<i>In Vitro</i>Effects of Photodynamic Therapy with Three Photosensitizers on <i>Candida</i>spp from Complicated Vulvovaginitis and Asymptomatic Women

Aim: To evaluate photodynamic therapy (PDT) in vitro to reduce the growth of Candida spp, and its synergy with the antifungals fluconazole and ketoconazole for inhibition of resistant, DDS and susceptible isolates from asymptomatic carriers and with complicated vulvovaginitis. Methods: Between 2017 and 2020, we evaluated 230 women with vulvovaginal candidiasis and 400 asymptomatic. We obtained 130 positive cultures for Candida spp from vulvovaginitis and 94 asymptomatic. Yeasts were characterized by classical and molecular tests. Sensitivity to fluconazole and ketoconazole was evaluated by E-test. We used photodynamic light through blue LED, wavelengths between 450 to 470 nm, power of 260 mW, energy fluence of 270 J/cm2, for 15 minutes over all colonies of Candida spp. Methylene blue (MB) at 450 mg/mL, 2% gentian violet (VG) and 50 μM curcumin (CR) were used in association or not with LED irradiation. Suspensions of Candida spp of 106 CFU/mL, subjected to the different assays, were introduced in 96-well microplates, incubated for 48 hours at 35˚C and the readings at 530 nm. The samples were finally cultivated in Petri plates containing Sabouraud dextrose agar to assess the growth inhibition. All procedures were in triplicate. Results: C. albicans was prevalent in vulvovaginal candidiasis, however, we also isolated non-albicans species such as C. glabrata, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis. There was a substantial reduction (66.6% to 83.8%) of the CFU/mL of the isolates treated with FDT. Gentian violet at 2% alone reduced the growth of CFU/ml of Candida spp from 69% to 75%. Among isolates of vaginitis and asymptomatic carriers, after using FDT, we found a reduction in resistant phenotypes and DDS for fluconazole in percentages from 20% to 100% for C. albicans, from 50% to 100% C. glabrata, 33.3% to 100% C. parapsilosis and 100% C. tropicalis. For ketoconazole in the same isolates, there was a reduction in phenotypes with MIC > 16 μg/mL of up to 50% in C. albicans, 50% to 100% C. glabrata, 50% to 100% C. tropicalis. Conclusions: PDT with MB, GV and CR revealed efficacy in vitro in reducing the growth of C. albicans and non-albicans, especially due to chronic recurrent vulvovaginitis.

Methylprednisolone Pulse Therapy in COVID-19 as the First Choice for Public Health: When Right Timing Breaks Controversies—Emergency Guide

Based on Russian and the Middle East corticosteroids trials in MERS-CoV, we performed methylprednisolone pulse therapy (MPT), resulting in a clinical trial still without result. Our previous cohort (not compared n = 18) showed 76% of MPT patients did not progress to orotracheal intubation as MTP blocked the cytokine storm, a lower result compared to Tehran’s study explained by performing MPT in any lung phase. The Middle East study had been carried out during the initial lung phase. We are in an international emergency. Considering previous protocols and clinical practice, we understand that MPT must be used in COVID-19, and the indication to avoid going to the hospital when the first symptoms appear should be changed urgently for the population with inflammatory comorbidities. This article aims to: 1) show the Iranian protocol to reduce deaths and intubations by COVID-19;2) present a possible approach to the patient COVID-19 with methylprednisolone pulse and strict criteria for orotracheal intubation to avoid hypoxemia;3) highlight that there is already a protocol that can be an international guideline-based on the Iranian work for the treatment of COVID-19;and 4) argue that corticosteroids are not controversial, but their use in a period outside the best timing period makes it controversial;and 5) emphasise the urgency of modifying the current protocol that postpones the visit of patients to the hospital in case of symptoms, since late hospital evaluation has been catastrophic for a world population.

