Akinetopsia (visual motion blindness) associated with brain metastases: a case report.

Akinetopsia is a rare neurological syndrome characterized by an impaired perception of movement, often resulting from brain damage due to ischemia, epilepsy, or medication. It is also known as visual motion blindness, and patients with this condition are unable to perceive motion normally even with perfect visual acuity. This report aims to present a case of a patient in their late 40 s who developed akinetopsia and also an impairment in movement perception of objects without emitting sounds, after experiencing a late relapse of breast cancer with the occurrence of multiple brain metastases. The patient also experienced visual hallucinations, night terrors, and difficulty forming anterograde memory. Neuroimaging with MRI revealed severe brain damage, especially in the middle temporal area of the visual cortex. Akinetopsia is a rare phenomenon, and this is the first known case of its association with brain metastases.

Towards a decolonial developmental science: Adolescent development in the Majority World taking center stage.

While aspiring to be a diverse and global science, developmental science continues to be dominated by EuroAmerican epistemologies, researchers, and communities in its published scholarship. Adolescents in communities across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America comprise 85% of the world's adolescent population, and yet their experiences and perspectives are marginalized in our science. Adolescents in the Majority World live in highly diverse social, cultural, political, economic, educational and healthcare contexts that contribute to their development, and we have much to learn from their experiences. This article situates the marginalization of the global majority within coloniality embedded in developmental science. The article describes the impetus for this special issue Towards a decolonial developmental science and the process of putting it together, along with providing an overview of the 18 articles in this collection that push us towards decoloniality. The special issue serves as a call to transform developmental science to be decolonial by empowering adolescent development in Majority World communities to take center stage. Adolescent development research from Majority World communities has the potential to challenge the knowledge base generated from Minority World samples, contributing to a science that is comprehensive, inclusive, and can inform prevention and intervention efforts to support the well-being of adolescents globally.

Key and general population HIV-related stigma and discrimination in HIV-specific health care settings: results from the Stigma Index Brazil.

HIV-related stigma and discrimination lead to poorer mental health, lower levels of services usage, and less adherence to antiretroviral medications. Due to the overlap of different kinds of stigmas, HIV-positive key populations are the most susceptible to negative health outcomes. The Stigma Index is an instrument that measure worldwide trends in HIV-related stigma from the perspective of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The present community-based study aims to estimate the prevalence of HIV-related discrimination in the past 12 months in HIV-related care, comparing general and key populations in Brazil. A total of 30 PLWHA were trained to recruit participants among their peer networks; 1768 PLWHA participated in the study and were asked if, in the past 12 months when seeking HIV-specific healthcare, they had experienced discrimination from health facility staff because of their HIV status. Overall, 269 (15.21%) participants experienced this kind of discrimination. The odds of experiencing discrimination in HIV-specific healthcare settings in the general versus key populations was OR 1.77 95% CI [1.30 -2.42]. It is noteworthy that in Brazil, after four decades of a human rights-based approach to the epidemic, we found high levels of discrimination in the HIV-specific healthcare context affecting the key populations more severely.

Depression, Self-Esteem, and Resilience and its Relationship with Psychological Features of Sexuality among Transgender Men and Women from Brazil.

This cross-sectional study investigated whether depression, self-esteem, and resilience (mental health indicators) are associated with some psychological features of sexuality (sexual fear, sexual anxiety, sexual dissatisfaction, and sexual body image worries) in a sample of 462 transgender men and women from Brazil. Pearson's correlations were performed between all continuous variables in the study. Those that were significantly associated with the psychological features of sexuality in previous analyses were tested as independent variables in multiple linear regression models. Sexual fear, sexual anxiety, sexual dissatisfaction, and sexual body image worries were negatively related to self-esteem and resilience, while positively related to depression. Higher levels of depression were associated with sexual fear, while higher levels of depression and lower self-esteem were associated with sexual anxiety. In addition, higher levels of depression and lower levels of resilience were associated with sexual dissatisfaction. Depression and resilience were associated with the composite score of sexual dissatisfaction and sexual anxiety. Our results suggest that negative mental health indicators may impair the sexual life of transgender individuals. Clinical interventions should be developed and tested to address the psychological features of sexuality.

Robust comparative performance of genomic DNA extraction methods from non-engorged phlebotomine sandflies.

