A picture is worth a thousand words: using digital tools to visualise marine invertebrate diversity data along the coasts of Mozambique and São Tomé & Príncipe.

The amount of biological data available in online repositories is increasing at an exponential rate. However, data on marine invertebrate biodiversity resources from Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe are still sparse and scattered. Online repositories are useful instruments for biodiversity research, as they provide a fast access to data from different sources. The use of interactive platforms comprising web mapping are becoming more important, not only for the scientific community, but also for conservation managers, decision-makers and the general public as they allow data presentation in simple and understandable visual schemes. The main goal of this study was to create an interactive online digital map (hosted and available at MARINBIODIV Atlas), through the collection of data from various sources, to visualise marine invertebrate occurrences and distribution across different habitats, namely mangroves, seagrasses, corals and other coastal areas, in Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe. The acquired biodiversity data were managed and structured to be displayed as spatial data and to be disseminated using the geographic information system ArcGIS, where data can be accessed, filtered and mapped. The ArcGIS web mapping design tools were used to produce interactive maps to visualise marine invertebrate diversity information along the coasts of Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe, through different habitats, offering the foundation for analysing species incidence and allocation information. Understanding the spatial occurrences and distribution of marine invertebrates in both countries can provide a valuable baseline, regarding information and trends on their coastal marine biodiversity.

Using AutoCAD software to measure venous leg ulcers: a reproducibility assessment study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the reproducibility of using AutoCAD software to measure the area of venous leg ulcers (VLUs). METHOD: Data from patients with VLUs were collected between March and July 2015, using data collection forms and photographing the different ulcers. A researcher and five nurses collected the data. The wounds were measured using AutoCAD software. Data were analysed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS: A total of 21 patients with 36 VLUs were included in the study. A statistically significant difference (p<0.05) was observed between the areas of VLUs measured by the researcher and the evaluators. There was an excellent agreement when analysing the ICC [p=0.98; 95% CI (0.97-0.99); p <0.05] and the CCC [CCC=CI 0.97; 95% (0.95-0.98)]. There was no difference between the measurements of VLUs ≤10 cm2 (p=0.49) and those with an area >10cm2 (p=0.22). CONCLUSION: The use of AutoCAD software is appropriate for measuring VLUs and appears to be more accurate when used to measure VLUs with an area >10cm2.

The problem of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole in cork planks studied by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy: proof of concept.

Attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR) proved to be a promising detection technique for 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), which confers organoleptic defects to bottled alcoholic beverages, allowing the proposal of a criterion for cork plank acceptance when meant for stopper production. By analysis of a significant number of samples, it was proved that the presence of TCA, even in very low concentrations, imparts subtle changes to the cork spectra, namely, the growth of two new bands at ∼1417 (νC═C of TCA ring) and 1314 cm­1 (a shifted νCC of TCA) and an increase in the relative intensities of the bands at ∼1039 cm­1 (δCO of polysaccharides) and ∼813 cm­1 (τCH of suberin), the latter by overlapping with intense bands of TCA. These relative intensities were evaluated in comparison to a fingerprint of suberin (νasC­O­C), at 1161 cm­1. On the basis of those spectral variables, a multivariate statistics linear analysis (LDA) was performed to obtain a discriminant function that allows classifying the samples according to whether they contain or not TCA. The methodology proposed consists of a demanding acceptance criterion for cork planks destined for stopper production (with the guarantee of nonexistence of TCA) that results from combining the quantitative results with the absence of the two TCA correlated bands. ATR infrared spectroscopy is a nondestructive and easy to apply technique, both on cork planks and on stoppers, and has proven more restrictive than other techniques used in the cork industry that analyze the cleaning solutions. At the level of proof of concept, the method here proposed is appealing for high-value stopper applications.

Prevalência de eczema atópico e sintomas relacionados em adolescentes residentes em área urbana e rural do Rio Grande do Sul: International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) / Prevalence of atopic eczema and related symptoms in adolescents living in urban and rural areas of Rio Grande do Sul: International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC)

Objetivo: Determinar e comparar a prevalência de eczemaatópico (EA) e de sintomas relacionados entre adolescentes de área urbana (AU) e rural (AR) do Rio Grande do Sul empregando-se o questionário escrito (QE) do Internacional Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Métodos: Estudo transversal com amostra aleatória composta por adolescentes (13 a 14 anos): 3210 de Santa Maria (AU) e 3351 de 20 cidades próximas a Santa Maria (AR). Os QE foram respondidos pelos adolescentes, entre abril e julho de 2003. Os dados foram expressos em relação ao total por sexo e área e analisados (EPI-Info e SPSS) por testes não paramétricosResultados: O índice de retorno dos QEs foi 95,5 per cent (AU) e 91,2 per cent (AR). Não houve diferenças significantes na prevalência de “eczema nos últimos doze meses” entre os AU e AR (6,8 per cent x 7,9 per cent, respectivamente). A prevalência de lesões com distribuição característica de EA, entre meninas e meninos, foi: 4,7 per cent x 2,4 per cent [AU] e 5,6 per cent x 4,1 per cent [AR], com predomínio geral entreos AR (4,8 per cent x 3,6 per cent, respectivamente). O comprometimento do sono foi mais freqüente entre os AR (11,6 per cent x 8,7 per cent, respectivamente),sobretudo entre as meninas (11,8 per cent x 11,6 per cent, respectivamente). A prevalência de diagnóstico médico de eczema foi significativamente mais elevada na zona rural (11,8 per cent x 9,8 per cent, respectivamente) e entre as meninas das duas áreas(12,6 per cent x 6,9 per cent [AU], e 14,8 per cent x 8,8 per cent [AR]). Conclusão: O EA, na população avaliada, predominou entre os AR, sobretudo entre as meninas.