Neurodevelopment of Amazonian Infants: Antenatal and Postnatal Exposure to Methyl- and Ethylmercury

Neurodevelopment as Gesell development scores (GDSs) in relation to mercury exposure in infants (<6 months of age) of one urban center and two rural villages, respectively, of fisherman and cassiterite miners. Mean total hair-Hg (HHg) concentrations of infants from Itapuã (3.95 ± 1.8 ppm) were statistically (P = 0.0001) different from those of infants from Porto Velho (3.84 ± 5.5 ppm) and Bom Futuro (1.85 ± 0.9 ppm). Differences in vaccine coverage among these populations resulted in significantly higher (P = 0.0001) mean ethylmercury (EtHg) exposure in urban infants (150 μg) than in infants from either village (41.67 μg, Itapuã; 42.39 μg, Bom Futuro). There was an inverse significant (Spearman r = −0.2300; P = 0.0376) correlation between HHg and GDS for infants from Porto Velho, but not for the rural infants from Bom Futuro (Spearman r = 0.1336; P = 0.0862) and Itapuã (Spearman r = 0.1666; P = 0.5182). Logistic regression applied to variables above or below the median GDS showed that EtHg exposure (estimated probability = −0.0157; P = 0.0070) and breastfeeding score (estimated probability = −0.0066; P = 0.0536) score were significantly associated with GDS. Conclusion. In nurslings whose mothers are exposed to different levels of fish-MeHg (HHg), a higher score of neurological development at six months was negatively associated with exposure to additional TCV-EtHg. Results should be interpreted with caution because of unaccounted variables

Neurodevelopment of Amazonian infants, antenatal and postnatal exposure to methyl

Neurodevelopment as Gesell development scores (GDSs) in relation to mercury exposure in infants (&lt;6 months of age) of one urban center and two rural villages, respectively, of fisherman and cassiterite miners. Mean total hair-Hg (HHg) concentrations of infants from Itapuã (3.95 ± 1.8 ppm) were statistically (P = 0.0001) different from those of infants from Porto Velho (3.84 ± 5.5 ppm) and Bom Futuro (1.85 ± 0.9 ppm). Differences in vaccine coverage among these populations resulted in significantly higher (P = 0.0001) mean ethylmercury (EtHg) exposure in urban infants (150 μg) than in infants from either village (41.67 μg, Itapuã; 42.39 μg, Bom Futuro). There was an inverse significant (Spearman r = −0.2300; P = 0.0376) correlation between HHg and GDS for infants from Porto Velho, but not for the rural infants from Bom Futuro (Spearman r = 0.1336; P = 0.0862) and Itapuã (Spearman r = 0.1666; P = 0.5182). Logistic regression applied to variables above or below the median GDS showed that EtHg exposure (estimated probability = −0.0157; P = 0.0070) and breastfeeding score (estimated probability = −0.0066; P = 0.0536) score were significantly associated with GDS. Conclusion. In nurslings whose mothers are exposed to different levels of fish-MeHg (HHg), a higher score of neurological development at six months was negatively associated with exposure to additional TCV-EtHg. Results should be interpreted with caution because of unaccounted variables

Validation of a rapid stool antigen test for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection

The aim of this study was to validate the rapid lateral flow Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test (One step H. pylori antigen test, ACON laboratories, San Diego, USA; Prime diagnostics, São Paulo), using 13C-Urea Breath Test as the gold standard for H. pylori infection diagnosis. A total of 98 consecutive patients, asymptomatic or dyspeptic, entered the study. Sixty-nine were women, with a mean age of 45.76 &plusmn; 14.59 years (14 to 79 years). In the H. pylori-positive group, the rapid stool antigen test detected H. pylori antigen in 44 of the 50 positive patients (sensitivity 88%; 95% CI: 75.7-95.5%), and six false-negative; and in the H. pylori-negative group 42 presented negative results (specificity 87.5%; 95% CI: 74.7-95.3%), and six false-positive, showing a substantial agreement (Kappa Index = 0.75; p O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar o teste rápido de antígeno de H. pylori nas fezes (One step H. pylori antigen test, ACON laboratories, San Diego, USA; Prime diagnostics, São Paulo), usando teste respiratório com uréia marcada com 13C (TRU-13C), como padrão ouro. Noventa e oito pacientes assintomáticos ou com dispepsia participaram do estudo. Sessenta e nove eram mulheres; a média de idade dos pacientes foi de 45.76 &plusmn; 14.59 (14 a 79 anos). No grupo H. pylori positivo, o teste rápido detectou antígenos de H. pylori nas fezes em 44 dos 50 pacientes positivos (sensibilidade de 88%; 95% IC: 75.7-95.5%), com seis falso-negativos; e no grupo H. pylori negativo, 42 apresentaram resultados negativos (especificidade de 87,5%; 95% IC: 74.7-95.3%), com seis falso-positivos, mostrando concordância substancial (índice Kappa = 0.75; p < 0.0001; 95% IC: 0.6-0.9). Quarenta e quatro dos 50 que tiveram teste de antígeno fecal positivo eram H. pylori positivos, sendo o VPP do teste 88% (95% IC: 75.7-95.5%), e 42 pacientes com teste de antígeno fecal negativo eram H. pylori negativos, com VPN de 87,5% (95% IC: 74.7-95.3%). Concluímos que o teste de antígeno fecal imunocromatográfico pode ser usado como alternativa ao teste respiratório para diagnóstico de infecção pelo H. pylori, principalmente em países em desenvolvimento

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