Environmental changes and zooplankton temporal and spatial variation in a disturbed brazilian coastal lagoon

The Imboassica lagoon, located in the Municipality of Macaé (RJ), is separated from the sea by a sand bar, and its surroundings are partially occupied by residential areas. This coastal lagoon has undergone environmental degradation due to sewage input and artificial sand bar openings. The temporal and spatial variation of environmental variables and zooplankton were studied monthly for four years. There were five artificial openings of the sand bar during the period of study, mostly in the rainy season. Besides osmotic changes, these events caused the drainage of the water of the lagoon into the sea, loss of total organic nitrogen, and an increase of total phosphorus. The zooplankton community of Imboassica lagoon included freshwater and marine taxa, holoplanktonic, meroplanktonic and nectobenthonic forms. Polychaeta, Bivalvia and Gastropoda larvae, and the taxa of Rotifera Hexarthra spp., Lecane bulla, Synchaeta bicornis, nauplii of Cyclopoida and Calanoida copepods were considered constant taxa. Distinct zooplankton assemblages were found during zooplankton spatial surveys in oligohaline and mesohaline conditions. The successful zooplankton populations were either favored by the disturbance of the sand bar opening, such as the veligers of the gastropod Heleobia australis, or capable of fast recovery after the closing of the sand bar, during the succession from a marine into an oligohaline environment, such as Hexarthra spp.. Such populations seemed well adapted to the stress conditions usually found in the lagoon due to osmotic changes, column mixing, nutrient input, and high fish predation pressure. Rare species in the community, such as Moina minuta, presented population increases all over the lagoon under oligohaline conditions

The psychopathological factors of refractory schizophrenia Fatores psicopatológicos da esquizofrenia refratária

OBJECTIVES: The heterogeneity of clinical manifestations in schizophrenia has lead to the study of symptom clusters through psychopathological assessment scales. The objective of this study was to elucidate clusters of symptoms in patients with refractory schizophrenia which may also help to assess the patients' therapeutical response. METHODS: Ninety-six treatment resistant patients were evaluated by the anchored version Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS-A) as translated into Portuguese. The inter-rater reliability was 0.80. The 18 items of the BPRS-A were subjected to exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation. RESULTS: Four factors were obtained: Negative/Disorganization, composed by emotional withdrawal, disorientation, blunted affect, mannerisms/posturing, and conceptual disorganization; Excitement, composed of excitement, hostility, tension, grandiosity, and uncooperativeness, grouped variables that evoke brain excitement or a manic-like syndrome; Positive, composed of unusual thought content, suspiciousness, and hallucinatory behavior; and Depressive, composed of depressive mood, guilt feelings, and motor retardation, clearly related to depressive syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The study reproduced the four factors described in the literature, either in refractory or non-refractory patients. The BPRS-A allowed the distinction of psychopathological factors, which are important in the evaluation of treatment response of patients with schizophrenia.<br>OBJETIVOS: A heterogeneidade das manifestações clínicas na esquizofrenia tem levado ao estudo de agrupamentos sintomatológicos através de escalas de avaliação psicopatológica. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi a elucidação de agrupamentos psicopatológicos em pacientes com esquizofrenia refratária que também podem auxiliar na avaliação da resposta terapêutica dos pacientes. MÉTODOS: Noventa e seis pacientes com diagnóstico de esquizofrenia refratária foram avaliados através da Escala Breve de Avaliação Psiquiátrica, versão ancorada e traduzida para o português (BPRS-A). A confiabilidade foi de 0,80. Os 18 sintomas foram submetidos à análise fatorial exploratória com rotação Varimax. RESULTADOS: Quatro fatores foram obtidos: Negativo/Desorganização, composto por retraimento afetivo, desorientação, afeto embotado, maneirismo & postura e desorganização conceitual; Excitação, formado por excitação, hostilidade, tensão, idéias de grandeza e falta de cooperação; Positivo, contendo os itens delírio, desconfiança e comportamento alucinatório; e Depressivo, que agrupou humor depressivo, sentimento de culpa e retardo motor. CONCLUSÕES: O estudo reproduziu os quatro fatores psicopatológicos encontrados na literatura, provenientes de amostras tanto de pacientes com esquizofrenia refratária como não-refratária. A BPRS-A permitiu a distinção de agrupamentos psicopatológicos específicos que têm valor na avaliação da resposta terapêutica destas formas de esquizofrenia

The antecedents and influences of airline loyalty programs: the moderating role of involvement

[[abstract]]The current research attempts to examine the antecedent factors of perceived benefits (including monetary savings, exploration, entertainment, recognition, and social benefits’ quality)of airline loyalty programs affecting flight passengers’ perceived relationship investment and brand relationship qualities (including connection and partner quality) toward the airline program which in turn affects their loyalty. This research also tests the moderating effect of involvement on the relationships between the antecedents and influences toward airline loyalty programs. The results from a survey of 740 respondents indicate that the antecedent factors of recognition and social benefits have positive influences, respectively, on perceived relationship investment toward airline loyalty programs which in turn positively affects the brand relationship quality and loyalty. In addition, involvement plays an important moderating role on the relationships within the airline loyalty programs’ framework except the relationship between perceived relationship investment and partner quality. Implications for future research are discussed and limitations are noted.[[notice]]補正完