CARACTERÍSTICAS FÍSICO-QUÍMICAS E CITOLÓGICAS DO LÍQUOR DE OVINOS SADIOS DA RAÇA SANTA INÊS

A ocorrência de doenças neurológicas é elevada na clínica médica dos animais, porém poucos estudos documentam a composição normal do líquor de ovinos, em especial o da raça Santa Inês. O objetivo deste estudo foi o de estabelecer parâmetros de normalidade para as características físico-químicas e citológicas do líquor de ovinos desta raça. Para isso, foram utilizados 40 ovinos, com idades entre seis a dezoito meses, para a realização da punção lombossacral de líquor. Foi observado um padrão límpido e incolor, e a média para densidade foi de 1,006 ± 0,0064, a concentração de proteínas foi de 25,27 ± 6,64 mg/dL e a de glicose de 46,89 ± 10,99 mg/dL. Quanto às atividades enzimáticas, foram observadas médias de 80,79 ± 116,72 U/L para creatina quinase (CK); 17,43 ± 11,91 U/L para lactato desidrogenase (LDH) e 17,08 ± 3,85 U/L para aspartato aminotransferase (AST). Os achados obtidos para contagem global de leucócitos foram de 4,61 ± 4,96 células/µL (0 a 15 linfócitos, 0 a 10 monócitos, 1 a 14 neutrófilos). Diante da carência de dados de referência para parâmetros do líquor de ovinos Santa Inês, sugere-se que os resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa sejam considerados valores normais na clínica de ovinos e, assim, contribuam no diagnóstico de doenças neurológicas nesta raça. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: bioquímica; citologia; LCR; parâmetros fisiológicos; pequenos ruminantes

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with high in-hospital mortality. Alveolar recruitment followed by ventilation at optimal titrated PEEP may reduce ventilator-induced lung injury and improve oxygenation in patients with ARDS, but the effects on mortality and other clinical outcomes remain unknown. This article reports the rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART). Methods/Design: ART is a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized (concealed), controlled trial, which aims to determine if maximum stepwise alveolar recruitment associated with PEEP titration is able to increase 28-day survival in patients with ARDS compared to conventional treatment (ARDSNet strategy). We will enroll adult patients with ARDS of less than 72 h duration. The intervention group will receive an alveolar recruitment maneuver, with stepwise increases of PEEP achieving 45 cmH(2)O and peak pressure of 60 cmH2O, followed by ventilation with optimal PEEP titrated according to the static compliance of the respiratory system. In the control group, mechanical ventilation will follow a conventional protocol (ARDSNet). In both groups, we will use controlled volume mode with low tidal volumes (4 to 6 mL/kg of predicted body weight) and targeting plateau pressure <= 30 cmH2O. The primary outcome is 28-day survival, and the secondary outcomes are: length of ICU stay; length of hospital stay; pneumothorax requiring chest tube during first 7 days; barotrauma during first 7 days; mechanical ventilation-free days from days 1 to 28; ICU, in-hospital, and 6-month survival. ART is an event-guided trial planned to last until 520 events (deaths within 28 days) are observed. These events allow detection of a hazard ratio of 0.75, with 90% power and two-tailed type I error of 5%. All analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: If the ART strategy with maximum recruitment and PEEP titration improves 28-day survival, this will represent a notable advance to the care of ARDS patients. Conversely, if the ART strategy is similar or inferior to the current evidence-based strategy (ARDSNet), this should also change current practice as many institutions routinely employ recruitment maneuvers and set PEEP levels according to some titration method.Hospital do Coracao (HCor) as part of the Program 'Hospitais de Excelencia a Servico do SUS (PROADI-SUS)'Brazilian Ministry of Healt

ATLANTIC MAMMAL TRAITS: a data set of morphological traits of mammals in the Atlantic Forest of South America

Univ Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Dept Ecol, Inst Biociencias, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Santa Catarina, Ctr Ciencias Biol, Dept Ecol & Zool, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil|Caipora Cooperat, Florianopolis, SC, BrazilUniv Estadual Santa Cruz, Programa Posgrad Ecol & Conservac Biodiversidade, Lab Ecol Aplicada Conservacao, Ilheus, BA, BrazilUniv Estadual Santa Cruz, CMARF, Ilheus, BA, BrazilUniv Brasilia, Dept Ecol, Inst Ciencias Biol, Lab Ecol Vertebrados, Brasilia, DF, BrazilUniv Fed Santa Maria, Dept Ecol & Evolut, Santa Maria, RS, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Espirito Santo, Ctr Ciencias Humanas & Nat, Dept Ciencias Biol, Vitoria, ES, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Biol Geral, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Mato Grosso de Sul, Inst Biociencias, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilUniv Fed Parana, Dept Zool, Curitiba, Parana, BrazilUniv Fed Parana, Programa Posgrad Ecol & Conservcao, Curitiba, Parana, BrazilUniv Estado Rio de Janeiro, Dept Ecol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, Rio Claro, SP, BrazilUniv Extremo Sul Catarinense, Programa Posgrad Ciencias Ambientais, Criciuma, SC, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, ESALQ, Dept Ciencias Biol, Piracicaba, SP, BrazilUniv Nacl Misiones, CONICET, Inst Biol Subtrop, Puerto Iguazu, Misiones, ArgentinaAsociac Civil Ctr Invest Bosque Atlantico, Puerto Iguazu, Misiones, ArgentinaFIOCRUZ Amazonas, Inst Leonidas & Maria Deane, Manaus, Amazonas, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Dept Zootecnia, Jaboticabal, SP, BrazilField Museum Nat Hist, Integrated Res Ctr, Chicago, IL 60605 USAUniv Fed Pernambuco, Ctr Biociencias, Dept Zool, Lab Ciencia Aplicada Conservacao Biodiversidade, Recife, PE, BrazilInst Chico Mendes Conservacao Biodiversidade, Ctr Nacl Pesquisa & Conservacao Mamiferos Carnivo, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Vale Rio dos Sinos, Sao Leopoldo, RS, BrazilUniv Reg Cariri, Dept Biol, Lab Ecol Mamiferos, Crato, CE, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Dept Ecol, Lab Vertebrados, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Federal Mato Grosso do Sul, Programa Posgrad Ecol & Conservacao, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilIPE, Nazare Paulista, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Programa Posgrad Zool, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Estado Minas Gerais, Dept Ciencias Biol, Ibirite, MG, BrazilPREA, Programa Educ Ambiental, Juiz De Fora, MG, BrazilChinese Acad Sci, Inst Zool, Key Lab Zool Systemat and Evolut, Beijing, Peoples R ChinaMinist Salud Nacion, Inst Nacl Med Trop INMeT, Puerto Iguazu, Misiones, ArgentinaUniv Fed Vicosa, Dept Engn Florestal, Vicosa, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Goias, Inst Biociencias, Jatai, Go, BrazilInst Chico Mendes Conservacao Biodiversidade ICMB, Ctr Nacl Pesquisa & Conservacao Primatas Brasilei, Joao Pessoa, PB, BrazilCtr Rescate Fauna Silvestre Guira Oga, Puerto Iguazu, ArgentinaFdn Hist Nat Felix de Azara, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaProjeto Carnivoros Iguacu, Foz Do Iguacu, PR, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Dept Med Vet Prevent & Reprod Anim, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet Jaboticabal, Jaboticabal, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Integracao Latinoamer, Inst Latinoamer Ciencias Vida & Nat, Foz Do Iguacu, PR, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Ambientais, Diadema, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Paraiba, Dept Sistemat & Ecol, Lab Mamiferos, Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, BrazilIUCN Peccary Specialist Grp, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilWWF Brazil, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilChicago State Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Chicago, IL USAUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Nucleo Ecol & Desenvolvimento Socioambiental Maca, Macae, RJ, BrazilUniv Vila Velha, Programa Posgrad Ecol Ecossistemas, Vila Velha, ES, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacl, Dept Vertebrados, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Bahia, Programa Posgrad Ecol, Salvador, BA, BrazilUniv Fed Paraiba, Dept Sistemat & Ecol, Programa Posgrad Ciencias Biol Zool, Lab Mamiferos, Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Ambientais, Diadema, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Increased interregional virus exchange and nucleotide diversity outline the expansion of chikungunya virus in Brazil

