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Copyright of Revista Ambiente e Água is the property of Revista Ambiente e Agua and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction. The methods and initial results of a web-based platform to collect data from patients receiving maintenance dialysis in Brazil are reported. Methods. Companies providing management software for dialysis centers adapted their system to comply with a formulary of the Brazilian Society of Nephrology. Baseline and follow-up individual patients’ data were transmitted via Internet on monthly bases to the coordinating center from 2011 to 2017. Results. 73 dialysis centers provided information of 24,930 patients: 57% were male, 28% were 64 years old or older, and 13% were overweight/obese. Median dialysis vintage was 28 months. Hemodialysis was the most frequent initial therapy (93%) with venous catheters used in 64% of cases. Conventional hemodialysis remained the main current therapy (90%). Seropositivity for hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and HIV was 2.7%, 1.1%, and 0.5%, respectively. Erythropoietin (53.9%), iron (35.1%), and sevelamer (23.4%) were the most used medications. Hemoglobin < 100 g/L and serum P > 1.74 mmol/L were present in 33.1% and 36.6% of the cases, respectively. The 5-year survival of incident cases (n=7,538) was 57%. Conclusion. The initiative represents an innovative strategy to collect clinical and epidemiologic data of dialysis patients which may be applied to other settings and provides information that can contribute to guiding clinical practice and health care policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) of fish sounds has been used as a means of detecting the presence and abundance of fishes. Prior to PAM, bioacoustical analyses of sounds are needed to characterize species-specific characteristics of calls. With hydrophones placed in outdoor ponds, we recorded the mating calls of three species of prochilodontid fishes ( Prochilodus argenteus, P. costatus, P. lineatus). Fish were induced to spawn and call by injection of carp ( Cyprinus carpio) pituitary gland extract. We recorded a total of 394 pulse train calls and additional single pulse calls that were not associated with trains. The trains of all three species were similar in nature - series of low frequency pulses that lasted from 1 to 11 s, often with an initial rapid rise followed by a slow tapering of pulse amplitude. Dominant frequency of single pulses and trains was greatest in P. lineatus, with P. costatus and P. argenteus exhibiting lower single pulse dominant frequencies, and P. costatus having lower train dominant frequency. With data from the three species combined, the dominant frequency of pulses significantly increased with fish standard length. There was also a significant linear relationship between the dominant frequency of pulses and trains. Discriminant function analysis showed that differences in train dominant frequency, pulse duration, and pulse period between the three species were significant enough to discriminate between them. This study was the first to fully characterize the sounds of these three Prochilodus species, and should assist fisheries biologists monitoring spawning behavior in these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a conceptual essay aimed at supporting analyses of the regionalization processes implemented in Brazil's Unified Health System, from the perspective of regional governance. The authors conducted a literature review in the social sciences, public administration, and critical geography, focusing on the concepts of governance, territorial governance, and regional governance in the debate on development. In dialogue with these contributions to the analysis of recent regulation and implementation of health sector regionalization in Brazil, with special reference to use of the Organizational Contract for Public Action (COAP) in the country's health regions, the article concludes that the research on governance as a modern approach to linking public policies highlights the timeliness of developing methodologies and critical reflection on the relevant national processes in Brazil for future health sector proposals, thereby pointing to a new stage in the improvement of the Unified Health System. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Saúde e Sociedade is the property of Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Saude Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The driftwood catfish Trachelyopterus galeatus (Linnaeus 1766) is widely distributed in the São Francisco basin in Brazil, having internal fertilization as its reproduction hallmark. Since there are no studies on the artificial reproduction of T. galeatus, the aim of the present study was to induce spawning by hypophysation and to determine the reproductive parameters for this species. Thus, T. galeatus adults (12 of each sex) were treated with Cyprinus carpio pituitary homogenate (CPH) and 8 of the 12 females (67 %) responded positively to the treatment. The stripping of oocytes was carried out at 24 °C, 14 h after the application of CPH, and the average fertilization rate was 60 %. The number of stripped oocytes was 351 ± 5 oocytes g with average egg diameters of 2.3 ± 0.1 and 3.3 ± 0.1 mm before and after eggs hydration, respectively. The oocytes of T. galeatus were opaque, light yellow, demersal, adhesive, and covered with a jelly coat. Data regarding egg production were also recorded for T. galeatus with an average of 8.2 ± 1.4 (%) for the stripped oocyte index and 3,163 ± 1,011 oocytes for total fecundity. The initial and final embryo survival rate was of 2,491 ± 953 and 1,527 ± 670 embryos, respectively. Larval hatching took up to 127 h after fertilization at 24 °C where the larvae presented a mean total length of 4.2 ± 0.1 mm. The findings obtained for T. galeatus demonstrated the success of artificial reproduction and the first description of reproductive parameters such as fecundity, embryo survival rate, and egg biology for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brycon orthotaenia is an important fish for commercial and sport fishing and may reach 7 kg in body weight; it is endangered in some regions of Brazil's São Francisco River Basin. Breeders were subjected to spawning induction to analyse the early development; oocytes and semen were obtained by manual extrusion and fertilization was carried out using the dry method. After fertilization, eggs were kept in incubators