Factors Associated with the Infection by <i>Plasmodium vivax</i>in Children and Adolescents from the Brazilian Amazon Basin

Objective: To investigate the factors associated with malaria vivax infection in children and adolescents from an endemic area in the Eastern portion of the Brazilian Amazon basin. Methods: A case-control study was carried out in the municipality of Anajas, Brazil, from January 2016 to September 2017. Questionnaires were applied to the relative or the legal tutors of children and adolescents with questions regarding social and economic status, educational degree, knowledge about malaria, and the use of protective measures against mosquito bites. Anthropometric measures were performed in children and adolescents. Results: A total of 58 cases and 61 controls were included in the study. Most of the participants were male, eutrophics, and their relatives presented low educational degrees as well as low social and economic status. The knowledge of malaria was limited, but the percentage of individuals using long-lasting insecticidal nets was high. The presence of peri-domiciliary breeding sites for Anopheles vector was the most critical factor for malaria. Conclusion: The occurrence of malaria was associated with low social and economic status, a low educational degree, the unfamiliarity with malaria and the presence of breeding sites for Anopheles mosquito surrounding individual domiciles.

The Fertilizer-Effect on Al, Ba, Fe, Mn and Ni Released in a Watershed with Influence of Sugar Cane Crops in the S&#227;o Paulo State, Brazil

S?o Paulo State is the main sugar cane producer and these agricultural activities are carried out in predominantly sandy soils, which require large amounts of phosphate fertilizers and amendments. This work evaluated the fertilizer-effect on the Al, Ba, Fe, Mn and Ni released in a watershed with influence of sugar cane crops in the S?o Paulo State, Brazil, namely the Monjolo Grande Stream basin. Five surface water sampling campaigns were carried out at the mouth of Monjolo Grande Stream in February, April, June, September and November 2010, characterizing the following parameters: discharge, pH, temperature, electric conductivity, dissolved oxygen and total and dissolved concentrations of Al, Ba, Fe, Mn and Ni. Approximately 99% of Al and Fe are transported annually in association with suspended sediments carried to the Monjolo Grande Stream by sheet erosion. The results also demonstrated that the increasing Al, Ba, Fe and Mn concentrations dissolved in the waters of the Monjolo Grande Stream basin in the wet season are associated to phosphate fertilizers and amendments that are used extensively in agrichemical activities. However, with the current application rates, there has been no increase in the dissolved concentrations of these metals at levels that could pose risks to human health.

Optimal Positioning of Mobile Platforms for Accurate Manipulation Operations

Many mobile robotics applications, especially in industrial environments, require the robot to perform safe navigation and then reach the goal with a high precision. In this research work, the objective is to analyze the appropriateness of autonomous natural navigation strategies for mobile manipulation tasks. The system must position itself in a realistic map, follow a path closely and then achieve an accurate positioning in the destination point in order to be able to perform the manipulation, inspection or pick task efficiently. Autonomous navigation is not able to fulfill the accuracy required by some of the jobs so that a second positioning system using vision is proposed in this paper. The experiments show that localization systems have, on average, an error greater than a decimetre and how an additional positioning system can reduce it to a few millimetres.

Historical Case Report: 45 Years of the First Plastic Surgery in Morbid Obese in Brazil and Their Weight Loss

Before the 70s, in Brazil, each city had its morbidly obese, considered as the “excessive fats”, in very small numbers if we compare it with the current percentage. There was no classification of the degree of obesity by the body mass index (BMI) as we have today. By chance, on a Saturday in June 1975, at the Outpatient Clinic of the 23rd Infirmary of Santa Casa da Misericórdia Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, arrived the patient I. S., 41 years old, 1.70 m tall, supported by her two children, weighing 210 kg in weight body. Knowing that bariatric surgery only appeared in the 1980s, before that, patients with morbid obesity were left to their own devices, with hypertension and diabetes. The patient I. S. was hospitalized for 3 years in our Plastic Surgery Service, having received nutritional monitoring, had sporadic discharges and undergone 9 reparative plastic surgeries. She was discharged weighing 71 kg, with self-esteem recovered and happy to start a new life, without hypertension and diabetes.

