Benefits from using an ankle-foot orthosis in children with myelomeningocele

Myelomeningocele (MMC) or spina bifida is a defect of the neural tube in which the spinal cord, its envelopes (meninges), and vertebral arches develop abnormally in the beginning of gestation, and owing to this failure of closure there appear a series of congenital defects and associated comorbidies, impairing in several aspects the functioning of the life of children with MMC. The congenital clubfoot has been found the most common orthopaedic anomaly in patientswith MMC. The ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) is an orthopaedic device commonly used by these children to minimize the sequelae caused by this anomaly. Objective: Identify the functional benefits brought about by the use of the AFO to children with MMC, as reported by their guardians. Method: Descriptive, transversal study. Convenience sample consisting of 25 guardians of children with MMC who were using/had used an AFO. Results: Eighty percent of the guardians have reported at least one benefit brought about by the use of theAFO, among them: improvement in foot position (68%), foot growth (40%), improvement in foot balance (32%), and balance sitting position (15%). Conclusion: The use of the AFO by children with MMC can provide several benefits reported by their guardians.

CARACTERIZAÇÃO GAMAESPECTROMÉTRICA E PETROGRÁFICA DE GRAFITA FLAKE DISSEMINADA EM METASSEDIMENTOS DE ALTO GRAU METAMÓRFICO NA REGIÃO DE QUATIS, SUL DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIRO: Gamma spectrometric and petrographic characterization of disseminated flake graphite in high grade metamorphic sediments in the Quatis region, southern Rio de Janeiro State

The investigated flake graphite occurs in the southern region of Rio de Janeiro State (SE Brazil), and is disseminated in high grade Neoproterozoic metasediments (metapelitic gneisses) (up to granulite facies), interdigitated with the orthogranulitic rocks (basement) of the Juiz de Fora Complex. These lithotypes are tectonically related to the Ocidental Terrain Superior Domain, belonging to the Central Ribeira Belt. Aerogamma spectrometry and aeromagnetometry data were used to recognize the signature patterns of the gneisses and surrounding rocks. The eTh concentrations are expressive throughout the area where the gneisses associated with graphite occur, exhibiting correlation with the uranium channel. In the geological-geophysical profiles, there are similarities between the airborne and ground data, however, eU and eTh are also correlated, unlike potassium, which showed variations, without a defined pattern. Graphite grains occur associated with sillimanite-granada-biotite gneiss with graphite, commonly next to biotite, being deformed by milonite foliation. The graphite shows different habits, having been classified into tabular reeds (45%), tabular with ragged edges (21%), ragged (31%) and basal (hexagonal) section (3%). Crystal size varied between very fine (dust) (41.7%), flake wide (11.7%) and extra large (11.2%) for the crystals larger than 0.30 mm of the sample.A grafita flake investigada, ocorre na região sul do estado do Rio de Janeiro (SE Brasil), e está disseminada em metassedimentos (gnaisses metapelíticos) Neoproterozoicos de alto grau metamórfico (até fácies granulito), interdigitados com as rochas ortogranulíticas (embasamento) do Complexo Juiz de Fora. Esses litotipos são relacionados tectonicamente ao Domínio Superior do Terreno Ocidental, pertencente à Faixa Ribeira Central. Dados de aerogamaespectrometria e aeromagnetometria foram utilizados para reconhecer os padrões de assinaturas dos gnaisses e rochas encaixantes. As concentrações de eTh são expressivas em toda área onde ocorrem os gnaisses associados com a grafita, exibindo correlação com o canal de urânio. Nos perfis geológico-geofísicos, há semelhanças entre os dados aéreos e terrestres, no entanto, o eU e eTh também se apresentam correlacionados, diferente do potássio, que apresentou variações, sem um padrão definido. Os grãos de grafita ocorrem associados ao sillimanita-granada-biotita gnaisse com grafita, comumente junto da biotita, estando deformados pela foliação milonítica. A grafita apresenta diferentes hábitos, tendo sido classificados em palhetas tabulares (45%), tabulares com pontas esfarrapadas (21%), farrapo (31%) e seção basal (hexagonal) (3%). O tamanho dos cristais varia entre muito fino (pó) (41,7%), flake largo (11,7%) e extra large (11,2%) para os cristais maiores que 0,30 mm da amostra

Paraparesia espástica como manifestação inicial da ataxia espinocerebelar do tipo 7

Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (CNPq)(FAEPA) Fundação de Apoio ao Ensino, Pesquisa e Assistência do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Pret

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors

O urbanismo conveniente luso-brasileiro na formação de povoações em Minas Gerais no século XVIII

