Aim: To present an updated database of fish species recorded on south-western Atlantic reef environments and to explore the ecological drivers of the structure, the latitudinal gradient of ...biodiversity and the centre of endemism in this peripheral province. Location: South-western Atlantic (SWA): Brazilian and Argentinian Provinces. Methods: A database composed of 733 fish species along 23 locations in the SWA (00°55' N to 43°00' S) was compiled based on primary data, literature and museum records. Cluster and beta diversity analyses were carried out to evaluate faunal overlaps among locations and subprovinces. "Target-area-distance effect" and "stepping stones dispersal" hypotheses for assemblage composition were tested through Mantel tests. Relationships between the distribution patterns and ecological traits of reef fish species were investigated through generalized linear mixed-effect models. Results: Out of the 733 fish species, 405 are SWA resident reef fishes, of which 111 (27%) are endemics and 78 are threatened with extinction. Cluster analysis detected six subprovinces in the SWA structured following the target-area-distance model, and with no evidence for a latitudinal gradient in diversity. The greatest overall richness and endemic species richness were found in the east-south-eastern region. Depth range, habitat use and body size were the main drivers of SWA reef fish assemblage structure. Main conclusions: The Brazilian and Argentinian coasts constitute different provinces structured by oceanographic barriers and environmental filters. Similarities among oceanic islands indicate connectivity driven by stochastic and ecological factors. Species richness and endemism indicate that peripheral provinces may also bear centres of origin and biodiversity, patterns driven by parapatric/ecological speciation and the overlap between tropical and subtropical reef fish species. Ecological drivers of reef fish distribution, such as habitat specialization and body size, support hypotheses of speciation in the periphery. New approaches for spatial planning, marine protected areas and off-reserve marine management are essential for the conservation and sustainability of SWA reef fishes.
In the last few years, the study of microparticles (MPs)--submicron vesicles released from cells upon activation or apoptosis--has gained growing interest in the field of inflammation and in ...infectious diseases. Their role in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax remains unexplored. Because acute vivax malaria has been related to pro-inflammatory responses, the main hypothesis investigated in this study was that Plasmodium vivax infection is associated with elevated levels of circulating MPs, which may play a role during acute disease in non-immune patients.
Plasma MPs were analysed among thirty-seven uncomplicated P. vivax infections from an area of unstable malaria transmission in the Brazilian Amazon. The MP phenotype was analysed by flow cytometry using the classical MP marker, annexin, and fluorochrome-labeled monoclonal antibodies against specific cell surface markers. The frequencies of plasma MPs in P. vivax patients (n=37) were further compared to malaria-unexposed controls (n=15) and ovarian carcinoma patients (n=12), a known MPs-inducing disease non-related to malaria.
The frequencies of plasma circulating MPs were markedly increased in P. vivax patients, as compared to healthy age-matched malaria-unexposed controls. Although platelets, erythrocytes and leukocytes were the main cellular sources of MPs during vivax malaria, platelet derived-MPs (PMPs) increased in a linear fashion with the presence of fever at the time of blood collection (β=0.06, p<0.0001) and length of acute symptoms (β=0.36, p<0.0001). Finally, the results suggest that plasma levels of PMPs diminish as patient experience more episodes of clinical malaria (β=0.07, p<0.003).
Abundant circulating MPs are present during acute P. vivax infection, and platelet derived-MPs may play a role on the acute inflammatory symptoms of malaria vivax.
