Individual and relational contributions to parallel and joint attention in infancy

Objective: This study examined the contributions of maternal bids for joint attention, relationship quality, and infant characteristics, to individual differences in infants’ parallel and joint attention. Method: Fifty-two 10-month-olds and their mothers were assessed in order to investigate concurrent predictors of infant parallel attention, responding to joint attention, and initiating joint attention. Results: Parallel attention was predicted by infants’ higher mental development, low expression of negative emotionality, and maternal entertaining behaviors. Responding to joint attention was marginally predicted by total maternal bids for joint attention. Initiating joint attention was predicted by the infants’ low expression of negative emotionality, as well as marginally predicted by fewer maternal teaching behaviors. Conclusion: These results further the understanding of the factors influencing infant parallel as well as joint attention.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Oral Health Care of Children and Adolescents with Different Impairments of Cerebral Palsy: Barriers and Challenges

Objective: To evaluate the barriers to access and oral health care faced by children and adolescents with Cerebral Palsy (CP) according to their motor impairment through the perception of caregivers. Material and Methods: A case series study was carried out at three health institutions in Pernambuco, Brazil. The study sample consisted of 94 caregivers of 5-to-18-year-old patients with CP, according to GMFCS (The Gross Motor Function Classification System). Data were collected using a semi-structured form to evaluate the barriers to access and analyzed statistically by the chi-square and Fisher exact tests, adopting a 5% level of significance. In addition, binary logistic regression was performed to determine the weight of the variables in explaining the outcome variable. Results: There were major difficulties involving transportation (p=0.04) and structural accessibility to dental services (p<0.01) among children and adolescents with severe CP. In addition, the more severe the CP, the greater the difficulty of accessibility (OR=4.09,) and the lower the income (OR=8.80), the greater the motor impairment. Conclusion: Despite the availability of access to dental services, low-income families have more severe CP patients, contributing to the daily difficulties already faced by them in oral health care

SARS-CoV-2 introductions and early dynamics of the epidemic in Portugal

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was rapidly implemented by the National Institute of Health in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, in collaboration with more than 50 laboratories distributed nationwide. Methods By applying recent phylodynamic models that allow integration of individual-based travel history, we reconstructed and characterized the spatio-temporal dynamics of SARSCoV-2 introductions and early dissemination in Portugal. Results We detected at least 277 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions, mostly from European countries (namely the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland), which were consistent with the countries with the highest connectivity with Portugal. Although most introductions were estimated to have occurred during early March 2020, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was silently circulating in Portugal throughout February, before the first cases were confirmed. Conclusions Here we conclude that the earlier implementation of measures could have minimized the number of introductions and subsequent virus expansion in Portugal. This study lays the foundation for genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, and highlights the need for systematic and geographically-representative genomic surveillance.We gratefully acknowledge to Sara Hill and Nuno Faria (University of Oxford) and Joshua Quick and Nick Loman (University of Birmingham) for kindly providing us with the initial sets of Artic Network primers for NGS; Rafael Mamede (MRamirez team, IMM, Lisbon) for developing and sharing a bioinformatics script for sequence curation (https://github.com/rfm-targa/BioinfUtils); Philippe Lemey (KU Leuven) for providing guidance on the implementation of the phylodynamic models; Joshua L. Cherry (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) for providing guidance with the subsampling strategies; and all authors, originating and submitting laboratories who have contributed genome data on GISAID (https://www.gisaid.org/) on which part of this research is based. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government. This study is co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (234_596874175) on behalf of the Research 4 COVID-19 call. Some infrastructural resources used in this study come from the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Doença multissistêmica eosinofílica epiteliotrópica em um eqüino no Brasil

