Avaliação da degradação do solo em parques de criação semi-intensiva de suínos aos ar livre das raças Alenteja e Bísara

Neste trabalho avalia-se a degradação do solo em parques de criação ao ar livre de porcos das raças autóctones Alentejana e Bísara numa unidade de experimentação na Quinta da Senhora de Mércules, Escola Superior Agrária de Castelo Branco, no período de 2004 a 2007. A degradação do solo é avaliada qualitativamente por um conjunto de sinais de degradação do solo. A erosão do solo é avaliada quantitativamente pelo método das raízes expostas das árvores ou montículos e por pontos indicadores em que é possível medir a erosão, relativamente a pontos de referência. Verifica-se em todos os parques uma degradação do solo alta a muito alta, com maior incidência nos parques da raça Alentejana. A taxa anual de erosão do solo estimou-se em 5,9cm, durante o período de três anos em que decorreu a experimentação

Immunotherapy in Allergic Asthma – 5 year analysis: Is it a curative approach?

Asthma is a common, chronic and heterogeneous disease;it affects people of all ages and there has been a recentincrease in its prevalence and severity. It may be mild,barely noticed by the patient, or it may range all the way tovery severe disease, causing constant symptoms that greatlyaffect the quality life of the patient. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Rapid tranquillisation for agitated patients in emergency psychiatric rooms: a randomised trial of midazolam versus haloperidol plus promethazine

OBJECTIVE: To compare two widely used drug treatments for people with aggression or agitation due to mental illness. DESIGN: Pragmatic, randomised clinical trial. SETTING: Three psychiatric emergency rooms in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. SUBJECTS: 301 aggressive or agitated people. INTERVENTIONS: Open treatment with intramuscular midazolam or intramuscular haloperidol plus promethazine. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients tranquil or sedated at 20 minutes. Secondary outcomes: patients tranquil or asleep by 40, 60, and 120 minutes; restrained or given extra drugs within 2 hours; severe adverse events; another episode of agitation or aggression; needing extra visits from doctor during first 24 hours; overall antipsychotic load in first 24 hours; and not discharged by two weeks

Brief report: High frequency of biochemical markers for mitochondrial dysfunction in autism: no association with the mitochondrial aspartate/glutamate carrier SLC25A12 gene

In the present study we confirm the previously reported high frequency of biochemical markers of mitochondrial dysfunction, namely hyperlactacidemia and increased lactate/pyruvate ratio, in a significant fraction of 210 autistic patients. We further examine the involvement of the mitochondrial aspartate/glutamate carrier gene (SLC25A12) in mitochondrial dysfunction associated with autism. We found no evidence of association of the SLC25A12 gene with lactate and lactate/pyruvate distributions or with autism in 241 nuclear families with one affected individual. We conclude that while mitochondrial dysfunction may be one of the most common medical conditions associated with autism, variation at the SLC25A12 gene does not explain the high frequency of mitochondrial dysfunction markers and is not associated with autism in this sample of autistic patients

Epidemiology of autism spectrum disorder in Portugal: prevalence, clinical characterization, and medical conditions

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and identify its clinical characterization, and medical conditions in a paediatric population in Portugal. A school survey was conducted in elementary schools, targeting 332,808 school-aged children in the mainland and 10,910 in the Azores islands. Referred children were directly assessed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn), the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Clinical history and a laboratory investigation was performed. In parallel, a systematic multi-source search of children known to have autism was carried out in a restricted region. The global prevalence of ASD per 10,000 was 9.2 in mainland, and 15.6 in the Azores, with intriguing regional differences. A diversity of associated medical conditions was documented in 20%, with an unexpectedly high rate of mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders

The nature of formative physical activities and sports in the development of senior volleyball players

