Environmental DNA-based biomonitoring of Cuban Crocodylus and their accompanying vertebrate fauna from Zapata Swamp, Cuba.

Crocodylians globally face considerable challenges, including population decline and extensive habitat modification. Close monitoring of crocodylian populations and their habitats is imperative for the timely detection of population trends, especially in response to management interventions. Here we use eDNA metabarcoding to identify the Critically Endangered Crocodylus rhombifer and the Vulnerable C.

Performance of preschool and schoolchildren on the ProNOH protocol: macrostructure aspects.

Purpose: To investigate if the narrative score of the ProNOH protocol allows for discriminating age groups, as well as its relation with the global coherence level of the story. The performance of preschool and schoolchildren on the macrostructure aspects.

Methods: Participants were 97 preschoolers and schoolchildren with typical language development, aged between five and 12 years old, and both sexes who attended public schools.

Preheated Composite as an Alternative for Bonding Feldspathic and Hybrid Ceramics: A Microshear Bond Strength Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the bond strength between alternative or conventional luting agents and indirect restorative materials.

Materials And Methods: Blocks of a polymer-infiltrated ceramic network (PICN, Vita Enamic) and a feldspathic ceramic (FEL, Vita Mark II) were sliced and divided according to the luting agent: resin cement (PICN-RC, FEL-RC), flowable composite (PICN-FC, FEL-FC), or preheated composite (PICN-PH, FEL-PH). The ceramic surfaces were polished, etched with 5% hydrofluoric acid for 60 s, and then a silane layer was applied.

Effect of Surface-Etching Treatment, Glaze, and the Antagonist on Roughness of a Hybrid Ceramic after Two-Body Wear.

Stains and glaze are effective procedures for achieving an aesthetic smoothness on indirect restorations. Thus, the effect of surface-etching treatments previous to the stain layer and the glaze application on the occlusal and antagonist wear of a hybrid ceramic were evaluated against different antagonists. Disc-shaped samples were prepared from polymer-infiltrated ceramic network (PICN) blocks.

Effect of Light Emission Through an Optical Fiber Device on the Bond Strength of a Hollow Experimental Intraradicular Post.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of irradiation with an optical-fiber device on the bond strength of hollow and partially opaque intraradicular posts.

Materials And Methods: An optical-fiber accessory tip was attached to a light-curing unit to emit light through the central hollow of an experimental fiberglass post. The samples were divided into 4 groups (n = 80) according to the protocol (Variolink N [light cured] or Multilink N [dual-curing luting material]) and the light-curing mode (performed conventionally or with the optical fiber): GF: light-curing luting material; GFF: light-curing luting material and optical fiber; GD: dual-curing luting material; GDF: dual-curing luting material and optical fiber.

Checklist of decapod crustaceans from the coast of the So Paulo state (Brazil) supported by integrative molecular and morphological data: V. Dendrobranchiata and Pleocyemata [Achelata, Astacidea, Axiidea, Caridea (Alpheoidea and Processoidea excluded), Gebiidea, Stenopodidea].

This checklist is the fifth and last compilation on the decapod crustaceans reported to So Paulo (Brazil) coastal area, resulting from long-term multidisciplinary projects, which combined morphological analyses and molecular techniques. The current research includes 75 decapod species, herein referred as shrimps/lobsters-like (shrimps, ghost-shrimps, lobsters, and related groups), reported to So Paulo coastal area. These species occur in marine, estuarine, and amphidromous habitats and are classified into 21 families as follow: Aristeidae (2 spp.

Effect of Different Surface Treatments on the Bond Strength of the Hybrid Ceramic Characterization Layer.

Purpose: Using the microshear bond strength (µSBS) test, this study investigated the bond strength between a hybrid ceramic and the extrinsic characterization layer after different ceramic surface treatments.

Materials And Methods: Hybrid ceramic blocks (Vita Enamic, Vita Zahnfabrik) were sectioned and randomly divided into 4 groups (N = 120) according to the surface treatment and aging (n = 15): P: polishing; E: acid etching with HF; A: aluminum oxide blasting; S: self-etching ceramic primer. The specimens were silanized, then cylinders of light-curing characterization material (Vita Enamic Stain, 1.

