Ichthyofauna from tributaries of the Paranapanema River basin, Cerqueira César municipality, southeastern Brazil.

Here we provide an ichthyofaunistic inventory of the Cerqueira César municipality, in the middle Paranapanema River drainage, upper Paraná River basin, São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. Collections were carried out in 10 streams and in the Novo River, an important watercourse in the Paranapanema River basin. We caught a total of 808 individuals comprising 49 fish species.

Monitoring the genetic diversity in holothurian populations from the Italian coasts with mitochondrial DNA sequences.

Sea cucumbers are deposit feeding members of marine benthic communities. The over-exploitation of sea cucumber natural stocks, especially in the Mediterranean basin, is having negative impacts on the marine ecosystem. This concerns had led the Italian government to take legal actions to preserve these important marine resources.

Thermal sensitivity of field metabolic rate predicts differential futures for bluefin tuna juveniles across the Atlantic Ocean.

Changing environmental temperatures impact the physiological performance of fishes, and consequently their distributions. A mechanistic understanding of the linkages between experienced temperature and the physiological response expressed within complex natural environments is often lacking, hampering efforts to project impacts especially when future conditions exceed previous experience. In this study, we use natural chemical tracers to determine the individual experienced temperatures and expressed field metabolic rates of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) during their first year of life.

COVID-19 and kidney: role of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the induction of renal damage.

Objective: SARS-CoV-2 causes acute respiratory disease, interstitial and alveolar pneumonia, and involves numerous organs and systems such as the kidney, heart, digestive tract, blood, and nervous system. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of renal manifestations in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection.

Patients And Methods: We performed a monocentric, cross-sectional, observational study, conducted on 114 patients with SARS-CoV-2.

To Be, or Not to Be: That Is the Hamletic Question of Cryptic Evolution in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Species Complex.

Despite a high species diversity, skates (Rajiformes) exhibit remarkably conservative morphology and ecology. Limited trait variations occur within and between species, and cryptic species have been reported among sister and non-sister taxa, suggesting that species complexes may be subject to stabilising selection. Three sibling species are currently recognised in the complex: (i) occurring along the Portuguese and Mediterranean coasts, (ii) in the Central-Eastern Atlantic off West Africa and (iii) in the Western Indian Ocean off South Africa.

Isotopic life-history signatures are retained in modern and ancient Atlantic bluefin tuna vertebrae.

Isotopic, tagging and diet studies of modern-day teleosts lacked the ability to contextualise life-history and trophic dynamics with a historical perspective, when exploitation rates were lower and climatic conditions differed. Isotopic analysis of vertebrae, the most plentiful hard-part in archaeological and museum collections, can potentially fill this data-gap. Chemical signatures of habitat and diet use during growth are retained by vertebrae during bone formation.

Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury and Endothelial Dysfunction: The Role of Vascular and Biochemical Parameters.

Introduction: Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI) is one of the main causes of acute renal failure in hospitalized patients, following the administration of iodinated contrast medium used for CT scans and angiographic procedures. CIAKI determines a high cardiovascular risk and appears to be one of the most feared complications of coronary angiography, causing a notable worsening of the prognosis with high morbidity and mortality.

Aim: To evaluate a possible association between the renal resistive index (RRI) and the development of CIAKI, as well as an association with the main subclinical markers of atherosclerosis and the main cardiovascular risk factors.

Parasympathetic activity and total fibrotic kidney in autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease patients: a pilot study.

Purpose: Renin-angiotensin system hyperactivation in autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients leads to early hypertension. Cystic enlargement probably causes parenchymal hypoxia, renin secretion, and endothelial dysfunction. Sympathetic and parasympathetic balance is altered in this condition, especially during the night, also affecting blood pressure circadian rhythm.

Association between Cognitive Impairment and Malnutrition in Hemodialysis Patients: Two Sides of the Same Coin.

Cognitive impairment and malnutrition are prevalent in patients on hemodialysis (HD), and they negatively affect the outcomes of HD patients. Evidence suggests that cognitive impairment and malnutrition may be associated, but clinical studies to assess this association in HD patients are lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between cognitive impairment evaluated by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score and nutritional status evaluated by the malnutrition inflammation score (MIS) in HD patients.

Polymer Solar Cells with Active Layer Thickness Compatible with Scalable Fabrication Processes: A Meta-Analysis.

Organic photovoltaics (OPV) has been considered for a long time a promising emerging solar technology. Currently, however, market shares of OPV are practically non-existent. A detailed meta-analysis of the literature published until mid-2021 is presented, focusing on one of the remaining issues that need to be addressed to translate the recent remarkable progress, obtained in devices' performance at lab-scale level, into the requirements able to boost the manufacturing-scale production.

Literature review on the cross-link between ocular and renal disease: renin angiotensin aldosterone system is a main actor.

Objective: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and ocular disease share several cardiovascular risk factors as well as pathogenetic mechanisms having Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS) as main actor. Moreover, kidney and eyes have common genetic and embryonic origin. In this literature review, we present main evidence supporting this association for early identifying diseases affecting both systems and evaluating potential multi-target therapeutic strategies.

DNA metabarcoding suggests dietary niche partitioning in the Adriatic European hake.

The Northern Adriatic Sea (FAO Geographical Sub-Area 17) is one of the most productive fishing areas of the Mediterranean Sea and it includes a broad diversity of habitats. In the Northern Adriatic basin, the Pomo Pit (200-273 m of depth) is one of the most important areas of aggregation for some demersal stocks shared in the Adriatic Sea and it is an important spawning/nursery area of the European hake (Merluccius merluccius). Through a metabarcoding approach we investigated the feeding habits of European hake, both inside and outside the Pomo Pit, and their temporal variability comparing samples collected in 2016 and 2014.

Fungal Patterns from Soils in Madagascar: an Insight from Maromizaha Forest (Evergreen Humid Forest) to Outside (Deciduous Forest).

Soil fungal diversity was studied by next-generation sequencing and compared in two different Malagasy ecosystems, the first a New Protected Area (Maromizaha NAP) that is a rich humid evergreen forest and the second a degraded and declined deciduous forest (Andaravina) whose area has been also eroded. Both areas, however, have comparable annual rainfalls and soil pH values. So it was of interest to examine the soil fungal diversity in each system and compare them.

Cholemic Nephropathy as Cause of Acute and Chronic Kidney Disease. Update on an Under-Diagnosed Disease.

Cholemic nephropathy (CN) is a recognized cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with severe hyperbilirubinemia (sHyb) and jaundice. Pathophysiological mechanisms of CN are not completely understood, but it seems caused both by direct toxicity of cholephiles and bile casts formation in nephrons enhanced by prolonged exposure to sHyb, particularly in the presence of promoting factors, as highlighted by a literature reviewed and by personal experience. The aim of our update is to retrace CN in its pathophysiology, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment, underlining the role of sHyb, promoting factors, and CN-AKI diagnostic criteria in the different clinical settings associated with this often-concealed disease.

Screening of QTc interval and global autonomic activity in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis hypertensive patients.

Objective: Arterial hypertension (AH) represents a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is associated to several complications, such as prolonged corrected QT (QTc) interval and impaired heart rate variability (HRV). Secondary causes of AH include autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS), both known to be related to arrhythmic risk and autonomic imbalance. The aim of the study is to evaluate whether global autonomic activity and QTc interval differently affect ADPKD and ARAS hypertensive patients.

Ancient DNA SNP-panel data suggests stability in bluefin tuna genetic diversity despite centuries of fluctuating catches in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus; BFT) abundance was depleted in the late 20th and early 21st century due to overfishing. Historical catch records further indicate that the abundance of BFT in the Mediterranean has been fluctuating since at least the 16th century. Here we build upon previous work on ancient DNA of BFT in the Mediterranean by comparing contemporary (2009-2012) specimens with archival (1911-1926) and archaeological (2nd century BCE-15th century CE) specimens that represent population states prior to these two major periods of exploitation, respectively.

Molecular Taxonomy and Diversification of Atlantic Skates (Chondrichthyes, Rajiformes): Adding More Pieces to the Puzzle of Their Evolutionary History.

Conservation and long-term management plans of marine species need to be based upon the universally recognized key-feature of species identity. This important assignment is particularly challenging in skates (Rajiformes) in which the phenotypic similarity between some taxa and the individual variability in others, hampers accurate species identification. Here, 432 individual skate samples collected from four major ocean areas of the Atlantic were barcoded and taxonomically analysed.

Chronic Kidney Disease as a Systemic Inflammatory Syndrome: Update on Mechanisms Involved and Potential Treatment.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by manifestations and symptoms involving systemic organs and apparatus, associated with elevated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, bone disease, and other tissue involvement. Arterial hypertension (AH), diabetes mellitus (DM), and dyslipidemia, with glomerular or congenital diseases, are the traditional risk factors recognized as the main causes of progressive kidney dysfunction evolving into uremia. Acute kidney injury (AKI) has recently been considered an additional risk factor for the worsening of CKD or the development of CKD de novo.

Effects of non-invasive ventilation on renal and endothelial function in patients with respiratory failure.

Objective: Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIV) is now an indispensable safeguard in the management of many pathologies. However, sometimes the positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) showed harmful effects on renal function, although effects on renal hemodynamic are unclear. We aimed at evaluating the effects of NIV on renal and endothelial function, in patients with chronic or acute respiratory failure.

Canning Processes Reduce the DNA-Based Traceability of Commercial Tropical Tunas.

Canned tuna is one of the most widely traded seafood products internationally and is of growing demand. There is an increasing concern over the vulnerability of canned tuna supply chains to species mislabelling and fraud. Extensive processing conditions in canning operations can lead to the degradation and fragmentation of DNA, complicating product traceability.

HCV cirrhotic patients treated with direct-acting antivirals: Detection of tubular dysfunction and resolution after viral clearance.

Background/aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been identified in tubular epithelial cells of infected patients; however, the presence of tubular dysfunction, which is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), has never been examined in vivo. The present prospective longitudinal study aimed to estimate the prevalence of tubular dysfunction alone or with glomerular damage and its evolution after HCV clearance in cirrhotic patients.

Methods: One hundred and thirty-five consecutive Child-Pugh A cirrhotic patients were evaluated before antiviral treatment and 6 months after the end of therapy.