Detecção de flavivirus e alphavirus em mosquitos (diptera: culicidae) capturados em região próxima à Três Lagoas ­ Ms / Detection of flavivirus and alphavirus in mosquitoes (diptera: culicidae) captured in a region close to Tres Lagoas ­ Ms / Detección de flavivirus y alphavirus en mosquitos (diptera: culicidae) capturados en una región cercana a Tres Lagoas ­ Ms

Introdução: Arbovírus são causadores de doenças humanas, sendo que mudança ecológicas e aumento do contato humano-vetor aumenta a possibilidade de surtos. Objetivo: Detectar, identificar e caracterizar arbovírus presentes em mosquitos vetores capturados em regiões de mata próximas a Três Lagoas, MS. Metodologia: Mosquitos foram capturados utilizando armadilhas de luz em regiões de mata circunvizinha a Três Lagoas. Os mosquitos capturados foram classificados por gênero (chave morfológica) e agrupados em pools com até 20 espécimes, e utilizados através da reação de RT-PCR com posterior sequenciamento e análise filogenética. Resultados: Foram capturados 851 dos gêneros: Culex spp. (11 pools); Aedes spp. (13 pools); Haemagogus spp. (7 pools) e outros gêneros não identificados. Sequencias de vírus Dengue (DENV) foram amplificadas de 2/13 (15,38%) pools de Aedes spp. e uma sequência de vírus Mayaro (MAYV) 1/7 (7,7%) foi amplificada de pools de Haemagogus spp. As análises filogenéticas mostraram que as sequências de DENV agrupava-se no clado de DENV1 e DENV2. A sequência de MAYV agrupou-se junto a sequências de amostras de infecções humana por MAYV do grupo L. Conclusão: Estes resultados reforçam a circulação de DENV, que é causador de surtos anuais de doenças febris agudas no município, e detecção, por primeira vez na região, a circulação de MAYV, reforçando a necessidade de monitoramento viral constante nessa região.

Introduction: Arboviruses cause human diseases, and ecological changes and increased human-vector contact increase the possibility of outbreaks. Objective: To detect, identify and characterize arboviruses present in mosquito vectors captured in forest regions close to Tres Lagoas, MS. Methodology: Mosquitoes were captured using light traps in forest regions surrounding Tres Lagoas. The captured mosquitoes were classified by gender (morphological key) and grouped into pools with up to 20 specimens and used through the RT-PCR reaction with subsequent sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Results: 851 of the genera were captured: Culex spp. (11 pools); Aedes spp. (13 pools); Haemagogus spp. (7 pools) and other unidentified genera. Dengue virus (DENV) sequences were amplified from 2/13 (15.38%) pools of Aedes spp. and a Mayaro virus (MAYV) sequence 1/7 (7.7%) were amplified from pools of Haemagogus spp. Phylogenetic analyzes showed that one of the DENV sequences clustered in the DENV1 and DENV2 clade. The MAYV sequence was grouped together with sequences from samples of human MAYV infections of the L group. Conclusion: These results reinforce the circulation of DENV, which causes annual outbreaks of acute febrile illnesses in the municipality, and detection, for the first time in the region, the circulation of MAYV, reinforcing the need for constant viral monitoring in this region.

Introducción: Los arbovirus causan enfermedades humanas, y los cambios ecológicos y el mayor contacto humano-vector aumentan la posibilidad de brotes. Objetivo: Detectar, identificar y caracterizar arbovirus presentes en mosquitos vectores capturados en regiones de selva próximas a Tres Lagoas, MS. Metodología: Los mosquitos fueron capturados utilizando trampas de luz en las regiones forestales que rodean Tres Lagoas. Los mosquitos capturados fueron clasificados por género (clave morfológica) y agrupados en pools de hasta 20 ejemplares, y utilizados mediante la reacción RT-PCR con posterior secuenciación y análisis filogenético. Resultados: Se capturaron 851 de los géneros: Culex spp. (11 pools); Aedes spp. (13 pools); Haemagogus spp. (7 pools) y otros géneros no identificados. Las secuencias del virus del dengue (DENV) se amplificaron a partir de 2/13 (15,38 %) grupos de Aedes spp. y una secuencia de virus Mayaro (MAYV) 1/7 (7,7%) de pools de Haemagogus spp. Los análisis filogenéticos mostraron que una de las secuencias de DENV se agrupaba en el clado DENV1 y DENV2. La secuencia de MAYV se agrupó con secuencias de muestras de infecciones humanas de MAYV del grupo L. Conclusión: Estos resultados refuerzan la circulación de DENV, causante de brotes anuales de enfermedades febriles agudas en el municipio, y la detección, por primera vez en la región, la circulación de MAYV, reforzando la necesidad de un monitoreo viral constante en esta región.

