Interrupting Chagas disease transmission in Venezuela

The interruption of vectorial transmission of Chagas disease in Venezuela is attributed to the combined effects of ongoing entomoepidemiological surveillance, ongoing house spraying with residual insecticides and the concurrent building and modification of rural houses in endemic areas during almost five decades. The original endemic areas which totaled 750,000 km², have been reduced to 365,000 km². During 1958-1968, initial entomological evaluations carried out showed that the house infestation index ranged between 60-80%, the house infection index at 8-11% and a house density index of 30-50 triatomine bugs per house. By 1990-98, these indexes were further reduced to 1.6-4.0%, 0.01-0.6% and 3-4 bugs per house respectively. The overall rural population seroprevalence has declined from 44.5% (95% C.I.: 43.4-45.3%) to 9.2% (95% C.I.: 9.0-9.4%) for successive grouped periods from 1958 to 1998. The annual blood donor prevalence is firmly established below 1%. The population at risk of infection has been estimated to be less than four million. Given that prevalence rates are stable and appropriate for public health programmes, consideration has been given to potential biases that may distort results such as: a) geographical differences in illness or longevity of patients; b) variations in levels of ascertainment; c) variations in diagnostic criteria; and d) variations in population structure, mainly due to appreciable population migration. The endemic areas with continuous transmission are now mainly confined to piedmonts, as well as patchy foci in higher mountainous ranges, where the exclusive vector is Rhodnius prolixus. There is also an unstable area, of which landscapes are made up of grasslands with scattered broad-leaved evergreen trees and costal plains, where transmission is very low and occasional outbreaks are reported.

Auditoria energética às unidades de cogeração e central térmica

A tese de mestrado teve como objetivo o estudo e análise do funcionamento das centrais de cogeração e térmica da fábrica da Unicer em Leça do Balio, com o intuito de melhorar a sua eficiência, propondo alterações processuais. O trabalho realizado consistiu no reconhecimento das instalações, seguido da formulação e resolução dos balanços de energia globais. Com o acompanhamento diário do funcionamento foi possível propor melhorias sem custos que se revelaram muito benéficas, registando-se um aumento nas recuperações térmicas e por consequência no Rendimento Elétrico Equivalente (R.E.E.), na eficiência da instalação da cogeração e da central térmica. Na cogeração registou-se um aumento de 36,2% na potência recuperada em água quente, aproximadamente 600 kW, sendo já superior à prevista pelo projeto. Na caldeira recuperativa registou-se um ligeiro aumento de 4,0% na potência recuperada. Deste modo o rendimento térmico da central aumentou 6,4%, atingindo os 40,8% e superando os 40,4% projetados. O rendimento global final foi de 83,1% o que representa um aumento de 6,3%. O R.E.E. em Maio de 2014 foi de 76,3%, superior ao valor em Junho de 2013 em 8,7%. Tendo como referência o valor alvo de 70,5% para o R.E.E. apontado no início do estágio, nos últimos 8 meses o seu valor tem sido sempre superior e em crescimento. Existe ainda a possibilidade de aproveitar a energia térmica de baixa temperatura que está a ser dissipada numa torre de arrefecimento, no mínimo 40 kW, num investimento com um período de retorno de investimento máximo de 8,1 meses. Na central térmica registou-se um aumento do rendimento para a mesma quantidade de energia produzida na central, pois esta é a principal variável do processo. Em 2014 a produção de energia apresentou um valor inferior a 2013, 6,9%, e a eficiência registou um acréscimo de 2,0%. A incorporação de biogás na alimentação de combustível à caldeira bifuel não pareceu comprometer significativamente a eficiência da central térmica, pelo que a sua utilização é benéfica. Com o aumento das recuperações térmicas na central de cogeração foram estimadas poupanças de gás natural equivalentes a 3,3 GWh, o que significa 120.680€ economizados nos últimos 11 meses do trabalho. É esperado uma poupança de 18.000€ mensais com a melhoria do funcionamento obtida nas duas centrais.

Clinical and laboratory findings of Plasmodium vivax malaria in Colombia, 2001

A descriptive study was carried out in 104 patients with Plasmodium vivax malaria, from the region of Turbo (Antioquia, Colombia). Clinical features and levels of hemoglobin, glycemia, serum bilirubin, alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate-aminotransferase (AST), creatinine and complete blood cell profile were established. 65% of the studied individuals were men and their mean age was 23. Of all individuals 59% had lived in the region for > 1 year and 91% were resident in the rural area. 42% were farmers and 35% had a history of malaria. The mean parasitaemia was 5865 parasites/mm³. The evolution of the disease was short (average of 4.0 days). Fever, headache and chills were observed simultaneously in 91% of the cases while the most frequent signs were palmar pallor (46%), jaundice (15%), hepatomegaly (17%), and spleen enlargement (12%). Anemia was found in 39% of the women and in 51% of the men, 8% of individuals had thrombocytopaenia and 41% had hypoglycemia.

