Risk factors for high blood pressure in adolescents

Model of the study:Transversal study. Objective: The purpose of this study was to verify risk factors for high blood pressure in teenagers. Methods:The sample was consisted of adolescents of both sexes with age between 14 and 18 years. The risk factors were assessed by demographics, consumption of snack at school, physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol consumption. The nutritional assessment was held by height and weight and waist circumference, in addition to checking blood pressure. It was found that 21.5% (n=26) of adolescents were overweight and it was not related to the values of high blood pressure. Results: About the waist circumference 89.3% (n=108) were within the parameters considered normal. It was found that 26.4% (n=32) had borderline values and 19% (n=23) were classified as hypertensive. The adolescents with greater waist circumference had higher blood pressure (P=0.034). Conclusion: This study showed that the circumference of waist may be a good parameter to determine risk of developing hypertension, concomitant with the nutritional condition. The prevention of obesity throught an appropriated dietary pattern and practice of regular physical activity is a priority for positive impact on the improvement of hypertension, reducing the risk for cardiovascular disease and thereby, increasing life expectancy.Modelo do estudo: Estudo transversal. Objetivo:O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar fatores de risco para elevação da pressão arterial em adolescentes. Métodos: A amostra foi constituída por adolescentes de ambos os sexos com a idade entre 14 e 18 anos. Os fatores de risco foram avaliados pelos dados demográficos, consumo de lanche na escola, prática de atividade física, uso de tabaco e consumo de álcool. Realizou-se avaliação nutricional através do peso e altura e circunferência da cintura, além da verificação da pressão arterial. Resultados: Observou-se que 21.5% (n=26) dos adolescentes estavam acima do peso, 89.3% (n=108) estavam dentro dos parâmetros considerados normais para a circunferência da cintura. Resultados: Observou-se que 21.5% (n=26) dos adolescentes estavam acima do peso, 89.3% (n=108) estavam dentro dos parâmetros considerados normais para a circunferência da cintura. Observou-se que 26.4% (n=32) apresentavam valores limítrofes e 19% (n=23) estavam com a pressão arterial elevada. Os adolescentes com maior circunferência da cintura tiveram maiores valores de pressão arterial (P=0.034). Conclusão: Este estudo demonstrou que alta prevalência de pressão arterial elevada e a circunferência de cintura pode ser um bom parâmetro para se determinar risco de desenvolver hipertensão arterial, concomitantemente com o estado nutricional

Elaboration of a Biomaterial from Pleurotus Ostreatus Mycelium and Residual Biomass, as an Alternative to Synthetic Materials

The lack of degradability of polymeric materials has resulted in high levels of environmental contamination and numerous health hazards. The latest UN Environment 2018 report observed that the estimated annual consumption of plastics worldwide is 5 billion, where approximately 10 million are per minute. If this pattern continues, it is expected that by 2030 the planet will produce 619 million t of plastic per year, such as expanded polystyrene (United Nations Organization (UN); United Nations Environment Program, 2018). Different strategies have been developed to obtain biomaterials considering Pleurotus ostreatus as mycelium, adapting mixtures of substrates for its preparation. This work evaluates the methodology to obtain a biomaterial that replaces expanded polystyrene through mycelium using wheat bran and malt bran as substrates. An experimental design is proposed, observing that the best results corresponded to the mixture of 75 % malt bran and 25 % wheat bran obtained in 15 days of colonization at 30 °C. After this, the biodegradation was qualitatively by observing its partial decomposition for 48 h, evidencing the degradation of the size of the piece. These results promote the recovery of agro-industrial waste and the circular economy

Phenology and Seasonal Ecosystem Productivity in an Amazonian Floodplain Forest

everal studies have explored the linkages between phenology and ecosystem productivity across the Amazon basin. However, few studies have focused on flooded forests, which correspond to c.a. 14% of the basin. In this study, we assessed the seasonality of ecosystem productivity (gross primary productivity, GPP) from eddy covariance measurements, environmental drivers and phenological patterns obtained from the field (leaf litter mass) and satellite measurements (enhanced vegetation index (EVI) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/multi-angle implementation correction (MODIS/MAIAC)) in an Amazonian floodplain forest. We found that ecosystem productivity is limited by soil moisture in two different ways. During the flooded period, the excess of water limits GPP (Spearman’s correlation; rho = −0.22), while during non-flooded months, GPP is positively associated with soil moisture (rho = 0.34). However, GPP is maximized when cumulative water deficit (CWD) increases (rho = 0.81), indicating that GPP is dependent on the amount of water available. EVI was positively associated with leaf litter mass (Pearson’s correlation; r = 0.55) and with GPP (r = 0.50), suggesting a coupling between new leaf production and the phenology of photosynthetic capacity, decreasing both at the peak of the flooded period and at the end of the dry season. EVI was able to describe the inter-annual variations on forest responses to environmental drivers, which have changed during an observed El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) year (2015/2016)

