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Outbreaks of Rift Valley fever (RVF) occurred in Namibia in 2010 and 2011. Complete genome characterization was obtained from virus isolates collected during disease outbreaks in southern Namibia in 2010 and from wildlife in Etosha National Park in 2011, close to the area where RVF outbreaks occurred in domestic livestock. The virus strains were sequenced using Sanger sequencing (Namibia_2010) or next generation sequencing (Namibia_2011). A sequence-independent, single-primer amplification (SISPA) protocol was used in combination with the Illumina Next 500 sequencer. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences of the small (S), medium (M), and large (L) genome segments of RVF virus (RVFV) provided evidence that two distinct RVFV strains circulated in the country. The strain collected in Namibia in 2010 is genetically similar to RVFV strains circulating in South Africa in 2009 and 2010, confirming that the outbreaks reported in the southern part of Namibia in 2010 were caused by possible dissemination of the infection from South Africa. Isolates collected in 2011 were close to RVFV isolates from 2010 collected in humans in Sudan and which belong to the large lineage containing RVFV strains that caused an outbreak in 2006–2008 in eastern Africa. This investigation showed that the RVFV strains circulating in Namibia in 2010 and 2011 were from two different introductions and that RVFV has the ability to move across regions. This supports the need for risk-based surveillance and monitoring.

Brazil has more than 200 million inhabitants living in an area of more than 8.5 million km[superscript 2] (Ministério da Saúde, Brasil, 2013a,b). Granting access to health and educational services for populations in such different environments clearly demands different actions and resources. Official policies regarding rehabilitation services and education to children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are being gradually defined and implemented. This article aims to present an overview of the Brazilian health system that considers health as a universal right and a state's duty. Some of the strategies created to provide services to persons with different needs living in different environments are outlined. Specifically in what refers to persons with ASD, there are laws, bills of rights, and guidelines, but their implementation is gradual and uneven. More developed regions provide more comprehensive support to these persons and their families, but some initiatives of outreach are being implemented. Speech-language pathology services are integrated to the health system and present their own challenges. Undergraduate programs for speech-language pathology include ASD as part of the mandatory training, and there are postgraduate studies in the field. Some challenges are being met by several initiatives by different groups as parents, scientific associations, and universities. Issues such as tests and protocols that can be used to Portuguese-speaking children and the identification of efficient methods that can be applied in different situations and orientation to parents and families have been object of research for some decades. There are still many challenges that must be addressed to provide adequate health and educational services to children with ASD and their families in Brazil.

RESUMO Objetivo Caracterizar bebês de risco quanto ao perfil sociodemográfico e de saúde e descrever o acompanhamento de parte destes nas Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBS), segundo diferentes modelos de gestão. Método Levantamento de dados de prontuários dos bebês de risco nascidos na região Oeste da cidade de São Paulo entre agosto de 2013 e fevereiro de 2014 em duas etapas (1 – caracterização; 2 – acompanhamento do desenvolvimento). Resultados Dos 225 indivíduos incluídos na primeira etapa, 51,1% eram do gênero feminino e 7,11% eram gemelares. Predominaram mães adolescentes (45,2%), pardas (50,56%), com ensino fundamental completo (47,60%) e solteiras (46,09%). A média de consultas pré-natais foi de 7,12. A maioria teve parto vaginal (62,21%) com idade gestacional média de 37,05 semanas. A média do Apgar foi de 7,13 no 1º minuto e 8,80 no 5º minuto. O peso médio ao nascimento foi de 2597,21 g, com 50,22% apresentando peso ≤2500g. Na segunda etapa, descreveu-se e comparou-se o acompanhamento do desenvolvimento de 55 bebês, segundo o modelo de gestão das UBS (28 em UBS/Estratégia Saúde da Família [ESF] e 27 em UBS tradicional). As UBS/ESF apresentaram maior média de consultas (p=0,006). Houve maior intervalo entre consultas nas UBS tradicionais. Da amostra, 56% não apresentaram registros referentes aos marcos de desenvolvimento. As medidas de crescimento foram registradas em maior número nas UBS/ESF. Para ambos, o número de consultas e o intervalo entre estas foram menores que o preconizado pelo Ministério da Saúde. Conclusão Ainda existem lacunas no acompanhamento ao bebê de risco, segundo as diretrizes preconizadas na Rede Cegonha.

