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.

Introduction: This study quantified Mycobacterium leprae bacilli in environmental water samples from five municipalities in the State of Ceará by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and compared the identified genotypes with those obtained from leprosy patient biopsies. Methods: We collected five replicas from each of the 30 selected reservoirs and skin lesion biopsies from 25 new leprosy cases treated at a reference center in Fortaleza, Ceará from 2010 to 2013. The 16S rRNA gene region of M. leprae was amplified by qPCR and a standard curve was created with the pIDTBlue 16SrRNAMlep plasmid. The Juazeiro do Norte water samples and the biopsies were genotyped (single nucleotide polymorphism [SNP] 1 to 4) and the SNP 4 genotypes were subtyped. Results: Of the 149 water samples analyzed, 54.4% were positive for the M. leprae DNA. The M. leprae bacilli copy number ranged from 1.42 × 10 -1 to 1.44 × 10 + 2 . Most biopsies showed SNP type 4 (64%), while all samples from Juazeiro do Norte were SNP type 4, with subtype 4-N appearing at the highest frequency. Conclusions: We suggest that environmental waters containing M. leprae bacilli play an important role in disease transmission, justifying PGL-1 seropositivity in individuals living in areas where there is no reported case, and in leprosy cases individuals who report no previous contact with other case. Therefore, further investigation is needed to clarify disease transmission in this region and to explore the role of the environment. We also suggest that in this area surveillance for leprosy cases should be intensified.

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 m 2 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.

The paper analyses the relationship between sustainable development and health conditions in hazardous areas. Therefore, we conducted a survey in Bissau, capital of Guinea-Bissau, Africa. The main methodological procedures were the Disease Occurrence Index (DOI), Access Index Health Services (AIHS) and Sanitation Index (SI), which allowed the quantitative analysis of the relationship between health and sanitation with regard to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The main results showed that the targets of Goal 3 - Sustainable Development, Health and Welfare - are threatened due to lack of sanitation infrastructure, low education and low income. In hazardous areas, as studied in the article, health demands permeate several SDG.

BACKGROUNDThe detection of live Mycobacterium leprae in soil and animals other than humans suggests that the environment plays a role in the transmission of leprosy.OBJECTIVEThe objective of this study was to investigate the presence of viable M. leprae in natural water sources used by the local population in five municipalities in the state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil.METHODSSamples were collected from 30 different sources. Viable bacilli were identified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the M. leprae gyrA gene and sequencing of the PCR products. Physicochemical properties of each water source were also assessed.FINDINGS M. leprae gyrA mRNA was found in 23 (76.7%) of the water sources. No association was found between depth of the water and sample positivity, nor was there any association between the type of water used by the population and sample positivity. An association between viable M. leprae and temperature and pH was found. Georeferencing showed a relation between the residences of leprosy cases and water source containing the bacterium.MAIN CONCLUSIONSThe finding of viable M. leprae in natural water sources associated with human contact suggests that the environment plays an important role in maintaining endemic leprosy in the study region.