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Background: Triatomines in Latin America are natural Chagas disease (ChD) vectors. Triatomine domiciliation is one of the main factors increasing the occurrence risk of this disease in humans. There are 66 triatomine species in Brazil, with three genera of significant epidemiological importance—Panstrongylus, Rhodnius, and Triatoma. Among the Triatoma species, Triatoma williami, a wild species, has been reported in Goiás, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul. In the Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso, the invasion by triatomines has been reported, with T. williami being the most common species. This study aimed to survey triatomine fauna and determine the Trypanosoma cruzi natural infection rates in triatomines in the urban area of Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Methods: Triatomine specimens were sampled by passive surveillance or active search by agents combating endemic diseases from 2019 to 2020. A parasitological feces diagnosis was performed to detect the presence of T. cruzi after the specimens were identified. Concerning T. cruzi identification, molecular diagnosis and genetic sequencing were performed to determine the strain, also called discrete typing units (DTUs). Results: The 211 triatomines were collected, distributed in specimens of T. williami (84.4%), P. geniculatus (3.3%), P. diasi (1.4%), and R. neglectus (10.9%). Two colonies of T. williami were found through morphological analyses. These insects were sampled inside domiciles in an urban area neighboring Jardim Pitaluga (15° 51′57.7″ N, 052° 16′ 04.5 E). The records were sampled in September 2019 and January 2021. The rate of natural infection by T. cruzi was 39.4%. Two T. williami specimens from the sampled colonies were positive for the T. cruzi strain DTU IV. Conclusions: This is the first time that T. williami has been confirmed in an urban area of Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Further studies are needed for a clearer understanding of the ecology of this species for prevention and control mechanisms since its sampled specimens had a high rate of natural infection by T. cruzi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: This article presents a didactic sequence with the content of corporal practices of adventure, taking as main focus the articulations with the debate on collective health from the historical pedagogy-critical and curricular principles for dealing with the knowledge of the critical-overcoming approach. Understanding that collective health is based on a dialectical contribution and that it takes the whole of the individual in this historical particularity, we defend that this concept of health has sufficient scope to dialogue with the teaching of the different activities of Body Culture in the search for a critical training. OBJECTIVE: The objective is to present the theoretical-methodological path of the teaching of the corporal practices of adventure considering the possibilities of enjoyment and living in urban environment, more specifically in the parks of the city of Goiânia, GO, Brazil. METHODS: The methodology of exposition was outlined based on the principles of an experience report, which aims to present in detail a pedagogical proposal already materialized in dialogue with the scientific production. RESULTS: a) the process of teaching and learning the corporal practices of adventure on land, in the air and in the water, in their modalities tree climbing, slackline and stand up paddle and technical, historical and vertigo dimensions; b) Debate on the forms of access to the practices of adventure and exploration of public spaces in Goiânia; c) Understanding the contradictions about the particularity of our society (capitalism); d) Construction of alternative material. CONCLUSION: The students understood the concepts of the corporal practices of adventure and the social determinants of health, criticizing the lack of public policies of access to body culture and pointing out alternative (and provisional) possibilities for the community to experience and enjoy these goods, even against the logic of capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Callithrix geoffroyi are increasingly present in Brazilian urban areas, where they are vulnerable to health problems. The purpose of this study was a description of hematology and nine blood chemistry parameters of free‐ranging C. geoffroyi. Methods: Thirty individuals were captured in urban‐forested settings. The marmosets were anesthetized, venopunctioned, and released shortly after recovery. The analysis was carried on in a veterinary laboratory, using automatic cells counter, staining methods, and an automatic biochemical analyzer. Results and Conclusions: Male and female free‐ranging C. geoffroyi have similar hematological and blood chemistry values. The adults presented higher concentrations of erythrocytes (P <.02) and hemoglobin (P <.02) than young marmosets. The platelet concentration was lower (P <.05) in adults comparing to young marmosets. There were not statistically significant differences between young and adult blood chemistry concentrations. This is the first time that are presented hematology and blood biochemistry data on free‐ranging C. geoffroyi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

is a haematophagous mite of veterinary and public health concern. The association between O. bursa and humans in Brazil has been known for several decades, but most of the information is limited and confusing. Herein, we present an overview of the cases of gamasoidosis in Brazil based on published and new records. Wild birds are common sources for human infestation, especially omnivorous and insectivorous birds that live in urban and rural environments. Species of the Columbidae are the most common birds associated with O. bursa in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge in the search for relationships between urban space, physical mobility, and health status, is detecting indicators able to link the environment with healthy life habits. Therefore, the objective was to design an urban index for the identification of urban environment propensity for physical activity (PA) and to determine how it relates to lifestyle and anthropometric parametrization of obesity. Participants (N = 318–60.4% women and 39.6% men) were recruited from a mid-sized city with epidemiology and morbidity rates below the average for the mid-west region of Brazil. Body mass index (BMI) was measured and a questionnaire was applied to gather information about PA and life habits. The spatial urban health index (SUHI) was designed in a geographic information system using data from demographic, environmental and urban physical features. The relationship between BMI and PA was verified with multiple linear regression, controlled for SUHI levels. Regarding the BMI of the population, 69.5% were classified in the eutrophic or overweight ranges, with no effect of gender and age. The SUHI classified 63.7% of the urban area favorable to PA. The PA routine was adequate (≥3 sessions with ≥1 h each) for ~80% of the population, as well as healthy habits such as non smoking (~94%) and non alcohol abuse (~55%). The SUHI strengthens the relationships of BMI to weekly frequency (r = -0.68; t = -9.4; p<0.001) and session duration (r = -0.66; t = -2.8; p<0.001) for the whole group by improving the explanatory coefficient in ~25% (R2Adj = 0.61 to R2Adj = 0.85). The SUHI indicated that the urban environment is able to promote healthy life habits by diminishing the "obesogenic" features of the city when physical structures are planned to facilitate PA, whatever the gender and age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the ARQUIGRAFIA project, an open, public and nonprofit, continuous growth web collaborative environment dedicated to Brazilian architectural photographic images. The ARQUIGRAFIA project promotes the active and collaborative participation among its institutional users (GLAMs, NGOs, laboratories and research groups) and private users (students, professionals, professors, researchers), both can create an account and share their digitized iconographic collections in the same Web environment by uploading their files, indexing, georeferencing and assigning a Creative Commons license. The development of users interactions by means of semantic differentials impressions recording on visible plastic-spatial aspects of the architectures in synthetic infographics, as well as by the retrieval of images through an advanced system search based on those impressions parameters. By gamification means, the system often invites users to review images' in order to improve images' data accuracy. The pilot project named Open Air Museum that allows users to add audio descriptions to images in situ. An interface for users' digital curatorship will be soon available. The ARQUIGRAFIA's multidisciplinary team gathering professors-researchers, graduate and undergraduate students from the Architecture and Urbanism, Design, Information Science, Computer Science faculties of the University of São Paulo, demands continuous financial resources for grants, for contracting third party services, for the participation in scientific events in Brazil and abroad, and for equipment. Since 2016, significant budget cuts in the University of São Paulo own research funds and in Brazilian federal scientific agencies can compromise the continuity of this project. The open source template called +GRAFIA that can freely help other areas of knowledge to build their own visual Web collaborative environments. The collaborative nature of the ARQUIGRAFIA distinguishes it from institutional image databases on the internet, precisely because it involves a heterogeneous network of collaborators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the toxic agents that can threaten human health, the scorpions are the ones that cause the most accidents in Paraiba territory. For the ministry of health, four species of the genus Tityus have medical importance in Brazil, due to your adaptation capacity in urban environments, pathogenic reproduction and the toxicity of its venom. The aim of this study was to report the scorpions species that have medical importance in the state of Paraiba. It is a literature review, descriptive and qualitative, based on documents obtained from Scielo, Lilacs, UnB Repository, Fiocruz and the Ministry of Health database. It was considered the documents published in the period of 2014 to 2019. Were also collected intoxication data available by SINITOX for the period from 2009 to 2013. Two species are responsible for scorpionic accidents: T. serrulatus e T. stigmurus, the latter being considered the main etiological agent in the state. In the period of 2009 to 2013, Paraiba was the state of the Northeast region which most reported the occurrence of accidents involving scorpions, with 11.243 cases. The higher number of notifications occurred in 2012 (2.467) and the smallest in 2013 (1.946). The scorpionic accidents are the main cause of intoxication in the state, while the medicines are the mainly responsible in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To verify differences in the availability, variety, quality and price of unprocessed and ultra-processed foods in supermarkets and similar establishments in neighbourhoods with different social deprivation levels at Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: The Obesogenic Environment Study in São Paulo's Food Store Observation Tool (ESAO-S) was applied in thirty-three supermarket chains, wholesale and retail supermarkets.Results: Fruits, vegetables and ultra-processed foods were available in almost all establishments, without differences according to Health Vulnerability Index (HVI; which varies from 0 to 1 point and the higher the worse; P > 0·05). Most establishments were concentrated in low vulnerability areas and offered healthy foods with greater variety and quality, despite higher prices. The Healthy Food Store Index (HFSI; which varies from 0 to 16 points and the higher the best) was calculated from the ESAO-S and the mean score was 8·91 (sd 1·51). The presence and variety of unprocessed foods count as positive points, as do the absence of ultra-processed products. When HFSI was stratified by HVI, low HVI neighbourhoods presented higher HFSI scores, compared with medium, high and very high HVI neighbourhoods (P = 0·001).Conclusions: Supermarkets and similar establishments are less dense in areas of greater social deprivation and have lower prices of healthy foods, but the variety and quality of those foods are worse, compared with areas of low vulnerability. We found worse HFSI for supermarkets located in areas with greater vulnerability. Those findings can guide specific public policies improving the urban food environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the broad celebration of Brazil's