RESUMO Introdução Conhecer o fluxo de referência e contrarreferência de serviços de saúde de alta complexidade é imprescindível para o aperfeiçoamento da assistência fonoaudiológica. Objetivo Analisar o fluxo de pacientes de um serviço de Fonoaudiologia de alta complexidade no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Métodos Estudo descritivo, realizado em serviço de Fonoaudiologia de hospital de alta complexidade. Foram analisados os dados de 373 usuários submetidos à triagem fonoaudiológica (consulta a prontuários). As variáveis analisadas foram: perfil sociodemográfico e fonoaudiológico; origem dos usuários (referência); tempo entre a referência e a realização da triagem; encaminhamentos após a triagem (contrarreferência); tempo entre a conclusão da triagem e o primeiro atendimento fonoaudiológico no serviço de contrarreferência; grau de satisfação com o atendimento fonoaudiológico de contrarreferência. Resultados Predominaram indivíduos com idades entre 0 e 11 anos e 11 meses, do gênero masculino, residentes na cidade de São Paulo, com ensino fundamental incompleto. A hipótese diagnóstica fonoaudiológica de disfonia foi a mais prevalente. A maioria dos usuários foi referenciada pela atenção terciária. A média de tempo de espera para a triagem foi de 56,6 dias (intervalo predominante de 51 a 60 dias). Pouco mais da metade dos sujeitos foi encaminhada para o nível terciário. O tempo de espera pelo atendimento foi maior no nível secundário. A maioria dos usuários referiu como excelente ou bom o grau de satisfação com o atendimento. Conclusão Observou-se alto grau de resolutividade no serviço analisado (atenção terciária) e necessidade de reorganização dos sistemas de referência e contrarreferência na atenção secundária e primária.

After a May 2011 outbreak of Rift Valley fever among livestock northeast of Etosha National Park, Namibia, wild ruminants in the park were tested for the virus. Antibodies were detected in springbok, wildebeest, and black-faced impala, and viral RNA was detected in springbok. Seroprevalence was high, and immune response was long lasting.

RESUMO Objetivo Identificar as alterações fonoaudiológicas em crianças residentes na região oeste de São Paulo; verificar as associações entre a hipótese diagnóstica (HD) e a faixa etária, o gênero e a origem do encaminhamento; e investigar o grau de concordância entre a queixa e a HD no momento da triagem fonoaudiológica. Método Estudo epidemiológico observacional, desenvolvido em um laboratório de Atenção Primária à Saúde. Realizou-se o levantamento de 525 prontuários de crianças atendidas entre 2002 e 2011. As variáveis analisadas foram: gênero e idade da criança; origem do encaminhamento, queixa relatada pelos pais, HD fonoaudiológica e conduta estabelecida. Resultados Houve predomínio de crianças do gênero masculino (68,3%), da faixa etária entre 3 anos e 5 anos e 11 meses (48,7%), encaminhadas por um profissional da Área da saúde (51,9%) e com mais de uma queixa referida pelos pais (26,1%). As HDs fonoaudiológicas mais frequentes foram Transtorno Fonológico (22,9%) e Mais de uma Hipótese (19,4%). A maioria das crianças foi encaminhada à própria clínica-escola em que foi realizada a triagem (77,9%). Houve associação entre HD fonoaudiológica e as variáveis faixa etária (p

RESUMO Objetivo Avaliar atributos essenciais (acesso de primeiro contato, longitudinalidade, integralidade e coordenação da atenção) e derivados (orientação familiar e comunitária) da Atenção Primária em Saúde (APS) na percepção de usuários com e sem deficiência. Método Estudo transversal observacional utilizando o questionário Primary Care Assesment Tool em usuários autodeclarados com e sem deficiência de cinco unidades básicas de saúde de um município no qual 55% da população depende do SUS. Foram atribuídos escores para as respostas dadas a cada atributo de atenção primária à saúde avaliado. Resultados Participaram 93 usuários (67 com e 26 sem deficiência). Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante para nenhum dos atributos na comparação entre pessoas com e sem deficiência. Para o grupo como um todo, obtiveram-se escores acima do critério de corte: Grau de afiliação, Acesso de primeiro contato (utilização), Longitudinalidade e Coordenação da atenção (sistema de informação). Receberam pior avaliação: Acesso de primeiro contato (acessibilidade), Coordenação da atenção (integralidade do cuidado), Integralidade (serviços disponíveis e prestados) e Orientação familiar e comunitária. Os usuários reconhecem que as equipes identificam problemas de locomoção e movimentação, mas que existem falhas no reconhecimento de problemas para ouvir, falar e enxergar; e na orientação das pessoas que necessitam de auxílio e das que prestam cuidados. Conclusão Os usuários com e sem deficiência avaliaram de forma semelhante a atenção que recebem e indicaram fragilidades no reconhecimento de demandas específicas. Há necessidade de mudanças (estruturais e do processo de trabalho) para assegurar acessibilidade, integralidade do cuidado e orientação familiar e comunitária e, assim, melhor qualificar a APS.

