Universidade de Pernambuco

About: Universidade de Pernambuco is a education organization based out in Recife, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Artificial neural network. The organization has 6147 authors who have published 6948 publications receiving 73648 citations.

Sensor Network for Monitoring the State of Pollution of High-Voltage Insulators Via Satellite

Abstract: This paper describes the design and development of a sensor system network for remote monitoring of the state of pollution on high-voltage insulators, its deployment among four states in Northeast Brazil and preliminary analysis of the data gathered by the system. Six monitoring units, each composed by leakage current, humidity, and temperature sensors, an electronic processing module, and a satellite-communication link, were built and installed on 230- and 500-kV transmission towers. Measured data are sent by the different systems via satellite to a database controlled by a web-based graphical user interface, incorporated into the supervision-management system of the electric utility company. Sample field results on one of the sensor systems, both for short- and long-term measurements, show a direct correlation of the activity recorded by the system with the pollution level expected to occur near the corresponding monitoring point.

Combination of In Silico Methods in the Search for Potential CD4(+) and CD8(+) T Cell Epitopes in the Proteome of Leishmania braziliensis.

Abstract: The leishmaniasis are neglected tropical diseases widespread throughout the globe which are caused by protozoans from the genus Leishmania and are transmitted by infected phlebotomine flies. The development of a safe and effective vaccine against these diseases has been seen as the best alternative to control and reduce the number of cases. To support vaccine development, this work has applied an in silico approach to search for high potential peptide epitopes able to bind to different Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I and Class II (MHC I and MHC II) molecules from different human populations. First, the predicted proteome of Leishmania braziliensis was compared and analysed by modern linear programs to find epitopes with the capacity to trigger an immune response. This approach resulted in thousands of epitopes derived from 8,000 proteins conserved among different Leishmania species. Epitopes from proteins similar to those found in host species were excluded and epitopes from proteins conserved between different Leishmania species and belonging to surface proteins were preferentially selected. The resulting epitopes were then clustered, to avoid redundancies, resulting in a total of 230 individual epitopes for MHC I and 2,319 for MHC II. These were used for molecular modeling and docking with MHC structures retrieved from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). Molecular docking then ranked epitopes based on their predicted binding affinity to both MHC I and II. Peptides corresponding to the top 10-ranked epitopes were synthesized and evaluated in vitro for their capacity to stimulate PBMC from post-treated cutaneous leishmaniasis patients, with PBMC from healthy donors used as control. From the ten peptides tested, 50% showed to be immunogenic and capable to stimulate the proliferation of lymphocytes from recovered individuals.

Recent advances of the impact of obstructive sleep apnea on systemic hypertension

Abstract: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common clinical condition in the general population, especially among patients with cardiovascular diseases. More than just a local phenomenon of upper respiratory tract obstruction, OSA leads to systemic consequences that may include intermittent hypoxia, sudden reduction of the intrathoracic pressure, and the occurrence of micro-awakenings with sleep fragmentation. In the past decades, innumerous evidences have consistently pointed to OSA as an important factor related to the presence of cardiovascular diseases. In particular, the relationship between OSA and systemic hypertension (SH) is the one supported by the largest body of evidence. Currently, there are data suggesting that OSA is an important secondary cause of SH. More importantly, OSA is independently associated with poorer blood pressure control, changes in sleep dip, and presence of target-organ damage such as left ventricular hypertrophy and microalbuminuria. Randomized studies suggest that the management of OSA, especially with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) - which is considered the standard treatment for OSA - promotes a significant 24-hour blood pressure reduction, and this effect is more significant in the subgroup of patients with uncontrolled SH and drug-resistant SH. Despite all those evidences, OSA has still been underdiagnosed. The objective of this review is to discuss the recent advances in the pathophysiological mechanisms, clinical presentation, and treatment of OSA, as well as the benefits this treatment can bring on blood pressure.

Smoking as risk factor for chronic kidney disease: systematic review

Abstract: Introducao: A doenca renal cronica (DRC) e o tabagismo sao problemas de saude publica. Objetivo: Analisar o tabagismo como fator risco para a progressao da DRC. Metodos: Realizou-se uma revisao sistematica nas bases Medline, LILACS, SciELO, Google Academico, Trials.gov e Embase com artigos publicados ate fevereiro de 2013. Incluiram-se estudos: tipo coorte, ensaios clinicos e caso-controle. Realizados em seres humanos com idade ≥ 18 anos tendo tabagismo como fator de risco para progressao da DRC. Excluiram-se estudos que nao referiam tabagismo e DRC no titulo ou tinham proposta de combate ao fumo. Resultados: Das 94 citacoes, 12 artigos foram selecionados. Destes, seis eram multicentricos realizados em paises desenvolvidos e quatro foram aleatorizados. Predominou o sexo masculino 51%-76%. Houve progressao associada ao tabagismo em 11 estudos. Identificou-se que o consumo ≥ 15 macos/ ano aumenta o risco de progressao da DRC. Conclusao: Tabagismo e fator de risco para progressao da DRC.