Effects of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation combined with inspiratory muscle training for treating respiratory sequelae of long COVID: A case series.

INTRODUCTION: Long COVID occurs when numerous symptoms begin 3 weeks after acute infection and last for 12 months or more. High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) has been tested in patients with COVID-19; however, previous studies did not investigate the HD-tDCS use combined with inspiratory muscle training (IMT) for respiratory sequelae of long COVID. CASE PRESENTATION: Six individuals (four women and two men) aged between 29 and 71 years and presenting with respiratory sequelae of long COVID were included. They were submitted to an intervention that comprised HD-tDCS combined with IMT twice a week for 5 weeks. Lung function and respiratory muscle assessments were performed at baseline and after 5 weeks of intervention. IMPLICATIONS ON PHYSIOTHERAPY PRACTICE: HD-tDCS may enhance the IMT effects by increasing respiratory muscle strength, efficiency, and lung function of individuals with long COVID.

Bridging semantics and medical ontology in the definition of bruxism: An argument for a holistic definition.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this commentary is to advocate for a holistic, ontology-based definition of bruxism. The intention is to synthesise the best aspects of current definitions into a structured ontological model, thereby refining and enhancing a comprehensive understanding of the full spectrum of bruxism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The commentary elaborates on the process of integrating these insights into a hierarchical ontology that aligns with ontological principles. SETTINGS AND SAMPLE POPULATION: Not directly applicable as this is a commentary. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: The proposed ontology-based definition of bruxism aims to clarify communication within the medical community and advance research by enabling a comprehensive ontology-based classification of bruxism. By aligning with ontological principles, this approach aspires to act as a catalyst for further research, discussion and consensus in the field.

The elusive concept of sexual motivation: can it be anchored in the nervous system?

Sexual motivation is an abstract concept referring to the mechanisms determining the responsivity to sexually relevant stimuli. This responsivity determines the likelihood of producing a sexual response and the intensity of that response. Both responsivity to stimuli and the likelihood of making a response as well as the intensity of response are characteristics of an individual. Therefore, we need to assume that the concept of sexual motivation materializes in physiological mechanisms within the individual. The aim of the present communication is to analyze the requisites for the endeavor to materialize sexual motivation. The first requisite is to provide an operational definition, making the concept quantifiable. We show that parameters of copulatory behavior are inappropriate. We argue that the intensity of sexual approach behaviors provides the best estimate of sexual motivation in non-human animals, whereas the magnitude of genital responses is an exquisite indicator of human sexual motivation. Having assured how to quantify sexual motivation, we can then proceed to the search for physiological or neurobiological underpinnings. In fact, sexual motivation only manifests itself in animals exposed to appropriate amounts of gonadal hormones. In female rats, the estrogen receptor α in the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus is necessary for the expression of sexual approach behaviors. In male rats, androgen receptors within the medial preoptic area are crucial. Thus, in rats sexual motivation can be localized to specific brain structures, and even to specific cells within these structures. In humans, it is not even known if sexual motivation is materialized in the brain or in peripheral structures. Substantial efforts have been made to determine the relationship between the activity of neurotransmitters and the intensity of sexual motivation, particularly in rodents. The results of this effort have been meager. Likewise, efforts of finding drugs to stimulate sexual motivation, particularly in women complaining of low sexual desire, have produced dismal results. In sum, it appears that the abstract concept of sexual motivation can be reliably quantified, and the neurobiological bases can be described in non-human animals. In humans, objective quantification is feasible, but the neurobiological substrate remains enigmatic.

