This study is a part of a series of two clinical trials. We consider diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN), a common chronic and progressive complication of diabetes mellitus that has several impacts on ...individuals' foot health and quality of life. Based on the current trends of self-monitoring and self-care, providing a tool with foot-related exercises and educational care may help patients to avoid or reduce the musculoskeletal complications resulting from DPN, improving autonomous performance in daily living tasks. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the effects of an educational booklet for foot care and foot muscle strengthening on DPN symptoms and severity, clinical outcomes, and gait biomechanics in patients with DPN.
The FOotCAre (FOCA) trial II study has been designed as a single-blind, two-parallel-arm randomized controlled trial. It will include 48 patients with DPN who will be randomly allocated to a control (recommended foot care by international consensus with no foot exercises) group or an intervention (foot-related exercises using an educational booklet three times/week at home for 8 weeks) group. Participants from both groups will be assessed at baseline, after 8 weeks, and at 16 weeks for follow-up. The primary outcomes are the DPN symptoms and severity, and the secondary outcomes are foot-ankle kinematics, gait kinetics, plantar pressure distribution during gait, tactile and vibratory sensitivities, foot strength, functional balance, and foot health and functionality.
The booklet is a management tool that allows users to be autonomous in their treatment by choosing how and where to perform the exercises. This allows the patients to perform the exercises regularly as a continuous habit for foot care and health, which is an important element in the management of the diabetic foot. As the booklet focuses on specific foot-ankle exercises, we expect that it will improve the clinical aspects of DPN and produce beneficial biomechanical changes during gait, becoming a powerful self-management tool that can be easily implemented to improve the performance of daily living tasks.
ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04008745. Registered on 2 July 2019.
This study is part of a series of two clinical trials. Taking into account the various musculoskeletal alterations of the foot and ankle in people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and the ...need for self-care to avoid more serious dysfunctions and complications, a self-manageable exercise protocol that focuses on strengthening the foot muscles is presented as a potentially effective preventive method for foot and gait complications. The aim of this trial is to investigate the effect of a customized rehabilitation technology, the Diabetic Foot Guidance System (SOPeD), on DPN status, functional outcomes and gait biomechanics in people with DPN.
Footcare (FOCA) trial I is a randomized, controlled and parallel two-arm trial with blind assessment. A total of 62 patients with DPN will be allocated into either a control group (recommended foot care by international consensus with no foot exercises) or an intervention group (who will perform exercises through SOPeD at home three times a week for 12 weeks). The exercise program will be customized throughout its course by a perceived effort scale reported by the participant after completion of each exercise. The participants will be assessed at three different times (baseline, completion at 12 weeks, and follow-up at 24 weeks) for all outcomes. The primary outcomes will be DPN symptoms and severity classification. The secondary outcomes will be foot-ankle kinematics and kinetic and plantar pressure distribution during gait, tactile and vibration sensitivities, foot health and functionality, foot strength, and functional balance.
As there is no evidence about the efficacy of rehabilitation technology in reducing DPN symptoms and severity or improving biomechanical, clinical, and functional outcomes for people with DPN, this research can contribute substantially to clarifying the therapeutic merits of software interventions. We hope that the use of our application for people with DPN complications will reduce or attenuate the deficits caused by DPN. This rehabilitation technology is freely available, and we intend to introduce it into the public health system in Brazil after demonstrating its effectiveness.
ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04011267. Registered on 8 July 2019.
Hypertension and metabolic disorders evidenced in adults who have been exposed to nutritional insults during early life may be sex-dependent. We evaluated if blood pressure (BP), cardiorespiratory ...control, and metabolic parameters are affected in female offspring (FO) from dams fed a dyslipidaemic diet during pregnancy and lactation. FO was obtained from dams who received control (CTL) or dyslipidaemic diets during pregnancy and lactation. The effects of a maternal dyslipidaemic diet on BP, cardiorespiratory control, and biochemical parameters were assessed at 30 and 90 days of age. The experimental protocol based on a dyslipidaemic diet intervention was effective in developing maternal dyslipidemia. At 30 days of age, the FO from dyslipidaemic dams displayed disordered respiratory pattern, enhanced ventilatory response to hypercapnia (P < 0.05), and increased serum levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides (P < 0.05) when compared with CTL female offspring. At 90 days of age, FO from dyslipidaemic dams had augmented BP (P < 0.05), exacerbated cardiorespiratory responses to hypercapnia (P < 0.05), enhanced pressor responses to peripheral chemoreflex activation (P < 0.05), impaired baroreflex (P < 0.05), and larger delta variations in arterial pressure after ganglionic blockade (P < 0.05). Furthermore, during oral glucose and insulin tolerance tests, FO from dyslipidaemic dams exhibited altered glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity (P < 0.05) when compared with FO from CTL dams. Altered breathing linked to enhanced central and peripheral chemosensitivity, impaired baroreflex, and augmented sympathetic tone may be predisposing factors for increased BP and metabolic disorders in female offspring from dyslipidaemic dams.
Aiming to establish the temperature ideas conditions for Japanese quail, 168 birds were distributed in a completely randomized design, in four treatments (temperatures: 20, 24, 28 and 32℃), with six ...replicates of seven birds each. The experiment was divided into four phases of 21 days, totaling 84 days of evaluation in bioclimatic chambers of CCA/UFPB, Areia, PB-Brazil. The parameters evaluated were: Feed intake/bird/day (g) (CR), egg production/bird/day (%) (PRO), average egg weight (g) (PMO), egg mass (g/bird/day) (MO), egg Components (g) (yolk, albumen and bark) (feed conversion per dozen eggs (kg/dz) (CDO), feed conversion by mass of eggs (kg/kg) (CMO), Haugh Unit (UH) specific gravity (GE) (g/cm3), Peel Resistance (RC). Statistical analyses were performed using the R Project software. The means of the variables were compared by the Tukey test (P < 0.05). The worst values of CR and PRO were observed at the temperature of 32°C. No significant difference was observed between the CMO and CDO medias. The egg quality parameters PO, MO, and PG showed the worst values at the temperature of 32°C. From 28°C, the zootechnical indexes are negatively influenced by the increase in temperature.
It has long been claimed that a better understanding of human or social dimensions of environmental issues will improve conservation. The social sciences are one important means through which ...researchers and practitioners can attain that better understanding. Yet, a lack of awareness of the scope and uncertainty about the purpose of the conservation social sciences impedes the conservation community's effective engagement with the human dimensions. This paper examines the scope and purpose of eighteen subfields of classic, interdisciplinary and applied conservation social sciences and articulates ten distinct contributions that the social sciences can make to understanding and improving conservation. In brief, the conservation social sciences can be valuable to conservation for descriptive, diagnostic, disruptive, reflexive, generative, innovative, or instrumental reasons. This review and supporting materials provides a succinct yet comprehensive reference for conservation scientists and practitioners. We contend that the social sciences can help facilitate conservation policies, actions and outcomes that are more legitimate, salient, robust and effective.
Display omitted
•A better understanding of the human dimensions of environmental issues can improve conservation.•Yet there is a lack of awareness of the scope and uncertainty about the purpose of the conservation social sciences.•We review 18 fields and identify 10 distinct contributions that the social sciences can make to conservation.•This review paper provides a succinct reference for those wishing to engage with the conservation social sciences.•Greater engagement with the social sciences will facilitate more legitimate, salient, robust and effective conservation.
•Carvacrol, carvone, cineole, linalool, limonene, thymol, cinnamaldehyde, anethole, vanillin, and eugenol were assessed in vitro.•As single compounds, cinnamaldehyde and antehole had the best ...ovicidal effects.•The anthelmintic activity of 10 terpenoids used were also tested in binary, ternary and quaternary combinations.•The best combinations were classified for their synergistic, additive, antagonistic, and strong antagonistic effects.•Cinnamaldehyde+carvacrol and anethole+carvone presented the best synergistic interaction against Haemonchus contortus.
Anthelmintic resistance in sheep gastrointestinal nematodes is a worldwide problem. Multi-drug resistant haemonchosis is the most serious impediment for small ruminant systems, and there are no new drug candidates currently under development. Molecules from natural sources have demonstrated anthelmintic activity against parasites. In this work, the monoterpenoids carvacrol, carvone, cineole, linalool, limonene, and thymol and the phenylpropanoids cinnamaldehyde, anethole, vanillin, and eugenol were assessed individually or in mixtures of ten binary, three ternary, and three quaternary combinations using the in vitro egg hatch assay with eggs of a multi-drug resistant strain of Haemonchus contortus. The main objective of this study was to identify the most effective interaction among essential oils with the greatest individual anthelmintic efficacy and to determine the most powerful combinations. The essential oils were ranked by their 50% lethal concentration (LC50) as follows (mg/mL): cinamaldehyde (0.018), anethole (0.070), carvone (0.085), carvacrol (0.11), thymol (0.13), linalool (0.29), vanillin (0.57), eugenol (0.57), cineole (4.74), and limonene (207.5). Quantification of synergism, additive effect, and antagonism were calculated for binary, ternary, and quaternary combinations. The best anthelmintic effect resulting from synergistic activity among 16 different combinations was for cinnamaldehyde:carvacrol (CL50 0.012mg/mL) and anethole:carvone (CL50 0.013mg/mL). These results indicate that these binary combinations would be promising to be tested in sheep infected with H. contortus.
