Assessing soil CO emission on eucalyptus species using UAV-based reflectance and vegetation indices.

Eucalyptus species play an important role in the global carbon cycle, especially in reducing the greenhouse effect as well as storing atmospheric CO₂. Thus, assessing the amount of CO₂ released by the soil in forest areas can generate important information for environmental monitoring. This study aims to verify the relation between soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) flux (FCO₂), spectral bands, and vegetation indices (VIs) derived from a UAV-based multispectral camera over an area of eucalyptus species.

Role of Na1.6-mediated persistent sodium current and bursting-pacemaker properties in breathing rhythm generation.

Inspiration is the inexorable active phase of breathing. The brainstem pre-Bötzinger complex (preBötC) gives rise to inspiratory neural rhythm, but its underlying cellular and ionic bases remain unclear. The long-standing "pacemaker hypothesis" posits that the persistent Na current (I) that gives rise to bursting-pacemaker properties in preBötC interneurons is essential for rhythmogenesis.

Framework for health care quality and evidence-based practice in radiology departments: A regional study on radiographer's perceptions.

Introduction: The main goals of this study were to describe, in an integrated and multidimensional way, the conditions related to the quality of care in radiology departments from Algarve (Portugal), to assess the perspective of radiographers on the use of scientific evidence in clinical practice and to validate a model that characterizes the conditions for continuous improvement.

Methods: A cross sectional study was performed in four radiology departments from public and private healthcare facilities from Algarve region (Portugal). A paper-based survey was sent to all radiographers to assess the quality systems implemented in their radiology departments and their perspective on the use of scientific evidence in clinical practice.

Anabolic androgenic steroid-induced hypogonadism, a reversible condition in male individuals? A systematic review.

The anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are clinically used as an androgen replacement, in hypogonadism treatment, to induce puberty, and also in the treatment of chronic degenerative diseases. The AAS use out of clinical context is becoming massively, being used merely for aesthetic reasons. AAS abuse may cause severe disarrangement on the HPG axis and generate a significant decrease in testosterone synthesis and secretion by the testes.

Neuroprotector Effect of Daily 8-Minutes of High-Intensity Interval Training in Rat Aβ Alzheimer Disease Model.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder, and amyloid peptide plays a central role in its pathogenesis. Physical training contributes as a beneficial adaptation to AD. However, these effects may be underestimated because much of the literature used fixed training prescription variables (intensity and volume) throughout the protocol.

Novel renal biomarkers show that creatine supplementation is safe: a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of creatine supplementation (CS) on renal function in young, healthy, and active subjects. We used a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial as the study design. Thirty-six healthy male university students were recruited and divided into three groups: group placebo, group G3 (3 g/day of CS), and group G5 (5 g/day of CS).

Disorder of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis induced by abusing of anabolic-androgenic steroids for short time: A case report.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis functionality on a bodybuilding competitioner before, during and after the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids. A young healthy man was followed up for 4 months. The subject reported his drug administration protocol through periodic interviews and performed laboratory tests to monitor the function of his hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.

Multiscale entropy analysis of heart rate variability in heart failure, hypertensive, and sinoaortic-denervated rats: classical and refined approaches.

The analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) by nonlinear methods has been gaining increasing interest due to their ability to quantify the complexity of cardiovascular regulation. In this study, multiscale entropy (MSE) and refined MSE (RMSE) were applied to track the complexity of HRV as a function of time scale in three pathological conscious animal models: rats with heart failure (HF), spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and rats with sinoaortic denervation (SAD). Results showed that HF did not change HRV complexity, although there was a tendency to decrease the entropy in HF animals.

Effect of High Intensity Interval and Continuous Swimming Training on Body Mass Adiposity Level and Serum Parameters in High-Fat Diet Fed Rats.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of interval and continuous training on the body mass gain and adiposity levels of rats fed a high-fat diet. Forty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups, standard diet and high-fat diet, and received their respective diets for a period of four weeks without exercise stimuli. After this period, the animals were randomly divided into six groups (n = 8): control standard diet (CS), control high-fat diet (CH), continuous training standard diet (CTS), continuous training high-fat diet (CTH), interval training standard diet (ITS), and interval training high-fat diet (ITH).

Impact of the Bowel Management Program on the quality of life in children with fecal incontinence.

Purpose: Evaluate the impact of implementing Bowel Management Program (BMP) on quality of life (QoL) in children with fecal incontinence (FI).

Methods: Children 3-12 years referred to the Children's Treatment Center of FI were included and categorized accordingto the tendency to constipation (dilated colon; group 1) or diarrhea (non-dilated colon; group 2). Evaluations were performed before and after 3 months of BMP implementation.

Omeprazole increases the efficacy of a soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitor in a PGE₂ induced pain model.

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are potent endogenous analgesic metabolites produced from arachidonic acid by cytochrome P450s (P450s). Metabolism of EETs by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) reduces their activity, while their stabilization by sEH inhibition decreases both inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Here, we tested the complementary hypothesis that increasing the level of EETs through induction of P450s by omeprazole (OME), can influence pain related signaling by itself, and potentiate the anti-hyperalgesic effect of sEH inhibitor.

[Dual contraception adherence among HIV-infected women].

Purpose: To determine adherence to dual contraception using depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) and condom among HIV-infected women.

Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out from December 2013 to September 2014 at a local reference center, with application of questionnaire elaborated after Delphi panel and content validation to 114 HIV(+) women aged 15 to 49 years, using DMPA plus condom for contraception.

