Given the increasing threats to biodiversity and limited resources for conservation, our knowledge about the uncertainty in surrogates for representing comprehensively the spatial conservation ...priorities for biodiversity, needs to be improved. We present a comprehensive spatial conservation approach for Neotropical biodiversity by including surrogates for three biodiversity attributes: composition (8563 species), structure (663 ecosystems), and function (5382 ecological groups). We evaluated the differences in the representativeness and surrogacy-level of resulting portfolios for each attribute, considering the differences for current established conservation areas (CAs), prioritized areas (PRAs; those selected to complement the CAs), and total areas (TAs: CAs + PRAs). The assessment included the entire Neotropics, and a regionalization approach using the Global 200 Ecoregions by country. Finally, we identified critical areas for conservation based on the coincidence of irreplaceable PRAs among biodiversity attributes. Our results confirm the premise that no single surrogate represents biodiversity comprehensively, providing quantitative evidence to support the importance of using integrative information of surrogates for different levels of biodiversity into identifying priority areas for conservation. The spatial mismatch in the portfolios of areas shows how the use of a single level of biodiversity would lead to the omission of conservation priorities for other levels. We also identified critical areas for conservation where irreplaceable spatial priorities of the different biodiversity attributes matched. These areas coincided with known critical and threatened global biodiversity hotspots, and are mostly located in the Chaco, the Atlantic Forest, the Pantanal, Cerrado, and Caatinga regions, and the moist and dry forests of the northern Andes and Mesoamerica.
•A comprehensive evaluation of priority areas for Neotropical biodiversity•Spatial mismatches in priorities highlights the need to consider complementary and integrative surrogates•Identification of hotspots to establish new areas needed to meet conservation targets•Development of two new metrics to assess surrogacy in spatial conservation priorities
The clinical relevance of genetic variants in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is unsettled.
The study sought to assess the prognostic impact of disease-causing genetic variants in DCM.
...Baseline and longitudinal clinical data from 1,005 genotyped DCM probands were retrospectively collected at 20 centers. A total of 372 (37%) patients had pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants (genotype positive) and 633 (63%) were genotype negative. The primary endpoint was a composite of major adverse cardiovascular events. Secondary endpoints were end-stage heart failure (ESHF), malignant ventricular arrhythmia (MVA), and left ventricular reverse remodeling (LVRR).
After a median follow-up of 4.04 years (interquartile range: 1.70-7.50 years), the primary endpoint had occurred in 118 (31.7%) patients in the genotype-positive group and in 125 (19.8%) patients in the genotype-negative group (hazard ratio HR: 1.51; 95% confidence interval CI: 1.17-1.94; P = 0.001). ESHF occurred in 60 (16.1%) genotype-positive patients and in 55 (8.7%) genotype-negative patients (HR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.16-2.41; P = 0.006). MVA occurred in 73 (19.6%) genotype-positive patients and in 77 (12.2%) genotype-negative patients (HR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.09-2.07; P = 0.013). LVRR occurred in 39.6% in the genotype-positive group and in 46.2% in the genotype-negative group (P = 0.047). Among individuals with baseline left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35%, genotype-positive patients exhibited more major adverse cardiovascular events, ESHF, and MVA than their genotype-negative peers (all P < 0.02). LVRR and clinical outcomes varied depending on the underlying affected gene.
In this study, DCM patients with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants had worse prognosis than genotype-negative individuals. Clinical course differed depending on the underlying affected gene.
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Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) are important effectors of Xanthomonas spp. that manipulate the transcriptome of the host plant, conferring susceptibility or resistance to bacterial ...infection. Xanthomonas citri ssp. citri variant A
(X. citri A
) triggers a host-specific hypersensitive response (HR) that suppresses citrus canker development. However, the bacterial effector that elicits this process is unknown. In this study, we show that a 7.5-repeat TALE is responsible for triggering the HR. PthA4
was identified within the pthA repertoire of X. citri A
followed by assay of the effects on different hosts. The mode of action of PthA4
was characterized using protein-binding microarrays and testing the effects of deletion of the nuclear localization signals and activation domain on plant responses. PthA4
is able to bind DNA and activate transcription in an effector binding element-dependent manner. Moreover, HR requires PthA4
nuclear localization, suggesting the activation of executor resistance (R) genes in host and non-host plants. This is the first case where a TALE of unusually short length performs a biological function by means of its repeat domain, indicating that the action of these effectors to reprogramme the host transcriptome following nuclear localization is not limited to 'classical' TALEs.
Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are heterogeneous neoplasms that originate from cells with a secretory function. Small bowel NETs (SB-NETs) are related to serotonin hypersecretion which causes: ...flushing, diarrhea, abdominal pain, bronchoconstriction and heart involvement, also known as carcinoid syndrome (CS). CS can be confused with an allergic reaction and thus should be considered as a differential diagnosis in the allergy consult. We present the case of a pediatric patient initially referred under the suspicion of food allergies.
We present the case of a 17-year-old male with evanescent non-pruriginous erythematous lesions- flushing that appeared with food consumption, associated with conjunctival injection, warmth and diaphoresis after the lesions disappeared. He denied abdominal pain, diarrhea, cough or wheezing. The 24-h urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) excretion was elevated. The CT scan showed thickening of the distal ileum and multiple lesions on both hepatic lobules and the colonoscopy revealed a tumor in the ileocecal valve. Hepatic and intestinal biopsies reported a well-differentiated NET of the ileocecal valve with hepatic metastasis. He was started on octreotide and underwent a wide hepatectomy and right hemicolectomy with improvement of symptoms.
