Search

Mining dams within urban areas are a technological risk because, in the event of an accident, they affect water security. For example, a sand mining dam accident caused an interruption in the water supply in the downstream city of São José dos Campos. Thus, the social vulnerability of the population that suffered from a failure in the drinking water supply was evaluated. A water shortage indicator, the Social Urban Water Shortage Vulnerability Index – SUWSVI, was composed. Variables that best reflect the socioeconomic condition were used: Average Income of Head of Household, Female Head of Household, and Children and Elderly Dependent Ratio. The sensitivity analysis considered the city by geographic regions and zoning classes, considering infrastructure supply and lot size. The results showed that although there are full water supply and sewerage infrastructure (99.6%), the access to water was unequal (39% of the population in the medium SUWSVI range)., As barragens de mineração em áreas urbanas são riscos tecnológicos porque, em caso de acidente, afetam a segurança da água. Um acidente com uma barragem de mineração de areia causou interrupção no abastecimento de água na cidade de São José dos Campos, a jusante. Com isso, foi avaliada a vulnerabilidade social da população que sofreu com a falha no abastecimento de água potável. Um indicador de escassez de água, o Índice de Vulnerabilidade Social Urbana de Falta de Água – SUWSVI, foi composto. Foram utilizadas as variáveis que melhor refletissem a condição socioeconômica: Renda Média do Chefe de Família, Mulher Chefe de Família e Relação de Dependência de Crianças e Idosos. A análise de sensibilidade considerou a cidade por regiões geográficas e classes de zoneamento, que levam em conta a oferta de infraestrutura e o tamanho do lote. Os resultados mostraram que, embora com infraestrutura completa de abastecimento de água e esgoto (99,6%), o acesso à água foi desigual (39% da população na faixa média SUWSVI).

Despite the worldwide popularity of bus rapid transit (BRT), empirical evidence of its effects on land uses and development remains limited. This paper examines BRT’s impacts on land use and development in Bogotá and Quito, by using a parcel-level difference-in-differences research design. We estimate a propensity score-weighted regression model of parcel development characteristics in treatment and control areas. In Bogotá, although parcels in close proximity to the BRT are subject to fewer changes in terms of development intensity (changes in built-up area) in relation to parcels in the control area, they are more likely to change uses, shifting toward commercial activities. In Quito, the results are mixed; parcels in one BRT corridor are more likely to be subject to redevelopment, but the parcels in a more recent BRT corridor are less likely to be subject to development activity in relation to parcels in the control corridor. Taken together, our results suggest that changes in land use are important but frequently overlooked impacts produced by BRT implementation. Attempts to capture value from mass transit investments should also consider the ancillary planning decisions required to allow changes in land use.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Embolic cerebrovascular events that remain of unknown etiology after careful diagnostic evaluation are known as Embolic Strokes of Undetermined Source (ESUS). Subclinical atrial fibrillation (AF) is an important cause of ESUS. Purpose Our aims were to analyze the global diagnostic yield of a prolonged cardiac monitoring wearable system (PCMw) after an ESUS to detect AF and factors associated with it, including the time frame from the ESUS event to PCMw initiation. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 200 ECG recordings (3-leads, 30 days duration) by means of a PCMw in patients with an ESUS to detect AF lasting longer than 30 seconds, between 2017-2021. Results AF was detected in 21 patients (10,5 %). Patients with AF had more left atrial enlargement (OR=4,22 [1.59-6.85]; p=0.01) and atrial arrythmias in the initial 24-h Holter during hospitalization (OR=5,73 [2.03-16,49]; p=0.001). The detection of AF was significatively higher if the PCMw was worn within the first 30 days after the ESUS compared to beyond 30 days (17% vs 10,3%; p=0,002). Conclusion PCMw represents a feasible non-invasive device that could reliably detect subclinical AF episodes after an ESUS. Diagnostic yield was significatively higher when used within the first 30 days after the event, especially in selected patients.

