| 1. |
- Amora-Nogueira, Leonardo, et al.
(författare)
-
Linking centennial scale anthropogenic changes and sedimentary records as lessons for urban coastal management
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : ELSEVIER. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 902
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coastal eutrophication and urban flooding are increasingly important components of global change. Although increased seawater renewal by barrier openings and channelizing are common mitigation measures in coastal lagoons worldwide, their effects on these ecosystems are not fully understood. Here, we evaluated the re-lationships between human interventions in the watershed, artificial connections to the sea, and the sediment burial rates in an urban coastal lagoon (Maric & PRIME;a lagoon, Southeastern Brazil). Sediment accretion along with nutrient and carbon burial rates were determined in two sediment cores representing the past-120 years (210Pb dating) and associated with anthropogenic changes as indicated by historical records and geoinformation ana-lyses. Lagoon infilling and eutrophication, expressed by the average sediment accretion, TP, TN, and OC burial rates, respectively, increased-9-18, 13-15, 11-14 and 11-12-fold from the earliest (<1950) to the most recent (2000-2017) period. These multi-proxy records confirm mechanistic links between deforestation, urbanization, and untreated sewage discharges. In addition, our findings reveal artificial connections to the sea may contribute to lagoonal eutrophication and infilling, particularly when not integrated with sewage treatment and forest conservation or reforestation in the watershed. Therefore, increased seawater renewal by physical interventions commonly considered as mitigation measures may in contrast cause severe degradation in coastal lagoons, causing harmful consequences that should be not neglected when implementing management practices.
|
|
| 2. |
- Dromain, Clarisse, et al.
(författare)
-
Tumour Growth Rate to predict the outcome of patients with Neuroendocrine Tumours : Performance and sources of variability
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Neuroendocrinology. - : S. Karger. - 0028-3835 .- 1423-0194. ; 111:9, s. 831-839
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Tumor growth rate (TGR), percentage of change in tumor volume/month, has been previously identified as an early radiological biomarker for treatment monitoring in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) patients. We assessed the performance and reproducibility of TGR 3 months (TGR3m) as a predictor factor of progression-free survival (PFS), including the impact of imaging method and reader variability.METHODS: Baseline and 3-months (±1month) CT/MRI images from patients with advanced, grade 1-2 NETs were retrospectively reviewed by 2 readers. Influence of number of targets, tumor burden and location of lesion on the performance of TGR3m to predict PFS was assessed by uni/multivariable Cox regression analysis. Agreement between readers was assessed by the Lin's concordance coefficient (LCC) and Kappa (KC).RESULTS: A total of 790 lesions were measured in 222 patients. Median PFS was 22.9 months. On univariable analysis, number of lesions (DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: TGR3m is a robust and early radiological biomarker able to predict PFS. It may be used to identify patients with advanced NETs who require closer radiological follow-up.
|
|
| 3. |
- Graco-Roza, Caio, et al.
(författare)
-
Distance decay 2.0 – A global synthesis of taxonomic and functional turnover in ecological communities
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 31:7, s. 1399-1421
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: Understanding the variation in community composition and species abundances (i.e., beta-diversity) is at the heart of community ecology. A common approach to examine beta-diversity is to evaluate directional variation in community composition by measuring the decay in the similarity among pairs of communities along spatial or environmental distance. We provide the first global synthesis of taxonomic and functional distance decay along spatial and environmental distance by analysing 148 datasets comprising different types of organisms and environments.Location: Global.Time period: 1990 to present.Major taxa studied: From diatoms to mammals.Method: We measured the strength of the decay using ranked Mantel tests (Mantel r) and the rate of distance decay as the slope of an exponential fit using generalized linear models. We used null models to test whether functional similarity decays faster or slower than expected given the taxonomic decay along the spatial and environmental distance. We also unveiled the factors driving the rate of decay across the datasets, including latitude, spatial extent, realm and organismal features.Results: Taxonomic distance decay was stronger than functional distance decay along both spatial and environmental distance. Functional distance decay was random given the taxonomic distance decay. The rate of taxonomic and functional spatial distance decay was fastest in the datasets from mid-latitudes. Overall, datasets covering larger spatial extents showed a lower rate of decay along spatial distance but a higher rate of decay along environmental distance. Marine ecosystems had the slowest rate of decay along environmental distances.Main conclusions: In general, taxonomic distance decay is a useful tool for biogeographical research because it reflects dispersal-related factors in addition to species responses to climatic and environmental variables. Moreover, functional distance decay might be a cost-effective option for investigating community changes in heterogeneous environments.