Hausdorff dimension bounds for smoothness of holonomies for codimension 1 hyperbolic dynamics

We prove that the stable holonomies of a proper codimension 1 attractor Λ, for a Cr diffeomorphism f of a surface, are not C1+θ for θ greater than the Hausdorff dimension of the stable leaves of f intersected with Λ. To prove this result we show that there are no diffeomorphisms of surfaces, with a proper codimension 1 attractor, that are affine on a neighbourhood of the attractor and have affine stable holonomies on the attractor.

Protein-responsive polymers for point-of-care detection of cardiac biomarker

This work describes a novel use for the polymeric film, poly(o-aminophenol) (PAP) that was made responsive to a specific protein. This was achieved through templated electropolymerization of aminophenol (AP) in the presence of protein. The procedure involved adsorbing protein on the electrode surface and thereafter electroploymerizing the aminophenol. Proteins embedded at the outer surface of the polymeric film were digested by proteinase K and then washed away thereby creating vacant sites. The capacity of the template film to specifically rebind protein was tested with myoglobin (Myo), a cardiac biomarker for ischemia. The films acted as biomimetic artificial antibodies and were produced on a gold (Au) screen printed electrode (SPE), as a step towards disposable sensors to enable point-of-care applications. Raman spectroscopy was used to follow the surface modification of the Au-SPE. The ability of the material to rebind Myo was measured by electrochemical techniques, namely electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). The devices displayed linear responses to Myo in EIS and SWV assays down to 4.0 and 3.5 μg/mL, respectively, with detection limits of 1.5 and 0.8 μg/mL. Good selectivity was observed in the presence of troponin T (TnT) and creatine kinase (CKMB) in SWV assays, and accurate results were obtained in applications to spiked serum. The sensor described in this work is a potential tool for screening Myo in point-of-care due to the simplicity of fabrication, disposability, short time response, low cost, good sensitivity and selectivity.

Solid contact PVC membrane electrodes based on neutral or charged carriers for the selective reading of anionic sulfamethoxazole and their application to the analysis of aquaculture water

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is among the antibiotics employed in aquaculture for prophylactic and therapeutic reasons. Environmental and food spread may be prevented by controlling its levels in several stages of fish farming. The present work proposes for this purpose new SMX selective electrodes for the potentiometric determination of this sulphonamide in water. The selective membranes were made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with tetraphenylporphyrin manganese (III) chloride or cyclodextrin-based acting as ionophores. 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether was employed as plasticizer and tetraoctylammonium, dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide or potassium tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate was used as anionic or cationic additive. The best analytical performance was reported for ISEs of tetraphenylporphyrin manganese (III) chloride with 50% mol of potassium tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate compared to ionophore. Nersntian behaviour was observed from 4.0 × 10−5 to 1.0 × 10−2 mol/L (10.0 to 2500 µg/mL), and the limit of detection was 1.2 × 10−5 mol/L (3.0 µg/mL). In general, the electrodes displayed steady potentials in the pH range of 6 to 9. Emf equilibrium was reached before 15 s in all concentration levels. The electrodes revealed good discriminating ability in environmental samples. The analytical application to contaminated waters showed recoveries from 96 to 106%.

Microcystin-LR detection in water by the Fabry–Pérot interferometer using an optical fibre coated with a sol–gel imprinted sensing membrane

