Socio-ethnic segregation and sustainable urban city planning in Lisbon

Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ecologia Humana e Problemas Sociais Contemporâneos

Risk factors for Leishmania chagasi infection in an urban area of Minas Gerais State

In order to understand the determinants of human infection by Leishmania chagasi in an urban area, a cross-sectional population based study was conducted using molecular and serologic methods to identify infection. Participants were interviewed using a pre-coded questionnaire. Two criteria were tested to identify risk factors: Model 1- including all participants positive in hybridization by Leishmania donovani complex probe; Model 2- including all participants positive for hybridization and at least one serologic test. In Model 1, the variables associated with infection were: ownership of birds, time spent outside house between 6:00-10:00 PM and garbage not collected. In Model 2, the variables associated with infection were: family with knowledge of the vector, garbage not collected, garbage not removed or buried, ownership of birds and eroded areas in the neighborhood. The risk factors identified were associated with household conditions, presence of animals and the likelihood of contact with phlebotomine sandflies.

Development of a satellite based PM10 concentration product for urban areas

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia do Ambiente

Diagnosing human asymptomatic visceral leishmaniasis in an urban area of the State of Minas Gerais, using serological and molecular biology techniques

A population-based cross-sectional study was set up in Sabará country, Southeastern Brazil, to identify asymptomatic human visceral leishmaniasis in an urban area of low disease prevalence. Blood was collected on filter paper (n=1,604 inhabitants) and examined by indirect immunofluorescent test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunochromatographic strip test. The prevalence rates of infection ranged from 2.4 to 5.6% depending on the test used. One year later, venous blood was collected in a subset of 226 participants (102 seropositive and 124 seronegative). The tests performed were IFAT, ELISA, rk39-ELISA, polymerase chain reaction and hybridization with Leishmania donovani complex probe. No clinical signs or symptoms of leishmaniasis were observed. Using hybridization as a reference test, the sensitivity and specificity of serology were respectively: 24.8 and 71% (ELISA); 26.3 and 76.3% (rk-39); 30.1 and 63.4% (IFAT). Due to disagreements, different criteria were tested to define the infection and hybridization should be considered in epidemiological studies.

Factors associated with Leptospira sp infection in a large urban center in northeastern Brazil

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that has emerged to cause epidemics in urban communities in developing countries. However, little is known about the infection in the general population. A seroprevalence survey was performed on a random sample of 1,390 subjects in Salvador, Brazil. Data on environmental and socioeconomic factors were collected. The microagglutination test of serum samples was used to show any prior Leptospira infection. The overall seroprevalence was 12.4%. Among the seropositive individuals, 111 (61%) had high titers for serovars of the Icterohaemorrhagiae serogroup. Seroprevalence increased with age and was similar for males and females. A positive correlation between Leptospira infection and low educational level was found. These findings indicate that a significant proportion of this urban population is exposed to pathogenic Leptospira. Public health actions for leptospirosis control will need to target not only the traditional groups at risk of infection with severe forms of this disease, but also the general population that is at risk.

High frequency of resistance to the drugs isoniazid and rifampicin among tuberculosis cases in the city of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, an urban area in Northeastern Brazil

The objective of the present study was to investigate the frequency and risk factors for developing multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, PE. This was a prospective study conducted from 2000 to 2003, in which suspected cases were investigated using bacilloscopy and culturing. Out of 232 confirmed cases of tuberculosis, culturing and antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed on 174. Thirty-five of the 174 cultures showed resistance to all drugs. The frequencies of primary and acquired resistance to any drug were 14% and 50% respectively, while the frequencies of primary and acquired multidrug resistance were 8.3% and 40%. Previous tuberculosis treatment and abandonment of treatment were risk factors for drug resistance. The high levels of primary and acquired resistance to the combination of isoniazid and rifampicin contributed towards the difficulties in controlling tuberculosis transmission in the city.

