Occurrence of deformed wing virus variants in the stingless Melipona subnitida and honey Apis mellifera bee populations in North Eastern Brazil

Deformed wing virus (DWV) is now a global insect pathogen. Brazilian stingless bees are a diverse group often managed in close proximity to honey bees. We investigated the prevalence and load of DWV in 33 stingless bees (Melipona subnitida) and 12 honey bees (Apis mellifera) colonies from NE Brazil. DWV was detected in all colonies with the A and C-variants dominating M. subnitida and A-variant in A. mellifera. Viral loads were 8.83E+07 and 7.19E+07 in M. subnitida and A. mellifera, respectively. On Fernando de Noronha island DWV is low (<1E+03) in honey bees, but we detected high loads (1.6E+08) in nine island M. subnitida colonies, indicating no viral spill-over of DWV has occurred during the past 34 years. Furthermore, the ubiquitous presence of the DWV-C variant in M. subnitida colonies, and rarity in A. mellifera, may suggest limited viral exchange between these two species

New Insights From Pre-Columbian Land Use and Fire Management in Amazonian Dark Earth Forests

This is the final version of the article. Available from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this record.Anthropogenic climate change driven by increased carbon emissions is leading to more severe fire seasons and increasing the frequency of mega-fires in the Amazon. This has the potential to convert Amazon forests from net carbon sinks to net carbon sources. Although modern human influence over the Earth is substantial, debate remains over when humans began to dominate Earth's natural systems. To date, little is known about the history of human land use in key regions like the Amazon. Here, we examine the history of human occupation from a ~8,500 year-old sediment core record from Lake Caranã (LC) in the eastern Amazon. The onset of pre-Columbian activity at LC (~4,500 cal yr B.P.) is associated with the beginning of fire management and crop cultivation, later followed by the formation of Amazonian Dark Earth soils (ADEs) ~2,000 cal yr B.P. Selective forest enrichment of edible plants and low-severity fire activity altered the composition and structure of forests growing on ADEs (ADE forests) making them more drought susceptible and fire-prone. Following European colonization (1661 A.D.), the Amazon rubber boom (mid-1800s to 1920 A.D.) is associated with record-low fire activity despite drier regional climate, indicating fire exclusion. The formation of FLONA Reserve in 1974 A.D. is accompanied by the relocation of traditional populations and a fire suppression policy. Despite suppression efforts, biomass burning and fire severity in the past decade is higher than any other period in the record. This is attributed to combined climate and human factors which create optimal conditions for mega-fires in ADE forests and threatens to transform the Amazon from a net carbon sink to a net carbon source. To help mitigate the occurrence of mega-fires, a fire management policy reducing fire-use and careful fire management for farming may help to reduce fuel loads and the occurrence of mega-fires in fire-prone ADE forests. As both natural and anthropogenic pressures are projected to increase in the Amazon, this study provides valuable insights into the legacy of past human land use on modern ADE forest composition, structure, and flammability that can inform ecological benchmarks and future management efforts in the eastern Amazon.Funding for this research was supported by the PAST (Pre-Columbian Amazon-Scale Transformations) European Research Council Consolidator Grant to JI (ERC_Cog 616179). Research was conducted under permit 01506.004836/2014-69 from the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN) and ICMBio permit 106/14-FNT. We thank all residents of Maguarí and Jamaraquá community for their hospitality and help

Addressing drinking water salinity due to sea water intrusion in Praia de Leste, Parana, by a brackish water desalination pilot plant

Seawater intrusion into the Pombas River, source of freshwater to Praia de Leste on the coast of Parana in Brazil presents a problem to the water utility as most water treatment plants in Brazil are conventional. To find a solution to this problem, a pilot plant (1 m3 /h) consisting of ultrafiltration (UF) followed by reverse osmosis (RO) was developed and evaluated. For testing, brackish water was produced with a concentration of 1,500 ± 100 mg/L of total dissolved solids (TDS), mixing seawater and fresh water. To evaluate the water quality, TDS, electrical conductivity, pH, temperature, apparent color, turbidity, alkalinity, total hardness, calcium, chloride and sulfate were monitored. For operational performance, flowrates, osmotic pressure, filtration rate, recovery rate and mass balance were analyzed. On average, the UF system removed 96.4% of turbidity and 98.6% of apparent color; whereas the RO system removed 99.4% of TDS. The overall average recovery (UF and RO) was 45.81% with average osmotic pressure of 8.21 bar, filtration rate of 30.7 L/h/m2 in the UF system and 21.7 L/h/m2 in the RO system. From a water quality point of view, the system was effective in processing brackish into fresh water of high quality

Sarcopenia and risk of malnutrition as risk factors for complications from COVID-19

