LATOHCP continuity strategies in front of the Covid-19 pandemic

Introdução: As Ligas Acadêmicas (LAs) são projetos formados e conduzidos por discentes de graduação e tutorados por docentes universitários. Com a chegada da Pandemia da Covid-19, a Liga Acadêmica de Terapia Ocupacional em Contextos Hospitalares e Cuidados Paliativos (LATOHCP), passou por reformulações na metodologia de trabalho, a fim de dar continuidade ao projeto. Objetivo: Apresentar estratégias adotadas pela LATOHCP durante a pandemia da COVID-19. Metodologia: Trata-se de um relato de experiências da metodologia adotada pela LATOHCP de março à setembro de 2020. Relato de Experiências: As formas de prevenção do contágio da COVID-19, fez com que a LATOHCP (re) pensa-se em formas de promover o eixo ensino- pesquisa-extensão de forma segura, respeitando as normas de segurança e contribuindo para a sociedade, utilizando-se principalmente das plataformas digitais para contribuir ao maior público possível. Conclusões: O período pandêmico proporcionou a sociedade aproximações antes quase que inexistentes, e novas possibilidades de saberes aos ligantes.Introduction: Academic Leagues (LAs) are projects formed and conducted by undergraduate students and tutored by university professors. With the arrival of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Academic League of Occupational Therapy in Hospital Contexts and Palliative Care (LATOHCP), went through reformulations in the work methodology, in order to continue the project. Objective: To present strategies adopted by LATOHCP during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: This is an experience report of the methodology adopted by LATOHCP from March to September 2020. Report of Experiences: The ways of preventing the contagion of COVID-19, made LATOHCP (re) think of ways to promote the teaching-research-extension axis in a safe manner, respecting safety standards and contributing to society, using mainly digital platforms to contribute to the largest possible audience. Conclusions: The pandemic period provided society with approaches that were almost nonexistent before, and new possibilities of knowledge for ligands

Natural and anthropic forest fragments have distinct ecological behavior due to their different origin and landscape context

We tested the hypothesis that plant populations in natural fragments have distinct ecological behavior in relation to anthropic fragments. We selected the species Myrcia splendens (SW.) DC. in 2 forest fragments located in southeastern Brazil that present different origins and landscape contexts. The natural fragment originates from landscape relief variations and is inserted in a native grassland matrix, while the anthropic fragment originates from fragmentation due to area conversion and is inserted in an agricultural matrix. We established transects covering an area from one border to the other in each fragment, and we established subunits of 400 m² within them. Within each subunit we measured all individuals of M. splendens at all establishment stages (seedlings to established trees). We monitored population behavior in the two fragments for 4 years, evaluating their spatial structure, temporal behavior, and age structure. The two populations present distinct ecological behaviors associated with their different origins and landscape contexts; the natural fragment is exposed to disturbances it has adapted to throughout the evolutionary process, whereas the anthropic fragment is subject to new evolutionary disturbances, such as effect edge, cattle, and recurrent fire

Strong relationships between soil and vegetation in reference ecosystems of a riparian atlantic rainforest in the upper Doce River watershed, southeastern Brazil

Habitat loss and fragmentation have been impacting ecosystem services essential for human survival. The Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, a biodiversity hotspot, has suffered from historical deforestation and, more recently, from an environmental disaster caused by the Fundão dam collapse that released ore tailings drastically affecting a large territory in the Doce River watershed. This work aims to assess the relationships between soil properties and vegetation in a reference ecosystem to provide guidelines for restoration projects in areas affected by the dam collapse. We conducted phytosociological (vegetation characteristic) and soil quality studies in three distinct natural sites and studied different vegetation strata to better understand plant species composition in reference sites along the impacted Doce River and their potential role in community structuring and functioning. We recorded 140 species, 78 in the tree stratum, and 90 in the sapling stratum. Furthermore, our results highlight the influence of soil on floristic composition in the Atlantic rainforest. Smallscale edaphic variation influenced species composition in both sapling and tree strata. We also identified species of the same genus with strong association with the extremes of the edaphic gradient. Therefore, we highlight that studies in various regions along the Doce River watershed are of utmost importance to evaluate the association between species and soils. The particularities of the species are crucial to the effectiveness of restoration processes since this plant-soil correlation should not be extrapolated even within the same genus. This knowledge is of strategic relevance to provide scientificbased guidance for restoring these environments, aiming at the recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem services.Fil: Ramos, Letícia. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Negreiros, Daniel. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Ferreira, Bárbara S. Silva. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Figueiredo, João Carlos Gomes. Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros; BrasilFil: Paiva, Dario C.. Florida International University; Estados UnidosFil: Oki, Yumi. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: De Souza Justino, Wénita. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Dos Santos, Rubens Manoel. Universidade Federal de Lavras; BrasilFil: Aguilar, Ramiro. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Nunes, Yule Roberta Ferreira. Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros; BrasilFil: Fernandes, G Wilson. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Brasi