urban reform movement, recent events in Brazil have called attention to a paradox focused on the disappointing results of this movement to deal with Brazil's complex urban context. Taking this "impasse" as a starting point, this article focuses on the role of politics and its relationship to economic interests in urban development in which much decision making around urban policy takes place to understand why Brazil's progressive legislation has not succeeded in creating a more just and equitable urban environment. Using a case study of the city of Niterói, I show that patterns of state and nonstate actors are connected through both formal and informal relationships, and connections between public and private actors have a considerable impact on urban politics and policies. Focusing on the limits of participatory processes in Niterói, I call attention to the contradictions of participatory planning in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban environment, understood as the environment changed by man, is represented by the city as a space for coexistence of individuals, endowed with an entire infrastructure composed of public goods and services, which aim at the wellbeing of its inhabitants. When people effectively participate in decision-making interest in cities, they feel more responsible for the outcome of their decisions, providing a political maturity of the population. In both Brazil and Portugal, the Master Plan is the main instrument for planning and regulating cities and the urban environment. The difference between them may lie in the fact that Brazil is one step ahead with popular participation in urban planning and participatory budgeting, probably due to the political and socio-economic characteristics of the country, and the needs that this condition imposes on its inhabitants. Regardless of both Brazil and Portugal already make great efforts in this direction, and the question of community involvement in the decision-making process, urban planning, and participatory budgeting is already addressed and considered (although at different levels, stages, and legal formalization), there is still much to be done in this direction to ensure the effective participation of the population in the construction and evolution of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a snippet from the dissertation "Urban Sketchers Brazil: Memory and Sensitivity in Contemporary Cities" and deals with the theme of the city in three aspects: sociability, materiality and sensitivity. This movement of urban designers is seen as a linker between people, establishing very interesting personal relationships, it is seen as a facilitator of contacts with the historical and mnemonic objects of the city, and finally, it is seen as a facilitator of sensitive experiences of looking and feeling life in the city. Thus, we understand the movement in its contemporaneity and its fruitful relationship with urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While studying aseptic meningitis in Salvador, Brazil, we diagnosed anicteric leptospirosis in 1.7% (5/295) of patients hospitalized for aseptic meningitis. Leptospirosis-associated meningitis patients had lower mean cerebrospinal fluid cell counts and protein than other-cause aseptic meningitis (p<0.05). Clinicians must consider leptospirosis-associated meningitis in appropriate clinical-epidemiologic contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we determined the occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in soil samples from public places. A total of 120 samples were collected from 24 sites, including squares, parks, university, hospitals in the city of Recife. The recovered oocysts were subjected to a nested-PCR test, and nine sites (9/24) were found to be positive for gene of apicomplexan parasites. The PCR product was sequenced, and 8.33% (10/120) of the samples showed 100% similarity to T. gondii DNA. T. gondii oocysts were detected in 75% (3/4) of the evaluated hospital soil samples and in 23.81% (5/21) soils samples from the public squares and parks. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of the soil in the areas analyzed as a source of T. gondii infection and therefore highlight the importance of devising educational strategies on the use of these sites, in addition to future cleaning protocols in public areas. • Molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii in public spaces. • Physicochemical variables of the soil contaminated by Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. • Public spaces as potential sources of parasite infection for susceptible hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to understand the social and environmental reality of a local community in the municipality of Teresina (PI), and to try to find ways of understanding and meeting the needs of the population, identifying solutions that could address the main social concerns. At the same time, the work was designed to contribute to the training of undergraduates in this area. Transversal research was essentially based on a random sample of 43 families. Questionnaires were completed at the subjects' homes, between June and July 2011. The findings revealed a situation of vulnerability and social risk in the families, characterized by low wages, low levels of education, poor sanitation conditions, a prevalence of informal employment, and restricted access to health care. The contributions of the study included educational activities in the community and the training of peer educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the peculiarities of Brazilian Amazon, especially the access to information and communication technologies. Particularly, this work discusses the access of urban Amazon to the Internet and it proposes a review of the alleged isolation of the region, where the majority of the population is urban and the access of Internet is growing. It also denies the ideas that lead to the invisibility of the urban in opposite to the centrality of the environment when Amazon is the issue [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The typical electrical distribution system shows a passive characteristic in relation to power flows (i.e. unidirectional power flows from substation to loads along the feeder). However, with the inclusion of solar photovoltaic (PV) generators along the feeder, this behavior is changed, and characteristics related to power quality, such as voltage level and total harmonic distortion (THD), may be affected. This paper presents the analysis of power quality in a feeder of the urban grid in the city of the Florianopolis, Brazil, with the integration of grid-connected PV systems as distributed generation. The analysis of power quality is based on real measurements of THD on an existing 12kWp PV pilot plant installed in the urban environment, and power flow simulations of a hypothetical PV system of 4.2MWp distributed in the same area, using the ANAREDE software. The power flow simulations allowed assessing the voltage level, the direction of power flow and loading of the distribution lines. The introduction of limited amounts of PV generation as distributed generation in the urban environment was found to be beneficial in several aspects: better voltage profile; power loss reduction and improvement in total harmonic distortion of the voltage (THDv). Furthermore, photovoltaics as a distributed generation source can also postpone feeder capacity upgrading investments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article discusses the adaptation of the methodological procedures adopted by the research project 'Typographic Landscapes' (PAT), jointly developed by the research groups 'Typography and Graphic Language' (Centro Universitário Senac) and São Paulo City Architectural Typography (UNICAMP) for an investigation on Rio de Janeiro city architectural typography (TAC). The paper shows how the recording system developed for São Paulo city was modified and applied in the context of Rio de Janeiro city historical centre, endowing an information gathering more adequate to this specific urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of initiatives in cities in Brazil—including slum clearance and upgrading—have been undertaken over the years in an effort to ameliorate the problems arising from informal occupation; unfortunately, however, little is known about the related performance outcomes. Careful appraisal of the results of such initiatives is thus called for, covering evaluations of dwellers' perceptions of the upgraded environments. Among the available evaluation methods, post-occupancy evaluation (POE) is commonly employed, although it fails adequately to reflect prevailing subjective concepts of quality. The present paper contains the partial findings of a research exercise aimed at developing an original method, using fuzzy logic, for urban environmental quality evaluation in informally occupied areas on the basis of combining quantitative indicators and dweller perception. It combines POE with fuzzy logic in order to develop tools that can better model the uncertain information that emerges from that kind of study. This paper aims to introduce an uncertainty measure used in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of slum upgrading projects. The results show that it is possible to quantify certainty degrees in the findings and to define if additional information is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban Landscape Archaeology. Relations among archaeology, urban geography and architecture, defined as urban landscape archaeology, are emphasized in this article. Archaeological investigations in Paranapanema river basin, called Paranapanema Project, São Paulo State, reinforce this interdisciplinary approach as a example of the archaeology of an urban environment of a town in south-eastern Brazil. A glossary of technical terms is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between the 1950s and 1970s, as the São Paulo population inflated from a little over two million to more than eight million, residents and public officials proposed a set of regulatory measures to control noise. This article examines shifts in noise-related problems and solutions as a thread to understand the politics of collective living in Brazil's largest city. Focusing on the noise generated by two major infrastructural projects (the Congonhas Airport and the Minhocão elevated expressway), I argue that noise debates went through three major changes in the 1950s–1970s. First, the noise generated by transportation systems galvanized residents and audio experts into a call for the city to tackle noise as an infrastructural issue rather than a "nuisance." Second, as cities became entangled in environmental pollution debates, the city administration attempted to approach urban planning as a broader issue that included noise. Finally, the increasing presence of acousticians and engineers in the city facilitated the reframing of noise as a measurable problem that could only be solved with their techno-scientific input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An entomological study was conducted in the municipality of Oiapoque (lower Oyapock River Basin) in the Brazilian side bordering French Guiana to gain information on the transmission pattern of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in that region, presumed to reflect the classical Amazonian/Guianan enzootic scenario. Methods: Three ecologically isolated forested areas near urban environments were surveyed during the rainy and dry seasons of 2015 and 2016, using a multi-trapping approach comprising ground-level and canopy light traps, black and white colored cloth Shannon traps and manual aspiration on tree bases. Female phlebotomines were dissected to find infections and isolate flagellates from Leishmania spp. The strains were characterized by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and compared with those of local ACL cases and World Health Organization reference strains. Results: Nyssomyia umbratilis, Trichopygomyia trichopyga and Evandromyia infraspinosa were the most frequently found species. Findings on relative abundance, spatiotemporal vector/ACL congruence, natural infections and anthropophilic insights strengthened the Guianan classical transmission of Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis by Ny. umbratilis and suggested further investigations for Ev. infraspinosa. Nyssomyia umbratilis showed an eclectic feeding habit, including bird blood. Ecological data and literature reports also included Psychodopygus squamiventris maripaensis and Bichromomyia flaviscutellata on the list of suspected vectors. Conclusions: These findings contributed to understanding ACL ecoepidemiology in the Amazonian/Guianan scenario. Local studies are required to better comprehend the Leishmania spp. enzootic mosaic in specific ecotopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]