Epidemiologia da insónia em adolescentes : do diagnóstico de situação à intervenção

RESUMO - Introdução: Os problemas do sono, designadamente a insónia, os sintomas de insónia, os padrões de sono inadequados e a sonolência diurna, são frequentes na adolescência. Estes problemas estão frequentemente associados a múltiplos fatores, entre os quais estilos de vida e fatores ambientais, e apresentam consequências significativas na vida do adolescente e posteriormente na idade adulta. O sono e as suas perturbações deveriam constituir uma preocupação para os profissionais da saúde e da educação com o objetivo de tornar os hábitos de sono saudáveis num estilo de vida - com benefícios calculáveis como os associados a outros estilos de vida saudáveis (alimentação e exercício físico). Em Portugal, os estudos sobre problemas do sono em adolescentes são escassos, bem como as intervenções individuais e comunitárias no âmbito da higiene do sono. Os objetivos desta investigação foram estimar a prevalência de insónia e de sintomas de insónia em adolescentes, identificar fatores de risco e protetores dos sintomas de insónia, analisar as repercussões dos sintomas de insónia, caracterizar os padrões de sono dos adolescentes do distrito de Viseu e elaborar uma proposta de intervenção destinada à promoção da higiene do sono adaptada às características dos adolescentes do distrito de Viseu. Métodos: Realizou-se um estudo transversal onde se avaliaram alunos de vinte e seis escolas públicas do terceiro ciclo e secundário do distrito de Viseu, durante ano letivo 2011/2012. A recolha dos dados foi efetuada através de um questionário autoaplicado e respondido pelos alunos em sala de aula. Foram considerados elegíveis para participar no estudo todos os alunos que frequentassem entre o 7.º e o 12.º ano de escolaridade e tivessem idades entre os 12 e os 18 anos. Dos 9237 questionários distribuídos recolheu-se 7581 (82,1%). Foram excluídos da análise os questionários relativos a adolescentes com idade inferior a 12 ou superior a 18 anos e os questionários devolvidos por preencher. A amostra global foi constituída por 6919 adolescentes, sendo 3668 (53,2%) do sexo feminino. A insónia foi definida com base na presença, no mês prévio, dos sintomas de insónia definidos nos critérios do DSM-IV (dificuldade em adormecer, dificuldade em manter o sono, acordar muito cedo e ter dificuldade em voltar a adormecer e sono não reparador) com uma frequência de pelo menos três vezes por semana e associados a consequências no dia-a-dia. A qualidade de vida foi avaliada com recurso à escala de qualidade de vida SF-36; a sintomatologia depressiva através do Inventário de Depressão de Beck para adolescentes (BDI-II) e a sonolência diurna utilizando a Escala de Sonolência de Epworth (ESE). Para responder ao último objetivo foi elaborada uma proposta de intervenção individual e comunitária no âmbito da higiene do sono. A proposta resulta da evidência científica, dos resultados da presente investigação e de reuniões com profissionais da saúde e da educação. Resultados: No total da amostra, a prevalência de insónia foi de 8,3% e de sintomas de insónia foi de 21,4%. A prevalência de insónia foi superior no sexo feminino (10,1% vs. 5,9%; p<0,001) assim como a prevalência de sintomas de insónia (25,6% vs. 15,8%; p<0,001). Individualmente, todos os sintomas foram mais prevalentes no sexo feminino, sendo a diferença estatisticamente significativa (p<0,001). Em média os adolescentes dormiam, durante a semana, 8:04±1:13 horas. A prevalência de sono insuficiente (< 8 horas) foi de 29%. Apenas 6,4% dos adolescentes indicaram que se deitavam todas as noites à mesma hora. A prevalência de sintomatologia depressiva foi de 20,9% (26,0% nas raparigas e 15,1% nos rapazes, p<0,001). A prevalência de sonolência diurna foi de 33,1%, apresentando o sexo feminino um risco superior (OR=1,40; IC95%: 1,27-1,55). A prevalência de sintomatologia depressiva e de sonolência diurna foi superior entre os adolescentes com sintomas de insónia (48,2% vs. 18,8%, p<0,001 e 42,4% vs. 33,0%, p<0,001, respetivamente). Os adolescentes com sintomas de insónia apresentavam igualmente pior qualidade de vida. Em relação a outras repercussões no dia-a-dia, foram os adolescentes com sintomas de insónia que referiam mais vezes sentir dificuldade em levantar-se de manhã, acordar com cefaleias, acordar cansado e recorrer a medicação para dormir. Nos rapazes os sintomas de insónia associaram-se com o IMC. Após o ajustamento para o sexo e idade com recurso à regressão logística verificou-se uma associação entre sintomas de insónia e sexo feminino [OR ajustado(idade)= 1,82; IC95%: 1,56-2,13], idade ≥16 anos [OR ajustado(sexo)= 1,17; IC95%: 1,01-1,35], residência urbana (OR ajustado= 1,30; IC95%: 1,04-1,63), consumo de café (OR ajustado= 1,40; IC95%: 1,20-1,63), consumo de bebidas alcoólicas (OR ajustado= 1,21; IC95%: 1,03-1,41) e sintomatologia depressiva (OR ajustado= 3,59; IC95%: 3,04-4,24). Quanto à escolaridade dos pais, verificou-se uma redução do risco com o aumento da escolaridade dos pais (5º-6º ano OR ajustado= 0,82; IC95%: 0,64- 1,05; 7º-12º ano OR ajustado= 0,77; IC95%: 0,61-0,97; >12º ano OR ajustado= 0,64; IC95%: 0,47-0,87). Após uma análise multivariada, o modelo preditivo para a ocorrência de sintomas de insónia incluiu as variáveis sexo feminino, viver em meio urbano, consumir café e apresentar sintomatologia depressiva. Este modelo apresenta uma especificidade de 84,2% e uma sensibilidade de 63,6%. O sono insuficiente associou-se, após ajuste para o sexo e idade, com o ano de escolaridade, estado civil dos pais, determinados estilos de vida (consumo de café, tabagismo, consumo de álcool, consumo de outras drogas, sair à noite, presença de TV no quarto e número de horas despendido a ver televisão e no computador), latência do sono, sesta > 30 minutos, horários de sono irregulares e com a toma de medicamentos para dormir. Os resultados deste estudo constituem um diagnóstico de situação relativamente aos problemas de sono em adolescentes no distrito de Viseu. Tendo por base os princípios da Carta de Ottawa relativamente à promoção da saúde, a proposta elaborada visa a implementação de estratégias de prevenção agrupadas em intervenções individuais, comunitárias e sobre os planos curriculares. As intervenções baseiam-se na utilização das tecnologias da informação e comunicação, no contexto da nova arquitetura na esfera pública da saúde conducente aos sistemas personalizados de informação em saúde (SPIS). Conclusões: Registou-se uma elevada prevalência de insónia e sintomas de insónia entre os adolescentes do distrito de Viseu, superior no sexo feminino. A presença de sintomas de insónia esteve associada, sobretudo, a determinados estilos de vida e à ausência de higiene do sono. Os problemas de sono em adolescentes, devido à sua frequência e repercussões, devem constituir uma preocupação em termos de saúde pública e constituir uma prioridade nas estratégias de educação para a saúde. Os 9 princípios da intervenção delineada visam uma abordagem preventiva de problemas de sono - através da ação conjunta de profissionais da saúde e da educação, de elementos da comunidade e com o indispensável envolvimento dos adolescentes e da família -, procurando instituir os hábitos de sono saudáveis como um estilo de vida.

