O manejo florestal sustentável tem como objetivo conciliar a exploração madeireira com a conservação da biodiversidade. No entanto, apesar de buscar manter a integridade e a funcionalidade dos ...ecossistemas florestais, os impactos desta atividade sobre a fauna ainda são pouco conhecidos. Assim o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos do manejo florestal sustentável sobre a avifauna em uma floresta de terra firme na Amazônia central. Para isso foi realizada a captura e marcação de aves em três áreas: uma área já manejada (Área 01); uma área de preservação permanente (Área 02); e uma área que ainda será manejada (Área 03). Foram capturadas 57 indivíduos de 21 espécies na área 01, 55 indivíduos de 28 espécies na área 02 e 77 indivíduos de 28 espécies na área 03. O número de espécies e de indivíduos não apresentou diferença significativa entre as áreas. No entanto, a área 01 apresentou menor diversidade (H'= 1.18), quando comparada a área 02 (H'= 1.32) e a área 03 (H'= 1.32). Ainda, a similaridade da avifauna da área 01 em relação às áreas 02 (CH= 39.38%) e 03 (CH= 56.48%) foi baixa,indicando que apesar da diversidade ser similar existe variação na composição das espécies entre a área manejada e as áreas não maneja.
A predação de ninhos vem sendo sugerida como uma das causas do declínio de populações de aves, influenciando a estrutura e funcionamento das comunidades. Apesar de diversos estudos terem avaliado ...fatores relacionados às variações nas taxas de predação de ninhos, poucos verificaram os efeitos do manejo florestal sustentável sobre estas taxas. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a influência do manejo florestal sustentável sobre a taxa de predação de ninhos artificiais em uma floresta de terra firme na Amazônia Central. Para isso foram instalados ninhos artificiais em três áreas entre 11/2014 e 06/2015. Dos 240 ninhos montados 72 foram predados, sendo 29 na área não manejada, 24 na Área de Preservação Permanente e 19 na área manejada. Dos 72 ninhos predados 55,56% foram ninhos de sub-bosque e 44,44% ninhos de solo. A menor taxa de predação na área manejada pode estar relacionada às alterações na estrutura da vegetação e ao consequente afugentamento dos predadores.
The development of technologies capable of early tumor detection is unquestionably demanded by physicians, as early diagnosis is key to achieve more efficient and less invasive treatments with ...improved outcomes. At the preclinical level, nanotechnology has already provided innovative solutions for tumor imaging and therapy, but it has failed to provide real early tumor diagnosis. In this work, an infrared nanothermometry‐based approach toward early melanoma detection, based on the changes produced in the thermal relaxation dynamics of tissues as the tumor develops, is introduced. In vivo experiments demonstrate that detection of incipient tumors from their very onset is possible through monitoring changes in their thermal relaxation dynamics using Ag2S infrared luminescent nanothermometers. For a total tumor development time of 14 days, luminescence nanothermometry allows tumor detection 6 days before its presence is evident by visual inspection. Simultaneous study of the tumoral vasculature reveals that the premature variation in the thermal relaxation dynamics is a consequence of the interplay between tumor angiogenesis and necrosis during the different tumor development stages.
Early tumor detection becomes possible by transient thermometry using infrared emitting Ag2S nanocrystals as noncontact intratumoral nanothermometers. The drastic changes of vascularization taking place at the early stages of tumor development lie at the heart of this diagnosis approach.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that produces a selective loss of the motor neurons of the spinal cord, brain stem and motor cortex. Oxidative stress (OS) ...associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and the deterioration of the electron transport chain has been shown to be a factor that contributes to neurodegeneration and plays a potential role in the pathogenesis of ALS. The regions of the central nervous system affected have high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduced antioxidant defenses. Scientific studies propose treatment with antioxidants to combat the characteristic OS and the regeneration of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD
) levels by the use of precursors. This review examines the possible roles of nicotinamide riboside and pterostilbene as therapeutic strategies in ALS.