Studies have demonstrated that, for urban children, dust represents the main exposure to sources of metals like lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn). We aimed to investigate the exposure to these metals and ...their association with intellectual deficit in children living in an industrial region. This cross-sectional study recruited volunteers from four elementary schools in the town of Simões Filho, Brazil. We evaluated 225 school-aged children (7⁻12 years) for blood lead (PbB) and manganese hair (MnH) and toenails (MnTn) by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Child and maternal IQs were estimated using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale for Intelligence (WASI). Median and range PbB were 1.2 (0.3⁻15.6) μg/dL. MnH and MnTn medians (ranges) were 0.74 (0.16⁻8.79) μg/g and 0.85 (0.15⁻13.30) μg/g, respectively. After adjusting for maternal IQ, age and Mn exposure, child IQ drops by 8.6 points for a 10-fold increase in PbB levels. Moreover, an effect modification of Mn co-exposure was observed. In children with low MnTn, association between Pb and child IQ was not significant (β = -6.780,
= 0.172). However, in those with high MnTn, the association was increased by 27.9% (β = -8.70,
= 0.036). Low Pb exposure is associated with intellectual deficit in children, especially in those with high MnTn.
Ralstonia solanacearum
is one of the causal agent of bacterial wilt in Brazil. This is the main bacteriosis in tomato plants, which can cause losses of up to 100% in their production. The use of ...resistant cultivars is the main form of control. Thus, the study of genetic control of resistance provides essential information for the conduct of breeding programs. The objective of this work was to study the genetic control of tomato plant ‘Yoshimatsu’ resistance to
R. solanacearum
. The experiments were conducted in greehouse with the Yoshimatsu and IPA-7 parents; F
1
, F
2
, RC
11
, RC
21
generations; and F
2:3
progenies. All plants were inoculated using a
R. solanacearum
isolate from the collection of the Phitobacteriology Laboratory of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco. The severity of bacterial wilt were assessed through a descriptive scale of scores at 10 and 20 days after inoculation. The resistance to
R. solanacearum
in the ‘Yoshimatsu’ cultivar is associated with recessive alleles, in which the genetic control of resistance is determined by two independent genes of greater effect with only additive effects, plus polygenes associated with additive and dominance effects.
Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy characterized by the clonal proliferation of plasma cells within the bone marrow. Diagnosing MM presents considerable challenges, involving the ...identification of plasma cells in cytology examinations on hematological slides. At present, this is still a time-consuming manual task and has high labor costs. These challenges have adverse implications, which rely heavily on medical professionals' expertise and experience. To tackle these challenges, we present an investigation using Artificial Intelligence, specifically a Machine Learning analysis of hematological slides with a Deep Neural Network (DNN), to support specialists during the process of diagnosing MM. In this sense, the contribution of this study is twofold: in addition to the trained model to diagnose MM, we also make available to the community a fully-curated hematological slide dataset with thousands of images of plasma cells. Taken together, the setup we established here is a framework that researchers and hospitals with limited resources can promptly use. Our contributions provide practical results that have been directly applied in the public health system in Brazil. Given the open-source nature of the project, we anticipate it will be used and extended to diagnose other malignancies.
Introduction and hypothesis
To investigate relaxin-2 concentration comparing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and non-GDM patients during pregnancy according to urinary incontinence (UI) and ...pelvic function status.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study evaluating 282 pregnant women from 24 weeks of gestation. The participants were divided into two groups, non-GDM and GDM, according to American Diabetes Association’s diabetes mellitus gestational threshold. In addition, according to subanalysis, both groups were subdivided according to the presence of pregnancy-specific urinary incontinence: non-GDM continent, non-GDM incontinent, GDM continent, and GDM incontinent. All participants filled in questionnaires on clinical, obstetric, and urinary continence status (International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form, ICIQ-SF, and Incontinence Severity Index, ISI), followed by pelvic floor muscle evaluation by the PERFECT scheme in which strength, endurance, and speed of contractions were evaluated.
Results
Serum relaxin-2 concentrations were significantly lower in pregnant women with pregnancy-specific urinary incontinence in both non-GDM and GDM patients, but GDM showed the lowest concentration. In addition, the stratification of the groups according to pelvic floor muscle strength showed that pregnant patients with GDM and modified Oxford scale 0–2 had significantly lower levels than those who were non-GDM and GDM with Modified Oxford Scale 3–5. Relaxin-2 level was much lower in GDM incontinent pregnant women with MOS 0–2 compared to the other three groups.
Conclusions
Lower relaxin-2 concentration was associated with the presence of pregnancy-specific urinary incontinence, but the combination of GDM, pregnancy-specific urinary incontinence, and lower levels of pelvic floor strength led to lower levels of relaxin-2 compared to the other three groups.
The sepsis burden on acute care services in middle-income countries is a cause for concern. We estimated incidence, prevalence, and mortality of sepsis in adult Brazilian intensive care units (ICUs) ...and association of ICU organisational factors with outcome.
We did a 1-day point prevalence study with follow-up of patients in ICU with sepsis in a nationally representative pseudo-random sample. We produced a sampling frame initially stratified by geographical region. Each stratum was then stratified by hospitals' main source of income (serving general public vs privately insured individuals) and ICU size (ten or fewer beds vs more than ten beds), finally generating 40 strata. In each stratum we selected a random sample of ICUs so as to enrol the total required beds in 1690 Brazilian adult ICUs. We followed up patients until hospital discharge censored at 60 days, estimated incidence from prevalence and length of stay, and generated national estimates. We assessed mortality prognostic factors using random-effects logistic regression models.
On Feb 27, 2014, 227 (72%) of 317 ICUs that were randomly selected provided data on 2632 patients, of whom 794 had sepsis (30·2 septic patients per 100 ICU beds, 95% CI 28·4–31·9). The ICU sepsis incidence was 36·3 per 1000 patient-days (95% CI 29·8–44·0) and mortality was observed in 439 (55·7%) of 788 patients (95% CI 52·2–59·2). Low availability of resources (odds ratio OR 1·67, 95% CI 1·02–2·75, p=0·045) and adequacy of treatment (OR 0·56, 0·37–0·84, p=0·006) were independently associated with mortality. The projected incidence rate is 290 per 100 000 population (95% CI 237·9–351·2) of adult cases of ICU-treated sepsis per year, which yields about 420 000 cases annually, of whom 230 000 die in hospital.
The incidence, prevalence, and mortality of ICU-treated sepsis is high in Brazil. Outcome varies considerably, and is associated with access to adequate resources and treatment. Our results show the burden of sepsis in resource-limited settings, highlighting the need to establish programmes aiming for sepsis prevention, early diagnosis, and adequate treatment.
Fundação de Apoio a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP).
Abstract It is repeatedly stressed the need to characterize the extant biodiversity in tropical ecosystems. However, inventory studies are still progressing slowly in dry ecosystems, leading to the ...underestimation of their true biodiversity and hindering conservation efforts. In this study, we present primary and secondary data, along with an updated list of amphibians and reptiles from two localities in the São Francisco-Gurguéia region in Piauí. Additionally, we compare the species composition between nine areas within the Caatinga, which were sampled using standardized methods over the past ten years, to examine broader spatial patterns of community composition. To survey reptiles and amphibians, we employed similar methods and sampling efforts in two areas within the Serra das Confusões National Park (SCNP) region. Our surveys recorded a total of 73 species of amphibians and reptiles, of which 24 are new distribution records for the SCNP region. Consequently, our findings increase the known herpetofauna in the region to 94 species. Despite their proximity, the two sites in the SCNP region exhibited only 42% similarity in species composition, and they differed significantly from other areas within the Caatinga. Furthermore, even the closer Caatinga areas presented differences in species composition, highlighting the necessity to evaluate biodiversity across the landscape and contribute to understanding biogeographic patterns.