Objetivo: Este estudo teve como objetivo associar o risco nutricional e de sarcopenia com desfechos clínicos em pacientes idosos com COVID-19. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo de coorte retrospectivo longitudinal. Idosos hospitalizados com diagnóstico de COVID-19 foram incluídos no estudo. O risco nutricional foi avaliado usando o Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) e o risco de sarcopenia foi avaliado usando o SARC-F. As associações foram avaliadas por modelos logísticos multivariados. Resultados: No total, 127 pacientes (média de idade: 71,25 ±8,06 anos) foram acompanhados até o desfecho clínico. Risco de sarcopenia foi diagnosticado em 63,8% da amostra, enquanto risco nutricional foi observado em 72% deles. Além disso, 48,8% da amostra necessitoude internação em unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI), 38,6% necessitaram ventilação mecânica e 32,3% foram a óbito. Idosos com risco de sarcopenia tiveram maior chance de internação em UTI (OR: 5,62; IC 95%: 2,2-14,3), necessidade de ventilação mecânica (OR: 4,0; IC 95%: 1,5-10,2) e óbito (OR: 5,06; IC 95%: 1,7-14,2). O risco de desnutrição avaliado pelo MUST foi um importante fator de risco para óbito (OR = 30,15; IC 95%: 3,6-245,8; p<0,01). Conclusão: O risco de sarcopenia foi fator de risco para óbito, internação em UTI e ventilação mecânica,enquanto o risco nutricional foi fator de risco para óbito.Purpose: This study aimed to associate nutritional and sarcopenia risk with clinical outcomes in elderly patients with COVID-19. Methods: This is a longitudinal retrospective cohort study. Hospitalized elderly individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 were included in the study. Nutritional risk was assessed using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), and Sarcopenia risk was assessed using the SARC-F. Associations were assessed throughmultivariable logistic models. Results: In total, 127 patients (mean age: 71.25 ±8.06 years) were followed up until the clinical outcome. Sarcopenia risk was diagnosed in 63.8% of the sample, whereas nutritional risk was observed in 72%. Hospitalization in the intensive care unit (ICU) was required in 48.8% of the sample, 38.6% required mechanicalventilation, and 32.3% died. Elderly individuals with sarcopenia risk were more likely to be hospitalized inICUs (OR: 5.62; 95%CI: 2.2-14.3), require mechanical ventilation (OR: 4.0; 95% CI: 1.5-10.2), and die (OR: 5.06; 95% CI: 1.7-14.2). The risk of malnutrition assessed through MUST was an important risk factor for death (OR = 30.15; 95% CI: 3.6-245.8; p<0.01). Conclusion: Sarcopenia risk was a risk factor for death, hospitalization in ICU, and mechanical ventilation, while nutritional risk was a risk factor for death

Sialic Acid Glycobiology Unveils Trypanosoma cruzi Trypomastigote Membrane Physiology.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the flagellate protozoan agent of Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis, is unable to synthesize sialic acids de novo. Mucins and trans-sialidase (TS) are substrate and enzyme, respectively, of the glycobiological system that scavenges sialic acid from the host in a crucial interplay for T. cruzi life cycle. The acquisition of the sialyl residue allows the parasite to avoid lysis by serum factors and to interact with the host cell. A major drawback to studying the sialylation kinetics and turnover of the trypomastigote glycoconjugates is the difficulty to identify and follow the recently acquired sialyl residues. To tackle this issue, we followed an unnatural sugar approach as bioorthogonal chemical reporters, where the use of azidosialyl residues allowed identifying the acquired sugar. Advanced microscopy techniques, together with biochemical methods, were used to study the trypomastigote membrane from its glycobiological perspective. Main sialyl acceptors were identified as mucins by biochemical procedures and protein markers. Together with determining their shedding and turnover rates, we also report that several membrane proteins, including TS and its substrates, both glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins, are separately distributed on parasite surface and contained in different and highly stable membrane microdomains. Notably, labeling for α(1,3)Galactosyl residues only partially colocalize with sialylated mucins, indicating that two species of glycosylated mucins do exist, which are segregated at the parasite surface. Moreover, sialylated mucins were included in lipid-raft-domains, whereas TS molecules are not. The location of the surface-anchored TS resulted too far off as to be capable to sialylate mucins, a role played by the shed TS instead. Phosphatidylinositol-phospholipase-C activity is actually not present in trypomastigotes. Therefore, shedding of TS occurs via microvesicles instead of as a fully soluble form

Predictive validity of the CriSTAL tool for short-term mortality in older people presenting at Emergency Departments: a prospective study

© 2018, The Author(s). Abstract: To determine the validity of the Australian clinical prediction tool Criteria for Screening and Triaging to Appropriate aLternative care (CRISTAL) based on objective clinical criteria to accurately identify risk of death within 3 months of admission among older patients. Methods: Prospective study of ≥ 65 year-olds presenting at emergency departments in five Australian (Aus) and four Danish (DK) hospitals. Logistic regression analysis was used to model factors for death prediction; Sensitivity, specificity, area under the ROC curve and calibration with bootstrapping techniques were used to describe predictive accuracy. Results: 2493 patients, with median age 78–80 years (DK–Aus). The deceased had significantly higher mean CriSTAL with Australian mean of 8.1 (95% CI 7.7–8.6 vs. 5.8 95% CI 5.6–5.9) and Danish mean 7.1 (95% CI 6.6–7.5 vs. 5.5 95% CI 5.4–5.6). The model with Fried Frailty score was optimal for the Australian cohort but prediction with the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) was also good (AUROC 0.825 and 0.81, respectively). Values for the Danish cohort were AUROC 0.764 with Fried and 0.794 using CFS. The most significant independent predictors of short-term death in both cohorts were advanced malignancy, frailty, male gender and advanced age. CriSTAL’s accuracy was only modest for in-hospital death prediction in either setting. Conclusions: The modified CriSTAL tool (with CFS instead of Fried’s frailty instrument) has good discriminant power to improve prognostic certainty of short-term mortality for ED physicians in both health systems. This shows promise in enhancing clinician’s confidence in initiating earlier end-of-life discussions

Multiferroicity in an organic charge-transfer salt: Electric-dipole-driven magnetism

Multiferroics, showing simultaneous ordering of electrical and magnetic degrees of freedom, are remarkable materials as seen from both the academic and technological points of view. A prominent mechanism of multiferroicity is the spin-driven ferroelectricity, often found in frustrated antiferromagnets with helical spin order. There, similar to conventional ferroelectrics, the electrical dipoles arise from an off-centre displacement of ions. However, recently a different mechanism, namely purely electronic ferroelectricity, where charge order breaks inversion symmetry, has attracted considerable interest. Here we provide evidence for this exotic type of ferroelectricity, accompanied by antiferromagnetic spin order, in a two-dimensional organic charge-transfer salt, thus representing a new class of multiferroics. Quite unexpectedly for electronic ferroelectrics, dipolar and spin order arise nearly simultaneously. This can be ascribed to the loss of spin frustration induced by the ferroelectric ordering. Hence, here the spin order is driven by the ferroelectricity, in marked contrast to the spin-driven ferroelectricity in helical magnets.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures (including 4 pages and 6 figures in supplementary information). Version 2 with minor errors corrected (legend of Fig. 3c and definition of vectors e and Q

Pharmacist intervention program to enhance hypertension control: a randomised controlled trial

Objective Studies have demonstrated that hypertension remains inadequately managed throughout the world, with lack of adherence to BP-lowering medication being a major factor. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if a pharmaceutical care program could improve antihypertensive medication adherence and blood pressure control. Setting This study was conducted in a secondary care hypertension/dyslipidemia outpatient clinic in the university teaching hospital of Cova da Beira Hospital Centre, Covilhã, located in the Eastern Central Region of Portugal. Method This report evaluates the pharmacist’s interventions during a prospective randomised controlled trial, from July 2009 to June 2010. Patients with diagnosis of essential hypertension attending the clinic for routine follow-up were randomly allocated either to a control group (no pharmaceutical care) or to an intervention group (quarterly follow-up by a hospital pharmacist during a 9-month period). The pharmacist interventions, aimed to increase medication adherence and blood pressure control, involved educational interventions and counselling tips directed to the patient. Main outcome measure Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and blood pressure control (according to JNC 7 guidelines) assessed at the baseline visit and at the end of pharmaceutical care were the main outcome measures. Blood pressure measurements were performed by blinded nurses. Medication adherence was also evaluated, using a validated questionnaire at baseline and at the end of investigation. Results A total of 197 hypertensive patients were randomly assigned to the study (99 in the control group and 98 in the intervention group). Although there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in both groups concerning mean age, gender, body mass index, and antihypertensive pharmacotherapy, blood pressure control was higher in the intervention group (P = 0.005) at the end of the study. Significant lower systolic blood pressure (−6.8 mmHg, P = 0.006) and diastolic blood pressure (−2.9 mmHg, P = 0.020) levels were observed in the intervention group. Medication adherence was also significantly higher in the intervention group at the end of the study (74.5% vs. 57.6%, P = 0.012).Conclusion Pharmacist intervention can significantly improve medication adherence and blood pressure control in patients treated with antihypertensive agents