Enhanced liver fibrosis test : a further step toward depiction of fibrotic process in very early diagnosis of systemic sclerosis

Background/Purpose: Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) test is derived from an algorithm of 3 serum biomarkers of fibrosis (i.e. tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases, hyaluronic acid and aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen); it has been suggested as a sensitive/predictive tool for liver fibrosis. Aim of the study was to evaluate whether ELF may help in differentiating primary Raynaud\u2019s phenomenon (Rp) from very early Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) in a cross-sectional multi-center study. Methods: 110 consecutive adult subjects with \u201cisolated\u201d Rp (i.e. without any symptoms/signs suggesting a connective tissue disease) referring to 3 Italian Rheumatology Centers in approximately 6 months time were enrolled. Patients underwent as first screening nailfold capillaroscopy (NC) and were tested for anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) by IFF and blotting and classified as primary Rp (pRp) (i.e. NC and ANA negative), very early SSc (i.e. ANA and NC positive), or Rp with NC or ANA positive. Patients with any other fibrosing disorder and treated with interferon were excluded. 15 limited cutaneous (lc)-SSc and 15 diffuse cutaneous (dc)-SSc with disease duration 5 years were also studied. ELF score was determined blindly by an independent commercial service (iQur, UK). Statistical analysis was performed by regression modelling this score as a function of the diagnosis and age. The discriminant performance was evaluate by ROC curve analysis adjusting for age. Results: 60 subjects had pRp (mean age 43.1 yrs), 35 had Rp with positive ANA only (mean age 43.6 yrs), 4 had Rp with NC scleroderma pattern only (mean age 38.2 yrs) and 10 had a diagnosis of very early SSc (mean age 59.7 yrs). There were significantly differences between ELF scores in subjects with pRp (mean 7.84) vs patients with very early SSc (mean 8.44), lc-SSc (mean 8.68) and dc-SSc (mean 9.00) (p 0.03, 0.001 and 0.0001 respectively). ELF score in pRp and Rp with positive ANA or NC scleroderma pattern only was not statistically different, although a progressive increase was observed (mean 7.84, 7.90 and 7.95 respectively). Considering patients with and without SSc, the area under the ROC curve was 0.7465 (CI 95%: 0.6578\u20130.8351). When adjusting for age the AUC for youngest patients was 0.77 and it significantly decreased for the older patients. A correlation was observed between ELF score and age. Conclusion: ELF score shows unbalanced fibrosis biomarkers in very early SSc; it may represent useful potential tool in identifying Rp associated with a scleroderma signature

A família Rubiaceae na Reserva Biológica Guaribas, Paraíba, Brasil: subfamília Rubioideae The family Rubiaceae in the Guaribas Biological Reserve, Paraíba State, Brazil: subfamily Rubioideae

Este trabalho consiste no levantamento dos representantes de Rubiaceae subfamília Rubioideae na Reserva Biológica Guaribas, Estado da Paraíba, Brasil. Foram realizadas coletas intensivas no período de outubro/2000 a outubro/2001, as quais resultaram em 17 espécies e nove gêneros de Rubioideae. Os gêneros com maior número de espécies foram Psychotria L. (seis) e BorreriaG. Mey. (quatro). Coccocypselum P. Browne, Declieuxia Kunth, Diodia L., Mitracarpus Zucc. ex Roem. & Schult., PalicoureaAubl., RichardiaL. e Staelia Cham. & Schltdl. apresentaram uma única espécie cada. Perama hirsuta Aubl., de posição taxonômica incerta na família, também foi tratada neste trabalho. São apresentados chave, descrições, comentários e ilustrações dos táxons.<br>This paper describes the results of a survey of the Rubiaceae subfamily Rubioideae in the Guaribas Biological Reserve, State of Paraíba, Brazil. Intensive collections were made from October/2000 to October/2001, revealing 17 species and nine genera of Rubioideae. The most diverse genera were Psychotria L. (six species) and Borreria G. Mey. (four species). Coccocypselum P. Browne, Declieuxia Kunth, Diodia L., Mitracarpus Zucc. ex Roem. & Schult., Palicourea Aubl., Richardia L. and Staelia Cham. & Schltdl. were each represented by a single species. Perama hirsuta Aubl., of uncertain position within the family, is also treated in this paper. A key, descriptions, notes, and illustrations of the taxa are provided

Análise da estrutura de uma comunidade lenhosa em área de cerrado sensu stricto no município de Senador Modestino Gonçalves, norte de Minas Gerais, Brasil A woody community structure in a cerrado sensu stricto area of the municipality of Senador Modestino Gonçalves, north of Minas Gerais State, Brazil

Com a finalidade de conhecer a estrutura de uma comunidade arbórea de uma área de Cerrado, fez-se um estudo fitossociológico no Município de Senador Modestino Gonçalves. Para tal foram delimitadas 30 parcelas de 10 x 20m para levantamento dos dados, utilizando-se como critério de inclusão os indivíduos com circunferência do tronco à altura do solo (CAS) = 10 cm. Foram encontradas 91 espécies de 38 famílias. As espécies que se destacaram como as mais importantes foram Qualea grandiflora, Eriotheca pubescens, Caryocar brasiliense, Byrsonima coccolobaefolia, Myrsine guianensis, Qualea parviflora, Dalbergia miscolobium, Stryphnodendron adstringens, Plathymenia reticulata e Lafoensia pacari. Essas 10 espécies representaram 49,32% do VI e 51,26% dos indivíduos amostrados. A área não apresentou espécie com dominância marcante, como mostrou o valor de equabilidade (J'= 0,80). Além de se destacar pela riqueza, o cerrado estudado destacou-se também pelos altos valores de densidade (6.476,67 ind/ha), de área basal (28,93 m²/ha) e pelo alto índice de diversidade (H'=3,61).<br>The aim of this work was to study the phytossociological structure of a tree community in a cerrado fragment located in Senador Modestino Gonçalves, MG. A total of 30 10x20m stands of tree individuals with stem circumferences at the soil level = 10cm were sampled, being found 91 species belonging to 38 families. The most important species were Qualea grandiflora, Eriotheca pubescens, Caryocar brasiliense, Byrsonima coccolobaefolia, Myrsine guianensis, Qualea parviflora, Dalbergia miscolobium, Stryphnodendron adstringens, Plathymenia reticulata and Lafoensia pacari. These species represented 49.32% of the importance value and 51.26% of the individuals. Besides standing out for its richness, the studied cerrado fragment also outstood out for its high tree density, biomass and diversity