O que é autoestima para os analistas do comportamento? Uma revisão sistemática / What is self-esteem for behavioral analysts? A systematic review

A autoestima é um termo muito utilizado pelas pessoas no senso comum, mas ainda são necessários mais estudos para entendê-lo sob o ponto de vista comportamental. O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar uma revisão de textos da Análise do Comportamento a respeito de autoestima. Foi realizada uma busca em três fontes diferentes: periódicos exclusivos de Análise do Comportamento; as coleções de livros Sobre Comportamento e Cognição e Comportamento em Foco; e na Scielo. No total, 16 textos preencheram os critérios, que eram a) ter a palavra "autoestima" no título b) ser um texto da Análise do Comportamento. Foram discutidas as definições de autoestima utilizadas, os participantes dos estudos, os estímulos usados em testes de medida implícita e os principais resultados. Nenhum dos textos analisados utilizou intervenções voltadas ao aumento da autoestima. Apesar de serem textos da abordagem comportamental, muitos dos estudos utilizam apenas definições e instrumentos não comportamentais. As principais conclusões da revisão foram: 1) ainda existem poucos estudos sobre autoestima na Análise do Comportamento; 2) ainda não existe uma definição comportamental bem construída, especialmente na literatura internacional.

Self-esteem is a term that is widely used in common sense, but more studies are still needed to understand it from a behavioral point of view. The objective of this study was to carry out a review of Behavior Analysis papers regarding self-esteem. A search was conducted in three different sources: Behavior Analysis journals; the book collections Sobre Comportamento e Cognição and Comportamento em Foco; and on Scielo. In total, 16 texts met the criteria, which were a) having the word "self-esteem" in the title and b) being a Behavior Analysis text. We discuss the definitions of self-esteem used, the participants in the studies, the stimuli used in the implicit measurement tests and the main results. None of the analyzed texts used interventions aimed to increase self-esteem. Even though they are texts of the behavioral approach, many of the studies only use non-behavioral definitions and instruments. The main conclusions of the review were: 1) there are still few studies on self-esteem in Behavior Analysis; 2) there is still no well-constructed behavioral definition, especially in international literature.

Down-Regulation of Tinnitus Negative Valence via Concurrent HD-tDCS and PEI Technique: A Pilot Study.

Around 30% of the general population experience subjective tinnitus, characterized by conscious attended awareness perception of sound without an external source. Clinical distress tinnitus is more than just experiencing a phantom sound, as it can be highly disruptive and debilitating, leading those affected to seek clinical help. Effective tinnitus treatments are crucial for psychological well-being, but our limited understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms and a lack of a universal cure necessitate further treatment development. In light of the neurofunctional tinnitus model predictions and transcranial electrical stimulation, we conducted an open-label, single-arm, pilot study that utilized high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) concurrent with positive emotion induction (PEI) techniques for ten consecutive sessions to down-regulate tinnitus negative valence in patients with clinical distress tinnitus. We acquired resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans of 12 tinnitus patients (7 females, mean age = 51.25 ± 12.90 years) before and after the intervention to examine resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) alterations in specific seed regions. The results showed reduced rsFC at post-intervention between the attention and emotion processing regions as follows: (1) bilateral amygdala and left superior parietal lobule (SPL), (2) left amygdala and right SPL, (3) bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and bilateral pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), and (4) left dlPFC and bilateral pgACC (FWE corrected p < 0.05). Furthermore, the post-intervention tinnitus handicap inventory scores were significantly lower than the pre-intervention scores (p < 0.05). We concluded that concurrent HD-tDCS and PEI might be effective in reducing tinnitus negative valence, thus alleviating tinnitus distress.

Comparison of serum creatinine, point-of-care symmetric dimethylarginine and renal imaging with glomerular filtration rate measured by renal scintigraphy in healthy and early chronic kidney diseased cats.

