1,738 publications from this institution
Definir a prevalência do traço falciforme em doadores de bancos de sangue privados para delineamento de intervenções futuras, quanto ao direcionamento do hemocomponente coletado. Estudo multicêntrico, retrospectivo, observacional, a partir de dados extraídos do software do Grupo GSH, como quantitativo de bolsas coletadas de sangue total e doadores com traço falciforme, identificados pelo teste de solubilidade. Foi realizada a análise descritiva por meio de frequências absolutas e percentuais para cálculo da prevalência, no período de janeiro de 2020 a junho de 2022. O estudo envolveu 12 Bancos de Sangue localizados nas regiões Nordeste, Centro-Oeste e Sudeste, que contribuíram com o quantitativo de 402.047 bolsas coletadas e a prevalência de traço falciforme na amostra geral de 2,12%. Na análise por regiões, a prevalência no Nordeste foi de 2,49% e no Centro-Oeste foi semelhante ao Sudeste (2%). A região Nordeste, representada por 4 Bancos de Sangue, obteve a maior prevalência de doadores com traço falciforme. Apesar da região Sudeste ter apresentado maior quantitativo de Bancos de Sangue e de bolsas coletadas, a prevalência do traço falciforme foi semelhante ao Centro-Oeste, representado por apenas um Banco de Sangue, que abrangeu um período mais curto na coleta de dados (8 meses). O traço falciforme é caracterizado pela presença de hemoglobina S (HbS) em heterozigose, presente em percentual que varia de 22 a 45% da hemoglobina total. Estima-se que no mundo existam cerca de 30 milhões de portadores do traço falciforme e, no Brasil, em torno de 2 milhões. Estes indivíduos são, em grande maioria, assintomáticos e considerados aptos para doação de sangue. Desde a publicação da Resolução da Diretoria Colegiada da Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária n°153, em 4 de junho de 2004, a triagem de hemoglobinopatias tornou-se obrigatória. O sangue de indivíduos com HbS requer um direcionamento específico, pois não pode ser utilizado em pacientes com acidose grave, hemoglobinopatias, em recém-nascidos e transfusões intrauterinas e pode sofrer alterações durante o processamento e armazenamento. A prevalência do traço falciforme na amostra geral do estudo foi semelhante à encontrada na população brasileira. Quanto à região analisada, Naoum evidenciou maior prevalência na região Norte (4,49%), seguida do Nordeste (4,05%) e Centro-Oeste (3,11%) e o menor índice no Sudeste e Sul (1,87% cada região). O atual estudo reforça a maior prevalência da HbS no Nordeste das regiões analisadas, porém a semelhança no quantitativo entre as regiões Centro-Oeste e Sudeste, pode ser justificada pela diferença do período analisado. A compreensão da prevalência da HbS em doadores de sangue é importante para garantia da segurança e qualidade transfusional. Além disso, projetos futuros poderão ser incentivados para melhoria da qualidade do sangue para o receptor e orientações ao doador. São necessários mais estudos para melhor caracterização do perfil dos doadores com traço falciforme no serviço privado.
Automated positioning devices can generate large datasets with information on the movement of humans, animals and objects, revealing patterns of movement, hot spots and overlaps among others. This information is obtained after cleaning the data from errors of different natures. However, in the case of Automated Information Systems (AIS), attached to vessels, these errors can come from intentional manipulation of the electronic device. Thus, the analysis of anomalies can provide valuable information on suspicious behaviour. Here, we analyse anomalies of fishing vessel trajectories obtained with the Automatic Identification System. The map of silence anomalies, those occurring when positioning data is absent for more than 24 h, shows that they occur more likely closer to land, observing 94.9% of the anomalies at less than 100 km from the shore. This behaviour suggests the potential of identifying silence anomalies as a proxy for illegal activities. With the increasing availability of high-resolution positioning of vessels and the development of powerful statistical analytical tools, we provide hints on the automatic detection of illegal activities that may help optimise monitoring, control and surveillance measures.
Las medidas de conservación de la vida marina empiezan a dar frutos: ya han frenado el declive de algunas especies y han restablecido algunos ecosistemas marinos degradados. No obstante, para restaurar la salud de los océanos a gran escala es preciso intensificar la lucha contra la contaminación, la pesca abusiva y los efectos del cambio climático.
Abstract Evolutionary ecology theory provides an avenue to anticipate the future behavior of SARS-CoV-2. Here we quantify the accelerating evolution of SARS-CoV-2 by tracking the SARS-CoV-2 mutation globally, with a focus on the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the spike protein believed to determine infectivity. We estimate that 384 million people were infected by March 1st, 2021, producing up to 10 21 copies of the virus, with one new RBD variant appearing for every 600,000 human infections, resulting in approximately three new effective RBD variants produced daily. Doubling the number of RBD variants every 71.67 days followed by selection of the most infective variants challenges our defenses and calls for a shift to anticipatory, rather than reactive tactics. One-Sentence Summary Accelerating evolution of SARS-CoV-2 demands formulating universal vaccines and treatments based on big-data simulations of possible new variants.
