Surdez súbita e oxigenoterapia hiperbárica

Trabalho Final do Curso de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 2017Este trabalho tem como objectivo abordar o tema da surdez súbita (SS) destacando a Oxigenoterapia Hiperbarica (OHB) como modalidade de tratamento, através de uma revisão sistemática da literatura científica actualizada. A SS é definida como uma perda de audição neurosensorial superior a 30 dB, em três frequências consecutivas, com instalação até 72 horas. A etiologia é desconhecida na grande maioria dos casos, havendo algumas teorias que a procuram explicar. O tratamento da surdez súbita é ainda pouco consensual, sendo os corticósteroides os agentes mais comummente utilizados na prática clínica. A OHB é uma terapêutica promissora, que tem sido alvo de vários estudos para tentar demonstrar os seus benefícios, no entanto, ainda não estão totalmente comprovados. É importante compreender melhor a fisiopatologia da SS e da OHB para melhorar a qualidade dos cuidados. A OHB permite aumentar a tensão de oxigénio na cóclea e reduz a resposta inflamatória local. Vários autores destacam os benefícios da OHB como terapia adjuvante e de resgate. A OHB deve ser considerada para doentes que não recuperaram a audição após tratamento convencional inicial pois confere um efeito terapêutico adicional substancialmente significativo após uma terapêutica inicial com corticósteroides.This review addresses sudden deafness (SS) highlighting Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO) as a treatment, through a systematic review of updated scientific literature. SS is defined as a sensorineural hearing loss greater than 30 dB, in three consecutive frequencies, with installation up to 72 hours. The etiology is unknown in the vast majority of cases but there are some theories that try to explain it. The treatment of sudden deafness is still debatable, but corticosteroids are the most commonly used agents in clinical practice. HBOT is a promising therapy that has been the subject of several studies that try to demonstrate its benefits, however, they are not yet proven. It is important to better understand the pathophysiology of SS and HBO to improve the quality of care. HBO increases the oxygen tension in the cochlea and reduces the local inflammatory response. Several authors highlight the benefits of HBO as adjuvant and rescue therapy. OHB should be considered for patients who have not recovered from hearing after initial conventional treatment as it provides a substantial additional therapeutic effect after initial corticosteroid therapy

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved