Anxiety-related psychological impacts in the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular diseases and diabetes

Patients and the general public are under insurmountable psychological pressure which may lead to various psychological problems, such as anxiety, fear, depression, and insomnia, causing, consequently, the impaired quality of life. Psychological crisis intervention plays a pivotal role in the overall deployment of health-related quality of life and disease control. A novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV-2), a pathogen of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has affected several sector activities, including people's health. To enhance infection control methods, appropriate interventions, and public health policies, the present study aims to assess the fear and peri-traumatic stress during the Covid-19 in Brazil. Method: A cross-sectional survey has been conducted from April 12th to 18th using the Peri-Traumatic Distress Scale (CPDI) and the Fear Scale (FCV-19S) aiming to measure the peri-traumatic stress and fear as psychological reactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. For that purpose, an online spreadsheet was used to send the questionnaire and scales to a sample of 1844 participants as a collecting information tool. After the data analysis, the individuals were separated into 4 groups: Group 1 (1232) population without chronic health conditions; group 2 (298) patients with previous psychological suffering, group 3 (229) patients with cardiovascular diseases, group 4 (71) patients with diabetes. For analysis, G1 and were considered control for comparison with groups 2, 3 and 4 in accordance with One-Way Anova followed by Bonferroni test. Results: All the groups showed the CPDI and FCV-19S increased in comparison with the G1 group. Concerning CPDI, the G 3 was increased when compared to G1, G2 and G4. The G3 had the FCV-19S higher in comparison with G1, G2 and G4. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test showed a statistical difference between the control group in comparison with 2 and 3 groups (Mann-Whitney p< 0.05). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the Brazilian population, with patients with heart disease and hypertension presenting the highest numbers of stress and fear, with numbers comparable and even higher than those who reported previous psychological distress

Contribution of the carbohydrate-binding ability of Vatairea guianensis lectin to induce edematogenic activity

Vatairea guianensis lectin (VGL), Dalbergiae tribe, is a N-acetyl-galactosamine (GalNAc)/Galactose (Gal) lectin previously purified and characterized. In this work, we report its structural features, obtained from bioinformatics tools, and its inflammatory effect, obtained from a rat paw edema model. The VGL model was obtained by homology with the lectin of Vatairea macrocarpa (VML) as template, and we used it to demonstrate the common characteristics of legume lectins, such as the jellyroll motif and presence of a metal-binding site in the vicinity of the carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD). Protein-ligand docking revealed favorable interactions with N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, D-galactose and related sugars as well as several biologically relevant N- and O-glycans. In vivo testing of paw edema revealed that VGL induces edematogenic effect involving prostaglandins, interleukins and VGL CRD. Taken together, these data corroborate with previous reports showing that VGL interacts with N- and/or O-glycans of molecular targets, particularly in those presenting galactosides in their structure, contributing to the lectin inflammatory effect. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM

Health-related quality of life in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus in the different geographical regions of Brazil : data from the Brazilian Type 1 Diabetes Study Group

Background: In type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) management, enhancing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is as important as good metabolic control and prevention of secondary complications. This study aims to evaluate possible regional differences in HRQoL, demographic features and clinical characteristics of patients with T1DM in Brazil, a country of continental proportions, as well as investigate which variables could influence the HRQoL of these individuals and contribute to these regional disparities. Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study performed by the Brazilian Type 1 Diabetes Study Group (BrazDiab1SG), by analyzing EuroQol scores from 3005 participants with T1DM, in 28 public clinics, among all geographical regions of Brazil. Data on demography, economic status, chronic complications, glycemic control and lipid profile were also collected. Results: We have found that the North-Northeast region presents a higher index in the assessment of the overall health status (EQ-VAS) compared to the Southeast (74.6 ± 30 and 70.4 ± 19, respectively; p < 0.05). In addition, North- Northeast presented a lower frequency of self-reported anxiety-depression compared to all regions of the country (North-Northeast: 1.53 ± 0.6; Southeast: 1.65 ± 0.7; South: 1.72 ± 0.7; Midwest: 1.67 ± 0.7; p < 0.05). These findings could not be entirely explained by the HbA1c levels or the other variables examined. Conclusions: Our study points to the existence of additional factors not yet evaluated that could be determinant in the HRQoL of people with T1DM and contribute to these regional disparities

Fístula arteriovenosa dural intracraniana da junção craniocervical com drenagem venosa perimedular espinhal: um raro relato de caso

Fístulas arteriovenosas durais (FAVDs) são lesões adquiridas, que consistem em uma ou mais conexões fistulosas no interior dos folhetos da dura-máter, com envolvimento das paredes de um seio venoso dural ou então das veias leptomeníngeas adjacentes. Sua incidência é de difícil determinação, no entanto, segundo estudos, ela é estimada em 10% a 15% de todas as malformações cerebrovasculares diagnosticadas por angiografia. Os fatores predisponentes ao desenvolvimento das FAVDs são o traumatismo cranioencefálico, tromboflebite cerebral, neurocirurgia prévia e infecções. O objetivo deste estudo é apresentar um caso de Fístula Arteriovenosa Dural Intracraniana em um paciente de 58 anos, ressaltando os aspectos imagenológicos, etiológicos, fisiopatológicos e, sobretudo, os tipos de classificação da doença e a terapia utilizada. W.S.D., sexo masculino, 58 anos, natural e procedente de São Paulo – SP, deu entrada no pronto-socorro de um hospital de referência da capital paulista queixando-se de parestesia de membros superiores (MMSS) há 3 meses. Foi realizado exame físico e anamnese de forma minuciosa, na qual o paciente negou cefaleia e outros sintomas associados. Foi submetido à investigação com uma ressonância magnética (RNM) da região cerebral e medular em ponderações T1 e T2, as quais demonstraram efeito tumefativo que comprometia a transição bulbo-medular e a medula cervical de C2, as quais encontravam-se edemaciadas. Além disso, estavam proeminentes os vasos leptomeníngeos nos hemisférios cerebelares, estes patognomônicos da FAVD. Ademais, foi observado hipersinal em T2, com padrão estriado/tigroide, típico de degeneração mielínica progressiva. O paciente apresentava agressivo refluxo venoso cortical com drenagem perimedular espinhal na veia cortical e, dessa forma, enquadrou-se na Classificação de Cognard tipo V, sendo considerado um paciente portador de FAVD maligna. Foi então realizado tratamento endovascular com embolização transarterial, o qual proporcionou fechamento completo da fístula e, dessa forma, o paciente obteve um prognóstico favorável. As fístulas arteriovenosas durais, por serem uma condição rara e com variadas manifestações clínicas, podem passar despercebidas pelo profissional médico. Dessa forma, é de fundamental importância o conhecimento da doença, com o intuito de proporcionar ao paciente um diagnóstico precoce e uma terapia eficaz

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost