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The first case of COVID-19 in South America occurred in Brazil on February 25, 2020. By July 20, 2020, there were 2,118,646 confirmed cases and 80,120 confirmed deaths. To assist with the development of preventive measures and targeted interventions to combat the pandemic in Brazil, we present a geographic study to detect “active” and “emerging” space–time clusters of COVID-19. We document the relationship between relative risk of COVID-19 and mortality, inequality, socioeconomic vulnerability variables. We used the prospective space–time scan statistic to detect daily COVID-19 clusters and examine the relative risk between February 25–June 7, 2020, and February 25–July 20, 2020, in 5570 Brazilian municipalities. We apply a Generalized Linear Model (GLM) to assess whether mortality rate, GINI index, and social inequality are predictors for the relative risk of each cluster. We detected 7 “active” clusters in the first time period, being one in the north, two in the northeast, two in the southeast, one in the south, and one in the capital of Brazil. In the second period, we found 9 clusters with RR > 1 located in all Brazilian regions. The results obtained through the GLM showed that there is a significant positive correlation between the predictor variables in relation to the relative risk of COVID-19. Given the presence of spatial autocorrelation in the GLM residuals, a spatial lag model was conducted that revealed that spatial effects, and both GINI index and mortality rate were strong predictors in the increase in COVID-19 relative risk in Brazil. Our research can be utilized to improve COVID-19 response and planning in all Brazilian states. The results from this study are particularly salient to public health, as they can guide targeted intervention measures, lowering the magnitude and spread of COVID-19. They can also improve resource allocation such as tests and vaccines (when available) by informing key public health officials about the highest risk areas of COVID-19.

The Brazilian Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest are important global biodiversity hotspots that are highly diverse in geological structure, soil, and climatic conditions, all of which directly affect vegetation diversity. The conservation of these biomes depends on recognizing variations in their humidity levels. Given the correlation between water access and plant health, as illustrated by NDVI, we assessed the feasibility of building an NDVI-based model to detect variations in habitat moisture. Using various statistical algorithms, the correctness of the NDVI-based habitat moisture assessment model was confirmed. In addition, it was determined that UMAP was the most favourable of the algorithms employed. Our method provides a practical, efficient tool for assessing habitat moisture that can benefit fields such as ecology, conservation biology, and land management.

Here we use a top-down and bottom-up approach in landscape ecology to analyze the active microbes processing methane fluxes (FCH₄) in seasonally flooded-forest (FOR) and-traditional farming systems (TFS) in Amazonian floodplains flooded with black, white, and clear water. Our results revealed higher CH₄ emissions from water-atmosphere interface in clear water floodplain, followed by black and white water floodplain, respectively. Active methanogenic and methanotrophic taxa were ubiquitous at 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil layer in FOR and TFS, with differences among the water types with respect to the richness, evenness and diversity of the methanogenic communities. These ecological results were not generalizable regarding to FOR and TFS sites, soil layers, and non-flooded and flooded periods. Despite the predominant oxidation of CH₄ in the non-flooded period, higher richness and diversity of methanotrophs were revealed for FOR and TFS in the flooded period. In turn, the structure of the methanogenic and methanotrophic communities and their variation were influenced mainly by soil physicochemical factors, water type, soil depth and the presence of nitrifiers, as Nitrososphaera and Nitrospira. Our study reveals a signature across methanotrophic communities in soils from Amazon floodplain with different water types, with a putative disproportionate role of NC10 phylum in CH₄ mitigation in natural and agricultural Amazonian floodplains. These findings open the possibilities to explore the role of NC10 phylum in the carbon cycling in Amazon.

Outbred male albino mice normal or infected with 30 cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni (LE strain) were submitted to 65% hepatectomy during the acute (70 days) and chronic phase (160 days) phases of the disease. A group of the infected animals was treated with 400 mg/kg of oxamniquine during the acute phase before hepatectomy. Non-infected, infected and treated but not hepatectomized animals were kept as controls. Hepatic regeneration was evaluated by incorporation of tritiated thymidine, intraperitoneally injected into non-hepatectomized and hepatectomized animals, 24 hours after surgery. The results showed that removal of 65% of the hepatic parenchyma, during the acute phase, led to a statistically significant increase of thymidine incorporation, when compared with the uninfected hepatectomized controls. This phenomenon was not observed at the chronic phase. Treatment with oxamniquine administered during the acute phase led to a decrease in thymidine incorporation rate 160 days after infection (90 days after treatment) and 24 hours after hepatectomy. The data suggest that infection with S. mansoni represents a considerable stimulus for the regenerative capacity of the liver during the acute, but not the chronic phase of disease. Camundongos albinos não-isogênicos, normais ou infectados com 30 cercárias de Schistosoma mansoni (cepa LE) foram submetidos a hepatectomia parcial (65%) na fase aguda (70 dias) ou crônica (160 dias) da doença. Um grupo de animais infectados foi tratado, na fase aguda, com 400 mg/kg oxamniquine antes da hepatectomia. Animais não infectados, infectados e tratados mas não hepatectomizados, foram mantidos como controles. A regeneração hepática foi avaliada pela incorporação de timidina tritiada, injetada peritonealmente em animais hepatectomizados ou não, 24 horas após cirurgia. Os resultados mostraram que a remoção de 65% do parênquina hepático, na fase aguda, levou a um aumento estatisticamente significativo da incorporação de timidina, quando comparado com os animais controles (não infectados e hepatectomizados). Este fenômeno não foi observado na fase crônica. O tratamento com oxamniquina, administrado na fase aguda, levou a uma diminuição da taxa de incorporação de timidina, 160 dias após infecção (90 dias após tratamento) e 24 horas após hepatectomia. Os dados obtidos sugerem que a infecção com S. mansoni representa um estímulo considerável para a capacidade regeneradora do fígado na fase aguda, mas não na fase crônica da doença.

