Epidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection among recyclable waste collectors in central Brazil

Introduction: The collection of recyclable waste materials is a widespread activity among the urban poor. Today, this occupation attracts an increasingly large number of individuals. Despite its economic and environmental importance, this activity is associated with unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the seroepidemiological profile of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in a population of recyclable waste collectors in central Brazil. Methods: Recyclable waste collectors from all 15 recycling cooperatives in Goiânia City were invited to participate in the study. The participants (n = 431) were interviewed and screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies against HBsAg (anti-HBs) and hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). HBsAg- and anti-HBc-positive samples were tested for HBV DNA and genotyped. Results: The overall prevalence of HBV infection (HBsAg- and/or anti-HBc-positive) was 12.8%. An age over 40 years and illicit drug use were associated with HBV infection. HBV DNA was detected in 2/3 HBsAg-positive samples and in 1/52 anti-HBc-positive/HBsAg-negative samples (an occult HBV infection rate of 1.9%), in which the genotypes/subgenotypes A/A1, D/D3 and F/F2 were identified. Only 12.3% of the recyclable waste collectors had serological evidence of previous HBV vaccination. Conclusions: These findings highlight the vulnerability of recyclable waste collectors to HBV infection and reinforce the importance of public health policies that address the health and safety of this socially vulnerable population.

Phenotypic and genotypic profile of pyrethroid resistance in populations of the mosquito Aedes aegypti from Goiânia, Central West Brazil

ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION:The mosquito Aedes aegypti has evolved resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. The present study evaluated Ae. aegypti from Goiânia for the resistant phenotype and for mutations associated with resistance.METHODS:Insecticide dose-response bioassays were conducted on mosquitoes descended from field-collected eggs, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to genotype 90 individuals at sites implicated in pyrethroid resistance.RESULTS:All mosquito populations displayed high levels of resistance to deltamethrin, as well as high frequencies of the 1016Ile kdr and 1534Cys kdrmutations.CONCLUSIONS:Aedes aegypti populations in the Goiânia area are highly resistant to deltamethrin, presumably due to high frequencies of kdr(knockdown-resistance) mutations.

Presence of anti-Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis antibodies in blood donors in the West-Central region of the State of Paraná, Brazil

ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION:Serological screening in blood banks does not include all transmittable diseases. American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) has a high detection rate in the municipalities of the State of Paraná.METHODS:This study analyzed the presence of anti- Leishmania braziliensisantibodies in 176 blood donors who live in these endemic areas. The variables were analyzed with the χ2 test and Stata 9.1 software. RESULTS: Twenty (11.4%) samples were positive for the presence of anti- L. braziliensisantibodies. CONCLUSIONS: The high percentage of donors with anti- Leishmania spp. antibodies indicates the need to study the risk of ACL transmission through blood donors.

Single-tube nested PCR assay with in-house DNA extraction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis detection in blood and urine

Abstract: INTRODUCTION : Molecular analyses are auxiliary tools for detecting Koch's bacilli in clinical specimens from patients with suspected tuberculosis (TB). However, there are still no efficient diagnostic tests that combine high sensitivity and specificity and yield rapid results in the detection of TB. This study evaluated single-tube nested polymerase chain reaction (STNPCR) as a molecular diagnostic test with low risk of cross contamination for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis in clinical samples. METHODS: Mycobacterium tuberculosis deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was detected in blood and urine samples by STNPCR followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. In this system, reaction tubes were not opened between the two stages of PCR (simple and nested). RESULTS: STNPCR demonstrated good accuracy in clinical samples with no cross contamination between microtubes. Sensitivity in blood and urine, analyzed in parallel, was 35%-62% for pulmonary and 41%-72% for extrapulmonary TB. The specificity of STNPCR was 100% in most analyses, depending on the type of clinical sample (blood or urine) and clinical form of disease (pulmonary or extrapulmonary). CONCLUSIONS: STNPCR was effective in detecting TB, especially the extrapulmonary form for which sensitivity was higher, and had the advantage of less invasive sample collection from patients for whom a spontaneous sputum sample was unavailable. With low risk of cross contamination, the STNPCR can be used as an adjunct to conventional methods for diagnosing TB.

Infection of the central nervous system with dengue virus 3 genotype I causing neurological manifestations in Brazil

Abstract: A case of dengue virus 3 (DENV-3) genotype I infection with neurological manifestations occurred in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais in October 2012. The serotype was detected by PCR, and the genotype was assessed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the C-prM region. The virus causing neurological manifestations clustered with other sequences of DENV-3 genotype I. Because neurological manifestations of DENV are possibly misdiagnosed in Brazil, this study serves as an alert of the importance of DENV diagnoses in CNS infections.

