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Trophic rewilding has been suggested as a restoration tool to restore ecological interactions and reverse defaunation and its cascading effects on ecosystem functioning. One of the ecological processes that has been jeopardized by defaunation is animal-mediated seed dispersal. Here, we propose an approach that combines joint species distribution models with occurrence data and species interaction records to quantify the potential to restore seed-dispersal interactions through rewilding and apply it to the Atlantic Forest, a global biodiversity hotspot. Using this approach, we identify areas that should benefit the most from trophic rewilding and candidate species that could contribute to cash the credit of seed-dispersal interactions in a given site. We found that sites within large fragments bearing a great diversity of trees may have about 20 times as many interactions to be cashed through rewilding as small fragments in regions where deforestation has been pervasive. We also ranked mammal and bird species according to their potential to restore seed-dispersal interactions if reintroduced while considering the biome as a whole and at finer scales. The suggested approach can aid future conservation efforts in rewilding projects in defaunated tropical rainforests.This article is part of the theme issue 'Trophic rewilding: consequences for ecosystems under global change'., (© 2018 The Author(s).)

Introduction: While increased toll-like receptor (TLR)4 activity may contribute to the pathophysiology of vascular diseases, the molecular mechanisms disrupted by this receptor in the vasculature are still poorly understood. Additionally, it is unknown if TLR4 mediates erectile dysfunction (ED) during diabetes., Aim: To investigate whether pharmacological blockade of TLR4 affects erectile function in a murine model of diabetes., Methods: Sprague Dawley rats (Charles River Laboratory, Wilmington, MA, USA) received a single streptozotocin injection (65 mg/kg, 28 days) and were treated with an anti-TLR4 antibody (1 μg/d, intraperitoneally) for the last 14 days of the treatment. Additionally, cavernosal strips were acutely incubated for 30 minutes with CLI-095 (10 -5 mol/L), a TLR4 inhibitor. Functional studies, Western blotting, erectile function, immunohistochemistry, and biochemical analyses were performed., Main Outcome Measures: Oxidative stress, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels, and functional studies were evaluated in treated and nontreated cavernosal strips from control and diabetic animals. Additionally, in vivo erectile function was assessed., Results: Enhanced TLR4 expression was observed in corpus cavernosum from diabetic rats compared with control animals. Long-term blockade of TLR4 slightly improved diabetes-induced ED in rats due to attenuation of oxidative stress and increased cGMP levels in penile tissue, which ameliorated cavernosal relaxation. Functional experiments revealed that acute or chronic inhibition of TLR4 decreased hypercontractility in response to phenylephrine and improved nitrergic relaxation in corpus cavernosum from diabetic rats., Clinical Implications: TLR4 blockade may be a novel therapeutic strategy to assist in ED management., Strengths & Limitations: The strength of this article stems from the fact that we showed that TLR4 blockade partly improves erectile function in vivo in diabetic rats. Its limitations mainly include that messenger RNA analysis for the nitric oxide/cGMP pathway were not performed., Conclusion: In summary, TLR4 participates in the mechanisms of diabetes-associated ED and blockade of this receptor positively affects penile vascular function. Nunes KP, de Oliveira AA, Szasz T, et al. Blockade of Toll-Like Receptor 4 Attenuates Erectile Dysfunction in Diabetic Rats. J Sex Med 2018;15:1235-1245., (Copyright © 2018 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Studies on the bioecology of Haemagogus leucocelaenus Dyar and Shannon 1924, Haemagogus janthinomys Dyar 1921, Aedes albopictus Skuse 1895 (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitos are extremely important from an epidemiologic point of view, as they are known to be vectors of many important pathogens and, therefore, act as the main factor responsible for the maintenance of several zoonoses natural cycles. The present work aimed to elucidate their seasonal egg-hatching rate using the immersion method. Ovitraps were used to collect mosquito eggs from an Atlantic Forest fragment, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from November 2015 to November 2016. After collection, the eggs were immersed 40 times to assess their hatching rate and evaluate the number of immersions resulting in the highest hatchability during the study period. Differences in the proportion of hatched eggs between species and seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) and in the numbers of immersions in which eggs hatched were assessed using odds ratios. Hg. leucocelaenus was the species with the highest number of eggs hatching in all sampling periods, followed by Ae. albopictus. Most Ae. albopictus eggs hatched on first immersion regardless of season. Both the numbers of eggs and the number of immersion in which the Haemagogus eggs hatched showed high variability within seasons. In spring, the proportion of eggs that hatched on the first compared to further immersions was similar, while in fall and winter a higher percentage (over 94%) of Hg. leucocelaenus eggs hatched on the first immersion; the opposite pattern was observed in the summer. These results differ from previous observations linking increased hatching to warmer months. The number of immersions in which Hg. leucocelaenus eggs hatched varied between seasons, however differences were not statistically significant. These results evidence the need for further studies to elucidate factors that influence hatching patterns.

Sodium polystyrene sulfonate (PSP) or Kayexalate is a cation-exchange resin, widely used in the management of hyperkalaemia due to renal disease. A rare, yet potentially dangerous, adverse event related to sodium polystyrene sulfonate use is intestinal mucosal injury, especially in the colon. The injury to the gastrointestinal mucosa can range from mild and superficial to wall necrosis and bowel perforation. The mechanism that leads to mucosal damage remains unclear. However, it is believed that sorbitol, commonly given to counteract PSP's tendency to cause constipation, may play an important role in the development of gastrointestinal injury. Other potential risk factors are uraemia or end-stage renal disease, hemodynamic instability, solid organ transplantation, postoperative status and concomitant opioid administration. The authors present a case of diarrhoea and haematochezia after the administration of PSP without sorbitol, in a patient with hyperkalaemia due to acute kidney injury, in the absence of other risk factors. A colonoscopy was performed and revealed a rectal ulcer which histological findings were suggestive of mucosal injury due to Kayexalate deposition. This case supports the concept that this widely used drug can itself, without sorbitol, cause injury to the gastrointestinal wall. Even though this is a rare adverse effect, the widespread use of this medication may put a large population at risk.

In the present work a family of novel secnidazole-derived Schiff base compounds and their copper(II) complexes were synthesized. The antimicrobial activities of the compounds were evaluated against clinically important anaerobic bacterial strains. The compounds exhibited in vitro antibacterial activity against Bacteroides fragilis, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Bacteroides vulgatus, Bacteroides ovatus, Parabacteroides distasonis and Fusubacterium nucleatum pathogenic anaerobic bacteria. Upon coordination to copper(II) the antibacterial activity significantly increased in several cases. Some derivatives were even more active than the antimicrobial drugs secnidazole and metronidazole. Therefore, the compounds under study are suitable for in vivo evaluation and the microorganisms should be classified as susceptible to them. Electrochemical studies on the reduction of the nitro group revealed that the compounds show comparable reduction potentials, which are in the same range of the bio-reducible drugs secnidazole and benznidazole. The nitro group reduction potential is more favorable for the copper(II) complexes than for the starting ligands. Hence, the antimicrobial activities of the compounds under study might in part be related to intracellular bio-reduction activation. Considering the increasing resistance rates of anaerobic bacteria against a wide range of antimicrobial drugs, the present work constitutes an important contribution to the development of new antibacterial drug candidates.