Expanding the phenotypic spectrum of CLCN2-related leucoencephalopathy and ataxia

Mutations in CLCN2 are a rare cause of autosomal recessive leucoencephalopathy with ataxia and specific imaging abnormalities. Very few cases have been reported to date. Here, we describe the clinical and imaging phenotype of 12 additional CLCN2 patients and expand the known phenotypic spectrum of this disorder. Informed consent was obtained for all patients. Patients underwent either whole-exome sequencing or focused/panel-based sequencing to identify variants. Twelve patients with biallelic CLCN2 variants are described. This includes three novel likely pathogenic missense variants. All patients demonstrated typical MRI changes, including hyperintensity on T2-weighted images in the posterior limbs of the internal capsules, midbrain cerebral peduncles, middle cerebellar peduncles and cerebral white matter. Clinical features included a variable combination of ataxia, headache, spasticity, seizures and other symptoms with a broad range of age of onset. This report is now the largest case series of patients with CLCN2-related leucoencephalopathy and reinforces the finding that, although the imaging appearance is uniform, the phenotypic expression of this disorder is highly heterogeneous. Our findings expand the phenotypic spectrum of CLCN2-related leucoencephalopathy by adding prominent seizures, severe spastic paraplegia and developmental delay

Manejo da Coreia de Sydenham: Uma Revisão das Evidências Atuais

Este estudo realiza uma revisão abrangente das abordagens terapêuticas para a Coreia de Sydenham (CS), uma condição neuroinflamatória associada à febre reumática e infecções estreptocócicas. A revisão foca nas estratégias de profilaxia com penicilina, controle sintomático com antipsicóticos e anticonvulsivantes, e terapia imunomoduladora com esteróides e imunoglobulina intravenosa (IVIg). A profilaxia antibiótica é recomendada até os 21 anos para prevenir recorrências, enquanto os medicamentos sintomáticos, como ácido valpróico e risperidona, oferecem alívio, embora com efeitos colaterais. A terapia imunomoduladora é reservada para casos refratários, com evidências ainda limitadas sobre sua eficácia. O estudo destaca a importância de uma abordagem multidisciplinar e a necessidade urgente de mais pesquisas para estabelecer diretrizes claras e melhorar os desfechos clínicos para os pacientes com CS

Colecistectomia Robótica: Avanços e Resultados na Cirurgia Minimamente Invasiva

The analysis of the literature on robotic cholecystectomies, particularly single-site robotic cholecystectomy (SSRC) and multi-incision robotic cholecystectomy (MIRC), reveals a variety of results that complicate a clear assessment of their advantages and disadvantages, especially in emergency situations. While the number of studies is increasing, methodological heterogeneity and differences in surgeons' experience complicate comparisons, particularly regarding complications such as bile duct injuries. SSRC has shown potential to reduce intraoperative complications and conversion rates, but high costs and prolonged operative times remain barriers to its adoption in institutions with lower procedure volumes. Although it offers advantages in terms of visualization and precision, the operational complexity and learning curve associated with the technique still need to be addressed. Future studies should focus on randomized clinical trials and cost-effectiveness analyses to validate the efficacy of robotic surgery in managing acute biliary conditions, considering not only clinical efficacy but also economic viability.A análise da literatura sobre colecistectomias robóticas, especialmente a colecistectomia robótica de sítio único (SSRC) e a de incisão múltipla (MIRC), revela uma variedade de resultados que dificultam uma avaliação clara de suas vantagens e desvantagens, principalmente em situações de urgência. Embora o número de estudos esteja crescendo, a heterogeneidade metodológica e as diferenças na experiência dos cirurgiões complicam as comparações, especialmente em relação a complicações como lesões do trato biliar. A SSRC tem mostrado potencial para reduzir complicações intraoperatórias e taxas de conversão, mas os altos custos e o tempo operatório prolongado permanecem barreiras para sua adoção em instituições com menor volume de procedimentos. Embora ofereça vantagens em termos de visualização e precisão, a complexidade operacional e a curva de aprendizado associada à técnica ainda precisam ser superadas. Futuros estudos devem se concentrar em ensaios clínicos randomizados e na análise da relação custo-efetividade para validar a eficácia da cirurgia robótica no manejo de condições biliares agudas, considerando não apenas a eficácia clínica, mas também a viabilidade econômica