at 24°C. Egg samples were collected every 10 min until hatching in order to monitor embryonic development and were analysed and photographed. Larvae samples were collected daily until the seventh day to analyse the larvae development; larvae were fixed in Bouin's fluid and subjected to routine histological and histochemical techniques for glycoprotein and glyco-conjugated detection. Oocyte extrusion occurred 6 h after the second hormone dose at 26°C. The recently extruded oocytes were spherical, dark green and non-adhesive, with a diameter of 1479.67 ± 53.18 and 3094.60 ± 80.34 μm after hydration. The blastopore closure occurred within 7 h 30 min of fertilization and the fertilization rate was 50.0 ± 5.5 % at 24°C. Embryonic development was completed within 21 h 30 min of fertilization. Complete yolk sac resorption and mouth opening occurred on the third day after hatching, at which time an adhesive organ with mucosubstances was observed. On the third day, an olfactory chamber with cilia and intense cannibalism amongst the larvae was observed. The complete differentiation of the digestive system occurred on the fifth day and the nervous and sensorial systems differentiation occurred on the sixth to seventh days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River damming and building of hydroelectric power plants interrupt the reproductive migration routes and change the major physicochemical parameters of water quality, with drastic consequences for populations of migratory fishes. The goal of this study was to evaluate proliferation and cell death during spermatogenesis and serum profiles of sex steroids in Prochilodus argenteus, from the São Francisco River, downstream from the Três Marias Dam. A total of 257 adult males were caught quarterly during a reproductive cycle in two sites: the first 34 km of the river after the dam (site 1) and the second 34-54 km after the dam (site 2), after the confluence with a tributary, the Abaeté River. Seasonal changes in the testicular activity associated with morphometric analyses of germ cells as well as proliferation and testicular apoptosis support a more active spermatogenesis in fish from site 2, where higher levels of sex steroids and gonadosomatic index (GSI) were also found. In site 1, fish presented low serum levels of testosterone, 17β-estradiol and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone and a low GSI during gonadal maturation. Spermatogonial proliferation (PCNA) and apoptosis (TUNEL) were more elevated in fish from site 1, but spermatocytes were mainly labelled in fish from site 2. Overall, these data demonstrate changes in testicular activity and plasma sex steroids in a neotropical teleost fish living downstream from a hydroelectric dam, supplying new data on fish reproduction in regulated rivers. Moreover, morphometric analyses associated with sex steroids profiles provide reliable tools to assess fish spermatogenesis under environmental stress conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Saúde e Sociedade is the property of Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Saude Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Interface - Comunicação, Saúde, Educação is the property of Fundacao UNI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Physis: Revista de Saúde Coletiva is the property of CEPESC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Saúde e Sociedade is the property of Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Saude Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Saúde e Sociedade is the property of Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Saude Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: to develop an intervention methodology and apply it to the State Health Department teams, as a way of introducing monitoring and evaluation of primary health care by way of training and carrying out a real health planning activity. Methods: learning and working practices were developed that included training and a health planning activity. The quality of both of these processes was ensured by establishing the principles and criteria for organizing training, drawing up a monitoring and evaluation methodology proposal and teaching practices. Results: the methodology was applied in the Brazilian States of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Tocantins (TO) and Amazonas (AM), paying due respect to the specific features of each locality's State Health Department and the qualifications and training of technical staff responsible for primary health care. Methodological proposals were drawn up that were structurally similar but had differing priorities and development proposals. Two years after conclusion of this intervention, the effects could still be identified. Conclusions: the results obtained in MS, TO and AM reveal the capacity of an approach based on teaching, learning and work to introduce new working practices in health services throughout the institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present study evaluated for the first time sex steroid profiles and fecundity in females of Prochilodus argenteus from two sections of the São Francisco River Brazil, downstream from the Três Marias Dam, which influences characteristics of their water habitat. The model species in the study, P. argenteus, is an important commercial and recreational species in Brazil. In the region closest to the dam (section 1), females did not reach final oocyte maturation, failed to spawn, and displayed lesser circulating concentrations of testosterone, 17(-hydroxyprogesterone (17(-P) and 17β-estradiol (E2) than those farther downstream of the dam (section 2). The endocrine and fecundity deficiencies probably are attributed to lower water temperature and oxygen concentration in (section 1). The follicular atresia rate in the region closest to the dam (26%) was greater than those fish captured farther downstream of the dam (13%), after the Abaeté River (section 2). Variations in testosterone, E2 and 17(-P concentrations in section 2, followed gonadal maturation which are typical features of species which have seasonal reproduction, group-synchronous oocyte development, and are single batch spawners such as P. argenteus. Results document the first evidence of endocrine and reproductive dysfunctions caused by inadequate water conditions in a wild population of the migratory species P. argenteus in the São Francisco River, downstream from the Três Marias dam. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]