Caraterização e análise das admissões hospitalares na urgência do Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Central, EPE : um estudo com os utentes inscritos no Agrupamento de Centros de Saúde de Lisboa Central

RESUMO - Objetivo: Caraterizar e analisar o acesso dos utentes inscritos no Agrupamento de Centros de Saúde Lisboa Central ao serviço de urgência do hospital de referência (Hospital de S. José). Metodologia: O presente estudo é do tipo observacional, descritivo, transversal e exploratório. A análise da informação incidiu sobre a base de dados cedida pelo CHLC que continha os registos de todas as admissões do ano de 2014 referentes ao Serviço de Urgência Polivalente do CHLC, foram analisados 81928 episódios e 15042 episódios referentes a utentes frequentadores. Resultados: A proximidade ao SU é um fator que potencia a procura de cuidados hospitalares urgentes, no entanto, o facto de o utente não possuir médico de família não se encontra relacionado com a procura do serviço de urgência. Metades das admissões são consideradas “pouco urgentes” (pulseira verde), não existindo uma variação significativa entre as unidades funcionais e o tipo de modelo das mesmas (UCSP ou USF) no que respeita à procura das urgências por parte dos seus utentes. Conclui-se ainda que o horário de funcionamento dos CSP encontra-se de acordo com as necessidades dos utentes considerando que a maior procura de cuidados urgentes ocorre durante o horário de funcionamento dos centros de saúde. Conclusões: A procura de cuidados hospitalares urgentes por parte dos utentes do ACES Lisboa Central é significativa e maioritariamente injustificada do ponto de vista clínico, pelo que revela-se necessário repensar nas estratégias ao nível dos CSP para responder às efetivas necessidades em saúde.

Optimização do nível de serviço de um armazém central

O estudo que se apresenta nesta dissertação reporta-se ao trabalho realizado na empresa Tintas Robbialac S.A., no Departamento de Logística, nomeadamente no Armazém Central (AC), entre Março e Agosto de 2012. Os principais objectivos a atingir eram:  Estudo do Nível de Serviço mensal realizado no AC na separação de encomendas;  Sistematização dos erros de separação de encomendas através da análise diária das faltas;  Identificação das causas das faltas através da análise “Caso a Caso”;  Análise das Anomalias de Entrega (clientes internos/Lojas próprias) e das Notas de Crédito (clientes externos);  Propostas de melhoria que resultassem numa optimização do Nível de Serviço prestado pelo AC. Desenvolveram-se diversos indicadores e mapas que permitiram uma avaliação/análise do nível de serviço realizado:  Nível de Serviço do AC, desde 2010;  Análise diária do Nível de Serviço para o AC e para o Armazém Regional de Ramalde;  Identificação, triagem e mapeamento das Anomalias de Entrega em lojas abastecidas pelo AC (clientes internos);  Identificação, triagem e mapeamento das Notas de Crédito (clientes externos). Através do estudo destes mapas e recorrendo a métricas como, por exemplo, o volume, a quantidade, as linhas encomendadas versus expedidas e as cargas expedidas foi possível identificar um nível de serviço para a companhia. De Janeiro a Julho de 2012, considerando o volume separado obteve-se uma média de 90% que representou um aumento de 3% em relação a 2010. Paralelamente reformulou-se o processo de reporting dos clientes internos (anomalias de entrega), resultando num aumento do n.º e da qualidade das ocorrências, atingindo-se um pico de reportes em Junho. Em relação às Notas de Crédito, o mapa criado permite analisar pormenorizadamente todas as ocorrências. Em termos qualitativos as anomalias de entrega não apresentam ocorrências significativas representando uma percentagem mínima de ocorrências quando comparada com o motivo de acordo. A sistematização desenvolvida irá permitir medir o nível de serviço e identificar as causas de faltas e de erros na separação de encomendas que permitem agir e tomar acções correctivas.

Cost of drugs manufactured by the University Hospital - role of the Central Pharmacy

The hospital pharmacy in large and advanced institutions has evolved from a simple storage and distribution unit into a highly specialized manipulation and dispensation center, responsible for the handling of hundreds of clinical requests, many of them unique and not obtainable from commercial companies. It was therefore quite natural that in many environments, a manufacturing service was gradually established, to cater to both conventional and extraordinary demands of the medical staff. That was the case of Hospital das Clinicas, where multiple categories of drugs are routinely produced inside the pharmacy. However, cost-containment imperatives dictate that such activities be reassessed in the light of their efficiency and essentiality. METHODS: In a prospective study, the output of the Manufacturing Service of the Central Pharmacy during a 12-month period was documented and classified into three types. Group I comprised drugs similar to commercially distributed products, Group II included exclusive formulations for routine consumption, and Group III dealt with special demands related to clinical investigations. RESULTS: Findings for the three categories indicated that these groups represented 34.4%, 45.3%, and 20.3% of total manufacture orders, respectively. Costs of production were assessed and compared with market prices for Group 1 preparations, indicating savings of 63.5%. When applied to the other groups, for which direct equivalent in market value did not exist, these results would suggest total yearly savings of over 5 100 000 US dollars. Even considering that these calculations leave out many components of cost, notably those concerning marketing and distribution, it might still be concluded that at least part of the savings achieved were real. CONCLUSIONS: The observed savings, allied with the convenience and reliability with which the Central Pharmacy performed its obligations, support the contention that internal manufacture of pharmaceutical formulations was a cost-effective alternative in the described setting.

