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Understanding connectivity patterns has implications for evolutionary and ecological processes, as well as for proper conservation strategies. This study examined population genetic structure and migration patterns of the coral Mussismilia hispida, one of the main reef builders in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. For this, 15 sites were sampled along its entire distributional range employing 10 microsatellite loci. M. hispida was divided into five genetically differentiated populations by Structure analysis. Population structure and migration estimates are consistent with present-day oceanographic current patterns, zones of upwelling and historical sea-level changes. The Central Region and Oceanic Islands populations had the highest genetic diversity, were possibly the main sources of migrants for other populations and presented mutual migrant exchange. This mutual exchange and the high diversity of Oceanic Islands, a peripherical population, is highly interesting and unexpected, but can be explained if these sites acted as refugia in past low sea-level stance. This is the first connectivity study in the region using hyper-variable markers and a fine sampling scale along 3,500 km. These results enlighten the population dynamics of an important reef building species and shows how oceanographic processes may act as barriers to dispersal for marine species, providing valuable information for management strategies.

Part 1: Full Papers; International audience; Preventing falls is extremely important today as people live long sedentary lives. Fall prevention platforms can help, by stimulating seniors to perform exercises that improve balance and muscular strength. However, existing platforms for fall prevention mostly target individual users exercising at home. This paper describes the design and evaluation of a multi-player fall prevention game platform, FallSensing Games, to be used in senior care centers. The game design was inspired by the Otago Exercise Programme and the evaluation focused on biomechanical parameters, game experience, and technology acceptance. Results showed that the game was easy to follow, that seniors performed exercises correctly, and that the game integrated well with the activities of the senior care centers. Lessons learned from this project may inspire the development of similar platforms, and, in this way, support group exercise practices at senior care centers.

Cachexia, or muscle wasting, is a complex metabolic syndrome associated with an underlying illness and characterized by loss of muscle mass. It is a rather prevalent condition, with impacts on patient survival, response to treatment, and quality of life. Treatment options are sparse because of cachexia's multifactorial pathogenesis. Recently, attention has focused on microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential therapeutic targets of several diseases. miRNAs are small, 18- to 25-base-long constructs that regulate gene expression on a post-transcriptional level, selectively activating or repressing elements of specific signaling pathways. In this review, we investigated whether miRNAs play any role in cachexia's biochemical pathways and if miRNA targeting has any significant impact on preclinical models of cachexia.

Introduction Erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with neurological damage due to human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1) infection, but hormonal and psychogenic factors also cause ED. Aim To evaluate the association of psychogenic and hormonal factors with ED in men infected with HTLV-1. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we compared total testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and neurologic manifestations in HTLV-1-infected men with or without ED. The International Index of Erectile Function was used to determine the degree of ED. Participants were grouped according to Osame’s Motor Disability Scale and the Expanded Disability Status Scale: HTLV-1-associated myelopathy or tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), probable HAM/TSP, or HTLV-1 carrier. Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare the groups, and regression analyses were used to show predictors of ED. Main Outcome Measure Sexual hormonal levels, psychogenic factors, and neurologic disabilities were found to be associated with ED. Results ED was associated with age older than 60 years (P < .001), degree of neurologic involvement (P Clinical Implications Neurological manifestations are a stronger predictor of ED than hormonal and psychogenic factors in HTLV-1-infected men. Strengths & Limitations The statistical power of the study was limited due to the low number of participants, but neurologic manifestations were clearly associated with ED. There was no strong association between hormonal and psychogenic factors and ED. Conclusion Hormonal and psychogenic factors did not show a strong association with ED in individuals with HTLV-1, but neurological manifestations were strongly associated with ED in these individuals.

Nesta comunicação, sugiro que confrontemos os argumentários da precedência simbólica com os da precedência da razão utilitária nas relações das sociedades com o mar. Para tanto, o texto explora múltiplas camadas cronológicas e núcleos temáticos de diversos sectores disciplinares, tomando como ponto de partida o domínio da navegação fúnebre nos relatos da chegada, por via marítima, das relíquias dos santos fundadores (como S. Tiago e S. Vicente). Estes eventos multiplicaram-se em réplicas e variantes que se sucedem ao longo de séculos e com ressonância na religiosidade popular dos dias de hoje, frequentemente acompanhados por interesses políticos associados à sacralização do oceano, com os seus recursos, ‘bons para comer, bons para pensar’. Tomando a indeterminação, o aleatório, como dado epistemológico fundamental – não só dos modos de vida e das crenças associadas às interfaces ribeirinhas e oceânicas, como da própria condição humana – enfatizar-se-ão aspetos escópicos e processos cognitivos, identificando-se alguns elementos centrais que se reportam à experiência vivida da luz e da atmosfera, das continuidades entre os elementos aquático e celeste. Esta proposta explora perspetivas teóricas recentes e inovadoras, na Antropologia e para além dela, procurando, segundo os princípios da teoria autopoiética, uma equação alternativa aos determinismos dos argumentários apresentados. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Background: Evidence from observational studies of telomere length (TL) has been conflicting regarding its direction of association with cancer risk. We investigated the causal relevance of TL for lung and head and neck cancers using Mendelian Randomization (MR) and mediation analyses. Methods: We developed a novel genetic instrument for TL in chromosome 5p15.33, using variants identified through deep-sequencing, that were genotyped in 2051 cancer-free subjects. Next, we conducted an MR analysis of lung (16 396 cases, 13 013 controls) and head and neck cancer (4415 cases, 5013 controls) using eight genetic instruments for TL. Lastly, the 5p15.33 instrument and distinct 5p15.33 lung cancer risk loci were evaluated using two-sample mediation analysis, to quantify their direct and indirect, telomere-mediated, effects. Results: The multi-allelic 5p15.33 instrument explained 1.49-2.00% of TL variation in our data (p = 2.6 × 10-9). The MR analysis estimated that a 1000 base-pair increase in TL increases risk of lung cancer [odds ratio (OR) = 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20-1.65] and lung adenocarcinoma (OR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.51-2.22), but not squamous lung carcinoma (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.83-1.29) or head and neck cancers (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.70-1.05). Mediation analysis of the 5p15.33 instrument indicated an absence of direct effects on lung cancer risk (OR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.95-1.04). Analysis of distinct 5p15.33 susceptibility variants estimated that TL mediates up to 40% of the observed associations with lung cancer risk. Conclusions: Our findings support a causal role for long telomeres in lung cancer aetiology, particularly for adenocarcinoma, and demonstrate that telomere maintenance partially mediates the lung cancer susceptibility conferred by 5p15.33 loci. © 2018 The Author(s) 2018; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

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Objective: The aim was to translate the findings of the QUASER study into a reflective, dialogic guide to help senior hospital leaders develop an organization wide QI strategy. Design: The QUASER study involved in depth ethnographic research into QI work and practices in two hospitals in each of five European countries. Three translational stakeholder workshops were held to review research findings and advise on the design of the Guide. An extended iterative process involving researchers from each participant country was then used to populate the Guide. Setting: The research was carried out in two hospitals in each of five European countries. Participants: In total, 389 interviews with healthcare practitioners and 803 hours of observations. Intervention: None. Main outcome measure: None. Results: The QUASER Hospital Guide was designed for leadership teams to diagnose their organization’s strengths and weaknesses in the eight QI challenges. The Guide supports organizational dialogue about QI challenges, enables leaders to share perspectives, and helps teams to develop solutions to their situated problems. The Guide includes extensive examples of QI strategies drawn from the data and is published online and on paper. Conclusions: The QUASER Hospital Guide is empirically based, draws on a dialogical approach to Organizational Development and complexity science and can facilitate hospital leadership teams to identify the best solutions for their organization. Key words: Quality improvement, hospital care, patient safety, quality improvement guide, translational research, leadership info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion