Crystallization Pathways of Iron Formations: Insights From Magnetic Properties and High-Resolution Imaging of the 2.7 Ga Carajás Formation, Brazil.

Banded iron formations (BIFs) are chemical sedimentary rocks commonly utilized for exploring the chemistry and redox state of the Precambrian ocean. Despite their significance, many aspects regarding the crystallization pathways of iron oxides in BIFs remain loosely constrained. In this study, we combine magnetic properties characterization with high-resolution optical and electron imaging of finely laminated BIFs from the 2.

Long-term persistency of a strong non-dipole field in the South Atlantic.

Earth's magnetic field exhibits a dominant dipole morphology. Notwithstanding, significant deviations from the dipole are evident today, particularly the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), characterized by anomalously low-field intensity and high directional variability, diminishing the field's shielding effect. To assess the persistence of SAA-like features over multimillion-year scales, we combine paleomagnetic data from Trindade Island (20°30'S, 29°22'W) with an evaluation of paleosecular variation (PSV) over the past 10 Myr.

Biochemical analysis of vitreous humor and synovial fluid in the estimation of early postmortem interval: A meta-analytical approach.

The estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) is a significant challenge in legal medicine and forensic sciences due to the dynamic and continuous decomposition of organisms after death. Thanatochemistry has emerged as a promising area to estimate PMI by measuring the concentrations of postmortem biochemical markers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize evidence on postmortem biochemical alterations in vitreous humor (VH) and synovial fluid (SF) to estimate early PMI.

Dawn of diverse shelled and carbonaceous animal microfossils at ~ 571 Ma.

The Ediacaran-Cambrian transition documents a critical stage in the diversification of animals. The global fossil record documents the appearance of cloudinomorphs and other shelled tubular organisms followed by non-biomineralized small carbonaceous fossils and by the highly diversified small shelly fossils between ~ 550 and 530 Ma. Here, we report diverse microfossils in thin sections and hand samples from the Ediacaran Bocaina Formation, Brazil, separated into five descriptive categories: elongate solid structures (ES); elongate filled structures (EF); two types of equidimensional structures (EQ 1 and 2) and elongate hollow structures with coiled ends (CE).

Primordial magnetotaxis in putative giant paleoproterozoic magnetofossils.

Magnetotactic bacteria produce chains of nanoscopic iron minerals used for navigation, which can be preserved over geological timescales in the form of magnetofossils. Micrometer-sized magnetite crystals with unusual shapes suggesting a biologically controlled mineralization have been found in the geological record and termed giant magnetofossils. The biological origin and function of giant magnetofossils remains unclear, due to the lack of modern analogues to giant magnetofossils.

Metallic artifact suppression with MAVRIC-SL in magnetic resonance imaging for assessing chronic pain after hip or knee arthroplasty.

Objective: To analyze the association between osteolysis at the prosthesis interfaces, as determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with multiacquisition variable-resonance image combination selective (MAVRIC-SL) sequences, and clinical severity after knee or hip arthroplasty, as well as to assess interobserver and intraobserver agreement on periprosthetic bone resorption.

Materials And Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 47 patients (49 joints) under postoperative follow-up after knee or hip arthroplasty, with chronic pain, between March 2019 and August 2020. All of the patients completed the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire.

Differences in volume, density, electrolyte concentration, and total proteins in the fluid of the paranasal sinuses of freshwater and saltwater drowning victims: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study summarized the available evidence on the differences in volume, density, electrolyte concentration, and total proteins in paranasal sinus fluid between freshwater and saltwater drowning victims. A systematic search was conducted in electronic databases and gray literature, resulting in the inclusion of five studies with 234 drowning victims (92 saltwater incidents and 142 freshwater incidents). Meta-analyses using the inverse-of-variance method and a random-effects model were performed, reporting effect sizes as standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Development of ibuprofen-loaded electrospun materials suitable for surgical implantation in peripheral nerve injury.

The development of nerve wraps for use in the repair of peripheral nerves has shown promise over recent years. A pharmacological effect to improve regeneration may be achieved by loading such materials with therapeutic agents, for example ibuprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug with neuroregenerative properties. In this study, four commercially available polymers (polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL) and two co-polymers containing different ratios of PLA to PCL) were used to fabricate ibuprofen-loaded nerve wraps using blend electrospinning.