Coxiella burnetii, an intracellular bacterium, is the agent of Q fever/coxiellosis, a worldwide zoonosis. Dairy animals are the primary reservoirs of C. burnetii, and although the disease is usually asymptomatic or subclinical, abortion is a serious clinical outcome among small ruminants. This study was conducted to investigate C. burnetii seroprevalence and infection In a flock of dairy goats in Brazil. Serum samples from 312 goats collected from a dairy goat flock with a history of reproductive failure were tested by a commercial ELISA (LSIVet Ruminant Q Fever - Serum/Milk; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Lissieu, France) for anti-C. burnetii IgG antibodies. Samples of cotyledons from 23 placentas were analyzed by nested PCR for the presence of the bacterial DNA. ELISA seroreactivity was found in 55.1% (172/312; 95% CI = 49.4%-60.7%) of the serum samples analyzed. C. burnetii DNA was detected in 8.7% (2/23) of the placental samples tested, where both animals were also seropositive. This study reports the first description of C. burnetii infection in an abortion outbreak in goats in Brazil. The results point out to the importance of including this disease in animal and public health surveillance programs as well as into the list of abortive diseases in goats in Brazil., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The authors report a case of a 69-year-old man with idiopathic leukocytoclastic cutaneous vasculitis. For three years, the lesions recurred with progressive worsening and were associated with systemic manifestations of low-grade fever, weight loss and raised inflammatory markers. The patient latter presented a 6th cranial nerve involvement, raising the concern of a possible systemic vasculitis, which was latter evidenced by the development of deep vein thrombosis and angina pectoris. The treatment of the patient witch based on the decreasing of inflammatory activity, by using effective immunosuppressive therapy, with lower toxicity is more important than identifying the type of the vasculitis. This case illustrates the importance of awareness for the systemic involvement that can occur in up to 50% of patients with leukocytoclastic cutaneous vasculitis.

DNA barcoding helps to identify species, especially when identification is based on parts of organisms or life stages such as seeds, pollen, wood, roots or juveniles. However, the implementation of this approach strongly depends on the existence of complete reference libraries of DNA sequences. If such a library is incomplete, DNA-based identification will be inefficient. Here, we assess if DNA barcoding can already be implemented in species-rich tropical regions. We focus on the tree flora of São Paulo state, Brazil, which contains more than 2000 tree species. Using new DNA sequence data and carefully assembled GenBank accessions, we assembled 12,113 sequences from ten different regions. The ITS, rbcL, psbA-trnH, matK and trnL regions were better represented within the available sequences for São Paulo tree flora. Currently, only 58% of the São Paulo tree flora currently have at least one barcoding sequence available. However, these species represent on average 89% of the trees in São Paulo state forests. Therefore, conservation-oriented and ecological studies can already benefit from DNA barcoding to obtain more accurate species identifications. We present which taxa remain underrepresented for the São Paulo tree flora and discuss the implications of this result for other species-rich tropical regions.

Introduction: A broad-scoped approach to the assessment, documentation and application of health inputs at the workplace is needed to perform effective interventions, reduce occupational hazards and promote workers' health and safety. Effective efforts might thus be organized into programs and initiatives to preserve and improve the health and safety of workers., Objective: To perform the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Dimensions of Corporate Safety Scorecard for use in Brazil to broaden the scope of means to approach and measure the effectiveness of workplace safety actions., Methods: The translation and cultural adaptation of the Dimensions of Corporate Safety Scorecard followed recommendations applied in similar studies which establish six steps: foreword translation, reconciliation, back translation, review by internal committee, cultural evaluation of the translation by an external expert panel (pretest) and final review., Results: Adoption of the described procedure enabled a detailed analysis of possible options in case of divergences in statements between versions. Thus the quality of the results was ensured and the semantic qualities of the original version were preserved in the translation., Conclusions: The Brazilian Portuguese version of Dimensions of Corporate Safety Scorecard, entitled "Questionário sobre Dimensões da Segurança Corporativa," obtained in the present study represents the first step in the use of this instrument for measurement of the effectiveness of health, safety and well-being actions in different work environments.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to compare the autonomic heart control parameters from sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic community-dwelling elders., Methods: This is a cross-sectional study including 76 community-dwelling old adults, which was clinically stratified as sarcopenic or non-sarcopenic, according to the current recommendations. They were submitted to 5-min recordings of successive RR intervals. The analysis of the RR intervals variability was carried out in time (mean RR, RMSSD, pNN50, SDNN and triangular index) and frequency domains (LFnu, HFnu and LF/HF ratio), and with nonlinear methods (SD1, SD2, and D 2 ). The parameters of autonomic heart rate modulation (AHRM) were adjusted for potential confounders: sex, diabetes, beta-blockers use, cardiovascular disease, body mass index and physical activity level, smoking habit. Normality of the data was tested by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and, since most variables did not exhibit a normal distribution the Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the parameters of AHRM. The significance level was set as p ≤ 0.05 and all statistical procedures were performed with SPSS ® ., Results: Adjusted parameters of AHRM obtained from time domain and nonlinear methods were significantly different between sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic elders (p < 0.05), while parameters obtained from frequency domain analysis did not were different between groups (p > 0.05)., Conclusion: Sarcopenic old adults exhibited lower parasympathetic-associated modulation, suggesting a poor cardioprotection associated to this condition., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Fruits and vegetables contain many compounds presenting potential antioxidant activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a green juice recipe in adult metabolism in order to identify new preventive dietary sources., Method: This was a single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial. Recruitment and data were, respectively, made and collected at the Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre. Individuals who met all the inclusion criteria during the period of recruitment were included. Green juice (experimental group) or placebo (control group) were consumed from Monday to Friday between 8 and 9 am, in the amount of 300 mL for 60 days (except Saturdays and Sundays). To verify the effect of green juice on metabolism, the following were evaluated: (a) glycemia, plasma lipid profile, renal and liver functions, redox profile, and antioxidant enzymes; (b) anthropometry; and (c) well-being and anxiety., Results: This study included 14 participants in the test group (juice group) and 13 controls (placebo group), with mean ages of 31.07 and 30.15 years, respectively. We did not observe a significant difference between the treatments. Dietary properties of vegetable and fruit juices are an area of significant interest., Conclusions: Together with an analysis of previous works, we suggest that green juice did not cause an improvement in metabolic function and there is a need for further research on this issue, mainly through different interventions and other samples.

The absence of effective and satisfactory treatments that contribute to repairing the dopaminergic damage caused by Parkinson's Disease (PD) and the limited recovery capacity of the nervous system are troubling issues and the focus of many research and clinical domains. Recent advances in the treatment of PD through stem cell (SC) therapy have recognized their promising restorative and neuroprotective effects that are implicated in the potentiation of endogenous mechanisms of repair and contribute to functional locomotor improvement. Physical exercise (PE) has been considered an adjuvant intervention that by itself induces beneficial effects in patients and animal models with Parkinsonism. In this sense, the combination of both therapies could provide synergic or superior effects for motor recovery, in contrast with their individual use. This review aims to provide an update on recent progress and the potential effectiveness of SC transplantation and PE for the treatment of locomotor deficits in PD. It has reviewed the neuropathological pathways involved in the classical motor symptoms of this condition and the mechanisms of action described in experimental studies that are associated with locomotor enhancement through exercise, cellular transplantation, and their union in some neurodegenerative conditions.

Background: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) consists of the intravenous infusion of healthy hematopoietic stem cells to restore the medullary and immunologic function of patients affected by a series of hematologic, oncologic, immunologic, malignant and nonmalignant inherited or acquired diseases, with the possibility of cure or increase of disease-free survival., Objective: To characterize the epidemiologic profile and the cases of death of patients who underwent HSCT., Methods: This is a cohort quantitative study, nested with a retrospective, descriptive, and analytical study of a hospital-based cohort that included the patients who underwent HSCT at a referral service in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, a region of northeastern Brazil., Results: There was a slight male prevalence (52.94%), the age of the patients ranged from 2 to 73 years old, 18.38% were brown, 47.06% were married, 15.07% were students, 78.31% had a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, 93.38% developed gastrointestinal toxicities, all patients received chemotherapeutic treatment, 54.78% had allogeneic HSCT, and the cause of the most recorded deaths was septic shock (48.19%)., Conclusions: This study showed relevant scientific evidence on the clinical and epidemiologic profile of patients who underwent HSCT. In general, sociodemographic data are similar to national and international research results., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

