Female reproductive activity and its endocrine correlates in the African lesser bushbaby, Galago moholi

Steroid hormones play an important role in female reproductive physiology and behaviour and are often used to monitor important female reproductive events. However, such studies are often attempted on captive populations alone, delivering limited data. One such example is the African lesser bushbaby, Galago moholi, for which contradicting observational data exist between captive and free-ranging populations, while hormonal analyses have only been obtained from a single captive population. To extend and rectify the limited information, we monitored faecal progestagen and oestrogen metabolite levels across various important life history stages of both captive and free-ranging G. moholi. We additionally recorded changes in vaginal state as well as the occurrence of reproductive and aggressive behaviour throughout the study. Data from our captive population revealed an ovarian cycle length of 33.44 ± 0.59 days (mean ± SD), with follicular and luteal phases of 14.2 ± 1.0 and 19.1 ± 1.5 days, respectively, and an average pregnancy length of 128 ± 3.3 days. The initiation of female reproductive activity was closely linked to an oestrus-related increase in faecal oestrogen metabolite levels. Four of the seven captive females monitored in our study conceived during the May mating period, with one additional female fertilised in September, supporting the idea that the September mating period functions as a back-up for female G. moholi. Identified benchmark faecal progestagen metabolite levels (non-pregnant: >1 μg/g dry weight (DW), pregnant: >9 μg/g DW) should help researchers to determine pregnancy status of randomly wild-caught females in even a cross-sectional study setup.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; DA 1031/3-1/2) and the DST-NRF SarchI Chair of Mammal Behavioural Ecology and Physiology.http://link.springer.com/journal/3602017-02-28hb201

Risco nutricional em cirurgia avaliado pelo índice de massa corporal ajustado ou não para pacientes idosos Nutritional risk in surgery evaluated by body mass index adjusted or not to elderly patients

RACIONAL: O índice de massa corporal vem sendo usado indistintamente entre idosos ou não para a avaliação do estado nutricional. A hipótese deste trabalho é a de que em pacientes idosos um ponto de corte mais alto para o índice de massa corporal pode ter maior validade na aferição do risco nutricional em cirurgia. OBJETIVO: Avaliar a morbimortalidade em pacientes cirúrgicos idosos comparada a pacientes mais jovens e sua associação com valores baixos de índice de massa corporal utilizando-se um ponto de corte convencional (18,5 kg/m²) e outro adaptado para pacientes com idade avançada (24 kg/m²). PACIENTES E MÉTODOS: Um mil e novecentos e doze pacientes foram divididos em dois grupos: <65 anos n = 1627) e >65 anos (n = 285). Comparou-se nos dois grupos o tempo de internação e a morbimortalidade. Pacientes com idade >65 anos foram estratificados segundo o índice de massa corporal <18,5 kg/m² ou <24 kg/m², e analisados quanto a complicações pós-operatórias, reoperações, óbito e tempo de internação. RESULTADOS: O tempo de internação foi maior em pacientes com idade >65 anos (6 [1-75] dias vs. 4 [1-137] dias), assim como as complicações pós-operatórias (37/285; 13,0% vs. 109/1627; 6,7%; OR 2,1; IC95% 1,40-3,09) e óbitos (15/285; 5,3% vs. 34/1627; 2,1%; OR 2,6; IC95% 1,40-4,84). Em pacientes com índice de massa corporal < 24 kg/m², o tempo de internação (8 [1-75] dias vs. 4 [1-43] dias), complicações pós-operatórias (28/152; 18,4% vs. 9/133; 6,8%; OR 3,1; IC95% 1,41-6,86) e reoperações (16/152; 10,5% vs. 3/133; 2,2%; OR 5,1; IC95% 1,45-17,91) mostraram-se maiores. Utilizando-se como ponto de corte o índice de massa corporal de 18,5 kg/m², não houve diferenças. CONCLUSÕES: A morbimortalidade é alta em pacientes cirúrgicos de idade avançada. Nestes, o índice de massa corporal abaixo de 24 kg/m² mostrou melhor associação com a ocorrência de complicações pós-operatórias, reoperações e tempo prolongado de internação.<br>BACKGROUND: Standard body mass index cut-off points for malnutrition are routinely used for adults independently of their age. The hypothesis of this study was that a cut-off point higher than the usual for the diagnosis of malnutrition might be more precise to access the nutritional risk of aged surgical patients. AIM: To evaluate the morbimortality in aged surgical patients and its association with nutritional status assessed by body mass index using either the standard and a higher cut-off point for malnutrition. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients admitted for operative procedures (n = 1,912) were allocated to either two groups: <65 years (n = 1,627) or >65 years old (n = 285). The body mass index was used to access the nutritional status. Two different cut-off points for malnutrition (18.5 or 24 kg/m²) were used in the group of older patients. Endpoints of the study were length of stay, morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Length of stay was higher in patients over 65 years (6 [1-75] days vs. 4 [1-137] days). Both postoperative complications (37/285; 13.0% vs. 109/1627; 6,7%; OR 2,1; IC95% 1,40-3,09) and deaths (15/285; 5.3% vs. 34/1627; 2,1%; OR 2,6; IC95% 1,40-4,84) were most common in the older group. Using a higher cut-off (24 kg/m²), the length of stay (8 [1-75] days vs. 4 [1-43] days), postoperative complications (28/152; 18.4% versus 9/133; 6.8%; OR 3,1; IC95% 1.41-6.86) and re-operations (16/152; 10.5% versus 3/133; 2.2%; OR 5.1; IC95% 1.45-17.91) were greater in malnourished patients. However these correlations were not statistically significant with the cut-off point for malnutrition in 18.5 kg/m². CONCLUSIONS: Morbimortality is higher in surgical patients over 65 years old. In these, the cut-off point set in 24 kg/m² was most associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications, re-operations and length of stay