The validity and reliability of the CAMDEX-DS for assessing dementia in adults with Down syndrome in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: Alzheimer's disease occurs at a higher prevalence and an earlier age in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) than typically developing individuals. However, diagnosing dementia in individuals with intellectual disability remains a challenge due to pre-existing cognitive deficits. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Brazilian version of the Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of Older People with Down's syndrome and Others with Intellectual Disabilities (CAMDEX-DS) for individuals with DS. METHODS: Two psychiatrists, working independently, evaluated 92 adults with DS ≥ 30 years of age. The concurrent validity of the CAMDEX-DS was analyzed in relation to the gold standard of established international criteria. In a subgroup of 20 subjects, the concurrent validity of the CAMDEX-DS was analyzed in relation to an independent objective assessment of cognitive decline over three years. We analyzed the inter-rater reliability of cognitive assessment. RESULTS: The diagnostic accuracy of the CAMDEX-DS compared to the gold standard was 96.7%. CAMDEX-DS-based diagnosis was considered consistent with cognitive decline. The probability of a participant with dementia having cognitive decline was 83%. Inter-rater reliability for the participant assessment was good, with a kappa of > 0.8 for 93% of the CAMDEX-DS items. CONCLUSION: The CAMDEX-DS can be considered the first valid and reliable instrument for evaluating dementia in adults with DS in Brazil. Its use in such individuals could improve clinical practice and research

The validity and reliability of the CAMDEX-DS for assessing dementia in adults with Down syndrome in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: Alzheimer's disease occurs at a higher prevalence and an earlier age in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) than typically developing individuals. However, diagnosing dementia in individuals with intellectual disability remains a challenge due to pre-existing cognitive deficits. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Brazilian version of the Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of Older People with Down's syndrome and Others with Intellectual Disabilities (CAMDEX-DS) for individuals with DS. METHODS: Two psychiatrists, working independently, evaluated 92 adults with DS ≥ 30 years of age. The concurrent validity of the CAMDEX-DS was analyzed in relation to the gold standard of established international criteria. In a subgroup of 20 subjects, the concurrent validity of the CAMDEX-DS was analyzed in relation to an independent objective assessment of cognitive decline over three years. We analyzed the inter-rater reliability of cognitive assessment. RESULTS: The diagnostic accuracy of the CAMDEX-DS compared to the gold standard was 96.7%. CAMDEX-DS-based diagnosis was considered consistent with cognitive decline. The probability of a participant with dementia having cognitive decline was 83%. Inter-rater reliability for the participant assessment was good, with a kappa of > 0.8 for 93% of the CAMDEX-DS items. CONCLUSION: The CAMDEX-DS can be considered the first valid and reliable instrument for evaluating dementia in adults with DS in Brazil. Its use in such individuals could improve clinical practice and research

Continuous flexibility analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike prefusion structures

Using a new consensus-based image-processing approach together with principal component analysis, the flexibility and conformational dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 spike in the prefusion state have been analysed. These studies revealed concerted motions involving the receptor-binding domain (RBD), N-terminal domain, and subdomains 1 and 2 around the previously characterized 1-RBD-up state, which have been modeled as elastic deformations. It is shown that in this data set there are not well defined, stable spike conformations, but virtually a continuum of states. An ensemble map was obtained with minimum bias, from which the extremes of the change along the direction of maximal variance were modeled by flexible fitting. The results provide a warning of the potential image-processing classification instability of these complicated data sets, which has a direct impact on the interpretability of the results.The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from CSIC (PIE/COVID-19 No. 202020E079), the Comunidad de Madrid through grant CAM (S2017/BMD-3817), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through projects SEV 2017-0712, FPU-2015/264 and PID2019-104757RB-I00/AEI/ FEDER, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III [PT17/0009/0010 (ISCIII-SGEFI/ERDF)], and the European Union and Horizon 2020 through grants INSTRUCT–ULTRA (INFRADEV-03-2016-2017, Proposal 731005), EOSC Life (INFRAEOSC-04-2018, Proposal 824087), HighResCells (ERC-2018-SyG, Proposal 810057), IMpaCT (WIDESPREAD- 03-2018, Proposal 857203), CORBEL (INFRADEV-1-2014-1, Proposal 654248) and EOSC–Synergy (EINFRA-EOSC-5, Proposal 857647). HDT and BF were supported by NIH grant GM125769 and JSM was supported by NIH grant R01-AI12752

Crescimento de árvores nativas de cerrado com potencial de uso na arborização de pastagens.