The γ decay from the high-lying states of 124Sn was measured using the inelastic scattering of 17O at 340 MeV. The emitted γ rays were detected with high resolution with the AGATA demonstrator array and the scattered ions were detected in two segmented ΔE–E silicon telescopes. The angular distribution was measured both for the γ rays and the scattered 17O ions. An accumulation of E1 strength below the particle threshold was found and compared with previous data obtained with (γ,γ′) and (α,α′γ) reactions. The present results of elastic scattering, and excitation of E2 and E1 states were analysed using the DWBA approach. From this comprehensive description the isoscalar component of the 1− excited states was extracted. The obtained values are based on the comparison of the data with DWBA calculations including a form factor deduced using a microscopic transition density. Keywords: Low-lying electric dipole excitations, 124Sn, Isospin character

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to characterize the epidemiological profile of the population attending primary health care units in the western region of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, highlighting referred speech-language and hearing complaints.METHOD:This investigation was a cross-sectional observational study conducted in primary health care units. Household surveys were conducted and information was obtained from approximately 2602 individuals, including (but not limited to) data related to education, family income, health issues, access to public services and access to health services. The speech-language and hearing complaints were identified from specific questions.RESULTS:Our results revealed that the populations participating in the survey were heterogeneous in terms of their demographic and economic characteristics. The prevalence of referred speech-language and hearing complaints in this population was 10%, and only half the users of the public health system in the studied region who had complaints were monitored or received specific treatment.CONCLUSIONS:The results demonstrate the importance of using population surveys to identify speech-language and hearing complaints at the level of primary health care. Moreover, these findings highlight the need to reorganize the speech-language pathology and audiology service in the western region of São Paulo, as well as the need to improve the Family Health Strategy in areas that do not have a complete coverage, in order to expand and improve the territorial diagnostics and the speech-language pathology and audiology actions related to the prevention, identification, and rehabilitation of human communication disorders.

We developed a land cover and land use mapping framework specifically designed for agricultural systems of the Sudan-Sahel region. The mapping approach extracts information from inter- and intra-annual vegetation dynamics from dense stacks of Landsat 8 images. We applied this framework to create a 30 m spatial resolution land use map with a focus on agricultural landscapes of northern Nigeria for 2015. This map provides up-to-date information with a higher level of spatial and thematic detail resulting in a more precise characterization of agriculture in the region. The map reveals that agriculture is the main land use in the region. Arable land represents on average 52.5% of the area, higher than the reported national average for Nigeria (38.4%). Irrigated agriculture covers nearly 2.2% of the total area, reaching nearly 20% of the cultivated land when traditional floodplain agriculture systems are included, above the reported national average (0.63%). There is significant variability in land use within the region. Cultivated land in the northern section can reach values higher than 75%, most land suitable for agriculture is already under cultivation and there is limited land for future agricultural expansion. Marginal lands, not suitable for permanent agriculture, can reach 30% of the land at lower altitudes in the northeast and northwest. In contrast, the southern section presents lower land use intensity that results in a complex landscape that intertwines areas farms and larger patches of natural vegetation. This map improves the spatial detail of existing sources of LCLU information for the region and provides updated information of the current status of its agricultural landscapes. This study demonstrates the feasibility of multi temporal medium resolution remote sensing data to provide detailed and up-to-date information about agricultural systems in arid and sub arid landscapes of the Sahel region.

La peste equina (PE) è una malattia virale non contagiosa dei solipedi trasmessa da insetti vettori appartenenti al genere Culicoides. La malattia è endemica in numerose regioni dell'Africa e passate esperienze hanno evidenziato come l'Italia sia un paese esposto alle malattie infettive emergenti, endemiche in Africa. Un'incursione del virus della PE unitamente alla presenza del vettore Culicoides potrebbero essere causa di una emergenza epidemica. Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) commercializza un vaccino vivo attenuato contenente 7 dei 9 sierotipi virali, i sierotipi 5 e 9 sono esclusi dal vaccino. L'uso di tali vaccini è controverso, pertanto, da diversi anni, vengono condotti studi su prodotti inattivati o ricombinanti. Poiché la ricerca sui vaccini PE è ostacolata dalla necessità di utilizzare il cavallo per la valutazione dell'immunogenicità, in un precedente esperimento è stata studiata la risposta sierologica ai sierotipi 5 e 9, in cavie e cavalli. Nelle due specie animali è stata osservata una risposta durevole e sovrapponibile. Nel presente studio sono state saggiate per un periodo di 12 mesi le risposte sierologiche ottenute in cavie e cavalli immunizzati con il vaccino inattivato formulato con il sierotipo 9. Le risposte sierologiche nelle due specie animali si sono confermate sovrapponibili. Al challenge dell'immunità i cavalli sono risultati protetti dall'infezione e dalla malattia.

