The aims of this study were 1) to characterize the intensity of the vibration stimulation in women diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FM) compared to a control group of healthy women (HW) matched by age and anthropometric parameters, and 2) to investigate the effect of a single session of whole body vibration (WBV) on inflammatory responses. Levels of adipokines, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors (sTNFr1, sTNFr2), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Oxygen consumption (VO2) was estimated by a portable gas analysis system, heart rate (HR) was measured using a HR monitor, and perceived exertion (RPE) was evaluated using the Borg scale of perceived exertion. Acutely mild WBV increased VO2 and HR similarly in both groups. There was an interaction (disease vs vibration) in RPE (P=0.0078), showing a higher RPE in FM compared to HW at rest, which further increased in FM after acute WBV, whereas it remained unchanged in HW. In addition, there was an interaction (disease vs vibration) in plasma levels of adiponectin (P=0.0001), sTNFR1 (P=0.000001), sTNFR2 (P=0.0052), leptin (P=0.0007), resistin (P=0.0166), and BDNF (P=0.0179). In conclusion, a single acute session of mild and short WBV can improve the inflammatory status in patients with FM, reaching values close to those of matched HW at their basal status. The neuroendocrine mechanism seems to be an exercise-induced modulation towards greater adaptation to stress response in these patients.

No abstract

Recent literature in performance evaluation has focused on preferences and characteristics of returns' distribution that go beyond mean and variance world. However, Eling (2008) compared the Sharpe ratio with some of these performance measures, and found virtually identical rank ordering using mutual fund data. This paper compares 13 performance measures with the traditional Sharpe Ratio using a sample of US Fixed-Income, Equity and Asset Allocation Mutual Funds. Results show that performance measures based on absolute reward-risk ratios have similar rankings, when the numerator (mean excess return) is the same. However, when we move to other types of performances measures, results may be significantly different. This is the case of the Manipulation-Proof Performance Measure (MPPM), Upside Potential Ratio, and Appraisal Ratio. Results are especially different for the MPPM. Robustness checks show that some of the performance measures are very sensitive to parameters' changes. Therefore, the choice of the performance measure is actually important for mutual fund ranking and selection. As a consequence, we argue that the use of several performance measures and rankings have a positive impact on the mutual fund's industry, reducing concentration.Int. J. Fin. Econ. 17: 61-72 (2012) 2. As pointed out by Noether (1981): 'The facts are that it is no easy matter to assign an operational interpretation to the Spearman coefficient. The Kendall coefficient, on the other hand, has an intuitively simple interpretation. What is more, its algebraic structure is much simpler than that of the Spearman coefficient. It can even be computed from the actual observations without first converting them to ranks.'

. 2013. Seleção de genótipos de alface para cultivo protegido: divergência genética e importância de caracteres. Horticultura Brasileira 31: 260-265. Seleção de genótipos de alface para cultivo protegido: divergência genética e importância de caracteres

ABSTRACT. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic dissimilarity among sweet potato genotypes using morphological and molecular descriptors. The experiment was conducted in the Olericulture Sector at Federal University of Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys (UFVJM) and evaluated 60 sweet potato genotypes. For morphological characterization, 24 descriptors were used. For molecular characterization, 11 microsatellite primers specific for sweet potatoes were used, obtaining 210 polymorphic bands. Morphological and molecular diversity was obtained by dissimilarity matrices based on the coefficient of simple matching and the Jaccard index for morphological and molecular data, respectively. From these matrices, dendrograms were built. There is a large amount of genetic variability among sweet potato genotypes of the germplasm bank at UFVJM based on morphological and molecular characterizations. There was no duplicate suspicion or strong association between morphological and molecular analyses. Divergent accessions have been identified by molecular and morphological analyses, which can be used as parents in breeding programmes to produce progenies with high genetic variability. Dissimilaridade genética entre genótipos de batata-doce por meio de descritores morfológicos e moleculares RESUMO. Objetivou-se avaliar a dissimilaridade genética entre genótipos de batata-doce por meio de descritores morfológicas e moleculares. O experimento foi conduzido no Setor de Olericultura da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM) avaliando-se 60 genótipos de batata-doce. Na caracterização morfológica, utilizaram-se 24 descritores. Na caracterização molecular, utilizaram-se onze primers microssatélites específicos para batata-doce, obtendo-se 210 bandas polimórficas. A diversidade morfológica e molecular foi obtida por matrizes de dissimilaridade baseando-se no coeficiente de coincidência simples e índice de Jaccard, para dados morfológicos e moleculares, respectivamente. A partir destas matrizes foram construídos dendrogramas. Houve grande variabilidade genética entre os genótipos de batata doce do banco de germoplasma da UFVJM, tanto pela caracterização molecular como morfológica. Não houve suspeita de duplicata nem associação entre a análise molécular e morfológica. Foram identificados acessos divergentes pelas análises moleculares e morfológicas, os quais são indicados como genitores para compor programas de melhoramento a fim de obter progênies com alta variabilidade genética. Palavras-chave:Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam., marcadores morfológicos, microssatélites, diversidade genética, banco de germoplasma.

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in Brazil, a country of continental dimensions, but the incidence of the disease is showing to be very heterogeneous, affecting cities and regions differently. Thus, there is a gap regarding what factors would contribute to accentuate the differences in the incidence of COVID-19 among Brazilian cities. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of altitude on the incidence of COVID-19 in Brazilian cities. We analyzed the relative incidence (RI), the relative death rate (RDR) of COVID-19, and air relative humidity (RH) in all 154 cities in Brazil with a population above 200 thousand inhabitants, located between 5 and 1135 m in altitude. Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to compare a relationship between altitude with RI and RDR, and between RH with RI and RDR. Altitudes were classified into three classes [low (altitude ≤ 97 m a. s. l), middle (97 < altitude ≤ 795 m a. s. l), high (795 < altitude ≤ 1135 m a. s. l)] for the RI, RDR, and RH variables. To compare the three classes of altitude, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test were used to compare averages (p < 0.05). Our epidemiological analysis found that the RI, RDR, and RH were lower in cities located in high altitudes (795 < altitude ≤ 1135 m a. s. l) when compared to the middle (97 < altitude ≤ 795 m a. s. l) and low (altitude ≤ 97 m a. s. l) cities altitudes. Furthermore, our study shows that there is a negative correlation between the incidence of COVID-19 with altitude and a positive correlation with RH in the cities analyzed. Brazilian cities with high altitude and low RH have lower RI and RDR from COVID-19. Thus, high altitude cities may be favorable to shelter people at risk. This study may be useful for understanding the behavior of SARS-CoV2, and start point for future studies to establish causality of environmental conditions with SARS-CoV2 contributing to the implementation of measures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.

No abstract

Agronomic performance and genetic parameters of sweet potato genotypesThe present study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of sweet potato genotypes and estimating genetic parameters. The experiment consisted of 65 varieties (clones) of the sweet potato germplasm bank from the Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valley, installed in the design of randomized blocks with three replications and 15 plants per plot. Were evaluated green mass of branches (MV), total productivity of roots (PT), average weight of total roots (PMT), commercial yield (PC), the average weight of marketable roots (PMC), shape of roots (FORM) and insect resistance (IR). Considering the gains of selection for these characteristics, we infer that clone selection can lead to significant genetic progress. The characters PT, PMT, PC and PMC are positively correlated, so selecting any of them carries genetic gains in others. Selection for root production can be conducted in the character PT because its evaluation is simpler and correlates with the commercial production, which is of utmost importance. The selection promotes increases in MV character in PMC and PMT and causes no effects in others. For most traits were prevalent environmental effects on genetic. The BD-15, BD-42 and BD-67 genotypes showed better agronomic performance.