The aim of this study was to evaluate routinely used tests to diagnose cats in early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and to describe a model for evaluating these variables simultaneously. Apparently healthy cats were screened using serum creatinine (sCr), point-of-care symmetric dimethylarginine (POC SDMA), urinalysis, urine protein/creatinine ratio (UPC) and imaging evaluation. Those parameters were compared to glomerular filtration rate (GFR) assessed by renal scintigraphy. Forty-four cats were included and consisted of 14 (31.8%) healthy cats (absence of abnormalities in renal morphology and sCr less than 1.6 mg/dL), 20 (45.5%) cats classified as CKD I (presence of abnormalities in renal morphology and sCr less than 1.6 mg/dL) and ten (22.7%) as CKD II (sCr equal to or greater than 1.6 mg/dL, with or without abnormalities in renal morphology). A large number (40.9%) of apparently healthy cats presented reduction in GFR, which included half of CKD I patients. Point-of-care SDMA was not a good predictor for decreased GFR, nor was it correlated with the variables GFR and sCr. Glomerular filtration rate was significantly lower in CKD I and II groups in comparison with healthy cats, but there was no significant difference between the CKD I and II groups. Multivariate logistic regression model identified three variables that affected the odds of a cat having decreased GFR (< 2.5 mL/min/kg): sCr (OR = 18.3; p = 0.019; CI = 1.6-207.2), and the ultrasonographic findings 'reduced corticomedullary definition' (OR = 19.9; p = 0.022; CI = 1.6-254.0) and 'irregular contour' (OR = 65.6; p = 0.003; CI = 4.2-1038.2). Renal ultrasonography evaluation should always be considered for screening early CKD in apparently healthy cats.

Plant-based and vegetarian diets: an overview and definition of these dietary patterns.

PURPOSE: This paper aims to present an overview of the definitions of "plant-based and "vegetarian diets" adopted by different organizations worldwide, proposing new standard definitions and discussing the notion of vegetarianism as a restrictive dietary pattern. METHODS: An extensive literature review on the different definitions of vegetarian and plant-based diets was conducted. Definitions of different international vegetarian and vegan organizations were also taken into account. Objective definitions for vegetarian and plant-based diets, as well as for their subcategories, were proposed. Other aspects related to how vegetarian diets are viewed and defined were also discussed. RESULTS: We proposed that a vegetarian diet should be defined as "a dietary pattern that excludes meat, meat-derived foods, and, to different extents, other animal products". This definition would include, among others, ovolactovegetarian and vegan diets. The proposed definition for a plant-based diet was "a dietary pattern in which foods of animal origin are totally or mostly excluded". Other types of diets, such as flexitarian and pescetarian diets, could be considered plant-based. A vegetarian diet should not be considered restrictive. Instead, terms such as alternative or non-conventional could be used to define it and to distinguish it from the conventional diet adopted by most of the Western population. CONCLUSION: This paper was able to elaborate objective definitions of vegetarian and plant-based diets. Standardizing nomenclatures may reduce misinterpretation and confusion in this field of study.

Non-invasive brain stimulation for fatigue in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC).

BACKGROUND: and purpose: Fatigue is among the most common persistent symptoms following post-acute sequelae of Sars-COV-2 infection (PASC). The current study investigated the potential therapeutic effects of High-Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) associated with rehabilitation program for the management of PASC-related fatigue. METHODS: Seventy patients with PASC-related fatigue were randomized to receive 3 mA or sham HD-tDCS targeting the left primary motor cortex (M1) for 30 min paired with a rehabilitation program. Each patient underwent 10 sessions (2 sessions/week) over five weeks. Fatigue was measured as the primary outcome before and after the intervention using the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS). Pain level, anxiety severity and quality of life were secondary outcomes assessed, respectively, through the McGill Questionnaire, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and WHOQOL. RESULTS: Active HD-tDCS resulted in significantly greater reduction in fatigue compared to sham HD-tDCS (mean group MFIS reduction of 22.11 points vs 10.34 points). Distinct effects of HD-tDCS were observed in fatigue domains with greater effect on cognitive (mean group difference 8.29 points; effect size 1.1; 95% CI 3.56-13.01; P < .0001) and psychosocial domains (mean group difference 2.37 points; effect size 1.2; 95% CI 1.34-3.40; P < .0001), with no significant difference between the groups in the physical subscale (mean group difference 0.71 points; effect size 0.1; 95% CI 4.47-5.90; P = .09). Compared to sham, the active HD-tDCS group also had a significant reduction in anxiety (mean group difference 4.88; effect size 0.9; 95% CI 1.93-7.84; P < .0001) and improvement in quality of life (mean group difference 14.80; effect size 0.7; 95% CI 7.87-21.73; P < .0001). There was no significant difference in pain (mean group difference -0.74; no effect size; 95% CI 3.66-5.14; P = .09). CONCLUSION: An intervention with M1 targeted HD-tDCS paired with a rehabilitation program was effective in reducing fatigue and anxiety, while improving quality of life in people with PASC.

Accuracy of yellow fever case definition of epidemiologic surveillance, São Paulo, 2018

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy of yellow fever (YF) suspected case definitions from the Brazilian Ministry of Health (BMH) and World Health Organization (WHO), as well as propose and evaluate new definitions of suspected cases, considering confirmed and discarded cases. METHODS The retrospective study was conducted at the Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas (IIER), using the Epidemiologic Surveillance Form of YF cases. From the confirmed and discarded cases of YF, a logistic regression model was developed. The independent variables were used in a proposed definition of a suspected case of YF and its accuracy was evaluated. RESULTS In total, 113 YF suspect cases were reported, with 78 confirmed (69.0%). The definitions by BMH and WHO presented low sensitivity, 59% and 53.8%, and reduced accuracy, 53.1% and 47.8%, respectively. Predictive factors for YF were thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and elevation of transaminases greater than twice normal. The definition including individual with acute onset of fever, followed by elevation of ALT or AST greater than twice the reference value AND leukopenia OR thrombocytopenia presented high sensitivity (88.3%), specificity (62.9%), and the best accuracy (80.4%), as proposed in the model. CONCLUSION The YF suspected case definitions of the BMH and the WHO have low sensitivity. The inclusion of nonspecific laboratory tests increases the accuracy of YF definition.

Taxonomic and faunistic study of four almost unknown Brazilian Meloidae (Coleoptera)

ABSTRACT The Brazilian fauna of Meloidae is poorly studied, even though it includes more than 160 species. In this paper, we aimed at widening the knowledge on four species of blister beetles from this country. Specifically, we defined the uncertain range of Tetraonyx angulicollis, as extended in south-eastern Brazil rather than in Mexico, and implemented the description of the species with figures. We studied the taxonomy and distribution of three almost unknown species of Nemognatha from Brazil, São Paulo State, providing descriptions and figures of sexual characters and colour variability of N. beauregardi, to which is probably referable as a junior synonym of N. plaumanni, of N. rufoscutellaris and of N. cfr. gounellei. Moreover, we assigned these three species to the subgenus Pauronemognatha, recently recorded from South America.

Dataset of middle cerebral artery blood flow stability in response to high-definition transcranial electrical stimulation.

This supplementary dataset is supportive of the randomized sham-controlled, double-blind, crossover clinical trial investigating polarity- and intensity-dependent effects of high-definition transcranial electrical stimulation (HD-tDCS) applied over the right temporo-parietal junction on mean middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCA-BFv) bilaterally. Data of eleven healthy right-handed adults (6 women, 5 men; mean age 31 ± 5.6 years old) were analyzed for MCA-BFv, assessed using transcranial doppler ultrasound on the stimulated and the contralateral hemisphere concomitantly, during and after 3 blocks of 2 min HD-tDCS at 1, 2, and 3 mA. Participants received three electrical stimulation conditions (anode center, cathode center, and sham) randomly ordered across different days. The collected data is publicly available at Mendeley Data. This article and the data will inform future related investigations and safety analysis of transcranial non-invasive brain stimulation.

