We aimed to verify the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic cell apoptotic pathways on the inhibition of cellular apoptosis in patients with tropical spastic paralysis/myelopathy related to human T ...cell lymphotropic virus type 1. The databases accessed were PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of Science. Neither the time of publishing nor the language of the articles was limited. The descriptors used for this systematic literature review were: Tropical Paraparesis, Proto-Oncogenic Protein C, Bcl-2, Bcl-X Protein, Bax protein, Fas ligand (FasL) protein, Fas receptor, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand and Fas-associated protein with death domain (FADD)-like apoptosis regulating. The search resulted in 546 articles from which 9 articles were selected for analysis; ranging from serum levels of Bcl-2, Fas and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the levels of cellular expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL the TCD4+ lymphocytes accessed by western blot. Most studies accessed either gene expression or polymorphism of Fas, FasL, and TRAIL in patients with HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), whereas one study used flow cytometry and fluorescence to determine Fas expression. Increased Bcl-xL expression inhibited T lymphocyte apoptosis, whereas Bcl-2, serum levels, and cellular expression did not influence T lymphocyte apoptosis and serum levels of Fas were significantly higher and associated with markers of leukocyte activation in patients with HAM/TSP. In addition, Fas polymorphism (FAS-670AA) was associated with higher proviral load. There is a need for additional research on this issue since the number of patients was small and the studies presented higher heterogeneity.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of blindness worldwide, despite easy detection and effective treatment. Annual screening rates in the USA remain low, especially for the disadvantaged, ...which telemedicine-based DR screening (TDRS) during routine primary care has been shown to improve. Screening rates from such programs have varied, however, pointing to inconsistent implementation and unaddressed barriers. This work seeks to identify and prioritize modifiable barriers for targeted intervention.
In this final phase of an exploratory mixed-methods study, we developed, validated, and administered a 62-item survey to multilevel stakeholders involved with TDRS in primary care safety-net clinics. Survey items were aligned with previously identified determinants of clinic-level screening and mapped to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analyses were used to identify and rank independent variables predictive of individual-level TDRS screening performance.
Overall, 133 of the 341 invited professionals responded (39%), representing 20 safety-net clinics across 6 clinical systems. Respondents were predominately non-Hispanic White (77%), female (94%), and between 31 and 65 years of age (79%). Satisfaction with TDRS was high despite low self-reported screening rates. The most important screening determinants were: provider reinforcement of TDRS importance; explicit instructions by providers to staff; effective reminders; standing orders; high relative priority among routine diabetic measures; established TDRS workflows; performance feedback; effective TDRS champions; and leadership support.
In this survey of stakeholders involved with TDRS in safety-net clinics, screening was low despite high satisfaction with the intervention. The best predictors of screening performance mapped to the CFIR constructs Leadership Engagement, Compatibility, Goals & Feedback, Relative Priority, Champions, and Available Resources. These findings facilitate the prioritization of implementation strategies targeting determinants of TDRS performance, potentially increasing its public health impact.
Flexible coatings with dual capabilities for remote real-time temperature sensing and photothermal conversion have a huge potential in the field of advanced thermal actuated optoelectronic ...applications. In this work, we demonstrated that plastic free-standing films of Er3+/Yb3+-codoped GeO2–Ta2O5 particles dispersed in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) having intriguing upconversion high absolute emission quantum yield (∼0.1452, excited at 980 nm, 760 W·cm–2) can simultaneously operate as photothermal converters and real-time primary thermometers. The emission of the films was studied at the microscale, revealing emission homogeneity detected through surface hyperspectral microscopy. One factor that contributes to the unusually high absolute emission quantum yield, when compared with other oxides-based materials, is the high occurrence (probability) of the shortest Yb–Er distances obtained when the YbTaO4 phase is formed. This, as demonstrated by computational simulations of doping processes, favors the Yb-to-Er energy transfer rates, enhancing the population of the Er3+ emitting levels. Besides, the films combined a relative thermal sensitivity of ∼1.1% K–1 (at 300 K) with a temperature uncertainty of ∼0.7 K and a maximum photothermal efficiency of ∼44%, which permits the prospect of using this material as a coating with photothermal and thermometer functions. Moreover, as an added benefit, the thermal resistance of the composite in PMMA was estimated, yielding a maximum value of 760 ± 8 K·W–1. This is the first example of an active coating for photothermal conversion with the simultaneous ability to remotely sense temperature that can be explored in NIR-pumped free-space telecommunications without the need of additional optoelectronics devices.
Este artigo teve por objetivo verificar os instrumentos utilizados para analisar se ocorre coativação linguística de sinais durante a leitura por surdos por meio de uma revisão sistemática. A busca ...ocorreu em bases de dados utilizando descritores e critérios a partir dos quais foram selecionados seis artigos. Os estudos utilizaram tarefas de julgamento semântico com estímulo implícito para verificação da coativação linguística, cujos resultados corroboram a hipótese de coativação linguística bimodal e sugerem a expansão de pesquisas com outros pares de línguas, com controle na divisão de participantes por níveis de proficiência, escolaridade e hábitos de leitura e escrita.