Season-of-birth phenomenon in health and longevity: epidemiologic evidence and mechanistic considerations.

In many human populations, especially those living in regions with pronounced climatic differences between seasons, the most sensitive (prenatal and neonatal) developmental stages occur in contrasting conditions depending on the season of conception. The difference in prenatal and postnatal environments may be a factor significantly affecting human development and risk for later life chronic diseases. Factors potentially contributing to this kind of developmental programming include nutrition, outdoor temperature, infectious exposures, duration of sunlight, vitamin D synthesis, etc. Month of birth is commonly used as a proxy for exposures which vary seasonally around the perinatal period. Season-of-birth patterns have been identified for many chronic health outcomes. In this review, the research evidence for the seasonality of birth in adult-life disorders is provided and potential mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of early life seasonal programming of chronic disease and longevity are discussed.

Identification of biomarkers of clear cell renal cell carcinoma by bioinformatics analysis.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common subtype among renal cancer, and more and more researches find that the occurrence of ccRCC is associated with genetic changes, but the molecular mechanism still remains unclear. The present study aimed to identify aggregation trend of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ccRCC, which would be beneficial to the treatment of ccRCC and provide research ideas using a series of bioinformatics approach. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were used to get the enrichment trend of DEGs of GSE53757 and GSE16449. Draw Venn Diagram was applied for co-expression of DEGs. Cytoscape with the Retrieval of Interacting Gene (STRING) datasets and Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) were performed protein-protein interaction (PPI) of DEGs. The Kaplan-Meier Plotter analysis of top 15 upregulated and top 15 downregulated were selected in Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA). Then, the expression level of hub genes between normal renal tissue and different pathological stages of ccRCC tissue, which significantly correlated with overall survival in ccRCC patients, were also analyzed by Ualcan based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. In this study, we got 167 co-expression DEGs, including 72 upregulated DEGs and 95 downregulated DEGs. We identified 11 hub genes had significantly correlated with overall survival in ccRCC patients. Among them, KIF23, APLN, ADCY1, GREB1, TLR4, IRF8, CXCL1, CXCL2, deserved our attention.

Epidemics Fuzzy Decision-Making Applications and Fuzzy Genetic Algorithms Efficiency Enhancement.

Fuzzy logic is an innovative scientific field with several successful applications. Genetic algorithms and fuzzy logic systems fusion provide real-world problems modeling through the development of intelligent and adaptive systems. Moreover, the statistical analysis of the epidemiology of infectious diseases, which combines fuzzy logic aspects, is vital for perceiving their evolution and control potential. Author's objective is initially to provide a review of the efficiency of fuzzy logic applications. The advanced implementation of fuzzy logic theory in epidemiology and the application of fuzzy logic for controlling genetic algorithms within strategies based on the human experience and knowledge known as fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs) are analyzed. Outcomes of this review study show that not only can fuzzy sets be efficiently implemented in epidemiology but also prove the effectiveness of fuzzy genetic algorithms applications, thus suggesting that fuzzy logic applications are a really promising field of research.

Participatory Surveillance Based on Crowdsourcing During the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Using the Guardians of Health Platform: Descriptive Study.