Background This study is part of a series of two clinical trials. Taking into account the various musculoskeletal alterations of the foot and ankle in people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) ...and the need for self-care to avoid more serious dysfunctions and complications, a self-manageable exercise protocol that focuses on strengthening the foot muscles is presented as a potentially effective preventive method for foot and gait complications. The aim of this trial is to investigate the effect of a customized rehabilitation technology, the Diabetic Foot Guidance System (SOPeD), on DPN status, functional outcomes and gait biomechanics in people with DPN. Methods/design Footcare (FOCA) trial I is a randomized, controlled and parallel two-arm trial with blind assessment. A total of 62 patients with DPN will be allocated into either a control group (recommended foot care by international consensus with no foot exercises) or an intervention group (who will perform exercises through SOPeD at home three times a week for 12 weeks). The exercise program will be customized throughout its course by a perceived effort scale reported by the participant after completion of each exercise. The participants will be assessed at three different times (baseline, completion at 12 weeks, and follow-up at 24 weeks) for all outcomes. The primary outcomes will be DPN symptoms and severity classification. The secondary outcomes will be foot-ankle kinematics and kinetic and plantar pressure distribution during gait, tactile and vibration sensitivities, foot health and functionality, foot strength, and functional balance. Discussion As there is no evidence about the efficacy of rehabilitation technology in reducing DPN symptoms and severity or improving biomechanical, clinical, and functional outcomes for people with DPN, this research can contribute substantially to clarifying the therapeutic merits of software interventions. We hope that the use of our application for people with DPN complications will reduce or attenuate the deficits caused by DPN. This rehabilitation technology is freely available, and we intend to introduce it into the public health system in Brazil after demonstrating its effectiveness. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04011267. Registered on 8 July 2019. Keywords: Diabetic foot, Preventive care, Foot-related exercises, Self-management, eHealth, Musculoskeletal function, Rehabilitation technology
Despite broad recognition of the value of social sciences and increasingly vocal calls for better engagement with the human element of conservation, the conservation social sciences remain ...misunderstood and underutilized in practice. The conservation social sciences can provide unique and important contributions to society's understanding of the relationships between humans and nature and to improving conservation practice and outcomes. There are 4 barriers—ideological, institutional, knowledge, and capacity—to meaningful integration of the social sciences into conservation. We provide practical guidance on overcoming these barriers to mainstream the social sciences in conservation science, practice, and policy. Broadly, we recommend fostering knowledge on the scope and contributions of the social sciences to conservation, including social scientists from the inception of interdisciplinary research projects, incorporating social science research and insights during all stages of conservation planning and implementation, building social science capacity at all scales in conservation organizations and agencies, and promoting engagement with the social sciences in and through global conservation policy-influencing organizations. Conservation social scientists, too, need to be willing to engage with natural science knowledge and to communicate insights and recommendations clearly. We urge the conservation community to move beyond superficial engagement with the conservation social sciences. A more inclusive and integrative conservation science—one that includes the natural and social sciences—will enable more ecologically effective and socially just conservation. Better collaboration among social scientists, natural scientists, practitioners, and policy makers will facilitate a renewed and more robust conservation. Mainstreaming the conservation social sciences willfacilitate the uptake of the full range of insights and contributions from these fields into conservation policy and practice. A pesar del reconocimiento general del valor de las ciencias sociales y los crecientes llamados por un mejor compromiso con el elemento humano de la conservación, las ciencias sociales de la conservación siguen siendo malentendidas y poco utilizadas en la práctica. Las ciencias sociales de la conservación pueden proporcionar contribuciones únicas e importantes para el entendimiento de la sociedad de las relaciones entre los humanos y la naturaleza y para la mejora de las prácticas de la conservación y sus resultados. Existen cuatro barreras - ideológicas, institucionales, de conocimiento y de capacidad - para la integración significativa de las ciencias sociales dentro de la conservación. Proporcionamos una guia práctica sobre cómo sobreponerse a estas barreras paraJncorporar la perspectiva de las ciencias sociales a la ciencia, las prácticas y las políticas de conservación. En general, recomendamos promover el conocimiento sobre el alcance y las contribuciones de las ciencias sociales para la conservación, incluir a los científicos sociales desde el origen de los proyectos de investigación interdisciplinaria, incorporar la investigación de las ciencias sociales y las percepciones durante todas las fases de la planificación y la implementación de la conservación, construir la capacidad de las ciencias sociales en todas las escalas de las organizaciones y agencias de conservación y promover el compromiso con las ciencias sociales en y a través de organizaciones de conservación con influencia política. Los científicos sociales de la conservación, también, necesitan estar dispuestos a involucrarse con el conocimiento de las ciencias naturales y a comunicar percepciones y recomendaciones de manera clara. Le urgimos a la comunidad de la conservación que vaya más allá del compromiso superficial con las ciencias sociales de la conservación. Una ciencia de la conservación más incluyente y integradora - una que incluya a las ciencias sociales y naturales - permitirá una conservación más justa socialmente y más efectiva ecológicamente. Una mejor colaboración entre los científicos sociales, los científicos naturales, los practicantes y quienes elaboran las políticas facilitará una conservación más renovada y más sólida. Incorporar la perspectiva de las ciencias sociales de la conservación facilitará la absorción de la extensión completa de conocimiento y contribuciones de estos campos a la práctica y las políticas de la conservación.
