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In the present study, a range of serum biomarkers were quantified in suspected cases of adverse events following YF immunization (YEL-AEFI) to propose a reliable laboratorial algorithm to discriminate confirmed YEL-AEFI (“A1” class) from cases with other illnesses (“C” class). Our findings demonstrated that increased levels of CXCL8, CCL2, CXCL10, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were observed in YEL-AEFI (“A1” and “C” classes) as compared to primary vaccines without YEL-AEFI [PV(day 3–28)] and reference range (RR) controls. Notably, increased levels of CCL3, CCL4, CCL2, CCL5, IL-1β, IL-15, IL-1Ra and G-CSF were found in “A1” as compared to “C” class. Venn diagrams analysis allowed the pre-selection of biomarkers for further analysis of performance indices. Data demonstrated that CCL3, CCL5, IL-15 and IL-1Ra presented high global accuracy (AUC = 1.00) to discriminate “A1” from “C”. Decision tree was proposed with a reliable algorithm to discriminate YEL-AEFI cases according to cause-specific definitions with outstanding overall accuracy (91%). CCL3, CCL5, IL-15 and IL-1Ra appears as root attributes to identify “A1” followed by VEGF as branch nodes to discriminate Wild Type YFV infection (“C(WT-YFV)”) from cases with other illnesses (“C*”). Together, these results demonstrated the applicability of serum biomarker measurements as putative parameters towards the establishment of accurate laboratorial tools for complementary differential diagnosis of YEL-AEFI cases.

High heterogeneity of grassland communities supports a high diversity of species and represents a key point for the retention of pollinators in agricultural landscapes. In the present study, we explored whether the co-occurrence of different grassland communities has any effect on the stability of the network of pollination interactions. We monitored pollination interactions in two co-occurring grassland communities, differing in disturbance history and water and nutrient supply. The monitoring was carried out during the summer season (7 surveys). For each survey we compared the role in the pollination networks (i.e., keystone vs. peripheral species) of habitat-specialist and habitat-generalist plant and pollinator species. We found that plant and pollinator species of the two different grassland communities were highly interconnected, revealing that pollination interactions occur at a level of organization above that of the single community. The co-occurrence of the two grassland communities increased the type, number and frequency of contacts, thereby contributing to networks stability. The role of habitat-specialist and habitat-generalist plant and pollinator species in pollination networks was asymmetric, with habitat-specialist plants and habitat-generalist pollinators being keystone species, while habitat-generalist plants and habitat-specialist pollinators being peripheral in the pollination networks. Our results showed that the stability of the network does stem from the co-occurrence of different species pools having different but complementary roles in the pollination networks. From a conservation perspective, the maintenance of different grassland communities is important not only because they allow the conservation of habitat-specialist species, but specifically because plant species specialized in either grassland community are also keystone for the maintenance of the stability of the pollination networks.

Background: The Brazilian state of Parana conducted a mass vaccination campaign against dengue with the tetravalent attenuated vaccine CYD-TDV. The campaign targeted thirty endemic municipalities. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of CYD-TDV in preventing symptomatic virologically confirmed dengue cases according to specific age groups in five of the municipalities. Methods: A case-control study was carried out in the five most populous municipalities targeted by the vaccination, with a vaccine uptake of 25%. Symptomatic dengue cases were identified by the municipal health departments. The age groups targeted were 15–18 and 19–27 in four municipalities and 9–14 and 28–44 in one municipality. All cases were confirmed by real time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). For each case, two controls were selected: a neighborhood control and a workplace or school/college control, matched by age group. A conditional logistic regression model was used to determine the odds ratio for vaccination and the vaccine effectiveness. Findings: Study participants included 618 RT-qPCR-confirmed dengue cases and 1,236 matched controls (with a non-reactive dengue IgM serologic test). Vaccine effectiveness against dengue due to any serotype was 11·1% (95% CI: –19·0%; 33·6%). Effectiveness against DENV-1 was 33·3% (95% CI: -5·0%; 57·6%) and against DENV-2 was -56·7% (95% CI: -142·2%; -5·0%). No DENV-3 were detected. The vaccine was significantly effective in the prevention of DENV-4 cases (VE = 93·3%; 95% CI: 47·7%; 99·2%). Interpretation: CYD-TDV was effective in the prevention of symptomatic cases due to DENV-4, but not due to any serotype. The low dengue sero-prevalence in the target population could possibly be related to these results. Funding: This study was supported through a grant to the Sabin Vaccine Institute from Sanofi-Pasteur. Sanofi-Pasteur had no role in the study design, protocol development, data collection, analysis, or publication of results. Declaration of Interest: EJA Luna and JC Moraes have received consultancy fees and travel sponsorship from Sanofi-Pasteur. D Garrett, F. Crosewski, I Riediger, F Fantinato and K Ribeiro declare no conflict of interest. Ethical Approval: The Santa Casa de Sao Paulo Research Ethics Committee (Resolution no. 1817892, on November 11, 2016) and Pan American Health Organization Ethics Review Committee – PAHOERC (Resolution PAHO 2016-11-0056) approved the study protocol.