Paradoxos do paradigma pós-moderno da autodefinição: desejo de singularidade e políticas identitárias / Paradoxes du paradigme postmoderne de l'auto-définition: désir de singularité et politique identitaire / Paradoxes of the postmodern paradigm of self-definition: desire for singularity and identity politics

O movimento woke tomou conta das universidades americanas e também das brasileiras. Com origem no pós-modernismo dos anos setenta, inspira-se na genealogia do saber de Michel Foucault e na recente evolução das ciências sociais rumo à redução do universal, do simbólico, da linguagem e da cultura a uma mera construção social. Tudo é relativo e pode ser definido contratualmente nas relações intersubjetivas ou os indivíduos podem autodefinir-se. Precisaremos de comitês de ética, como observou Miller (1996), para estabelecer a verdade, a norma, o protocolo e as convenções de acordo com os diferentes indivíduos e grupos sociais. Queremos avaliar se essa tendência pós-moderna coincide com uma radicalização da lógica feminina da sexuação, a lógica do não-todo. Qual o papel dos movimentos feministas no advento da tese de que "não há universal pois o Outro não existe!".

Le mouvement woke a également pris le contrôle des universités américaines et brésiliennes. Issu dupost-modernisme des années 70, il s'inspire de la généalogie des savoirs de Michel Foucault et de l'évolution récente des sciences sociales vers la réduction de l'universel, du symbolique, du langage et de la culture, à une simple construction sociale. Tout est relatif et peut être contractuellement défini dans des relations intersubjectives et les individus peuvent se définir eux-mêmes. Nous aurons besoin de comités d'éthique, comme le notait Miller (1996), pour établir la vérité, la norme, le protocole, les conventions selon les différents individus et groupes sociaux. Nous voulons évaluer si cette tendance postmoderne coïncide avec une radicalisation de la logique féminine de la sexuation, la logique du pas-tout. Quel est le rôle des mouvements féministes dans l'avènement de la thèse selon laquelle "il n'y a pas d'universel parce que l'Autre n'existe pas."

The woke movement took over American and Brazilian universities as well. Originating in the post-modernism of the seventies, it is inspired by the genealogy of knowledge by Michel Foucault and the recent evolution of the social sciences towards the reduction of the universal, the symbolic, language and culture, to a mere social construction. Everything is relative and can be contractually defined in intersubjective relationships or individuals can define themselves. We will need ethics committees, as Miller (1996) noted to establish the truth, the norm, the protocol, the conventions according to different individuals and social groups. We want to assess if this postmodern trend coincides with a radicalization of the feminine logic of sexuation, the logic of not-all. What is the role of feminist movements in the advent of the thesis that "there is no universal because the Other does not exist.".

Middle cerebral artery blood flow stability in response to high-definition transcranial electrical stimulation: A randomized sham-controlled clinical trial.

Since neuronal activity is coupled with neurovascular activity, we aimed to analyze the cerebral blood flow hemodynamics during and following high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS). We assessed the mean middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCA-BFv) bilaterally using transcranial doppler ultrasound, during and after HD-tDCS, in eleven right-handed healthy adult participants (6 women, 5 men; mean age 31 ± 5.6 years old), with no evidence of brain or cardiovascular dysfunction. The HD-tDCS electrode montage was centered over the right temporo-parietal junction. The stimulation protocol comprised 3 blocks of 2 min at each current intensity (1, 2, and 3 mA) and an inter-stimulus interval of 5 min between blocks. Participants received three electrical stimulation conditions (anode center, cathode center, and sham) on three different days, with an interval of at least 24 h. Stimulation was well tolerated across HD-tDCS conditions tested, and the volunteers reported no significant discomfort related to stimulation. There was no significant difference in the right or the left MCA-BFv during or after the stimulation protocol across all stimulation conditions. We conclude that at a range of intensities, vascular reaction assessed using middle cerebral artery blood flow is not significantly altered during or after HD-tDCS both locally and remotely, which provides further evidence for the safety of HD-tDCS.

Schrödinger and the Possible Existence of Different Types of Life.

