Comparative study of the fecundity and fertility of Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818) and Biomphalaria straminea (Dunker, 1848) in a laboratory through self-fertilization and cross-fertilization

The aim of this study was to compare the fecundity and fertility of B. glabrata and B. straminea by cross- and self-fertilization. To attain this objective, laboratory-raised strains of B. glabrata and B. straminea were used. The former originated from natural breeding grounds in the municipality Paulista, state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The latter originated from irrigation ditches in the municipality of Petrolândia, in the same state. Snail populations of B. glabrata and B. straminea were maintained for 240 days in laboratory. Their fecundity was evaluated by noting the number of egg-masses, eggs and eggs per mass. Their fertility was evaluated by the number of viable eggs and the hatching rate. B. straminea was markedly more fecund than B. glabrata through cross- and self-fertilization, namely: greater egg-mass; higher egg production and more eggs per mass. Regarding fertility, there seemed to be no preferential period for occlusion to occur or a trend in the rhythm of producing viable eggs.

Coarctação Isolada da Aorta: Experiência em 100 Doentes Consecutivos

INTRODUCTION: Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is a stenosis usually located in the descending aorta. Treatment consists of surgical or percutaneous removal of the obstruction and presents excellent immediate results but significant residual problems often persist. OBJECTIVES: To describe the presentation, treatment and long-term evolution of a population of 100 unselected consecutive patients with isolated CoA in a single pediatric cardiology center. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of all patients with isolated CoA treated during4 the last 21 years (1987-2008). RESULTS: The patients (n=100, 68.3% male) were diagnosed at a median age of 94 days (1 day to 16 years). The clinical presentation differed between patients aged less or more than one year, the former presenting with heart failure and the latter being asymptomatic with evidence of hypertension (88 and 63%, respectively; p < 0.01). Treatment, a median of 8 days after diagnosis, was surgical in 79 cases (20 end-to-end anastomosis, 31 subclavian flap, 28 patch) and percutaneous in the remaining 21 (15 balloon angioplasty, 6 with stenting). The mean age of surgical patients was younger than in those treated percutaneously (3.4 vs. 7.5 years; p < 0.01). Immediate mortality was 2% and occurred in the surgical group. There was no late mortality, in a mean follow-up of 7.2 +/- 5.4 years. Recoarctation occurred in 8 patients (6 surgical, 2 percutaneous). There are 46 patients who currently have hypertension (19 at rest, 27 with effort), their median age at diagnosis being older than the others (23 vs. 995 days; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Isolated CoA has an excellent short-term prognosis but a significant incidence of long-term complications, and should thus no longer be seen as a simple obstruction in the descending aorta, but rather as a complex pathology that requires careful follow-up after treatment. Its potentially insidious presentation requires a high level of clinical suspicion, femoral pulse palpation during physical examination of newborns and older children being particularly important. Delay in treatment has an impact on late morbidity and mortality. Taking into account the data currently available on late and immediate results, the final choice of therapeutic technique depends on the patient's age, associated lesions and the experience of the medical-surgical team. Hypertension should be closely monitored in the follow-up of these patients, as well as its risk factors and complications.

Spatial neighborhood matrix computation: Inverse distance weighted versus binary contiguity

Paper presented at Geo-Spatial Crossroad GI_Forum, Salzburg, Austria.

Diterpenos de Copaifera reticulata Ducke com atividade larvicida contra Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera, Culicidae)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the larvicidal activity of diterpenoids obtained from the oil-resin of Copaifera reticulata against Aedes aegypti larvae, the principal vector of dengue and urban yellow fever. Four diterpenes were obtained from oil-resin extraction with organic solvents and subsequent chromatographic and spectroscopic procedures allowed to isolation and identification of these compounds as 3-b-acetoxylabdan-8(17)-13-dien-15-oic acid (1), alepterolic acid (2), 3-b-hidroxylabdan-8(17)-en-15-oic acid (3), and ent-agatic acid (4). Each compound was previously dissolved in dimethylsulphoxide, and distilled water was added to obtain the desired concentrations. Twenty larvae of third instars were placed into plastic beckers, containing the solution test (25 mL), in a five repetitions scheme, and their mortality, indicated by torpor and darkening of the cephalic capsule, was recorded after 48h. Probit analyses were used to determine lethal concentrations (LC50 and LC90) and their respective 95% confidence intervals. This study showed that only diterpenoids 1 and 2 exhibited larvicidal properties with LC50 of 0.8 ppm and 87.3 ppm, respectively, revealing the former as the most toxic compound against third instars of Ae. aegypti. Therefore, this compound seems to be an interesting source for new metabolite to be exploited.