Application of geographic information system and modelling in health impact assessment for urban road mobility in Vietnam

Transport is an essential sector in modern societies. It connects economic sectors and industries. Next to its contribution to economic development and social interconnection, it also causes adverse impacts on the environment and results in health hazards. Transport is a major source of ground air pollution, especially in urban areas, and therefore contributing to the health problems, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer, and physical injuries. This thesis presents the results of a health risk assessment that quantifies the mortality and the diseases associated with particulate matter pollution resulting from urban road transport in Hai Phong City, Vietnam. The focus is on the integration of modelling and GIS approaches in the exposure analysis to increase the accuracy of the assessment and to produce timely and consistent assessment results. The modelling was done to estimate traffic conditions and concentrations of particulate matters based on geo-references data. A simplified health risk assessment was also done for Ha Noi based on monitoring data that allows a comparison of the results between the two cases. The results of the case studies show that health risk assessment based on modelling data can provide a much more detail results and allows assessing health impacts of different mobility development options at micro level. The use of modeling and GIS as a common platform for the integration of different assessments (environmental, health, socio-economic, etc.) provides various strengths, especially in capitalising on the available data stored in different units and forms and allows handling large amount of data. The use of models and GIS in a health risk assessment, from a decision making point of view, can reduce the processing/waiting time while providing a view at different scales: from micro scale (sections of a city) to a macro scale. It also helps visualising the links between air quality and health outcomes which is useful discussing different development options. However, a number of improvements can be made to further advance the integration. An improved integration programme of the data will facilitate the application of integrated models in policy-making. Data on mobility survey, environmental monitoring and measuring must be standardised and legalised. Various traffic models, together with emission and dispersion models, should be tested and more attention should be given to their uncertainty and sensitivity