The settlement of villages in the old colonial province of Minas Gerais obeyed certain principles of what was considered decent, convenient and adequate. Such principles were based on rules, doctrines and habits inherent to the Luso-Brazilian architecture of that time. The historical analysis of these aspects leads to a critical review of some consolidated assumptions in historiography, such as the one for which the settlements aforementioned would have appeared in a spontaneous, irregular and disordered fashion. Because they are evident in the remaining settlements and period art treatises and documents, these aspects lead to the consideration of a true art of populating, based on certain values and habits, which we call convenient Luso-Brazilian urbanism.A formação de povoações na capitania de Minas Gerais no século XVIII estava condicionada a preceitos de decoro, conveniência e adequação. Esses preceitos constituíam regras, doutrinas e costumes muito relevantes à arte luso-brasileira de edificar arquiteturas e cidades naquele tempo. A consideração histórica desses aspectos nos conduz à revisão crítica de uma série de compreensões consolidadas na historiografia, como, por exemplo, a de que essas povoações seriam espontâneas, irregulares e desordenadas. Pela importância com que se evidenciam nas povoações remanescentes, nos tratados artísticos e nos documentos coevos, tais aspectos nos levam a cogitar em uma verdadeira arte de povoar fundamentada nesses valores e costumes, arte a que denominamos urbanismo conveniente luso-brasileiro

Local hydrological conditions influence tree diversity and composition across the Amazon basin

Tree diversity and composition in Amazonia are known to be strongly determined by the water supplied by precipitation. Nevertheless, within the same climatic regime, water availability is modulated by local topography and soil characteristics (hereafter referred to as local hydrological conditions), varying from saturated and poorly drained to well-drained and potentially dry areas. While these conditions may be expected to influence species distribution, the impacts of local hydrological conditions on tree diversity and composition remain poorly understood at the whole Amazon basin scale. Using a dataset of 443 1-ha non-flooded forest plots distributed across the basin, we investigate how local hydrological conditions influence 1) tree alpha diversity, 2) the community-weighted wood density mean (CWM-wd) – a proxy for hydraulic resistance and 3) tree species composition. We find that the effect of local hydrological conditions on tree diversity depends on climate, being more evident in wetter forests, where diversity increases towards locations with well-drained soils. CWM-wd increased towards better drained soils in Southern and Western Amazonia. Tree species composition changed along local soil hydrological gradients in Central-Eastern, Western and Southern Amazonia, and those changes were correlated with changes in the mean wood density of plots. Our results suggest that local hydrological gradients filter species, influencing the diversity and composition of Amazonian forests. Overall, this study shows that the effect of local hydrological conditions is pervasive, extending over wide Amazonian regions, and reinforces the importance of accounting for local topography and hydrology to better understand the likely response and resilience of forests to increased frequency of extreme climate events and rising temperatures

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution

Geographic patterns of tree dispersal modes in Amazonia and their ecological correlates

Aim: To investigate the geographic patterns and ecological correlates in the geographic distribution of the most common tree dispersal modes in Amazonia (endozoochory, synzoochory, anemochory and hydrochory). We examined if the proportional abundance of these dispersal modes could be explained by the availability of dispersal agents (disperser-availability hypothesis) and/or the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits (resource-availability hypothesis). Time period: Tree-inventory plots established between 1934 and 2019. Major taxa studied: Trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 9.55 cm. Location: Amazonia, here defined as the lowland rain forests of the Amazon River basin and the Guiana Shield. Methods: We assigned dispersal modes to a total of 5433 species and morphospecies within 1877 tree-inventory plots across terra-firme, seasonally flooded, and permanently flooded forests. We investigated geographic patterns in the proportional abundance of dispersal modes. We performed an abundance-weighted mean pairwise distance (MPD) test and fit generalized linear models (GLMs) to explain the geographic distribution of dispersal modes. Results: Anemochory was significantly, positively associated with mean annual wind speed, and hydrochory was significantly higher in flooded forests. Dispersal modes did not consistently show significant associations with the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits. A lower dissimilarity in dispersal modes, resulting from a higher dominance of endozoochory, occurred in terra-firme forests (excluding podzols) compared to flooded forests. Main conclusions: The disperser-availability hypothesis was well supported for abiotic dispersal modes (anemochory and hydrochory). The availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits seems an unlikely explanation for the distribution of dispersal modes in Amazonia. The association between frugivores and the proportional abundance of zoochory requires further research, as tree recruitment not only depends on dispersal vectors but also on conditions that favour or limit seedling recruitment across forest types

Estimating the global conservation status of more than 15,000 Amazonian tree species

Estimates of extinction risk for Amazonian plant and animal species are rare and not often incorporated into land-use policy and conservation planning. We overlay spatial distribution models with historical and projected deforestation to show that at least 36% and up to 57% of all Amazonian tree species are likely to qualify as globally threatened under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria. If confirmed, these results would increase the number of threatened plant species on Earth by 22%. We show that the trends observed in Amazonia apply to trees throughout the tropics, and we predict thatmost of the world’s >40,000 tropical tree species now qualify as globally threatened. A gap analysis suggests that existing Amazonian protected areas and indigenous territories will protect viable populations of most threatened species if these areas suffer no further degradation, highlighting the key roles that protected areas, indigenous peoples, and improved governance can play in preventing large-scale extinctions in the tropics in this century