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Background and Aim: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in humans in 2019. Although SARS-CoV-2 infection is primarily asymptomatic and transitory in companion animals, the role of these animals in the life cycle of the virus remains unclear. This study aimed to survey the first SARS-CoV-2 infection cases in pets, including a dog and three cats in São Paulo, Brazil. Materials and Methods: We invited COVID-19-positive pet owners to participate in the survey and obtained nasal, oropharyngeal, and rectal swab samples from their pets. These samples were placed in vials and subjected to a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. In addition, the owners answered an epidemiological questionnaire, and the pets underwent clinical examination and monitoring. Results: Out of 49 sampled pets, 3/19 (15.8%) cats and 1/30 (3.3%) dogs tested positive, with wide variations in viral loads. Despite the limitations of size and non-randomized sampling, our results showed that cats are more susceptible than dogs to SARS-CoV-2 infection, presenting a cat: dog ratio of 4.8: 1. Only one cat presented mild and transitory respiratory symptoms. Conclusion: Although SARS-CoV-2 infection was detected in pets in the largest South American city and the COVID-19 epicenter at the time, these first detected pet cases displayed either none or mild clinical signs.

Background Blood culture-negative infective endocarditis is a potentially severe disease that can be associated with infectious agents such as Bartonella spp., Coxiella burnetti, Tropheryma whipplei, and some fungi. Case presentation Reported here are two cases of blood culture-negative infective endocarditis in patients with severe aortic and mitral regurgitation in Brazil; the first case is a 47-year-old white man and the second is a 62-year-old white woman. Bartonella henselae deoxyribonucleic acid was detectable in the blood samples and cardiac valve with vegetation paraffin-fixed tissue samples. Additionally, an investigation was carried out on patients’ pets, within the context of One Health, and serum samples collected from cats and dogs were reactive by indirect immunofluorescence assay. Conclusions Even though the frequency of bartonellosis in Brazil is unknown, physicians should be aware of the possibility of blood culture-negative infective endocarditis caused by Bartonella, particularly in patients with weight loss, kidney changes, and epidemiological history for domestic animals.

The family Planorbidae comprises freshwater gastropods with planispiral, spiral and limpet-shaped shells. Subfamily Planorbinae sensu stricto, has a richness of almost 300 species, with some of the main genera being Biomphalaria Preston, 1910 and Drepanotrema Fischer & Crosse, 1880. Some Biomphalaria species are of concern to human health as they are intermediate hosts of blood flukes in Latin America. In Argentina, the family Planorbidae is represented by 15 species in four genera. In Northern Argentina (NOA region), records of the family are scarce, and most of them are a result of occasional collecting. We provide an updated checklist of Planorbinae in NOA resulting from fieldwork, material in malacological collections, and data in the literature. Nine species occur in the area: four species of Biomphalaria and five of Drepanotrema. Among Biomphalaria species, we recorded Biomphalaria straminea (Dunker, 1848), which is considered a natural host of the blood fluke Schistostoma mansoni Sambon, 1907, for first time in Salta province; the known geographic distribution of B. straminea is extended in the country.

Nearly 1.8 billion people use pit latrines for basic sanitation, and approximately 600 million kg of feces and 2.1 billion kg of urine are deposited in pit latrines every day. Due to lack of access to mechanized emptying services, or challenges such as the presence of trash in pits, most latrines are emptied by hand. Alternatively, “fishing” (removal of trash using manual tools) is used prior to mechanical emptying. Both approaches are time consuming and expose workers to pathogens. To develop a safer method of emptying pit latrines, we explored mechanized trash exclusion, allowing the removal of fecal sludge in the presence of trash. Three exclusion mechanisms: screening, deflecting, and clearing, were investigated. The effects of varying design features, such as the diameter of screen holes, length of screen pipe, auger characteristics, level of negative pressure (vacuum setting), and rotational speeds, were evaluated in pits with varying solids concentrations. Continuous prototyping and testing showed that a combination of the screening and clearing mechanisms was most efficient in excluding trash in wet pits (less than 12% solids) and allowed a maximum flow rate of between 3 to 4.5 L s−1. The resulting product, called the Flexcrevator + Excluder, is a vacuum system that excludes trash and was field-tested in pit latrines in Kisumu, Kenya. While there are remaining challenges for the current design such as pumping thick fecal sludge and dealing with fibrous material encountered in the field, trash exclusion can provide an efficient and safe emptying solution for a wide range of pit latrines.

