Evolution of genotypes of Group A streptococci from colonization and infection

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Biologia

Human vaccinia-like virus outbreaks in São Paulo and Goiás States, Brazil: virus detection, isolation and identification

Since October 2001, the Adolfo Lutz Institute has been receiving vesicular fluids and scab specimens of patients from Paraíba Valley region in the São Paulo and Minas Gerais States and from São Patricio Valley, in the Goiás State. Epidemiological data suggested that the outbreaks were caused by Cowpox virus or Vaccinia virus. Most of the patients are dairy milkers that had vesiculo-pustular lesions on the hands, arms, forearms, and some of them, on the face. Virus particles with orthopoxvirus morphology were detected by direct electron microscopy (DEM) in samples of 49 (66.21%) patients of a total of 74 analyzed. Viruses were isolated in Vero cell culture and on chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of embryonated chicken eggs. Among 21 samples submitted to PCR using primers for hemagglutinin (HA) gene, 19 were positive. Restriction digestion with TaqI resulted in four characteristic Vaccinia virus fragments. HA nucleotide sequences showed 99.9% similarity with Cantagalo virus, described as a strain of Vaccinia virus. The only difference observed was the substitution of one nucleotide in the position 616 leading to change in one amino acid of the protein in the position 206. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolates clustered together with Cantagalo virus, other Vaccinia strains and Rabbitpox virus.

Residual effect of two Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis products assayed against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in laboratory and outdoors at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Resistance of the dengue vector to temephos stimulated its substitution for Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) since 2001 in Brazil. The persistence of the two Bti formulations employed at that time by the Health Ministry, Vectobac G and Aquabac G, was assayed under laboratory and outdoor conditions. Both formulations were tested at 0.2 g/10 liters of water, the same concentration applied in the field for vector control. The tests were done against Ae. aegypti third instar larvae (Rockefeller strain). In the laboratory, Vectobac G and Aquabac G caused at least 95% mortality until 101 and 45 days after treatment, respectively. In the outdoor assays, test containers of different materials were treated with either formulation and placed in a shaded area. Larvae were introduced each 3-6 days and mortality was recorded 24 and 48 hours later. In the first set of assays, performed in June 2001, mortality levels of 70% or more were attained for 2-5 weeks for both formulations in all containers. The exception was for the iron one that rusted, resulting in low mortality after seven days. In the second set of assays (August 2001), 70% mortality was attained for just 1-2 weeks for all the containers and both formulations.

La fin (l’infini) du bruit

Á... Á propos d’Erosphère propos d’Érosphère, dans un entretien pour la Revue LIEN2 en 1992, François Bayle explique que le projet d’une Suite fut déclenché par la composition de la 1ère œuvre du cycle – Tremblement de terre très doux. Il y indique : « je me suis petit à petit aperçu, en réalisant cette pièce, que j’y traitais d’un problème inhérent à l’acous- matique : celui du désir, [...] c’est-à-dire des sons appétissants, des sons voluptueux, ce qui m’a entraîné vers un projet plus vaste que j’ai appelé Érosphère, cette loi de gravitation du désir. »3 Plus tard le compositeur déclare : « Au moment d’Érosphère mon projet portait sur les mécanismes du désir, l’érotisme sonore, d’où le titre d’Éros- phère. Découvrir les archétypes érotiques des formes sonores. »4 Dans les notes qui accompagnaient la première édition en disque, Bayle présente sa définition du mot Érosphère : Ce tissu nerveux qui enveloppe notre monde habité d’un réseau d’ondes modulées à une infinité de fréquences, ce nuage de chaleur infra et supra sensorielle que diffusent des mégas milliards d’ émetteurs biologiques, cet anneau où circule la force de ce cosmos, je l’appelle l’érosphère.

Chronic Allograft Dysfunction - Is There a Treatment?