Abstract
The year 2022 saw record breaking temperatures in Europe during both summer and fall. Similar to the recent 2018 drought, close to 30% (3.0 million km
2
) of the European continent was under ...severe summer drought. In 2022, the drought was located in central and southeastern Europe, contrasting the Northern-centered 2018 drought. We show, using multiple sets of observations, a reduction of net biospheric carbon uptake in summer (56-62 TgC) over the drought area. Specific sites in France even showed a widespread summertime carbon release by forests, additional to wildfires. Partial compensation (32%) for the decreased carbon uptake due to drought was offered by a warm autumn with prolonged biospheric carbon uptake. The severity of this second drought event in 5 years suggests drought-induced reduced carbon uptake to no longer be exceptional, and important to factor into Europe’s developing plans for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions that rely on carbon uptake by forests.
The penile erectile tissue has a complex microscopic anatomy with important functions in the mechanism of penile erection. The knowledge of such structures is necessary for understanding the normal ...physiology of the adult penis. Therefore, it is important to know the changes of these penile structures during fetal development. This study aims to analyze the development of the main components of the erectile tissue, such as collagen, smooth muscle fibers and elastic system fibers, in human fetuses.
We studied the penises of 56 human fetuses aged 13 to 36 weeks post-conception (WPC). We used histochemical and immunohistochemical staining, as well as morphometric techniques to analyze the collagen, smooth muscle fibers and elastic system fibers in the corpus cavernosum and in the corpus spongiosum. These elements were identified and quantified as percentage by using the Image J software (NIH, Bethesda, USA). From 13 to 36 WPC, in the corpus cavernosum, the amount of collagen, smooth muscle fibers and elastic system fibers varied from 19.88% to 36.60%, from 4.39% to 29.76% and from 1.91% to 8.92%, respectively. In the corpus spongiosum, the amount of collagen, smooth muscle fibers and elastic system fibers varied from 34.65% to 45.89%, from 0.60% to 11.90% and from 3.22% to 11.93%, respectively.
We found strong correlation between the elements analyzed with fetal age, both in corpus cavernosum and corpus spongiosum. The growth rate of these elements was more intense during the second trimester (13 to 24 WPC) of gestation, both in corpus cavernosum and in corpus spongiosum. There is greater proportional amount of collagen in the corpus spongiosum than in corpus cavernosum during all fetal period. In the corpus spongiosum, there is about four times more collagen than smooth muscle fibers and elastic system fibers, during all fetal period studied.
Abstract
Brazil is currently the largest contributor of land use and land cover change (LULCC) carbon dioxide net emissions worldwide, representing 17%–29% of the global total. There is, however, a ...lack of agreement among different methodologies on the magnitude and trends in LULCC emissions and their geographic distribution. Here we perform an evaluation of LULCC datasets for Brazil, including those used in the annual global carbon budget (GCB), and national Brazilian assessments over the period 2000–2018. Results show that the latest global HYDE 3.3 LULCC dataset, based on new FAO inventory estimates and multi-annual ESA CCI satellite-based land cover maps, can represent the observed spatial variation in LULCC over the last decades, representing an improvement on the HYDE 3.2 data previously used in GCB. However, the magnitude of LULCC assessed with HYDE 3.3 is lower than estimates based on MapBiomas. We use HYDE 3.3 and MapBiomas as input to a global bookkeeping model (bookkeeping of land use emission, BLUE) and a process-based Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (JULES-ES) to determine Brazil’s LULCC emissions over the period 2000–2019. Results show mean annual LULCC emissions of 0.1–0.4 PgC yr
−1
, compared with 0.1–0.24 PgC yr
−1
reported by the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation System of land use changes and forest sector (SEEG/LULUCF) and by FAO in its latest assessment of deforestation emissions in Brazil. Both JULES-ES and BLUE now simulate a slowdown in emissions after 2004 (−0.006 and −0.004 PgC yr
−2
with HYDE 3.3, −0.014 and −0.016 PgC yr
−2
with MapBiomas, respectively), in agreement with the Brazilian INPE-EM, global Houghton and Nassikas book-keeping models, FAO and as reported in the 4th national greenhouse gas inventories. The inclusion of Earth observation data has improved spatial representation of LULCC in HYDE and thus model capability to simulate Brazil’s LULCC emissions. This will likely contribute to reduce uncertainty in global LULCC emissions, and thus better constrains GCB assessments.