The present study is a comparative analysis of DNeasy Blood & Tissue Qiagen® kit (Qiagen®, Hilden, Alemanha), salting out, HotShot and phenol-chloroform protocols to extract DNA from sandflies. In addition, a comparative test using sandflies with and without eyes evaluated the potential inhibitory effect in the cPCR. An inhibition test was performed using an exogenous DNA added to the qPCR. The genomic DNA quality of each sample was evaluated by cPCR based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) gene. The DNA extraction protocols showed the following percentage of amplification: HotShot (91.6% [55/60]), salting out (71.6% [43/60]), phenol-chloroform (95% [57/60]) and kit DNeasy Blood & Tissue Qiagen® (73.3% [44/60]). The phenol-chloroform method achieved a significantly higher frequency of cox1 gene amplification. The pigment present in the phlebotomine's eyes seems to inhibit cPCR reactions since the frequency of amplification of the cox1 gene increased in the sandflies without eyes (p < 0.0001). The HotShot method showed the highest inhibitory potential. These manual extraction techniques can be an inexpensive and effective alternative to study vector-pathogen interactions.

Entomopathogenic fungi and Schinus molle essential oil: The combination of two eco-friendly agents against Aedes aegypti larvae.

Aedes aegypti transmits arbovirus, which is a public health concern. Certain filamentous fungi have the potential to control the disease. Here, the effects of Metarhizium anisopliae s.l. CG 153, Beauveria bassiana s.l. CG 206 and Schinus molle L. were investigated against Aedes aegypti larvae. In addition, the effect of essential oil on fungal development was analyzed. Fungal germination was assessed after combination with essential oil at 0.0025 %, 0.0075 %, 0.005 %, or 0.01 %; all of the oil concentrations affected germination except 0.0025 % (v/v). Larvae were exposed to 0.0025 %, 0.0075 %, 0.005 %, or 0.01 % of the essential oil or Tween 80 at 0.01 %; however, only the essential oil at 0.0025 % achieved similar results as the control. Larvae were exposed to fungi at 107 conidia mL-1 alone or in combination with the essential oil at 0.0025 %. Regardless of the combination, M. anisopliae reduced the median survival time of mosquitoes more than B. bassiana. The cumulative survival of mosquitoes exposed to M. anisopliae alone or in combination with essential oil was 7.5 % and 2 %, respectively, and for B. bassiana, it was 75 % and 71 %, respectively. M. anisopliae + essential oil had a synergistic effect against larvae, whereas B. bassiana + essential oil was antagonistic. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and histopathology confirmed that the interaction of M. anisopliae was through the gut and hemocoel. In contrast, the mosquito's gut was the main route for invasion by B. bassiana. Results from gas chromatography studies demonstrated sabinene and bicyclogermacrene as the main compounds of S. molle, and the in-silico investigation found evidence that both compounds affect a wide range of biological activity. For the first time, we demonstrated the potential of S. molle and its interaction with both fungal strains against A. aegypti larvae. Moreover, for the first time, we reported that S. molle might be responsible for significant changes in larval physiology. This study provides new insights into host-pathogen interplay and contributes to a better understanding of pathogenesis in mosquitoes, which have significant consequences for biological control strategies.

Arterial tortuosity syndrome causing recurrent transient ischemic attacks in young adult: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Arterial Tortuosity Syndrome (ATS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by elongated and tortuous arteries. Although ATS showed a significant clinical and pathophysiological overlap with other syndromes involving connective tissues, only few cases of cerebrovascular events related to this syndrome have been described so far. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 33-years-old male diagnosed with ATS since childhood, that experienced three sudden episodes of expressive aphasia and right hemiparesis with spontaneous resolution. He was treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (r-TPA) at a dosage of 0.9 mg/kg with a complete recovery. Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) showed the absence of acute ischemic lesions and the patient was diagnosed with recurrent transient ischemic attacks (TIA). Intracranial and supra-aortic trunks Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) and Angio-CT scan of the thoracic and abdominal aorta showed marked vessel tortuosity without stenosis. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of an ATS patient with TIA in young age that was treated with intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant plasminogen activator. CONCLUSION: Our report strengthens the relationship between ATS and juvenile cerebrovascular events, suggesting that an extensive study of body vessels in order to detect potential stenoses or occlusions in these cases is needed. The greater predisposition to cerebrovascular events in ATS could benefit from a more aggressive primary and secondary prevention therapy.