Solvents that stabilize protein structures can improve and expand their biochemical applications, particularly with the growing interest in biocatalytic-based processes. Aiming to select novel ...solvents for protein stabilization, we explored the effect of alkylammonium nitrate protic ionic liquids (PILs)-water mixtures with increasing cation alkyl chain length on lysozyme conformational stability. Four PILs were studied, that is, ethylammonium nitrate (EAN), butylammonium nitrate (BAN), hexylammonium nitrate (HAN), and octylammonium nitrate (OAN). The surface tension, viscosity, and density of PIL-water mixtures at low to high concentrations were firstly determined, which showed that an increasing cation alkyl chain length caused a decrease in the surface tension and density as well as an increase in viscosity for all PIL solutions. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was used to investigate the liquid nanostructure of the PIL solutions, as well as the overall size, conformational flexibility and changes to lysozyme structure. The concentrated PILs with longer alkyl chain lengths, i.e., over 10 mol% butyl-, 5 mol% hexyl- and 1 mol% octylammonium cations, possessed liquid nanostructures. This detrimentally interfered with solvent subtraction, and the more structured PIL solutions prevented quantitative SAXS analysis of lysozyme structure. The radius of gyration (
) of lysozyme in the less structured aqueous PIL solutions showed little change with up to 10 mol% of PIL. Kratky plots, SREFLEX models, and FTIR data showed that the protein conformation was maintained at a low PIL concentration of 1 mol% and lower when compared with the buffer solution. However, 50 mol% EAN and 5 mol% HAN significantly increased the
of lysozyme, indicating unfolding and aggregation of lysozyme. The hydrophobic interaction and liquid nanostructure resulting from the increased cation alkyl chain length in HAN likely becomes critical. The impact of HAN and OAN, particularly at high concentrations, on lysozyme structure was further revealed by FTIR. This work highlights the negative effect of a long alkyl chain length and high concentration of PILs on lysozyme structural stability.
Although ivermectin (IVM) has a wide spectrum and long half-life, its frequent use as an anthelmintic for the last 42 years led to its worldwide tolerance by Haemonchus contortus. We evaluated the ...combination of limonene (LIM), a P-glycoprotein (Pgp) modulator, with IVM in lambs infected with a multidrug-resistant H. contortus. Twenty-four male Dorper lambs were artificially infected with two doses (seven days apart) of 8000 infective larvae of a multidrug-resistant isolate of H. contortus. The infection was patent 25 days later. Fifteen days before treatment with IVM (DAY -15), animals were divided into 4 groups: Infected-untreated control (CTL), IVM, LIM, and LIM+IVM. From DAY -15 to DAY + 14, groups LIM and LIM+IVM received 200 mg/kg of body weight/day of LIM via oral. On DAY 0, a single dose of IVM at 200 µg/kg of body weight was administered orally to groups IVM and LIM+IVM. On DAY + 7 and DAY + 14, fecal egg counts (FEC) were performed and on DAY + 14 animals were euthanized for total worm count (TWC), worm length, fecundity of females, and Pgp-9 gene expression. On DAY + 7, group LIM+IVM had 96.29% efficacy based on Fecal Egg Count Reduction TEST (FECRT) and a highly significant reduction in FEC (P = 0.0005) when compared to CTL. On DAY + 14, the efficacy of LIM+IVM was 82.87% on FECRT, although no differences were found among groups for FEC, TWC, worm length, or Pgp-9 gene expression. Female worms from the CTL group had higher egg counts in their uterus when compared to LIM. No differences were found for hematological or biochemical parameters, body weight, or weight gain among groups. Thus, LIM given daily at 200 mg/kg was safe for animals and, when combined with IVM, decreased egg shedding and could reduce pasture contamination, although it was unable to kill multidrug-resistant H. contortus.
PDF
