No sex difference in preen oil chemical composition during incubation in Kentish plovers.

Preen oil, the secretion from the uropygial gland of birds, may have a specific function in incubation. Consistent with this, during incubation, the chemical composition of preen oil is more likely to differ between sexes in species where only one sex incubates than in species where both sexes incubate. In this study, we tested the generality of this apparent difference, by investigating sex differences in the preen oil composition of a shorebird species, the Kentish plover (, formerly , ).

Spatial and seasonal variation in macrozoobenthic density, biomass and community composition in a major tropical intertidal area, the Bijagós Archipelago, West-Africa.

The coastal intertidal ecosystem of the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau, one of the largest and most important in West Africa, sustains a considerable proportion of the migratory shorebird populations of the East Atlantic Flyway and operates as a nursery area for benthic fish in the region. The macrozoobenthos in these mudflats constitute the main food source for both groups so that spatial and temporal variation in their abundance and community composition is likely to influence the abundance and distribution of fish and birds. In this study we described the spatial and temporal dynamics in the density, biomass, and community composition of macrozoobenthos across six intertidal flats in three islands of the Bijagós Archipelago.

Facemasks during aerobic exercise: Implications for cardiac rehabilitation programs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Introduction And Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, among the safety measures adopted, use of facemasks during exercise training sessions in cardiac rehabilitation programs raised concerns regarding possible detrimental effects on exercise capacity. Our study examined the cardiorespiratory impact of wearing two types of the most common facemasks during treadmill aerobic training.

Methods: Twelve healthy health professionals completed three trials of a symptom-limited Bruce treadmill protocol: Without a mask, with a surgical mask and with a respirator.

Cardiac rehabilitation and improvement of chronotropic incompetence: Is it the exercise or just the beta blockers?

Introduction: Clinical use of chronotropic response has been limited due to lack of consensus on the appropriate formula for chronotropic index (Ci) calculation and the definition of chronotropic incompetence.

Objectives: To assess the effects of cardiac rehabilitation programs (CRP) on Ci, irrespective of betablockers (BB) use and dosage. Assess the relative contribution of change in Ci on improvement in functional capacity.

Linking migratory performance to breeding phenology and productivity in an Afro-Palearctic long-distance migrant.

Understanding the relationship between migratory performance and fitness is crucial for predicting population dynamics of migratory species. In this study, we used geolocators to explore migration performance (speed and duration of migratory movements, migratory timings) and its association with breeding phenology and productivity in an Afro-Palearctic insectivore, the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster), breeding in Iberian Peninsula. Bee-eaters migrated at higher travel speeds and had shorter travel duration in spring compared to autumn.

Facemasks during aerobic exercise: Implications for cardiac rehabilitation programs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Introduction And Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, among the safety measures adopted, use of facemasks during exercise training sessions in cardiac rehabilitation programs raised concerns regarding possible detrimental effects on exercise capacity. Our study examined the cardiorespiratory impact of wearing two types of the most common facemasks during treadmill aerobic training.

Methods: Twelve healthy health professionals completed three trials of a symptom-limited Bruce treadmill protocol: Without a mask, with a surgical mask and with a respirator.

Time-trends and predictors of interhospital transfers and 30-day rehospitalizations after acute coronary syndrome from 2000-2015.

Aims: Assess trends and factors associated with interhospital transfers (IHT) and 30-day acute coronary syndrome (ACS) rehospitalizations in a national administrative database of patients admitted with an ACS between 2000-2015.

Methods And Results: Cohort study of patients hospitalized with ACS from 2000 to 2015, using a validated linkage algorithm to identify and link patient-level sequential hospitalizations occurring within 30 days from first admission (considering all hospitalizations within the 30-day timeframe as belonging to the same ACS episode of care-ACS-EC). From 212,481 ACS-EC, 42,670 (20.

Effectiveness of Tele-rehabilitation Programs in Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Tele-rehabilitation (TR) may be an effective alternative or complement to centre-based cardiac rehabilitation (CBCR) with heart failure (HF) patients, helping overcome accessibility problems to CBCR. The aim of this study is to systematically review the literature in order to assess the clinical effectiveness of TR programs in the management of chronic HF patients, compared to standard of care and standard rehabilitation (CBCR).

Methods And Results: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on the effect and safety of TR programs in HF patients, regarding cardiovascular death, heart failure-related hospitalizations, functional capacity and quality of life.

Cardiac rehabilitation in older patients: Indication or limitation?

Objective: To assess the clinical impact of a cardiac rehabilitation program in an older population.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 731 coronary patients who attended phase 2 of a cardiac rehabilitation program between January 2009 and December 2016. We compared the response to the program of older (≥65 years) and younger (<65 years) patients, analyzing changes in metabolic profile (including body mass index, waist circumference and lipid profile), exercise capacity, cardiac autonomic regulation parameters (such as chronotropic index and resting heart rate), and health-related quality of life scores.

Population- and age-specific patterns of haemosporidian assemblages and infection levels in European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster).