It is well established that healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are associated with substantial declines in episodic memory. However, there is still debate about the roles of GPX1 and GPX4 polymorphisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of rs1050450 and rs713041 polymorphisms with memory. This research was composed of a cross-sectional study (334 subjects) and a case-control study (108 healthy controls and 103 with AD-NINCDS/ARDA, DSM-IV-TR criteria). For the association of the genetic polymorphisms with memory or cognitive loss, the phenotypes were analyzed as follows: 1) each memory as a quantitative trait; 2) presence of deficit on a specific memory; 3) presence of MCI; 4) presence of AD. To assess verbal learning and the ability to store new information, we used the Rey Verbal Learning Test. Scores were recorded as a function of age as in the WMS-R testing battery. DNA was obtained from whole blood, and genotypes for GPX1 (rs1050450) and GPX4 (rs713041) were detected by allelic discrimination assay using TaqMan ® MGB probes on a real-time PCR system. GPX1 TT homozygotes had lower long-term visual memory scores than CC/CT group (-0.28 ± 1.03 vs. 0.13 ± 1.03, respectively, p = 0.017). For the GPX4 rs713041, the frequency of the TT genotype was higher in the group with normal scores than in the group with long-term visual memory deficits (p = 0.025). In a multivariate logistic regression, GPX1 CC homozygotes had a 2.85 higher chance of developing AD (OR = 2.85, CI95% = 1.04-7.78, p = 0.041) in comparison to the reference genotype. No significant differences were observed regarding the MCI group between genetic variants. This study is one of the first to show that polymorphisms in GPX1 and GPX4 are significantly associated with episodic memory and AD in a South Brazilian population., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite the general recognition that fragmentation can reduce forest biomass through edge effects, a systematic review of the literature does not reveal a clear role of edges in modulating biomass loss. Additionally, the edge effects appear to be constrained by matrix type, suggesting that landscape composition has an influence on biomass stocks. The lack of empirical evidence of pervasive edge-related biomass losses across tropical forests highlights the necessity for a general framework linking landscape structure with aboveground biomass. Here, we propose a conceptual model in which landscape composition and configuration mediate the magnitude of edge effects and seed-flux among forest patches, which ultimately has an influence on biomass. Our model hypothesizes that a rapid reduction of biomass can occur below a threshold of forest cover loss. Just below this threshold, we predict that changes in landscape configuration can strongly influence the patch's isolation, thus enhancing biomass loss. Moreover, we expect a synergism between landscape composition and patch attributes, where matrix type mediates the effects of edges on species decline, particularly for shade-tolerant species. To test our conceptual framework, we propose a sampling protocol where the effects of edges, forest amount, forest isolation, fragment size, and matrix type on biomass stocks can be assessed both collectively and individually. The proposed model unifies the combined effects of landscape and patch structure on biomass into a single framework, providing a new set of main drivers of biomass loss in human-modified landscapes. We argue that carbon trading agendas (e.g., REDD+) and carbon-conservation initiatives must go beyond the effects of forest loss and edges on biomass, considering the whole set of effects on biomass related to changes in landscape composition and configuration., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used in ecology and conservation. Presence-only SDMs such as MaxEnt frequently use natural history collections (NHCs) as occurrence data, given their huge numbers and accessibility. NHCs are often spatially biased which may generate inaccuracies in SDMs. Here, we test how the distribution of NHCs and MaxEnt predictions relates to a spatial abundance model, based on a large plot dataset for Amazonian tree species, using inverse distance weighting (IDW). We also propose a new pipeline to deal with inconsistencies in NHCs and to limit the area of occupancy of the species. We found a significant but weak positive relationship between the distribution of NHCs and IDW for 66% of the species. The relationship between SDMs and IDW was also significant but weakly positive for 95% of the species, and sensitivity for both analyses was high. Furthermore, the pipeline removed half of the NHCs records. Presence-only SDM applications should consider this limitation, especially for large biodiversity assessments projects, when they are automatically generated without subsequent checking. Our pipeline provides a conservative estimate of a species' area of occupancy, within an area slightly larger than its extent of occurrence, compatible to e.g. IUCN red list assessments.

The increasing cost of energy and finite oil and gas reserves have created a need to develop alternative fuels from renewable sources. Due to its abiotic stress tolerance and annual cultivation, high-biomass sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) shows potential as a bioenergy crop. Genomic selection is a useful tool for accelerating genetic gains and could restructure plant breeding programs by enabling early selection and reducing breeding cycle duration. This work aimed at predicting breeding values via genomic selection models for 200 sorghum genotypes comprising landrace accessions and breeding lines from biomass and saccharine groups. These genotypes were divided into two sub-panels, according to breeding purpose. We evaluated the following phenotypic biomass traits: days to flowering, plant height, fresh and dry matter yield, and fiber, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin proportions. Genotyping by sequencing yielded more than 258,000 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers, which revealed population structure between subpanels. We then fitted and compared genomic selection models BayesA, BayesB, BayesCπ, BayesLasso, Bayes Ridge Regression and random regression best linear unbiased predictor. The resulting predictive abilities varied little between the different models, but substantially between traits. Different scenarios of prediction showed the potential of using genomic selection results between sub-panels and years, although the genotype by environment interaction negatively affected accuracies. Functional enrichment analyses performed with the marker-predicted effects suggested several interesting associations, with potential for revealing biological processes relevant to the studied quantitative traits. This work shows that genomic selection can be successfully applied in biomass sorghum breeding programs., Competing Interests: Compliance with ethical standardsThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Low muscle strength and high abdominal fatness play an important role in fast and usual walking speeds decrement in postmenopausal women (PW). Low-volume resistance training (RT) improves muscle strength. However, high-volume RT has shown to improve muscle strength and abdominal fatness in PW. Thus, high-volume RT would elicit greater improvement in fast and usual walking speeds than low-volume RT., Objective: To confirm whether the high-volume RT is better than the low-volume RT, we performed a randomized controlled trial (clinical trial registration: RBR-8SBBVP) study to investigated the effects of two different RT volumes (three sets vs. six sets) on fast and usual walking speed performances (fast: one-mile walk test and usual: four-meter walk), muscle strength (1RM test), and abdominal fatness (WC - waist circumference; WC/W waist circumference-to-weight ratio; WHtR - waist-to-height ratio; ABSI - A body shape index; BRI - body roundness index; CI - conicity index) in PW., Methods: Thirty-three PW were randomized (simple randomization) in three groups: control group (CT - no exercise), low-volume RT (LV) and high-volume RT (HV). The RT consisted of eight total body exercises at 70% of one repetition maximum for 16weeks performed three times a week., Results: The fast walking speed (6.1% [CI 95% 2.3-9.9]), WC (-4.1% [CI 95% -6.9 to -1.4]), WHtR (-4.2% [CI 95% -7.0 to -1.4]) and BRI (-10.3% [CI 95% -17.3 to -3.4]) improved in the HV when compared to the LV and CT. The WC/W (-3.7% [CI 95% -6.5 to -0.93]), ABSI (-3.8% [CI 95% -6.5 to -1.2]) and CI (-3.9% [CI 95% -6.6 to -1.3]) improved in the HV when compared to the CT. Muscle strength improved similarly in trained groups (LV: 49.1% [CI 95% 42.5-55.6] and HV: 43.7% [CI 95% 33.0-54.5]) when compared with the CT. No differences were observed in usual walking speed., Conclusion: Our results suggest that high-volume RT (six sets) at 70% of 1RM is necessary to promote an improved fast walking speed performance and abdominal fatness in PW., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The treatment of neuropathic pain is very complex and there are few drugs approved for this purpose. Among the studied compounds in the literature, sigma-1 receptor antagonists have shown to be promising. In order to develop QSAR studies applied to the compounds of 1-arylpyrazole derivatives, multivariate analyses have been performed in this work using partial least square (PLS) and artificial neural network (ANN) methods. A PLS model has been obtained and validated with 45 compounds in the training set and 13 compounds in the test set (r 2 training = 0.761, q 2 = 0.656, r 2 test = 0.746, MSE test = 0.132 and MAE test = 0.258). Additionally, multi-layer perceptron ANNs (MLP-ANNs) were employed in order to propose non-linear models trained by gradient descent with momentum backpropagation function. Based on MSE test values, the best MLP-ANN models were combined in a MLP-ANN consensus model (MLP-ANN-CM; r 2 test = 0.824, MSE test = 0.088 and MAE test = 0.197). In the end, a general consensus model (GCM) has been obtained using PLS and MLP-ANN-CM models (r 2 test = 0.811, MSE test = 0.100 and MAE test = 0.218). Besides, the selected descriptors (GGI6, Mor23m, SRW06, H7m, MLOGP, and μ) revealed important features that should be considered when one is planning new compounds of the 1-arylpyrazole class. The multivariate models proposed in this work are definitely a powerful tool for the rational drug design of new compounds for neuropathic pain treatment. Graphical abstract Main scaffold of the 1-arylpyrazole derivatives and the selected descriptors.

The Camponotus Mayr genus of carpenter ants is one of the largest in species number and widely represented in the Neotropical Region. Most species are generalists and capable of exploiting diverse habitats including urban environments. Urban green areas can act as a repository of regional biodiversity, thus we investigated whether this is valid for the largest city in South America. We compared the richness of Camponotus spp. in two green areas in regions with distinct urbanization profiles and also with previous surveys made in smaller cities and in natural areas of the original Atlantic Forest. Besides the usual capture of worker specimens, we included capture of alates to improve the species richness sampling. Morphological identification of Camponotus spp. is challenging, even more when alates are included. To assist in specimen identification, we performed DNA sequencing of mitochondrial and nuclear markers. The richness observed in the less stressed urban area was higher than in the more stressed one. Camponotus spp. reported in natural areas are largely represented in the urban area. DNA sequencing for specimen identification is hampered by the lack of corresponding sequences in the GenBank, but it helped to associate workers and alates of the same species and indicated the existence of cryptic species in the genus. Capture of alates allowed detection of several species for which workers were not sampled; therefore, it is a valuable tool for surveying diversity of Camponotus or other ant taxa with arboreal or hypogeic habits.

Background: Depression is accompanied by activated neuro-oxidative and neuro-nitrosative pathways, while targeting these pathways has clinical efficacy in depression. This study aimed to investigate the effects of mirtazapine (MIRT) alone and combined with alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) against corticosterone (CORT) induced behavioral and oxidative alterations., Methods: Male mice received vehicle or CORT 20mg/kg during 14 days. From the 15th to 21st days they were divided in groups administered: vehicle, MIRT 3mg/kg or the combinations MIRT+ALA100 or MIRT+ALA200. On the 21st day of treatment, the animals were subjected to behavioral tests. Twenty-four hours after the last drug administration hippocampus (HC) and striatum (ST) were dissected for the determination reduced glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation (LP) and nitrite levels., Results: CORT induced anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors as observed by increased immobility time in the tail suspension test and decreased sucrose consumption. MIRT or MIRT+ALA are effective in reversing anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors induced by CORT. CORT and MIRT alone prolonged sleeping time and this effect was reversed by MIRT+ALA. CORT significantly increased LP, which was reversed by MIRT or MIRT+ALA. Nitrite levels were increased in CORT-treated animals and reversed by MIRT+ALA200 (HC), MIRT or MIRT+ALA (ST)., Limitation: A relative small sample size and lack of a washout period between drug administration and behavioral testing., Conclusions: MIRT or MIRT+ALA reverse CORT-induced anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors probably via their central antioxidant effects. Augmentation of MIRT with ALA may reverse sedation, an important side effect of MIRT. Randomized controlled studies are needed to examine the clinical efficacy of this combination in human depression., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Menopause increases body fat and decreases muscle mass and strength, which contribute to sarcopenia. The amount of appendicular muscle mass has been frequently used to diagnose sarcopenia. Different measures of appendicular muscle mass have been proposed. However, no studies have compared the most salient measure (appendicular muscle mass corrected by body fat) of the appendicular muscle mass to physical function in postmenopausal women., Objective: To examine the association of 3 different measurements of appendicular muscle mass (absolute, corrected by stature, and corrected by body fat) with physical function in postmenopausal women., Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study., Setting: Outpatient geriatric and gynecological clinic., Participants: Forty-eight postmenopausal women with a mean age (standard deviation [SD]) of 62.1 ± 8.2 years, with mean (SD) length of menopause of 15.7 ± 9.8 years and mean (SD) body fat of 43.6% ± 9.8%., Interventions: Not applicable., Main Outcome Measures: Appendicular muscle mass measure was measured with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Physical function was measured by a functional capacity questionnaire, a short physical performance battery, and a 6 minute-walk test. Muscle quality (leg extensor strength to lower-body mineral-free lean mass ratio) and sum of z scores (sum of each physical function tests z score) were performed to provide a global index of physical function., Results: The regression analysis showed that appendicular muscle mass corrected by body fat was the strongest predictor of physical function. Each increase in the standard deviation of appendicular muscle mass corrected by body fat was associated with a mean sum of z score increase of 59% (standard deviation), whereas each increase in absolute appendicular muscle mass and appendicular muscle mass corrected by stature were associated with a mean sum of z scores decrease of 23% and 36%, respectively. Muscle quality was associated with appendicular muscle mass corrected by body fat., Conclusion: These findings indicate that appendicular muscle mass corrected by body fat is a better predictor of physical function than the other measures of appendicular muscle mass in postmenopausal women., Level of Evidence: I., (Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction:: In systemic sclerosis (SSc), digital ulcers (DU) are debilitating and recurrent. They are markers of prognosis and are associated with disability and mortality. Treatment strategies have been developed to block the proposed mechanisms of this complication., Objective:: Clinical description of a population of SSc patients with DU, treatment, complications and outcome., Method:: Analysis of 48 SSc patients meeting 2013 ACR-EULAR criteria, followed between 1999-2015; 13 patients had DU. Treatment protocol applied included cycles of 21 days of alprostadil, which can be repeated in the absence of DU healing. After DU healing, bosentan was initiated., Results:: DU healing was achieved with intravenous prostanoid in 12 patients; seven patients required repeated treatment for DU healing. Twelve patients were later treated with bosentan; three of them experienced recurrence of DU, while one was anti-B2-GPI positive. Four patients had soft tissue loss and three other suffered digital amputation, these being late diagnosis., Conclusion:: Younger patients and early referrals had better outcomes. Endothelin receptor antagonist toxicity should be monitored, particularly in patients previously exposed to hepatotoxic drugs.

The authors aimed to investigate the effects of an intervention based on interactive game set with the movement sensor Kinect on children with cerebral palsy (CP). Twenty-eight participants were recruited. Their age was between 3 and 12 years old, and rated as level I, II, or III on the Gross Motor Function Classification System. They played two games from the Xbox 360 Kinect system and were evaluated using the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) after a period of 8 weeks. The intervention led to significant motor function improvement as increase of the global scores on the GMFM (p < .001). Rehabilitation interventions using the Xbox 360 Kinect interactive games may represent useful tools for children with CP.

The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We performed a basin-wide analysis of pre-Columbian impacts on Amazonian forests by overlaying known archaeological sites in Amazonia with the distributions and abundances of 85 woody species domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples. Domesticated species are five times more likely than nondomesticated species to be hyperdominant. Across the basin, the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species increase in forests on and around archaeological sites. In southwestern and eastern Amazonia, distance to archaeological sites strongly influences the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species. Our analyses indicate that modern tree communities in Amazonia are structured to an important extent by a long history of plant domestication by Amazonian peoples., (Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.)

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are among the main responsible agents for mastitis in sheep. Cure rates can be reduced due to several causes, such as those related to virulence factors presented by microorganisms. This study aims at characterizing the virulence and resistance factors to antimicrobial agents in different CNS species isolated from sheep milk. After collecting milk samples, the samples were analyzed and the CNS species were identified. After identification, the susceptibility-sensitivity profile was examined using the disk diffusion technique for 10 antimicrobial agents. The DNA was extracted to detect the presence of the mecA gene, biofilm (icaADBC, bap, and bhp) and toxin genes (sea, seb, sec, sed, tst, and luk-PV) by PCR. Samples carrying toxin genes had their expression assessed using the reverse-transcription PCR technique. The biofilm production was assessed using the adherence method on a polystyrene plate. One hundred twelve CNS samples were isolated, 53 (47.3%) from animals with subclinical mastitis and 59 (52.7%) from healthy animals. Drugs tested have shown to be efficient for most CNS samples. The largest resistance percentage of CNS was found for the penicillin (17.0%) and tetracycline (10.7%) and 4 samples carried the mecA gene. As for the biofilm genes, the icaADBC operon was found in 10 (8.9%) samples, the bap gene was found in 16 (14.3%), and the bhp gene was found in 3 (2.7%). In addition, 69 (61.6%) samples produced biofilm. The survey of toxin genes has shown that 70 (62.5%) samples showed some toxin-encoding gene. However, none of the samples has expressed any of the genes from those toxins studied., (Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Disentangling the mechanisms that shape community assembly across diversity gradients is a central matter in ecology. While many studies have explored community assembly through species average trait values, there is a growing understanding that intraspecific trait variation (ITV) can also play a critical role in species coexistence. Classic biodiversity theory hypothesizes that higher diversity at species-rich sites can arise from narrower niches relative to species-poor sites, which would be reflected in reduced ITV as species richness increases. To explore how ITV in woody plant communities changes with species richness, we compiled leaf trait data (leaf size and specific leaf area) in a total of 521 woody plant species from 21 forest communities that differed dramatically in species richness, ranging from boreal to tropical rainforests. At each forest, we assessed ITV as an estimate of species niche breadth and we quantified the degree of trait overlap among co-occurring species as a measure of species functional similarity. We found ITV was relatively invariant across the species richness gradient. In addition, we found that species functional similarity increased with diversity. Contrary to the expectation from classic biodiversity theory, our results rather suggest that neutral processes or equalizing mechanisms can be acting as potential drivers shaping community assembly in hyperdiverse forests.

Complexes [In(2Ac4oClPh)Cl 2 (MeOH)] (1), [In(2Ac4pFPh)Cl 2 (MeOH)] (2), [In(2Ac4pClPh)Cl 2 (MeOH)] (3) and [In(2Ac4pIPh)Cl 2 (MeOH)] (4) were obtained with N(4)-ortho-chlorophenyl-2-acetylpyridine thiosemicarbazone (H2Ac4oClPh), N(4)-para-fluorophenyl-2-acetylpyridine thiosemicarbazone (H2Ac4pFPh), N(4)-para-chlorophenyl-2-acetylpyridine thiosemicarbazone (H2Ac4pClPh) and N(4)-para-iodophenyl-2-acetylpyridine thiosemicarbazone (H2Ac4pIPh). Theoretical studies suggested that the coordinated methanol molecule can be easily replaced by DMSO used in the preparation of stock solutions, with the formation of [In(L)Cl 2 (DMSO)] (HL = thiosemicarbazonate ligand), and that the replacement of DMSO by water is unfavorable. However, for all complexes the displacement of one or two chloride ligands by water in aqueous solution is extremely favorable. The cytotoxic activity of the compounds was evaluated against HL-60, Jurkat and THP-1 leukemia and against MDA-MB-231 and HCT-116 solid tumor cell lines, as well as against Vero non-malignant cells. The cytotoxicity and selectivity indexes (SI) increased in several cases for the indium(iii) complexes in comparison with the free thiosemicarbazones. The antimicrobial activity of the compounds was investigated against Candida albicans, Candida dubliniensis, Candida lusitaniae and Candida parapsilosis. In many cases complexation resulted in a substantial increase of the antifungal activity. Complexes (1-4) were revealed to be very active against C. lusitaniae and C. dubliniensis. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies were carried out to identify the physico-chemical properties that might be involved in the antifungal action, as well as in the cytotoxic effect of the compounds against HL-60 cells. In both cases, correlations between the bioactivity and physico-chemical properties did not appreciably change when the chloride ligands in [In(L)Cl 2 (DMSO)] were replaced by water molecules, suggesting [In(L)Cl(H 2 O)(DMSO)] + or [In(L)(H 2 O) 2 (DMSO)] 2+ to be the species that interact with the biological media.

The occurrence of biochemical alterations that last for a long period of time in diabetic individuals even after adequate handling of glycemia is an intriguing phenomenon named metabolic memory. In this study, we show that a kidney pathway is gradually altered during the course of diabetes and remains persistently changed after late glycemic control in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. This pathway comprises an early decline of uric acid clearance and pAMPK expression followed by fumarate accumulation, increased TGF-β expression, reduced PGC-1α expression, and downregulation of methylation and hydroxymethylation of mitochondrial DNA. The sustained decrease of uric acid clearance in treated diabetes may support the prolonged kidney biochemical alterations observed after tight glycemic control, and this regulation is likely mediated by the sustained decrease of AMPK activity and the induction of inflammation. This manuscript proposes the first consideration of the possible role of hyperuricemia and the underlying biochemical changes as part of metabolic memory in diabetic nephropathy development after glycemic control.