Eighty years ago, Nobel Prize-winner physicist Erwin Schrödinger gave three lectures in Dublin's Trinity College, titled What is Life? The physical aspect of the living cell to explain life in terms of the chemistry and physics laws. Life definitions rely on the cellular theory, which poses in the first place that life is made up of cells. The recent discovery of giant viruses, along with the development of synthetic cells at the beginning of century 21st, has challenged the current idea of what life is. Thus, rather than having arrived at a close answer to Schrödinger's question, modern biology has touched down at a novel scenario in which several types of life-as opposed to only one-actually might exist on Earth and possibly the Universe. Eighty years after the Dublin lectures, the Schrödinger question could be: "What are lives"?

Dose-Response Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Study Design: A Well-Controlled Adaptive Seamless Bayesian Method to Illuminate Negative Valence Role in Tinnitus Perception.

The use of transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES) in the modulation of cognitive brain functions to improve neuropsychiatric conditions has extensively increased over the decades. tES techniques have also raised new challenges associated with study design, stimulation protocol, functional specificity, and dose-response relationship. In this paper, we addressed challenges through the emerging methodology to investigate the dose-response relationship of High Definition-transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD tDCS), identifying the role of negative valence in tinnitus perception. In light of the neurofunctional testable framework and tES application, hypotheses were formulated to measure clinical and surrogate endpoints. We posited that conscious pairing adequately pleasant stimuli with tinnitus perception results in correction of the loudness misperception and would be reinforced by concurrent active HD-tDCS on the left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (dlPFC). The dose-response relationship between HD-tDCS specificity and the loudness perception is also modeled. We conducted a double-blind, randomized crossover pilot study with six recruited tinnitus patients. Accrued data was utilized to design a well-controlled adaptive seamless Bayesian dose-response study. The sample size (n = 47, for 90% power and 95% confidence) and optimum interims were anticipated for adaptive decision-making about efficacy, safety, and single session dose parameters. Furthermore, preliminary pilot study results were sufficient to show a significant difference (90% power, 99% confidence) within the longitudinally detected self-report tinnitus loudness between before and under positive emotion induction. This study demonstrated a research methodology used to improve emotion regulation in tinnitus patients. In the projected method, positive emotion induction is essential for promoting functional targeting under HD-tDCS anatomical specificity to indicate the efficacy and facilitate the dose-finding process. The continuous updating of prior knowledge about efficacy and dose during the exploratory stage adapts the anticipated dose-response model. Consequently, the effective dose range to make superiority neuromodulation in correcting loudness misperception of tinnitus will be redefined. Highly effective dose adapts the study to a standard randomized trial and transforms it into the confirmatory stage in which active HD-tDCS protocol is compared with a sham trial (placebo-like). Establishing the HD-tDCS intervention protocols relying on this novel method provides reliable evidence for regulatory agencies to approve or reject the efficacy and safety. Furthermore, this paper supports a technical report for designing multimodality data-driven complementary investigations in emotion regulation, including EEG-driven neuro markers, Stroop-driven attention biases, and neuroimaging-driven brain network dynamics.

2020: Renewing the paradigms for orofacial pain / 2020: renovando los paradigmas para el dolor orofacial

Abstract In 2020, two important changes were adapted by the international health community: a new definition of pain and a new classification for orofacial pain conditions. With these changes new tasks and challenges also emerged, and clinicians from several disciplines begun to adopt and reconsidered classic paradigms, and the policies derived from them. This new perspective article, examine the new definition of pain proposed by the International Association for the Study of Pain, and the new International Classification of Orofacial Pain; analyzing the positive impact and further perspectives of these.