Resumo É repetidamente enfatizada a necessidade de caracterizar a biodiversidade vivente em ecossistemas tropicais. No entanto, os estudos de inventário ainda estão progredindo lentamente em ecossistemas secos, levando à subestimação de sua verdadeira biodiversidade e dificultando os esforços de conservação. Neste estudo, apresentamos dados primários e secundários, juntamente com uma lista atualizada de anfíbios e répteis de duas localidades na região de São Francisco-Gurguéia, do Piauí. Além disso, comparamos a composição de espécies entre nove áreas dentro da Caatinga, que foram amostradas usando métodos padronizados nos últimos dez anos, para examinar padrões espaciais mais amplos de composição da comunidade. Para estudar répteis e anfíbios, utilizamos métodos e esforços de amostragem semelhantes em duas áreas na região do Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões (PNSC). Nossos levantamentos registraram um total de 73 espécies de anfíbios e répteis, das quais 24 são novos registros de distribuição para a região do PNSC. Consequentemente, nossos resultados aumentam a herpetofauna conhecida na região para 94 espécies. Apesar da proximidade, os dois locais na região do PNSC exibiram apenas 42% de similaridade na composição de espécies e diferiram significativamente de outras áreas dentro da Caatinga. Mesmo áreas mais próximas da Caatinga apresentaram diferenças na composição de espécies, destacando a necessidade de avaliar a biodiversidade em toda a paisagem e contribuir para a compreensão de padrões biogeográficos.
Each year, approximately 170 million metric tons of chemical fertilizer are consumed by global agriculture. Furthermore, some chemical fertilizers contain toxic by-products and their long-term use ...may contaminate groundwater, lakes, and rivers. The use of plant growth-promoting bacteria may be a cost-effective strategy for partially replacing conventional chemical fertilizers, and may become an integrated plant nutrient solution for sustainable crop production. The main direct bacteria-activated mechanisms of plant growth promotion are based on improvement of nutrient acquisition, siderophore biosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, and hormonal stimulation. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify bacteria with growth-promoting activities from sugarcane. We extracted the bacterial isolate SCB4789F-1 from sugarcane leaves and characterized it with regard to its profile of growth-promoting activities, including its ability to colonize Arabidopsis thaliana. Based on its biochemical characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, this isolate was identified as Pantoea ananatis. The bacteria were efficient at phosphate and zinc solubilization, and production of siderophores and indole-3-acetic acid in vitro. The isolate was characterized by Gram staining, resistance to antibiotics, and use of carbon sources. This is the first report on zinc solubilization in vitro by this bacterium, and on plant growth promotion following its inoculation into A. thaliana. The beneficial effects to plants of this bacterium justify future analysis of inoculation of economically relevant crops.
In this study, multiplex PCR was employed to investigate the virulence factors of
Escherichia coli
strains isolated from 60-day-old calves. Faecal samples were collected from 54 calves at 12 dairy ...farms in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A total of 156 isolates were obtained after culture and microbiological isolation and were tested by multiplex PCR for the presence of genes encoding toxins (Stx1, Stx2 and STa) and adherence factors (intimin, F41 and F5). Seventy of 156 isolates were positive for at least one virulence factor: ten (14.3 %) from diarrhoeic animals and 60 (85.7 %) from healthy calves. The virulence markers identified were: Stx1 (82.8 %),
eae
(24.3 %), F41 (11.4 %), F5 (10 %), STa (4.28 %) and Stx2 (4 %). In diarrhoeic animals, Stx1 (70 %) and F41 (30 %) were identified, while Stx1 (83.3 %),
eae
(28.3 %), F41 (8.3 %), F5 (11.6 %), STa (5 %) and Stx2 (1.6 %) were detected in isolates from healthy calves. Mixed infections with pathotypes Shiga toxin-producing
E. coli
(STEC)/enteropathogenic
E. coli
, STEC/enterohaemorrhagic
E. coli
and STEC/other (
eae
/F5, Stx1/STa) were detected in five healthy calves. Pathogenic
E. coli
were identified in 59.26 % of all calves and on 75 % of the dairy farms studied, not only in diarrhoeic (five of six) but also in healthy calves (27 of 48), which demonstrates the importance of this agent in the aetiology of diarrhoea in calves in the state of Minas Gerais.
PDF
