Investigação de um sistema de alimentação em recém-nascidos prematuros a partir de estimulação gustativa

Objetivo: investigar a existência do sistema de alimentação em recém-nascidos prematuros a partir da estimulação gustativa. Métodos: estudo experimental, analítico, duplo-cego. Participaram 90 recém-nascidos prematuros, de uma maternidade pública de Sergipe. O teste foi filmado, constituindo-se por três momentos de cinco minutos. O primeiro e último momento sem realizar estímulo, o segundo momento com estimulação gustativa, sendo que os recém-nascidos foram divididos em dois grupos (água ou sacarose). Foram estudados os comportamentos específicos sucção de mão direita e esquerda, protrusão de língua e movimentos de sucção nos estados comportamentais sono profundo, sono leve, sonolento, agitado/irritado e choro. Para caracterizar a população foram utilizadas média, desvio-padrão e prevalências. Foi utilizado o teste não paramétrico Mann-Whitney para comparação de médias. O teste de Spearman verificou correlação entre estados comportamentais e comportamentos específicos em cada momento do teste. O valor de p foi significante quando menor que 0,05. Resultados: independente do estímulo administrado, a correlação aumentou em todos os comportamentos específicos. Comparando os grupos separadamente, após a estimulação, observou-se aumento de correlação em sucção de mão direita e protrusão de língua para ambos os grupos. O mesmo aconteceu em sucção, com exceção do estado agitado/irritado. Após a estimulação, houve maior correlação para o comportamento de sucção de mão esquerda no grupo sacarose quando comparado ao grupo água. Os resultados evidenciam que estímulos gustativos podem contribuir na prontidão para alimentação nesta população. Conclusões: evidenciou-se nos recém-nascidos prematuros aumento de correlação para os comportamentos específicos relacionados ao sistema de alimentação, após estimulação oral, o que vislumbra a possibilidade da estimulação gustativa ser utilizada para ativação de um sistema de alimentação em recém-nascidos prematuros. _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT: Purpose: to investigate the existence of the alimentation system in premature newborns in response to gustatory stimulation. Methods: experimental, analytical, double-blind study. 90 premature newborns of a public maternity in Sergipe took part in the test which was filmed and divided into three parts of five minutes. In the first and last, there was no stimulus; in the second, the gustatory stimulation was applied and the newborn children were divided into two groups (water or sucrose). We studied the specific behaviors suction right and left hands, tongue protrusion and suction movements in behavioral states deep sleep, light sleep, drowsy, restless / irritable and crying. In the statistical analysis of the population, average, standard deviation and prevalence studies were performed. We used the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test to compare averages. The Spearman test observed correlation between behavioral states at each time of the test. The p value was significant when less than 0.05. Results: independent of the given stimulus, the correlation increased in all specific behaviors. Comparing the groups separately, after stimulation, we observed an increase in correlation in right hand suction and tongue protrusion for both. The same happened in suction, except for the agitated/irritated state. After stimulation, there was a higher correlation to the behavior of left hand suction in the sucrose group when compared to water. The results show that gustatory stimuli may contribute to the readiness to feed this population. Conclusions: it was found in premature newborns an increased in correlation for the specific behaviors related to the alimentation system after oral stimulation, which envisions the possibility of gustatory stimulation be used for activating a alimentation system in premature newborns

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

The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale

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

O valor da imunofenotipagem para o diagnóstico do Mieloma Múltiplo e na avaliação da doença residual mínima The value of immunofenotyping for the diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma and for the evaluation of minimal residual disease

Os plasmócitos normais podem ser diferenciados dos presentes no mieloma múltiplo por imunofenotipagem. Os normais são CD45+, CD19+, CD20+, CD38++, CD56-/fraco, CD138+, mIg-, cIg policlonal. Por outro lado, os plasmócitos do mieloma múltiplo são monoclonais (cIg) e aproximadamente 80% são CD19-CD56+ e 20% CD19-CD56-. O perfil na leucemia plasmocitária primária é semelhante ao do mieloma, embora a positividade para o CD56 ocorra em 45% dos casos. Na gamopatia monoclonal de causa indeterminada existe uma mistura de plasmócitos normais e neoplásicos, que têm perfil semelhante ao do mieloma múltiplo. A doença residual na medula é importante para estimar a resposta terapêutica e pode ser avaliada por citometria de fluxo e pela reação da polimerase em cadeia para o rearranjo da cadeia pesada da Ig. A citometria apresenta sensibilidade de 10-4 a 10-5, é realizada em aproximadamente duas horas e a sua aplicabilidade chega a 90%. O PCR qualitativo tem sensibilidade de 10-6 enquanto o quantitativo, 10-5. Em ambos, o tempo para a realização é maior (2-3 dias), com aplicabilidade de 75%.<br>Normal plasma cells can be differentiated from multiple myeloma by their immunophenotype. Normal cells are CD45+, CD19+, CD20+, CD38++, CD56-/dim, CD138+, mIg- and polyclonal cIg. On the other hand, with multiple myeloma, plasma cells are monoclonal (cIg) and approximately 80% are CD19- CD56+ and 20% CD19- CD56-. The profile in plasma cell leukemia is similar to myeloma, but the CD56 is positive in 45% of cases. In the monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance there is a mixture of normal and neoplastic plasma cells. Residual disease in bone marrow is important to determine the efficacy of treatment and can be evaluated by flow cytometry or polymerase chain reaction of rearranged heavy chains of Ig. Flow cytometry has a sensitivity of 10-4 to 10-5, is performed in 2-3 hours and is applicable in 90% of cases. Qualitative PCR has a sensitivity of 10-6 and quantitative PCR of 10-5. Both tests are performed in 2-3 days and their applicability is around 75%