Equine multisystemic eosinophilic epitheliotropic disease (MEED) is a rare disease, characterized by eosinophilia and eosinophilic infiltration of several organs. A 5-year-old horse presented pruritus, areas of alopecia, and moderate eosinophilia. The horse was treated with corticosteroids and antibiotics without substantial improvement; and after the disease progressed to fever, diarrhea, gastric reflux and progressive weight loss. Due to poor prognosis the horse was euthanized. Necropsy revealed poor body condition, multiple to coalescing foci of alopecia, with epidermal ulcerations and crusts on the head and distal parts of the limbs. The proximal duodenum was enlarged, with 3 intraluminal nodules. Histopathological evaluation revealed eosinophilic granulomas in the skin, oral mucosa, duodenum, pancreas, and mesenteric lymph nodes, which were associated with infiltrates of eosinophils, lymphocytes, macrophages, multinucleated giant cells, and occasional plasma cells, along with fibrovascular connective tissue proliferation. MEED should be included in the differential diagnosis of horses with skin lesions concomitant with clinical signs of gastrointestinal illness.Doença multissistêmica eosinofílica epiteliotrópica (DMEE) dos equinos é uma doença rara que se caracteriza por eosinofilia e infiltrado de eosinófilos em vários órgãos. Um equino com cinco anos de idade apresentou prurido, áreas de alopecia e eosinofilia moderada. O equino foi tratado com corticosteroides e antibióticos sem melhora clínica significativa, com evolução para febre, diarreia, refluxo gástrico e emagrecimento progressivo. Devido ao prognóstico desfavorável, o equino foi eutanasiado. Na necropsia, apresentou condição corporal ruim, áreas multifocais a coalescentes de alopecia, ulceração da epiderme e crostas na cabeça e parte distal dos membros. A região proximal do duodeno estava aumentada de volume e apresentou três nódulos intraluminais. No exame histopatológico foram observados granulomas eosinofílicos associados a infiltrado de eosinófilos, linfócitos, macrófagos, células gigantes multinucleadas, ocasionais plasmócitos e proliferação de tecido conjuntivo fibroso na pele, mucosa oral, duodeno, pâncreas e linfonodos mesentéricos. DMEE deve ser considerada um diagnóstico diferencial em equinos que apresentem concomitantemente lesões cutâneas e sinais de doença gastrointestinal

Doença multissistêmica eosinofílica epiteliotrópica em um eqüino no Brasil

Equine multisystemic eosinophilic epitheliotropic disease (MEED) is a rare disease, characterized by eosinophilia and eosinophilic infiltration of several organs. A 5-year-old horse presented pruritus, areas of alopecia, and moderate eosinophilia. The horse was treated with corticosteroids and antibiotics without substantial improvement; and after the disease progressed to fever, diarrhea, gastric reflux and progressive weight loss. Due to poor prognosis the horse was euthanized. Necropsy revealed poor body condition, multiple to coalescing foci of alopecia, with epidermal ulcerations and crusts on the head and distal parts of the limbs. The proximal duodenum was enlarged, with 3 intraluminal nodules. Histopathological evaluation revealed eosinophilic granulomas in the skin, oral mucosa, duodenum, pancreas, and mesenteric lymph nodes, which were associated with infiltrates of eosinophils, lymphocytes, macrophages, multinucleated giant cells, and occasional plasma cells, along with fibrovascular connective tissue proliferation. MEED should be included in the differential diagnosis of horses with skin lesions concomitant with clinical signs of gastrointestinal illness.Doença multissistêmica eosinofílica epiteliotrópica (DMEE) dos equinos é uma doença rara que se caracteriza por eosinofilia e infiltrado de eosinófilos em vários órgãos. Um equino com cinco anos de idade apresentou prurido, áreas de alopecia e eosinofilia moderada. O equino foi tratado com corticosteroides e antibióticos sem melhora clínica significativa, com evolução para febre, diarreia, refluxo gástrico e emagrecimento progressivo. Devido ao prognóstico desfavorável, o equino foi eutanasiado. Na necropsia, apresentou condição corporal ruim, áreas multifocais a coalescentes de alopecia, ulceração da epiderme e crostas na cabeça e parte distal dos membros. A região proximal do duodeno estava aumentada de volume e apresentou três nódulos intraluminais. No exame histopatológico foram observados granulomas eosinofílicos associados a infiltrado de eosinófilos, linfócitos, macrófagos, células gigantes multinucleadas, ocasionais plasmócitos e proliferação de tecido conjuntivo fibroso na pele, mucosa oral, duodeno, pâncreas e linfonodos mesentéricos. DMEE deve ser considerada um diagnóstico diferencial em equinos que apresentem concomitantemente lesões cutâneas e sinais de doença gastrointestinal

The influence of a combination of romifidine and tiletamine/zolazepan in endocrine and metabolic patterns related to stress in horses