BACKGROUND: With the evolution of digital media, areas such as public health are adding new platforms to complement traditional systems of epidemiological surveillance. Participatory surveillance and digital epidemiology have become innovative tools for the construction of epidemiological landscapes with citizens' participation, improving traditional sources of information. Strategies such as these promote the timely detection of warning signs for outbreaks and epidemics in the region. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to describe the participatory surveillance platform Guardians of Health, which was used in a project conducted during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and officially used by the Brazilian Ministry of Health for the monitoring of outbreaks and epidemics. METHODS: This is a descriptive study carried out using secondary data from Guardians of Health available in a public digital repository. Based on syndromic signals, the information subsidy for decision making by policy makers and health managers becomes more dynamic and assertive. This type of information source can be used as an early route to understand the epidemiological scenario. RESULTS: The main result of this research was demonstrating the use of the participatory surveillance platform as an additional source of information for the epidemiological surveillance performed in Brazil during a mass gathering. The platform Guardians of Health had 7848 users who generated 12,746 reports about their health status. Among these reports, the following were identified: 161 users with diarrheal syndrome, 68 users with respiratory syndrome, and 145 users with rash syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: It is hoped that epidemiological surveillance professionals, researchers, managers, and workers become aware of, and allow themselves to use, new tools that improve information management for decision making and knowledge production. This way, we may follow the path for a more intelligent, efficient, and pragmatic disease control system.

Linear mixed model for weight analysis in mice infected by Trypanosoma cruzi

The use of linear mixed models for nested structure longitudinal data is called hierarchical linear modeling. Thismodeling takes into account the dependence of existing data within each level and between hierarchical levels. The process of modeling, estimating and analyzing diagnoses was illustrated through data on the weights of mice experimentally infected by Trypanosoma cruzi, divided into different treatment groups, with the purpose of verifying the evolution of their body weight as a result of usingdifferent types of biotherapeutics produced from Gallus gallus domesticus(chicken) serum to treat Trypanosoma cruzi. Through the model selection criteria AIC and BIC and the likelihood ratio test, a model was chosen to describe the data correctly. Model diagnoses were then performed by means of residual analysis for both levels and an analysis of influential observations to verify if any observations were signaled as influencing the fixed effects, the components of variance and the adjusted values. After the analysis, it was possible to notice that the observations that were signaled as influential had little impact on the Model chosen initially, so it was maintained, with no differences being evidenced between the treatments with the biotherapeutics tested; only the Time variable and the Random intercept were necessary to describe the weight of the mice.

Lessons Learned From an Epidemiologist-Led Countywide Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) in Oregon.

CONTEXT: Conducting a large-scale Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) in a geographically and linguistically diverse county presents significant methodological challenges that require advance planning. PROGRAM: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has adapted methodology and provided a toolkit for a rapid needs assessment after a disaster. The assessment provides representative data of the sampling frame to help guide effective distribution of resources. IMPLEMENTATION: This article describes methodological considerations and lessons learned from a CASPER exercise conducted by Washington County Public Health in June 2016 to assess community emergency preparedness. The CDC's CASPER toolkit provides detailed guidance for exercises in urban areas where city blocks are well defined with many single family homes. Converting the exercise to include rural areas with challenging geographical terrain, including accessing homes without public roads, required considerable adjustments in planning. Adequate preparations for vulnerable populations with English linguistic barriers required additional significant resources. Lessons learned are presented from the first countywide CASPER exercise in Oregon. EVALUATION: Approximately 61% of interviews were completed, and 85% of volunteers reported they would participate in another CASPER exercise. Results from the emergency preparedness survey will be presented elsewhere. DISCUSSION: This experience indicates the most important considerations for conducting a CASPER exercise are oversampling clusters, overrecruiting volunteers, anticipating the actual cost of staff time, and ensuring timely language services are available during the event.

Developing an Epidemiologic Study to Investigate Risk Factors for Colorectal Cancer Among Alaska Native People.

Alaska Native (AN) people have among the highest rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) recorded globally. Preventing CRC is an important health priority of AN tribal health leaders and communities. Lifestyle and genetic risk and protective factors for CRC among AN people remain understudied. We have been working to establish a tribally led, community-based, comprehensive investigation of lifestyle and genetic risk and protective factors for CRC among AN people. We describe the process of initiating this research study, including conversations with key tribal health system staff. We discuss themes that arose during these conversations and literature review and describe how those themes were used during the study design and protocol development phase. This description is intended to provide guidance to other researchers working to establish community-based studies of cancer risk, particularly among tribal communities.

Post-Flood Rapid Needs Assessment in Srinagar City, Jammu and Kashmir State, India, September, 2014.