Land cover mapping analysis and urban growth modeling using remote sensing techniques

The rapid growth of big cities has been noticed since 1950s when the majority of world population turned to live in urban areas rather than villages, seeking better job opportunities and higher quality of services and lifestyle circumstances. This demographic transition from rural to urban is expected to have a continuous increase. Governments, especially in less developed countries, are going to face more challenges in different sectors, raising the essence of understanding the spatial pattern of the growth for an effective urban planning. The study aimed to detect, analyse and model the urban growth in Greater Cairo Region (GCR) as one of the fast growing mega cities in the world using remote sensing data. Knowing the current and estimated urbanization situation in GCR will help decision makers in Egypt to adjust their plans and develop new ones. These plans should focus on resources reallocation to overcome the problems arising in the future and to achieve a sustainable development of urban areas, especially after the high percentage of illegal settlements which took place in the last decades. The study focused on a period of 30 years; from 1984 to 2014, and the major transitions to urban were modelled to predict the future scenarios in 2025. Three satellite images of different time stamps (1984, 2003 and 2014) were classified using Support Vector Machines (SVM) classifier, then the land cover changes were detected by applying a high level mapping technique. Later the results were analyzed for higher accurate estimations of the urban growth in the future in 2025 using Land Change Modeler (LCM) embedded in IDRISI software. Moreover, the spatial and temporal urban growth patterns were analyzed using statistical metrics developed in FRAGSTATS software. The study resulted in an overall classification accuracy of 96%, 97.3% and 96.3% for 1984, 2003 and 2014’s map, respectively. Between 1984 and 2003, 19 179 hectares of vegetation and 21 417 hectares of desert changed to urban, while from 2003 to 2014, the transitions to urban from both land cover classes were found to be 16 486 and 31 045 hectares, respectively. The model results indicated that 14% of the vegetation and 4% of the desert in 2014 will turn into urban in 2025, representing 16 512 and 24 687 hectares, respectively.

Identifying the urban communities of New York City using bikeshare data from NYC citibike

This study identifies a measure of the cultural importance of an area within a city. It does so by making use of origindestination trip data and the bike stations of the bike share system in New York City as a proxy to study the city. Rarely is movement in the city studied at such a small scale. The change in strength of the similarity of movement between each station is studied. It is the first study to provide this measure of importance for every point in the system. This measure is then related to the characteristics which make for vibrant city communities, namely highly mixed land use types. It reveals that the spatial pattern of important areas remains constant over differing time periods. Communities are then characterised by the land uses surrounding these stations with high measures of importance. Finally it identifies the areas of global cultural importance alongside the areas of local importance to the city.

Cellular reprogramming strategies for degenerative disorders involving the retinal pigment epithelium

RESUMO: A reprogramação celular permite que uma célula somática seja reprogramada para outra célula diferente através da expressão forçada de factores de transcrição (FTs) específicos de determinada linhagem celular, e constitui uma área de investigação emergente nos últimos anos. As células somáticas podem ser experimentalmente manipuladas de modo a obter células estaminais pluripotentes induzidas (CEPi), ou convertidas directamente noutro tipo de célula somática. Estas descobertas inovadoras oferecem oportunidades promissoras para o desenvolvimento de novas terapias de substituição celular e modelos de doença, funcionando também como ferramentas valiosas para o estudo dos mecanismos moleculares que estabelecem a identidade celular e regulam os processos de desenvolvimento. Existem várias doenças degenerativas hereditárias e adquiridas da retina que causam deficiência visual devido a uma disfunção no tecido de suporte da retina, o epitélio pigmentar da retina (EPR). Uma destas doenças é a Coroideremia (CHM), uma doença hereditária monogénica ligada ao cromossoma X causada por mutações que implicam a perda de função duma proteína com funções importantes na regulação do tráfico intracelular. A CHM é caracterizada pela degenerescência progressiva do EPR, assim como dos foto-receptores e da coróide. Resultados experimentais sugerem que o EPR desempenha um papel importante na patogénese da CHM, o que parece indicar uma possível vantagem terapêutica na substituição do EPR nos doentes com CHM. Por outro lado, existe uma lacuna em termos de modelos in vitro de EPR para estudar a CHM, o que pode explicar o ainda desconhecimento dos mecanismos moleculares que explicam a patogénese desta doença. Assim, este trabalho focou-se principalmente na exploração das potencialidades das técnicas de reprogramação celular no contexto das doenças de degenerescência da retina, em particular no caso da CHM. Células de murganho de estirpe selvagem, bem como células derivadas de um ratinho modelo de knockout condicional de Chm, foram convertidos com sucesso em CEPi recorrendo a um sistema lentiviral induzido que permite a expressão forçada dos 4 factores clássicos de reprogramação, a saber Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 e c-Myc. Estas células mostraram ter equivalência morfológica, molecular e funcional a células estaminais embrionárias (CES). As CEPi obtidas foram seguidamente submetidas a protocolos de diferenciação com o objectivo final de obter células do EPR. Os resultados promissores obtidos revelam a possibilidade de gerar um valioso modelo de EPR-CHM para estudos in vitro. Em alternativa, a conversão directa de linhagens partindo de fibroblastos para obter células do EPR foi também abordada. Uma vasta gama de ferramentas moleculares foi gerada de modo a implementar uma estratégia mediada por FTs-chave, seleccionados devido ao seu papel fundamental no desenvolvimento embrionário e especificação do EPR. Conjuntos de 10 ou menos FTs foram usados para transduzir fibroblastos, que adquiriram morfologia pigmentada e expressão de alguns marcadores específicos do EPR. Adicionalmente, observou-se a activação de regiões promotoras de genes específicos de EPR, indicando que a identidade transcricional das células foi alterada no sentido pretendido. Em conclusão, avanços significativos foram atingidos no sentido da implementação de tecnologias de reprogramação celular já estabelecidas, bem como na concepção de novas estratégias inovadoras. Metodologias de reprogramação, quer para pluripotência, quer via conversão directa, foram aplicadas com o objectivo final de gerar células do EPR. O trabalho aqui descrito abre novos caminhos para o estabelecimento de terapias de substituição celular e, de uma maneira mais directa, levanta a possibilidade de modelar doenças degenerativas da retina com disfunção do EPR numa placa de petri, em particular no caso da CHM.---------------ABSTRACT: Cellular reprogramming is an emerging research field in which a somatic cell is reprogrammed into a different cell type by forcing the expression of lineage-specific transcription factors (TFs). Cellular identities can be manipulated using experimental techniques with the attainment of pluripotency properties and the generation of induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells, or the direct conversion of one somatic cell into another somatic cell type. These pioneering discoveries offer new unprecedented opportunities for the establishment of novel cell-based therapies and disease models, as well as serving as valuable tools for the study of molecular mechanisms governing cell fate establishment and developmental processes. Several retinal degenerative disorders, inherited and acquired, lead to visual impairment due to an underlying dysfunction of the support cells of the retina, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Choroideremia (CHM), an X-linked monogenic disease caused by a loss of function mutation in a key regulator of intracellular trafficking, is characterized by a progressive degeneration of the RPE and other components of the retina, such as the photoreceptors and the choroid. Evidence suggest that RPE plays an important role in CHM pathogenesis, thus implying that regenerative approaches aiming at rescuing RPE function may be of great benefit for CHM patients. Additionally, lack of appropriate in vitro models has contributed to the still poorly-characterized molecular events in the base of CHM degenerative process. Therefore, the main focus of this work was to explore the potential applications of cellular reprogramming technology in the context of RPE-related retinal degenerations. The generation of mouse iPS cells was established and optimized using an inducible lentiviral system to force the expression of the classic set of TFs, namely Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc. Wild-type cells, as well as cells derived from a conditional knockout (KO) mouse model of Chm, were successfully converted into a pluripotent state, that displayed morphology, molecular and functional equivalence to Embryonic Stem (ES) cells. Generated iPS cells were then subjected to differentiation protocols towards the attainment of a RPE cell fate, with promising results highlighting the possibility of generating a valuable Chm-RPE in vitro model. In alternative, direct lineage conversion of fibroblasts into RPE-like cells was also tackled. A TF-mediated approach was implemented after the generation of a panoply of molecular tools needed for such studies. After transduction with pools of 10 or less TFs, selected for their key role on RPE developmental process and specification, fibroblasts acquired a pigmented morphology and expression of some RPE-specific markers. Additionally, promoter regions of RPE-specific genes were activated indicating that the transcriptional identity of the cells was being altered into the pursued cell fate. In conclusion, highly significant progress was made towards the implementation of already established cellular reprogramming technologies, as well as the designing of new innovative ones. Reprogramming into pluripotency and lineage conversion methodologies were applied to ultimately generate RPE cells. These studies open new avenues for the establishment of cell replacement therapies and, more straightforwardly,raise the possibility of modelling retinal degenerations with underlying RPE defects in apetri dish, particularly CHM.

