ABSTRACT Excessive interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) may be associated with numerous factors that are discussed little in the literature. The aim of the present study was to evaluate factors ...associated with excessive IDWG in patients on hemodialysis. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 197 adults on hemodialysis at a satellite clinic in the city of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Brazil. We calculated %IDWG by the mean difference among 12 hemodialysis sessions, with >4.5% considered excessive. The conceptual model considered socioeconomic, demographic, clinical, anthropometric and laboratorial variables. Excessive IDWG was found in 28.4% of the sample. In the final adjusted Poisson regression model, three variables remained independently associated with excessive IDWG: age between 20 and 59 years (adjusted prevalence ratio PRadjusted= 1.87, 95% CI: 1.21-2.88), household income between one and two times the minimum monthly salary (PRadjusted=2.14, 95% CI: 1.36-3.44) and <nine years of schooling (PRadjusted= 1.78 95% CI: 1.15-2.76). The results revealed associations between excessive IDWG and some factors. The most strongly associated factor was low income, followed by non-elderly adult age and low level of schooling.
Strains of Phakopsora pachyrhizi with a lower SDHI sensitivity have been found for the first time in monitoring studies in the season 2015–2016. Such strains needed to be characterized with respect ...to the underlying mechanism and for the development of a molecular genetic monitoring method. A mutation in the SdhC gene, which causes the amino acid substitution C-I86F, was identified in strains with a lower SDHI sensitivity. A species-specific real-time PCR for the detection and quantification of alleles which cause C-I86F exchange in diseased plant tissue was developed. The frequency of C-I86F was highest when samples were first selected on SDHI-treated detached leaves, and there was ~ 50% mutated allele. The SDHIs included in this study were affected to a greater or lesser extent by C-I86F in detached leaf assays. This is the first report of a causal resistance mechanism toward SDHIs in P. pachyrhizi. The practical relevance of the C-I86F exchange on the field efficacy of SDHI containing fungicides needs further investigation.
Erythrina speciosa Andrews (Fabaceae) is a native tree of Atlantic forest from Southern and Southeastern Brazil. Although this species is found in flooded areas, it produces highly desiccation ...tolerant seeds. Here, we investigated the physiological and metabolic events occurring during seed maturation of E. speciosa aiming to better understand of its desiccation tolerance acquisition. Seeds were separated into six stages of maturation by the pigmentation of the seed coat. Water potential (WP) and water content (WC) decreased gradually from the first stage to the last stage of maturation (VI), in which seeds reached the highest accumulation of dry mass and seed coat acquired water impermeability. At stage III (71% WC), although seeds were intolerant to desiccation, they were able to germinate (about 15%). Desiccation tolerance was first observed at stage IV (67% WC), in which 40% of seeds were tolerant. At stage V (24% WC), all seeds were tolerant to desiccation and at stage VI all seeds germinated. Increased deposition of the arabinose-containing polysaccharides, which are known as cell wall plasticizers polymers, was observed up to stage IV of seed maturation. Raffinose and stachyose gradually increased in axes and cotyledons with greater increment in the fourth stage. Metabolic profile analysis showed that levels of sugars, organic, and amino acids decrease drastically in embryonic axes, in agreement with lower respiratory rates during maturation. Moreover, a non-aqueous fractionation revealed a change on the proportions of sugar accumulation among cytosol, plastid, and vacuoles between the active metabolism (stage I) and the dormant seeds (stage VI). The results indicate that the physiological maturity of the seeds of E. speciosa is reached at stage V and that the accumulation of raffinose can be a result of the change in the use of carbon, reducing metabolic activity during maturation. This work confirms that raffinose is involved in desiccation tolerance in seeds of E. speciosa, especially considering the different subcellular compartments and suggests even that the acquisition of desiccation tolerance in this species occurs in stages prior to the major changes in WC.
Allelopathy has been considered a key mechanism to explain the invasiveness of some species. It is well known that invasive plants can affect native plants by producing novel allelochemicals but some ...exotic plant species may be also sensitive to allelochemicals released by native species, providing a tool to reduce growth and impacts of invasive exotic species. Here, using growth chamber experiments we tested the mutual potential allelopathic effects of
Sesbania virgata
(a native dominant species) and the alien
Leucaena leucocephala
seeds.
S. virgata
was unaffected by seed leachates of
L. leucocephala
, indicating that, under lab conditions, this legume presents resistance to the phytotoxic compounds produced by seeds of this alien species. In contrast, germination and seedling growth of
L. leucocephala
were strongly affected by the phytochemicals produced by seeds of
S. virgata
. A delay in endospermic mobilization of storage carbohydrates (raffinose-family oligosaccharides and galactomannan) was observed in the alien species. These potential allelopathic effects could not be attributed sole to the presence neither of the phytoxic catechin nor of ABA in seed leachates of
S. virgata.
Our findings indicate that the in vitro behavior of
S. virgata
is consistent with its aggressiveness in natural environment and suggest sesbanimide as a potential candidate as implicated in the noxious effects of
S. virgata
on the alien species.
Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are fructose‐based oligosaccharides employed as additives to improve the nutritional and technological properties of foods. The rhizosphere of inulin‐accumulating plants ...from the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) harbor fungi capable of synthesizing FOS from sucrose through the transfructosylating activity of β‐fructosyltransferases and/or β‐fructofuranosidases. Here, we investigated the ability of Penicillium janczewskii Zaleski CCIBt 3352, a fungus isolated from the rhizosphere of Chrysolaena obovata (Asteraceae), to produce FOS in a medium supplemented with sucrose concentrations of 30, 100, or 150 g L−1. Hydrolytic activity on sucrose was observed in culture filtrates; however, at 150 g L−1 sucrose, the accumulation of 8 g L−1 1‐kestose (inulin‐type FOS) and 7.3 g L−1 neokestose (neolevan‐type FOS) was observed, the latter being a type of FOS not commonly produced by filamentous fungi. In addition, minor amounts of four unidentified oligosaccharides, with a high degree of polymerization, were detected. The production of FOS was also observed in enzymatic assays, indicating the presence of extracellular enzymes with transfructosylating activity in the culture filtrates. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of isolating promising microorganisms, for the production of FOS‐synthesizing enzymes, from the rhizosphere of fructan‐producing plants of the Brazilian Cerrado.
ABSTRACT The early identification of nutritional risk is essential for the earliest possible implementation of nutritional therapy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association ...between nutritional risk and the incidence of clinical complications. An observational study was conducted at the internal medicine infirmary of a Brazilian public hospital involving patients admitted between January 2016 and December 2017. The NRS-2002, anthropometrics and laboratory exams (initial and final) were used for the evaluation of nutritional risk. The prevalence of nutritional risk was 63.6%. Nutritional risk upon admission to hospital was associated with the occurrence of complications, a longer hospitalization time and death. In correlation analysis, considering anthropometrics and laboratory exams compared to hospitalization time and time elapsed prior to the onset of the diet, serum albumin was inversely correlated with both hospitalization time and nutritional risk. Based on the present findings, knowledge on the nutritional status of patients and adequate nutritional therapy can lead to fewer complications during hospitalization.
This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian private health plan market over the period 2000-2006. The current situation is analyzed with respect to the profile of private insurance companies, ...health plans and beneficiaries and some possible trends that were identified in the study are emphasized. The increase of employer group-plans as a work-related benefit and the reduction of individual plans are discussed. Although the market is restricted to only a few companies, there are more people covered by local plans than by plans offering coverage on a national basis. Finally, the paper approaches aspects related to the financial resources, among them the governmental incentive for the health area, and points to the need of further studies for a better understanding of the supplementary healthcare market.
Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell.) Morong. and Peltophorum dubium (Spreng.) are two leguminous species native to Brazil that are frequently used to restore degraded areas. Seed of E. ...contortisiliquum are exalbuminous, whereas seed of P. dubium have a mucilaginous endosperm and both are orthodox, dormant and have a water-impermeable seed coat. There is little information about the dynamics of their germination and understanding this process is important for propagation, conservation and satisfactory practices for restoration of degraded areas. Thus, in this study we evaluated and compared the carbohydrate mobilisation of the seed of both species during germination and early seedling development. Data obtained showed differences in the composition and in the mobilisation of the storage carbohydrates in the studied species. Whereas the main storage of the E. contortisiliquum embryo is starch, the main reserve found in P. dubium is the galactomannan stored in the endosperm. The carbohydrates first hydrolysed in both species are raffinose family oligosaccharides that are used in the embryo development during germination. Starch found in cotyledons of E. contortisiliquum or accumulated after galactomannan degradation in the embryo of P. dubium is not used during germination and early seedling growth in either species.
Sesbania virgata (Cav.) Pers (wand riverhemp) is a fast-growing tropical legume species that has been used for revegetation of riparian forests and rehabilitation of degraded areas and that exhibits ...an invasive behavior in certain regions of Brazil. Preliminary studies have shown that seed leachates inhibit the germination and development of seedlings of some crop species. In this study, we report that the seed leachates of S. virgata inhibit the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana and rice. The flavonoid (+)-catechin is found in high amounts in these leachates. It was active at concentrations of 50 μg ml⁻¹, and its effect was not distinguishable from the (+)-catechin obtained from a commercial source. We found that (+)-catechin is located in the seed coat and is rapidly released in high concentrations (235 μg per seed) at the beginning of imbibition. Quercetin was also detected in the seed coat of S. virgata, but it was not released from the seeds. Other phytotoxic compounds in the seed leachates were also detected. The fact that S. virgata releases high amounts of (+)-catechin, which also has antimicrobial activity, and other phytotoxins from its seeds at the earliest stages of its development might represent some adaptative advantage to the seedling that contributes to its invasive behavior and successful establishment in different soils.
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