Results: Mean age was 33.

A Short Peptide That Mimics the Binding Domain of TGF-β1 Presents Potent Anti-Inflammatory Activity.

The transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) is a pleiotropic cytokine with multiple roles in development, wound healing, and immune regulation. TGF-β1-mediated immune dysfunction may lead to pathological conditions, such as inflammation. Chronic inflammatory process is characterized by a continuous release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the inhibition or the blockage of these cytokines signaling pathways are considered a target treatment.

Leucine minimizes denervation-induced skeletal muscle atrophy of rats through akt/mtor signaling pathways.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of leucine treatment (0.30 mM) on muscle weight and signaling of myoproteins related to synthesis and degradation pathways of soleus muscle following seven days of complete sciatic nerve lesion. Wistar rats (n = 24) of 3-4 months of age (192 ± 23 g) were used.

The Effect of Protein Restriction in the In Vitro Metabolism of Albendazole in Rats.

This work presents an in vitro investigation of the effect of protein restriction on the metabolism of albendazole (ABZ). This study was conducted using liver microsomal fractions obtained from Wistar rats. For the quantitative analysis, a multidimensional High Performance Liquid Chromatography (2D HPLC) method was fully validated for the determination of the ABZ metabolites: albendazole sulfoxide, albendazole sulfone and albendazole 2-aminesulfone.

Toll-like receptor 9 plays a key role in the autonomic cardiac and baroreflex control of arterial pressure.

The crosstalk between the immune and the autonomic nervous system may impact the cardiovascular function. Toll-like receptors are components of the innate immune system and play developmental and physiological roles. Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension and heart failure.

Cholinergic stimulation with pyridostigmine protects myocardial infarcted rats against ischemic-induced arrhythmias and preserves connexin43 protein.

We investigated the effects of acute pyridostigmine (PYR) treatment, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, on arterial pressure (AP), heart rate (HR), cardiac sympathovagal balance, and the incidence of arrhythmias during the first 4 h after myocardial infarction (MI) in anesthetized rats. Male Wistar rats were implanted with catheters into the femoral artery and vein for AP recordings and drug administration. Rats received the autonomic receptor blockers methyl-atropine (1 mg/kg iv) and propranolol (2 mg/kg iv) at intervals of 15 min, 1 h after saline (n=16) or PYR (0.

Cardiac disease as the presenting feature of mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA: A case report.

Severe cardiac involvement is a common feature of mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS), but occurs only rarely in MPS III (Sanfilippo syndrome). We report herein a case of MPS III-A having cardiac involvement as its first manifestation. Analysis of the gene showed homozygosity for the novel mutation p.

Biosurfactant-and-bioemulsifier produced by a promising Cunninghamella echinulata isolated from Caatinga soil in the northeast of Brazil.

A Mucoralean fungus was isolated from Caatinga soil of Pernambuco, Northeast of Brazil, and was identified as Cunninghamella echinulata by morphological, physiological, and biochemical tests. This strain was evaluated for biosurfactant/bioemulsifier production using soybean oil waste (SOW) and corn steep liquor (CSL) as substrates, added to basic saline solution, by measuring surface tension and emulsifier index and activity. The best results showed the surface water tension was reduced from 72 to 36 mN/m, and an emulsification index (E₂₄) of 80% was obtained using engine oil and burnt engine oil, respectively.

A clinical multicenter study of orofacial features in 26 brazilian patients with different types of mucopolysaccharidosis.

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the orofacial features of 26 unrelated Brazilian patients with mucopolysaccharidosis and to verify any possible associations between these findings and specific types of mucopolysaccharidosis.

Methods: Patients were diagnosed with mucopolysaccharidosis and clinically evaluated. Following consent, a clinical assessment form was completed.

[Factors associated with HIV/AIDS infection among adolescents and young adults enrolled in a Counseling and Testing Center in the State of Bahia, Brazil].

The study seeks to investigate factors associated with HIV infection among adolescents and young adults registered in the Counseling and Testing Center (CTC) of Feira de Santana, Bahia. An analytical study with a cross-sectional design was conducted using data from the CTC Information System in the period from 2007 to 2011. Information on 3,768 individuals were studied and the proportional difference was checked using the Pearson chi-squared test and stratified analysis by Prevalence Rate (PR) with confidence intervals of 95%, considering the serological status as the outcome.

The introduced tree Prosopis juliflora is a serious threat to native species of the Brazilian Caatinga vegetation.

Despite its economic importance in the rural context, the Prosopis juliflora tree species has already invaded millions of hectares globally (particularly rangelands), threatening native biodiversity and rural sustainability. Here we examine seedling growth (leaf area, stem diameter, plant height) and seedling mortality across five native plant species of the Caatinga vegetation in response to competition with P. juliflora.

Bite force in patients who are candidates for gastroplasty.

Background: Chewing is composed of structures that must be balanced to achieve optimal function and bite force is one of the components of this function.

Aim: To analyze the bite force of candidates for bariatric surgeries.

Method: Was used surface electromyography Miotool 200/400 (Miotec® , Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil) coupled to bite load cell, SDS1000 sensor, to record the maximum force reading during the execution of the bite.

Exergaming as a strategic tool in the fight against childhood obesity: a systematic review.

Improper use of electronic media is considered a major contributing factor to childhood obesity. However, exergames, a new generation of active games, have made it possible to combine electronic entertainment with physical exercise. The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze the use of exergaming as a strategic tool in the fight against childhood obesity.