Prevalence of Gender Dysphoria in Southern Brazil: A Retrospective Study.

To ensure that public health services provide comprehensive and inclusive health care to the general population, it is important for countries to estimate how many of their citizens experience gender dysphoria and wish to receive specialized hormone treatment or gender-affirming surgery. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of individuals with gender dysphoria seeking transgender health care in a public teaching hospital in southern Brazil. In this retrospective follow-up study, we analyzed the medical records and sociodemographic data of individuals aged > 15 years living in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, that enrolled in a specialized program to receive hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery between 2000 and 2018. This study is the first to attempt estimating the prevalence of gender dysphoria in Rio Grande do Sul; it describes novel data on the clinical profile of individuals with gender dysphoria treated in a public hospital specialized in providing transgender health care. Prevalence estimates were calculated based on statewide annual population data in the study period. Of 934 identified individuals, 776 (601 trans women and 175 trans men) were included in this study. The overall prevalence of individuals with gender dysphoria was 9.3 per 100,000 individuals (95% CI: 8.6 to 9.8). Meanwhile, there were 15 trans women per 100,000 people (95% CI: 14 to 16) and 4.1 trans men per 100,000 people (95% CI: 3.5 to 4.8). There was a progressive increase in the number of people seeking hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery during the study period. Future research is needed to determine the size of the trans population in other regions of Brazil and to expand the knowledge regarding gender dysphoria to allow for the development of effective public policies for people with gender dysphoria.

Antifungal immune responses in mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae): A review.

Mosquitoes transmit many parasites and pathogens to humans that cause significant morbidity and mortality. As such, we are constantly looking for new methods to reduce mosquito populations, including the use of effective biological controls. Entomopathogenic fungi are excellent candidate biocontrol agents to control mosquitoes. Understanding the complex ecological, environmental, and molecular interactions between hosts and pathogens are essential to create novel, effective and safe biocontrol agents. Understanding how mosquitoes recognize and eliminate pathogens such as entomopathogenic fungi may allow us to create insect-order specific biocontrol agents to reduce pest populations. Here we summarize the current knowledge of fungal infection, colonization, development, and replication within mosquitoes and the innate immune responses of the mosquitoes towards the fungal pathogens, emphasizing those features required for an effective mosquito biocontrol agent.

The Link between Estradiol and Neuroplasticity in Transgender Women after Gender-Affirming Surgery: A Bimodal Hypothesis.

For transgender individuals, gender-affirming surgery (GAS) and cross-sex hormone therapy (CSHT) are part of the gender transition process. Scientific evidence supporting the maintenance of CSHT after GAS-related gonadectomy is accumulating. However, few data are available on the impact of CSHT on the brain structure following hypogonadism. Thus, we aimed to investigate links between estradiol and brain cortical thickness (CTh) and cognition in 18 post-gonadectomy transgender women using a longitudinal design. For this purpose, the participants underwent a voluntary period of CSHT washout of at least 30 days, followed by estradiol re-institution for 60 days. High-resolution T1-weighted brain images, hormonal measures, working and verbal memory were collected at 2 time points: on the last day of the washout (t1) and on the last day of the 2-month CSHT period (t2). Between these 2 time points, CTh increased within the left precentral gyrus and right precuneus but decreased within the right lateral occipital cortex. However, these findings did not survive corrections of multiple comparisons. Nevertheless, there was a significant negative correlation between changes in estradiol levels and changes in CTh. This effect was evident in the left superior frontal gyrus, the left middle temporal gyrus, the right precuneus, the right superior temporal gyrus, and the right pars opercularis. Although there was an improvement in verbal memory following hypogonadism correction, we did not observe a significant relationship between changes in memory scores and CTh. Altogether, these findings suggest that there is a link between estradiol and CTh.

In vitro acaricidal activity of Cymbopogon citratus, Cymbopogon nardus and Mentha arvensis against Rhipicephalus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae).