Divergence time estimates for the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF1α) reveal an ancient emergence of animals in low-oxygen environments.

Unveiling the tempo and mode of animal evolution is necessary to understand the links between environmental changes and biological innovation. Although the earliest unambiguous metazoan fossils date to the late Ediacaran period, molecular clock estimates agree that the last common ancestor (LCA) of all extant animals emerged ~850 Ma, in the Tonian period, before the oldest evidence for widespread ocean oxygenation at ~635-560 Ma in the Ediacaran period. Metazoans are aerobic organisms, that is, they are dependent on oxygen to survive.

The role of paranasal sinus fluid in determining drowning as the cause of death: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Drowning is a significant global cause of unintentional injury fatalities, and accurate forensic diagnosis of drowning remains a challenge due to the nonspecific nature of post-mortem findings obtained through classical autopsy methods. Our manuscript addresses this issue by focusing on the emerging use of paranasal sinus fluid as a valuable tool in determining the cause of death, specifically in distinguishing drowning from non-drowning cases. The study provided a comprehensive summary of available evidence from observational studies that compared findings in the paranasal sinuses between drowning and non-drowning victims, analyzing parameters such as the presence of fluid, fluid volume, and density.

Exploring the Potential of Heterosis to Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Popcorn Plants.

Nitrogen is crucial for plant growth and development, and improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is a viable strategy for reducing dependence on nitrogen inputs and promoting sustainability. While the benefits of heterosis in corn are well known, the physiological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon in popcorn are less understood. We aimed to investigate the effects of heterosis on growth and physiological traits in four popcorn lines and their hybrids under two contrasting nitrogen conditions.

Barking up the Right Tree: Using Tree Bark to Track Airborne Particles in School Environment and Link Science to Society.

Children's exposure to air pollution affects both their health and learning skills. Fine and ultrafine particulate matter (PM2.5, PM1), notably issued from traffic sources in urban centers, belong to the most potential harmful health hazards.

Additive and Non-Additive Effects on the Control of Key Agronomic Traits in Popcorn Lines under Contrasting Phosphorus Conditions.

Phosphorus is a non-renewable natural resource that will run out of reserves in the upcoming decades, making it essential to understanding the inheritance of nutrient use efficiency for selecting superior genotypes. This study investigated the additive and non-additive effects of commercially relevant traits for the popcorn crop (grain yield-GY, popping expansion-PE, and expanded popcorn volume per hectare-PV) in different conditions of phosphorus (P) availability in two locations in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Six S lines previously selected for P use-L59, L70, and P7, efficient and responsive; and L54, L75, and L80, inefficient and non-responsive-were used as testers in crosses with 15 progenies from the fifth cycle of intrapopulation recurrent selection of UENF-14, with adaptation to the North and Northwest regions of Rio de Janeiro State.

The Volatile Profiles and DNA Barcodes of Lauraceae Species from the Ocotea Complex with Occurrence in the Brazilian Amazon.

The Ocotea complex accommodates most of the taxonomic diversity of Neotropical Lauraceae with economic importance and biological potential attributed to their essential oils (EOs) and extracts. However, the botanical taxonomy has had limitations due to the difficulty of identifying and delimiting species and genera. The chemical and molecular markers of Ocotea complex species in Pará state, Brazil, were assessed according to their EO compositions and DNA sequences of matK, trnL-trnF, and ITS regions.

Stage-independent biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease from the living retina: an animal study.

The early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders is still an open issue despite the many efforts to address this problem. In particular, Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains undiagnosed for over a decade before the first symptoms. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is now common and widely available and has been used to image the retina of AD patients and healthy controls to search for biomarkers of neurodegeneration.

A New Approach for Including Social Conventions into Social Robots Navigation by Using Polygonal Triangulation and Group Asymmetric Gaussian Functions.

Many authors have been working on approaches that can be applied to social robots to allow a more realistic/comfortable relationship between humans and robots in the same space. This paper proposes a new navigation strategy for social environments by recognizing and considering the social conventions of people and groups. To achieve that, we proposed the application of Delaunay triangulation for connecting people as vertices of a triangle network.

Astronomical tuning of the Aptian stage and its implications for age recalibrations and paleoclimatic events.

