The effects of shrub encroachment on arthropod communities depend on grazing history

Unsustainable grazing is a major driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. Conservation actions such as grazing exclusion are effective strategies for halting such decline. However, we still know little how the long-term impact of grazing exclusion depends on plant–animal interactions such as those between encroaching unpalatable shrubs and ground arthropods. Here, we assessed how encroaching, unpalatable shrub species (Sarcopoterium spinosum) mediates the effects of grazing exclusion on the recovery of arthropod communities. We used a large-scale, long-term (15–25 years) grazing exclusion experiment complemented with local-scale treatments that consider the presence or absence of shrubs. We found that halting overgrazing supported the recovery of biodiversity in the long-term. Notably, the impacts of shrubs on arthropod diversity vary with grazing history. Shrubs decreased arthropod abundance by three folds, affecting particularly flies, butterflies, hymenopteran, and beetles in protected areas. Yet, shrubs had positive effects on animal diversity, particularly centipedes and millipeds in grazed areas. On the one hand, shrubs may enhance biodiversity recovery in overgrazed systems; on the other hand, shrubs may be detrimental in protected areas, in the absence of grazing. Understanding how plant–animal interactions vary with historical land-use change is key for biodiversity conservation and recovery and for integrated management of agroecosystems

Inclusion Complex Of S(-) Bupivacaine And 2-hydroxypropyl- β-cyclodextrin: Study Of Morphology And Cytotoxicity

Local anesthetics (LA) belong to a class of pharmacological compounds that attenuate or eliminate pain by binding to the sodium channel of excitable membranes, blocking the influx of sodium ions and the propagation of the nerve impulse. S (-) bupivacaine (S(-) bvc) is a local anesthetic of amino-amide type, widely used in surgery and obstetrics for sustained peripheral and central nerve blockade. This article focuses on the characterization of an inclusion complex of S(-) bvc in 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD). Differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy and X-Ray diffraction analysis showed structural changes in the complex. In preliminary toxicity studies, the cell viability tests revealed that the inclusion complex decreased the toxic effect (p<0.001) produced by S(-) bvc. These results suggest that the S(-) bvc:HP-β-CD inclusion complex represents a promising agent for the treatment of regional pain.273207212Araújo, D.R., Cereda, C.M., Brunetto, G.B., Pinto, L.M.A., Santana, M.H., de Paula, E., Encapsulation of mepivacaine prolongs the analgesia provided by sciatic nerve blockade in mice (2004) Can J Anaesth, 51, pp. 566-572Araújo, D.R., Fraceto, L.F., Braga, A.F.A., de Paula, E., Drug-delivery systems for racemic bupivacaine (S50-R50) and bupivacaine enantiomeric mixture (S75-R25):cyclodextrins complexation effects on sciatic nerve blockade in mice (2005) Rev Bras Anestesiol, 55, pp. 316-328Araújo, D.R., Moraes, C.M., Fraceto, L.F., Braga, A.F.A., de Paula, E., Cyclodextrin-bupivacaine enantiomeric mixture (S75-R25) inclusion complex and intrathecal anesthesia in rats (2006) Rev Bras Anestesiol, 56, pp. 495-506Bibby, D., Davies, N.M., Tueker, I.G., Mechanisms by which cyclodextrins modify drug release from polymeric drug delivery systems (2000) Int J Pharm, 197, pp. 1-11Covino, B.G., Vassalo, H.G., (1976) Local anesthetics: Mechanisms of action and clinical use, , New York: Grune and Stratton;, 255pFoster, R.H., Markham, A., Levobupivacaine. A review of its pharmacology and use as a local anaesthetic (2000) Drugs, 59, pp. 551-579Grant, G.J., Bansinath, M., Liposomal delivery systems for local anesthetics (2001) Reg Anesth Pain Med, 26, pp. 61-63Gristwood, R.W., Cardiac and CNS toxicity of levobupivacaine: Strengths of evidence for advantage over bupivacaine (2002) Drug Saf, 25, pp. 153-163Hirayama, F., Uekama, K., Cyclodextrin-based controlled drug release system (1999) Adv Drug Deliv Rev, 36, pp. 125-141Huang, Y.F., Pryor, M.E., Mather, L.E., Veering, B.T., Cardiovascular and central nervous system effects of intravenous S-bupivacaine and bupivacaine in sheep (1998) Anesth Analg, 86, pp. 797-804Jong, R.H., (1994) Local anesthetics, , Springfield: CC. Thomas;, 325pKohata, S., Jyodi, K., Ohyoshi, A., Thermal decomposition of cyclodextrins (α -, β-, γ, and modified β-CyD) and of metal-(β-CyD) complex in the solid phase (1993) Thermochim Acta, 217, pp. 187-198Loftsson, T., Brewster, M.E., Pharmaceutical application of Cyclodextrin. 1. Drug solubilization and stabilization (1996) J Pharm Sci, 85, pp. 1017-1025Loukas, Y.L., Vraka, V., Gregoriadis, G., Novel non-acidic formulations of haloperidol complexed with beta-cyclodextrin derivatives (1997) J Pharm Biomed Anal, 16, pp. 263-268Mather, L.E., McCall, P., McNicol, P.L., Bupivacaine enantiomer pharmacokinetics after intercostal neural blockade in liver transplant patients (1995) Anesth Analg, 80, pp. 328-335Michaud, M., Icart, S., Determination of the substitution of hydroxypropylbetadex using fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (2001) PharmEuropa, 13, pp. 714-716Naidu, N.B., Chowdary, K.P.R., Murthy, K.V.R., Satyanarayana, V., Hayman, A.R., Becket, G., Physicochemical characterization and dissolution properties of meloxicam-cyclodextrin binary systems (2004) J Pharm Biomed Anal, 35, pp. 75-86Pinto, L.M.A., Fraceto, L.F., Santana, M.H.A., Pertinhez, T.A., Oyama, S., de Paula, E., Physico-chemical characterization of benzocaine-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes (2005) J Pharm Biomed Anal, 39, pp. 956-963Ren, X., Xue, Y., Liu, J., Zhang, K., Zheng, J., Lou, G., Gou, C., Shen, J., A novel cyclodextrin-deri ved tellurium compound with glutathione peroxidase (2002) Chembiochem, 3, pp. 363-365Rose, J.S., Neal, J.M., Kopacz, D.J., Extended-duration analgesia: Update on microspheres and liposomes (2005) Reg Anesth Pain Med, 30, pp. 275-285Strichartz, G.R., Ritchie, J.M., (1987) Local anesthetics: Handbook of experimental pharmacology, , Berlin: Springer-Verlag;, 445pThompson, D.O., Cyclodextrin-enabling excipients: Their present and future use in pharmaceuticals (1997) Crit Rev Ther Drug Carrier Syst, 14, pp. 1-10

