A rare case report of coexisting rheumatic heart disease and systemic lupus erythematous.

This case report discusses the rare coexistence of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) in a 46-year-old female patient, challenging the conventional understanding of their distinct presentations. The patient exhibited migratory joint pains, palpitations, and shortness of breath. Diagnostic investigations confirmed SLE based on EULAR/ACR criteria, with positive anti-nuclear and anti-dsDNA antibodies. Concurrently, transthoracic echocardiography revealed severe mitral stenosis and regurgitation, leading to the diagnosis of RHD. The patient underwent successful open-heart surgery with mitral valve replacement. The discussion explores the rarity of this coexistence, emphasizing the need for cautious consideration and further research into potential immunological overlaps between SLE and RHD. The report concludes with a call for comprehensive studies to enhance our understanding of the pathophysiology connecting these two conditions.

Drivers of habitat partitioning among three Quercus species along a hydrologic gradient.

A critical process that allows multiple, similar species to coexist in an ecological community is their ability to partition local habitat gradients. The mechanisms that underlie this separation at local scales may include niche differences associated with their biogeographic history, differences in ecological function associated with the degree of shared ancestry and trait-based performance differences, which may be related to spatial or temporal variation in habitat. In this study we measured traits related to water-use, growth and stress tolerance in mature trees and seedlings of three oak species (Quercus alba L., Quercus falcata Michx. and Quercus palustris Münchh). which co-occur in temperate forests across the eastern USA but tend to be found in contrasting hydrologic environments. The three species showed significant differences in their local distributions along a hydrologic gradient. We tested three possible mechanisms that influence their contrasting local environmental distributions and promote their long-term co-existence: (i) differences in their climatic distributions across a broad geographic range, (ii) differences in functional traits related to water use, drought tolerance and growth and (iii) contrasting responses to temporal variation in water availability. We identified key differences between the species in both their range-wide climatic distributions (especially aridity index and mean annual temperature) and physiological traits in mature trees and seedlings, including daily water loss, hydraulic conductance, stress responses, growth rate and biomass allocation. Taken together, these differences explain the habitat partitioning that allows three closely related species to co-occur locally.

Systematics of the Madagascar Anelosimus spiders: remarkable local richness and endemism, and dual colonization from the Americas.

Despite the alarming rates of deforestation and forest fragmentation, Madagascar still harbors extraordinary biodiversity. However, in many arthropod groups, such as spiders, this biodiversity remains mostly unexplored and undescribed. The first subsocial Madagascan species of the theridiid spider genus Anelosimus were described in 2005 when six new species were found to coexist in the Périnet forest fragment within Andasibe-Mantadia NP. However, this discovery was based only on a few specimens and the extent of this Madagascan radiation has remained unknown. We here report on a thorough survey of >350 colonies from Périnet, and three pilot surveys into additional Madagascar forests (Ambohitantely, Ranamofana, and Montagne d'Ambre). The morphological, molecular and natural history data from these surveys facilitated a revised taxonomy and phylogenetic hypothesis of Madagascan Anelosimus. This subsocial clade currently comprises six previously known (Anelosimusandasibe Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2005, Anelosimusmay Agnarsson, 2005, Anelosimusnazariani Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2005, Anelosimussallee Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2005, Anelosimussalut Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2005, Anelosimusvondrona Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2005) and 10 new species: Anelosimusata sp. n., Anelosimusbuffoni sp. n., Anelosimusdarwini sp. n., Anelosimushookeri sp. n., Anelosimushuxleyi sp. n., Anelosimuslamarcki sp. n., Anelosimusmoramora sp. n., Anelosimustita sp. n., Anelosimustorfi sp. n., Anelosimuswallacei sp. n.. With the exception of Anelosimusmay and Anelosimusvondrona, all other species appear to be single forest endemics. While additional sampling is necessary, these data imply a much higher local richness and endemism in Madagascan forests than in any other comparable area globally. The phylogenetic results establish a sister clade relationship between the subsocial Anelosimus in Madagascar and the American 'eximius group', and between the solitary Anelosimusdecaryi on Madagascar and a solitary American clade. These findings imply duplicate colonizations from America, an otherwise rare biogeographical pattern, calling for more detailed investigation of Anelosimus biogeography.

Top carnivores increase their kill rates on prey as a response to human-induced fear.

The fear induced by predators on their prey is well known to cause behavioural adjustments by prey that can ripple through food webs. Little is known, however, about the analogous impacts of humans as perceived top predators on the foraging behaviour of carnivores. Here, we investigate the influence of human-induced fear on puma foraging behaviour using location and prey consumption data from 30 tagged individuals living along a gradient of human development. We observed strong behavioural responses by female pumas to human development, whereby their fidelity to kill sites and overall consumption time of prey declined with increasing housing density by 36 and 42%, respectively. Females responded to this decline in prey consumption time by increasing the number of deer they killed in high housing density areas by 36% over what they killed in areas with little residential development. The loss of food from declines in prey consumption time paired with increases in energetic costs associated with killing more prey may have consequences for puma populations, particularly with regard to reproductive success. In addition, greater carcass availability is likely to alter community dynamics by augmenting food resources for scavengers. In light of the extensive and growing impact of habitat modification, our study emphasizes that knowledge of the indirect effects of human activity on animal behaviour is a necessary component in understanding anthropogenic impacts on community dynamics and food web function.

Concepciones y prácticas sobre la violencia en el ámbito escolar / Concepts and practises of violence in school settings

Tras una aproximación al concepto de Violencia Escolar, se efectúa una exposición de dos paradigmas de abordaje vigentes aún en las instituciones educativas: el de la disciplina y el de la convivencia, señalando los dispositivos y acciones que han devenido de ambos modelos. Seguidamente se presentan los objetivos, la estrategia metodológica y los resultados obtenidos en la investigación realizada en el marco del proyecto "Investigación evaluativa de un proyecto de promoción de la salud en establecimientos educativos" (convocatoria UBACYT 2010-2012) y en la cual una de las autoras participó como becaria en la categoría estímulo. El informe realiza un análisis y discusión en torno a los principales hallazgos, y las transferencias establecidas a los miembros de la comunidad educativa que participaron en el presente estudio.

After introducing the concept of school violence, we display two paradigms: one from the discipline and other from the coexistance, both taking place in the scholar institutions, remainding the actions and devices from each other. It will be shown the aims, the methodological estrategy and the results gotten by the research curried out by the "Evaluative research of a promoting health in scholar institutions project" project (UBACYT 2010-2012 call), and in which one of the authors worked as a stimulus category fellow. The paper makes an analysis and discusion about the main indings and the transfer throught the educational community members, who took part in this study.

Concepciones y prácticas sobre la violencia en el ámbito escolar / Concepts and practises of violence in school settings

Tras una aproximación al concepto de Violencia Escolar, se efectúa una exposición de dos paradigmas de abordaje vigentes aún en las instituciones educativas: el de la disciplina y el de la convivencia, señalando los dispositivos y acciones que han devenido de ambos modelos. Seguidamente se presentan los objetivos, la estrategia metodológica y los resultados obtenidos en la investigación realizada en el marco del proyecto "Investigación evaluativa de un proyecto de promoción de la salud en establecimientos educativos" (convocatoria UBACYT 2010-2012) y en la cual una de las autoras participó como becaria en la categoría estímulo. El informe realiza un análisis y discusión en torno a los principales hallazgos, y las transferencias establecidas a los miembros de la comunidad educativa que participaron en el presente estudio.(AU)

After introducing the concept of school violence, we display two paradigms: one from the discipline and other from the coexistance, both taking place in the scholar institutions, remainding the actions and devices from each other. It will be shown the aims, the methodological estrategy and the results gotten by the research curried out by the "Evaluative research of a promoting health in scholar institutions project" project (UBACYT 2010-2012 call), and in which one of the authors worked as a stimulus category fellow. The paper makes an analysis and discusion about the main indings and the transfer throught the educational community members, who took part in this study.(AU)