Absolute kinetics for reactions of C2H2 with a series of ∼60 individual carbon nanoparticles (NPs) from graphite, graphene, graphene oxide, carbon black, diamond, and nano-onion feedstocks were measured for temperatures (TNP) ranging from 1200 to 1700 K. All the NPs were observed to gain mass by carbon addition under conditions that varied with feedstock but with large variations in initial growth rate. Long reaction periods were studied to allow the evolution of growth rates over time to be observed. Diamond NPs were found to passivate against C2H2 addition if heated above ∼1400 K, and the highly variable initial reactivity for carbon nano-onions was found to depend on the presence of non-onion-structure surface carbon. For graphitic and carbon black NPs, three distinct growth modes were observed, correlated with the initial NP mass (Minitial). Smallest graphitic and carbon black NPs, with masses 50 MDa, grew rapidly and continuously, adding up to ∼300% of Minitial with no sign of rate slowing as long as C2H2 was present. The efficiencies for C2H2 addition and etching by O2 are strongly correlated, but the correlation changes as the NPs passivate. Growth and passivation mechanisms are discussed.

Background Within the classification of pathological scars, scars after a burn that degenerate into squamous cell carcinoma, are called Marjolin's Ulcer. They generally present with nodules or plaques with irregular margins and surface, heterogeneous in color, painless, which present a slow growth mainly in a burn scar. These lesions are more frequent in patients with fair skin, being the main risk factor chronic exposure to sunlight. When Marjolin's ulcers occur, they appear many years after the burn and are characterized by being aggressive with a poor prognosis. A case report from a 58-year-old male, with a history of a third-degree burn for 3 years on the back and abdomen presented a plaque on a scar on his back of 8 years of evolution which had presented recurrent infections. Keywords: Marjolin ulcer, flap reconstruction

ObjectiveTo map the existing literature on the difference in risk factors for undernutrition between indigenous and non-indigenous children younger than 5 years old of Latin America and caribbean.IntroductionCompared to non-indigenous children, Indigenous children have a higher risk for undernutrition, however, there are not systematic or scoping reviews identifying this difference through the risk factors.Inclusion criteriaEvery paper designed to assess directly or indirectly associations between undernutrition and risk factors, also, it must show results where indigenous people had not been aggregated to other races. We excluded every paper that didn’t have a covariate different to ethnicity.MethodsThis scoping review will use the JBI methodology to search several databases, trial registries, and gray literature for both published and unpublished studies related to malnutrition. Two or more independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts for inclusion criteria, assess full texts, and extract data using a data extraction tool. Results will be presented as a narrative synthesis with key findings, knowledge gaps, and recommendations. A PRISMA-ScR flow diagram will be included in the final report.

Background: Chagas disease is a potentially fatal disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. There is growing scientific interest in finding new and better therapeutic alternatives for this disease’s treatment. Methods: A total of 81 terpene compounds with potential trypanocidal activity were screened and found to have potential T. cruzi cysteine synthase (TcCS) inhibition using molecular docking, molecular dynamics, ADME and PAIN property analyses and in vitro susceptibility assays. Results: Molecular docking analyses revealed energy ranges from −10.5 to −4.9 kcal/mol in the 81 tested compounds, where pentacyclic triterpenes were the best. Six compounds were selected to assess the stability of the TcCS–ligand complexes, of which lupeol acetate (ACLUPE) and α-amyrin (AMIR) exhibited the highest stability during 200 ns of molecular dynamics analysis. Such stability was primarily due to their hydrophobic interactions with the amino acids located in the enzyme’s active site. In addition, ACLUPE and AMIR exhibited lipophilic characteristics, low intestinal absorption and no structural interferences or toxicity. Finally, selective index for ACLUPE was >5.94, with moderate potency in the trypomastigote stage (EC50 = 15.82 ± 3.7 μg/mL). AMIR’s selective index was >9.36 and it was moderately potent in the amastigote stage (IC50 = 9.08 ± 23.85 μg/mL). Conclusions: The present study proposes a rational approach for exploring lupeol acetate and α-amyrin terpene compounds to design new drugs candidates for Chagas disease.

