Coastal environments are highly dynamic and sensitive to interference and variations caused by the numerous natural and anthropogenic agents. The northern coast of Northeastern Brazil has undergone intense erosion in recent years. However, the construction of the Pecém Port modified the beach and shoreline features differently from the adjacent areas. This article describes using remote-sensing images integrated with a Geographic Information System to evaluate the sedimentary balance and morphological changes observed in the sandy beach area that was affected by the construction of Pecém Port. Two methods were applied to the RapidEye images to quantify the short-time changes that occurred on the coast. The Digital Shoreline Analysis System method showed that the beach width increased west to the port, which was calculated by the Change Polygon Approach determined by intersecting and uniting polygons to estimate the difference between the areas over time. The short-time analysis results showed changing coastal morphology, demonstrating that the anthropic interventions in the region are transforming significantly the natural elements that make up the region landscape. Between 2011 and 2014, the investigated beach stretch of approximately 3 km suffered an accretion process of more than 102,000 m² over 3 years. The high spatial resolution of satellite images, digital processing imaging techniques and geostatistical methods were effective in this study, allowing understanding the recent changes in the area.

Key words: Mycobacterium leprae; water; mRNA; leprosy; disease transmission

Dentre as diversas tecnologias utilizadas para cálculo do volume de materiais na mineração, o Veículo Aéreo Não Tripulado (VANT) e o Light Detecting And Ranging (LiDAR), surgem como alternativas rápidas e precisas, em comparação com as técnicas de topografia tradicionais como estação total e Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Diante destas novas tecnologias, este estudo avaliou a acurácia do cálculo de volume, realizado por meio de Modelos Digitais de Terreno (MDTs), gerados a partir das tecnologias VANT, LiDAR e GNSS, em uma pilha de rejeito da extração de calcário laminado, explorado para fabricação de lajotas in natura, comercializado com o nome de "Pedra Cariri", no município de Santana do Cariri, no Estado do Ceará. A avaliação da acurácia foi realizada com base no método de testes de hipóteses, a partir da análise de tendência e precisão, sendo os resultados classificados de acordo com o Padrão de Exatidão Cartográfica dos Produtos Cartográficos Digitais (PEC-PCD). Como resultado, o modelo gerado a partir do VANT apresentou a melhor acurácia no cálculo de volume da pilha de rejeito, objeto deste estudo, seguido pela modelagem obtida pelos levantamentos GNSS e LiDAR.

This study has used a combination of clinical information, spoligotyping, and georeferencing system to elucidate the genetic diversity of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates circulating in a TB-prevalent municipality of Northeast Brazil. A total of 115 M. tuberculosis strains were isolated from pulmonary tuberculosis patients from January 2007 to March 2008 in Fortaleza. Drug susceptibility and spoligotyping assays were performed and place of residence of the patients were georeferenced. Of the M. tuberculosis strains studied, 51 (44.3%) isolates were resistant to at least one drug (R-TB) and 64 (55.7%) were sensitive to all the drugs tested (S-TB). A high frequency of resistance was found in previously treated cases (84%) and among new cases (16%; p<0.001). A total of 74 (64%) isolates were grouped into 22 spoligotyped lineages, while 41 (36%) isolates were identified as new. Among the predominant genotypes, 33% were Latim American Mediterranean (LAM), 12% Haarlem (H), and 5% U. There was no association of geographic distribution of RT-TB patients as compared to the controls and also the geographic location to the spoligotype patterns. The geospatial analysis revealed that 24 (23%) patients (hot spot zones) either shared the same residence or lived in a close neighborhood of a case. Among these concentration zones, the patients lived in the same residence and shared a common genotype pattern and resistance pattern. It was observed that the spoligopatterns family distribution was similar to that reported for South America, prevailing the LAM and H lineages. A high rate-case among the resistant TB group occurs as a result of transmitted and acquired resistance. A more effective surveillance program is needed in order to succeed in reducing tuberculosis in Northeast Brazil.

The process of coastal erosion is a global problem that impacts approximately 70% of coastal regions of the Earth. It causes loss of property, infrastructure, and biodiversity, besides generating major economic impacts. Therefore, the analysis and monitoring of coastal erosion is an issue that needs to be addressed. In this sense, remote-sensing data have been widely used in studies that evaluate the spatial and temporal changes of land use. In addition, the use of time series of satellite imagery applied in the investigation of changes in the Earth’s coverage and its spatio-temporal pattern has been proven as an extremely efficient approach. Thus, remote sensing and geoprocessing are effective techniques to obtain continuous and dynamic information from coastal regions at different levels and scales. In this context, the main objective of this work was to create a prognostic model for the generation of future scenarios, based on the analysis of the spatial-temporal changes of the shorelines from past decades to the present, having as the pilot area the coast of the municipality of Icapuí, in the State of Ceará, Northeastern Brazil. For that, Statistical Regression technique was used. In addition, the techniques of Digital Image Processing and the extraction of the modified normalized difference water index were used. As a result, the prognosis of coastal erosion was generated for the year 2021, based on the time series of the years 1985, 1991, 1997, 2003, 2009, and 2015. After the extrapolation process, the results were validated through the mean absolute error. Furthermore, through the Python programming language and the OpenCV library, a computational solution was implemented to be executed in a Geographic Information Systems environment that automated the process of generating future prognostic and the extraction of the shoreline in a shapefile format.

A erosão costeira ocorre em várias partes do mundo. Ela, por vezes, destrói equipamentos e casas próximas da linha de costa causando prejuízos econômicos. No Estado do Ceará existem trechos que estão retrogradando, exemplo clássico é da área próxima do Porto do Mucuripe (Fortaleza). Diante do exposto, o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a evolução da linha de costa de todo o Estado do Ceará, dentro da escala temporal de 1984 a 2018. Para alcançar esse objetivo foram realizados o processamento digital de imagens de satélite, confecção de mapas de variação da linha de costa e quantificação das áreas de progradação e retrogradação. Em termos matemáticos, na zona costeira do Ceará houve equilíbrio dinâmico entre os processos de acreção e erosão, contudo, existem alguns hotspots de erosão nos diferentes setores do litoral. Há a necessidade de monitoramento contínuo da zona costeira em diferentes escalas espaciais e temporais para melhor compreensão do comportamento costeiro, bem como políticas que inibam a ocupação deletéria a essa região. Shoreline variation in Ceará coastal zone (1984-2018) A B S T R A C TCoastal erosion occurs in several parts of the world. Sometimes, it destroys structures close to the shoreline causing economic damage. In the state of Ceará, Brazil, there are stretches with retrogradation. A classic example is from the area near the Mucuripe harbor (Fortaleza). From this context, the objective of this paper was to analyze the evolution of the State of Ceará shoreline between 1984 and 2018. To achieve this objective, the digital processing of satellite images was performed, developing maps of shoreline variation and quantification of progradation and retrogradation areas. In mathematical terms, at the coastal zone of Ceará there was a dynamic balance between the processes of accretion and erosion. However, there are some erosion hotspots in different sectors of the state shoreline. There is a need for continuous monitoring of the coastal zone in different spatial and temporal scales to better understand coastal behavior, as well as policies that inhibit the deleterious occupation of this region.Keywords: Coastal zone; Monitoring; Coastal Erosion.