|
|
| 4. |
- Householder, John Ethan, et al.
(författare)
-
One sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is dependent on river floodplains
- 2024
-
Ingår i: NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. - 2397-334X.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Amazonia's floodplain system is the largest and most biodiverse on Earth. Although forests are crucial to the ecological integrity of floodplains, our understanding of their species composition and how this may differ from surrounding forest types is still far too limited, particularly as changing inundation regimes begin to reshape floodplain tree communities and the critical ecosystem functions they underpin. Here we address this gap by taking a spatially explicit look at Amazonia-wide patterns of tree-species turnover and ecological specialization of the region's floodplain forests. We show that the majority of Amazonian tree species can inhabit floodplains, and about a sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is ecologically specialized on floodplains. The degree of specialization in floodplain communities is driven by regional flood patterns, with the most compositionally differentiated floodplain forests located centrally within the fluvial network and contingent on the most extraordinary flood magnitudes regionally. Our results provide a spatially explicit view of ecological specialization of floodplain forest communities and expose the need for whole-basin hydrological integrity to protect the Amazon's tree diversity and its function.
|
|
| 5. |
- Lamarca, Angela, et al.
(författare)
-
Tumour Growth Rate as a validated early radiological biomarker able to reflect treatment-induced changes in Neuroendocrine Tumours : the GREPONET-2 study
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 15:25, s. 6692-6699
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: TGR represents the percentage change in tumour volume per month (%/m). Previous results from the GREPONET study showed that TGR measured after 3 months (TGR3m) of starting systemic treatment (ST) or watch and wait (WW) was an early biomarker predicting progression-free survival (PFS) in NETs.EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Pts from7 centres with advanced grade(G) 1/2 NETs from the pancreas(P)/small bowel(SB) initiating ST/WW were eligible. Computed tomography (CT) / magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed at pre-baseline, baseline and 3(+/-1) months of study entry were retrospectively reviewed. Aim-1: explore treatment-induced changes in TGR (ΔTGR3m-BL) (paired T-test) and Aim-2: validate TGR3m (<0.8%/m vs ≥0.8%/m) as an early biomarker in an independent cohort (Kaplan-Meier/Cox Regression).RESULTS: Out of 785 pts screened, 127 were eligible. Mean (SD) TGR0 and TGR3m were 5.4%/m (14.9) and -1.4%/m (11.8), respectively. Mean(SD) ΔTGR3m-BL paired-difference was -6.8%/m(19.3) (p<0.001). Most marked ΔTGR3m-BL (mean (SD);p) were identified with targeted therapies (-11.3%/m(4.7);0.0237) and chemotherapy (-7.9%/m(3.4);0.0261). Multivariable analysis confirmed the absence of previous treatment (Odds Ratio (OR) 4.65 (95%CI 1.31-16.52); p-value0.018) and low TGR3m (continuous variable; OR 1.09 (95%CI 1.01-1.19); p-value0.042) to be independent predictors of radiological objective response. When the multivariable Cox Regression was adjusted to grade (p-value 0.004) and stage (p-value0.017), TGR3m≥0.8 (vs.<0.8) maintained its significance (p<0.001), while TGR0 and ΔTGR3m-BL did not. TGR3m was confirmed as an independent prognosis factor for PFS (external validation; Aim-2) (multivariable HR 2.21 (95%CI 1.21-3.70); p-value0.003).CONCLUSIONS: TGR has a role as biomarker for monitoring response to therapy for early prediction of PFS and radiological objective response.
|
|
| 6. |
- Luize, Bruno Garcia, et al.