Mice previously infected with Schistosoma mansoni, and cured by specific treatment (400mg/kg oxamniquine, p. o.) in the chronic phase of the disease, were reinfected 20 days after treatment to assess their capacityfor modulation ofthe granulomatous response. Histopathologic examination of the animals ' liver, at 60 days after reinfection, evidenced the presence of typical granulomas of the chronic phase in most animals. This infer that the capacity for modulation of the granulomatous response had been maintained, thus preventing a new acute phase of the disease. Conversely, a group of previously infected mice, untreated and submitted to reinfection, showed reactivation of the granulomatous response in 50% of the animals. The possible implications of these findings in human schistosomiasis mansoni are discussed. Para verificar a capacidade de modulação da resposta granulomatosa na esquistossomose murina, após cura quimioterápica, camundongos previamente infectadosforam curados com oxamniquina (400mg/kg, p. o.) e reinfectados 20 dias após tratamento. O exame histopatológico do fígado dos animais, aos 60 dias após reinfecção, mostrou, na maioria deles, a presença de granulomas nafase produtiva, típicos da fase crônica da doença, pertnitindo a inferência de que a capacidade de modulação da resposta granulomatosa foi mantida, prevenindo assim uma outra fase aguda da doença. Por outro lado, um grupo de camundongos previamente infectados e submetidos a reinfecção mostrou a reagudização da resposta granulomatosa em 50% dos animais. As possíveis implicações destes achados na esquistossomose mansoni humana são discutidas.

In this study, which was undertaken in relation to the histopathologic behavior of two different strains (LE-Belo Horizonte, MG and SJ - São José dos Campos, SP) in infections and reinfections (homologous or heterologous) with Schistosoma mansoni, the authors confirmed a more accentuated pathogenicity of the SJ strain. All the reinfections showed the presence of typical granulomas of the acute phase, when performed either with the same strain (homologous) or with a different strain (heterologous) of the parasite of the primo infection. The possible mechanisms responsible for reactivation of the immunopathologic response in reinfections are discussed. No presente estudo, verificou-se o comportamento histopatológico das infecções e reinfecções, homólogas ou heterólogas, das cepas LE (Belo Horizonte, MG) e SJ (São José dos Campos, SP) de Schistosoma mansoni. Confirmou-se uma maior patogenicidade da cepa SJ de S. mansoni. As reinfecções, independentemente de terem sido feitas com a mesma cepa (homóloga) ou cepa diferente da primo infecção (heteróloga) do parasito, mostraram a presença de granulomas típicos da fase aguda. São discutidos os possíveis mecanismos responsáveis pela reagudização da resposta imunopatológica nas reinfecções.

Utilizando-se técnicas histoquímicas pela prata (Masson-Fontana e Sevier- Munger) estudaram-se a distribuição e o número de células enterocromafins (EC) e do conjunto EC mais células argirófilas (ARG) em peças cirúrgicas de megassigmóide chagásico. Observou-se que tanto nos \"megas\"(n = 16) como nos controles (n = 8), a posição das células EC e ARG na mucosa foi predominantemente basal, com distribuição irregular, principalmente das EC. A análise histológica revelou aparente aumento numérico das EC e do conjunto EC mais ARG. Todavia, contagens sistematizadas mostraram que somente o conjunto dessas células apresentou aumento estatisticamente significativo (P < 0,01). Realizou-se também o estudo morfométrico da mucosa e das musculares que revelou espessamento significativo (P Silver stainings (Masson-Fontana and Sevier- Munger methods) were applied to sections from surgical specimens of chagasic megasigmoid. The distribution and the number of both enterochromaffin (EC) cells and EC plus argyrophyl (ARG) cells were studied. Both of them, EC and ARG cells presented a predominantly basal localization in mucosal glands of megasigmoids (n = 16) and Controls (n= 8) The counting of EC cells and EC plus ARG cells has shown that only the group EC plus ARG cells was significantly increased. Morphometric studies revealed a significant increase in the thickness of the muscle and mucosa layers of the megasigmoid when compared to the Controls.

Utilizando-se técnicas histoquímicas pela prata (Masson-Fontana e Sevier- Munger) estudaram-se a distribuição e o número de células enterocromafins (EC) e do conjunto EC mais células argirófilas (ARG) em peças cirúrgicas de megassigmóide chagásico. Observou-se que tanto nos \"megas\"(n = 16) como nos controles (n = 8), a posição das células EC e ARG na mucosa foi predominantemente basal, com distribuição irregular, principalmente das EC. A análise histológica revelou aparente aumento numérico das EC e do conjunto EC mais ARG. Todavia, contagens sistematizadas mostraram que somente o conjunto dessas células apresentou aumento estatisticamente significativo (P < 0,01). Realizou-se também o estudo morfométrico da mucosa e das musculares que revelou espessamento significativo (P