COVID-19, also known as coronavirus disease 2019, is an infectious viral disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus. Since its emergence, its epidemiology has been explored; however, for some regions of the world, COVID-19’s behavior, incidence, and impact remain unclear. In continental nations like Brazil, this lack of knowledge results in nonuniform control, prevention, and treatment measures, which can be controversial in some locations. This study aimed to describe the epidemiological profile of patients with COVID-19 in the macroregion of Triângulo Sul in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil. Between March 25 and October 21, 2020, data were collected and statistically analyzed from 395 hospitalized patients in the city of Uberaba, MG, suspected to have moderate or severe forms of the disease. Of the 395 suspected cases, 82% were confirmed to be positive for COVID-19. The mean age of positive patients was 58.4 years, and 60.76% were male. Following these patients throughout their hospitalization, a mortality rate of 31.3% was observed. In the population positive for COVID-19, the risk of death increased by 4% for each year of the patient’s age. Likewise, the older the patient, the longer their hospitalization and the higher the risk of developing acute respiratory failure. Among the treatments tested in patients, heparin was associated with protection against mortality, and the absence of anticoagulant use was linked to a more than six times greater risk of death. Finally, comorbidities in patients with COVID-19 were positively correlated with increased hospitalization time. In summary, this study revealed that age, presence of comorbidities, length of hospitalization, and drug treatment considerably altered COVID-19’s lethality. To understand infection rates and the factors involved in COVID-19’s lethality, knowledge of the local epidemiology is necessary.

The online support of IBM SPSS proposes that users alter the syntax when performing post-hoc analyses for interaction effects of ANOVA tests. Other authors also suggest altering the syntax when performing GEE analyses. This being done, the number of possible comparisons (k value) is also altered, therefore influencing the results from statistical tests that k is a component of the formula, such as repeated measures-ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc of ANOVA and GEE. This alteration also exacerbates type I error, producing erroneous results and conferring potential misinterpretations of data. Reasoning from this, the purpose of this paper is to report the misuse and improper handling of syntax for ANOVAs and GEE post-hoc analyses in SPSS and to illustrate its consequences on statistical results and data interpretation.

In 1994, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean approved the Regional Programme of Action for Women, whose guidelines remain in force thanks to a decision approved at the ninth Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean (Mexico City, 2004), thereby reaffirming their commitment to the goals prescribed for equitable participation by women in economic activities. The present article sets out to analyse the progress and evolution of women’s participation in production and business activities in South America, considering the situation of female employment, its evolution over the past decade and its differences from male employment. The article also analyses men’s and women’s time use, women’s share of employment in jobs with higher average earnings (executive positions) and women’s empowerment and economic autonomy (female entrepreneurs).

En 1994, los paises de America Latina y el Caribe aprobaron el Programa de Accion Regional para las Mujeres, cuyas directrices se mantienen vigentes por decision aprobada en la novena Conferencia Regional sobre la Mujer de America Latina y el Caribe (Ciudad de Mexico, 2004), y consolidaron asi su compromiso de cumplir los objetivos establecidos en materia de participacion equitativa de la mujer en las actividades economicas. La finalidad del presente articulo es analizar el progreso y la evolucion de la insercion femenina en el ambito productivo y empresarial en America del Sur, considerando el panorama laboral femenino, su evolucion en la ultima decada y sus diferencias con respecto al panorama laboral masculino. Asimismo, se analizan el uso que hombres y mujeres hacen del tiempo, la participacion de la mujer en empleos con un mayor ingreso medio (cargos directivos) y el empoderamiento y la autonomia economica de las mujeres (empresarias).