The Aptian was characterized by dramatic tectonic, oceanographic, climatic and biotic changes and its record is punctuated by Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs). The timing and duration of these events are still contentious, particularly the age of the Barremian-Aptian boundary. This study presents a cyclostratigraphic evaluation of a high-resolution multiproxy dataset (δC, δO, MS and ARM) from the Poggio le Guaine core.

Stalagmite paleomagnetic record of a quiet mid-to-late Holocene field activity in central South America.

Speleothems can provide high-quality continuous records of the direction and relative paleointensity of the geomagnetic field, combining high precision dating (with U-Th method) and rapid lock-in of their detrital magnetic particles during calcite precipitation. Paleomagnetic results for a mid-to-late Holocene stalagmite from Dona Benedita Cave in central Brazil encompass ~1900 years (3410 BP to 5310 BP, constrained by 12 U-Th ages) of paleomagnetic record from 58 samples (resolution of ~33 years). This dataset reveals angular variations of less than 0.

Mid-Cretaceous marine Os isotope evidence for heterogeneous cause of oceanic anoxic events.

During the mid-Cretaceous, the Earth experienced several environmental perturbations, including an extremely warm climate and Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs). Submarine volcanic episodes associated with formation of large igneous provinces (LIPs) may have triggered these perturbations. The osmium isotopic ratio (Os/Os) is a suitable proxy for tracing hydrothermal activity associated with the LIPs formation, but Os/Os data from the mid-Cretaceous are limited to short time intervals.

Molecular dating of the blood pigment hemocyanin provides new insight into the origin of animals.

The Neoproterozoic included changes in oceanic redox conditions, the configuration of continents and climate, extreme ice ages (Sturtian and Marinoan), and the rise of complex life forms. A much-debated topic in geobiology concerns the influence of atmospheric oxygenation on Earth and the origin and diversification of animal lineages, with the most widely popularized hypotheses relying on causal links between oxygen levels and the rise of animals. The vast majority of extant animals use aerobic metabolism for growth and homeostasis; hence, the binding and transportation of oxygen represent a vital physiological task.

Characterization of obstetric care developed in teaching hospitals in a capital of northeast Brazil.

Objective: to describe the obstetric care developed in teaching hospitals (TH) in the city of Maceió-AL, intended for high-risk pregnancies.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study performed between June and November 2018 with 291 women who received assistance with vaginal delivery, cesarean section, or abortion process in teaching hospitals selected as settings for this research. Data collection allowed the characterization of the interviewees as well as the assistance received and its relationship with obstetric violence.

Chemical Diversity and Therapeutic Effects of Essential Oils of Species from the Amazon: A Review.

Lauraceae families have great diversity in the world's tropical regions and are represented mainly by aromatic shrubs and trees with significant production of essential oils (EOs). This work presents a review of the EO chemical profiles from specimens of , including their seasonal variations, geographical distributions, and biological activities in the Amazon biome. Based on the survey, 15 species were reviewed, representing 167 oil samples extracted from leaves, twig barks, and woods.

Contraception use and family planning inequalities among Brazilian women.

Background: Brazil has shown a considerable decline in fertility rates in recent decades. However, sociodemographic differences still have a direct impact on access to family planning in the country.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of contraceptive use according to sociodemographic variables among Brazilian women in reproductive age.

Evolution of a key enzyme of aerobic metabolism reveals Proterozoic functional subunit duplication events and an ancient origin of animals.

The biological toolkits for aerobic respiration were critical for the rise and diversification of early animals. Aerobic life forms generate ATP through the oxidation of organic molecules in a process known as Krebs' Cycle, where the enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) regulates the cycle's turnover rate. Evolutionary reconstructions and molecular dating of proteins related to oxidative metabolism, such as IDH, can therefore provide an estimate of when the diversification of major taxa occurred, and their coevolution with the oxidative state of oceans and atmosphere.

Relationship of the type of breastfeeding in the sexual function of women.

Objective: to relate the type of breastfeeding in the women's sexual function.

Method: a cross-sectional study conducted with 150 women in the postpartum period registered in the Family Health Strategy of a large Brazilian municipality. Two instruments were used: one for characterizing sociodemographic, obstetric and breastfeeding variables, and the Female Sexual Function Index for the sexual function.