Cyanobacteria deteriorate the water quality and are responsible for emerging outbreaks and epidemics causing harmful diseases in Humans and animals because of their toxins. Microcystin-LR (MCT) is one of the most relevant cyanotoxin, being the most widely studied hepatotoxin. For safety purposes, the World Health Organization recommends a maximum value of 1 μg L−1 of MCT in drinking water. Therefore, there is a great demand for remote and real-time sensing techniques to detect and quantify MCT. In this work a Fabry–Pérot sensing probe based on an optical fibre tip coated with a MCT selective thin film is presented. The membranes were developed by imprinting MCT in a sol–gel matrix that was applied over the tip of the fibre by dip coating. The imprinting effect was obtained by curing the sol–gel membrane, prepared with (3-aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTMS), diphenyl-dimethoxysilane (DPDMS), tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), in the presence of MCT. The imprinting effect was tested by preparing a similar membrane without template. In general, the fibre Fabry–Pérot with a Molecular Imprinted Polymer (MIP) sensor showed low thermal effect, thus avoiding the need of temperature control in field applications. It presented a linear response to MCT concentration within 0.3–1.4 μg L−1 with a sensitivity of −12.4 ± 0.7 nm L μg−1. The corresponding Non-Imprinted Polymer (NIP) displayed linear behaviour for the same MCT concentration range, but with much less sensitivity, of −5.9 ± 0.2 nm L μg−1. The method shows excellent selectivity for MCT against other species co-existing with the analyte in environmental waters. It was successfully applied to the determination of MCT in contaminated samples. The main advantages of the proposed optical sensor include high sensitivity and specificity, low-cost, robustness, easy preparation and preservation.

Alterações da Actividade Autonómica Durante o Teste de Inclinação em Doentes com Fibrilhação Auricular Paroxística: Análise com Wavelets

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is known to be an important modulator in the pathogenesis of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). Changes in ANS control of heart rate variability (HRV) occur during orthostatism to maintain cardiovascular homeostasis. Wavelet transform has emerged as a useful tool that provides time-frequency decomposition of the signal under investigation, enabling intermittent components of transient phenomena to be analyzed. AIM: To study HRV during head-up tilt (HUT) with wavelet transform analysis in PAF patients and healthy individuals (normals). METHODS: Twenty-one patients with PAF (8 men; age 58 +/- 14 yrs) were examined and compared with 21 normals (7 men, age 48 +/- 12 yrs). After a supine resting period, all subjects underwent passive HUT (60 degrees) while in sinus rhythm. Continuous monitoring of ECG and blood pressure was carried out (Task Force Monitor, CNSystems). Acute changes in RR-intervals were assessed by wavelet analysis and low-frequency power (LF: 0.04-0.15 Hz), high-frequency power (HF: 0.15-0.60 Hz) and LF/HF (sympathovagal) were calculated for 1) the last 2 min of the supine period; 2) the 15 sec of tilting movement (TM); and 3) the 1st (TT1) and 2nd (TT2) min of HUT. Data are expressed as means +/- SEM. RESULTS: Baseline and HUT RR-intervals were similar for the two groups. Supine basal blood pressure was also similar for the two groups, with a sustained increase in PAF patients, and a decrease followed by an increase and then recovery in normals. Basal LF, HF and LF/ HF values in PAF patients were 632 +/- 162 ms2, 534 +/- 231 ms2 and 1.95 +/- 0.39 respectively, and 1058 +/- 223 ms2, 789 +/- 244 ms2 and 2.4 +/- 0.36 respectively in normals (p = NS). During TM, LF, HF and LF/HF values for PAF patients were 747 +/- 277 ms2, 387 +/- 94 ms2 and 2.9 +/- 0.6 respectively, and 1316 +/- 315 ms2, 698 +/- 148 ms2 and 2.8 +/- 0.6 respectively in normals (p < 0.05 for LF and HF). During TF1, LF, HF and LF/ HF values for PAF patients were 1243 +/- 432 ms2, 302 +/- 88 ms2 and 7.7 +/- 2.4 respectively, and 1992 +/- 398 ms2, 333 +/- 76 ms2 and 7.8 +/- 0.98 respectively for normals (p < 0.05 for LF). During TF2, LF, HF and LF/HF values for PAF patients were 871 +/- 256 ms2, 242 +/- 51 ms2 and 4.7 +/- 0.9 respectively, and 1263 +/- 335 ms2, 317 +/- 108 ms2 and 8.6 +/- 0.68 respectively for normals (p < 0.05 for LF/HF). The dynamic profile of HRV showed that LF and HF values in PAF patients did not change significantly during TM or TT2, and LF/HF did not change during TM but increased in TT1 and TT2. CONCLUSION: Patients with PAF present alterations in HRV during orthostatism, with decreased LF and HF power during TM, without significant variations during the first minutes of HUT. These findings suggest that wavelet transform analysis may provide new insights when assessing autonomic heart regulation and highlight the presence of ANS disturbances in PAF.