O estresse é considerado ao mesmo tempo um mecanismo de defesa contra diferentes fatores agressores e a causa de importantes alterações orgânicas que podem ser deletérias. A ativação do eixo hipotalâmico-hipofisário-adrenal (HHA) é utilizado como parâmetro para avaliação do grau de alteração imposto. Em eqüinos, a anestesia isoladamente pode desencadear a cascata de eventos ligados ao estresse, não necessitando a participação de intervenções cirúrgicas. No entanto, a anestesia geral intravenosa (AGI) têm sido considerada como não desencadeadora de estresse. No presente estudo foi avaliada uma combinação para indução anestésica, a tiletamina-zolazepam (TZ=1,1mg.kg-1), tendo como medicação pré-anestésica (MPA) a romifidina (R=80 mg.kg-1). A romifidina é um agonista adrenérgico a-2, de marcada ação sedativa e miorrelaxante. A tiletamina é uma ciclohexamina de ação semelhante à cetamina e é disponível comercialmente associada ao zolazepam, fármaco benzodiazepínico na proporção de 1:1. Foram utilizados neste trabalho 08 eqüinos de ambos os sexos, diferentes idades e raças, todos enquadrados na categoria ASA I (American Society of Anesthesiologists). Os fármacos foram administrados por via intravenosa, com um intervalo de 10 minutos. As colheitas de sangue para as dosagens hormonais foram realizadas antes de qualquer fármaco (P), após a administração da MPA (M) e 15 minutos após a indução (I). Foram dosadas as concentrações sangüíneas de ACTH, cortisol, glicose e lactato, a gasometria arterial e tempo de imobilidade. Os resultados revelaram que a AGI com o protocolo proposto, não desencadeou a ativação do eixo HHA. Não houve diferença estatística nos valores dos demais parâmetros.The stress is both a defense mechanism against several injury factors and the cause of organic changes that can develop morbid status. In animals, the definition of stress is still more controversial. The activaction of hipotalamicpituitary- adrenal axis (HPA) is used as a parameter to evaluate the degree of change over the organism. In horses, the stress mechanism produced by an anesthetic procedure can isolatedly begin the cascade of events linked to stress. The total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) however hasn’t being considered by several researchers related to HPA axis activation. At this work, the association tiletamine-zolazepam (TZ=1.1 mg.Kg -1) was evaluated with pre-anesthetic medication romifidine (R=80 mg.Kg-1) used alone. The romifidine is an a-2 adrenergic agonist which has a remarkable sedative and miorrelaxant activity. The tiletamine chlorhydrate is a ciclohexamine compound with action similar to ketamine and available associated to zolazepam, a benzodiazepine drug, in a 1:1 ratio At this work were used 8 horses, males and females, in different ages and breeds, all classified as ASA I (American Society of Anesthesiologists). All drugs were injected by intravenous route. Between romifidine and TZ administration there was an interval of 10 minutes. The blood collections for hormonal assays were done in three times: before any medication (P), after the pre-medication with romifidine (M) and 15 minutes after TZ (I). The plasmatic concentrations of corticotrofin and cortisol, arterial gasometry, seric glucose and lactate and imobilization time also were evaluated. The results revealed that the total general intravenously anesthesia with such protocols did not activate the HHA axis. There were no differences in other data

Implementation of a Brazilian Cardioprotective Nutritional (BALANCE) Program for improvement on quality of diet and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events: A randomized, multicenter trial

Background: Appropriate dietary recommendations represent a key part of secondary prevention in cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated the effectiveness of the implementation of a nutritional program on quality of diet, cardiovascular events, and death in patients with established CVD. Methods: In this open-label, multicenter trial conducted in 35 sites in Brazil, we randomly assigned (1:1) patients aged 45 years or older to receive either the BALANCE Program (experimental group) or conventional nutrition advice (control group). The BALANCE Program included a unique nutritional education strategy to implement recommendations from guidelines, adapted to the use of affordable and regional foods. Adherence to diet was evaluated by the modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index. The primary end point was a composite of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, stroke, myocardial revascularization, amputation, or hospitalization for unstable angina. Secondary end points included biochemical and anthropometric data, and blood pressure levels. Results: From March 5, 2013, to Abril 7, 2015, a total of 2534 eligible patients were randomly assigned to either the BALANCE Program group (n = 1,266) or the control group (n = 1,268) and were followed up for a median of 3.5 years. In total, 235 (9.3%) participants had been lost to follow-up. After 3 years of follow-up, mean modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index (scale 0-70) was only slightly higher in the BALANCE group versus the control group (26.2 ± 8.4 vs 24.7 ± 8.6, P <.01), mainly due to a 0.5-serving/d greater intake of fruits and of vegetables in the BALANCE group. Primary end point events occurred in 236 participants (18.8%) in the BALANCE group and in 207 participants (16.4%) in the control group (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% CI 0.95-1.38; P =.15). Secondary end points did not differ between groups after follow-up. Conclusions: The BALANCE Program only slightly improved adherence to a healthy diet in patients with established CVD and had no significant effect on the incidence of cardiovascular events or death. © 2019 The Author

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field