There are few published data on sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in type 1 diabetes (T1DM). Here, we used a combination of polysomnography and glucose variability assessment to screen for SDB.In a prospective, single-centre study, adults with T1DM underwent polysomnography and continuous glucose monitoring during a single night. We measured high glucose variability and the occurrence of a low or very low glucose level. Mild and moderate-to-severe SDB were defined as an apnoea-hypopnoea index above 5/h and 15/h, respectively.We studied 46 patients (25 men; median age: 42 [35-54]; diabetes duration: 18 years [13-29]; body mass index (BMI): 24.8 kg/mSDB was highly prevalent and associated with obesity. According to the methods used here, sleep disorders were not associated with above-target glucose variability or low glucose values.

A smart city is an urban development vision based on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet of things (IoT) for the city?s management and operations. The smart city concept is raised simultaneously in many modern societies. IoT is always playing an important role as smart devices to support complex scenarios in smart cities. A smart toy, such as ?Hello Barbie,? is a smart device consisting of a physical toy component that connects to a computing system with online services through networking to enhance the functionality of a traditional toy. In this research, we particularly studied Brazilian and Argentinian consumers? perceived innovativeness, risks and benefits of smart toys and their purchase intention toward such toys. Results indicate that Brazilian consumers have better perception and evaluation of the toy and thus higher purchase intention than Argentinian consumers do. Such difference may be explained by the cultural differences between the two countries, such as relatively low vs. high uncertainty avoidance. We also provide our recommendations for smart toys manufacturers to address these issues for the future products. Fil: Fantinato, Marcelo. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil Fil: Hung, Patrick C.K.. University of Ontario. Institute of Technology; Canadá Fil: Jiang, Ying. University of Ontario. Institute of Technology; Canadá Fil: Roa, Jorge. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Santa Fe. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de Ingeniería en Sistemas de Información; Argentina Fil: Villarreal, Pablo David. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Santa Fe. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de Ingeniería en Sistemas de Información; Argentina Fil: Melaisi, Mohammed. University of Ontario. Institute of Technology; Canadá Fil: Amancio, Fernanda. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil

Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T17:35:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-03-01 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Aiming a selective reduction of CO2 to methanol, a p-n junction semiconductor was constructed based on CuO nanospheres (NsCuO) deposited at TiO2 nanotubes (NtTiO2). The NtTiO2/NsCuO material demonstrated smaller charge transfer resistance, smaller flat band potential and wider optical absorption when compared with NtTiO2 and/or Ti/TiO2 nanoparticles coated by higher size particles of CuO (Ti/TiO2/CuO). The selective reduction of dissolved CO2 to methanol was promoted at lower potential of +0.2 V and UV–vis irradiation in 0.1 mol L−1 K2SO4 electrolyte pH 8 with 57% of faradaic efficiency. Even though the performance of the nanostructured material NtTiO2/NsCuO was similar to the non-completely nanostructured material Ti/TiO2/CuO (0.1 mmol L−1 methanol), the conversion to methanol has been significantly increased when hydroxyls (0.62 mmol L−1) and holes scavengers (0.71 mmol L−1), such as p-nitrosodimethylaniline (RNO) or glucose, respectively, were added in the supporting electrolyte. It indicates that photogenerated electron/hole pairs are spatially separated on p-n junction electrodes, which produces effective electrons and long-life holes, influencing the products formed in the reaction. A schematic representation of the heterojunction effect on the photoelectrocatalytic CO2 reduction is proposed under the semiconductor and each supporting electrolyte, which improves the knowledge about the subject. São Paulo State University (UNESP) Institute of Chemistry, R. Francisco Degni 55 São Paulo State University (UNESP) Institute of Chemistry, R. Francisco Degni 55 FAPESP: 2008/10449-7 FAPESP: 2013/25343-8