Aim: Sarcopenia is the age-related loss of muscle mass and function that evolves into disability, loss of independence and death. In Brazil the number of older people is rapidly growing, resulting in an increased prevalence of chronic conditions associated with old age. As prevalence estimates provide essential information to policymakers when developing healthcare strategies, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia in older Brazilians., Methods: Electronic database searches and hand-searching in relevant journals and reference lists were carried out without language restriction. Studies that reported the prevalence of sarcopenia in Brazilians aged 60 years or older were considered for inclusion. Sarcopenia was defined as low muscle mass, low muscle function or low muscle mass and function. Meta-analysis was carried out using a random-effects model., Results: A total of 31 studies were included pooling 9416 participants. The overall prevalence of sarcopenia in older Brazilians was 17.0% (95% CI 13.0-22.0). Sensitivity analysis showed rates of 20.0% (95% CI 11.0-32.0) in women and 12.0% (95% CI 9.0-16.0) in men. Prevalence was 16.0% (95% CI 12.0-23.0) based on low muscle mass and function; and 17.0% (95% CI 9.0-31.0) based only on low muscle mass. The difference between these two criteria was not significant (P = 0.96)., Conclusions: Sarcopenia is an emerging public health issue in Brazil. Attention should be paid to changes in prevalence rates over the next years because of the increase in the older population. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 5-16., (© 2016 Japan Geriatrics Society.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the association between protein and arginine from meat intake and oxidative stress in a general population., Methods: Data came from the Health Survey for Sao Paulo (ISA-Capital), a cross-sectional population-based study in Brazil (N = 549 adults). Food intake was estimated by a 24-h dietary recall. Oxidative stress was estimated by malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in plasma. Analyses were performed using general linear regression models adjusted for some genetic, lifestyle, and biochemical confounders., Results: MDA levels were associated with meat intake (P for linear trend = 0.031), protein from meat (P for linear trend = 0.006), and arginine from meat (P for linear trend = 0.044) after adjustments for confounders: age, sex, body mass index, smoking, physical activity, intake of fruit and vegetables, energy and heterocyclic amines, C-reactive protein levels, and polymorphisms in GSTM1 (glutathione S-transferase Mu 1) and GSTT1 (glutathione S-transferase theta 1) genes. Results were not significant for total protein and protein from vegetable intake (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: High protein and arginine from meat intake were associated with oxidative stress independently of genetic, lifestyle, and biochemical confounders in a population-based study. Our results suggested a novel link between high protein/arginine intake and oxidative stress, which is a major cause of age-related diseases., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Question: Among people with myofascial pain, does exercise reduce the intensity of the pain and disability?, Design: Systematic review of randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials., Participants: People with myofascial pain of any duration., Intervention: Exercise versus minimal or no intervention and exercise versus other intervention., Outcome Measures: Pain intensity and disability., Results: Eight studies involving 255 participants were included. Pooled estimates from six studies showed statistically significant effects of exercise when compared with minimal or no intervention (support and encouragement or no treatment) on pain intensity at short-term follow-up. The weighted mean difference in pain intensity due to exercise was -1.2 points (95% CI -2.3 to -0.1) on a 0 to 10 scale. Pooled estimates from two studies showed a non-significant effect of exercise when compared with other interventions (electrotherapy or dry needling) on pain intensity at short-term follow-up. The weighted mean difference in pain intensity due to exercise instead of other therapies was 0.4 points (95% CI -0.3 to 1.1) on a 0 to 10 scale. Individual studies reported no significant effects of exercise on disability compared with minimal intervention (-0.4, 95% CI -1.3 to 0.5) and other interventions (0.0, 95% CI -0.8 to 0.8) at short-term follow-up. Sensitivity analysis suggested that combining stretching and strengthening achieves greater short-term effects on pain intensity compared with minimal or no intervention (-2.3, 95% CI -4.1 to -0.5)., Conclusion: Evidence from a limited number of trials indicates that exercise has positive small-to-moderate effects on pain intensity at short-term follow-up in people with myofascial pain. A combination of stretching and strengthening exercises seems to achieve greater effects. These estimates may change with future high-quality studies. [Mata Diz JB, de Souza JRLM, Leopoldino AAO, Oliveira VC (2016) Exercise, especially combined stretching and strengthening exercise, reduces myofascial pain: a systematic review.Journal of Physiotherapy63: 17-22]., (Copyright © 2016 Australian Physiotherapy Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: We studied the effect of resistance exercise (RE) on mRNA levels of atrogin-1, MuRF-1, and myostatin in the gastrocnemius muscle of arthritic rats after loss of ovarian function (LOF)., Material and Methods: Thirty female Wistar rats (nine weeks old, 195.3 ±17.4 grams) were randomly allocated into five groups: control group (CT-Sham; n = 6); group with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 6); group with rheumatoid arthritis subjected to RE (RAEX; n = 6); ovariectomy group with rheumatoid arthritis (RAOV; n = 6); and an ovariectomy group with rheumatoid arthritis subjected to RE (RAOVEX; n = 6). After 15 days of intra-articular injections with Met-BSA the animals were subjected to RE and six hours after workout were euthanised., Results: The rheumatoid arthritis provoked reduction in the cross-sectional area (CSA) of muscle fibres, but the CSA was lower in the RAOV when compared to the RA groups. Skeletal muscle atrogin-1 mRNA level was increased in arthritic rats (RA and RAOV), but the atrogin-1 level was higher in RAOV group when compared to other arthritic groups. The Muscle MuRF-1 mRNA level was also increased in the RAOV group. The increased atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 mRNA levels were lower in the RAOVEX group than in the RAOV group. The myostatin mRNA level was similar in all groups, except for the RAOVEX group, in which it was lower than the other groups., Conclusions: LOF results in increased loss of skeletal muscle-related ubiquitin ligases (atrogin-1 and MuRF-1). However, the RE reduces the atrogin-1, MuRF-1, and myostatin mRNA levels in muscle of arthritic rats affected by LOF.

Dry periods are predicted to become more frequent and severe in the future in some parts of the tropics, including Amazonia, potentially causing reduced productivity, higher tree mortality and increased emissions of stored carbon. Using a long-term (12 year) through-fall exclusion (TFE) experiment in the tropics, we test the hypothesis that trees produce leaves adapted to cope with higher levels of water stress, by examining the following leaf characteristics: area, thickness, leaf mass per area, vein density, stomatal density, the thickness of palisade mesophyll, spongy mesophyll and both of the epidermal layers, internal cavity volume and the average cell sizes of the palisade and spongy mesophyll. We also test whether differences in leaf anatomy are consistent with observed differential drought-induced mortality responses among taxa, and look for relationships between leaf anatomy, and leaf water relations and gas exchange parameters. Our data show that trees do not produce leaves that are more xeromorphic in response to 12 years of soil moisture deficit. However, the drought treatment did result in increases in the thickness of the adaxial epidermis (TFE: 20.5 ± 1.5 µm, control: 16.7 ± 1.0 µm) and the internal cavity volume (TFE: 2.43 ± 0.50 mm 3 cm -2 , control: 1.77 ± 0.30 mm 3 cm -2 ). No consistent differences were detected between drought-resistant and drought-sensitive taxa, although interactions occurred between drought-sensitivity status and drought treatment for the palisade mesophyll thickness (P = 0.034) and the cavity volume of the leaves (P = 0.025). The limited response to water deficit probably reflects a tight co-ordination between leaf morphology, water relations and photosynthetic properties. This suggests that there is little plasticity in these aspects of plant anatomy in these taxa, and that phenotypic plasticity in leaf traits may not facilitate the acclimation of Amazonian trees to the predicted future reductions in dry season water availability., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Introduction: Malaria remains an important public health problem despite recent scientific breakthroughs regarding knowledge about malaria and treatment strategies. The objective of this study was to analyze malaria patients' knowledge about the disease, its treatment and prevention, linking it to drug treatment adherence., Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional, epidemiological survey study was conducted in the district of Três Fronteiras-MT. The study included 618 individuals who were interviewed and examined for Plasmodium infection. Of the 52 patients diagnosed with malaria, 27 were visited at home for an interview about malaria knowledge and treatment adherence. Treatment adherence was evaluated by self-reports and drug conference., Results: A total of 18 patients had satisfactory knowledge (66.6%) and 9 were evaluated as having unsatisfactory knowledge (33.4%) about malaria. Of the 27 malaria patients, 21 (77.8%) reported having taken all the medication as prescribed, in the correct period of time and dosage, and had no medication tablets remaining. The majority (72.2%) of patients who had satisfactory knowledge, as well as the majority (88.8%) of those who had unsatisfactory knowledge, adhered to the malaria treatment., Conclusions: This study revealed a high proportion of patients with satisfactory prior knowledge about malaria and revealed that this knowledge was not related to disease treatment adherence. These results have implications for planning strategies for malaria control in the region and could contribute to the reduction in the cases of non-adherence to malaria treatment.

We report the presence of Chikungunya (CHIKV) RNA in the blood, urine and semen during the acute phase of the disease in an adult with a dual infection with Dengue virus type 3. The patient, a 25 yr-old man from Salvador, Brazil, reported a 6-day duration of high fever, arthralgia, myalgia, headache and photophobia.Blood and semen specimens were positive for CHIKV in the first collected samples; semen and urine specimens were positive for CHIKV after 30 days of symptoms onset. DENV-3 RNA was positive in blood specimen when first collected 6 days after the initiation of symptoms.We describe for the first time the presence of CHIKV RNA in urine and semen for an extended period of time and we address the possible implications of these findings for diagnosis and transmission dynamics.

Objective: To analyze the factors associated with recurrent falls in community-dwelling older adults from Cuiabá., Methods: This is an epidemiological, prospective, concurrent cohort study with a two-year follow-up. In-home surveys were conducted in 2012 and 2013. The data were treated by the software Epi Info and SPSS. Bivariate analysis investigated associations between risk factors and recurrent falls by calculating the relative risk (RR) of the cumulative incidences with a confidence interval of 95% (95%CI). Multiple analysis with Poisson regression included all variables with p < 0.20 in the crude analyses. The significance level of 5% (p < 0.05) was adopted as significant association for remaining in the final model., Results: Most older adults (77.6%) had recurrent falls. The variables significantly associated with recurrent falls were older adult's income of up to two minimum salaries (RR = 1.62; 95%CI 1.04-1.77), absence of arthritis or arthrosis (RR = 1.32; 95%CI 1.10-1.48), having regular to very bad self-perceived health (RR = 1.44; 95%CI 1.12-2.04), and having visual impairment (RR = 1.23; 95%CI 1.01 -1.69)., Conclusions: Falls in older adults are associated with low education levels, regular to very bad self-perceived health, visual impairment, and recurrent falls.