OBJECTIVES: Torrential rainfall and flooding from September 2-6, 2014 submerged >350 villages in Jammu and Kashmir state. We conducted rapid needs assessment in capital Srinagar from 27 September to 1 October to assess population health and safety needs. METHODS: Based on Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) methodology, we selected 7 households each from 30 census blocks using 2-stage cluster sampling. We collected information on demographics, needs, and illnesses using structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the 210 households surveyed, an estimated 57% (CI: 41%-73%) reported significant damage, 50% (CI: 36%-63%) were evacuated, and 16% (CI: 10%-22%) reported injuries. Households lacked electricity (22%; CI: 8.8%-36%), tap water (13%; CI: 5%-21%), working toilets (11%; CI: 4%-19%), and adequate food supply (14%; CI: 8%-20%). Moreover, 55% (CI: 45%-64%) of households reported cough, cold, fever, rashes, or diarrhea; 68% (CI: 59%-77%) experienced agitation, anxiety, depression, or nightmares since the flooding. Of the households with a member on medicines for non-communicable diseases, 40% did not have a week's supply. Restoring basic essentials (30%; CI: 22%-37%) and repairing houses (30%; CI: 19%-40%) were the most urgent needs expressed. CONCLUSIONS: Floods damaged >1/2 of households in Srinagar, disrupting basic essentials, and causing mental trauma. These findings helped authorities prioritize assistance with psychological symptoms and availability of prescription medicines. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:133-137).

Organization or Community-Based Outbreak? Responding to Cases of Meningitis Under Epidemiologic Uncertainty.

Six cases of serogroup C invasive meningococcal disease were identified in Treviso district, Veneto region, Italy between December 13 and 15, 2007. The afflicted patients were found to have attended the same Latin-dance clubs on the same nights, and chemoprophylaxis was provided to potentially exposed individuals. Despite these efforts, 2 cases caused by the same meningococcal strain subsequently occurred in the same area, without any apparent epidemiological correlation to the initial cases. This may have resulted from a failure to neutralize the meningococcal carrier/s. The root cause analysis method applied to public health emergency preparedness was used to analyze the response to this critical incident. The root cause analysis revealed a need to develop regional guidelines for the classification and management of a meningococcal outbreak and for developing risk-communication strategies that include the identification of appropriate channels of communication for differing segments of the population. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:368-371).

Further opportunities for digital imaging in dental epidemiology.

Dental epidemiological research permits accurate tracking of the prevalence and distribution of oral disease across population groups, enabling planning and evaluation of public health interventions and healthcare service provision. This first section of this paper aimed to review traditional assessment methods in dental epidemiology and to consider the methodological and logistical benefits provided by digital imaging, both generally and specifically in relation to an established dual-camera system. The remainder of this paper describes the results of a semi-structured examination of an image archive from previous research utilising a dual-camera system, exploring whether the diagnostic yield of the images might be increased. Common oral conditions are presented alongside suggestions of the diagnostically useful data displayed in example images. Possible scoring mechanisms are discussed with consideration of the limitations that might be encountered for each condition. The retrospective examination suggests further data is obtainable from images acquired using the dual-camera system, however, consideration should be given to how best to validate this clinically. Additionally, other imaging modalities are discussed whilst taking into account the potential limitations of the dual-camera system.

Epidemiologia dos pacientes vítimas de queimaduras internados no Serviço de Cirurgia Plástica e Queimados da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos / Epidemiology of burn cases hospitalized at the Plastic Surgery and Burns Service of Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos, Brazil

Introdução: Queimaduras são caracterizadas por uma lesão da pele causada por um agente externo, que podem resultar em sequelas funcionais, estéticas, psicológicas e até mesmo a morte. O objetivo é traçar o perfil epidemiológico dos pacientes vítimas de queimaduras internados no Serviço de Cirurgia Plástica e Queimados da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos (SCPSCMS). Métodos: Foram analisados 589 casos de queimaduras internados no período de março de 2010 a março de 2015, no Serviço de Cirurgia Plástica e Queimados da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos. Resultados: 180 pacientes eram crianças (< 10 anos); 72 adolescentes; 287 adultos e 50 idosos. A maioria da amostra eram homens e o principal local de ocorrência o domicílio. As regiões afetadas mais frequentes foram a cabeça, face e pescoço, abdome, tórax e tronco, além dos membros superiores. Constatou-se como principais agentes causais a escaldadura (36,8%), seguida dos líquidos inflamáveis (18%), fogo (14,4%) e queimadura elétrica (10,5%). O tempo de internação foi em média 22 dias, contudo, 61% da amostra permaneceu internada por até 2 semanas e, apenas 4% foram a óbito. Conclusões: O estudo demonstrou que o perfil do paciente internado por queimadura no SCPSCMS é compatível com o descrito por outras unidades especializadas nesse tipo de tratamento. Ressalta-se a importância desse tipo de estudo para conhecer e intervir em fatores e comportamentos de risco para queimaduras.

Introduction: Burns are skin injuries caused by external agents and can result in functional, aesthetic, psychological, and fatal sequelae. The objective is to determine the epidemiological profile of burn cases hospitalized at the Plastic Surgery and Burns Service of Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos (Serviço de Cirurgia Plástica e Queimados da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos-SCPQSCMS). Methods: A total of 589 burn cases hospitalized at SCPQSCMS from March 2010 to March 2015 were evaluated. Results: Of these, 180 were children (aged <10 years), 72 were adolescents, 287 were adults, and 50 were elderly. The majority of the study sample were men, and the primary place of occurrence was the home. The most commonly affected regions were the head, face and neck, abdomen, thorax and trunk, and upper limbs. Burns were mainly caused by scalding (36.8%), flammable liquids (18%), fire (14.4%), and electrical injuries (10.5%). The average hospitalization time was 22 days; however, 61% of the sample remained hospitalized for up to 2 weeks and 4% died. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the profile of patients hospitalized at SCPQSCMS was similar to that found in other units specializing in this type of treatment. Our results emphasize the importance of this type of study to understand and avoid risk factors and behaviors associated with burns.

Microbially derived biosensors for diagnosis, monitoring and epidemiology.

Living cells have evolved to detect and process various signals and can self-replicate, presenting an attractive platform for engineering scalable and affordable biosensing devices. Microbes are perfect candidates: they are inexpensive and easy to manipulate and store. Recent advances in synthetic biology promise to streamline the engineering of microbial biosensors with unprecedented capabilities. Here we review the applications of microbially-derived biosensors with a focus on environmental monitoring and healthcare applications. We also identify critical challenges that need to be addressed in order to translate the potential of synthetic microbial biosensors into large-scale, real-world applications.

Development of a web-based epidemiological surveillance system with health system response for improving maternal and newborn health: Field-testing in Thailand.

Surveillance systems are yet to be integrated with health information systems for improving the health of pregnant mothers and their newborns, particularly in developing countries. This study aimed to develop a web-based epidemiological surveillance system for maternal and newborn health with integration of action-oriented responses and automatic data analysis with results presentations and to assess the system acceptance by nurses and doctors involved in various hospitals in southern Thailand. Freeware software and scripting languages were used. The system can be run on different platforms, and it is accessible via various electronic devices. Automatic data analysis with results presentations in the forms of graphs, tables and maps was part of the system. A multi-level security system was incorporated into the program. Most doctors and nurses involved in the study felt the system was easy to use and useful. This system can be integrated into country routine reporting system for monitoring maternal and newborn health and survival.

A multi-agent-based, semantic-driven system for decision support in epidemic management.

Issues in epidemiology are truly multidisciplinary, requiring knowledge from diverse disciplines such as sociology, medicine, biology, geography and information science. Such inherent complexity has led to a challenge in developing decision support systems for epidemic information management, especially when data are from heterogeneous origins. In order to achieve a solution, an integrative framework is proposed. The Semantic Web is introduced in the context of enriching meaningful and machine-readable descriptions of epidemiological data. Software agents are utilised to achieve automation in semantic discovery, composition of data and process services. The objective is to enhance the performance in information retrieval in a dynamic decision-making environment while concealing technical complexity from inexperienced users. We illustrate how a prototype system can be developed by considering an epidemiology management scenario in which spatio-temporal analysis is undertaken of a specified epidemic.

Molecular detection of Leishmania spp. in road-killed wild mammals in the Central Western area of the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Road-killed wild animals have been classified as sentinels for detecting such zoonotic pathogens asLeishmania spp., offering new opportunities for epidemiological studies of this infection. This study aimed to evaluate the presence of Leishmania spp. and Leishmania chagasi DNA by PCR in tissue samples (lung, liver, spleen, kidney, heart, mesenteric lymph node and adrenal gland) from 70 road-killed wild animals.