Summary Background In 2015, the number of infants born with microcephaly increased in Paraiba, Brazil, after a suspected Zika virus outbreak. We did a retrospective case-control investigation to assess the association of microcephaly and Zika virus. Methods We enrolled cases reported to the national database for microcephaly and born between Aug 1, 2015, and Feb 1, 2016, on the basis of their birth head circumference and total body length. We identified controls from the national birth registry and matched them to cases by location, aiming to enrol a minimum of two controls per case. Mothers of both cases and controls were asked about demographics, exposures, and illnesses and infants were measured at a follow-up visit 1–7 months after birth. We took blood samples from mothers and infants and classified those containing Zika virus IgM and neutralising antibodies as evidence of recent infection. We calculated prevalence of microcephaly and odds ratios (ORs) using a conditional logistic regression model with maximum penalised conditional likelihood, and combined these ORs with exposure probability estimates to determine the attributable risk. Findings We enrolled 164 of 706 infants with complete information reported with microcephaly at birth, of whom we classified 91 (55%) as having microcephaly on the basis of their birth measurements, 36 (22%) as small, 21 (13%) as disproportionate, and 16 (10%) as not having microcephaly. 43 (26%) of the 164 infants had microcephaly at follow-up for an estimated prevalence of 5·9 per 1000 livebirths. We enrolled 114 control infants matched to the 43 infants classified as having microcephaly at follow-up. Infants with microcephaly at follow-up were more likely than control infants to be younger (OR 0·5, 95% CI 0·4–0·7), have recent Zika virus infection (21·9, 7·0–109·3), or a mother with Zika-like symptoms in the first trimester (6·2, 2·8–15·4). Once Zika virus infection and infant age were controlled for, we found no significant association between microcephaly and maternal demographics, medications, toxins, or other infections. Based on the presence of Zika virus antibodies in infants, we concluded that 35–87% of microcephaly occurring during the time of our investigation in northeast Brazil was attributable to Zika virus. We estimate 2–5 infants per 1000 livebirths in Paraiba had microcephaly attributable to Zika virus. Interpretation Time of exposure to Zika virus and evidence of infection in the infants were the only risk factors associated with microcephaly. This investigation has improved understanding of the outbreak of microcephaly in northeast Brazil and highlights the need to obtain multiple measurements after birth to establish if an infant has microcephaly and the need for further research to optimise testing criteria for congenital Zika virus infection. Funding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Microhaplotypes (microhaps or MHs) are markers characterized by a set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within an expanse of 300 bp exhibiting multiple allelic combinations. Microhap alleles within a locus have all the same size, do not generate stutter artifacts, and have low mutation rates. These features complement short tandem repeats (STRs) for human identification and mixture deconvolution. The analysis of microhaps is enhanced by massively parallel sequencing (MPS) that enables the determination of the parental SNP haplotypes by clonal sequencing of each strand. This study aims to evaluate the mixture performance of a 74 microhap locus-assay on the Ion S5™ and compare the results to size-based and sequence-based STR analysis. The detection limit of the panel was tested and the panel’s performance evaluated in parallel with the GlobalFiler™ and Precision ID GlobalFiler™ NGS STR Panel v2 kits. An set of two-to-five person mixtures was simulated at different contribution ratios and amounts of DNA (1 ng and 10 ng) to mimic casework-like samples. The 74-locus panel was sensitive down to 50 pg of input DNA. Size-based STR mixture analysis was challenging, but was improved by MPS when the allele sequence of the minor contributor was different from the overlapping stutter of the major. For two-person mixtures, full microhap profile of the minor donor could be reported at 1:10 ratio, with minimal allele/locus dropout at 20:1, and more significant dropout at higher mixture ratios. For three-to-five person mixtures, full microhap profiles were obtained for all minor donors with the exception of few loci that underperformed at imbalanced mixture ratios. These findings suggest that microhaps can improve mixture deconvolution and supplement STR typing analysis.

The impact of growth rate (GR) and finishing regime (FR) on growth and meat quality traits of Angus x Nellore crossbred steers, harvested at a constant body weight (530 ± 20 kg) or time on feed (140 days), was evaluated. Treatments were: 1) feedlot, high GR; 2) feedlot, low GR; 3) pasture, high GR and 4) pasture, low GR. Live body composition, carcass and meat quality traits were evaluated. High GR had greater impact on muscle and fat deposition in feedlot-finished, but not in pasture-finished animals. Feedlot animals had higher Longissimus muscle area, backfat thickness, meat luminosity and tenderness when compared to pasture groups. Moreover, pasture- and feedlot-finished animals with similar GR did not differ in the chromatic attributes of non-aged meat, regardless of endpoint. Thus, GR appeared to be the main factor driving beef chromatic parameters, while FR had a major impact on achromatic attributes and tenderness of meat.

Information Theoretic Learning (ITL) methods have been applied in a variety of applications as dynamic modeling, equalization and blind source separation. Usually, such methods involve the estimation of the probability density function (pdf) of the signals, what can be achieved through the use of kernel density estimators (KDE). In literature, the Gaussian kernel is the most largely used function in the estimator. However, using a second-order approximation, it is possible to show that the Epanechnikov kernel leads to an improved pdf estimation when compared to that using the Gaussian kernel. Hence, in this work, we explore the use of the Epanechnikov kernel in KDE applied to equalization and blind source separation problems. Following an ITL perspective, we develop methods based on the Epanechnikov kernel for both problems, showing how the proposed approach may improve performance when compared to methods in the literature which use the Gaussian kernel.