Robust estimates of CO2 budget, CO2 exchanged between the atmosphere and terrestrial biosphere, are necessary to better understand the role of the terrestrial biosphere in mitigating anthropogenic ...CO2 emissions. Over the past decade, this field of research has advanced through understanding of the differences and similarities of two fundamentally different approaches: “top‐down” atmospheric inversions and “bottom‐up” biosphere models. Since the first studies were undertaken, these approaches have shown an increasing level of agreement, but disagreements in some regions still persist, in part because they do not estimate the same quantity of atmosphere–biosphere CO2 exchange. Here, we conducted a thorough comparison of CO2 budgets at multiple scales and from multiple methods to assess the current state of the science in estimating CO2 budgets. Our set of atmospheric inversions and biosphere models, which were adjusted for a consistent flux definition, showed a high level of agreement for global and hemispheric CO2 budgets in the 2000s. Regionally, improved agreement in CO2 budgets was notable for North America and Southeast Asia. However, large gaps between the two methods remained in East Asia and South America. In other regions, Europe, boreal Asia, Africa, South Asia, and Oceania, it was difficult to determine whether those regions act as a net sink or source because of the large spread in estimates from atmospheric inversions. These results highlight two research directions to improve the robustness of CO2 budgets: (a) to increase representation of processes in biosphere models that could contribute to fill the budget gaps, such as forest regrowth and forest degradation; and (b) to reduce sink–source compensation between regions (dipoles) in atmospheric inversion so that their estimates become more comparable. Advancements on both research areas will increase the level of agreement between the top‐down and bottom‐up approaches and yield more robust knowledge of regional CO2 budgets.
In support of the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement
on climate change, this study presents a comprehensive framework to process
the results of an ensemble of atmospheric inversions in order to ...make their
net ecosystem exchange (NEE) carbon dioxide (CO2) flux suitable for
evaluating national greenhouse gas inventories (NGHGIs) submitted by
countries to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). From inversions we also deduced anthropogenic methane (CH4)
emissions regrouped into fossil and agriculture and waste emissions, as well as
anthropogenic nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. To compare inversion
results with national reports, we compiled a new global harmonized database
of emissions and removals from periodical UNFCCC inventories by Annex I
countries, and from sporadic and less detailed emissions reports by
non-Annex I countries, given by national communications and biennial update
reports. No gap filling was applied. The method to reconcile inversions with
inventories is applied to selected large countries covering ∼90 % of the global land carbon uptake for CO2 and top emitters of
CH4 and N2O. Our method uses results from an ensemble of global
inversions produced by the Global Carbon Project for the three greenhouse
gases, with ancillary data. We examine the role of CO2 fluxes caused by
lateral transfer processes from rivers and from trade in crop and wood
products and the role of carbon uptake in unmanaged lands, both not
accounted for by NGHGIs. Here we show that, despite a large spread across
the inversions, the median of available inversion models points to a larger
terrestrial carbon sink than inventories over temperate countries or groups
of countries of the Northern Hemisphere like Russia, Canada and the European
Union. For CH4, we find good consistency between the inversions
assimilating only data from the global in situ network and those using
satellite CH4 retrievals and a tendency for inversions to diagnose
higher CH4 emission estimates than reported by NGHGIs. In particular,
oil- and gas-extracting countries in central Asia and the Persian Gulf region
tend to systematically report lower emissions compared to those estimated by
inversions. For N2O, inversions tend to produce higher anthropogenic
emissions than inventories for tropical countries, even when attempting to
consider only managed land emissions. In the inventories of many non-Annex I
countries, this can be tentatively attributed to a lack of reporting
indirect N2O emissions from atmospheric deposition and from leaching to
rivers, to the existence of natural sources intertwined with managed
lands, or to an underestimation of N2O emission factors for direct
agricultural soil emissions. Inversions provide insights into seasonal and
interannual greenhouse gas fluxes anomalies, e.g., during extreme events
such as drought or abnormal fire episodes, whereas inventory methods are
established to estimate trends and multi-annual changes. As a much denser
sampling of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations by different
satellites coordinated into a global constellation is expected in the coming
years, the methodology proposed here to compare inversion results with
inventory reports (e.g., NGHGIs) could be applied regularly for monitoring
the effectiveness of mitigation policy and progress by countries to meet the
objective of their pledges. The dataset constructed by this study is
publicly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5089799 (Deng et al., 2021).
This study investigated the effects of resistance training (RT) on the sleep quality of patients with fibromyalgia (FM), through a systematic review. The search was carried out in the PubMed, Embase, ...Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Initially, 148 studies were found, of which six were included for qualitative analysis. Four studies showed significant improvement in sleep after RT. Compared to other exercise modalities, RT proved to be superior to flexibility training and equivalent to aerobic exercise. Interventions lasted from 4 to 21 weeks, the weekly frequency ranged from two to three times, and the intensity ranged from 40% to 80% 1RM, with exercises for the major muscle groups. RT is an intervention that can be used to treat FM, however, more studies are needed to verify its effectiveness in improving sleep.
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