African horse sickness (AHS) is a non-contagious viral disease of solipeds transmitted by Culicoides. The disease is endemic in most African countries. Past experience has shown that Italy is a country exposed to emerging infectious diseases endemic to Africa; an incursion of AHS virus together with the widespread presence of Culicoides vectors could be the cause of a serious epidemic emergency. A live attenuated vaccine containing seven of the nine viral serotypes, serotype 5 and 9 are excluded, is commercially available from Onderstepoort Biological Products. However, the use of live vaccines is a matter of endless disputes, and therefore inactivated or recombinant alternative products have been investigated over the years. Since research on AHS is hampered by the use of horses to evaluate vaccine potency, in a previous experiment serological response to serotypes 5 and 9 was assayed in guinea-pigs and horses. A durable and comparable serological response was observed in the two animal species. In the present study antibody response in horses and guinea-pigs, immunised with the inactivated-adjuvanted vaccine formulated with serotype 9, was tested over a period of 12 months. When immunity was challenged, horses were protected from infection and disease. Antibody response in horses and guinea-pigs compared favourably.

Like in many other African countries, pig production is increasing in Tanzania. To support farmers and stakeholders, it is important to increase our understanding of porcine pathogens present in the country. Currently, little is known about the circulation of porcine circovirus-2 (PCV-2) and porcine circovirus-3 (PCV-3). For this reason, samples from 124 pigs collected throughout the country between 2018 to 2022 were screened by PCR for the presence of PCV-2 and PCV-3. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of positive amplicons identified two PCV-2 genotypes (a and d). Limited genetic heterogenicity was observed among the PCV-3. This study provides important data on pathogens present in pigs in Tanzania and should be of use veterinary authorities involved in porcine disease management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Este estudo teve como principal objetivo verificar as diferenças entre a análise de crédito em instituições financeiras e em indústrias. Utilizou-se como metodologia um estudo exploratório e qualitativo, com a realização de entrevistas, com aplicação de questionário, com um grupo de 82 analistas de crédito de instituições financeiras e de indústrias. Os resultados apontaram diferenças no processo de análise de créditos nos dois setores de empresas. A análise realizada pelas instituições financeiras é mais criteriosa do que a das indústrias. Em geral, investem em um quadro de funcionários maior do que nas indústrias, contando com um número de funcionários na área de crédito superior a 30. Os bancos analisam mais índices financeiros, enquanto as indústrias consideram, na sua maioria, o capital de giro, endividamento, giro do ativo, liquidez e margem de lucro.

While clinical and pre-clinical evidence suggests that adolescence is a risk period for the development of addiction, the underlying neural mechanisms are largely unknown. Stress during adolescence has a huge influence on drug addiction. However, little is known about the mechanisms related to the interaction among stress, adolescence and addiction. Studies point to ΔFosB as a possible target for this phenomenon. In the present study, adolescent and adult rats (postnatal day 28 and 60, respectively) were restrained for 2 hours once a day for 7 days. Three days after their last exposure to stress, the animals were challenged with saline or amphetamine (1.0 mg/kg i.p.) and amphetamine-induced locomotion was recorded. Immediately after the behavioral tests, rats were decapitated and the nucleus accumbens was dissected to measure ΔFosB protein levels. We found that repeated restraint stress increased amphetamine-induced locomotion in both adult and adolescent rats. Furthermore, in adult rats, stress-induced locomotor sensitization was associated with increased expression of ΔFosB in the nucleus accumbens. Our data suggest that ΔFosB may be involved in some of the neuronal plasticity changes associated with stress induced-cross sensitization with amphetamine in adult rats.

This paper analyses the predictive ability of quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPF) and the so-called "poor-man" rainfall probabilistic forecasts (RPF). With this aim, the full set of warnings issued by the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (SMC) for potentially-dangerous events due to severe precipitation has been analysed for the year 2008. For each of the 37 warnings, the QPFs obtained from the limited-area model MM5 have been verified against hourly precipitation data provided by the rain gauge network covering Catalonia (NE of Spain), managed by SMC. For a group of five selected case studies, a QPF comparison has been undertaken between the MM5 and COSMO-I7 limited-area models. Although MM5's predictive ability has been examined for these five cases by making use of satellite data, this paper only shows in detail the heavy precipitation event on the 9–10 May 2008. Finally, the "poor-man" rainfall probabilistic forecasts (RPF) issued by SMC at regional scale have also been tested against hourly precipitation observations. Verification results show that for long events (>24 h) MM5 tends to overestimate total precipitation, whereas for short events (≤24 h) the model tends instead to underestimate precipitation. The analysis of the five case studies concludes that most of MM5's QPF errors are mainly triggered by very poor representation of some of its cloud microphysical species, particularly the cloud liquid water and, to a lesser degree, the water vapor. The models' performance comparison demonstrates that MM5 and COSMO-I7 are on the same level of QPF skill, at least for the intense-rainfall events dealt with in the five case studies, whilst the warnings based on RPF issued by SMC have proven fairly correct when tested against hourly observed precipitation for 6-h intervals and at a small region scale. Throughout this study, we have only dealt with (SMC-issued) warning episodes in order to analyse deterministic (MM5 and COSMO-I7) and probabilistic (SMC) rainfall forecasts; therefore we have not taken into account those episodes that might (or might not) have been missed by the official SMC warnings. Therefore, whenever we talk about "misses", it is always in relation to the deterministic LAMs' QPFs.

Estudos recentes mencionam que a incidência dos distúrbios do espectro autístico chega a 1%. Isso implica na necessidade de identificação urgente de modelos de intervenção eficazes, bem como dos fatores que podem interferir nesses processos. O objetivo deste artigo é descrever três anos de processos de terapia de linguagem de três crianças com diagnósticos incluídos no espectro do autismo com diferentes características de desenvolvimento e diferentes respostas ao processo terapêutico. Todas as crianças são atendidas em sistema ambulatorial, uma vez por semana, num serviço especializado, por fonoaudiólogas pós-graduandas na área há aproximadamente seis meses antes dos primeiros relatos apresentados. Os casos apresentados evidenciam a diversidade do fenótipo do autismo. Embora não fosse o objetivo deste estudo, fica aparente a referencia a três diferentes quadros incluídos no espectro do autismo. Desta forma, os processos de intervenção foram objeto de sutis ajustes às necessidades e possibilidades de cada uma das crianças. Todas as crianças tiveram progressos importantes em suas manifestações. A análise longitudinal individualizada de processos de intervenção terapêutica permite a abordagem de aspectos associados que podem ser determinantes nos resultados e que exigem abordagem consistente.Recent studies state that the incidence of autism spectrum disorders is 1% of the infantile population. It implies the need of urgent identification of efficient intervention proposals as well as of the factors that may intervene in these processes. The aim of this study is to describe three years of language therapy processes of three children diagnosed within the autism spectrum with different developmental characteristics and different responses to the therapeutic process. All the children were attending a specialized ambulatory program once a week. The language therapists were post-graduate students in the field and the therapeutic intervention started approximately six months prior to the beginning of the study. The children presented evidence of the diversity of the autism phenotype. Although it was not the purpose of this study, the reference to the three different features of the autism spectrum is clear. This way, the intervention processes received subtle adjustments to each child's specific needs and possibilities. All children had significant progress in their manifestations. The longitudinal individual analysis of therapeutic intervention processes allows the identification of associate process that might be determinant to the results and that demand consistent approaches.

Visando dar subsídios à análise do trabalho do fonoaudiólogo na Atenção Básica, mais especificamente nos Núcleos de Apoio à Saúde da Família (NASF), este artigo realizou revisão da literatura sobre o tema abordado usando ferramentas de busca do Medline, SciELO e o LILACS, por intermédio da pesquisa avançada simultânea de base de dados da Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), da Bireme. Procurou-se resgatar um pouco da história da Fonoaudiologia no SUS e dar ênfase à importância da Estratégia de Saúde da Família relacionada ao serviço de Fonoaudiologia nos NASFs. A pesquisa realizada aponta que a atuação da Fonoaudiologia dentro do sistema de saúde é bastante extensa, perpassando diferentes níveis de assistência, o que requer o desenvolvimento de distintas tecnologias de trabalho em saúde. As ações desenvolvidas pelos NASFs exigem, necessariamente, a atuação de equipes interdisciplinares, implicadas em processos de trabalho transdisciplinar e na criação/invenção de dispositivos terapêuticos. A análise das experiências de atuação da Fonoaudiologia na Atenção Básica, na Saúde da Família e, mais recentemente, nos NASFs, merece ser acompanhada e avaliada de perto para que se possa avançar na produção e sistematização de práticas de cuidado à saúde que respondam às necessidades da população e que sejam capazes de enfrentar os graves efeitos dos distúrbios de linguagem, voz, motricidade oral e audição. Desta forma conclui-se que se faz necessário o monitoramento e sistematização dos limites e potencialidades deste modelo, visando seu aprimoramento e apropriação do mesmo, como estratégia de atenção integral, de inserção da Fonoaudiologia no SUS.In order to provide subsidies to the analysis of the speech-language and hearing pathologist work in Primary Care, specifically in the Nucleus of Support for Family Health (NASF), this study conducted a literature review on the subject using the search tools of Medline, SciELO and LILACS, through the simultaneous advanced database search of the Virtual Health Library - Bireme. The study briefly recovered the history of Speech-Language and Hearing Pathology on the Brazilian's national health system (Unified Health System - SUS), and emphasized the importance of the Family Health Strategy related to Speech-Language and Hearing Pathology services in the NASFs. The literature review indicates that the performance of Speech-Language and Hearing Pathology within the health system is quite extensive, spanning different levels of assistance, which requires the development of different technologies of health work. Actions developed by NASFs necessarily require the performance of interdisciplinary teams, involved in interdisciplinary work processes and in the creation/invention of therapeutic strategies. The analysis of Speech-Language and Hearing Pathology's experiences in Primary Health Care, in Family Health Care and, more recently, in NASFs, deserves to be closely monitored and evaluated, so the production and systematization of health care practices can advance to attend the population needs, and can be able to face the serious effects of language, voice, oral motor and hearing disorders. Thus, it is necessary to monitor and to systematize the limits and potentials of this model, aiming its improvement and ownership as a strategy for the integration of Speech-Language and Hearing Pathology in the SUS.

Forecast verification is a long-standing issue of the whole meteorologists' community. A common definition of a truly satisfying prediction skill has not been achieved so far. Even the definition of "event", due to its spatio-temporal discontinuity, is highly affected by uncertainty. Moreover, decision-making demands numerical weather prediction modellers to provide information about the "inner" uncertainty, i.e. the degree of uncertainty related to the choice of a specific setting of the model (microphysics, turbulence scheme, convective closure, etc.). Most European Mediterranean countries, due to dense development, steep coastal orography and short hydrological response time of the drainage basins, have to deal very frequently with flash floods and sudden shallow land sliding impacting on urban areas. Civil protection organizations are in place to issue early warnings in order to allow local authorities and population to take precautionary measures. To do so in Mediterranean catchments, hydrologists are required to use numerical rainfall predictions in place of rainfall observations on large European catchments. Estimating the measure of uncertainty is for this reason crucial. The goal of this work is to propose an objective evaluation of the performance of the currently operational weather prediction model COSMO-I7 over quite a long time period and to check forecast verification at different space-time scales by the comparison of predictions with observations. Due to large investments in the last years, in fact, Italy has built up one of the most dense hourly-reporting network of rain gauges. The network has a mean space density of about 1/100 km2, very similar to the horizontal resolution of currently operating limited area models. An objective procedure to identify and compare the extreme events of precipitation has been applied to the full set of rainfall observations and over the severe events forecast by COSMO-I7 and announced in official warnings by Italian Civil Protection Department. The procedure allows to classify rainfall events as long-lived and spatially distributed or as having a shorter duration and a minor spatial extent. We show that long-lived events are less affected by overall uncertainty than short-lived ones, yet the inner uncertainty of the event affects both.

Adherence-mediated colonization plays an important role in pathogenesis of microbial infections, particularly those caused by extracellular pathogens responsible for systemic diseases, such as Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (T. pallidum), the agent of syphilis. Among T. pallidum adhesins, TP0136 is known to bind fibronectin (Fn), an important constituent of the host extracellular matrix. To deepen our understanding of the TP0136-Fn interaction dynamics, we used two naturally-occurring sequence variants of the TP0136 protein to investigate which region of the protein is responsible for Fn binding, and whether TP0136 would adhere to human cellular Fn in addition to plasma Fn and super Fn as previously reported. Fn binding assays were performed with recombinant proteins representing the two full-length TP0136 variants and their discrete regions. As a complementary approach, we tested inhibition of T. pallidum binding to Fn by recombinant full-length TP0136 proteins and fragments, as well as by anti-TP0136 immune sera. Our results show that TP0136 adheres more efficiently to cellular Fn than to plasma Fn, that the TP0136 NH2-terminal conserved region of the protein is primarily responsible for binding to plasma Fn but that binding sites for cellular Fn are also present in the protein's central and COOH-terminal regions. Additionally, message quantification studies show that tp0136 is highly transcribed during experimental infection, and that its message level increases in parallel to the host immune pressure on the pathogen, which suggests a possible role for this protein in T. pallidum persistence. In a time where syphilis incidence is high, our data will help in the quest to identify suitable targets for development of a much needed vaccine against this important disease.

A three-dimensional radar simulator model (RSM) developed by Haase (1998) is coupled with the nonhydrostatic mesoscale weather forecast model Lokal-Modell (LM). The radar simulator is able to model reflectivity measurements by using the following meteorological fields, generated by Lokal Modell, as inputs: temperature, pressure, water vapour content, cloud water content, cloud ice content, rain sedimentation flux and snow sedimentation flux. This work focuses on the assessment of some uncertainty sources associated with radar measurements: absorption by the atmospheric gases, e.g., molecular oxygen, water vapour, and nitrogen; attenuation due to the presence of a highly reflecting structure between the radar and a "target structure". RSM results for a simplified meteorological scenario, consisting of a humid updraft on a flat surface and four cells placed around it, are presented.

During May–July 2010 in Namibia, outbreaks of Rift Valley fever were reported to the National Veterinary Service. Analysis of animal specimens confirmed virus circulation on 7 farms. Molecular characterization showed that all outbreaks were caused by a strain of Rift Valley fever virus closely related to virus strains responsible for outbreaks in South Africa during 2009–2010.

The pathogenic non-cultivable treponemes include three subspecies of Treponema pallidum (pallidum, pertenue, endemicum), T. carateum, T. paraluiscuniculi, and the unclassified Fribourg-Blanc treponeme (Simian isolate). These treponemes are morphologically indistinguishable and antigenically and genetically highly similar, yet cross-immunity is variable or non-existent. Although all of these organisms cause chronic, multistage skin and systemic disease, they have historically been classified by mode of transmission, clinical presentations and host ranges. Whole genome studies underscore the high degree of sequence identity among species, subspecies and strains, pinpointing a limited number of genomic regions for variation. Many of these "hot spots" include members of the tpr gene family, composed of 12 paralogs encoding candidate virulence factors. We hypothesize that the distinct clinical presentations, host specificity, and variable cross-immunity might reside on virulence factors such as the tpr genes.Sequence analysis of 11 tpr loci (excluding tprK) from 12 strains demonstrated an impressive heterogeneity, including SNPs, indels, chimeric genes, truncated gene products and large deletions. Comparative analyses of sequences and 3D models of predicted proteins in Subfamily I highlight the striking co-localization of discrete variable regions with predicted surface-exposed loops. A hallmark of Subfamily II is the presence of chimeric genes in the tprG and J loci. Diversity in Subfamily III is limited to tprA and tprL.An impressive sequence variability was found in tpr sequences among the Treponema isolates examined in this study, with most of the variation being consistent within subspecies or species, or between syphilis vs. non-syphilis strains. Variability was seen in the pallidum subspecies, which can be divided into 5 genogroups. These findings support a genetic basis for the classification of these organisms into their respective subspecies and species. Future functional studies will determine whether the identified genetic differences relate to cross-immunity, clinical differences, or host ranges.

Purpose: To examine the response to anti-osteoporotic treatment, considered as incident fragility fractures after a minimum follow-up of 1 year, according to sex, age, and number of comorbidities of the patients. Methods: For this retrospective observational study, data from baseline and follow-up visits on the number of comorbidities, prescribed anti-osteoporotic treatment and vertebral, humerus or hip fractures in 993 patients from the OSTEOMED registry were analyzed using logistic regression and an artificial network model. Results: Logistic regression showed that the probability of reducing fractures for each anti-osteoporotic treatment considered was independent of sex, age, and the number of comorbidities, increasing significantly only in males taking vitamin D (OR = 7.918), patients without comorbidities taking vitamin D (OR = 4.197) and patients with ≥ 3 comorbidities taking calcium (OR = 9.412). Logistic regression correctly classified 96% of patients (Hosmer–Lemeshow = 0.492) compared with the artificial neural network model, which correctly classified 95% of patients (AUC = 0.6). Conclusion: In general, sex, age and the number of comorbidities did not influence the likelihood that a given anti-osteoporotic treatment improved the risk of incident fragility fractures after 1 year, but this appeared to increase when patients had been treated with risedronate, strontium or teriparatide. The two models used classified patients similarly, but predicted differently in terms of the probability of improvement, with logistic regression being the better fit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the pathophysiology mechanism of initiation and maintenance of reentrant arrhythmias, including atrial flutter, is well characterized. However, the anatomic and functional elements of the macro reentrant arrhythmias are not always well defined. In this article, we illustrate the anatomic structures that delineate the typical atrial flutter circuit, both clockwise and counterclockwise, paying attention to the inferior vena cava-tricuspid isthmus (CTI) and crista terminalis crucial role. Finally, we describe the left atrial role during typical atrial flutter, electrophysiologically a by-stander but essential in the phenotypic electrocardiogram (ECG). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Despite being one of the best understood cardiac arrhythmias, the clinical meaning of atrial flutter varies according to the specific context, and its optimal treatment may be limited by both the suboptimal response to rate/rhythm control drugs and by the complexity of the underlying substrate. In this article, we present a state-of-the-art overview of mechanisms, prognostic impact, and medical/interventional management options for atrial flutter in several specific patient populations, including heart failure, cardiomyopathies, muscular dystrophies, posttransplant patients, patients with respiratory disorders, athletes, and subjects with preexcitation, aiming to stimulate further research in this challenging field and facilitate appropriate patient care." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the frame of the commissioning of a new experimental apparatus EXPADES we undertook the measurement of the elastic scattering angular distribution for the system 17O+208Pb at energy around the Coulomb barrier. The reaction dynamics induced by loosely bound Radioactive Ion Beams is currently being extensively studied [4]. In particular the study of the elastic scattering process allows to obtain direct information on the total reaction cross section of the exotic nuclei. In order to understand the effect of the low binding energy on the reaction mechanism it is important to compare radioactive weakly bound nuclei with stable strongly-bound nuclei. In this framework the study of the 17O+208Pb elastic scattering can be considered to be complementary to a previous measurement of the total reaction cross section for the system 17F+208Pb at energies of 86, 90.4 MeV [5, 6]. The data will be compared with those obtained for the neighboring systems 16,18O+208Pb and others available in literature.

In the rabbit model of syphilis, infection phenotypes associated with the Nichols and Chicago strains of Treponema pallidum (T. pallidum), though similar, are not identical. Between these strains, significant differences are found in expression of, and antibody responses to some candidate virulence factors, suggesting the existence of functional genetic differences between isolates. The Chicago strain genome was therefore sequenced and compared to the Nichols genome, available since 1998. Initial comparative analysis suggested the presence of 44 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 103 small (≤3 nucleotides) indels, and 1 large (1204 bp) insertion in the Chicago genome with respect to the Nichols genome. To confirm the above findings, Sanger sequencing was performed on most loci carrying differences using DNA from Chicago and the Nichols strain used in the original T. pallidum genome project. A majority of the previously identified differences were found to be due to errors in the published Nichols genome, while the accuracy of the Chicago genome was confirmed. However, 20 SNPs were confirmed between the two genomes, and 16 (80.0%) were found in coding regions, with all being of non-synonymous nature, strongly indicating action of positive selection. Sequencing of 16 genomic loci harboring SNPs in 12 additional T. pallidum strains, (SS14, Bal 3, Bal 7, Bal 9, Sea 81-3, Sea 81-8, Sea 86-1, Sea 87-1, Mexico A, UW231B, UW236B, and UW249C), was used to identify "Chicago-" or "Nichols -specific" differences. All but one of the 16 SNPs were "Nichols-specific", with Chicago having identical sequences at these positions to almost all of the additional strains examined. These mutations could reflect differential adaptation of the Nichols strain to the rabbit host or pathoadaptive mutations acquired during human infection. Our findings indicate that SNPs among T. pallidum strains emerge under positive selection and, therefore, are likely to be functional in nature.

‘IAC Astral’ possui espata coral e espádice branca. Foi selecionada entre plantas introduzidas à coleção do IAC, em Campinas, durante os anos 50-60. Plantas micropropagadas são cultivadas sob telado com 70% a 80% de sombra em canteiro com substrato orgânico. Touceiras de dois anos produziram, em media, 7,5 flores. A durabilidade comercial pós-colheita é de 20 dias.