Search

Há mais de três anos (30-XII-1949) publicamos o segundo fascícule de nossa monografia dos gêneros de Opilioes neotrópicos, tendo saído a lume o primeiro em 25-VI-1948 (1). Ao iniciarmos a publicação do presente trabalho, já o tínhamos pronto para o prelo e, se resolvemos publica-lo por partes, não houve outro motivo senão a impossibilidade de imprimi-lo num todo. (Cf. Arq. Zool. Est. S. Paulo, 1948, 5 (9) ;553). Como novos conhecimentos vão surgindo à medida que passam os dias, vimo-nos sempre na contingencia de acrescentar a nossa monografia as ultimas novidades, para que ela viesse a lume a mais •completa possível. Assim o foi ate inicio de 1950, quando deixamos o Departamento de Zoologia da Secretaria da Agricultura do Estado de São Paulo para exercermos atividades didáticas na Universidade Rural do Ministério da Agricultura. O grande lapso de tempo decorrente da publicação do segundo fascículo ate agora não teve outra causa senão à dificuldade na atualização da obra. No que se refere a acolhida que sempre teve e para conosco conserva o Departamento de Zoologia da Secretaria da Agricultura do Estado de São Paulo, queremos deixar aqui expresses os nossos agradecimentos ao seu diretor, Dr. Olivério Mario de Oliveira Pinto, que não só continua a nos reservar algum espago para publicação, como ainda nos proporciona os meios de prosseguir no estudo do material dos grupos zoológicos de nossa predileção pertencente ao Departamento que dirige. Neste terceiro fascículo trataremos unicamente da subfamilia Pachylinae.

El objetivo de este artículo es presentar una panorámica actualizada de la cuestión en torno a patentes y tratamientos de la COVID-19 y, especialmente, de las vacunas. Primeramente, ofrecemos una aclaración conceptual de conceptos como patente, vacuna o coronavirus. En segundo lugar, explicamos por dónde ha discurrido el debate entre propiedad intelectual y salud y abrimos paso para, en último lugar, reseñar los intentos de solución a los problemas abiertos y los desafíos que creemos que quedan por atender, con el objeto último de que todo ello sirva a las personas no expertas a orientarse mejor en esta intersección entre vacunas, COVID-19 y patentes.

El objetivo de este artículo es exponer el estado de la cuestión sobre los estudios de género en patentes. En la introducción, se detalla el interés de esta revisión y se hacen unas breves notas sobre la naturaleza de los sistemas de patentes. A continuación, se relacionan una serie de investigaciones, sobre todo en su vertiente teórica: primero en relación con el problema de las brechas de género en patentes y, más adelante, sobre el problema de los sesgos de género. A esto se dedica el segundo y tercer capítulo, respectivamente. Se proponen, seguidamente, algunas líneas de investigación que pueden tener interés futuro, olvidadas o apenas tratadas en la bibliografía que se reseña. Finalmente, se exponen media docena de conclusiones.

Deficits in memory performance have been linked to a wide range of neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. While many studies have assessed the memory impacts of individual conditions, this study considers a broader perspective by evaluating how memory recall is differentially associated with nine common neuropsychiatric conditions using data drawn from 55 international studies, aggregating 15,883 unique participants aged 15-90. The effects of dementia, mild cognitive impairment, Parkinsons disease, traumatic brain injury, stroke, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder on immediate, short-, and long-delay verbal learning and memory (VLM) scores were estimated relative to matched healthy individuals. Random forest models identified age, years of education, and site as important VLM covariates. A Bayesian harmonization approach was used to isolate and remove site effects. Regression estimated the adjusted association of each clinical group with VLM scores. Memory deficits were strongly associated with dementia and schizophrenia (p < 0.001), while neither depression nor ADHD showed consistent associations with VLM scores (p > 0.05). Differences associated with clinical conditions were larger for longer delayed recall duration items. By comparing VLM across clinical conditions, this study provides a foundation for enhanced diagnostic precision and offers new insights into disease management of comorbid disorders.