The chemical composition and acaricidal activity of plant-derived essential oils was assessed against Rhipicephalus microplus ticks. The essential oils of Mentha arvensis, Cymbopogon citratus and C. nardus were assessed for acaricidal activity against Rhipicephalus microplus. Essential oils (EO) of plants were separated by hydrodistillation (three times) and analyzed using gas chromatography - mass spectrometer (GC-MS). For bioassays, engorged females of R. microplus were exposed to C. citratus and C. nardus EO at 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% concentrations; and to M. arvensis EO at 1%, 3%, and 5% for 5 min. The weight egg mass, nutrient index (N.I), egg production index (E.P.I), hatching and control rate were evaluated. Non-feed larvae of R. microplus were exposed to essential oils with 0.25%, 0.5%; 1%; 1.5% and 2% concentrations; the mortality rate was measured after 48 h. Only engorged females presented reduced biological activities (oviposition, E.P.I) after exposure to M. arvensis at 3%, when in comparison to both positive and negative controls. The hatchability of R. microplus larvae ranged from 66.9% (after exposure to C. nardus EO at 5%) to 99.2% (positive control). The nutrition index was lower (46.6%) for the exposure to M. arvensis EO at 5%. M. arvensis at 3% and 5% concentrations was significantly efficient for engorged females when compared to control (53.7% and 47.5%, respectively). C. citratus EO at 1%, 1.5% and 2% concentrations yielded better results in the larval packet test, causing 100% mortality. Nonetheless, C. nardus and M. arvensis EO at 2% yielded 66% and 39% mortality, respectively. The study showed that M. arvensis presented potential for the control of R. microplus engorged females while C. citratus and C. nardus presented potential as a larvicide.

ME3CA: A Cognitive Assistant for Physical Exercises that Monitors Emotions and the Environment.

Recent studies show that the elderly population has increased considerably in European society in recent years. This fact has led the European Union and many countries to propose new policies for caring services directed to this group. The current trend is to promote the care of the elderly in their own homes, thus avoiding inverting resources on residences. With this in mind, there are now new solutions in this direction, which try to make use of the continuous advances in computer science. This paper tries to advance in this area by proposing the use of a personal assistant to help older people at home while carrying out their daily activities. The proposed personal assistant is called ME3CA, and can be described as a cognitive assistant that offers users a personalised exercise plan for their rehabilitation. The system consists of a sensorisation platform along with decision-making algorithms paired with emotion detection models. ME3CA detects the users' emotions, which are used in the decision-making process allowing for more precise suggestions and an accurate (and unbiased) knowledge about the users' opinion towards each exercise.

Intravenous fibrinolysis plus endovascular thrombectomy versus direct endovascular thrombectomy for anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke: clinical and infarct volume results.

BACKGROUND: endovascular therapy (ET) is the standard of care for anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke (AIS) caused by large vessel occlusion (LVO). The role of adjunctive intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in these patients remains unclear. The present study aims to investigate whether IVT followed by ET (CoT, combined therapy) provides additional benefits over direct ET for anterior circulation AIS with LVO. METHODS: we achieved a single center retrospective study of patients with AIS caused by anterior circulation LVO, referred to our center between January 2014 and January 2017 and treated with ET. Functional recovery (modified Rankin at 3-months follow-up), recanalization rate (thrombolysis in cerebral infarction [TICI] score) and time, early follow-up brain CT scan infarct volume (EFIV) (for recanalized patients only), symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) and 3-month mortality were the outcomes of interests. Independent predictors of the outcomes were explored with multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: 145 subjects were included in the study, of whom 70 underwent direct ET and 75 were treated with CoT. Functional independence at 3-months was more frequent in CoT subjects compared to patients who received direct ET (mRS score 0-1: 48.5% vs 18.6%; P < 0.001. mRS score 0-2: 67.1% vs 37.3%; P < 0.001); CoT patients had also higher first-pass success rate (62.7% vs 38.6%, P < 0.05), higher recanalization rate (84.3% vs 65.3%; P = 0.009) and, in recanalized subjects, smaller EFIV (16.4 ml vs 62.3 ml; P = 0.003). Mortality and intracranial bleeding did not differ between the two groups. In multivariable regression analysis, low baseline NIHSS score (P < 0.05), vessel recanalization (P = 0.05) and CoT (P = 0.03) were independent predictors of favorable outcome at three months. CONCLUSIONS: CoT appears more effective than ET alone for anterior circulation AIS with LVO, with similar safety profile.

A Retrospective Review of Medical Records of Laboratory-Tested Sexually Transmitted Infections of Transsexual Men from Southern Brazil.

The present study assessed the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 90 transsexual men (female-to-male transsexual persons) from southern Brazil. A retrospective review of the medical records of all transsexual men who visited an outpatient clinic in Rio Grande do Sul from 1998 to 2017 was performed. Although the sample had a high prevalence of risk factors for contracting STIs, such as drug use, one-third of the participants had never been tested for STIs and, when screened, it was mostly for HIV, but not for syphilis or other STIs. Based only on laboratory-tested transsexual men, the prevalence of syphilis and hepatitis C was 3.4% and 1.6%, respectively, which is higher than the general population. It is clear that health professionals need to broaden their understanding of transsexual men, acknowledging STIs as a possible diagnosis.

PHAROS 2.0-A PHysical Assistant RObot System Improved.

There are great physical and cognitive benefits for older adults who are engaged in active aging, a process that should involve daily exercise. In our previous work on the PHysical Assistant RObot System (PHAROS), we developed a system that proposed and monitored physical activities. The system used a social robot to analyse, by means of computer vision, the exercise a person was doing. Then, a recommender system analysed the exercise performed and indicated what exercise to perform next. However, the system needed certain improvements. On the one hand, the vision system captured the movement of the person and indicated whether the exercise had been done correctly or not. On the other hand, the recommender system was based purely on a ranking system that did not take into account temporal evolution and preferences. In this work, we propose an evolution of PHAROS, PHAROS 2.0, incorporating improvements in both of the previously mentioned aspects. In the motion capture aspect, we are now able to indicate the degree of completeness of each exercise, identifying the part that has not been done correctly, and a real-time performance correction. In this way, the recommender system receives a greater amount of information and so can more accurately indicate the exercise to be performed. In terms of the recommender system, an algorithm was developed to weigh the performance, temporal evolution and preferences, providing a more accurate recommendation, as well as expanding the recommendation to a batch of exercises, instead of just one.

EMERALD-Exercise Monitoring Emotional Assistant.

The increase in the elderly population in today's society entails the need for new policies to maintain an adequate level of care without excessively increasing social spending. One of the possible options is to promote home care for the elderly. In this sense, this paper introduces a personal assistant designed to help elderly people in their activities of daily living. This system, called EMERALD, is comprised of a sensing platform and different mechanisms for emotion detection and decision-making that combined produces a cognitive assistant that engages users in Active Aging. The contribution of the paper is twofold-on the one hand, the integration of low-cost sensors that among other characteristics allows for detecting the emotional state of the user at an affordable cost; on the other hand, an automatic activity suggestion module that engages the users, mainly oriented to the elderly, in a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, by continuously correcting the system using the on-line monitoring carried out through the sensors integrated in the system, the system is personalized, and, in broad terms, emotionally intelligent. A functional prototype is being currently tested in a daycare centre in the northern area of Portugal where preliminary tests show positive results.

Modulation of long-term potentiation-like cortical plasticity in the healthy brain with low frequency-pulsed electromagnetic fields.

BACKGROUND: Non-depolarizing magnetic fields, like low frequency-pulsed electromagnetic fields (LF-PEMFs) have shown the ability to modulate living structures, principally by influencing synaptic activity and ion channels on cellular membranes. Recently, the CTU Mega 20 device was presented as a molecular accelerator, using energy up to 200 J and providing high-power (2 Tesla) pulsating fields with a water-repulsive (diamagnetic) action and tissue biostimulation. We tested the hypothesis that LF-PEMFs could modulate long-term corticospinal excitability in healthy brains by applying CTU Mega 20®. Ten healthy subjects without known neurological and/or psychiatric diseases entered the study. A randomized double-blind sham-controlled crossover design was employed, recording TMS parameters (amplitude variation of the motor evoked potential as index of cortical excitability perturbations of the motor system) before (pre) and after (post + 0, + 15, + 30 min) a single CTU Mega 20 session on the corresponding primary right-hand motor area, using a real (magnetic field = 2 Tesla; intensity = 90 J; impulse frequency = 7 Hz; duration = 15 min) or sham device. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA with TIME (pre, post + 0, + 15, + 30 min) and TREATMENT (real vs. sham stimulation) as within-subjects factor was applied. RESULTS: A significant TIME × TREATMENT interaction was found (p < 0.001). Post hoc comparisons showed a significant effect of TIME, with significant differences at + 0, + 15 and + 30 min compared to baseline after real stimulation (all p < 0.05) but not after sham stimulation (all p < 0.05) and significant effects of TREATMENT, with significant differences at + 0, + 15 and + 30 min for real stimulation compared to sham stimulation (all p < 0.005). No significant depolarizing effects were detected throughout the (real) stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our proof-of-concept study in healthy subjects supports the idea that non-ionizing LF-PEMFs induced by the CTU Mega 20 diamagnetic acceleration system could represent a new approach for brain neuromodulation. Further studies to optimize protocol parameters for different neurological and psychiatric conditions are warranted. Trial Registration The present work has been retrospectively registered as clinical trial on ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03537469 and publicly released on May 24, 2018.