Relatório de estágio no departamento central de investigação e acção penal

The means of obtaining evidence, the amount of evidence obtained, the number of defendants related to each criminal case and the gravity of the crimes for which the magistrates of the Department are holders of penal action, define its real importance to the Rule of Law. I have deeply studied the subject of the institution of hierarchical intervention required by the assistant and the application of an opening statement by the defendant, starting from a hypothetical case, provided when the query of an investigation with the subject of the crime of active corruption, where this institution was called as a reaction to the archiving dispatch delivered by the Public Ministry. I have study about the implementation of the institution of provisional suspension of the process, specifically in the scope of fiscal criminality, analyzing the effective satisfaction of the purposes of the sentences in two slopes: general prevention and special prevention. I went for my first time to a Central Court of Criminal Instruction, where I attended the measures of inquiry and instructive debate of a process that culminated with the prosecution and pronunciation of the defendants. In addition to this criminal experience, I have deepened and consolidated the academic knowledge with the study of various criminal cases from various fields in the scope of criminality investigated by the Department. I could therefore check the basis of procedural delays, regarding to our legal system, especially in this type of crime, raising issues that I analyzed and discussed, always in a critical and academic way. I had the opportunity to attend and witness a seminar in the Lisbon Directorate of Finance as well of entering the Centre for Judicial Studies to attend a conference on the International Anti-Corruption Day. Focus on the investigatory importance of the international judicial cooperation, through the various organs, with special interest to EUROJUST. I comprehended the organization and functioning of these communitarian organs and means of communication of procedural acts, in particular, the rogatory letters and european arrest warrants. This involvement is motivated by the moratorium factor of the investigations where rogatory letters are necessary for the acquisition of evidence or information relevant to the good continuation of the process. For this reason the judicial cooperation through the relevant communitarian organs, translates a streamlined response between the competent judicial authorities of the Member States, through the National Member that integrates EUROJUST. This report aims to highlight some of the difficulties and procedural issues that Public Prosecutors of DCIAP and criminal police bodies that assist them, face in combating violent and organized crime, of national and transnational nature, of particular complexity, according to the specifics of criminal types.

A systematic methodology to analyse the performance and design configurations of business interoperability in cooperative industrial networks

This thesis proposes a methodology for modelling business interoperability in a context of cooperative industrial networks. The purpose is to develop a methodology that enables the design of cooperative industrial network platforms that are able to deliver business interoperability and the analysis of its impact on the performance of these platforms. To achieve the proposed objective, two modelling tools have been employed: the Axiomatic Design Theory for the design of interoperable platforms; and Agent-Based Simulation for the analysis of the impact of business interoperability. The sequence of the application of the two modelling tools depends on the scenario under analysis, i.e. whether the cooperative industrial network platform exists or not. If the cooperative industrial network platform does not exist, the methodology suggests first the application of the Axiomatic Design Theory to design different configurations of interoperable cooperative industrial network platforms, and then the use of Agent-Based Simulation to analyse or predict the business interoperability and operational performance of the designed configurations. Otherwise, one should start by analysing the performance of the existing platform and based on the achieved results, decide whether it is necessary to redesign it or not. If the redesign is needed, simulation is once again used to predict the performance of the redesigned platform. To explain how those two modelling tools can be applied in practice, a theoretical modelling framework, a theoretical Axiomatic Design model and a theoretical Agent-Based Simulation model are proposed. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methodology and/or to validate the proposed theoretical models, a case study regarding a Portuguese Reverse Logistics cooperative network (Valorpneu network) and a case study regarding a Portuguese construction project (Dam Baixo Sabor network) are presented. The findings of the application of the proposed methodology to these two case studies suggest that indeed the Axiomatic Design Theory can effectively contribute in the design of interoperable cooperative industrial network platforms and that Agent-Based Simulation provides an effective set of tools for analysing the impact of business interoperability on the performance of those platforms. However, these conclusions cannot be generalised as only two case studies have been carried out. In terms of relevance to theory, this is the first time that the network effect is addressed in the analysis of the impact of business interoperability on the performance of networked companies and also the first time that a holistic approach is proposed to design interoperable cooperative industrial network platforms. Regarding the practical implications, the proposed methodology is intended to provide industrial managers a management tool that can guide them easily, and in practical and systematic way, in the design of configurations of interoperable cooperative industrial network platforms and/or in the analysis of the impact of business interoperability on the performance of their companies and the networks where their companies operate.