Oleaginous microorganisms pose a number of technical advantages when compared to first generation oil crops, but a common drawback to their utilization is often linked to the high operational costs involved in media preparation, using mostly industrial-grade sugars as carbon sources. Considering the abundance of by-products generated by the sugarcane industry, the combined use of molasses and vinasse is suggested in this work as culture medium for the fungal strain Mucor circinelloides URM 4182. Results demonstrate that a 3:1 vol% medium (vinasse to diluted molasses ratio) with minor supplementation of organic nitrogen can provide values within the range of 5 g L−1 of oil-rich biomass with 25 wt% of lipids. The microbial oil was then analyzed in terms of fatty acid profile, demonstrating a favorable composition for biodiesel production, and was subjected to simultaneous esterification and transesterification assays using ethanol and heterogeneous catalyst (H3PMo/Al2O3) in a pressurized reactor, demonstrating satisfactory conversions (>95%). The purified ethyl esters possessed viscosity and density values within the regulating standards and lack of triacylglycerols, suggesting a potential biodiesel production system that could be coupled within sugarcane ethanol facilities.

Water-in-oil emulsions constitute a widespread issue for the oilfield industry. Indeed, the phases of water-in-oil emulsions must be separated as soon as possible in the production chain. These emulsions can be fairly stable due to certain intrinsic components in crude oil; therefore, adding chemicals – demulsifiers – to aid this separation is very common. Selecting the ideal demulsifier can save time and money, and in this context two-dimensional (2D) low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a promising technique because it allows for the separate study of the oil and water phases without the need for physical separation. In this study, four laboratory-made emulsions were used to investigate the demulsification process via low-field 1H NMR, allowing for the investigation of the correlation between the diffusion coefficient (D) and transverse relaxation time (T2) in 2D D–T2 plots. The three commercial demulsifiers used in this process (A, B and C) were characterised by positive-ion electrospray ionisation (ESI(+)) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). The ESI(+)–FT-ICR mass spectra recorded for the commercial demulsifiers showed distinct chemical profiles, with two samples (A and B) being composed of surfactants containing isoprene and glycol propylene oligomer species, where the ions detected in the m/z 200–700 region were separated by m/z 42 and 58 units, respectively. A more abundant and complex chemical profile was observed for sample C, in which pyridine and sulphoxide analogue species were identified. The 2D D–T2 plots clearly showed that the separation of water and oil phases can be monitored and allowed for the classification of the demulsifiers according to their performance in the physical separation of the phases: demulsifier A > demulsifier B > demulsifier C.

Dear Colleagues,The debate on Open Access is still in progress.The objective of the Science Policy Briefing of the European Medical Research Councils (EMRC) of the EuropeanScience Foundation (ESF), is to accelerate the adoption of open access in order to guarantee equitable access toEuropean biomedical research outputs worldwide.

Low-field 1H NMR was used in this work for the analysis of mixtures involving crude oils and water. CPMG experiments were performed to determine the transverse relaxation time (T2) distribution curves, which were computed by the inverse Laplace transform of the echo decay data. The instrument's ability of quantifying water and petroleum in biphasic mixtures following different methodologies was tested. For mixtures between deionized water and petroleum, one achieved excellent results, with root mean squared error of cross-validation (RMSECV) of 0.8% for a regression between the water content (wt %) and the relative area of the water peak in the T2 distribution curve, or a standard deviation of 0.9% for the relationship between the water content and the relative water peak area, corrected by the relative hydrogen index of the crude. In the case of biphasic mixtures of Mn2+-doped water and crude oils, the best result of RMSECV = 1.6% was achieved by using the raw magnetization decay data for a partial least squares regression. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Throughout the world the public is showing increasing interest in medical and scientific subjects and journalists largely spread this information, with an important impact on knowledge and health. Clearly, therefore, the relationship between the journalist and his sources is delicate: freedom and independence of information depend on the independence and truthfulness of the sources. The new "precision journalism" holds that scientific methods should be applied to journalism, so authoritative sources are a common need for journalists and scientists. We therefore compared the individual classifications and methods of assessing of sources in biomedical science and medical journalism to try to extrapolate scientific methods of evaluation to journalism. In journalism and science terms used to classify sources of information show some similarities, but their meanings are different. In science primary and secondary classes of information, for instance, refer to the levels of processing, but in journalism to the official nature of the source itself. Scientists and journalists must both always consult as many sources as possible and check their authoritativeness, reliability, completeness, up-to-dateness and balance. In journalism, however, there are some important differences and limits: too many sources can sometimes diminish the quality of the information. The sources serve a first filter between the event and the journalist, who is not providing the reader with the fact, but with its projection. Journalists have time constraints and lack the objective criteria for searching, the specific background knowledge, and the expertise to fully assess sources. To assist in understanding the wealth of sources of information in journalism, we have prepared a checklist of items and questions. There are at least four fundamental points that a good journalist, like any scientist, should know: how to find the latest information (the sources), how to assess it (the quality and authoritativeness), how to analyse and filter it (selection), how to deal with too many sources of information, sometimes case biased by conflicting interests (balance). The journalist must, in addition, know how to translate it to render it accessible and useful to the general public (dissemination), and how to use it best.