Resumen En 2020, dos importantes cambios fueron adaptados por la comunidad internacional en salud: una nueva definición de dolor y una nueva clasificación para las condiciones de dolor orofacial. Con estos cambios, también emergieron nuevos retos y tareas, y los clínicos de diversas disciplinas empezaron adaptar y reconsiderar los paradigmas clásicos; y las políticas derivadas de estos. En este artículo de nueva perspectiva, examinaremos nueva definición de dolor propuesta por la Asociación Internacional para el Estudio del Dolor, y la nueva Clasificación Internacional de Dolor Orofacial; analizando el impacto positivo y las próximas perspectivas de estos cambios.

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) attend both Mexico and Hawaii breeding grounds in the same winter: mixing in the northeast Pacific.

Humpback whales that assemble on winter breeding grounds in Mexico and Hawaii have been presumed to be, at least, seasonally isolated. Recently, these assemblies were declared Distinct Population Segments under the US Endangered Species Act. We report two humpback whales attending both breeding grounds in the same season-one moving from Hawaii to Mexico and the other from Mexico to Hawaii. The first was photo-identified in Maui, Hawaii on 23 February 2006 and again, after 53 days and 4545 km, on 17 April 2006 in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, Mexico. The second was photo-identified off Guerrero, Mexico on 16 February 2018 and again, 49 days and 5944 km later, on 6 April 2018 off Maui. The 2006 whale was identified in summer off Kodiak Island, Alaska; the 2018 whale off British Columbia. These Mexico-Hawaii identifications provide definitive evidence that whales in these two winter assemblies may mix during one winter season. This, combined with other lines of evidence on Mexico-Hawaii mixing, including interchange of individuals year to year, long-term similarity of everchanging songs, one earlier same-season travel record, and detection of humpback whales mid-ocean between these locations in winter, suggests reassessment of the 'distinctiveness' of these populations may be warranted.

Definition of Uveitis Refractory to Treatment: A Systematic Review in the Absence of a Consensus.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the different definition of refractoriness in uveitis in the literature. METHODS: We systematically searched the literature in order to identify definitions of refractory noninfectious uveitis in adult patients. A search strategy in the databases of MEDLINE and Scopus was used to find articles published between January 2005 and October 2018. RESULTS: Definitions of corticosteroids-refractoriness were related to two main concepts: persistence of inflammation despite the use of corticosteroid and recurrences above a dosage threshold. In terms of immunomodulatory therapy and biologic agents, we observed a great variety of definitions: persistence of inflammation, number of attacks, side effects or complications, symptoms, and best-corrected visual acuity. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this systematic review demonstrate the current lack of consensus on the definition for refractory uveitis, regardless of the treatment being used and revealed a new terminology based on a comprehensive and operational definition for each specific category of refractoriness.

Incident Tuberculosis Diagnoses in Children at High Risk for Disease.

We followed 35 children meeting a research definition for unconfirmed tuberculosis (TB) but in whom a pediatric pulmonologist did not diagnose or treat TB. After a median follow-up of 16.4 months, most children were not diagnosed with TB following a comprehensive evaluation. However, 2 were diagnosed with TB, demonstrating high TB risk (6%; exact 95% CI, 1%-19%). In some contexts, researchers may wish to supplement these research definitions with clinical decision data and longitudinal follow-up in order to improve specificity.

Recovered after an extreme bottleneck and saved by ex situ management: Lessons from the Alagoas curassow (Pauxi mitu [Linnaeus, 1766]; Aves, Galliformes, Cracidae).

A pivotal debate on biodiversity conservation is whether the scarce budgets must be invested in critically endangered taxa or in those with higher chances to survive due to larger population sizes. Addressing the fate of extremely bottlenecked taxa is an ideal way to test this idea, but empirical cases are surprisingly limited. The reintroduction of the extinct-in-the-wild Alagoas curassow (Pauxi mitu) by Brazilian scientists in September 2019 added to the two other known cases of survival to bottlenecks of only two or three individuals. We exploit the reasons why this species has survived, and we report how investments to rescue the Alagoas curassow resulted in the protection of many other taxa, suggesting that in the face of the dramatic number of extinctions expected for the Anthropocene, integration must prevail over a choice.