(författare)
-
Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities
- 2024
-
Ingår i: JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY. - 0305-0270 .- 1365-2699.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types. Location: Amazonia. Taxon: Angiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots). Methods: Data for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny. Results: In the terra firme and v & aacute;rzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igap & oacute; and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R-2 = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R-2 = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types. Main Conclusion: Numerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions.
|
|
| 7. |
- Martel-Duguech, Luciana Maria, et al.
(författare)
-
ESE audit on management of Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency in clinical practice.
- 2021
-
Ingår i: European journal of endocrinology. - 1479-683X. ; 184:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Guidelines recommend adults with pituitary disease in whom GH therapy is contemplated, to be tested for GH deficiency (AGHD); however, clinical practice is not uniform.1) To record current practice of AGHD management throughout Europe and benchmark it against guidelines; 2) To evaluate educational status of healthcare professionals about AGHD.On-line survey in endocrine centres throughout Europe.Endocrinologists voluntarily completed an electronic questionnaire regarding AGHD patients diagnosed or treated in 2017-2018.Twenty-eight centres from 17 European countries participated, including 2139 AGHD patients, 28% of childhood-onset GHD. Aetiology was most frequently non-functioning pituitary adenoma (26%), craniopharyngioma (13%) and genetic/congenital mid-line malformations (13%). Diagnosis of GHD was confirmed by a stimulation test in 52% (GHRH+arginine, 45%; insulin-tolerance, 42%, glucagon, 6%; GHRH alone and clonidine tests, 7%); in the remaining, ≥3 pituitary deficiencies and low serum IGF-I were diagnostic. Initial GH dose was lower in older patients, but only women <26 years were prescribed a higher dose than men; dose titration was based on normal serum IGF-I, tolerance and side-effects. In one country, AGHD treatment was not approved. Full public reimbursement was not available in four countries and only in childhood-onset GHD in another. AGHD awareness was low among non-endocrine professionals and healthcare administrators. Postgraduate AGHD curriculum training deserves being improved.Despite guideline recommendations, GH replacement in AGHD is still not available or reimbursed in all European countries. Knowledge among professionals and health administrators needs improvement to optimize care of adults with GHD.
|
|
| 8. |
- Maruyama, Sandra R., et al.
(författare)
-
Blood transcriptome profile induced by an efficacious vaccine formulated with salivary antigens from cattle ticks
- 2019
-
Ingår i: NPJ VACCINES. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 2059-0105. ; 4
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ticks cause massive damage to livestock and vaccines are one sustainable alternative for the acaricide poisons currently heavily used to control infestations. An experimental vaccine adjuvanted with alum and composed by four recombinant salivary antigens mined with reverse vaccinology from a transcriptome of salivary glands from Rhipicephalus microplus ticks was previously shown to present an overall efficacy of 73.2% and cause a significant decrease of tick loads in artificially tick-infested, immunized heifers; this decrease was accompanied by increased levels of antigen-specific IgG1 and IgG2 antibodies, which were boosted during a challenge infestation. In order to gain insights into the systemic effects induced by the vaccine and by the tick challenge we now report the gene expression profile of these hosts' whole-blood leukocytes with RNA-seq followed by functional analyses. These analyses show that vaccination induced unique responses to infestations; genes upregulated in the comparisons were enriched for processes associated with chemotaxis, cell adhesion, T-cell responses and wound repair. Blood transcriptional modules were enriched for activation of dendritic cells, cell cycle, phosphatidylinositol signaling, and platelets. Together, the results indicate that by neutralizing the tick's salivary mediators of parasitism with vaccine-induced antibodies, the bovine host is able to mount normal homeostatic responses that hinder tick attachment and haematophagy and that the tick otherwise suppresses with its saliva.
|
|
| 9. |
- Muscarella, Robert, et al.
(författare)
-
The global abundance of tree palms
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 29:9, s. 1495-1514
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AimPalms are an iconic, diverse and often abundant component of tropical ecosystems that provide many ecosystem services. Being monocots, tree palms are evolutionarily, morphologically and physiologically distinct from other trees, and these differences have important consequences for ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage) and in terms of responses to climate change. We quantified global patterns of tree palm relative abundance to help improve understanding of tropical forests and reduce uncertainty about these ecosystems under climate change.LocationTropical and subtropical moist forests.Time periodCurrent.Major taxa studiedPalms (Arecaceae).MethodsWe assembled a pantropical dataset of 2,548 forest plots (covering 1,191 ha) and quantified tree palm (i.e., ≥10 cm diameter at breast height) abundance relative to co‐occurring non‐palm trees. We compared the relative abundance of tree palms across biogeographical realms and tested for associations with palaeoclimate stability, current climate, edaphic conditions and metrics of forest structure.ResultsOn average, the relative abundance of tree palms was more than five times larger between Neotropical locations and other biogeographical realms. Tree palms were absent in most locations outside the Neotropics but present in >80% of Neotropical locations. The relative abundance of tree palms was more strongly associated with local conditions (e.g., higher mean annual precipitation, lower soil fertility, shallower water table and lower plot mean wood density) than metrics of long‐term climate stability. Life‐form diversity also influenced the patterns; palm assemblages outside the Neotropics comprise many non‐tree (e.g., climbing) palms. Finally, we show that tree palms can influence estimates of above‐ground biomass, but the magnitude and direction of the effect require additional work.ConclusionsTree palms are not only quintessentially tropical, but they are also overwhelmingly Neotropical. Future work to understand the contributions of tree palms to biomass estimates and carbon cycling will be particularly crucial in Neotropical forests.
|
|
| 10. |
- Neri, Luciana S S, et al.
(författare)
-
Blockade of vasopressin receptors reduces the threshold pressure of micturition reflex in female rats.
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Current research in physiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 2665-9441. ; 5, s. 399-403
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mechanisms involved in urinary bladder control are not fully understood, but it is well accepted that a complex central network is involved in micturition control. The micturition reflex can be modulated by direct cortical influence through facilitatory and inhibitory mechanisms. In addition, humoral mechanisms are involved in the bladder control. Vasopressin increases bladder contraction and intravesical pressure. This study sought to investigate the effect of intravenous injections of vasopressin receptor antagonists on cystometric parameters in anesthetized female rats. Isoflurane anesthetized adult female Wistar rats underwent femoral artery and vein cannulation for arterial pressure (AP) and heart rate (HR) recordings, and infusion of drugs, respectively. The bladder was also cannulated for intravesical pressure (IP) recordings and infusion of saline (10 mL/h) for cystometric evaluation. After baseline AP, HR and IP recordings, saline (vehicle, 1 mL/kg), V1a (5 μg/kg) or V2 receptor antagonist (5 μg/kg) was injected i.v. and after 25 min the cystometry was carried out. Neither saline nor V1a or V2 receptor blockade evoked any change in AP, HR and IP. Nevertheless, during cystometry, the threshold pressure of the micturition reflex was significantly reduced in rats with V1a (to 19.30 ± 2.39 mmHg) and V2 receptor blockade (to 19.88 ± 2.49 mmHg) compared to the saline group (28.85 ± 2.06 mmHg, p = 0.014). No difference was observed in the other cystometric parameters. Therefore, the data suggest that blockade of V1a and V2 receptors reduces the threshold pressure of the micturition reflex and does not influence other cystometric parameters in anesthetized female Wistar rats.
|
|
