Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

About: Oswaldo Cruz Foundation is a facility organization based out in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Trypanosoma cruzi. The organization has 18673 authors who have published 36752 publications receiving 802378 citations. The organization is also known as: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz & FIOCRUZ.

Transição epidemiológica e o estudo de carga de doença no Brasil

Abstract: No Brasil, a transicao epidemiologica nao tem ocorrido de acordo com o modelo experimentado pela maioria dos paises desenvolvidos. Velhos e novos problemas em saude coexistem, com predominância das doencas cronico-degenerativas, embora as doencas transmissiveis ainda desempenhem um papel importante. Neste estudo, os diferenciais, em relacao ao padrao epidemiologico, sao descritos para o Brasil e grandes regioes, para o indicador de saude dos estudos da carga de doenca, o DALY. Entre os principais resultados encontrados, para o Brasil, destaca-se que o grupo das doencas nao-transmissiveis, infecciosas/parasitarias/maternas/perinatais/nutricionais, e das causas externas representaram, respectivamente, 66,3%, 23,5% e 10,2% da carga total de doenca estimada. A utilizacao do indicador DALY propicia a identificacao de prioridades em funcao do perfil epidemiologico, facilitando a tomada de decisoes e destinacao adequada de recursos por parte dos gestores.

Oral Health and Risk of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck and Esophagus: Results of Two Multicentric Case-Control Studies

Abstract: Poor oral health has been reported as a risk factor in the etiology of head and neck cancer. Data on oral health were ascertained as part of two multicenter case-control studies comprising 924 cases and 928 controls in central Europe and 2,286 cases and 1,824 controls in Latin America. Incident cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx) and esophagus, as well as age (in quinquennia)- and sex frequency-matched controls, were enrolled from 1998 to 2003. Poor condition of the mouth (central Europe: odds ratio (OR) = 2.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.74, 4.81; Latin America: OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.47, 2.42), lack of toothbrush use (Latin America: OR = 2.36, 95% CI: 1.28, 4.36), and daily mouthwash use (Latin America: OR = 3.40, 95% CI: 1.96, 5.89) emerged as risk factors for head and neck cancer, independent of tobacco use and alcohol consumption. Missing between six and 15 teeth was an independent risk factor for esophageal cancer (central Europe: OR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.26, 6.41; Latin America: OR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.04, 4.59). These results indicate that periodontal disease (as indicated by poor condition of the mouth and missing teeth) and daily mouthwash use may be independent causes of cancers of the head, neck, and esophagus.

A General Classification of New World Leishmania Using Numerical Zymotaxonomy

Abstract: More than 250 strains of Leishmania isolated from different localities and hosts in the New World were analyzed by enzyme electrophoresis, and their electromorphic profiles were compared with 19 reference strains representing most of the described species of this parasite. The 18 enzymic loci analyzed were very polymorphic, and the strains were classified into 44 zymodemes, each grouping strains with the same enzyme profiles. Each zymodeme was considered as an elementary taxon and the phenetic and phylogenetic relationships were determined by agglomerative hierarchical, ordination, and cladistic techniques. The different classification methods produced very similar results. The 44 zymodemes could be clustered into two groups, corresponding to the subgenera Leishmania and Viannia, by the numerical methods. The subgenus Viannia was shown to be monophyletic and could be further divided into species complexes representing L. braziliensis, L. naiffi, and L. guyanensis/L. panamensis/L. shawi, as well as some isolated taxa including L. lainsoni. The subgenus Leishmania, on the other hand, was polyphyletic, with New World isolates related to L. major clustered separately from the L. mexicana species complex. Most of the other zymodemes in this group represented independent taxa. The results confirm Viannia as a valid taxon but suggest that the status of the subgenus Leishmania should be further investigated. Leishmania braziliensis and L. naiffi were shown to be the most polymorphic species, while L. guyanensis, in spite of being the most common species found in this study, was remarkably homogeneous. The only variants were found south of the Amazon river. North of this river, the species was monomorphic.

NWChem: Past, present, and future

Abstract: Specialized computational chemistry packages have permanently reshaped the landscape of chemical and materials science by providing tools to support and guide experimental efforts and for the prediction of atomistic and electronic properties. In this regard, electronic structure packages have played a special role by using first-principle-driven methodologies to model complex chemical and materials processes. Over the past few decades, the rapid development of computing technologies and the tremendous increase in computational power have offered a unique chance to study complex transformations using sophisticated and predictive many-body techniques that describe correlated behavior of electrons in molecular and condensed phase systems at different levels of theory. In enabling these simulations, novel parallel algorithms have been able to take advantage of computational resources to address the polynomial scaling of electronic structure methods. In this paper, we briefly review the NWChem computational chemistry suite, including its history, design principles, parallel tools, current capabilities, outreach, and outlook.

High Level of Vector Competence of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus from Ten American Countries as a Crucial Factor in the Spread of Chikungunya Virus

Abstract: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) causes a major public health problem. In 2004, CHIKV began an unprecedented global expansion and has been responsible for epidemics in Africa, Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean region, and surprisingly, in temperate regions, such as Europe. Intriguingly, no local transmission of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) had been reported in the Americas until recently, despite the presence of vectors and annually reported imported cases. Here, we assessed the vector competence of 35 American Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquito populations for three CHIKV genotypes. We also compared the number of viral particles of different CHIKV strains in mosquito saliva at two different times postinfection. Primarily, viral dissemination rates were high for all mosquito populations irrespective of the tested CHIKV isolate. In contrast, differences in transmission efficiency (TE) were underlined in populations of both species through the Americas, suggesting the role of salivary glands in selecting CHIKV for highly efficient transmission. Nonetheless, both mosquito species were capable of transmitting all three CHIKV genotypes, and TE reached alarming rates as high as 83.3% and 96.7% in A. aegypti and A. albopictus populations, respectively. A. albopictus better transmitted the epidemic mutant strain CHIKV_0621 of the East-Central-South African (ECSA) genotype than did A. aegypti, whereas the latter species was more capable of transmitting the original ECSA CHIKV_115 strain and also the Asian genotype CHIKV_NC. Therefore, a high risk of establishment and spread of CHIKV throughout the tropical, subtropical, and even temperate regions of the Americas is more real than ever. IMPORTANCE Until recently, the Americas had never reported chikungunya (CHIK) autochthonous transmission despite its global expansion beginning in 2004. Large regions of the continent are highly infested with Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, and millions of dengue (DEN) cases are annually recorded. Indeed, DEN virus and CHIK virus (CHIKV) share the same vectors. Due to a recent CHIK outbreak affecting Caribbean islands, the need for a Pan-American evaluation of vector competence was compelling as a key parameter in assessing the epidemic risk. We demonstrated for the first time that A. aegypti and A. albopictus populations throughout the continent are highly competent to transmit CHIK irrespective of the viral genotypes tested. The risk of CHIK spreading throughout the tropical, subtropical, and even temperate regions of the Americas is more than ever a reality. In light of our results, local authorities should immediately pursue and reinforce epidemiological and entomological surveillance to avoid a severe epidemic.