Proactive services ecosystem framework

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

Immunoperoxidase technique using an anti-Leishmania (L.) chagasi hyperimmune serum in the diagnosis of culture-confirmed American tegumentary leishmaniasis

The present study reports the production of the rabbit anti-Leishmania (L.) chagasi hyperimmune serum, the standardization of the immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique and the evaluation of its employment in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) lesions diagnosed by Leishmania sp. culture isolation. Thirty fragments of active CL lesions were examined as well as 10 fragments of cutaneous mycosis lesions as control group. IHC proved more sensitive in detecting amastigotes than conventional hematoxylin-eosin (HE) stained slides: the former was positive in 24 (80%) biopsies whereas the latter, in 16 (53%) (p = 0.028). The reaction stained different fungus species causing cutaneous mycosis. Besides, positive reaction was noticed in mononuclear and endothelial cells. Nevertheless, this finding was present in the control group biopsies. It is concluded that IHC showed good sensitivity in detecting amastigotes.

Skin lesions in envenoming by cnidarians (Portuguese man-of-war and jellyfish): etiology and severity of accidents on the Brazilian coast

This work attempts to establish dermatological identification patterns for Brazilian cnidarian species and a probable correlation with envenoming severity. In an observational prospective study, one hundred and twenty-eight patients from the North Coast region of São Paulo State, Brazil were seen between 2002 and 2008. About 80% of these showed only local effects (erythema, edema, and pain) with small, less than 20 cm, oval or round skin marks and impressions from small tentacles. Approximately 20% of the victims had long, more than 20 cm, linear and crossed marks with frequent systemic phenomena, such as malaise, vomiting, dyspnea, and tachycardia. The former is compatible with the common hydromedusa from Southeast and Southern Brazil (Olindias sambaquiensis). The long linear marks with intense pain and systemic phenomena are compatible with envenoming by the box jellyfish Tamoya haplonema and Chiropsalmus quadrumanus and the hydrozoan Portuguese man-of-war (Physalis physalis). There was an association between skin marks and probable accident etiology. This simple observation rule can be indicative of severity, as the Cubozoa Class (box jellyfish) and Portuguese man-of-war cause the most severe accidents. In such cases, medical attention, including intensive care, is important, as the systemic manifestations can be associated with death.

Automatic syllabification for danish text-to-speech systems

In this paper, a rule-based automatic syllabifier for Danish is described using the Maximal Onset Principle. Prior success rates of rule-based methods applied to Portuguese and Catalan syllabification modules were on the basis of this work. The system was implemented and tested using a very small set of rules. The results gave rise to 96.9% and 98.7% of word accuracy rate, contrary to our initial expectations, being Danish a language with a complex syllabic structure and thus difficult to be rule-driven. Comparison with data-driven syllabification system using artificial neural networks showed a higher accuracy rate of the former system.

Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients Receiving Dialysis in Portugal: a Nationwide Multicentre Survey

Background: Data on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients receiving dialysis in Portugal is scarce. Methods: This nationwide epidemiological survey retrospectively evaluates HIV-infected patients on chronic dialysis in Portugal between 1997 and 2002. Results: Sixty-six patients were evaluated (mean age: 39.1±1.6 years, 47 men, 35 black African). Sixty-two patients started dialysis and 4 patients who were receiving dialysis had HIV seroconversion. Eighty-five percent of patients were treated in Lisbon. The annual incidence of HIV-infected patients on chronic dialysis was 0.5% in 1997 and 0.9% in 2002. Seventy-eight percent of patients were HIV-1 infected , 13% had hepatitis B and 31% hepatitis C. Sexual contact was the mode of transmission of HIV in 53% of cases. Four patients had biopsy-proved HIV-associated nephropathy. Ninety-five percent of patients were on chronic hemodialysis. Fifty percent of patients had acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. At follow-up, 12 patients died. HIV-infected CKD patient survival after starting dialysis was 80% at 3 years. Conclusion: The incidence of HIV-infected patients on chronic dialysis in Portugal has almost doubled. Widespread use of highly active antiretroviral therapy and the increasing number of black Africans from former overseas Portuguese colonies now living in Portugal are possible reasons for this large increase.