© The Author(s) 2021. This study characterized developmental sporting activities undertaken by volleyball players between ages of 6 to 12 years. Highly skilled (n = 30) and less skilled (n = 30) players participated in retrospective interviews to identify the nature of their formative enrichment experiences (formal adult-led and informal child-led activities) and types of sports practised (team or individual sports). All participants reported involvement in multiple formal sport activities and informal child-led activities, confirming that they did not specialize early in volleyball. Highly skilled male players reported being involved in more formal, adult-led activities, generally, and more formal team sports. In contrast, highly skilled and less skilled female players participated in equal amounts of formal adult-led and informal child-led activities. Results partially supported the value of an early diversified sport involvement to develop functional behavioural adaptability needed to specialise later in sports like volleyball. Findings highlighted the importance of considering the nature and types of early enriching play and practice activities to better understand possible complementary transfer of training effects during specialization. Data also emphasized relevance of considering sex differences in future analyses of player developmental pathways

Increased BDNF levels and NTRK2 gene association suggest a disruption of BDNF/TrkB signaling in autism

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin fundamental for brain development and function, has previously been implicated in autism. In this study, the levels of BDNF in platelet-rich plasma were compared between autistic and control children, and the role of two genetic factors that might regulate this neurotrophin and contribute to autism etiology, BDNF and NTRK2, was examined. We found that BDNF levels in autistic children (n = 146) were significantly higher (t = 6.82; P < 0.0001) than in control children (n = 50) and were positively correlated with platelet serotonin distribution (r = 0.22; P = 0.004). Heritability of BDNF was estimated at 30% and therefore candidate genes BDNF and NTRK2 were tested for association with BDNF level distribution in this sample, and with autism in 469 trio families. Genetic association analysis provided no evidence for BDNF or NTRK2 as major determinants of the abnormally increased BDNF levels in autistic children. A significant association with autism was uncovered for six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) [0.004 (Z((1df)) = 2.85) < P < 0.039 (Z((1df)) = 2.06)] and multiple haplotypes [5 × 10(-4) (χ((3df)) = 17.77) < P < 0.042 (χ((9df)) = 17.450)] in the NTRK2 gene. These results do not withstand correction for multiple comparisons, however, reflect a trend toward association that supports a role of NTRK2 as a susceptibility factor for the disorder. Genetic variation in the BDNF gene had no impact on autism risk. By substantiating the previously observed increase in BDNF levels in autistic children in a larger patient set, and suggesting a genetic association between NTRK2 and autism, this study integrates evidence from multiple levels supporting the hypothesis that alterations in BDNF/tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) signaling contribute to an increased vulnerability to autism

Modelling the impact of school reopening and contact tracing strategies on Covid-19 dynamics in different epidemiologic settings in Brazil

This study was funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) [grant number 402834/2020-8]. MEB received a technological and industrial scholarship from CNPq [grant number 315854/2020-0]. LSF received a master's scholarship from Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) [finance code 001]. SP was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) [grant number 2018/24037-4]. AMB received a technological and industrial scholarship from CNPq [grant number 402834/2020-8]. CF was supported by FAPESP [grant numbers 2019/26310-2 and 2017/26770-8]. MQMR received a postdoctoral scholarship from CAPES [grant number 305269/2020-8]. LMS received a technological and industrial scholarship from CNPq [grant number 315866/2020-9]. RSK has been supported by CNPq [grant number 312378/2019-0]. PIP has been supported by CNPq [grant number 313055/2020-3]. JAFD-F has been supported by CNPq productivity fellowship and the National Institutes for Science and Technology in Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation (INCT-EEC), supported by MCTIC/CNPq [grant number 465610/2014-5] and Goiás Research Foundation (FAPEG) [grant number 201810267000023]. RAK has been supported by CNPq [grant number 311832/2017-2] and FAPESP [grant number 2016/01343-7]. CMT has been supported by CNPq productivity fellowship and the National Institute for Health Technology Assessment (IATS) [grant number 465518/2014-1].Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Seesaw tau lepton mass and calculable neutrino masses in a 3-3-1 model

In a version of the 3-3-1 model proposed by Duong and Ma the introduction of the scalar sextet for giving mass to the charged leptons is avoided by adding a singlet charged lepton. We show that in this case the $\tau$ lepton gains mass through a seesaw--like mechanism. Besides we show how to generate neutrino masses at the tree and at the 1-loop level with the respective Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata leptonic mixing matrices.Comment: revtex, 5 pages and one eps figure. Published versio