Genetic Diversity of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Isolated from Human T Lymphotropic Virus Type I (HTLV-I) Infected Individuals

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a frequent pathology among HTLV-I+ individuals being capable of severely compromising the kidneys and bladder. Molecular characteristics of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) from HTLV-I+ infected individuals are unknown. UPEC isolates from HTVL-I+ individuals, with and without clinical symptoms of myelopathy, were submitted to genetic typing seeking to infer bacterial diversity and potential virulence. 71 bacterial isolates were characterized according to random amplified polymorphic DNA and phylotypes. Phylotyping classified E. coli into four phylogenetic groups: A (18.3%), B1 (16.9%), B2 (39.4%), and D (25.3%) and 8 phylotypes according to the presence of the genetic sequences chuA, yjaA and the DNA fragment TSPE4.C2: ﹣﹣﹣ (5.6%) and ﹣+﹣ (12.6%) in phylogroup A, ﹣﹣+ (7.0%) and ﹣++ (9.8%) in B1, +++ (32.3%) and ++﹣ (7.0%) in B2, +﹣﹣ (15.4%) and +﹣+ (9.8%) in D. The B2 phylogroup was the most prevalent among HTLV﹣ associated myelopathy and asymptomatic individuals. RAPD-PCR typing revealed a high degree of bacterial polymorphism indicating a non-clonal origin. Genotypes were not found to be distributed according to clinical status or epidemiological features. Our results lead us to suggest that the neurological impairment in HTLV-I+ individuals can be a risk factor for urinary infections due E. coli which are caused by distinct bacterial lineages.

Relationship of Density of Specific Prostate Antigen (DPSA) with Prostate Histopathology: A Comparative Study of Patients Addressed in a School Hospital

Background: The prostate is the site of problems that have great clinical relevance. Beside this, the alterations in their volume can be divided into benign or malignant pathologies, but of multifactorial cause and there is no examination that alone is reliable for the diagnosis. Despite the evolution of the various methods of diagnostic imaging in the evaluation of pelvic diseases, the diagnosis of prostate cancer still requires histological confirmation obtained by transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy, a procedure that is generally safe and well tolerated by the patients. The most common histological type found in prostate biopsies is adenocarcinoma. Methodology: The objective of this study was to study the values of density of the prostate-specific antigen (DPSA) compared to histopathological results of prostate biopsy, patients attended at the Urology Outpatient Clinic of the Luiz Gioseffi Jannuzzi School Hospital from 1999 to 2007, using Exploratory, retrospective and documentary descriptive study. The sample was divided into groups of patients with adenocarcinoma and patients without adenocarcinoma, who presented only benign prostatic hyperplasia. Results: Of the 251 patients undergoing prostate biopsy, 124 were diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and 127 without adenocarcinoma. It was observed in this study that the DPSA was higher in adenocarcinoma than in the cases of patients with prostatic hyperplasia alone, and could therefore be used as an auxiliary tool in both diagnosis and follow-up of patients with adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: In this study, it can be observed that DPSA was higher in patients presenting with adenocarcinoma than in patients presenting only Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), reinforcing its promising role to assist in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with adenocarcinoma.

The Influence of Keratometry on Visual and Refractive Outcomes after Myopic LASER <i>in Situ</i>Keratomileusis

