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In the battle of the host against lentiviral pathogenesis, the immune response is crucial. However, several questions remain unanswered about the interaction with different viruses and their influence on disease progression. The simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infecting nonhuman primates (NHP) is widely used as a model for the study of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) both because they are evolutionarily linked and because they share physiological and anatomical similarities that are largely explored to understand the disease progression. The HIHISIV database was developed to support researchers to integrate and evaluate the large number of transcriptional data associated with the presence/absence of the pathogen (SIV or HIV) and the host response (NHP and human). The datasets are composed of microarray and RNA-Seq gene expression data that were selected, curated, analyzed, enriched, and stored in a relational database. Six query templates comprise the main data analysis functions and the resulting information can be downloaded. The HIHISIV database, available at  https://hihisiv.github.io , provides accurate resources for browsing and visualizing results and for more robust analyses of pre-existing data in transcriptome repositories.

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Covid-19-related encephalitis is a heterogeneous syndrome characterized by a combination of clinical, laboratory, and imaging features related to inflammation of the brain, where the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is presumably the causative agent. We reported a case of Covid-19-related encephalitis presenting with neuropsychiatric symptoms, including intense agitation. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase-chain-reaction in cerebrospinal fluid was positive for SARS-CoV-2. Our case expands the literature about neurologic manifestations of Covid-19 and emphasizes the possibility of prominent behavioral symptoms as the initial manifestation.

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BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease is incurable, idiopathic, degenerative, and progressive, and affects about 1% of the elderly population. Multidisciplinary clinical treatment is the best and most adopted therapeutic option, while surgical treatment is used in less than 15% of those affected. In practice, there is a lack of reliable and validated scales for measuring motor impairment, and monitoring and screening for surgical indications. OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate an instrument for measuring parkinsonian motor impairment in candidates for neurosurgical treatment. METHOD: The development and validation methods followed published guidelines. The first part was the choice of domains that would make up the construct: cardinal signs of disease (tremor, rigidity (stiffness), posture/balance/gait, hypokinesia/akinesia, and speech), along with pain and dyskinesia. A multi-professional working group prepared an initial pilot instrument. Ten renowned specialists evaluated, judged, and suggested modifications to the instrument. The second phase was the evaluation of the content of each domain and the respective ability to classify commitment intensity. The third phase was the correction of the main flaws detected and new submission to the board. The instrument was applied to 41 candidates for neurosurgical treatment in two situations: with and without medication RESULTS: The final form received 100% agreement from the judges. Its average time for application was 8 min. It was very responsive (p = 0.001, Wilcoxon) in different situations (On-Off). CONCLUSION: TRASP-D is a valid instrument for measuring motor impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease who are candidates for neurosurgical treatment. It allows measurement in multiple domains with reliability and sensitivity.

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It is a common pathway for patients with the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) to be first misdiagnosed with a primary psychiatric disorder, a considerable proportion of them being diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD). Conversely, not rarely patients presenting in late life with a first episode of mania or atypically severe depression are initially considered to have dementia before the diagnosis of late-onset BD is reached. Beyond some shared features that make these conditions particularly prone to confusion, especially in the elderly, the relationship between bvFTD and BD is far from simple. Patients with BD often have cognitive complaints as part of their psychiatric disorder but are at an increased risk of developing dementia, including FTD. Likewise, apathy and disinhibition, common features of depression and mania, respectively, are among the core features of the bvFTD syndrome, not to mention that depression may coexist with dementia. In this article, we take advantage of the current knowledge on the neurobiology of these two nosologic entities to review their historical and conceptual interplay, highlighting the clinical, genetic and neuroimaging features that may be shared by both disorders or unique to each of them.

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Astronomy is entering an era of mega-data that will render conventional research methods as well as data and visual analytics tools ineffective. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) drives one of the most significant big data challenges of the next decades. South Africa, China and India are partners in the global SKA collaboration and host recently completed, next generation radio astronomy facilities. South Africa, Brazil, China and India are involved in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which represents a complementary mega-data challenge, vastly increasing the current data volume of optical surveys, and providing critical multi-wavelength data set for SKA analytics. Russian researchers are also engaged in radio astronomy and multi-wavelength, multi-messenger projects driving increasing volumes of observational data. This project brings together teams leading programs in data innovation in each partner country to collaborate on the development of new technologies and systems to meet the big data challenge of SKA pathfinder facilities and the multi-wavelength projects that are critical to the advance of astronomy. In so doing we will prototype and demonstrate scalable big data technologies for the new big data era, and establish a BRICS multinational federated data intensive cloud network for collaborative programs in data intensive astronomy.