NETs can present as carcinoid syndrome (flushing, diarrhea, abdominal pain, wheezing), which constitutes vague symptomatology and represents a challenging diagnosis for physicians. They can be confused with an allergic reaction and the allergist should consider it as a differential diagnosis. Accurate diagnostic tests will help to diagnose NETs earlier and potentially prevent carcinoid heart disease, bowel obstruction, and improve quality of life and mortality in these patients.
This is a case report of women with pregnancy morbidity (PM), some of them associated with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), in which the glycan patterns of immunoglobulin G (IgG) were investigated ...based on the theory of alteration of glycosylation in autoimmunity. We used lectin blot to determine changes in terminal glycosylation of polyclonal IgG from women with antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies and PM plus vascular thrombosis (PM/VT) and seronegative-obstetric APS (SN-OAPS). In addition, we analyzed IgG from women with PM without aPL (PM/aPL-) and healthy women, as controls. Even though the SN-OAPS and PM/VT groups share the PM, only the SN-OAPS group showed a decreased expression of galactose compared to the healthy group. We also found the presence of mannosylated oligosaccharides in IgG from all patients being significantly higher in IgG from women of the PM/aPL- group. The differences in glycans presented here could relate to pathological mechanisms of PM associated with APS.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has generated a series of changes in the daily routines of people, including children and teenagers, in an unprecedented way, which constitutes a global challenge in ...public health. Social isolation has been a prophylactic measure to prevent the spread of the virus; however, it has generated negative impacts on the physical and emotional health of parents, caregivers, children and teenagers around the world. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of confinement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic at the level of nutritional status, dietary and behavioural patterns of elementary school children and teenagers in a small town of Colombia. Anthropometric parameters such as BMI Z-score, waist circumference and waist/height ratio were evaluated in 266 school children and teenagers. A questionnaire with socio-demographic, clinical and lifestyle characteristics and the KIDMED were applied to learn about nutritional aspects. A total of 102 students (38⋅3 %) were classified as having altered nutritional status, being 39 (14⋅7 %) classified as overweight and 36 (13⋅5 %) with obesity. The prevalence of high adherence to the Mediterranean diet was 12 %, 95 % CI (0⋅08, 0⋅16). Overweight was more prevalent in women (26/39, 66⋅7 %; P = 0⋅0439), and obesity was discreetly more frequent in men (19/36, 52⋅7 %; P = 0⋅7193). We observed a worrying nutritional, dietary and behavioural situation in the children and teenagers studied during the confinement associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This unveils the need to establish strategies and/or public policies in our town that help to promote an adequate biopsychosocial development of the paediatric patient and their family group.
La palma aceitera (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) es un cultivo que se ha extendido aceleradamente en el neotrópico, con creciente importancia en el subsector agrícola vegetal de Venezuela. A pesar de su ...potencial económico ha sido blanco de severas críticas, señalándosele como causal de algunos problemas ambientales y, particularmente, de afectar a la biodiversidad. El objetivo de la investigación fue analizar una resolución gubernamental que limita la expansión del cultivo de palma aceitera (CPA) en el Sur del Lago de Maracaibo (SLM), desde los puntos de vista ambiental, legal y socioeconómico. Se estimaron indicadores de sostenibilidad ecológica para un cultivo representativo y se hizo una comparación con un cultivo de plátano (plátano macho o Musa AAB Simmonds). No se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas (p > 0,05) entre los dos cultivos. Tampoco se encontraron estudios científicos que soporten la supuesta proliferación de plagas, ni se pudo evidenciar el desplazamiento de “rubros estratégicos” en los que se basa el instrumento. La resolución en cuestión no cumple con la consulta ciudadana estipulada en la normativa ambiental y, debido a que ambos cultivos impactan negativamente al medio ambiente, se debería limitar también la expansión del cultivo de plátano; en caso contrario ésta debería ser modificada o anulada. Por su parte, la baja biodiversidad registrada en los cultivos de palma aceitera se debe a su manejo agronómico como monocultivo pero la pérdida de biodiversidad nativa atribuida por los críticos al CPA se manifiesta cuando se elimina el bosque natural para su establecimiento, que no es el caso del área de estudio, donde el cultivo se establece en tierras previamente ganaderas, por lo que la aplicación de este argumento como soporte legal es incorrecta.
Childhood obesity: Aetiology, comorbidities, and treatment Morales Camacho, William Javier; Molina Díaz, Jorge Mario; Plata Ortiz, Sandra ...
Diabetes/metabolism research and reviews,
November 2019, 2019-11-00, 20191101, Letnik:
35, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Summary
Obesity is currently considered a global epidemic, and its implications in mortality and morbidity in a paediatric patient and in adulthood are increasingly important. The objective of this ...article is to review in detail the definition of obesity according to age group, and, in turn, the epidemiology of this entity worldwide and in South America. Available evidence about pathophysiology and, additionally, associated comorbidities are reported in some of the most important and clinically relevant body systems. The recommendations on pharmacological and nonpharmacological management through changes in lifestyle and relevant aspects of bariatric surgery in the paediatric population are also described.
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