. However, little is known regarding the biology and ecoepidemiology of this triatomine in the Brazilian Amazon. The present study describes the biology of E. mucronatus grown under laboratory conditions and the epidemiological aspects of its natural breeding sites. Methods Five colonies were monitored in the field for 3 years. Temperature and humidity measurements were taken in the mornings and afternoons at the natural breeding sites, and the behavior and distribution of the nymphs and adults were observed in the wild colony. We also monitored the life cycle under controlled laboratory conditions. Results Some factors that were considered decisive for the establishment of these colonies were present at all of the colonies studied in the field. These factors included an active termite nest, a vertebrate for repast, and dry and shaded substrates with temperatures of 24-28°C and with humidity of 80-90%. A generation was developed in 274 days under these microclimatic conditions in the laboratory. Conclusions The climatic variables described in the field indicate that these environmental parameters have a limiting effect on the dispersal and colonization of E. mucronatus to new environments. In addition, the long period of development to adulthood demonstrates that only one generation can develop per year even under the more favorable laboratory conditions.

Spatial analysis of visceral leishmaniasis in the municipality of Rondonópolis, in the Brazilian State of Mato Grosso, from 2003 to 2012: human, canine and vector distribution in areas of disease transmission

INTRODUCTION: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonosis of great importance to public health and is considered a neglected disease by the World Health Organization. The disease has expanded and become more prevalent in urban areas in Brazil. METHODS: Geospatial analyses were performed and thematic maps of the triad of the disease were produced for the study period (2003-2012) in the urban area of the municipality of Rondonópolis in the midwestern State of Mato Grosso (MT), Brazil, TerraView 4.2.2 software was used for the analyses. RESULTS: A total of 87.9% of the 186 confirmed human cases of VL were cured. Children between the ages of 1 and 4 were the most affected. Registered deaths were predominant among adults aged 60 years or older. The urban area of the municipality consists of eight strata and 12 census districts include 237 neighborhoods. All sectors had confirmed cases of VL. During the study period, human cases of the disease were recorded in 90 neighborhoods. The 23 deaths from the disease were distributed in 21 neighborhoods. Sandflies carrying the parasite were captured in 192 out of 200 neighborhoods evaluated for the presence of the VL vector. The presence of dogs carrying the parasite was confirmed in, 140 out of 154 surveyed neighborhoods. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrated the endemic nature of VL, with a high percentage of infected children, a high distribution of canine infection, and a wide adaptation and dispersal of the vectors in the urban environment. These results, illustrate the process of urbanization of VL in the municipality of Rondonópolis, MT, Brazil.

Larvicidal activity of oils, fatty acids, and methyl esters from ripe and unripe fruit of Solanum lycocarpum (Solanaceae) against the vector Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae)

ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION:The larvicidal activity of oils, fatty acids, and methyl esters of Solanum lycocarpum fruit against Culex quinquefasciatus is unknown.METHODS:The larvicidal activity of samples of ripe and unripe fruit from S. lycocarpum was evaluated against third and fourth instar larvae of C. quinquefasciatus .RESULTS:The oils, fatty acids, and methyl esters of S. lycocarpum showed the greatest larvicidal effect (57.1-95.0%) at a concentration of 100mg/L (LC 50values between 0.70 and 27.54mg/L).CONCLUSIONS:Solanum lycocarpum fruit may be a good source of new natural products with larvicidal activity.

Knowledge and practices related to dengue and its vector: a community-based study from Southeast Brazil

Abstract INTRODUCTION: This study investigated the knowledge of users of primary healthcare services living in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, about dengue and its vector. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 605 people was conducted following a major dengue outbreak in 2013. RESULTS: Participants with higher levels of education were more likely to identify correctly the vector of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: The results emphasize the relevance of health education programs, the continuous promotion of educational campaigns in the media, the role of the television as a source of information, and the importance of motivating the population to control the vector.

Electrical characterization and modification of low dimensional oxide semiconductors for sensor applications

This work reviews the recent research on ion and UV irradiation of β-

Electro-Optical/Infrared sensor turret integration on an aircraft - structural im-pact on LOCKHEED MARTIN C-130H and design methodology

The growing need to patrol and survey large maritime and terrestrial areas increased the need to integrate external sensors on aircraft in order to accomplish those patrols at increasingly higher altitudes, longer range and not depending upon vehicle type. The main focus of this work is to elaborate a practical, simple, effective and efficient methodology for the aircraft modification procedure resulting from the integration of an Elec-tro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) turret through a support structure. The importance of the devel-opment of a good methodology relies on the correct management of project variables as time, available resources and project complexity. The key is to deliver a proper tool for a project de-sign team that will be used to create a solution that fulfils all technical, non-technical and certi-fication requirements present in this field of transportation. The created methodology is inde-pendent of two main inputs: sensor model and aircraft model definition, and therefore it is in-tended to deliver the results for different projects besides the one that was presented in this work as a case study. This particular case study presents the development of a structure support for FLIR STAR SAPHIRE III turret integration on the front lower fuselage bulkhead (radome) of the LOCKHEED MARTIN C-130 H. Development of the case study focuses on the study of local structural analysis through the use of Finite Element Method (FEM). Development of this Dissertation resulted in a cooperation between Faculty of Science and Technology - Universidade Nova de Lisboa and the company OGMA - Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal

Mapeamento do uso e cobertura da terra a partir da segmentação e classificação de imagens-fração solo, sombra e vegetação derivadas do modelo linear de mistura aplicado a dados do sensor TM/Landsat5, na região do reservatório de Tucuruí - PA

Técnicas de sensoriamento remoto são fundamentais para o monitoramento das mudanças de uso da terra, principalmente em áreas extensas como a Amazônia. O mapeamento de uso da terra, geralmente é realizado por métodos de classificação manual ou digital pixel a pixel, os quais consomem muito tempo. Este estudo aborda a aplicação do modelo linear de mistura em uma imagem Landsat-TM segmentada para o mapeamento das classes de uso da terra na região do reservatório de Tucuruí-PA para os anos de 1996 e 2001.

Detecção de cicatrizes de áreas queimadas baseada no modelo linear de mistura espectral e imagens índice de vegetação utilizando dados multitemporais do sensor MODIS/TERRA no estado do Mato Grosso, Amazônia brasileira

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar os dados do sensor MODIS para detectar e monitorar cicatrizes de áreas recém queimadas. Utilizamos imagens da reflectância de superfície do sensor MODIS: produto MOD09 (dia 5 de outubro) e produto MOD13A1 (meses de outubro e novembro). Foi avaliada também uma série temporal de um ano dos índices de vegetação (IV) EVI e NDVI (produto MOD13A1). Uma imagem do sensor ETM+ (dia 5 de outubro) foi utilizada como base para a delimitação dos polígonos amostrais e avaliação dos dados MODIS devido a sua melhor resolução espacial. A metodologia focou na aplicação do modelo linear de mistura espectral nas imagens reflectância para a geração das imagens fração sombra. Análises de regressão foram efetuadas para comparação entre o percentual de sombra derivado da imagem ETM+ e das imagens MODIS. As alterações multitemporais nas imagens IV foram avaliadas com base no teste de Tukey. Os resultados mostraram que a imagem fração sombra gerada a partir do produto MOD09 apresentou um R² = 0,66 (p < 0,01) em relação aos dados ETM+. Para as imagens do produto MOD13A1 não foram identificadas relações significativas. Os IV dentro dos mesmos polígonos apresentaram uma variação sazonal durante o ano. No entanto, não houve uma diminuição significativa dos valores destes índices nos meses onde foram observadas as cicatrizes de áreas recém queimadas. Portanto, o produto MOD09 mostrou-se mais eficiente que o produto MOD13A1 para a detecção de cicatrizes de áreas recém queimadas. A análise multitemporal dos IV sugeriu que não foi possível detectar este mesmo padrão na área de estudo.

