PLoS One
August 2021
A second wave of COVID-19 has demonstrated how challenging it will be to achieve sustained control of the disease, even with vaccination underway in many countries. Therefore, it remains relevant to keep improving our understanding of the distribution of COVID-19, especially of asymptomatic individuals, among different populations, and particularly in vulnerable regions. Hence, this population-based serosurvey had the objective of estimating the prevalence of individuals 18 years of age or older infected by SARS-CoV-2, and the proportion of asymptomatic individuals, among a vulnerable population living in an urban setting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA time series analysis was conducted to identify trends in homicide mortality in border regions in the State of Paraná, Brazil between 2002 and 2012. Homicide mortality rates were analyzed by sex, age group, region (border regions, non-border regions, and the state as a whole), and type of assault. Trend analysis was performed using polynomial regression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To analyze the perception of primary care physicians and nurses about access to services and routine health care provided to sickle cell disease patients.
Methods: This descriptive exploratory study took a qualitative approach by surveying thirteen primary care health professionals who participated in a focus group to discuss access to services and assistance provided to sickle cell disease patients. The data were submitted to thematic content analysis.
A descriptive study of a time series seeking to assess mortality due to external causes in males in the State of Minas Gerais was conducted in the period from 1999 to 2008, duly identifying the behavior of this group of causes throughout the time series. Data were obtained about the male population resident in the State of Minas Gerais recorded in the Unified Health System (SUS). Mortality rates per 100,000 inhabitants, divided by age group and specific cause were calculated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe association of genetic variation with disease and drug response, and improvements in nucleic acid technologies, have given great optimism for the impact of 'genomic medicine'. However, the formidable size of the diploid human genome, approximately 6 gigabases, has prevented the routine application of sequencing methods to deciphering complete individual human genomes. To realize the full potential of genomics for human health, this limitation must be overcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe proliferation of large-scale DNA-sequencing projects in recent years has driven a search for alternative methods to reduce time and cost. Here we describe a scalable, highly parallel sequencing system with raw throughput significantly greater than that of state-of-the-art capillary electrophoresis instruments. The apparatus uses a novel fibre-optic slide of individual wells and is able to sequence 25 million bases, at 99% or better accuracy, in one four-hour run.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the presence of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, yeast DNA polymerase delta (Pol delta) replicated DNA at a rate of 40-60 nt/s. When downstream double-stranded DNA was encountered, Pol delta paused, but most replication complexes proceeded to carry out strand-displacement synthesis at a rate of 1.5 nt/s.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Apn2 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains 3'-->5' exonuclease and 3'-phosphodiesterase activities, and these activities function in the repair of DNA strand breaks that have 3'-damaged termini and which are formed in DNA by the action of oxygen-free radicals. Apn2 also has an AP endonuclease activity and functions in the removal of abasic sites from DNA. Here, we provide evidence for the physical and functional interaction of Apn2 with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA).
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