HIV-Related Healthcare Needs and Access Barriers for Brazilian Transgender and Gender Diverse People.

The aim of this study is to investigate HIV-related healthcare needs and access barriers for Brazilian transgender and gender diverse people. Data were collected from gender identity clinics and the questionnaire was also made available on the Internet. Out of the 543 participants-62.1% (n = 337) transgender women, 28.7 (n = 156) transgender men and 9.2% (n = 50) gender diverse people, 63.7% had been tested at least once in their lives. The prevalence of self-reported HIV-positive status among transgender women was 16.5%, of which 92.0% reported having a physician with whom they regularly consulted about HIV, whereas none of the transgender men or gender diverse people reported HIV-positive status. In addition, 8.2% of transgender men and 12.5% of gender diverse people did not know their serological status. Finally, 71.0% of the participants were unfamiliar with post-exposure prophylaxis. The study discusses the need for adequate behavior-oriented HIV health policies and training of healthcare professionals regarding the needs of Brazilian transgender and gender diverse people.

Rhipicephalus microplus infected by Metarhizium: unveiling hemocyte quantification, GFP-fungi virulence, and ovary infection.

Hemocytes, cells present in the hemocoel, are involved in the immune response of arthropods challenged with entomopathogens. The present study established the best methodology for harvesting hemocytes from Rhipicephalus microplus and evaluated the number of hemocytes in addition to histological analysis from ovaries of fungus-infected females and tested the virulence of GFP-fungi transformants. Different centrifugation protocols were tested, and the one in which presented fewer disrupted cells and higher cell recovery was applied for evaluating the effect of Metarhizium spp. on hemocytes against R. microplus. After processing, protocol number 1 (i.e., hemolymph samples were centrifuged at 500×g for 3 min at 4 °C) was considered more efficient, with two isolates used (Metarhizium robertsii ARSEF 2575 and Metarhizium anisopliae ARSEF 549), both wild types and GFP, to assess their virulence. In the biological assays, the GFP-fungi were as virulent as wild types, showing no significant differences. Subsequently, hemocyte quantifications were performed after inoculation, which exhibited notable changes in the number of hemocytes, reducing by approximately 80% in females previously treated with Metarhizium isolates in comparison to non-treated females. Complementarily, 48 h after inoculation, in which hemolymph could not be obtained, histological analysis showed the high competence of these fungi to colonize ovary from ticks. Here, for the first time, the best protocol (i.e., very low cell disruption and high cell recovery) for R. microplus hemocyte obtaining was established aiming to guide directions to other studies that involves cellular responses from ticks to fungi infection.

PHAROS-PHysical Assistant RObot System.

The great demographic change leading to an ageing society demands technological solutions to satisfy the increasing varied elderly needs. This paper presents PHAROS, an interactive robot system that recommends and monitors physical exercises designed for the elderly. The aim of PHAROS is to be a friendly elderly companion that periodically suggests personalised physical activities, promoting healthy living and active ageing. Here, it is presented the PHAROS architecture, components and experimental results. The architecture has three main strands: a Pepper robot, that interacts with the users and records their exercises performance; the Human Exercise Recognition, that uses the Pepper recorded information to classify the exercise performed using Deep Leaning methods; and the Recommender, a smart-decision maker that schedules periodically personalised physical exercises in the users' agenda. The experimental results show a high accuracy in terms of detecting and classifying the physical exercises (97.35%) done by 7 persons. Furthermore, we have implemented a novel procedure of rating exercises on the recommendation algorithm. It closely follows the users' health status (poor performance may reveal health problems) and adapts the suggestions to it. The history may be used to access the physical condition of the user, revealing underlying problems that may be impossible to see otherwise.