Abstract. Dark CO2 fixation by bacteria is believed to be particularly important in oligotrophic ecosystems. However, only a few studies have characterized the role of bacterial dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) fixation in global carbon dynamics. Therefore, this study quantified the primary production (PP), total bacteria dark CO2 fixation (TBDIC fixation), and heterotrophic bacterial production (HBP) in the warm and oligotrophic Red Sea using stable-isotope labeling and cavity ring-down spectroscopy (13C–CRDS). Additionally, we assessed the contribution of bacterial DIC fixation (TBDIC %) relative to the total DIC fixation (totalDIC fixation). Our study demonstrated that TBDIC fixation increased the totalDIC fixation from 2.03 to 60.45 µg C L−1 d−1 within the photic zone, contributing 13.18 % to 71.68 % with an average value of 33.95 ± 0.02 % of the photic layer totalDIC fixation. The highest TBDIC fixation values were measured at the surface and deep (400 m) water with an average value of 5.23 ± 0.45 and 4.95 ± 1.33 µg C L−1 d−1, respectively. These findings suggest that the non-photosynthetic processes such as anaplerotic DIC reactions and chemoautotrophic CO2 fixation extended to the entire oxygenated water column. On the other hand, the percent of TBDIC contribution to totalDIC fixation increased as primary production decreased (R2=0.45, p<0.0001), suggesting the relevance of increased dark DIC fixation when photosynthetic production was low or absent, as observed in other systems. Therefore, when estimating the total carbon dioxide production in the ocean, dark DIC fixation must also be accounted for as a crucial component of the carbon dioxide flux in addition to photosynthesis.
Abstract The Red Sea depicts a north–south gradient of positively correlated temperature and nutrient concentration. Despite its overall oligotrophic characteristics, primary production rates in the Red Sea vary considerably. In this study, based on five cruises and a 2‐year time series (2016–2018) sampling in the Central Red Sea, we determined phytoplankton photosynthetic rates (PP) by using 13 C as a tracer and derived phytoplankton net growth rates ( μ ) and chlorophyll a (Chl a )‐normalized photosynthesis (P B ). Our results indicate a ninefold variation (14–125 mgC m −2 h −1 ) in depth‐integrated primary production and reveal a marked seasonality in PP, P B , and μ . Depth‐integrated PP remained <30 mg C m −2 h −1 during spring and summer, and peaked in autumn–winter, particularly in the southernmost stations (~17°N). In surface waters, phytoplankton grew at a slow rate (0.2 ± 0.02 d −1 ), with the population doubling every 3.5 days, on average. However, during the autumn–winter period, when Chl a concentrations peaked in the central and southern regions, μ increased to values between 0.60 and 0.84 d −1 , while P B reached its maximum rate (7.8 mgC [mg Chl a ] −1 h −1 ). We used path analysis to resolve direct vs. indirect components between correlations. Our results show that nutrient availability modulates the photosynthetic performance and growth of phytoplankton communities and that P B and μ fluctuations are not directly associated with temperature changes. Our study suggests that similarly to other oligotrophic warm seas, phosphorus concentration exerts a key role in defining photosynthetic rates and the biomass levels of phytoplankton communities in the region.
The previously uncharted Afifi brine pool was discovered in the eastern shelf of the southern Red Sea. It is the shallowest brine basin yet reported in the Red Sea (depth range: 353.0 to 400.5 m). It presents a highly saline (228 g/L), thalassohaline, cold (23.3 °C), anoxic brine, inhabited by the bacterial classes KB1, Bacteroidia and Clostridia and the archaeal classes Methanobacteria and Deep Sea Euryarcheota Group. Functional assignments deduced from the taxonomy indicate methanogenesis and sulfur respiration to be important metabolic processes in this environment. The Afifi brine was remarkably enriched in dissolved inorganic carbon due to microbial respiration and in dissolved nitrogen, derived from anammox processes and denitrification, according to high δ15N values (+6.88‰, AIR). The Afifi brine show a linear increase in δ18O and δD relative to seawater that differs from the others Red Sea brine pools, indicating a non-hydrothermal origin, compatible with enrichment in evaporitic environments. Afifi brine was probably formed by venting of fossil connate waters from the evaporitic sediments beneath the seafloor, with a possible contribution from the dehydration of gypsum to anhydrite. Such origin is unique among the known Red Sea brine pools.
In this work we have systematically studied the behavior of solenoid pumps (SMP) as a function of flow rate and flow resistance. Using a new, economic, and miniature control unit, we achieved improvements of the systems versatility, transportability, and pressure robustness. A further important improvement with respect to pressure resistance was achieved when a flexible pumping tube was inserted between the solenoid pump and the flow resistance acting as a pressure reservoir and pulsation damper. The experimental data were compared with two pressure pulse models for SMP, which were developed during this work and which were well-suited to describe the SMP operation.