Modified impression technique for extreme mouth-opening limitation caused by systemic scleroderma.

Systemic scleroderma is a relatively rare, autoimmune, chronic, and debilitating disease, and its etiology is unknown. The disease is characterized by vasomotor disturbances causing skin and mucosa hardening, hand stiffness, excess production of collagen fibers, and impairment of the internal organs associated with the immune system. Extreme mouth-opening limitation is one of the symptoms in the oral cavity, and compromises dental intervention.

Efficacy of S-PRG filler containing varnishes on enamel demineralization prevention.

This study evaluated the efficacy of S-PRG vanishes on preventing enamel demineralization. Bovine enamel specimens were obtained, polished and the baseline Knoop microhardness was evaluated. Specimens were stratified into six groups (n = 15), according to the varnish applied: S10-experimental varnish containing 10% of S-PRG fillers, S20-20% of S-PRG fillers, S30-30% of S-PRG fillers; S40-40% of S-PRG fillers; PC (positive control)-5% of NaF; NC (negative control)-no treatment was performed.

Phylogenomics reveals novel relationships among Neotropical crocodiles (Crocodylus spp.).

Extant species in the order Crocodylia are remnants of an ancient lineage of large-bodied archosaur reptiles. Despite decades of systematic studies, phylogenetic relationships among members of the genus Crocodylus (true crocodiles) in the Neotropics are poorly understood. Here we estimated phylogenomic relationships among the four extant Crocodylus species in the Americas.

Development and validation of new methodologies for teaching preparations in fixed partial prosthesis.

Context: Students can have some issues in the comprehension and execution of coronal preparations in fixed partial prosthesis (FPP). Some issues pertain to the amount of reduction, the inclination, and the positioning, all of which are important for the execution of an ideal preparation while respecting the required biomechanical principles.

Objective: The present study's aim was to evaluate the main problems experienced by graduation students regarding coronal preparation in FPP and to suggest teaching skills to help students and professors.

Sentence contexts and cloze probabilities for Brazilian Portuguese children and adolescents.

Purpose: In this study we investigated a set of 100 sentence contexts and their cloze probabilities to develop a database of linguistic stimuli for Brazilian Portuguese children and adolescents. The study also examined age-related changes on cloze probabilities, and specified the predictor effects of age and cloze probabilities on idiosyncratic responses and errors (semantic, syntactic, and other errors). Finally, the study also aimed to shed light on cultural effects on word generation by comparing Brazilian and Portuguese sentence databases.

High levels of population genetic differentiation in the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus).

The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a widely distributed species across coastal and brackish areas of the Neotropical region of the Americas and the Greater Antilles. Available information on patterns of genetic differentiation in C. acutus shows a complex structuring influenced by interspecific interactions (mainly hybridization) and anthropogenic actions (mostly historical hunting, recent poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation, and unintentional translocation of individuals).

Uncovering a hidden diversity: a new species of freshwater shrimp Macrobrachium (Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae) from Neotropical region (Brazil) revealed by morphological review and mitochondrial genes analyses.

A freshwater palaemonid shrimp from the São Francisco river basin in Brazil has been found to be a new species and is herein nominated as Macrobrachium veredensis sp. nov. It is morphologically similar to M.

Population genetic structure and habitat connectivity for jaguar (Panthera onca) conservation in Central Belize.

Background: Connectivity among jaguar (Panthera onca) populations will ensure natural gene flow and the long-term survival of the species throughout its range. Jaguar conservation efforts have focused primarily on connecting suitable habitat in a broad-scale. Accelerated habitat reduction, human-wildlife conflict, limited funding, and the complexity of jaguar behaviour have proven challenging to maintain connectivity between populations effectively.

Oral narrative structure and coherence of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Purpose: This study aimed to characterize and compare the use of typical story grammar elements and global coherence level in the oral narrative of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder with the narrative of children without the disorder and with typical development.

Methods: A total of 40 children of both sexes aged 5 to 10 years who attended elementary school participated in the study, 20 of whom were diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD Group), and 20 with typical development (TD Group). Participants from each group were similar in sex, chronological age, schooling and socioeconomic status.

Genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of American crocodile () in the Greater Antilles.

Four species of true crocodile (genus ) have been described from the Americas. Three of these crocodile species exhibit non-overlapping distributions- in South America, along the Caribbean coast of Mesoamerica, and confined to Cuba. The fourth, , is narrowly sympatric with each of the other three species.

Performance of Brazilian Portuguese speakers in the Test of Narrative Language (TNL).

Purpose: Investigate the performance of native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese in the Test of Narrative Language (TNL) and correlate their performance in its oral narration and narrative comprehension subtests.

Methods: Participants were 140 individuals with typical language development aged 5-0 to 11-11 (years-months) divided according to age group.

Results: Statistically significant difference was observed between the 5-year-old group and all the other age groups and between the 6-year-old group and the 8-, 9-, 10- and 11-year-old groups.

DNA sequence database as a tool to identify decapod crustaceans on the São Paulo coastline.

DNA barcoding has emerged as an efficient tool for taxonomy and other biodiversity fields. The vast and speciose group of decapod crustaceans is not an exception in the current scenario and comparing short DNA fragments has enabled researchers to overcome some taxonomic impediments to help broadening knowledge on the diversity of this group of crustaceans. Brazil is considered as an important area in terms of global marine biodiversity and some regions stand out in terms of decapod fauna, such as the São Paulo coastline.

Oral narrative of individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Purpose: To investigate and compare the oral narrative of individuals with FASD and individuals with typical language development (TLD), as well as to correlate the narrative performance with the score from 4-Digit Diagnostic Code.

Methods: Participants were 20 individuals with FASD, of both genders, with chronological age between 6 and 16 years, and 20 individuals with TLD, same gender and similar to the FASD group in age and socioeconomic status. The oral narrative was elicited using the book Frog, where are you? and the data were analyzed in terms of macrostructure, microstructure and global coherence level.

Sperm ultrastructure of shrimps from the family Penaeidae (Crustacea: Dendrobranchiata) in a phylogenetic context.

We describe the sperm ultrastructure of six penaeid species, including at least one member of each tribe (Penaeini, Parapenaeini and Trachypenaeini). Fragments of the vas deferens of the Penaeidae Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis, Farfantepenaeus paulensis, Litopenaeus schmitti, Parapenaeus americanus, Rimapenaeus constrictus and Xiphopenaeus kroyeri were fixed and processed according to the routine for transmission electron microscopy. The morphological results were contextualized in an evolutionary perspective using molecular markers for the phylogenetic reconstruction of this group.

Preschoolers' Performance on the Brazilian Adaptation of the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument - Second Edition.

Purpose: The objective was to test whether the Brazilian version of the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument - Second Edition (PLAI-2) has the potential to assess and identify differences in typical language development of Portuguese-speaking preschoolers.

Methods: The study included 354 children of both genders with typical language development who were between the ages of 3 years and 5 years 11 months. The version of the PLAI-2 previously translated into Brazilian Portuguese was used to assess the communication skills of these preschool-age children.

Cultural adaptation of the Test of Narrative Language (TNL) into Brazilian Portuguese.

Purpose: To accomplish the translation and cultural adaptation of the Test of Narrative Language (TNL) into Brazilian Portuguese.

Methods: The TNL is a formal instrument which assesses narrative comprehension and oral narration of children between the ages of 5-0 and 11-11 (years-months). The TNL translation and adaptation process had the following steps: (1) translation into the target language; (2) summary of the translated versions; (3) back-translation; (4) checking of the conceptual, semantics and cultural equivalence process and (5) pilot study (56 children within the test age range and from both genders).

Fluency aspects of oral narrative task in del22q11.2 syndrome.

Purpose: To investigate the fluency aspects of the oral narrative task in individuals with del22q11.2 syndrome and compare them with those of individuals with typical language development.

Methods: Fifteen individuals diagnosed with del22q11.