Background: There is uncertainty whether elderly patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis have higher rates of adverse events following carotid endarterectomy. In trials, recurrent stroke risk on medical therapy alone increased with age, whereas operative stroke risk was not related. Few octogenarians were included in trials and there has been no systematic analysis of all study types. We aimed to evaluate the safety of carotid endarterectomy in symptomatic elderly patients, particularly in octogenarians. Methods: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies (from January 1, 1980 through March 1, 2022) reporting post carotid endarterectomy risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, and death in patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis. We included observational studies and interventional arms of randomized trials if the outcome rates (or the raw data to calculate these) were provided. Individual patient data from 4 prospective cohorts enabled multivariate analysis. Results: Of 47 studies (107 587 patients), risk of perioperative stroke was 2.04% (1.94–2.14) in octogenarians (390 strokes/19 101 patients) and 1.85% (1.75–1.95) in nonoctogenarians (1395/75 537); P =0.046. Perioperative death was 1.09% (0.94–1.25) in octogenarians (203/18 702) and 0.53% (0.48–0.59) in nonoctogenarians (392/73 327); P P =0.04 to 0.002. However, during the last 3 decades, perioperative stroke±death has declined significantly in octogenarians (7.78% [5.58–10.55] before year 2000 to 2.80% [2.56–3.04] after 2010); P P P =0.005). Yet, survival was similar for octogenarians versus nonoctogenarians at 1-year (95.0% [93.2–96.5] versus 97.5% [96.4–98.6]; P =0.08), as was 5-year stroke risk (11.93% [9.98–14.16]) versus 12.78% [11.65–13.61]; P =0.24). Conclusions: We found a modest increase in perioperative risk with age in symptomatic patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. As stroke risk increases with age when on medical therapy alone, our findings support selective urgent intervention in symptomatic elderly patients.

BackgroundHealth research on ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is sparse in Latin America, despite the high prevalence of NO2-associated respiratory diseases in the region. This study describes within-city distributions of ambient NO2concentrations at high spatial resolution and urban characteristics associated with neighborhood ambient NO2in 326 Latin American cities.MethodsWe aggregated estimates of annual surface NO2at 1 km2spatial resolution for 2019, population counts, and urban characteristics compiled by the SALURBAL project to the neighborhood level (i.e., census tracts). We described the percent of the urban population living with ambient NO2levels exceeding WHO Air Quality Guidelines. We used multilevel models to describe associations of neighborhood ambient NO2concentrations with population and urban characteristics at the neighborhood and city levels.FindingsWe examined 47,187 neighborhoods in 326 cities from eight Latin American countries. Of the ≈236 million urban residents observed, 85% lived in neighborhoods with ambient annual NO2above WHO guidelines. In adjusted models, higher neighborhood-level educational attainment, closer proximity to the city center, and lower neighborhood-level greenness were associated with higher ambient NO2. At the city level, higher vehicle congestion, population size, and population density were associated with higher ambient NO2.InterpretationAlmost nine out of every 10 residents of Latin American cities live with ambient NO2concentrations above WHO guidelines. Increasing neighborhood greenness and reducing reliance on fossil fuel-powered vehicles warrant further attention as potential actionable urban environmental interventions to reduce population exposure to ambient NO2.FundingWellcome Trust, National Institutes of Health, Cotswold Foundation

Este artigo apresenta uma perspectiva geral dos impactos observados por mudanças no uso e cobertura da terra em bacias hidrográficas, com ênfase em regiões tropicais. Primeiramente, são abordadas as primeiras asserções sobre os impactos das mudanças no uso e cobertura da terra, os primeiros debates e os artigos científicos pioneiros em relação ao tema. Então, se expõe, em termos gerais, os impactos diretos e indiretos das mudanças no uso e cobertura da terra e o papel das florestas nesse contexto. Em seguida, apresenta-se um levantamento não detalhado de estudos em nível mundial e explora-se as regiões tropicais, com estudos na América do Sul, Ásia e África. Adicionalmente, discute-se o efeito de escala, tanto nos estudos em geral quanto na fragmentação dos habitats e considerações finais, identificando algumas tendências e propostas para o futuro de estudos no tema.

Improving the built environment to support walking is a popular strategy to increase urban sustainability and walkability. In the past decade alone, many US cities have implemented crosswalk visibility enhancement programs as part of road safety improvements and active transportation plans. However, there are no systematic ways of measuring and monitoring the presence of key built environment attributes that influence the safety and walkability of an area, such as marked crosswalks. Furthermore, little is known about how these attributes change over time at a national scale. In this paper, we introduce an innovative approach using a deep learning-based computer vision model on Street View images to identify changes in intersection-level marked crosswalks around more than 4,000 US transit stations over a 14-year period. We found an increase in the overall number of marked crosswalks at intersections. Furthermore, high-visibility crosswalks became more common, as they replaced existing parallel-line crosswalks. We further examine crosswalks around transit stations in New York City and San Francisco to illustrate geographic variations and compare associations with other characteristics of the built environment as reported in the Smart Location Database. Areas with increases in high-visibility crosswalks focused on high density residential areas and areas with a higher percent of zero-vehicle households. However, geographic variations exist. For example, in San Francisco, transit station areas outside downtown or major corridors (South and Southwest of the city) had the lower prevalence of marked crosswalks. This analysis confirms important gaps in crosswalk visibility that call for safety enhancements and opens the door for additional research involving these data. We conclude by discussing the limitations and future research opportunities using computer vision to automatically detect large-scale transportation infrastructure changes at a relatively low cost.

To investigate the impact of global and local genetic ancestry and neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES), on breast cancer (BC) subtype, and gene expression.Higher rates of aggressive BC subtypes [triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)] and worse overall BC survival are seen in black women [Hispanic Black (HB) and non-Hispanic Black (NHB)] and women from low nSES. However, the complex relationship between genetic ancestry, nSES, and BC subtype etiology remains unknown.Genomic analysis was performed on the peripheral blood from a cohort of 308 stage I to IV non-Hispanic White (NHW), Hispanic White (HW), HB, and NHB women with BC. Patient and tumor characteristics were collected. Global and local ancestral estimates were calculated. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to determine associations between age, stage, genetic ancestry, and nSES on rates of TNBC compared to estrogen receptor (ER+)/epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2-), ER+/HER2+, and ER-/HER2+ disease.Among 308 women, we identified a significant association between increasing West African (WA) ancestry and odds of TNBC [odds ratio (OR): 1.06, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.001-1.126, P =0.046] as well as an inverse relationship between higher nSES and TNBC (OR: 0.343, 95% CI: 0.151-0.781, P =0.011). WA ancestry remained significantly associated with TNBC when adjusting for patient age and tumor stage, but not when adjusting for nSES (OR: 1.049, 95% CI: -0.987-1.116, P =0.120). Local ancestry analysis, however, still revealed nSES-independent enriched WA ancestral segment centered at χ 2 =42004914 ( p =3.70×10 -5 ) in patients with TNBC.In this translational epidemiologic study of genetic ancestry and nSES on BC subtype, we discovered associations between increasing WA ancestry, low nSES, and higher rates of TNBC compared to other BC subtypes. Moreover, on admixture mapping, specific chromosomal segments were associated with WA ancestry and TNBC, independent of nSES. However, on multinomial logistic regression adjusting for WA ancestry, women from low nSES were more likely to have TNBC, independent of genetic ancestry. These findings highlight the complex nature of TNBC and the importance of studying potential gene-environment interactions as drivers of TNBC.

Study designs involving randomization can be difficult to communicate to participants, especially those with low literacy. The literature on strategies to explain research concepts is limited, especially for non-English speakers. We measured the effectiveness of a culturally and contextually situated multimedia approach to recruit a cohort of 60 female Mexican immigrants (FMI) to a randomized control trial (RCT) to reduce social isolation and depression. This strategy was designed to explain the concept of randomization, explain what participating in the research study entailed, and ensure informed consent. Potential participants viewed a presentation explaining the study and a video including animation with voice-over explaining the concept of randomization. We administered a pre/post survey. Respondents ( N = 59) reported an increase in their understanding of randomization, intention to enroll, and attitude towards participating in research. We conclude that a culturally and contextually situated multimedia approach is an effective model when recruiting underrepresented populations with low literacy for RCTs.

Dry eye disease (DED) is a diagnosis given to individuals with a heterogeneous combination of symptoms and/or signs, including spontaneous and evoked ocular pain. Our current study evaluated whether and which ocular pain assessments could serve as screening tools for central sensitization in individuals with DED. A cohort of individuals with DED symptoms (n = 235) were evaluated for ocular pain, DED signs (tear production, evaporation), evoked sensitivity to mechanical stimulation at the cornea, and evidence of central sensitization. Central sensitization was defined for this study as the presence of pain 30 seconds after termination of a thermal noxious temporal summation protocol (ie, aftersensations) presented at a site remote from the eye (ventral forearm). We found that combining ratings of average intensity of ocular pain, ratings of average intensity of pain due to light, response to topical anesthetic eye drops, and corneal mechanical pain thresholds produced the best predictive model for central sensitization (area under the curve of .73). When examining ratings of intensity of ocular pain due to light alone (0-10 numerical rating), a cutoff score of 2 maximized sensitivity (85%) and specificity (48%) for the presence of painful aftersensations at the forearm. Self-reported rating of pain sensitivity to light may serve as a quick screening tool indicating the involvement of central nociceptive system dysfunction in individuals with DED. PERSPECTIVE: This study reveals that clinically-relevant variables, including a simple 0 to 10 rating of ocular pain due to light, can be used to predict the contribution of central sensitization mechanisms in a subgroup of individuals with DED symptoms. These findings can potentially improve patient stratification and management for this complex and painful disease.