(1) Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a relatively common neurodegenerative disease in elderly individuals, with a high risk of falls. There is abundant literature on the relationship between ...PD and osteoporosis. The aim of this study is to describe the bone quality of a population with PD by calcaneal ultrasound and to compare it with a healthy control, assessing the influence of possible sex differences. (2) Methods: 21 patients diagnosed with PD were recruited. The control group was composed of 30 healthy individuals with similar sociodemographic characteristics. The bone quality of all participants was assessed using calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS). The parameters recorded were broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA, in decibels per megahertz), imaging speed of sound (SOS, in meters per second), stiffness index (SI) and T-score of each participant. Bone mineral density (BMD) was estimated using the equation BMD = 0.002592 × (BUA + SOS) − 3.687 (g/cm2). (3) Results: significant differences were observed between the healthy control and the PD group: the T-score was lower in the PD group (p < 0.05) and SOS was higher in Parkinson’s disease patients (p < 0.05), while 28.6% of the PD patients were osteoporotic with T-score values lower than −1.5 compared to 16.7% of osteoporotic individuals in the control group (p < 0.01). Regarding the sex, there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the females of the PD group vs. control group, showing a significant difference in the SI (71.4 ± 14.7 vs. 87.8 ± 12), T-score (−2.19 ± 1.1 vs. −0.15 ± 0.8), BUA (104.5 ± 13 vs. 116 ± 10.6) and BMD (0.49 ± 0.09 vs. 0.60 ± 0.08), with no difference in the comparison between the male groups; and the comparison between both sexes in T-score only showed significant differences for the PD group (p < 0.05), with worse bone quality in women. (4) Conclusions: this study shows poorer bone quality in female patients with PD, who have a higher percentage of osteoporosis than healthy patients. The QUS technique of the calcaneus seems adequate for these determinations in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Rugby sevens is characterised by continuous exertion and great physical contact per unit of time, leading to muscle damage. It is important to identify markers that can quantify muscle damage in ...order to improve recovery strategies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the release dynamics of muscle damage markers creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in saliva samples when playing rugby sevens, analysing the influence of gender, during the rugby sevens university championship of Spain. The total sample included 27 athletes, divided into two teams of 14 men and 13 women between 18 and 31 years of age. CK, LDH, and AST were quantified from salivary samples collected from each athlete before and after three rugby sevens matches. The modified Borg scale of perceived exertion was also used after each match. When the results were analysed globally, there were no differences in CK and LDH before and after any match, but AST did show differences after two days of completing all matches. In terms of gender, the three enzymes showed different responses in men and women. Regarding the Borg scale, there were only significant differences between men and women after completing all mataches, with a greater perceived exertion in women. Based on our results, it can be stated that that serial matches of rugby sevens can cause changes of different magnitude in AST, CK and LDH activities in saliva, with AST showing the most significant variations and these changes are more pronounced in men than in women.
Multimodal management of spinal stenosis is on the rise, and central sensitisation inhibitors are playing an essential role in the treatment of central sensitisation processes. Pregabalin and ...gabapentin are antiepileptic drugs that decrease presynaptic excitability. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the use of pregabalin and gabapentin is effective in the symptomatic management of spinal stenosis, compared to other drugs, by using pain and disability rating scales. We also assessed the safety profile associated with these drugs.
We conducted a bibliographic search in the Pubmed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Collaboration Library databases. The inclusion criteria were studies that compared pregabalin or gabapentin to a control group in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. We included randomized clinical trialsand a comparative retrospective cohort study. The primary clinical endpoints were VAS/NRS and ODI, measured at two, four, 8 weeks, and 3 months, while adverse events and walking distance were also collected. We combined the data using Review Manager 5.4 software.
Our meta-analysis included six studies with a total of 392 patients, with a mean age of 60.3 years. We observed no significant differences in VAS scores at two, four, and 8 weeks: MD: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.63 to 1.09; MD: -0.04, 95% CI: -0.64 to -0.57; and MD: -0.6, 95% CI: -1.22 to 0.02, respectively. However, at 3 months, we found significant differences in favor of pregabalin with respect to VAS: MD: -2.97, 95% CI: -3.43 to -2.51. We did not observe significant differences respect to the ODI: MD: -3.47, 95% CI: -7.15 to -0.21. Adverse events were significantly higher in the pregabalin/gabapentin group (OR 5.88, 95% CI: 1.28-27.05).
Our meta-analysis suggests that abapentinoids may have a significant effect on VAS score at 3 months, but no significant differences were observed in ODI scores, and adverse events were higher in the gabapentinoids group.
This study evaluates pre- and post-match concentrations of salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase (AA) and immunoglobulin A (lgA) in a group of 21 elite female handball players in the Spanish national ...women's league. The players' mean age was 23.0 ± 5.4 years. The concentration of the biomarkers was determined using ELISA. Mean playing time was 25.2 min. The players' cortisol concentration increased significantly (p < 0.05) whereas the IgA concentration fell significantly (p < 0.01) at the end of the match. There were no significant changes in the concentrations of AA between pre and post-match timepoints. The changes observed in the study also depended on the position played; defenders exhibited the highest cortisol and lowest IgA concentrations after the match. Larger changes in cortisol and IgA were seen in those who played for more than 30 min. The present study shows that a competitive handball match increases physiologic stress in females, with activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the adrenergic system, resulting in decreased immunocompetence.
Introduction
This study aimed to investigate the incidence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis through a meta-analysis and to analyze trends and risk factors.
...Methods
Potentially relevant studies were searched using the terms “Vitamin D AND scoliosis.” Data on the incidence and risk factors, such as race, curve magnitude, and sex, were extracted from the selected studies. Review Manager 5.4 software was used for the data analysis. Six studies with a total of 1, 428 patients met the inclusion criteria.
Results
The incidence of vitamin D insufficiency in patients with idiopathic scoliosis was 36.19% (95% CI 21.93 to 50.46. In contrast, the incidence of vitamin D deficiency was 41.43% (95% CI 16.62 66.23. Vitamin D levels were compared between Caucasian and African patients and it was concluded that Caucasian patients had a lower risk of vitamin D deficiency RR 0.15, 95% CI (0.03 to 0.82; P = 0.03. There was also an association between patients with idiopathic scoliosis and lower vitamin D -5.58, 95% CI -7.10, -4.06. Finally, no significant differences were observed in terms of curve magnitude assessed with the Cobb angle mean difference (MD) 4.45, 95% CI -0.55, 9.44, or sex with lower-than-normal levels of vitamin D OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.60.
Discussion
The incidence rates of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis were 36.19% and 41.43%, respectively. The Caucasian race was associated with a lower risk of vitamin D deficiency compared to the African race. Vitamin D deficiency was not related to curve magnitude or sex.
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