Redescription of the tadpole of Leptodactylus natalensis Lutz (Anura: Leptodactylidae), an inhabitant of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

The Neotropical foam-nesting genus Leptodactylus Fitzinger is currently composed of 75 species (Frost 2019) divided into four monophyletic species groups (De Sá et al. 2014). The L. melanonotus species group includes 17 species delimited by five adult osteological character-states (De Sá et al. 2014). Leptodactylus natalensis Lutz is the only species of the L. melanonotus species group that occurs in north of the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest (De Sá et al. 2014; Almeida et al. 2016) and whose type locality is the municipality of Natal, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (Lutz 1930). The tadpole of this species was briefly described by Oliveira Lírio-Júnior (2000) based on a single individual from the municipality of Aracaju, state of Sergipe, Brazil. Herein, we present a complete redescription of the tadpole of this species, including morphometric data and interpopulational variation. Besides, we provide comparisons with all members of the L. melanonotus group.

Biodegradation of Moringa oleifera's polymer blends.

Vegetable oils are used as a base for the synthesis of polymers and monomers with structures similar to that of petroleum, as plasticizers for conventional polymers and biodegrading additives. The Moringa oleifera oil was extracted from seeds and polymerized after being submitted to 16 h of microwave irradiation without catalysers. This polymer was characterized and the efficiency of the oil polymerization was verified by the reduction of double bonds and the increase of molecular weight up to 50,000 g mol-1. Films produced by a mixture of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/poly(lactic acid) (PBAT/PLA) present low tensile resistance and low biodegradation behaviour. In order to improve those properties, the Moringa polymer (PMO) was mixed with LDPE and PBAT/PLA in specific mass concentrations. The films produced with this mixture were characterized and submitted to biodegradation analysis. The PMO behaves as a compatibilizer by improving thermal properties, reducing the crystalline phase and improving the biodegradation behaviour. The biodegradation improved up to five times in comparison to conventional polymers and it restores the mechanical properties.

Effects of three interventions in facilitating voluntary pelvic floor muscle contraction in women: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of vaginal palpation, vaginal palpation associated with posterior pelvic tilt, and intravaginal electrical stimulation in facilitating voluntary contraction of the pelvic floor muscles in women. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial in which 132 women with pelvic floor muscles function graded at 0 or 1 using the Modified Oxford Scale were randomized into four groups: vaginal palpation (n=33); vaginal palpation with posterior pelvic tilt (n=33); intravaginal electrical stimulation (n=33) and a control group (n=33) that only received verbal instructions. The primary outcome was evaluated by the Modified Oxford Scale and the secondary using the ICIQ-UI-SF. The assessment was performed at baseline with follow-up assessment after eight weeks. RESULTS: A total of 69.7% of the women from posterior pelvic tilt; 63.6% from vaginal palpation; 33.3% from intravaginal electrical stimulation; and 18.2% from control group (p<0.001) were able to attain Modified Oxford Scale greater than or equal to 2 after eight weeks. In comparison with control group, the posterior pelvic tilt (OR=10.35; 95% CI=3.26-32.84) and vaginal palpation (OR=7.87; 95% CI=2.53-24.47) had the most significant improvement as opposed to intravaginal electrical stimulation (OR=2.25; 95% CI=0.72-7.06). There was significant improvement among all of the groups in UI. The largest changes respectively were noted in the vaginal palpation, posterior pelvic tilt, intravaginal electrical stimulation and control group. There were no reports of adverse effects. CONCLUSION: Vaginal palpation with posterior pelvic tilt and vaginal palpation were more effective interventions to facilitate pelvic floor muscles contraction when compared with intravaginal electrical stimulation and controls. Vaginal palpation was the most effective in improving urinary incontinence. Clinical Trials Identifier: ClinicalTrial.gov: NCT02062242.

Solving an ethical issue involved in experimentation with animals in a brazilian teaching laboratory*.

Changes are occurring within Brazilian institutes of higher education; currently several universities are reviewing their course offerings and teaching approaches to determine if they meet the needs of today's undergraduate students. When changes are made to the curriculum of experimental courses, there should be an understood guarantee that all efforts to avoid ethical and biosafety issues have been diligently considered. Ethical considerations lead us to create an alternative experimental session to be conducted that eliminated the use of rats, the conventional in vivo model employed for learning metabolism of glycogen in our university. To avoid possible biosafety issues, we prepared an alternative sample to simulate human urine, which we called guarurine. Using our new method, it is possible to verify positive results imitating a diabetic and starving people samples for detection of glucose and ketone. The alternative tool described herein is not only particularly suited to bypass the ethics of using animals for teaching, but also permits the discussion of significant aspects of pathological and physiological situations such as diabetics and starvation in a simple, safe, and interesting way.