Stochastic simulation of the morphology of fluvial sand channels reservoirs

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Geológica (Georrecursos)

Full-scale biological phosphorus removal: quantification of storage polymers, microbial performance and metabolic modelling

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

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SMOKING, CRACK COCAINE ABUSE AND THE DISCONTINUATION OF COMBINATION ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY IN RECIFE, PERNAMBUCO, BRAZIL

Despite the effectiveness of combination antiretroviral therapy in the treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), nonadherence to medication has become a major threat to its effectiveness. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of self-reported irregular use of antiretroviral therapy and the factors associated with such an irregularity in PLWHA. A cross-sectional study of PLWHA who attended two referral centers in the city of Recife, in Northeastern Brazil, between June 2007 and October 2009 was carried out. The study analyzed socioeconomic factors, social service support and personal habits associated with nonadherence to antiretroviral therapy, adjusted by multivariable logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of PLWHA who reported irregular use of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) was 25.7%. In the final multivariate model, the irregular use of cART was associated with the following variables: being aged less than 40 years (OR = 1.66, 95%-CI: 1.29-2.13), current smokers (OR = 1.76, 95%-CI: 1.31-2.37) or former smokers (OR = 1.43, 95%-CI: 1.05-1.95), and crack cocaine users (OR = 2.79, 95%-CI: 1.24-6.32). Special measures should be directed towards each of the following groups: individuals aged less than 40 years, smokers, former smokers and crack cocaine users. Measures for giving up smoking and crack cocaine should be incorporated into HIV-control programs in order to promote greater adherence to antiretroviral drugs and thus improve the quality of life and prolong life expectancy.

Hydrologic modeling and uncertainty analysis of an ungauged watershed using mapwindow-swat

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

SUSCEPTIBILITY OF Candida spp. ISOLATED FROM BLOOD CULTURES AS EVALUATED USING THE M27-A3 AND NEW M27-S4 APPROVED BREAKPOINTS

The high mortality rates associated with candidemia episodes and the emergence of resistance to antifungal agents necessitate the monitoring of the susceptibility of fungal isolates to antifungal treatments. The new, recently approved, species-specific clinical breakpoints (SS-CBPs)(M27-S4) for evaluating susceptibility require careful interpretation and comparison with the former proposals made using the M27-A3 breakpoints, both from CLSI. This study evaluated the susceptibility of the different species of Candida that were isolated from candidemias based on these two clinical breakpoints. Four hundred and twenty-two isolates were identified and, among them, C. parapsilosis comprised 46.68%, followed by C. albicans (35.78%), C. tropicalis (9.71%), C. glabrata (3.55%), C. lusitaniae (1.65%), C. guilliermondii (1.65%) and C. krusei (0.94%). In accordance with the M27-A3 criteria, 33 (7.81%) non-susceptible isolates were identified, of which 16 (3.79%) were resistant to antifungal agents. According to SS-CBPs, 80 (18.95%) isolates were non-susceptible, and 10 (2.36%) of these were drug resistant. When the total number of non-susceptible isolates was considered, the new SS-CBPs detected 2.4 times the number of isolates that were detected using the M27-A3 interpretative criteria. In conclusion, the detection of an elevated number of non-susceptible species has highlighted the relevance of evaluating susceptibility tests using new, species-specific clinical breakpoints (SS-CBPs), which could impact the profile of non-susceptible Candida spp. to antifungal agents that require continuous susceptibility monitoring.

No right to perform a contract?

Thesis submitted in Trinity Term 2001 for the degree of Master of Philosophy, Worcester College, Oxford