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Acesso restrito: Texto completo. p. 1-9. Submitted by JURANDI DE SOUZA SILVA (jssufba@hotmail.com) on 2012-02-08T18:43:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 journal.pone.0019841.pdf: 623458 bytes, checksum: 238db9e3472a568aa80adabda35bdbc4 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2012-02-08T18:43:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 journal.pone.0019841.pdf: 623458 bytes, checksum: 238db9e3472a568aa80adabda35bdbc4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 Background: Areas that are endemic for malaria are also highly endemic for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Nevertheless, it is unknown whether HBV infection modifies the clinical presentation of malaria. This study aimed to address this question. Methodology and Findings: An observational study of 636 individuals was performed in Rondoˆ nia, western Amazon, Brazil between 2006 and 2007. Active and passive case detections identified Plasmodium infection by field microscopy and nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). HBV infections were identified by serology and confirmed by real-time PCR. Epidemiological information and plasma cytokine profiles were studied. The data were analyzed using adjusted multinomial logistic regression. Plasmodium-infected individuals with active HBV infection were more likely to be asymptomatic (OR: 120.13, P,0.0001), present with lower levels of parasitemia and demonstrate a decreased inflammatory cytokine profile. Nevertheless, co-infected individuals presented higher HBV viremia. Plasmodium parasitemia inversely correlated with plasma HBV DNA levels (r =20.6; P = 0.0003). Conclusion: HBV infection diminishes the intensity of malaria infection in individuals from this endemic area. This effect seems related to cytokine balance and control of inflammatory responses. These findings add important insights to the understanding of the factors affecting the clinical outcomes of malaria in endemic regions.

p. 1-8 Submitted by Bruna Lessa (lessbruna@gmail.com) on 2012-05-11T20:32:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 (15)journal.pntd.0000650.pdf: 291130 bytes, checksum: 677a455bcfe34360693a66b11ac956cb (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2012-05-11T20:32:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 (15)journal.pntd.0000650.pdf: 291130 bytes, checksum: 677a455bcfe34360693a66b11ac956cb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04 Background: Severe outcomes have been described for both Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax infections. The identification of sensitive and reliable markers of disease severity is fundamental to improving patient care. An intense proinflammatory response with oxidative stress and production of reactive oxygen species is present in malaria. Inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and antioxidant agents such as superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD-1) are likely candidate biomarkers for disease severity. Here we tested whether plasma levels of SOD-1 could serve as a biomarker of severe vivax malaria. Methodology/Principal Findings: Plasma samples were obtained from residents of the Brazilian Amazon with a high risk for P. vivax transmission. Malaria diagnosis was made by both microscopy and nested PCR. A total of 219 individuals were enrolled: non-infected volunteers (n = 90) and individuals with vivax malaria: asymptomatic (n = 60), mild (n = 50) and severe infection (n = 19). SOD-1 was directly associated with parasitaemia, plasma creatinine and alanine amino-transaminase levels, while TNF-alpha correlated only with the later enzyme. The predictive power of SOD-1 and TNF-alpha levels was compared. SOD-1 protein levels were more effective at predicting vivax malaria severity than TNF-alpha. For discrimination of mild infection, elevated SOD-1 levels showed greater sensitivity than TNF-alpha (76% vs. 30% respectively; p,0.0001), with higher specificity (100% vs. 97%; p,0.0001). In predicting severe vivax malaria, SOD-1 levels exhibited higher sensitivity than TNF-alpha (80% vs. 56%, respectively; p,0.0001; likelihood ratio: 7.45 vs. 3.14; p,0.0001). Neither SOD-1 nor TNF-alpha could discriminate P. vivax infections from those caused by P. falciparum. Conclusion: SOD-1 is a powerful predictor of disease severity in individuals with different clinical presentations of vivax malaria.

p. 1-11 Submitted by JURANDI DE SOUZA SILVA (jssufba@hotmail.com) on 2012-05-08T12:16:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 C__Documents and Settings_rep...t.default_Cache_F_79_A6A68d01.pdf: 969179 bytes, checksum: c3647acce1a3a857a8f8502f7ebc5723 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2012-05-08T12:16:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 C__Documents and Settings_rep...t.default_Cache_F_79_A6A68d01.pdf: 969179 bytes, checksum: c3647acce1a3a857a8f8502f7ebc5723 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 Background: Accurate malaria diagnosis is mandatory for the treatment and management of severe cases. Moreover, individuals with asymptomatic malaria are not usually screened by health care facilities, which further complicates disease control efforts. The present study compared the performances of a malaria rapid diagnosis test (RDT), the thick blood smear method and nested PCR for the diagnosis of symptomatic malaria in the Brazilian Amazon. In addition, an innovative computational approach was tested for the diagnosis of asymptomatic malaria. Methods: The study was divided in two parts. For the first part, passive case detection was performed in 311 individuals with malaria-related symptoms from a recently urbanized community in the Brazilian Amazon. A crosssectional investigation compared the diagnostic performance of the RDT Optimal-IT, nested PCR and light microscopy. The second part of the study involved active case detection of asymptomatic malaria in 380 individuals from riverine communities in Rondônia, Brazil. The performances of microscopy, nested PCR and an expert computational system based on artificial neural networks (MalDANN) using epidemiological data were compared. Results: Nested PCR was shown to be the gold standard for diagnosis of both symptomatic and asymptomatic malaria because it detected the major number of cases and presented the maximum specificity. Surprisingly, the RDT was superior to microscopy in the diagnosis of cases with low parasitaemia. Nevertheless, RDT could not discriminate the Plasmodium species in 12 cases of mixed infections (Plasmodium vivax + Plasmodium falciparum). Moreover, the microscopy presented low performance in the detection of asymptomatic cases (61.25% of correct diagnoses). The MalDANN system using epidemiological data was worse that the light microscopy (56% of correct diagnoses). However, when information regarding plasma levels of interleukin-10 and interferon-gamma were inputted, the MalDANN performance sensibly increased (80% correct diagnoses). Conclusions: An RDT for malaria diagnosis may find a promising use in the Brazilian Amazon integrating a rational diagnostic approach. Despite the low performance of the MalDANN test using solely epidemiological data, an approach based on neural networks may be feasible in cases where simpler methods for discriminating individuals below and above threshold cytokine levels are available.

p. 1-11 Submitted by Suelen Reis (suziy.ellen@gmail.com) on 2013-08-29T15:48:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 1475-2875-9-117.pdf: 1874420 bytes, checksum: 4375ef52f959f618d2d31fd0f19c69fa (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Meirelles (rodrigomei@ufba.br) on 2013-11-01T12:00:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 1475-2875-9-117.pdf: 1874420 bytes, checksum: 4375ef52f959f618d2d31fd0f19c69fa (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2013-11-01T12:00:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1475-2875-9-117.pdf: 1874420 bytes, checksum: 4375ef52f959f618d2d31fd0f19c69fa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 Background: Accurate malaria diagnosis is mandatory for the treatment and management of severe cases. Moreover, individuals with asymptomatic malaria are not usually screened by health care facilities, which further complicates disease control efforts. The present study compared the performances of a malaria rapid diagnosis test (RDT), the thick blood smear method and nested PCR for the diagnosis of symptomatic malaria in the Brazilian Amazon. In addition, an innovative computational approach was tested for the diagnosis of asymptomatic malaria. Methods: The study was divided in two parts. For the first part, passive case detection was performed in 311 individuals with malaria-related symptoms from a recently urbanized community in the Brazilian Amazon. A cross-sectional investigation compared the diagnostic performance of the RDT Optimal-IT, nested PCR and light microscopy. The second part of the study involved active case detection of asymptomatic malaria in 380 individuals from riverine communities in Rondônia, Brazil. The performances of microscopy, nested PCR and an expert computational system based on artificial neural networks (MalDANN) using epidemiological data were compared. Results: Nested PCR was shown to be the gold standard for diagnosis of both symptomatic and asymptomatic malaria because it detected the major number of cases and presented the maximum specificity. Surprisingly, the RDT was superior to microscopy in the diagnosis of cases with low parasitaemia. Nevertheless, RDT could not discriminate the Plasmodium species in 12 cases of mixed infections (Plasmodium vivax + Plasmodium falciparum). Moreover, the microscopy presented low performance in the detection of asymptomatic cases (61.25% of correct diagnoses). The MalDANN system using epidemiological data was worse that the light microscopy (56% of correct diagnoses). However, when information regarding plasma levels of interleukin-10 and interferon-gamma were inputted, the MalDANN performance sensibly increased (80% correct diagnoses). Conclusions: An RDT for malaria diagnosis may find a promising use in the Brazilian Amazon integrating a rational diagnostic approach. Despite the low performance of the MalDANN test using solely epidemiological data, an approach based on neural networks may be feasible in cases where simpler methods for discriminating individuals below and above threshold cytokine levels are available.