Introduction: Elderly people with cognitive impairment are at greater risk for falls; thus, an understanding of the earliest stages of cognitive decline is necessary., Objective: To compare postural balance between elderly people with and without mild cognitive impairment using a three-dimensional system., Methods: Thirty elderly people with mild cognitive impairment and thirty healthy elderly subjects were selected. Static posturography was performed using three-dimensional electromagnetic equipment and the following parameters were evaluated: maximum displacement, mean speed and total trajectory. Open- and closed-eye stabilometric variable comparisons between groups and within each group were carried out, and a relationship between the Mini Mental State Examination and the total trajectory of all elderly subjects was determined., Results: The analysis among open- and closed-eye conditions showed a significant difference in maximum anteroposterior displacement in the control group and a significant difference in all stabilometric variables in the mild cognitive impairment group. A significant difference between the groups in all variables in the closed-eye condition was observed. There was a strong correlation between cognitive performance and total trajectory., Conclusion: Evaluations showed decrease in balance in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment. Presence of anteroposterior displacement can be an early sign of postural control impairment, and the evaluation with visual restriction can be useful in detecting small postural instabilities., (Copyright © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

The tropics are predicted to become warmer and drier, and understanding the sensitivity of tree species to drought is important for characterizing the risk to forests of climate change. This study makes use of a long-term drought experiment in the Amazon rainforest to evaluate the role of leaf-level water relations, leaf anatomy and their plasticity in response to drought in six tree genera. The variables (osmotic potential at full turgor, turgor loss point, capacitance, elastic modulus, relative water content and saturated water content) were compared between seasons and between plots (control and through-fall exclusion) enabling a comparison between short- and long-term plasticity in traits. Leaf anatomical traits were correlated with water relation parameters to determine whether water relations differed among tissues. The key findings were: osmotic adjustment occurred in response to the long-term drought treatment; species resistant to drought stress showed less osmotic adjustment than drought-sensitive species; and water relation traits were correlated with tissue properties, especially the thickness of the abaxial epidermis and the spongy mesophyll. These findings demonstrate that cell-level water relation traits can acclimate to long-term water stress, and highlight the limitations of extrapolating the results of short-term studies to temporal scales associated with climate change., (© 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.)

Introduction: Prevalence of low back pain (LBP) is expected to increase worldwide with aging of the population but its prevalence in older people is not clear, mainly in developing countries., Objective: To estimate the prevalence of LBP in older Brazilians., Methods: Electronic searches on SciELO, LILACS, MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL, as well as hand-searching identified studies investigating prevalence of LBP in older Brazilians aged 60 years or over. Two independent reviewers selected studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria, assessed risk of bias for each included study and extracted relevant data. Meta-analysis was conducted when enough homogeneity allowed and the GRADE system was used to summarize the overall quality of the evidence., Results: Sixteen studies were included with a total of 28,448 participants. Data from point- and period-prevalence of LBP were obtained. Meta-analysis was conducted for 13 studies reporting point-prevalence. Pooled point-prevalence of LBP was 25.0% (95% CI 18.0-32.0). Other three studies investigated period-prevalence: one-week prevalence=15.0% (95% CI 13.0-18.0); six-month prevalence=43.0% (95% CI 42.0-44.0); and 12-month prevalence=13.0% (95% CI 11.0-16.0). Sensitivity analyses were performed for point-prevalence and exclusion of studies with poorer methodological quality tended to increase the estimated prevalence of LBP., Conclusion: Moderate-quality evidence showed that at any point in time one in four older Brazilians suffers from LBP. This was the first systematic review investigating nationwide data on the prevalence of LBP in older people and contributes important clinical and epidemiological evidence for policymakers., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

This study evaluated the effect of resistance training (RT) volume on muscular strength and on indicators of abdominal adiposity, metabolic risk, and inflammation in post-menopausal women (PW). Thirty-two volunteers were randomly allocated into the following three groups: control (CT, no exercise, n = 11), low-volume RT (LV, three sets/exercise, n = 10), and high-volume RT (HV, six sets/exercise, n = 11). The LV and HV groups performed eight exercises at 70 % of one maximal repetition, three times a week, for 16 weeks. Muscular strength and indicators of abdominal adiposity, metabolic risk, and inflammation were measured at baseline and after 16 weeks. No differences were found in baseline measures between the groups. The PW showed excess weight and fat percentage (F%), large waist circumference (WC), high waist-hip ratio (WHR), and hypercholesterolemia and borderline values of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c%). Following the RT, a similar increase in muscle strength and reduction in F% from baseline were found in both trained groups. In HV, a decrease in total cholesterol, LDL-c, WC, and WHR was noted. Moreover, the HV showed a lower change (delta%) of interleukin-6 (IL-6) when compared to CT (HV = 11.2 %, P 25-75 = -7.6-28.4 % vs. CT = 99.55 %, P 25-75 = 18.5-377.0 %, p = 0.049). In LV, a decrease was noted for HbA1c%. There were positive correlations (delta%) between WHR and IL-6 and between IL-6 and TC. These results suggest that while a low-volume RT improves HbA1c%, F%, and muscular strength, a high-volume RT is necessary to improve indicators of abdominal adiposity and lipid metabolism and also prevent IL-6 increases in PW.

Biological invasions pose a significant threat to biodiversity, especially on oceanic islands. One of the primary explanations for the success of plant invaders is direct suppression of competitors. However, indirect interactions can also be important, although they are often overlooked in studies on biological invasion. The shrub Leucaena leucocephala is a widespread island invader with putative allelopathic effects on the germination and growth of other species. We quantified the impact of Leucaena on plant communities richness on an oceanic Brazilian island and, through nursery experiments, investigated the potential for allelopathic effects on the germination of Erythrina velutina, a native species that is often absent from stands of Leucaena. Additionally, in a manipulative field experiment, we examined the direct and indirect effects (mediated by the native species Capparis flexuosa) of the invader on the development of Erythrina. The species richness in invaded sites was lower than in uninvaded sites, and Capparis was the only native species that was frequently present in invaded sites. In the nursery experiments, we found no evidence that Leucaena affects the germination of Erythrina. In the field experiments, the odds of Erythrina germination were lower in the presence of Leucaena litter, but higher in the presence of Leucaena trees. However, the survival and growth of Erythrina were considerably inhibited by the presence of Leucaena trees. The isolated effect of native Capparis on the germination and growth of Erythrina varied from positive to neutral. However, when Capparis and Leucaena were both present, their combined negative effects on Erythrina were worse than the effect of Leucaena alone, which may be attributed to indirect effects. This study provides the first empirical evidence that the balance of the interactions between native species can shift from neutral/positive to negative in the presence of an exotic species.

The species Corynebacterium renale, Corynebacterium pilosum, and Corynebacterium cystitidis were initially thought to be the same species C. renale, but with different immunological types. These bacteria are the causative agent of cystitis, urethritis and pyelonephritis and are found usually as constituents of the normal flora in the lower urogenital tract of cattle. Therefore, we present the draft genome sequences of two pathogenic Corynebacterium species: C. renale CIP 52.96 and C. pilosum CIP 103422. The genome sequences of these species have 2,322,762 bp with 2,218 protein encoding genes and 2,548,014 bp with 2,428 protein encoding genes, respectively. These genomes can help clarify the virulence mechanisms of these unknown bacteria and enable the development of more effective methods for control.