BACKGROUND: The major causes of renal transplant loss are death and chronic allograft dysfunction (CAD). The aims of this study were to determine the incidence of CAD in our population and the relation between allograft survival and immunosuppressive regimens. METHODS: We studied retrospectively 473 patients who received deceased donor kidney transplants with at least 1 allograft biopsy between January 1990 and May 2007. Clinical data included age, gender, biopsy data, and immunosuppression before and after kidney biopsy. Mean age was 45.4 +/- 12.7 years including 65% males with a mean follow-up of 6.7 +/- 4.5 years. CAD was observed in 177 of 473 biopsies: 48 patients showed interstitial fibrosis (IF); 101 chronic rejection (CR); 16 transplant glomerulopathy (TG); and 12, CR and TG. Mean follow-up since the discovery of the histologic feature was 60.5 +/- 50.5 months for IF; 38.3 +/- 40.8 for CR, and 18.2 +/- 19.2 for TG. RESULTS: CAD, which was more common in younger patients (P = .03), correlated upon univariate and multivariate analysis with CKD stage 5d development (P < .001). Deposition of C4d in peritubular capillaries was more frequent among CAD patients (P = .004), an association with particular relevance to recipients with CR (P = .02) and TG (P < .001). When we analyzed CAD subpopulation, we observed a positive correlation between allograft survival and immunosuppression modification after biopsy. Substitution of sirolimus (40/177) was shown in univariate, multivariate and Cox regression analyses to be a renal protector (P < .002). Allograft survival was also correlated with initial mycophenolate mofetil versus azathioprine, (62/177) immunosuppression (P < .001). CONCLUSION: CAD, a frequent histologic feature, may benefit from sirolimus conversion.

Acellular and "low" pertussis vaccines: adverse events and the role of mutations

Objective: to discuss the current PAHO recommendation that does not support the substitution of traditional cellular DTP vaccine by acellular DTP, and the role of mutations, in humans, as the main cause of rare adverse events, such as epileptic-like convulsions, triggered by pertussis vaccine. Data review: the main components related to toxic effects of cellular pertussis vaccines are the lipopolysaccharide of bacterial cell wall and pertussis toxin. The removal of part of lipopolysaccharide layer has allowed the creation of a safer cellular pertussis vaccine, with costs comparable to the traditional cellular vaccine, and which may be a substitute for the acellular vaccine. Conclusion: The new methodology introduced by Instituto Butantan allows for the development of a new safer pertussis vaccine with low LPS content (Plow), and the use of the lipopolysaccharide obtained in the process in the production of monophosphoryl lipid A. This component has shown potent adjuvant effect when administered together with influenza inactivated vaccine, making possible to reduce the antigen dose, enhancing the production capacity and lowering costs.

Mercados bolsistas

O intenso intercâmbio entre os países, resultante do processo de globalização, veio acrescer importância ao mercado de capitais. Os países em desenvolvimento procuram abrir as suas economias para receber investimentos externos. Quanto maior for o grau de desenvolvimento de uma economia mais ativo será o seu mercado de capitais. No entanto, tem-se verificado uma tendência de substituição de enfoque económico, que antes era mais dirigido ao planeamento empresarial para metas mais ligadas ao meio ambiente. O mercado de capitais é um sistema de distribuição de valores mobiliários cujo objectivo é proporcionar liquidez a títulos emitidos pelas empresas, com a finalidade de viabilizar o processo de capitalização desses papéis. O mercado de capitais é composto pelas bolsas de valores, sociedades corretoras e outras instituições financeiras que têm autorização da Comissão de Valores dos Mercados Mobiliários (CMVM). O mercado bolsista insere-se no mercado de capitais. Nesses mercados, é importante conseguir conjuntamente a maximização dos recursos (retornos) e minimização dos custos (riscos). O principal objectivo das bolsas de valores é promover um ambiente de negociação dos títulos e dos valores mobiliários das empresas. Muitos investidores têm a sua própria maneira de investir, consoante o perfil que cada um tem. Além do perfil dos investidores, é também pertinente analisar a questão do risco. Vaughan (1997) observa que, nos dias atuais, a questão da administração do risco está presente na vida de todos. Este trabalho tem o propósito de demonstrar a necessidade da utilização de ferramentas para a seleção de ativos e para a mensuração do risco e do retorno de aplicações de recursos financeiros nesses activos de mercados de capitais, por qualquer tipo de investidor, mais especificamente na compra de ações e montagem de uma carteira de investimento. Para isso usou-se o método de Elton e Gruber, analisou-se as rentabilidades, os riscos e os índices de desempenho de Treynor e Sharpe. Testes estatísticos para os retornos das ações foram executados visando analisar a aleatoriedade dos dados. Este trabalho conclui que pode haver vantagens na utilização do método de Elton e Gruber para os investidores propensos a utilzar ações de empresas socialmente responsáveis.

Estudo de Argamassas com Cinza de Casca de Amêndoa

Perante o elevado consumo de materiais naturais no processo e produtos na área da construção civil, o reaproveitamento de resíduos é uma das soluções a ser estudada. As cinzas agroindustriais têm lugar de destaque entre estes resíduos, pois têm a possibilidade de aplicação em materiais cimentícios, reduzindo assim o consumo de cimento de Portland. O presente estudo debruça-se sobre a substituição parcial (1,5% e 5%) de cimento de Portland por cinzas de casca de amêndoa. Realizaram-se provetes com diferentes tipos de argamassas: (i) uma de controlo sem substituição de cimento (ARF); (ii) uma com 1,5% de substituição parcial de cimento por cinzas de casca de amêndoa (CCA 1,5%); (iii) e uma com 5% de substituição parcial de cimento por cinza de casca de amêndoa (CCA 5%). Executaram-se ensaios para resistências mecânicas aos 3, 7, 14, 28 e 41 dias de idade. A nível químico pode-se concluir que esta cinza de casca de amêndoa não apresentou qualquer potencial pozolânico. A trabalhabilidade na generalidade diminui ligeiramente, contendo cinza de casca de amêndoa, mas ainda assim considerando-se de fácil manuseamento. Em relação às resistências mecânicas, pode-se concluir que o ideal é a substituição parcial de cimento com 1,5%, pois as resistências diminuem com o uso de uma maior percentagem de substituição, ou seja, o ideal é substituir em pequenas percentagens. Com os dados obtidos, conclui-se que as cinzas testadas não apresentam características necessárias para serem consideradas pozolanas e se será viável a sua utilização mesmo como filer.

Brain-computer interface (BCI): a methodological proposal to assess the impacts of medical applications in 2022

Based on the report for “Project IV” unit of the PhD programme on Technology Assessment (Doctoral Conference) at Universidade Nova de Lisboa (December 2011). This thesis research has the supervision of António Moniz (FCT-UNL and ITAS-KIT) and Armin Grunwald (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology-ITAS, Germany). Other members of the thesis committee are Mário Forjaz Secca (FCT-UNL) and Femke Nijboer (University of Twente, Netherlands).

Migrant Remittances and Information Flows: Evidence from a Field Experiment*

Do information flows matter for remittance behavior? We design and implement a randomized control trial to quantitatively assess the role of communication between migrants and their contacts abroad on the extent and value of remittance flows. In the experiment, a random sample of 1,500 migrants residing in Ireland was offered the possibility of contacting their networks outside the host country for free over a varying number of months. We find a sizable, positive impact of our intervention on the value of migrant remittances sent. Our results exclude that the remittance effect we identify is a simple substitution effect. Instead, our analysis points to this effect being a likely result of improved information via factors such as better migrant control over remittance use, enhanced trust in remittance channels due to experience sharing, or increased remittance recipients’ social pressure on migrants.

Study on the valorization routes of ashes from thermoelectric power plants working under mono-and co-combustion regimes

Thesis submitted to obtain the Doctoral degree in Energy and Bioenergy

Comparison of capture methods for the diagnosis of adult anopheline populations from State of Mato Grosso, Brazil

INTRODUCTION: The present study compares human landing catches of primary malaria vectors with two alternative methods of capture: the Shannon trap and the Mosquito magnet. METHODS: This study used regression models to adjust capture data to a negative binominal distribution. RESULTS: Capture numbers and relative percentages obtained from the three methods vary strongly between species. The highest overall captures were obtained for Anopheles triannulatus with captures for the Shannon trap and the Mosquito magnet measuring more than 330% higher than captures obtained by human landings. For Anopheles darlingi, captures by the Shannon trap and the Mosquito magnet were about 14% and 26% of human landing catches, respectively. Another species with malaria transmission potential that was not sampled by human landing captures weascaptured by the Shannon trap and the Mosquito magnet (Anopheles oswaldoi). Both alternative sampling techniques can predict the human landing of Anopheles triannulatus, but without proportionality. Models for Anopheles darlingi counts, after totaling daily captures, are significant and proportional, but prediction models are more reliable when using the Shannon trap compared with the Mosquito magnet captures. CONCLUSIONS: These alternative capture methods can be partially recommended for the substitution of human landing captures or, at least, as complementary forms of monitoring for malarial mosquitoes.

Determinants of Portuguese bank’s provisioning policies: Discretionary behaviour of generic and specific allowances

In this paper we test for the impact of the regulatory environment on a bank’s discretionary provisioning practices. We develop a model that structures the dynamics of the provision policy for the two classes of provisions: generic provisions and specific provisions. The model is tested using a comprehensive database of all financial institutions operating in Portugal for 1990-2000. This unique dataset comprises banks subject to the Portuguese rules as well as bank subsidiaries subject to their home-country regulation and we were able to identify distinct behaviours between them. Our results show the importance of handling he two types of provisions separately. They support the hypothesis that banks have a discretionary behaviour in setting up their provisions, and find evidence of income smoothing and capital management. We also find that the regulatory regime impacts on discretionary provisioning policies because banks when forced to increase one type of provision react by reducing the iscretionary component of the other, a finding we designated as a substitution effect.

Electron driven reactions in sulphur containing biological prototypes

The interaction of ionising radiation with living tissues may direct or indirectly generate several secondary species with relevant genotoxic potential. Due to recent findings that electrons with energies below the ionisation threshold can effectively damage DNA, radiation-induced damage to biological systems has increasingly come under scrutiny. The exact physico-chemical processes that occur in the first stages of electron induced damage remain to be explained. However, it is also known that free electrons have a short lifetime in the physiological medium. Hence, electron transfer processes studies represent an alternative approach through which the role of "bound" electrons as a source of damage to biological tissues can be further explored. The thesis work consists of studying dissociative electron attachment (DEA) and electron transfer to taurine and thiaproline. DEA measurements were executed in Siedlce University with Prof. Janina Kopyra under COST action MP1002 (Nanoscale insights in ion beam cancer therapy). The electron transfer experiments were conducted in a crossed atom(potassium)-molecule beam arrangement. In these studies the anionic fragmentation patterns were obtained. The results of both mechanisms are shown to be significantly different, unveiling that the damaging potential of secondary electrons can be underestimated. In addition, sulphur atoms appear to strongly influence the dissociation process, demonstrating that certain reactions can be controlled by substitution of sulphur at specific molecular sites.

Detection of purkinje images for automatic positioning of fixation target and interferometric measurements of anterior eye chamber

In cataract surgery, the eye’s natural lens is removed because it has gone opaque and doesn’t allow clear vision any longer. To maintain the eye’s optical power, a new artificial lens must be inserted. Called Intraocular Lens (IOL), it needs to be modelled in order to have the correct refractive power to substitute the natural lens. Calculating the refractive power of this substitution lens requires precise anterior eye chamber measurements. An interferometry equipment, the AC Master from Zeiss Meditec, AG, was in use for half a year to perform these measurements. A Low Coherence Interferometry (LCI) measurement beam is aligned with the eye’s optical axis, for precise measurements of anterior eye chamber distances. The eye follows a fixation target in order to make the visual axis align with the optical axis. Performance problems occurred, however, at this step. Therefore, there was a necessity to develop a new procedure that ensures better alignment between the eye’s visual and optical axes, allowing a more user friendly and versatile procedure, and eventually automatizing the whole process. With this instrument, the alignment between the eye’s optical and visual axes is detected when Purkinje reflections I and III are overlapped, as the eye follows a fixation target. In this project, image analysis is used to detect these Purkinje reflections’ positions, eventually automatically detecting when they overlap. Automatic detection of the third Purkinje reflection of an eye following a fixation target is possible with some restrictions. Each pair of detected third Purkinje reflections is used in automatically calculating an acceptable starting position for the fixation target, required for precise measurements of anterior eye chamber distances.