p. 1-9 Submitted by Suelen Reis (suziy.ellen@gmail.com) on 2013-10-02T13:36:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 1475-2875-8-121.pdf: 529208 bytes, checksum: ac3d58109a6fad2faca008ef3181ed39 (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Meirelles (rodrigomei@ufba.br) on 2013-11-20T19:48:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 1475-2875-8-121.pdf: 529208 bytes, checksum: ac3d58109a6fad2faca008ef3181ed39 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2013-11-20T19:48:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1475-2875-8-121.pdf: 529208 bytes, checksum: ac3d58109a6fad2faca008ef3181ed39 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 Background: Despite governmental and private efforts on providing malaria control, this disease continues to be a major health threat. Thus, innovative strategies are needed to reduce disease burden. The malaria vectors, through the injection of saliva into the host skin, play important role on disease transmission and may influence malaria morbidity. This study describes the humoral immune response against Anopheles (An.) darlingi saliva in volunteers from the Brazilian Amazon and addresses the association between levels of specific antibodies and clinical presentation of Plasmodium (P.) vivax infection. Methods: Adult volunteers from communities in the Rondônia State, Brazil, were screened in order to assess the presence of P. vivax infection by light microscopy and nested PCR. Non-infected volunteers and individuals with symptomatic or symptomless infection were randomly selected and plasma collected. An. darlingi salivary gland sonicates (SGS) were prepared and used to measure anti-saliva antibody levels. Plasma interleukin (IL)-10 and interferon (IFN)-γ levels were also estimated and correlated to anti-SGS levels. Results: Individuals infected with P. vivax presented higher levels of anti-SGS than non-infected individuals and antibody levels could discriminate infection. Furthermore, anti-saliva antibody measurement was also useful to distinguish asymptomatic infection from non-infection, with a high likelihood ratio. Interestingly, individuals with asymptomatic parasitaemia presented higher titers of anti-SGS and lower IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio than symptomatic ones. In P. vivax-infected asymptomatic individuals, the IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio was inversely correlated to anti-SGS titers, although not for while in symptomatic volunteers. Conclusion: The estimation of anti-An. darlingi antibody levels can indicate the probable P. vivax infection status and also could serve as a marker of disease severity in this region of Brazilian Amazon.

p. 1-9 Submitted by Suelen Reis (suziy.ellen@gmail.com) on 2013-10-02T13:36:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 1475-2875-8-121.pdf: 529208 bytes, checksum: ac3d58109a6fad2faca008ef3181ed39 (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Meirelles (rodrigomei@ufba.br) on 2013-11-20T19:48:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 1475-2875-8-121.pdf: 529208 bytes, checksum: ac3d58109a6fad2faca008ef3181ed39 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2013-11-20T19:48:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1475-2875-8-121.pdf: 529208 bytes, checksum: ac3d58109a6fad2faca008ef3181ed39 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 Background: Despite governmental and private efforts on providing malaria control, this disease continues to be a major health threat. Thus, innovative strategies are needed to reduce disease burden. The malaria vectors, through the injection of saliva into the host skin, play important role on disease transmission and may influence malaria morbidity. This study describes the humoral immune response against Anopheles (An.) darlingi saliva in volunteers from the Brazilian Amazon and addresses the association between levels of specific antibodies and clinical presentation of Plasmodium (P.) vivax infection. Methods: Adult volunteers from communities in the Rondônia State, Brazil, were screened in order to assess the presence of P. vivax infection by light microscopy and nested PCR. Non-infected volunteers and individuals with symptomatic or symptomless infection were randomly selected and plasma collected. An. darlingi salivary gland sonicates (SGS) were prepared and used to measure anti-saliva antibody levels. Plasma interleukin (IL)-10 and interferon (IFN)-γ levels were also estimated and correlated to anti-SGS levels. Results: Individuals infected with P. vivax presented higher levels of anti-SGS than non-infected individuals and antibody levels could discriminate infection. Furthermore, anti-saliva antibody measurement was also useful to distinguish asymptomatic infection from non-infection, with a high likelihood ratio. Interestingly, individuals with asymptomatic parasitaemia presented higher titers of anti-SGS and lower IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio than symptomatic ones. In P. vivax-infected asymptomatic individuals, the IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio was inversely correlated to anti-SGS titers, although not for while in symptomatic volunteers. Conclusion: The estimation of anti-An. darlingi antibody levels can indicate the probable P. vivax infection status and also could serve as a marker of disease severity in this region of Brazilian Amazon.

Made available in DSpace on 2022-06-23T00:09:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2019-10-29 Even with the establishment of the City Statute more than a decade ago, the number of Brazilian municipalities that do not make use of the urban policy instruments regulated by it is still large. Such instruments aim mainly to promote the social function of the city and urban development, aiming at the adequate and efficient use of urban land, in its various aspects: social, environmental, marketing, thus promoting equity and quality of life for the community. The Parceling, Utilization or Compulsory Building - PEUC, instrument of urban policy, whose primary function is to promote the social function of urban property and combat real estate speculation, in the current context of cities, does not escape the rule of scarce application having been applied until So, only 5 Brazilian municipalities. The municipality of Teresina, despite having legislation since 2015, has not yet made use of such instruments. Given the above, this paper aims to identify the properties characterized as urban land "not parceled", "not built" and "underused" for application of PEUC in urban area of Teresina (PI) and classify them by the area of incidence. For properties characterized as ¿unused¿ urban land, the objective is to propose a methodology to identify and classify properties located only in the Centro neighborhood. To identify the properties ¿not parceled¿, ¿not built¿ and ¿underutilized¿, data from the Real Estate Registry arranged in Geography Information System - GIS were used, using the free software QGis, through its spatial analysis and filtering based tools. In alphanumeric data and photography areas with spatial resolution of 10 cm from aerial photography performed in May 2013. As for the identification of ¿unused¿ properties, surveys were carried out during business hours and weekdays. For the ¿non-parceled¿, ¿not built¿ and ¿underused¿ categories, 19, 4051 and 1406 properties were identified respectively. For the unused, 14 properties with different typologies were identified. The results showed a significant amount of real estate, scattered throughout the urban area, especially those classified as ¿undeveloped¿ urban land, which, given the spatial parameters established by municipal legislation, would be undoing their social function within the city. . It was also found that a significant part of these properties are located in regions with good urban infrastructure, a preliminary condition for the application of PEUC instruments. Thus confirming its idleness with speculative character and the inertia regarding the application of the instrument with a view to efficient land use strategies and densification policy associated with existing urban infrastructure. Keywords: Social Function of Urban Property.City Statute. PEUC. GIS. Mesmo com a instituição do Estatuto da Cidade a mais de uma década, ainda é grande o número de municípios brasileiros que não fazem uso dos instrumentos de política urbana regulamentados por ele. Tais instrumentos visam principalmente promover a função social da cidade e o desenvolvimento urbano, objetivando o aproveitamento adequado e eficiente do solo urbano, nos seus mais variados aspectos: sociais, ambientais, mercadológicos, promovendo assim equidade e qualidade de vida à coletividade. O Parcelamento, Utilização ou Edificação Compulsória ¿ PEUC, instrumento de política urbana, que tem como função primordial promover a função social da propriedade urbana e combater a especulação imobiliária, no contexto atual das cidades, não foge a regra de escassa aplicação tendo sido aplicado até então, somente 5 municípios brasileiros. O município de Teresina apesar de possuir legislação desde 2015, ainda não fez uso de tais instrumentos. Diante do exposto, este trabalho tem como objetivo identificar os imóveis caracterizados como solo urbano ¿não parcelado¿, ¿não edificado¿ e ¿subutilizado¿ para aplicação do PEUC na zona urbana de Teresina (PI) e classifica-los pela área de incidência. Para os imóveis caracterizados como solo urbano ¿não utilizado¿, o objetivo é propor metodologia de identificar e classificar os imóveis localizados somente no bairro Centro. Para identificação dos imóveis ¿não parcelado¿, ¿não edificado¿ e ¿subutilizado¿, foram utilizados dados do Cadastro Imobiliário dispostos em Sistema de Informação Geografia - SIG, utilizando o software livre QGis, por meio de suas ferramentas de análise espacial e filtragem baseada em dados alfanuméricos e em fotografia áreas com resolução espacial de 10 cm provenientes de voo aerofotogramétrico realizado em maio de 2013. Quanto a identificação de imóveis ¿não utilizado¿ foram realizadas vistorias em horário comercial e dia útil da semana. Para as categorias ¿não parcelados¿, ¿não edificado¿ e ¿subutilizado¿, foram identificados 19, 4051 e 1406 imóveis respectivamente. Já para os não utilizados foram identificados 14 imóveis com tipologias distintas. Os resultados mostraram uma quantidade significativa de imóveis, dispersos por toda a zona urbana, principalmente os classificados como solo urbano ¿não edificado¿, em que, atendendo aos parâmetros espaciais estabelecidos na legislação municipal, estariam desfazendo-se de sua função social dentro da cidade. Verificou-se ainda que, parte significativa destes imóveis estão localizados em regiões dotadas de boa infraestrutura urbana, condição preliminar para aplicação dos instrumentos do PEUC. Confirmando assim, sua ociosidade com caráter especulativo e a inércia em relação à aplicação do instrumento com vista a estratégias de aproveitamento eficiente do solo e política de adensamento associada à infraestrutura urbana existente. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Função Social da Propriedade Urbana. Estatuto da Cidade. PEUC. SIG.