Abstract The emergence and reemergence of mosquito-borne diseases in Brazil such as yellow fever, zika, chikungunya, and dengue have had serious impacts on public health. Concerns have been raised due to the rapid dissemination of the chikungunya virus across the country since its first detection in 2014 in Northeast Brazil. In this work, we carried out on-site training activities in genomic surveillance in partnership with the National Network of Public Health Laboratories that have led to the generation of 422 chikungunya virus genomes from 12 Brazilian states over the past two years (2021–2022), a period that has seen more than 312 thousand chikungunya fever cases reported in the country. These genomes increased the amount of available data and allowed a more comprehensive characterization of the dispersal dynamics of the chikungunya virus East-Central-South-African lineage in Brazil. Tree branching patterns revealed the emergence and expansion of two distinct subclades. Phylogeographic analysis indicated that the northeast region has been the leading hub of virus spread towards other regions. Increased frequency of C > T transitions among the new genomes suggested that host restriction factors from the immune system such as ADAR and AID/APOBEC deaminases might be driving the genetic diversity of the chikungunya virus in Brazil

Rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with high in-hospital mortality. Alveolar recruitment followed by ventilation at optimal titrated PEEP may reduce ventilator-induced lung injury and improve oxygenation in patients with ARDS, but the effects on mortality and other clinical outcomes remain unknown. This article reports the rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART). Methods/Design: ART is a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized (concealed), controlled trial, which aims to determine if maximum stepwise alveolar recruitment associated with PEEP titration is able to increase 28-day survival in patients with ARDS compared to conventional treatment (ARDSNet strategy). We will enroll adult patients with ARDS of less than 72 h duration. The intervention group will receive an alveolar recruitment maneuver, with stepwise increases of PEEP achieving 45 cmH(2)O and peak pressure of 60 cmH2O, followed by ventilation with optimal PEEP titrated according to the static compliance of the respiratory system. In the control group, mechanical ventilation will follow a conventional protocol (ARDSNet). In both groups, we will use controlled volume mode with low tidal volumes (4 to 6 mL/kg of predicted body weight) and targeting plateau pressure <= 30 cmH2O. The primary outcome is 28-day survival, and the secondary outcomes are: length of ICU stay; length of hospital stay; pneumothorax requiring chest tube during first 7 days; barotrauma during first 7 days; mechanical ventilation-free days from days 1 to 28; ICU, in-hospital, and 6-month survival. ART is an event-guided trial planned to last until 520 events (deaths within 28 days) are observed. These events allow detection of a hazard ratio of 0.75, with 90% power and two-tailed type I error of 5%. All analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: If the ART strategy with maximum recruitment and PEEP titration improves 28-day survival, this will represent a notable advance to the care of ARDS patients. Conversely, if the ART strategy is similar or inferior to the current evidence-based strategy (ARDSNet), this should also change current practice as many institutions routinely employ recruitment maneuvers and set PEEP levels according to some titration method.13Hospital do Coracao (HCor) as part of the Program 'Hospitais de Excelencia a Servico do SUS (PROADI-SUS)'Brazilian Ministry of Healt

Genomic epidemiology reveals how restriction measures shaped the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Brazil

Abstract Brazil has experienced some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths globally and made Latin America a pandemic epicenter from May 2021. Although SARS-CoV-2 established sustained transmission in Brazil early in the pandemic, important gaps remain in our understanding of local virus transmission dynamics. Here, we describe the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 using near-full genomes sampled from 27 Brazilian states and an adjacent country - Paraguay. We show that the early stage of the pandemic in Brazil was characterised by the co-circulation of multiple viral lineages, linked to multiple importations predominantly from Europe, and subsequently characterized by large local transmission clusters. As the epidemic progressed, the absence of effective restriction measures led to the local emergence and international spread of Variants of Concern (VOC) and under monitoring (VUM), including the Gamma (P.1) and Zeta (P.2) variants. In addition, we provide a preliminary genomic overview of the epidemic in Paraguay, showing evidence of importation from Brazil. These data reinforce the need for the implementation of widespread genomic surveillance in South America as a toolkit for pandemic monitoring and providing a means to follow the real-time spread of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants with possible implications for public health and immunization strategies

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data