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OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of withdrawal of the antiparkinsonian drug regimen administration on patients with PD and its relation to pain. METHODS: The sample included 22 men and 12 women who were candidates for neurosurgery to control motor signs and symptoms treated with L-dopa as a drug, alone or in combination with others (Cholinergic Antagonists; Dopamine Agents). All of them were examined at two different moments, with and without medication, and analyzed for painful symptoms. The Hoehn and Yahr scale was used for functional staging of the disease. Pain intensity was assessed by using the numerical verbal scale. RESULTS: The mean pain intensity among those on medication {2.17±0.39 (SE)} was significantly lower than in the abstinence group {4.2±0.59 (SE), p=0.006, Wilcoxon}, which corresponded to the increase in the total functional staging score from 93 to 111, respectively. CONCLUSION: The interruption of the administration of specific medications in patients with Parkinson's disease caused, or increased the intensity of, painful discomfort correlated with the intensity of functional impairment. This effect was also observed in women, but it was statistically relevant only for men. The results suggest that pain may be a "red flag" that points to the need for a therapeutic drug review when its presence or worsening is detected.

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Due to its impact, COVID-19 has been stressing the academy to search for curing, mitigating, or controlling it. It is believed that under-reporting is a relevant factor in determining the actual mortality rate and, if not considered, can cause significant misinformation. Therefore, this work aims to estimate the under-reporting of cases and deaths of COVID-19 in Brazilian states using data from the InfoGripe. InfoGripe targets notifications of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI). The methodology is based on the combination of data analytics (event detection methods) and time series modeling (inertia and novelty concepts) over hospitalized SARI cases. The estimate of real cases of the disease, called novelty, is calculated by comparing the difference in SARI cases in 2020 (after COVID-19) with the total expected cases in recent years (2016-2019). The expected cases are derived from a seasonal exponential moving average. The results show that under-reporting rates vary significantly between states and that there are no general patterns for states in the same region in Brazil. The states of Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso have the highest rates of under-reporting of cases. The rate of under-reporting of deaths is high in the Rio Grande do Sul and the Minas Gerais. This work can be highlighted for the combination of data analytics and time series modeling. Our calculation of under-reporting rates based on SARI is conservative and better characterized by deaths than for cases.

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Across Latin American and Caribbean countries (LACs), the fight against dementia faces pressing challenges, such as heterogeneity, diversity, political instability, and socioeconomic disparities. These can be addressed more effectively in a collaborative setting that fosters open exchange of knowledge. In this work, the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium on Dementia (LAC-CD) proposes an agenda for integration to deliver a Knowledge to Action Framework (KtAF). First, we summarize evidence-based strategies (epidemiology, genetics, biomarkers, clinical trials, nonpharmacological interventions, networking, and translational research) and align them to current global strategies to translate regional knowledge into transformative actions. Then we characterize key sources of complexity (genetic isolates, admixture in populations, environmental factors, and barriers to effective interventions), map them to the above challenges, and provide the basic mosaics of knowledge toward a KtAF. Finally, we describe strategies supporting the knowledge creation stage that underpins the translational impact of KtAF.

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SUMMARY OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of withdrawal of the antiparkinsonian drug regimen administration on patients with PD and its relation to pain. METHODS: The sample included 22 men and 12 women who were candidates for neurosurgery to control motor signs and symptoms treated with L-dopa as a drug, alone or in combination with others (Cholinergic Antagonists; Dopamine Agents). All of them were examined at two different moments, with and without medication, and analyzed for painful symptoms. The Hoehn and Yahr scale was used for functional staging of the disease. Pain intensity was assessed by using the numerical verbal scale. RESULTS: The mean pain intensity among those on medication {2.17±0.39 (SE)} was significantly lower than in the abstinence group {4.2±0.59 (SE), p=0.006, Wilcoxon}, which corresponded to the increase in the total functional staging score from 93 to 111, respectively. CONCLUSION: The interruption of the administration of specific medications in patients with Parkinson's disease caused, or increased the intensity of, painful discomfort correlated with the intensity of functional impairment. This effect was also observed in women, but it was statistically relevant only for men. The results suggest that pain may be a "red flag" that points to the need for a therapeutic drug review when its presence or worsening is detected.

Assuntos

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Covid-19-related encephalitis is a heterogeneous syndrome characterized by a combination of clinical, laboratory, and imaging features related to inflammation of the brain, where the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is presumably the causative agent. We reported a case of Covid-19-related encephalitis presenting with neuropsychiatric symptoms, including intense agitation. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase-chain-reaction in cerebrospinal fluid was positive for SARS-CoV-2. Our case expands the literature about neurologic manifestations of Covid-19 and emphasizes the possibility of prominent behavioral symptoms as the initial manifestation.