Ag-TiNx electrodes deposited on piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) for biomedical sensor applications

Electroactive polymers are one of the most interesting class of polymers used as smart materials in various applications, such as the development of sensors and actuators for biomedical applications in areas such as smart prosthesis, implantable biosensors and biomechanical signal monitoring, among others. For acquiring or applying the electrical signal from/to the piezoelectric material, suitable electrodes can be produced from Ti based coatings with tailored multifunctional properties, conductivity and antibacterial characteristics, through Ag inclusions. This work reports on Ag-TiNx electrodes, deposited by d. c. and pulsed magnetron sputtering at room temperature on poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, the all-round best piezoelectric polymer.. Composition of the electrodes was assessed by microanalysis X-ray system (EDS - energy dispersive spectrometer). The XRD results revealed that the deposition conditions preserve the polymer structure and suggested the presence of crystalline fcc-TiN phase and fcc-Ag phase in samples with N2 flow above 3 sccm. According to the results obtained from SEM analysis, the coatings are homogeneous and Ag clusters were found for samples with nitrogen flow above 3 sccm. With increasing nitrogen flow, the sheet resistivity tend to be lower than the samples without nitrogen, leading also to a decrease of the piezoelectric response. It is concluded that the deposition conditions do significantly affect the piezoelectric polymer, which maintain its characteristics for sensor/actuator applications.

A new species of Cerqueirellum Py-Daniel, 1983 (Diptera: Simuliidae) and proven new vector of mansonelliasis from the Ituxi River, Amazon basin, Brazil

A new species of the genus Cerqueirellum Py-Daniel, 1983 (Diptera: Simuliidae) is described. The adults are similar to the species C. oyapockense (Floch & Abonnenc, 1946) and C. roraimense (Nunes de Mello, 1974), of which the females are similar, and the males present discrete differences. The main differences of this new species to others of the genus Cerqueirellum are the integument of the larva recovered from stout spines and long cephalic trichomes in the pupa. Some females were infected with Mansonella ozzardii (Manson, 1897) (Nematoda, Onchocercidae) and probably transmit mansonelliasis in the Ituxi river, state of Amazonas, Brazil.

Search for vector-like B quarks in events with one isolated lepton, missing transverse momentum and jets at s√= 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search has been performed for pair production of heavy vector-like down-type (B) quarks. The analysis explores the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterized by events with one isolated charged lepton (electron or muon), significant missing transverse momentum and multiple jets. One or more jets are required to be tagged as arising from b-quarks, and at least one pair of jets must be tagged as arising from the hadronic decay of an electroweak boson. The analysis uses the full data sample of pp collisions recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC, operating at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected background. Limits are set on vector-like B production, as a function of the B branching ratios, assuming the allowable decay modes are B→Wt/Zb/Hb. In the chiral limit with a branching ratio of 100% for the decay B→Wt, the observed (expected) 95% CL lower limit on the vector-like B mass is 810 GeV (760 GeV). In the case where the vector-like B quark has branching ratio values corresponding to those of an SU(2) singlet state, the observed (expected) 95% CL lower limit on the vector-like B mass is 640 GeV (505 GeV). The same analysis, when used to investigate pair production of a colored, charge 5/3 exotic fermion T5/3, with subsequent decay T5/3→Wt, sets an observed (expected) 95% CL lower limit on the T5/3 mass of 840 GeV (780 GeV).

Search for a Charged Higgs Boson Produced in the Vector-boson Fusion Mode with Decay H±→W±Z using pp Collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS Experiment

A search for a charged Higgs boson, H±, decaying to a W± boson and a Z boson is presented. The search is based on 20.3 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The H± boson is assumed to be produced via vector-boson fusion and the decays W±→qq′¯ and Z→e+e−/μ+μ− are considered. The search is performed in a range of charged Higgs boson masses from 200 to 1000 GeV. No evidence for the production of an H± boson is observed. Upper limits of 31--1020 fb at 95% CL are placed on the cross section for vector-boson fusion production of an H± boson times its branching fraction to W±Z. The limits are compared with predictions from the Georgi-Machacek Higgs Triplet Model.