Electronic journals and publications are widely consulted by researchers today but paper and electronic publishing have different pros and cons. We studied the attitude of Sanofi-Synthelabo researchers to browsing and publishing on Internet preprint and e-print servers. Preprint is defined as: a manuscript that has been peer-reviewed and is awaiting publication in a traditional journal, a paper electronically posted in a server for peer consideration and comment before submission for publication, or a manuscript for which no publication decision has yet been reached. E-print is defined as: an electronic paper posted in a peer-review-free server that can be updated by the author at any time, or an electronic paper archived by the author and circulated outside the traditional publishing environment. We sent a questionnaire to 80 research scientists (in chemistry and pharmacology) in eight Sanofi-Synthelabo research centers in Europe and the United States. The survey showed that researchers particularly appreciate the many advantages of these publications. However, they would seldom consider submitting their own papers to e-print servers rather than to a traditional peer-reviewed journal or server. Although Sanofi-Synthelabo researchers tend to regard nonpeer-reviewed data as secondary or unreliable, they nevertheless admit that information published on preprint or ePrint servers could lead them to modify a research project. In conclusion, researchers like to keep up with the rapid developments of electronic publishing, and utilize these new electronic sources of information, but they take a critical approach to content quality. Publishing their own papers by these new routes is not considered an option because of intellectual property questions.

In Italy, continuing education of prescribers and health professionals is based to a large extent on information from pharmaceutical companies, as shown also by the relative number of representativ...

Low-field (1) H NMR was used in this work for the analysis of mixtures involving crude oils and water. CPMG experiments were performed to determine the transverse relaxation time (T2 ) distribution curves, which were computed by the inverse Laplace transform of the echo decay data. The instrument's ability of quantifying water and petroleum in biphasic mixtures following different methodologies was tested. For mixtures between deionized water and petroleum, one achieved excellent results, with root mean squared error of cross-validation (RMSECV) of 0.8% for a regression between the water content (wt %) and the relative area of the water peak in the T2 distribution curve, or a standard deviation of 0.9% for the relationship between the water content and the relative water peak area, corrected by the relative hydrogen index of the crude. In the case of biphasic mixtures of Mn(2+) -doped water and crude oils, the best result of RMSECV = 1.6% was achieved by using the raw magnetization decay data for a partial least squares regression.

The new Web generations are influencing the minds and changing the habits of software developers and end users. Users, librarians, and information services professionals can interact more efficiently, creating additional information and content and generating knowledge. This new scenario is also changing the behavior of information providers and users in health sciences libraries. This article reviews the new Web environments and tools that give librarians opportunities to tailor their services better, and gives some examples of the advantages and disadvantages for them and their users. Librarians need to adapt to the new mindset of users, linking new technologies, information, and people.

Background: Health authorities, hospitals, commercial enterprises, and mass media all deliver health and medical communication in different forms. With such a vast amount of biomedical and clinical information available, any action to ensure the spread of clinically relevant news items is welcome. Objectives: This paper tries to define a new role for health science librarians in improving medical communication and reporting. Methods: Literature relating to the health and medical reporting is analysed to identify major difficulties encountered by health communicators. Results: There are two areas where health science librarians can develop new roles in health communication: (i) supporting journalists and health communicators in selecting sources and understanding scientific papers, and (ii) directly translating scientific information into news items, supplying a list of products in this direction (i.e. targeted newsletters, media releases, news items). New skills and competencies needed to cope with the new roles are described in detail in a suggested academic curriculum for health communicators. Conclusions: A better understanding of the mass media's needs can provide much needed support in the field of health communication.

The library and scientific information department in pharmaceutical firms play an important role in relation to basic knowledge. New technologies and new facilities call into question the role of librarians and information professionals from their present role as intermediates to a situation in which there will be no need for intermediation (i.e., “disintermediation”). “Disintermediation” in information management looks like the future. Librarians and information professionals need not feel threatened by this new scenario, but they do need to rethink certain strategies, acquire new skills and reformulate their own identity. They must focus on understanding the customers’s expressed and latent needs and offer new solutions. They must shift from the traditional role of capturing, sorting, organizing and disseminating literature to analysis of resources and educational initiatives. Training users in new technologies, helping them identify internal and external information resources, nurturing users information searching skills and boosting the effective use of literature (e.g. building personal digital reprint files) are only some of the new challenges. In the “Internet information era”, librarians and information professionals have to acquire other management skills such as resources analysis, continuing information, communication, knowledge management and outsourcing. Our cooperation with Sanofi Research Cardiovascular Department was discussed as one example.

Recent years have witnessed many changes in medical information science and corporate librarians must reengineer the library for the new information age. Introduction of end-user oriented products, electronic journals and electronic document delivery systems are only a few examples of the changes. Greater access to information by clients, stemming from the ubiquitous spread of networking within organizations, will have a substantial impact on the traditional activities of librarians and/or information professionals. This concern results in growing pressures “inside” and “outside” the library profession to adopt the tools of management sciences. In this context, management of the library involves providing resources and cost-effective services to anticipate and meet increasing user needs.

The anorectic effect of CM 57373 in dogs and in rats food-deprived or with experimentally induced hyperphagia (cafeteria-diet hyperphagia and insulin hyperphagia) was compared to the effect of serotoninergic anorectic drug dl-fenfluramine. CM 57373 and dl-fenfluramine administered orally caused a dose-related reduction of food consumption by food-deprived rats (ID50 = 7.4 mg/kg and 2.5 mg/kg respectively). The oral ID50 in dogs was 2.4 mg/kg for CM 57373 and 1.1 mg/kg for dl-fenfluramine. This animal species tolerated CM 57373 better than dl-fenfluramine. The latter induced mydriasis, dyskinesia and reduced spontaneous activity. The anorectic effects of CM 57373 and dl-fenfluramine in cafeteria-diet hyperphagic rats were comparable. Tolerance to the anorectic effect developed in rats treated with both CM 57373 and dl-fenfluramine although tolerance was initially less pronounced with CM 57373 than dl-fenfluramine. The brain serotonin levels of cafeteria-fed rats were unchanged by CM 57373 throughout treatment whereas dl-fenfluramine decreased the monoamine levels starting from the 8th day. Both drugs reduced 5-hydroxyin-dolacetic acid levels. CM 57373 (7.4 mg/kg p.o.) and dl-fenfluramine (2.5 mg/kg p.o.) markedly reduced the overeating caused by insulin injection. These results indicate that CM 57373 shows several characteristics of drugs that act via serotonin to depress food intake in various animals species.

This clinical case report describes the clinical findings and diagnosis of lacrimal gland adenocarcinoma that developed 20 years after external beam radiotherapy in the treatment of bilateral retinoblastoma. Visual acuity, slit lamp biomicroscopy, fundus color photography, nuclear magnetic resonance, lateral orbitotomy and histological analysis are described.