Purpose: Disparities in breast cancer outcomes have been a long-standing and persistent challenge. Earlier onset, advanced stage at diagnosis, aggressive tumor subtypes [triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)], and worse overall survival (OS) are some of the characteristic features of breast cancer in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) women compared to their non-Hispanic White (NHW) counterparts, denoting one of the most significant examples of racial/ethnic differences in oncology. Given our location in South Florida, gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean, we discovered that these disparities in tumor characteristics and outcomes among NHB and NHW also extend to Hispanic Blacks (HB) compared to Hispanic Whites (HW). Since Hispanics are the second largest ethnic group in the US and have a rich genetic architecture with contributions from European (EU), West African (WA), and Native American (NA) populations, we sought to investigate genomic associations between observed inter and intra-racial/ethnic differences and breast cancer characteristics and outcomes. Methods: Patients with stage I-IV breast cancer were included. Patient socioeconomnic status (SES), tumor and treatment characteristics, and follow-up data were collected for each patient. Genomic analysis was performed on the peripheral blood from a cohort of 309 patients with breast cancer. This breast cancer cohort was comprised of 192 self-reported HW, 12 HB, 46 NHW, 47 NHB, and 12 unknown (declined to report) patients. Leukocyte DNA from each patient was genotyped, generating whole genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles. Global ancestral estimates, using >100,000 SNPs, were calculated against reference samples from EU, WA, NA, and East Asian (EA) ancestral populations. A genomic diversity space was generated via principal component analysis and ADMIXTURE was used to estimate the ancestral proportions among the patients. Results: The genetic structure of individual patient sample revealed a diverse ancestral admixture where average EU, WA, NA, and EA ancestries were 64.5%, 21.8%, 11.2%, and 2.5%, respectively. Multinomial logistic regression revealed a significant association between increasing WA ancestry and aggressive tumor subtypes (ER-/HER2+ and TNBC), p=0.009 and p=0.031, respectively. These findings remained significant when correcting for patient age and tumor stage; however, when adjusting for income, the association between WA ancestry and ER-/HER2+ and TNBC was no longer significant. Kaplan Meier survival curves showed a significant difference in 5-year OS for patients with >70% WA ancestry compared to those with Citation Format: Daniel A Rodriguez, Sina Yadegarynia, J. William Harbour, Nipun B. Merchant, Erin N. Kobetz, Neha Goel. Comprehensive analysis of global genetic ancestry and socioeconomic status on breast cancer outcomes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-13-05.

The thermal decomposition of calcium propionate, in inert and oxidative atmospheres, has been investigated by thermogravimetry combined with infrared evolved gas analysis; the main volatiles formed during thermal decomposition have been identified. The intermediate and final products have been characterized by infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, elemental analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The different mechanisms involved in thermal decomposition are discussed as a function of atmosphere and sample structure. The kinetics of the decomposition and the ability of powders to undergo a thermal runaway are also investigated.

S1. Doxycycline-inducible shRNA knockdown of BAP1 results in robust decrease of GLO1 expression in uveal melanoma cell lines. S2. Phenotypic rescue and toxicity analysis of three HDAC inhibitors in Xenopus embryos injected with control morpholino CtrlMO or bap1-targeting morpholino BAP1MO. S3. Quisinostat and trametinib combination exhibits mostly additive cytotoxic effect in uveal melanoma in vitro.

Table S2. Results of epigenetic library screen.

Drug screens leading to successful targeted therapies in cancer have been mainly based on cell viability assays identifying inhibitors of dominantly acting oncogenes. In contrast, there has been little success in discovering targeted therapies that reverse the effects of inactivating mutations in tumor-suppressor genes. BAP1 is one such tumor suppressor that is frequently inactivated in a variety of cancers, including uveal melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and mesothelioma. Because BAP1 is an epigenetic transcriptional regulator of developmental genes, we designed a two-phase drug screen involving a cell-based rescue screen of transcriptional repression caused by BAP1 loss, followed by an in vivo screen of lead compounds for rescue of a BAP1-deficient phenotype with minimal toxicity in Xenopus embryos. The first screen identified 9 compounds, 8 of which were HDAC inhibitors. The second screen eliminated all except one compound due to inefficacy or toxicity. The resulting lead compound, quisinostat, has a distinctive activity spectrum, including high potency against HDAC4, which was recently shown to be a key target of BAP1. Quisinostat was further validated in a mouse model and found to prevent the growth of BAP1-mutant uveal melanomas. This innovative strategy demonstrates the potential for identifying therapeutic compounds that target tumor-suppressor mutations in cancer.Implications:Few drugs have been identified that target mutations in tumor suppressors. Using a novel 2-step screening approach, strategy, we identified quisinostat as a candidate for therapy in BAP1-mutant uveal melanoma. HDAC4 is implicated as a key target in uveal melanoma and perhaps other BAP1-mutant cancers.

Table S1. Results of differential expression analysis

How does the alignment between strategy, governance, and people management occur in a public organization? When devising a strategy, many organizations have sought to place it at the center of their management models in order to ensure that the adopted strategy reaches all levels of the organization and is widely shared. However, more often than not, most organizations attempt to generate synergy, but in a fragmented and uncoordinated manner and do not perceive alignment as a management process. This study evaluated the alignment of strategy, governance, and people management in a public organization, based on the people management strategy adopted by the organization and the perceptions of employees versus strategic managers. It is a theoretical-empirical research, adopting a pragmatic philosophical conception, using quantitative and qualitative research strategies, consisting of survey, documentary research, and a single case study, using quantitative and qualitative research methods for data collection, analysis, and interpretation. As a conclusion of the study, actions implemented by the institution were identified that demonstrate the existence of practices aligned with strategy, focused on governance and people management. However, according to the perception of employees, many practices were initiated but not completed or only partially applied in the organization, confirming the difficulty of organizations in sharing the strategy and defining coherent and aligned objectives among all those involved in implementing the strategy so that expected results can be achieved.

Resumo A bacia do rio Madeira constitui um exemplo de porção importante da região amazônica que se caracteriza por alta taxa de conversão de floresta em pastagens e núcleos urbanos, evidenciando transformação acelerada na cobertura e uso do solo com atividade antrópica significativa ao longo das três últimas décadas, o que configura potencial impacto quanto à modificação do comportamento climático da região. O presente trabalho busca analisar, na bacia do rio Madeira, os impactos hidroclimáticos por meio do estudo da variabilidade dos dois principais componentes do balanço hídrico e do balanço de energia na escala de uma bacia hidrográfica, nomeadamente precipitação e evapotranspiração, com destaque adicional para a temperatura, que tem servido de referência mundial para precisar e demarcar mudanças no clima, perante a sua dinâmica espaço-temporal de ocupação antrópica. Mais especificamente, analisou-se, inicialmente, o histórico de ocupação usando imagens MODIS para o período 2001-2013. Complementarmente, examinaram-se os dados de precipitação do produto satelital CHIRPS (1981-2017), de evapotranspiração determinados por meio do algoritmo SSEBop (2002-2017) via sensor que produz a imagem MODIS e ainda de temperatura de superfície do produto de satélite MODIS (2001-2017), informações tratadas como variáveis geoespaciais distribuídas na área de estudo. Extenso estudo de avaliação no que tange à identificação de existência ou não de tendências hidroclimáticas lineares na bacia do rio Madeira foi conduzido por meio do teste Mann-Kendall. Embora algumas tendências tenham sido captadas nas séries temporais analisadas, os resultados obtidos também mostraram não haver, necessariamente, face à limitada base de dados disponíveis atualmente, uma relação direta e clara entre o efeito da ocupação antrópica e o regime climático da bacia, em contraste com o quadro científico preconizado mundialmente de alerta quanto a mudanças climáticas no Antropoceno. Em parte, a alta variabilidade climática na região de estudo impõe limites para que se consiga claramente apreender e separar os sinais que podem ser atribuídos à alteração na cobertura e uso do solo dos sinais associados a mudanças climáticas que atuam em escalas espaço-temporais mais abrangentes. Nesse sentido, novos estudos sobre monitoramento de fenômenos hidrometeorológicos e hidroclimáticos com correspondentes medições em diferentes escalas devem ser incentivados para melhor compreender os processos de agregação e desagregação dos mecanismos físicos atuantes na escala de uma bacia hidrográfica. Abstract The Madeira River basin is an example of an important portion of the Amazon region that is characterized by a high rate of conversion of forest into pastures and urban centers, evidencing an accelerated transformation in land cover and use with significant anthropic activity over the last three decades, which configures a potential impact in terms of modifying the climate behavior of the region. The present work seeks to analyze, in the Madeira River basin, the hydroclimatic impacts through the study of the variability of the two main components of the water balance and the energy balance at the scale of a watershed, namely precipitation and evapotranspiration, with additional emphasis on the temperature, which has served as a world reference to specify and demarcate changes in climate, given its space-time dynamics of anthropic occupation. More specifically, the occupancy history was initially analyzed using MODIS images for the period 2001-2013. In addition, precipitation data from the CHIRPS satellite product (1981-2017), evapotranspiration data determined by the SSEBop algorithm (2002-2017) via the sensor that produces the MODIS image and surface temperature of the MODIS satellite product (2001-2017) were examined, being such information treated as geospatial variables distributed in the study area. An extensive evaluation study regarding the identification of the presence or not of linear hydroclimatic trends in the Madeira River basin was carried out using the Mann-Kendall test. Although some trends were captured in the analyzed time series, the results obtained also showed that, given the limited database currently available, there is not necessarily a direct and clear relationship between the effect of human occupation and the climate regime of the basin, in contrast to the scientific framework recommended worldwide warning of climate change in the Anthropocene. In part, the high climate variability in the study region imposes limits with respect to clearly understand and separate the signals that can be attributed to the change in land cover and use from the signals associated with climate change that act on broader spatio-temporal scales. In this sense, new studies on monitoring hydrometeorological and hydroclimatic phenomena with corresponding measurements at different scales should be encouraged to better understand the processes of aggregation and disaggregation of the physical mechanisms acting at the scale of a watershed.