To evaluate the effect of preoperative keratometry on visual and refractive outcomes after Myopic LASER in Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) in eyes with preoperative spherical equivalent (SE) of -6.00D or less. Material and Methods: A retrospective study enrolling clinical records of 482 eyes of 275 patients with myopia who underwent LASIK between 2009 and 2016. Subjects were grouped according to the degree of preoperative mean keratometry (Km), into three groups: Group 1 (Flat Cornea): Km ≤ 42.00 diopters (D);Group 2: 42.00 46.00D;Group 3 (Steep Cornea): Km ≥ 46.00D. To evaluate the prognostic impact of keratometry in Myopic LASIK, we considered the results measured at 6 months postoperatively, including uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), postoperative sphere, cylinder, SE and its variation. Results: The mean preoperative SE was -3.91 ± 1.54D, ranging between -0.88 and -6.00D. The percentage of eyes achieving a postoperative SE of ±0.50D was 39.5%, 31.8% and 26% in groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Moreover, in group 3, 14.3% of the eyes had a residual SE of -2.00D or greater, contrasting with the groups 1 and 2 with only 6% - 7%. These results were found to be statistically significant. Concerning UDVA, eyes achieving 20/25 or more were 81.5%, 81.8% and 71.5%, and 20/50 or less were 6.7%, 6.2% and 11.7% in groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Conclusions: Myopic eyes with steeper corneas seem to have greater tendency to undercorrection, also presenting worse visual outcomes.

Slope Instability on Pyroclastic Deposits: Landslide Distribution and Risk Mapping in Zacapoaxtla, Sierra Norte De Puebla, Mexico

In October 1999, rainfall induced landslides devastated different communities of the Sierra Norte, Puebla, causing more than 250 victims and economic losses greater than $ 450 million. The town of Zacapoaxtla was one of the sectors most affected by slope instability due to the existing geological features and geomorphic characters determined by material properties, landforms and processes. Extensive areas formed by pyroclastic piedmonts developed on the Quaternary volcanic ignimbrite deposits highly dissected by marginal gully erosion combined with an extreme rainfall event played a significant role as an ideal scenario for the occurrence of landsliding. Distribution of landslides triggered by rainfall within the main sector of the Zacapoaxtla municipality was analyzed by using IKONOS images in terms of exploring the likely relationship between mass movement incidence and levels of vegetation density. The later was undertaken by means of producing an NDVI and applying a fragmentation algorithm. Finally, a map of potential areas of mass movements risk was produced based on the combination of a socio-economic vulnerability index, geologic and geomorphological maps and the spatial landslide distribution.

Estimation of scale parameters of logistic distribution by linear functions of sample quantiles

The large sample estimation of standard deviation of logistic distribution employs the asymptotically best linear unbiased estimators based on sample quantiles. The sample quantiles are established from a pair of single spacing. Finally, a table of the variances and efficiencies of the estimator for 5≤n≤65 is provided and comparison is made with other linear estimators.

Presence of Infectious Hypodermal and Haematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV) in Native Shrimps from Southern Mexico

A survey for Infectious Hypodermal and Haematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV) and White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) was performed during two catching seasons of native shrimps in the Yucatan Coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The mtDNA COI barcode identified two endemic species;the southern pink shrimp Penaeus notialis (Pérez Fantante, 1967) and the northern pink shrimp Penaeus brasiliensis (Latreille, 1987) (previously described as Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis). The prevalence of IHHNV was of 18.18% in 2016, and of 8.57% in 2017. All organisms tested negative for WSSV. This is the first identification of wild shrimps in the state of Yucatan Mexico by mtDNA COI barcode as well as the first identification of IHHNV in such species. The presence of IHHNV in wild shrimps populations has a potential of persisting in the coast of Yucatan with putative detrimental effect on local fisheries because once established in natural waters and hosts;such pathogens are almost impossible to eradicate.

Energy Planning Considering the Policy Dimension Seeking for Sustainable Development

The objective of this work is to analyze the intrinsic aspects for policy dimension inside the energy planning and energy long term sustainability. In that sense, the methodology intends to take the Brazilian example as a case study and offer a somewhat unorthodox perspective on the subject of State energy planning. This matter is, beyond a purely technical question or a problem for the field of exact sciences, a point of primary interest to the field of social and human sciences. More the backbone methodology in this research is the Integrated Energy-Resources Planning (IRP), chosen for its ability to integrate both the supply and demand perspectives in the discussions about energy planning [1] [2]. A historical perspective is a guideline to approach issue: starting at the early Twentieth century, this study covers the major landmarks of the country energy concern to the present day;particularly noteworthy are the implications of the realpolitik—that is, the elements in politics that are developed within the institutional frameworks, such as governmental plans and decisions. As a result, it presents a complex picture, which we try to understand from the perspective of supply and demand integration. The originality of the study lies in the refusal to accept fallacious technical statements, as we consider the issue primarily a human and social problem, but considering the validity of technical statements that are correct.

Populational Description of Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Attended in a Family Health Center in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso

Diabetes mellitus (DM) represents one of the most serious current health problems nowadays, considering the number of people affected, its complications and morbidities. A broad analysis was performed among diabetic patients attended in the Family Health Center from the district of Baú, in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State (Center-east Brazil), to examine the patterns of occurrence of overweight or obesity, values of glycated hemoglobin and the diagnostic of metabolic syndrome. The results show ahead a wide work that is necessary to prevent and early diagnose concerning DM, since only an intensive control will make it possible to alter the reality of the unfavorable prognosis documented.

Pulmonary <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i>and <i>Cryptococcus neoformans</i>Co-Infection on an Underlying Sarcoidosis Condition: Report of a Rare Case

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatosis from an unknown etiology, particularly affecting the lungs and the lymphatic system. It is associated with an immune deficiency involving an excessive immune response mediated by TH1 lymphocytes. Its evolution can lead to serious complications such as pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, bronchial stenosis and opportunistic infections. Opportunistic infections rarely occur on an underlying sarcoidosis condition. We report a rare case of pulmonary aspergillary and cryptococcal co-infection, on a patient with sarcoidosis who was finally lost to follow up. It was about a 47 years old female patient, diagnosed in 2015 for mediastino-pulmonary and neurological sarcoidosis. She was in therapeutical rupture after a 3-month period of corticotherapy at a dosage of 20 mg daily. The patient has been lost of sight for 3 years and was seen again on November, 22nd, 2018 at the Internal Medicine/Rheumatology Department of DALAL JAMM Hospital. At his admission she presented: a low grade hemoptysia, a chronic cough, a shortness of breath on exertion CRD Stage 2. At the biological investigation, the CRP was at 71.9 mg/l. Calcium serum levels were at 102.6 mg/l. Sputum culture and AFBS were negative. The screening serology of aspergillary Ig G was positive at 12.4 UA/ml. Thoracic High Resonance CT pointed suggests a Stage 2 Sarcoidosis complicated with aspergillary graft. The bronchoscopy showed out a severe suppurated bronchopathy. Microscopic examination of the BAF found some Cryptococcus neoformans settlement. We concluded a diagnosis of pulmonary aspergilloma and cryptococcosis co-infection with an underlying condition of Stage 2 Sarcoidosis. We successfully treated our patient with an oral intake of Itraconazole at a dosage of 400 mg daily over a period of 10 days. This is a rare and life-threatening triple association. In our case, the patient was lost to follow up for a long period and this was considered as the first morbidity risk factor.

Synthesis, Characterization and Analysis of Leishmanicide Ability of the Compound [Ru(Cl)₃(H₂O)₂(gly)]