An experimental model for the transplantation of fetal central nervous system cells to the injured spinal cord in rats

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic spinal cord injury is one of the most disabling conditions occurring in man and thus stimulates a strong interest in its histopathological, biochemical, and functional changes, primarily as we search for preventive and therapeutic methods. PURPOSE: To develop an experimental model for transplantation of cells from the fetal rat central nervous system to the site of an injured spinal cord of an adult rat in which the transplanted cells survive and become integrated. This experimental model will facilitate investigations of factors that promote regeneration and functional recovery after spinal cord trauma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifteen adult Wistar rats underwent laminectomy, and an spinal cord lesion was made with microdissection. Fetal spinal cord tissue was then transplanted to the site of the injury. The rats were monitored over a 48-hour period, and then their vertebral column was completely removed for histological analysis. RESULTS: In 60% of transplanted rats, the fetal tissue at the injured site remained viable in the site of the lesion.

Local Rainfall Variability - A Potential Bias for Bioecological Studies in the Central Amazon

Rainfall data registered betwe en 1910 and 1979 at Manaus confirm the existence of a dry season between June and November (monthly rainfall: 42-162mm) and a rainy season from December until May (monthly rainfall: 211-300mm). Annual precipitation amounted to 2105mm with about 75% of the rainfall recorded during the rainy season. Rainfall data collected over 12 months at eigth stations in the vicinity of and at Manaus are compared. Annual precipitation was lower in Inundation Regions (1150-2150mm) compared with Dryland Regions (2400-2550mm). Considerable differences are found in rainfall patterns (intensity, frequency and time of rainfall). This is also truefor neighbouring stations, even if data of a 11-year record period are compared. Thus, it is highly recommended that preciptation data for bioecological studies be collected at the study site.

Estudos Silviculturais de uma População Natural de COPAIFERA MULTIJUGA Hayne - Leguminosae, na Amazônia Central. 3. Distribuição Espacial da Regeneração Natural Pré-Existente

Mostra-se a distribuição espacial de. plântulas de Copaifera multijuga, Hayne de 12árvores matrizes. 0 potencial de regeneração em área não perturbada é variável em decorrência da maior ou menor produção de sementes pelas matrizes, da competição entre plântulas da espécie e destas com plântulas deoutras espécies, além da provável predaçãopor animais e da luta para sobreviver a baixos níveis de radiação solar. a distribuição das freqüências das plântulus sugere uma forma de J invertido. Nos dois inventários feitos, a altura das plântulas variou de 10cm até um máximo de 50cm, sendo a altura média para as 12 matrizes de. 20,66cm e 15,54cm no1° e 2° inventários, respectivavente. a diferença na variância das alturas das plântulas é significativa, na faixa de5%. As freqüências relativas esperadas, segundo a equação de Poisson, mostrou que a distribuição da regeneração de todas as matrizes é do tipo agregado. 0 número de plântulas /árvore matriz pode ser silviculturalmente útil para fins de plantios, desde quesejam feitos estudos de adaptabilidade das plântulas às condições deviveiro.

Os peixes de um lago de várzea da Amazônia Central (Lago Janauacá, Rio Solimões) e suas relações com os crustáceos ectoparasitas (Branchiura: Argulidae)

Durante um período de treze meses, de março de 1979 a março de 1980, excursões semanais foram realizadas ao Janauacá, um complexo de, l.agos de várzea da Amazônia Central. Miltrezentos e trinta e cinco peixesde cinco ordens, dezenove famílias e. oitenta espécies foram examinados, visando a determinar os índices naturais de infestação por crustáceos da subclasse Branchiura. Dos peixes examinados 11% estavam parasitados e apresentaram uma média de cinco crustáceos por peixe. Os maiores índices de infestação ocorreram nos Siluroides, 29% de prevalência e 18,5 de intensidade de infestação, seguidos pelos Characoides com 8,4% e 2,5. Os Perciformes apresentaram o terceiro maior índi.ce, 7,4% de. prevalência e 2,0 de intensidade de infestação. Os menores índices ocorreram nos Osteoglossiformes, 3,0% e 5,0 e nos Clupeiformes com 4,0% e 1,0. Durante o período de coletas, dezoito espécies de peixes não ocorreram parasitadas por branquiuras. Catorze espécies de branquiuros foram coletados no lago Janauacá. Alguns aspectos taxionómicos , biogeográficos e econômicos dos peixes são abordados