Introduction: Lower GI bleeding (LGIB) is defined as bleeding that occurs below the ligament of Treitz or endoscopically distal to the terminal ileum and comprises approximately 20% of all forms of GI bleeding. Appendiceal hemorrhage due to acute lower GI bleeding (ALGIB) is a rare and difficult-to-diagnose entity. Up to 90% of all LGIB cases cease spontaneously, making diagnosis difficult. (1) LGIB tends to occur in older male patients, with a 200-fold increase in people in their 80s compared to men in their 20s. In 10% of patients presenting with LGIB, the source of bleeding could not be identified even with a comprehensive evaluation. Keywords: Lower GI bleeding, appendiceal hemorrhage.

Estuarine sediments near former creosoting facilities along the Elizabeth River (Virginia, USA) are contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In this study, we interrogated the bacterial community of the Elizabeth River with both culture-based and culture-independent methods to identify potential candidates for bioremediation of these contaminants. DNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP) experiments with phenanthrene and fluoranthene using sediment from the former Republic Creosoting site identified relevant PAH-degrading bacteria within the Azoarcus, Hydrogenophaga, and Croceicoccus genera. Targeted cultivation of PAH-degrading bacteria from the same site recovered 6 PAH-degrading strains, including one strain highly similar to Hydrogenophaga sequences detected in SIP experiments. Other isolates were most similar to organisms within the Novosphingobium, Sphingobium, Stenotrophomonas, and Alcaligenes genera. Lastly, we performed 16S rRNA gene amplicon microbiome analyses of sediment samples from four sites, including Republic Creosoting, with varying concentrations of PAHs. Analysis of these data showed a striking divergence of the microbial community at the highly contaminated Republic Creosoting site from less contaminated sites with the enrichment of several bacterial clades including those affiliated with the Pseudomonas genus. Sequences within the microbiome libraries similar to SIP-derived sequences were generally found at high relative abundance, while the Croceicoccus sequence was present at low to moderate relative abundance. These results suggest that Azoarcus and Hydrogenophaga strains might be good target candidates for biostimulation, while Croceicoccus spp. might be good targets for bioaugmentation in these sediments. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the value of culture-based and culture-independent methods in identifying promising bacterial candidates for use in a precision bioremediation scheme. KEY POINTS: • This study highlights the importance of using multiple strategies to identify promising bacterial candidates for use in a precision bioremediation scheme. • We used both selective cultivation techniques and DNA-based stable isotope probing to identify bacterial degraders of prominent PAHs at a historically contaminated site in the Elizabeth River, VA, USA. • Azoarcus and Hydrogenophaga strains might be good target candidates for biostimulation in Elizabeth River sediments, while Croceicoccus spp. might be good targets for bioaugmentation.