Schizophrenia is a prototypical network disorder with widespread brain-morphological alterations, yet it remains unclear whether these distributed alterations robustly reflect the underlying network layout. We tested whether large-scale structural alterations in schizophrenia relate to normative structural and functional connectome architecture, and systematically evaluated robustness and generalizability of these network-level alterations. Leveraging anatomical MRI scans from 2439 adults with schizophrenia and 2867 healthy controls from 26 ENIGMA sites and normative data from the Human Connectome Project (n = 207), we evaluated structural alterations of schizophrenia against two network susceptibility models: (i) hub vulnerability, which examines associations between regional network centrality and magnitude of disease-related alterations; (ii) epicenter mapping, which identifies regions whose typical connectivity profile most closely resembles the disease-related morphological alterations. To assess generalizability and specificity, we contextualized the influence of site, disease stages, and individual clinical factors and compared network associations of schizophrenia with that found in affective disorders. Our findings show schizophrenia-related cortical thinning is spatially associated with functional and structural hubs, suggesting that highly interconnected regions are more vulnerable to morphological alterations. Predominantly temporo-paralimbic and frontal regions emerged as epicenters with connectivity profiles linked to schizophrenias alteration patterns. Findings were robust across sites, disease stages, and related to individual symptoms. Moreover, transdiagnostic comparisons revealed overlapping epicenters in schizophrenia and bipolar, but not major depressive disorder, suggestive of a pathophysiological continuity within the schizophrenia-bipolar-spectrum. In sum, cortical alterations over the course of schizophrenia robustly follow brain network architecture, emphasizing marked hub susceptibility and temporo-frontal epicenters at both the level of the group and the individual. Subtle variations of epicenters across disease stages suggest interacting pathological processes, while associations with patient-specific symptoms support additional inter-individual variability of hub vulnerability and epicenters in schizophrenia. Our work outlines potential pathways to better understand macroscale structural alterations, and inter- individual variability in schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Carriers of the 1q21.1 distal and 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 copy number variants exhibit regional and global brain differences compared with noncarriers. However, interpreting regional differences is challenging if a global difference drives the regional brain differences. Intraindividual variability measures can be used to test for regional differences beyond global differences in brain structure. METHODS: Magnetic resonance imaging data were used to obtain regional brain values for 1q21.1 distal deletion (n = 30) and duplication (n = 27) and 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 deletion (n = 170) and duplication (n = 243) carriers and matched noncarriers (n = 2350). Regional intra-deviation scores, i.e., the standardized difference between an individuals regional difference and global difference, were used to test for regional differences that diverge from the global difference. RESULTS: For the 1q21.1 distal deletion carriers, cortical surface area for regions in the medial visual cortex, posterior cingulate, and temporal pole differed less and regions in the prefrontal and superior temporal cortex differed more than the global difference in cortical surface area. For the 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 deletion carriers, cortical thickness in regions in the medial visual cortex, auditory cortex, and temporal pole differed less and the prefrontal and somatosensory cortex differed more than the global difference in cortical thickness. CONCLUSIONS: We find evidence for regional effects beyond differences in global brain measures in 1q21.1 distal and 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 copy number variants. The results provide new insight into brain profiling of the 1q21.1 distal and 15q11.2 BP1-BP2 copy number variants, with the potential to increase understanding of the mechanisms involved in altered neurodevelopment.

Abstract Several multivariate prognostic models have been published to predict outcomes in patients with first episode psychosis (FEP), but it remains unclear whether those predictions generalize to independent populations. Using a subset of demographic and clinical baseline predictors, we aimed to develop and externally validate different models predicting functional outcome after a FEP in the context of a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (FES), based on a previously published cross-validation and machine learning pipeline. A crossover validation approach was adopted in two large, international cohorts (EUFEST, n = 338, and the PSYSCAN FES cohort, n = 226). Scores on the Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF) at 12 month follow-up were dichotomized to differentiate between poor (GAF current

Abstract Background L-arginine (Arg) is an amino acid that contributes to several aspects of human biochemistry. Individuals with malnutrition and certain physical conditions could benefit from arginine intake. However, as Arg is required by certain viruses, it is advised to avoid it in one's diet and supplementation during viral illnesses. New studies have emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, and pioneering research has been reviewed. Main body of the abstract The purpose of this review is to determine when and why Arg depletion, supplementation, or avoidance is advisable, considering the divergent results. A narrative review was conducted by surveying scientific publications indexed in electronic databases. Studies published from 1960 up to 2024, with no language restrictions, were included. Arg comes from proteins in the human diet. The kidney is the main site of endogenous Arg synthesis and also responsible for the overall metabolism of this amino acid, participating in synthesis, degradation and reabsorption. The liver can synthesize Arg, but since this is completely recycled in the urea cycle, it contributes little or no to the Arg plasma flux. Arg present in diet is passively absorbed in the small intestine and also transformed into urea and ornithine via urea cycle in hepatocytes. It is associated with macrophage metabolism, vasomotor control, intracellular signaling, memory formation, immune response, and an important messenger of the bronchopulmonary, cardiovascular and neural systems. Thus, excessive or decreased Arg concentration could impair health condition. High Arg concentrations stimulated rapid reactivation and resumption of protein synthesis in some viruses. Conclusion According to research, caution should be exercised when supplementing or depleting the amino acid arginine. Individuals who are carriers of latent viruses, such as herpesviruses, and/or who have been exposed to other viruses studied, should avoid arginine supplements and the consumption of foods rich in arginine. However, as prophylaxis or antiviral therapy, control of arginine intake as well as the use of lysine supplements, its antagonist, is recommended for short periods starting after a possible viral exposure, or in face of stimuli that can remove viruses from their latent state and/or at the very beginning of the viral manifestation, in order to avoid a large viral multiplication and consequently control the infection. Long-term arginine depletion can significantly affect cellular metabolism and its use as supplemental therapy needs case-by-case evaluation. Graphical abstract

Abstract Background The demand for urgent psychiatric care is increasing, but in Spain there are no clear recommendations for emergency departments (ED) on how to optimize care for patients with psychiatric emergencies. We aimed to provide expert consensus recommendations on the requirements for general hospitals´ emergency departments to treat patients with urgent psychiatric symptoms. Methods We used a modified Delphi technique. A scientific committee compiled 36 statements based on literature search and clinical experience. The statements covered the organizational model, facilities, staffing, safety, patient interventions, and staff training. A panel of 38 psychiatry specialists with expertise in psychiatric emergencies evaluated the questionnaire in two rounds. Results After two rounds of voting, 30 out of 36 proposed items (83%) were agreed upon. The panel agreed that psychiatric emergencies should be managed in a general hospital, with dedicated facilities for patient assessment, direct supervision of patients at risk, and an observation unit run by the psychiatric service. In addition to the psychiatrist, the ED should have specialist nurses and security staff available 24/7. Social workers should also be readily available. ED and consulting rooms should be designed to ensure patient and staff safety. A triage system should be established for patients with psychiatric symptoms, with medical evaluation preceding psychiatric evaluation. Guidance on supplies, equipment, and staff training is also provided. Conclusion All ED in general hospitals should have adequate resources to handle any psychiatric emergency. This paper provides recommendations on the minimum requirements to achieve this goal.

Abstract Background Chronic pelvic pain is a common disease that affects approximately 4% of women of reproductive age in developed countries. This number is estimated to be higher in developing countries, with a significant negative personal and socioeconomic impact on women. The lack of data on this condition in several countries, particularly those in development and in socially and biologically vulnerable populations such as the indigenous, makes it difficult to guide public policies. Objectives To evaluate the prevalence of chronic pelvic pain (dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, non-cyclical pain) and identify which variables are independently associated with the presence of the condition in indigenous women from Otavalo-Ecuador. Design A cross-sectional study was carried out including a sample of 2429 women of reproductive age between 14 and 49 years old, obtained from April 2022 to March 2023. A directed questionnaire was used, collected by bilingual interviewers (Kichwa and Spanish) belonging to the community itself; the number of patients was selected by random sampling proportional to the number of women estimated by sample calculation. Data are presented as case prevalence, odds ratio, and 95% confidence interval, with p

En el contexto de la modernización de la gestión pública, esta investigación se centra en explorar la percepción sobre las perspectivas futuras de la inteligencia artificial y la automatización. La creciente influencia de estas tecnologías en la esfera gubernamental hace necesaria la comprensión aguda de este fenómeno. El objetivo de esta investigación radica en explorar la percepción sobre las perspectivas futuras de la inteligencia artificial y la automatización en la gestión pública. Se concibe como una investigación de tipo exploratoria y descriptiva bajo la perspectiva de explorar la percepción sobre la inteligencia artificial y la automatización en la gestión, bajo un enfoque cuantitativo, permitiendo la medición de variables clave. Los resultados revelan percepciones positivas por parte de funcionarios y expertos, aunque ciudadanos presentan una perspectiva más moderada. Las conclusiones destacan la necesidad de una comunicación más efectiva para traducir beneficios a la población, además de abordar desafíos éticos y de seguridad para garantizar una modernización inclusiva y aceptada por todos.

La formación de docentes adecuadamente preparados en el área de física constituye un aspecto fundamental para el avance de esta ciencia básica, cuyas aplicaciones constituyen un factor de primer orden para el desarrollo socioeconómico de cualquier país. Históricamente, se han planteado diversos enfoques y tendencias para abordar la enseñanza de la física, aunque en todos ellos las actividades experimentales, desarrolladas en prácticas de laboratorio, han ocupado considerable atención. En este trabajo, tras una revisión teórica y la discusión de las metodologías tradicionales, se proponen algunas actividades prácticas, basadas en instrumentos científicos de precisión, como estrategia didáctica para promover la formación de profesores de física creativos y críticos, dispuestos al acercamiento al trabajo profesional en esta disciplina, a partir del trabajo cooperativo en el marco de la pedagogía constructivista, con el propósito de adiestrar a los futuros docentes en el planteamiento de soluciones efectivas a problemas concretos de la vida cotidiana.

Activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs), the main perpetrators of liver fibrosis, are a promising therapeutic target in the treatment of chronic liver disease. During liver injury, HSCs transcend from a quiescent to a fibrotic phenotype, a process which involves major metabolic reprogramming with altered mitochondrial function. The antiretroviral drug Rilpivirine (RPV) has demonstrated a hepatoprotective and specifically antifibrotic effect in several animal models of chronic liver injury, as well as in vitro. Herein, we use HSCs activated with the profibrogenic cytokine TGF-β to explore whether mitochondrial function is implicated in this effect. The mitochondrial bioenergetic profile, morphology and dynamics of TGF-β-treated cells (48 h) were altered and these effects were prevented by co-treatment with clinically relevant concentrations of RPV. A MitoStress Test (Seahorse Analyzer) revealed that TGF-β increased both oxygen consumption rate (basal respiration, maximal respiration and spare respiratory capacity) and extracellular acidification rate (indicative of increased glycolysis). Cells exposed to TGF-β also displayed diminished mitochondrial membrane potential and enhanced mitochondrial fission. All of these effects were rescued with RPV. RNA sequencing analysis of cells exposed to TGF-β revealed the presence of 338 differentially expressed genes that encode mitochondrial proteins (mito-DEGs), of which 139 and 199 were significantly up- and down-regulated (adjusted p

Despite the functional impact of cognitive deficit in people with psychosis, objective cognitive assessment is not typically part of routine clinical care. This is partly due to the length of traditional assessments and the need for a highly trained administrator. Brief, automated computerised assessments could help to address this issue. We present data from an evaluation of PsyCog, a computerised, non-verbal, mini battery of cognitive tests. Healthy Control (HC) (N = 135), Clinical High Risk (CHR) (N = 233), and First Episode Psychosis (FEP) (N = 301) participants from a multi-centre prospective study were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. PsyCog was used to assess cognitive performance at baseline and at up to two follow-up timepoints. Mean total testing time was 35.95 min (SD = 2.87). Relative to HCs, effect sizes of performance impairments were medium to large in FEP patients (composite score G = 1.21, subtest range = 0.52–0.88) and small to medium in CHR patients (composite score G = 0.59, subtest range = 0.18–0.49). Site effects were minimal, and test-retest reliability of the PsyCog composite was good (ICC = 0.82–0.89), though some practice effects and differences in data completion between groups were found. The present implementation of PsyCog shows it to be a useful tool for assessing cognitive function in people with psychosis. Computerised cognitive assessments have the potential to facilitate the evaluation of cognition in psychosis in both research and in clinical care, though caution should still be taken in terms of implementation and study design.

Left-right asymmetry is an important organizing feature of the healthy brain that may be altered in schizophrenia, but most studies have used relatively small samples and heterogeneous approaches, resulting in equivocal findings. We carried out the largest case-control study of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia, with MRI data from 5,080 affected individuals and 6,015 controls across 46 datasets, using a single image analysis protocol. Asymmetry indexes were calculated for global and regional cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume measures. Differences of asymmetry were calculated between affected individuals and controls per dataset, and effect sizes were meta-analyzed across datasets. Small average case-control differences were observed for thickness asymmetries of the rostral anterior cingulate and the middle temporal gyrus, both driven by thinner left-hemispheric cortices in schizophrenia. Analyses of these asymmetries with respect to the use of antipsychotic medication and other clinical variables did not show any significant associations. Assessment of age- and sex-specific effects revealed a stronger average leftward asymmetry of pallidum volume between older cases and controls. Case-control differences in a multivariate context were assessed in a subset of the data (N = 2,029), which revealed that 7% of the variance across all structural asymmetries was explained by case-control status. Subtle case-control differences of brain macrostructural asymmetry may reflect differences at the molecular, cytoarchitectonic, or circuit levels that have functional relevance for the disorder. Reduced left middle temporal cortical thickness is consistent with altered left-hemisphere language network organization in schizophrenia.

Emerging evidence suggests brain white matter alterations in adolescents with early-onset psychosis (EOP; age of onset

Schizophrenia (SZ) is associated with an increased risk of life-long cognitive impairments, age-related chronic disease, and premature mortality. We investigated evidence for advanced brain ageing in adult SZ patients, and whether this was associated with clinical characteristics in a prospective meta-analytic study conducted by the ENIGMA Schizophrenia Working Group. The study included data from 26 cohorts worldwide, with a total of 2803 SZ patients (mean age 34.2 years; range 18-72 years; 67% male) and 2598 healthy controls (mean age 33.8 years, range 18-73 years, 55% male). Brain-predicted age was individually estimated using a model trained on independent data based on 68 measures of cortical thickness and surface area, 7 subcortical volumes, lateral ventricular volumes and total intracranial volume, all derived from T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Deviations from a healthy brain ageing trajectory were assessed by the difference between brain-predicted age and chronological age (brain-predicted age difference [brain-PAD]). On average, SZ patients showed a higher brain-PAD of +3.55 years (95% CI: 2.91, 4.19; I2 = 57.53%) compared to controls, after adjusting for age, sex and site (Cohen's d = 0.48). Among SZ patients, brain-PAD was not associated with specific clinical characteristics (age of onset, duration of illness, symptom severity, or antipsychotic use and dose). This large-scale collaborative study suggests advanced structural brain ageing in SZ. Longitudinal studies of SZ and a range of mental and somatic health outcomes will help to further evaluate the clinical implications of increased brain-PAD and its ability to be influenced by interventions.

Se propone una metodología para la interpretación de las emisiones de gases que proceden del suelo a partir de la integración de los actores primarios en los sistemas de producción e integrantes de los ecosistemas. La metodología presenta datos en unidades de fácil comprensión por personas ajenas al estudio de emisiones de gases en los distintos ecosistemas y sistemas de producción, optimiza el cálculo de predicciones a pequeña y mediana escala mediante la estimación con alto grado de razón y ajuste matemático. A partir del empleo de la ecuación general de los gases ideales se pudo desarrollar la metodología para obtener un factor de conversión teniendo en cuenta variables como la presión y temperatura del sitio donde se esté ejecutando el experimento de cuantificación de gases, con lo anterior se facilita la obtención de la constante del volumen molar propio del contenedor utilizado y la transformación de datos para garantizar el cumplimiento de parámetros estadísticos básicos como normalidad, varianza similar a cero e intervalos de confianza con menor desviación. El presente desarrollo metodológico representa una herramienta para la generación de datos a nivel de laboratorio y parcelario con soporte matemático que facilita la ejecución de modelos matemáticos en comparación con otras metodologías.