Search for production of vector-like quark pairs and of four top quarks in the lepton-plus-jets final state in pp collisions at root 8=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for pair production of vector-like quarks, both up-type (T) and down-type (B), as well as for four-top-quark production, is presented. The search is based on pp collisions at s√=8 TeV recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. Data are analysed in the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterised by an isolated electron or muon with high transverse momentum, large missing transverse momentum and multiple jets. Dedicated analyses are performed targeting three cases: a T quark with significant branching ratio to a W boson and a b-quark (TT¯→Wb+X), and both a T quark and a B quark with significant branching ratio to a Higgs boson and a third-generation quark (TT¯→Ht+X and BB¯→Hb+X respectively). No significant excess of events above the Standard Model expectation is observed, and 95% CL lower limits are derived on the masses of the vector-like T and B quarks under several branching ratio hypotheses assuming contributions from T→Wb, Zt, Ht and B→Wt, Zb, Hb decays. The 95% CL observed lower limits on the T quark mass range between 715 GeV and 950 GeV for all possible values of the branching ratios into the three decay modes, and are the most stringent constraints to date. Additionally, the most restrictive upper bounds on four-top-quark production are set in a number of new physics scenarios.

A hybrid MAC Scheme to improve the transmission performance in body sensor networks

Wireless body sensor networks (WBSNs) constitute a key technology for closing the loop between patients and healthcare providers, as WBSNs provide sensing ability, as well as mobility and portability, essential characteristics for wide acceptance of wireless healthcare technology. However, one important and difficult aspect of WBSNs is to provide data transmissions with quality of service, among other factors due to the antennas being small size and placed close to the body. Such transmissions cannot be fully provided without the assumption of a MAC protocol that solves the problems of the medium sharing. A vast number of MAC protocols conceived for wireless networks are based on random or scheduled schemes. This paper studies firstly the suitability of two MAC protocols, one using CSMA and the other TDMA, to transmit directly to the base station the signals collected continuously from multiple sensor nodes placed on the human body. Tests in a real scenario show that the beaconed TDMA MAC protocol presents an average packet loss ratio lower than CSMA. However, the average packet loss ratio is above 1.0 %. To improve this performance, which is of vital importance in areas such as e-health and ambient assisted living, a hybrid TDMA/CSMA scheme is proposed and tested in a real scenario with two WBSNs and four sensor nodes per WBSN. An average packet loss ratio lower than 0.2 % was obtained with the hybrid scheme. To achieve this significant improvement, the hybrid scheme uses a lightweight algorithm to control dynamically the start of the superframes. Scalability and traffic rate variation tests show that this strategy allows approximately ten WBSNs operating simultaneously without significant performance degradation.

Mapeamento da antiga cobertura vegetal de várzea do Baixo Amazonas a partir de imagens históricas (1975-1981) do Sensor MSS-Landsat

Este estudo apresenta um mapa da cobertura vegetal da planície de inundação do Rio Amazonas entre as cidades de Parintins (AM) e Almeirim (PA), com base em imagens Landsat-MSS adquiridas entre 1975 e 1981. O processamento digital dessas imagens envolveu a transformação para imagens-fração de vegetação, solo e água escura (sombra), seguido da aplicação de técnicas de segmentação e classificação por região. O mapa resultante da classificação foi organizado em quatro classes de cobertura do solo: floresta de várzea, vegetação não-florestal de várzea, solo exposto e água aberta. A precisão do mapa foi estimada a partir de dois tipos de informações coletadas em campo: 1) pontos de descrição: para validação das classes de cobertura não sujeitas a grandes alterações, como é o caso dos corpos d'água permanentes, e identificação de indicadores dos tipos de cobertura original presentes na paisagem na ocasião da obtenção das imagens (72 pontos); 2) entrevistas com moradores antigos para a recuperação da memória sobre a cobertura vegetal existente há 30 anos (44 questionários). Ao todo foram coletadas informações em 116 pontos distribuídos ao longo da área de estudo. Esses pontos foram utilizados para calcular o Índice Kappa de concordância entre os dados de campo e o mapa resultante da classificação automática, cujo valor (0,78) indica a boa qualidade do mapa de cobertura vegetal da várzea. Os resultados mostram que a região possuía uma cobertura florestal de várzea de aproximadamente 8.650 km2 no período de aquisição das imagens.