Studies of coordinated compounds containing ruthenium (Ru2+ and Ru3+) have shown very effective in vitro results for the treatment of cancer and neglected diseases such as leishmaniasis. In this paper, we present the synthesis of the compound [Ru(Cl)3(H2O)2(gly)], which was characterized by spectroscopic (Ultraviolet-visibleand infrared) and thermal analysis (Thermogravimetry/Derived Thermogravimetry and Thermogravimetry/Differential Thermal Analysis). The analysis of the compound in the Ultraviolet-visibleregion showed a 290 nm band λmax (ε= 1.685 × 103 L&middot;cm-1&middot;mol-1), attributed to the ligand metal charge transfer (LMCT). The spectroscopy (IR) showed major vibrational bands at δa (-COO-) 1664 cm-1, δs (-COO-) 1388 cm-1, δs () 1571 cm-1 and δs (CCN) 889 cm-1. The thermal analysis by TG/DTG and TG-DTA indicated that the complex has five consecutive stages of decomposition: at 115°C (TG = 12.18%;Calculated = 11.32%) H2O (coordinating water), exothermic peaks at 230°C, 307°C, 440°C and 463°C due to oxidative decomposition of glycine, followed by the formation of RuClO residue at 665°C (TG = 41.11%;Calculated = 40.81%). The thermal characterization suggested the stoichiometry of the complex [RuCl3(H2O)2(gly)]. The antileishmanial capacity of this compound was also evaluated and the results indicated a 31% decrease in the parasitic infection of macrophages and a 1.5 to 3 fold reduction in the number of parasites per cell after treatment with 100 μg/mL of the complex. These results support the possible use of this compound as a therapeutic alternative against medical and veterinary parasites.

Non-Linear Effects in Optical Systems by Lie Algebra and Symplectic Mapping

The use of signals of different frequencies determines the geometrical deviation with respect to the optical axes of a given beam. This angle can be determined by Sympletic Map (SM), a powerful and simple mathematical tool for the characterization and construction of images in Geometrical Optics. The Sympletic Map constitutes a Lie Group, with an algebra associated: the Lie Algebra. In general, the SM can be expressed as an infinite series, where each term corresponds to different contributions produced by the optical devices that constitute the optical system (lenses, apertures, bandwidth cutoff, etc.). The level of correction to be performed on the image to recover the original object is clear and controllable by SM. This formalism can be extended easily to physical optics to describe diffraction and interference phenomena.

在含有侵蚀性CO_2地下水环境下的混凝土碳化问题研究

针对含有侵蚀性CO_2地下水地区的混凝土基础开展碳化研究,总结了不同配合比和侵蚀性CO_2含量对混凝土碳化深度的影响,并据28 d碳化深度预测了该环境下的混凝土抗碳化年限。研究结果表明,水胶比、粉煤灰掺量、矿粉掺量和侵蚀性CO_2含量对混凝土碳化深度的影响较大,所使用配合比的混凝土预测结果能够满足工程设计使用年限,相关结论可为类似环境地区混凝土基础施工提供参考。

Neurocognitive Disorders in Patients with HIV Infection with Virologic Suppression for More than 10 Years

Background: HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) may appear in patients with viral and immunological response to treatment and remain unnoticed during the initial stage of the infection. The goal of this study is to evaluate the development and/or progression of HAND in patients with undetectable viral load for more than ten years. Methods: We included adult HIV-infected patients who were under antiretroviral treatment and had undetectable plasma viral load for more than ten years (blips were included). These patients had already been subjected to neurocognitive evaluation five years previously. Demographic, clinical and analytical data were analysed. For the neurocognitive evaluation, the WAIS-III subtests (digit symbol coding and symbol search), trail making test (TMT) A and B, Stroop test and categorical verbal fluency (animals) tests were used. SPSS??version 22.0 for Windows was used for statistical analysis. Results: In this re-evaluation, performed 4.76 (±1.82) years after the first one, 9 (36%) patients showed deficits in processing speed (WAIS-III and TMT A), 8 (32%) executive function (TMT B and Stroop) and 12 (48%) verbal fluency. There were significant statistical differences between the past and current executive function tests (p = 0.029 and p = 0.01), highlighting worsening of deficits. No differences were found for the other tests. No association was found between deficit progression and the studied variables. Conclusions: Although not generally noticed on regular appointments, in this small population, worsening of executive function deficits (mental flexibility and divided attention) was found. Classical risk factors for HAND did not appear to interfere in its progression. Speed of information processing and categorical verbal fluency remained stable.