Salivary gland proteins of the human malaria vector, Anopheles dirus B (Diptera: Culicidae)

Salivary gland proteins of the human malaria vector, Anopheles dirus B were determined and analyzed. The amount of salivary gland proteins in mosquitoes aged between 3 - 10 days was approximately 1.08 ± 0.04 µg/female and 0.1 ± 0.05 µg/male. The salivary glands of both sexes displayed the same morphological organization as that of other anopheline mosquitoes. In females, apyrase accumulated in the distal regions, whereas alpha-glucosidase was found in the proximal region of the lateral lobes. This differential distribution of the analyzed enzymes reflects specialization of different regions for sugar and blood feeding. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that at least seven major proteins were found in the female salivary glands, of which each morphological region contained different major proteins. Similar electrophoretic protein profiles were detected comparing unfed and blood-fed mosquitoes, suggesting that there is no specific protein induced by blood. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel analysis showed the most abundant salivary gland protein, with a molecular mass of approximately 35 kilodaltons and an isoelectric point of approximately 4.0. These results provide basic information that would lead to further study on the role of salivary proteins of An. dirus B in disease transmission and hematophagy.

Countries three Wise Men: Sustainability, Innovation, and Competitiveness

Purpose: The studies on links between sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness have been mainly focused at organizational and business level. The purpose of this research is to investigate if there is a correlation between these three variables at country level. Using international well recognized rankings of countries sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness, correlation analysis was performed allowing for the conclusion that there are indeed high correlations (and possible relationships) between the three variables at country level. Design/methodology/approach: Sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness literature were reviewed identifying a lack of studies examining these three variables at country level. Three major well recognized indexes were used to support the quantitative research: The World Economic Forum (2013) Sustainability-adjusted global competitiveness index, the Global Innovation Index (2014) issued by Cornell University, INSEAD, and WIPO and the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (2014). After confirming the distributions normality, Pearson correlation analysis was made with results showing high linear correlations between the three indexes. Findings: The results of the correlation analysis using Pearson correlation coefficient (all correlation coefficients are greater than 0.73) give a strong support to the conclusion that there is indeed a high correlation (and a possible relationship) between social sustainability, innovation and competitiveness at country level. Research limitations/implications: Further research is advisable to better understand the factors that contribute to the presented results and to establish a global paradigm linking these three main constructs (social sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness). Some authors consider that these measurements are not fully supported (e.g. due to different countries standards), however, it is assumed these differing underlying methodological approaches, by being used in conjunction, can be considered as a set of reliable and useful performance indicators. Practical implications: The results highlight the simultaneous relationship between social sustainability, innovation and competitiveness superior performance and the need to take that these considerations into business and operating models. Social implications: This research suggests that sustainability and innovation policies, strategies and practices are relevant for countries competitiveness and should be promoted particularly in countries ranked low on sustainability and innovation global scoring indexes. Originality/value: This is one of the few studies addressing the relationships between sustainability, innovation and competitiveness at country level.

Utilization of Quality Tools: does sector and size matter?

This research focuses on the influence of company sector and size on the level of utilization of Basic and Advanced Quality Tools. The paper starts with a literature review and then presents the methodology used for the survey. Based on the responses from 202 managers of Portuguese ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System certified organizations, statistical tests were performed. Results show, with 95% confidence level, that industry and services have a similar proportion of use of Basic and Advanced Quality Tools. Concerning size, bigger companies show a higher trend to use Advanced Quality Tools than smaller ones. For Basic Quality Tools, there was no statistical significant difference at a 95% confidence level for different company sizes. The three basic Quality tools with higher utilization were Check sheets, Flow charts and Histograms (for Services) or Control Charts/ (for Industry), however 22% of the surveyed organizations reported not using Basic Quality Tools, which highlights a major improvement opportunity for these companies. Additional studies addressing motivations, benefits and barriers for Quality Tools application should be undertaken for further validation and understanding of these results.