Cloning a new cytochrome P450 isoform (CYP356A1) from oyster Crassostrea gigas

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Environmental Research 66 (2008): 15-18, doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2008.02.010.We have cloned the full-length cDNA of the first member of a new cytochrome P450 (CYP) family from the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. This new CYP gene was obtained based on an initial 331 bp fragment previously identified among the list of the differentially expressed genes in oysters exposed to untreated domestic sewage. The full-length CYP has an open reading frame of 1500 bp and based on its deduced aminoacid sequence was classified as a member of a new subfamily, CYP356A1. A phylogenetic analysis showed that CYP356A1 is closely related to members of the CYP17 and CYP1 subfamilies. Semiquantitative RT-PCR was performed to analyze the CYP356A1 expression in different tissues of the oyster (digestive gland, gill, mantle and adductor muscle). Results showed slightly higher CYP356A1 expression in digestive gland and mantle, than the other tissues, indicating a possible role of the CYP356A1 in the xenobiotic biotransformation and/or steroid metabolism.This work was supported by CNPq-Universal to ACDB. ACDB is recipient of Productivity Fellowship from CNPq

Comparison Between Conventional Intervention and Non-immersive Virtual Reality in the Rehabilitation of Individuals in an Inpatient Unit for the Treatment of COVID-19: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial.

Background: The new human coronavirus that leads to COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) has spread rapidly around the world and has a high degree of lethality. In more severe cases, patients remain hospitalized for several days under treatment of the health team. Thus, it is important to develop and use technologies with the aim to strengthen conventional therapy by encouraging movement, physical activity, and improving cardiorespiratory fitness for patients. In this sense, therapies for exposure to virtual reality (VR) are promising and have been shown to be an adequate and equivalent alternative to conventional exercise programs. Aim: This is a study protocol with the aim of comparing the conventional physical therapy intervention with the use of a non-immersive VR software during COVID-19 hospitalization. Methods: Fifty patients hospitalized with confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 will be divided in two groups under physiotherapy treatment using conventional or VR intervention: Group A: participants with COVID-19 will start the first day of the protocol with VR tasks in the morning and then in the second period, in the afternoon, will perform the conventional exercises (n = 25) and Group B: participants with COVID-19 will start the first day with conventional exercises in the morning and in the second period, in the afternoon, will perform activity with VR (n = 25). All participants will be evaluated with different motor and physiologic scales before and after the treatment to measure improvements. Conclusion: Considering the importance of benefits from physical activity during hospitalization, VR software shows promise as a potential mechanism for improving physical activity. The results of this study may provide new insights into hospital rehabilitation. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT04537858. Registered on 01 September 2020

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results