Edição especial dos resumos do IUFRO World Congress, 25., 2019, Curitiba

Usos y conocimiento tradicional de las gimnospermas en el noreste de Oaxaca, México

Background and Aims: Approximately 156 gymnosperm species divided into six families occur naturally in Mexico. Oaxaca has a high richness of gymnosperms, with 45 species, and its inhabitants have an ancient knowledge about the traditional use of this group. The present study contributes to the documentation of traditional knowledge of the gymnosperms in Oaxaca, to evaluate the importance of plant families as useful resources, to understand the relationships between ethnic groups and richness of useful species, as well as to compare our records of gymnosperms with those at state and national levels.Methods: This study was carried out in 84 municipalities within three Priority Terrestrial Regions in the northeast of Oaxaca. The ethnobotanical data were collected through participant observation, ethnobotanical fieldtrips, content-free interviews of the local guides, and botanical specimens were collected. All data were analyzed qualitatively to integrate ethnofloristic and traditional knowledge, as well as ecological aspects of species studied.Key results: We recorded 30 species belonging to the families Cupressaceae, Pinaceae, Podocarpaceae and Zamiaceae. The largest number of useful species (16) registered belongs to Pinaceae. Among the Zapotecs, uses were found for 16 different species, the Mixes use ten and the Mazatec nine. All taxa registered with any use have a common name, 71% in the local language and 97% in Spanish. The most common uses were timber, construction, ornamental and fuel. The montane cloud forest is the vegetation type with the largest number of useful gymnosperms, with 15 species. Forty-five percent of the registered taxa are endemic to Mexico, six species of Pinaceae and eight of Zamiaceae are considered endemic to Oaxaca.Conclusions: This research contributes to increase records of useful gymnosperms in the state of Oaxaca. It is necessary to reconsider and understand the local value of species within the ethnic worldview in order to preserve traditional uses and promote sustainable management programs.Antecedentes y Objetivos: En México existen alrededor de 156 especies de gimnospermas nativas pertenecientes a seis familias. Para el estado de Oaxaca, se registran 45 especies de gimnospermas y sus habitantes poseen un sobresaliente conocimiento ancestral en el uso tradicional de este grupo taxonómico. El presente estudio contribuye al registro y documentación del conocimiento tradicional de las gimnospermas en Oaxaca, a evaluar la importancia de las familias botánicas como fuente de recursos, analizar las relaciones existentes entre los grupos étnicos y la riqueza de especies útiles, así como a comparar los registros obtenidos con el número de gimnospermas a nivel nacional y estatal.Métodos: El estudio se realizó en 84 municipios en tres Regiones Terrestres Prioritarias al noreste de Oaxaca. Los datos etnobotánicos fueron recopilados mediante observación participante moderada, caminatas etnobotánicas, entrevista libre a guías locales y colecta de ejemplares botánicos. Los datos se analizaron cualitativamente para integrar el conocimiento tradicional, etnoflorístico y los aspectos ecológicos de las especies.Resultados clave: Se registraron 30 especies de las familias Cupressaceae, Pinaceae, Podocarpaceae y Zamiaceae. El mayor número de especies útiles (16) registradas pertenece a Pinaceae. Entre los zapotecos se encontraron usos para 16 diferentes especies, los mixes utilizan diez y los mazatecos nueve. Todos los taxa registrados tienen nombre común, 71% en lengua local y 97% en español. Los usos más frecuentes fueron el maderable, la construcción, el ornamental y el combustible. El bosque mesófilo de montaña es el tipo de vegetación del área estudiada que contiene el mayor número de gimnospermas útiles, con 15 especies. De los taxa registrados 45% son endémicos de México, seis especies de Pinaceae y ocho de Zamiaceae se consideran endémicos de Oaxaca.Conclusiones: Este estudio incrementa los registros sobre gimnospermas útiles en el estado de Oaxaca. Se requiere reconsiderar y entender el valor local de estas especies dentro de la cosmovisión étnica, para preservar los usos tradicionales y promover programas de manejo sostenible

Microclima sob a copa de espécies arbóreas nativas do Cerrado em arboreto.

O componente florestal em sistemas de integração pode modificar os parâmetros climáticos como a radiação solar, temperatura e umidade do ar, criando um microclima cujas características dependem do próprio clima geral e das características físicas que definem a natureza e a estrutura da cobertura (Aussenac, 2000). Em climas subtropicais e tropicais, como ocorre no Brasil, fatores como a temperatura e umidade do ar, muitas vezes são limitantes ao desenvolvimento, à produção e à reprodução dos animais, em decorrência do estresse proporcionado (Kawabata, 2005). Há carência de informações das características termo físicas das sombras de espécies arbóreas nativas, apesar dessa ser uma característica chave para indicação da melhor espécie para a arborização de determinada área (Guiselini, et al. 1999). Assim, são necessários estudos que avaliem tais características de espécies arbóreas nativas para identificação de espécies que possam vir a serem usadas em sistemas silvipastoris