Papel da Linfadenectomia no Tumor Renal

Objetivos: Avaliar os benefícios e morbilidade da linfadenectomia (LND) como componente integral da nefrectomia radical. Material e Métodos: Efetuámos uma pesquisa bibliográfica exaustiva com recurso a vários motores de busca informática, incluindo MEDLINE, PUBMED, GOOGLE SEARCH e AUA MEDSEARCH, correspondendo o período de análise aos últimos 30 anos, entre 1980 e 2010, e utilizando como palavras-chave, exclusivamente em terminologia anglosaxónica, as seguintes: lymph node dissection, lymphadenectomy, renal cell carcinoma, renal tumor, kidneyneoplasms, radical nephrectomy, staging e prognosis. Para uma validação rigorosa das publicações relevantes, utilizámos a Tabela de Níveis de Evidência e Graus de Recomendação de Oxford publicada em Março de 2009. Com base nestas informações, tentámos analisar em detalhe o papel da linfadenectomia no tratamento do carcinoma de células renais e o seu impacto em termos prognósticos. Resultados: Em mais de 150 artigos, considerados pelos autores como relevantes e bem estruturados, apenas 1 era um estudo prospetivo e aleatorizado (Nível de Evidência 1/Grau de Recomendação A). Neste estudo de 772 doentes N0 M0, a taxa de LND positiva foi de 4,0% em status ganglionar clinicamente negativo, não tendo havido qualquer vantagem na sobrevivência e, por isso, não foi recomendada por rotina. Embora a informação obtida da maioria dos estudos seja contraditória, vários estudos retrospetivos recomendam a LND como potencialmente benéfica em casos selecionados de tumor agressivo e em contexto de nefrectomia citorredutora seguida de terapêutica adjuvante,realçando alguns autores a remoção total, sempre que possível, de quaisquer adenopatias palpáveis. Conclusão: A LND não está recomendada, por rotina, em tumores renais com gânglios linfáticos clinicamente negativos. Terá algum benefício potencial em casos selecionados de tumor agressivo e em contexto de cirurgia citorredutora seguida de terapêutica adjuvante, incentivando-se nestas situações a remoção total, se possível, das adenopatias palpáveis. Consequentemente, o tipo de LND deverá ser individualizada e dependente do estadio/extensão da doença neoplásica. Será, provavelmente, útil em futuros protocolos de terapêutica adjuvante desde que associados a inquestionável melhoria da sobrevivência.

Demand Response Programs Design and Use Considering Intensive Penetration of Distributed Generation

Further improvements in demand response programs implementation are needed in order to take full advantage of this resource, namely for the participation in energy and reserve market products, requiring adequate aggregation and remuneration of small size resources. The present paper focuses on SPIDER, a demand response simulation that has been improved in order to simulate demand response, including realistic power system simulation. For illustration of the simulator’s capabilities, the present paper is proposes a methodology focusing on the aggregation of consumers and generators, providing adequate tolls for the demand response program’s adoption by evolved players. The methodology proposed in the present paper focuses on a Virtual Power Player that manages and aggregates the available demand response and distributed generation resources in order to satisfy the required electrical energy demand and reserve. The aggregation of resources is addressed by the use of clustering algorithms, and operation costs for the VPP are minimized. The presented case study is based on a set of 32 consumers and 66 distributed generation units, running on 180 distinct operation scenarios.

Decision Support for Energy Contracts Negotiation with Game Theory and Adaptive Learning

This paper presents a decision support methodology for electricity market players’ bilateral contract negotiations. The proposed model is based on the application of game theory, using artificial intelligence to enhance decision support method’s adaptive features. This model is integrated in AiD-EM (Adaptive Decision Support for Electricity Markets Negotiations), a multi-agent system that provides electricity market players with strategic behavior capabilities to improve their outcomes from energy contracts’ negotiations. Although a diversity of tools that enable the study and simulation of electricity markets has emerged during the past few years, these are mostly directed to the analysis of market models and power systems’ technical constraints, making them suitable tools to support decisions of market operators and regulators. However, the equally important support of market negotiating players’ decisions is being highly neglected. The proposed model contributes to overcome the existing gap concerning effective and realistic decision support for electricity market negotiating entities. The proposed method is validated by realistic electricity market simulations using real data from the Iberian market operator—MIBEL. Results show that the proposed adaptive decision support features enable electricity market players to improve their outcomes from bilateral contracts’ negotiations.

Tuning metadata for better movie content-based recommendation systems

The increasing number of television channels, on-demand services and online content, is expected to contribute to a better quality of experience for a costumer of such a service. However, the lack of efficient methods for finding the right content, adapted to personal interests, may lead to a progressive loss of clients. In such a scenario, recommendation systems are seen as a tool that can fill this gap and contribute to the loyalty of users. Multimedia content, namely films and television programmes are usually described using a set of metadata elements that include the title, a genre, the date of production, and the list of directors and actors. This paper provides a deep study on how the use of different metadata elements can contribute to increase the quality of the recommendations suggested. The analysis is conducted using Netflix and Movielens datasets and aspects such as the granularity of the descriptions, the accuracy metric used and the sparsity of the data are taken into account. Comparisons with collaborative approaches are also presented.