Study of infection by Rickettsiae of the spotted fever group in humans and ticks in an urban park located in the City of Londrina, State of Paraná, Brazil

INTRODUCTION: Spotted fevers are emerging zoonoses caused by Rickettsia species in the spotted fever group (SFG). Rickettsia rickettsii is the main etiologic agent of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) and it is transmitted by Amblyomma spp. ticks. METHODS: The study aimed to investigate SFG rickettsiae in the Arthur Thomas Municipal Park in Londrina, PR, by collecting free-living ticks and ticks from capybaras and blood samples from personnel working in these areas. Samples from A. dubitatum and A. cajennense were submitted for PCR in pools to analyze the Rickettsia spp. gltA (citrate synthase gene). RESULTS: All the pools analyzed were negative. Human sera were tested by indirect immunofluorescence assay with R. rickettsii and R. parkeri as antigens. Among the 34 sera analyzed, seven (20.6%) were reactive for R. rickettsii: four of these had endpoint titers equal to 64, 2 titers were 128 and 1 titer was 256. None of the samples were reactive for R. parkeri. An epidemiological questionnaire was applied to the park staff, but no statistically significant associations were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The serological studies suggest the presence of Rickettsiae related to SFG that could be infecting the human population studied; however, analysis of the ticks collected was unable to determine which species may be involved in transmission to humans.

Characterization of Leishmania infantum species in dogs from the urban area of Cuiabá, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil

INTRODUCTION: Visceral leishmaniasis presents urban behavior in some Brazilian cities, with domestic dogs as the main infection source. In Cuiabá, MT, canine visceral leishmaniasis was diagnosed and characterized as recommended by the Ministry of Health. METHODS: Biological samples from suspected canine carriers were analyzed by the isoenzyme electrophoresis technique. The 6PGDH enzyme and reference strain IOC/L0566 (MHOM/BR/1975/M2903) of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum was used as one of the controls. RESULTS: Electrophoresis analysis revealed that the canine isolates belonged to the species L. (L.) infantum. CONCLUSIONS: The authors emphasize the importance of species characterization, particularly in areas of mixed infection like Cuiabá.

Pedestrian Priority Zones in the Context of Urban Mobility and Valorization of Public Space

The second half of the XX century was marked by a great increase in the number of people living in cities. Urban agglomerations became poles of attraction for migration flows and these phenomena, coupled with growing car-ownership rates, resulted in the fact that modern transport systems are characterized by large number of users and traffic modes. The necessity to organize these complex systems and to provide space for different traffic modes changed the way cities look. Urban areas had to cope with traffic flows, and as a result nowadays typical street pattern consists of a road for motorized vehicles, a cycle lane (in some cases), pavement for pedestrians, parking and a range of crucial signage to facilitate navigation and make mobility more secure. However, this type of street organization may not be desirable in certain areas, more specifically, in the city centers. Downtown areas have always been places where economic, leisure, social and other types of facilities are concentrated, not surprisingly, they often attract large number of people and this frequently results in traffic jams, air and noise pollution, thus creating unpleasant environment. Besides, excessive traffic signage in central locations can harm the image and perception of a place, this relates in particular to historical centers with architectural heritage.

Cat infected by a variant of bat rabies virus in a 29-year disease-free urban area of southern Brazil

INTRODUCTION: After 29 years, rabies was detected in a cat in Curitiba, southern Brazil. METHODS: The fluorescent antibody test (FAT) and mouse inoculation test (MIT) were performed on central nervous system (CNS) samples. RESULTS: Direct immunofluorescence was negative, but the biological test was positive and rabies virus was characterized as variant 4 (from Tadarida brasiliensis). CONCLUSIONS: Reappearance of rabies in domestic animals warns of sylvatic-aerial risk of infection and the necessity of monitoring bats in historically rabies-free areas.