Memória, depressão e ansiedade de ratos Wistar submetidos à desnutrição regional do nordeste brasileiro

As deficiências nutricionais são um grupo de doenças que decorrem do aporte alimentar insuficiente em quantidades de energia e nutrientes corporais. Tais deficiências ao causarem danos físicos e mentais, podem prejudicar o desenvolvimento de funções psicológicas, como a memória, bem como podem estar relacionadas com a constituição de quadros depressivos e de ansiedade. Avaliar diferentes tipos de memória, comportamento de depressão e ansiedade em ratos Wistar, após desnutrição experimental induzida. Dezesseis ratos Wistar, machos e adultos, que ficavam alojados em grupos de quatro animais por gaiolas apropriadas, com livre acesso à comida e água. Foi utilizado um grupo controle e outro experimental com 8 animais cada, sendo a nutrição realizada com base na Dieta Regional do Nordeste para o grupo experimental. Os animais eram submetidos ao teste de Labirinto em cruz elevado e, no dia seguinte, ao teste campo claro-escuro. O grupo experimental recebeu alimentação com a dieta regional durante 70 dias consecutivos antes dos testes. Os resultados demonstram que o grupo controle apresentou tempo médio de realização dos testes compatível para animais saudáveis; e com baixo desvio padrão entre os animais testados. Os animais do grupo experimental demonstraram, seja no teste de labirinto cruzado ou no campo claro-escuro, um aumento do período para um dos braços, assim como, um menor número de cruzamento entre os campos, respectivamente. O espaço de tempo era maior no braço fechado do labirinto, e menor na passagem entre os campos claro-escuro. Também foi observado um menor número de exploração dentro dos campos, o que caracteriza um prejuízo de memória, juntamente com presença de ansiedade e depressão. Ratos Wistar expostos a períodos crônicos, como 70 dias ou mais, sob a desnutrição regional do nordeste brasileiro apresentam comprometimento no processo de formação da memória e aprendizagem, assim como sinais de depressão e ansiedade

Tropical forests in the Americas are changing too slowly to track climate change

Understanding the capacity of forests to adapt to climate change is of pivotal importance for conservation science, yet this is still widely unknown. This knowledge gap is particularly acute in high-biodiversity tropical forests. Here, we examined how tropical forests of the Americas have shifted community trait composition in recent decades as a response to changes in climate. Based on historical trait-climate relationships, we found that, overall, the studied functional traits show shifts of less than 8% of what would be expected given the observed changes in climate. However, the recruit assemblage shows shifts of 21% relative to climate change expectation. The most diverse forests on Earth are changing in functional trait composition but at a rate that is fundamentally insufficient to track climate change

AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

Sensitivity of South American tropical forests to an extreme climate anomaly

The tropical forest carbon sink is known to be drought sensitive, but it is unclear which forests are the most vulnerable to extreme events. Forests with hotter and drier baseline conditions may be protected by prior adaptation, or more vulnerable because they operate closer to physiological limits. Here we report that forests in drier South American climates experienced the greatest impacts of the 2015–2016 El Niño, indicating greater vulnerability to extreme temperatures and drought. The long-term, ground-measured tree-by-tree responses of 123 forest plots across tropical South America show that the biomass carbon sink ceased during the event with carbon balance becoming indistinguishable from zero (−0.02 ± 0.37 Mg C ha −1 per year). However, intact tropical South American forests overall were no more sensitive to the extreme 2015–2016 El Niño than to previous less intense events, remaining a key defence against climate change as long as they are protected