The genus Psychrobacter includes Gram-negative coccobacilli that are non-pigmented, oxidase-positive, non-motile, psychrophilic or psychrotolerant, and halotolerant. Psychrobacter strain ENNN9&#95;III was isolated from water in a polluted temperate estuarine system, contaminated with hydrocarbons and heavy metals. The genome has a G + C content of 42.7%, 2618 open reading frames (ORFs), three copies of the rRNAs operon, and 29 tRNA genes. Twenty-five sequences related to the degradation of aromatic compounds were predicted, as well as numerous genes related to resistance to metals or metal(loid)s. The genome sequence of Psychrobacter strain ENNN9&#95;III provides the groundwork for further elucidation of the mechanisms of metal resistance and aromatic compounds degradation. Future studies are needed to confirm the usefulness of this strain for bioremediation proposes.

Land-use change occurs nowhere more rapidly than in the tropics, where the imbalance between deforestation and forest regrowth has large consequences for the global carbon cycle. However, considerable uncertainty remains about the rate of biomass recovery in secondary forests, and how these rates are influenced by climate, landscape, and prior land use. Here we analyse aboveground biomass recovery during secondary succession in 45 forest sites and about 1,500 forest plots covering the major environmental gradients in the Neotropics. The studied secondary forests are highly productive and resilient. Aboveground biomass recovery after 20 years was on average 122 megagrams per hectare (Mg ha(-1)), corresponding to a net carbon uptake of 3.05 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1), 11 times the uptake rate of old-growth forests. Aboveground biomass stocks took a median time of 66 years to recover to 90% of old-growth values. Aboveground biomass recovery after 20 years varied 11.3-fold (from 20 to 225 Mg ha(-1)) across sites, and this recovery increased with water availability (higher local rainfall and lower climatic water deficit). We present a biomass recovery map of Latin America, which illustrates geographical and climatic variation in carbon sequestration potential during forest regrowth. The map will support policies to minimize forest loss in areas where biomass resilience is naturally low (such as seasonally dry forest regions) and promote forest regeneration and restoration in humid tropical lowland areas with high biomass resilience.

Here, we assessed outcome of experimental infection by Neospora caninum in goats intravenously inoculated with 10(6) tachyzoites of the Nc-Spain7 isolate at 40 (G1), 90 (G2) and 120 (G3) days of gestation. Infected goats had fever between 5 and 9 days post inoculation (dpi); all were seropositive at the time of abortion/birth. Foetal death occurred in G1 from 10 to 21 dpi (n = 7) and in G2 from 27 to 35 dpi (n = 4). Goats in G2 also had seropositive stillbirth (n = 1) and healthy kids (n = 2). G3 goats (n = 7) had 3 seropositive and 3 seronegative weak kids, and 2 seronegative healthy kids. Parasite DNA detection in placentomes was 100% in G2, 85.7% in G3 and in G1 was detected only in placentomes from the goats with foetal losses from 17 dpi (100%). Parasites were detected in foetal/kid brain (>85.7%) and liver (≥ 50%) of G2 and G3, and in G1 after 17 dpi (100%). The highest parasite loads were detected in the placentomes of G1 from 17 dpi and G2, and in foetal tissues of G1 from 17 dpi and G3. Multifocal necrotic lesions were observed in the placentas of the three groups, but they were larger and more frequent in G1 and G2. Similar lesions were observed in foetal tissues, but they were more frequent in G3. These findings suggest that, as observed in cattle and sheep, the clinical consequences of N. caninum in pregnant goats are dependent in part on the time of gestation when animals were infected.

Objective: We studied the effects of loss of ovarian function (ovariectomy) on muscle mass of gastrocnemius and the mRNA levels of IGF-1, atrogin-1, MuRF-1, and myostatin in an experimental model of rheumatoid arthritis in rats., Methods: We randomly allocated 24 female Wistar rats (9 weeks, 195.3 ± 17.4 grams) into four groups: control (CT-Sham; n = 6); rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 6); ovariectomy without rheumatoid arthritis (OV; n = 6); ovariectomy with rheumatoid arthritis (RAOV; n = 6). We performed the ovariectomy (OV and RAOV) or Sham (CT-Sham or RA) procedures at the same time, fifteen days before the rheumatoid arthritis induction. The RA and RAOV groups were immunized and then were injected with Met-BSA in the tibiotarsal joint. After 15 days of intra-articular injections the animals were euthanized. We evaluated the external manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (perimeter joint) as well as animal weight, and food intake throughout the study. We also analyzed the cross-sectional areas (CSA) of gastrocnemius muscle fibers in 200 fibers (H&E method). In the gastrocnemius muscle, we analyzed mRNA expression by quantitative real time PCR followed by the Livak method (ΔΔCT)., Results: The rheumatoid arthritis induced reduction in CSA of gastrocnemius muscle fibers. The RAOV group showed a lower CSA of gastrocnemius muscle fibers compared to RA and CT-Sham groups. Skeletal muscle IGF-1 mRNA increased in arthritics and ovariectomized rats. The increased IGF-1 mRNA was higher in OV groups than in the RA and RAOV groups. Antrogin-1 mRNA also increased in the gastrocnemius muscle of arthritic and ovariectomized rats. However, the increased atrogin-1 mRNA was higher in RAOV groups than in the RA and OV groups. Gastrocnemius muscle MuRF-1 mRNA increased in the OV and RAOV groups, but not in the RA and Sham groups. However, the RAOV group showed higher MuRF-1 mRNA than the OV group. The myostatin gene expression was similar in all groups., Conclusion: Loss of ovarian function results in increased loss of skeletal muscle-related ubiquitin ligases atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 in arthritic rats., (Thieme Publicações Ltda Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.)

Drought threatens tropical rainforests over seasonal to decadal timescales, but the drivers of tree mortality following drought remain poorly understood. It has been suggested that reduced availability of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) critically increases mortality risk through insufficient carbon supply to metabolism ('carbon starvation'). However, little is known about how NSC stores are affected by drought, especially over the long term, and whether they are more important than hydraulic processes in determining drought-induced mortality. Using data from the world's longest-running experimental drought study in tropical rainforest (in the Brazilian Amazon), we test whether carbon starvation or deterioration of the water-conducting pathways from soil to leaf trigger tree mortality. Biomass loss from mortality in the experimentally droughted forest increased substantially after >10 years of reduced soil moisture availability. The mortality signal was dominated by the death of large trees, which were at a much greater risk of hydraulic deterioration than smaller trees. However, we find no evidence that the droughted trees suffered carbon starvation, as their NSC concentrations were similar to those of non-droughted trees, and growth rates did not decline in either living or dying trees. Our results indicate that hydraulics, rather than carbon starvation, triggers tree death from drought in tropical rainforest.

Determining climate change feedbacks from tropical rainforests requires an understanding of how carbon gain through photosynthesis and loss through respiration will be altered. One of the key changes that tropical rainforests may experience under future climate change scenarios is reduced soil moisture availability. In this study we examine if and how both leaf photosynthesis and leaf dark respiration acclimate following more than 12 years of experimental soil moisture deficit, via a through-fall exclusion experiment (TFE) in an eastern Amazonian rainforest. We find that experimentally drought-stressed trees and taxa maintain the same maximum leaf photosynthetic capacity as trees in corresponding control forest, independent of their susceptibility to drought-induced mortality. We hypothesize that photosynthetic capacity is maintained across all treatments and taxa to take advantage of short-lived periods of high moisture availability, when stomatal conductance (gs ) and photosynthesis can increase rapidly, potentially compensating for reduced assimilate supply at other times. Average leaf dark respiration (Rd ) was elevated in the TFE-treated forest trees relative to the control by 28.2 ± 2.8% (mean ± one standard error). This mean Rd value was dominated by a 48.5 ± 3.6% increase in the Rd of drought-sensitive taxa, and likely reflects the need for additional metabolic support required for stress-related repair, and hydraulic or osmotic maintenance processes. Following soil moisture deficit that is maintained for several years, our data suggest that changes in respiration drive greater shifts in the canopy carbon balance, than changes in photosynthetic capacity., (© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)