Amongst other factors, host behaviour critically determines the patterns with which blood parasites occur in wild host populations. In particular, migratory hosts that sequentially occupy distant sites within and across years are expected to show distinct patterns of blood parasitism depending on their population-specific schedules and whereabouts. Here, we monitored haemosporidian parasitism in two populations of European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster), breeding in Portugal and Germany, with fundamentally different spatiotemporal migration patterns and colonisation histories.

Internal deterministic record linkage using indirect identifiers for matching of same-patient hospital transfers and early readmissions after acute coronary syndrome in a nationwide hospital discharge database: a retrospective observational validation study.

Objectives: To assess validity of record linkage using multiple indirect personal identifiers to identify same-patient hospitalisations and definition of episode of care (EC) due to acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods: Using national hospital discharge data to identify all admissions due to ACS, we used six different linkage rules using indirect identifiers with increasing level of detail and compared validity against a pseudonymised unique identifier used as gold standard (GS). Contiguous hospitalisations within each matched group of hospitalizations occurring within 28 days of each other were considered one EC.

Role of Left Ventricle Function in Cardiac Rehabilitation Outcomes in Stage B Heart Failure Patients.

Purpose: To study the role of left ventricle systolic function in cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) response in stage B heart failure patients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was completed of 691 patients with previous myocardial infarction that underwent a CRP, classified in 3 groups: preserved ejection fraction (pEF), mid-range ejection fraction (mrEF), and reduced ejection fraction (rEF). We compared the response to CRP analyzing the relative changes of estimated cardiorespiratory fitness (CRFe), resting heart rate (HR), and chronotropic index (CI).

Benefits of Cardiac Rehabilitation in Coronary Artery Disease: DOES WEIGHT MATTER?

Purpose: To evaluate the response of patients with obesity to a cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP), compared with patients without obesity.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 731 patients who completed phase II of a CRP after an acute coronary syndrome. The response to the CRP was assessed using the relative changes in exercise capacity (EC), resting heart rate (HR), and chronotropic index (CI).

Understanding how birds rebuild fat stores during migration: insights from an experimental study.

Mechanisms underlying fat accumulation for long-distance migration are not fully understood. This is especially relevant in the context of global change, as many migrants are dealing with changes in natural habitats and associated food sources and energy stores. The continental Black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa limosa is a long-distance migratory bird that has undergone a considerable dietary shift over the past few decades.

Progression of aerobic exercise intensity in a cardiac rehabilitation program.

Introduction And Objectives: To describe the progression of aerobic exercise intensity in patients on a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of a random sample of patients referred for CR after acute coronary syndrome between 2008 and 2016. The weekly peak exercise intensity achieved during aerobic exercise was estimated by treadmill speed and grade at peak effort and the corresponding perception of effort was assessed using the Borg scale.

Bone Marrow Edema: A Case of Regional Migratory Osteoporosis.

Bone marrow edema represents a typical pattern on magnetic resonance imaging consisting of an area of abnormal bone signal with low to intermediate intensity on T1-weighted images and a high intensity on fat-suppressed T2-weighted images. Bone marrow edema syndromes are a group of entities characterized by idiopathic bone marrow edema and osteoporosis. Regional migratory osteoporosis is a bone marrow edema syndrome characterized by a self-limited migrating arthralgia of the lower limbs not related to trauma or other events.

Neurocognitive impairment after acute coronary syndrome: Prevalence and characterization in a hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation program sample.

Prospective studies have shown the relation between acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and neurocognitive dysfunction with prevalence ranging between 10.51% and 66.8%.

Inequalities in access to cardiac rehabilitation after an acute coronary syndrome: the EPiHeart cohort.

Objectives: To estimate cardiac rehabilitation (CR) referral and participation rates among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and to identify their determinants, in two Portuguese regions.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Patients consecutively admitted to the cardiology department of two hospitals, one in the district of Porto and one in the north-east region (NER) of Portugal, were enrolled in the EPIHeart cohort and then followed up for 6 months.

Metabolic plasticity for subcutaneous fat accumulation in a long-distance migratory bird traced by HO.

The migrant black-tailed godwit () traditionally used natural wetlands in the Iberian Peninsula to prepare for migratory flights by feeding mainly in estuaries. In recent decades, this species has become increasingly dependent on rice fields, thereby relying on a plant-based diet for fuelling. Dietary fatty acids (FA) seem to be determinant to the composition of accumulated subcutaneous fat in migratory birds.

Physiological, Morphological and Behavioural Responses of Self-Feeding Precocial Chicks Copying with Contrasting Levels of Water Salinity during Development.

Combined physiological and behavioural responses to salt loads during development have rarely been studied in air-breathing vertebrates able to inhabit hypersaline habitats, but they may be of particular importance in understanding, for example, the differences among species in patterns of habitat use or ontogenetic diet switches. Here, we compared the physiological and behavioural responses of self-feeding precocial chicks developed in contrasting levels of water salinity. The model species was the Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) a precocial shorebird that breeds in a range of habitats from freshwater to hypersaline wetlands.

High gene flow on a continental scale in the polyandrous Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus.

Gene flow promotes genetic homogeneity of species in time and space. Gene flow can be modulated by sex-biased dispersal that links population genetics to mating systems. We investigated the phylogeography of the widely distributed Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus.