Stroke is the second leading cause of death in Brazil and worldwide 1 and trends in stroke mortality rates may be analyzed as a proxy of social economic differences among countries and regions. A systematic review of population-based studies showed a divergent, statistically significant difference trend in stroke incidence rates, from 1970 to 2008. It was observed a 42% decrease in stroke incidence in high income countries in contrast to a more than 100% increase in this incidence in middle and low income countries 2 . There is a ten-fold difference in mortality rates for stroke between the most-affected and the less-affected countries. Moreover, national per capita income has been pointed out as the strongest predictor of stroke mortality even after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors 3 . In Brazil, there is evidence of declining mortality from stroke in São Paulo since the 1970s 4 and all over the country since the 1980s 5 , but the magnitude of the mortality rates and its decline, as well as the differences among the regions of the country need to be better investigated. From 1979 to 1996, among Brazilian adults aged 30 or more years old, despite the high values, the age-adjusted death rate for stroke dropped significantly (p<0.001) from 200 to 164 deaths/100,000 population in men and from 168 to 130 deaths/100,000 population in women ABstrACtStroke mortality rates are declining in Brazil, but diferences among regions need to be better investigated. The age-adjusted stroke mortality trends among adults (30-69 years-old) from Brazilian regions were studied between 1996 and 2011. Method: Data were analyzed after: 1) reallocation of deaths with non-registered sex or age; 2) redistribution of garbage codes and 3) underreporting correction. A linear regression model with autoregressive errors and a state space model were fitted to the data, aiming the estimation of annual trends at every point in time. Results: Although there were high values, a steady decrease of rates was observed. The decreasing trends among all regions were statistically significant, with higher values of decline among the Northeast and Northern regions, where rates were the highest. Conclusion: Standardized methodology use is mandatory for correct interpretation of mortality estimates. Although declining, rates are still extremely high and efforts must be made towards prevention of stroke incidence, reduction of case-fatality rates and prevention of sequelae.Key-words: stroke; mortality rate; health inequalities. resumo Objetivos: As taxas de mortalidade por acidente vascular encefálico (AVE) estão em declínio no Brasil, mas diferenças entre as regiões precisam ser melhor investigadas. Foram analisadas as tendências de mortalidade por AVE ajustadas por idade em adultos (30-69 anos) de regiões do Brasil, entre 1996 e 2011. Método: Análise realizada após realocação dos óbitos sem registro de sexo ou idade; redistribuição de códigos mal definidos e correção do subregistro. Modelos de regressão linear e de espaço de estados foram utilizad...

No abstract

The nutritional quality of daphnids diet can influence their growth, reproduction and survival. In aquatic ecosystems, bacteria can contribute significantly to Daphnia diet by supporting, for instances, their high needs for phosphorus. The laboratory feeding of the model organisms Daphnia spp. is algal based, but should be improved to allow their better performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of two planctomycetes, Gemmata obscuriglobus and Rhodopirellula rubra, from exponential and stationary growth phases as alternative or supplementary food source for Daphnia magna. The actinobacterium Arthrobacter sp. was used for comparison. The feeding with only bacteria showed the inefficacy of both planctomycetes and actinobacteria as the only food source. However, when used in supplement to Raphidocelis subcapitata, a decrease in the age of first reproduction, a significant increase in reproductive output, in somatic growth and in rate of population increase was found for the highest cell densities of bacteria tested. The typical pink coloration of these bacteria present in daphnids body and eggs confirmed bacterial absorption and metabolization of their pigment. Planctomycetes yielded better results than the actinobacteria Arthrobacter but G. obscuriglobus that possesses sterols did not induce a better performance comparatively to R. rubra. No relation could be established between the feeding treatments that allowed improvement of Daphnia performance and the different kind of Daphnia' Fatty Acid Methyl Esters. The use of sonication to separate planctomycetal cells before feeding the daphnids proved to be efficient. We confirmed that R. subcapitata supplemented by bacteria allows a better growth performance of D. magna.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of coffee intake on cognitive function in persons living with HIV (PLWH). 130 PLWH with CD4 > 200 cells/mm(3), undetectable viral load, treated with HAART were included. A structured interview was applied and relevant clinical and laboratory data were assessed, including coffee intake. For neuropsychological assessment, the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center Battery was chosen. Univariate nonparametric statistics and multivariate regression model were used. A significant association between espresso coffee use and a better cognitive function was verified in five of the eight psychometric measurements. In the multivariate analysis, after variable adjustment, linear regression analysis showed that coffee intake was a positive predictor for attention/working memory, executive functions and Global Deficit Score. Although the mechanisms behind the influence of caffeine on cognitive functioning are controversial, regular espresso coffee intake may have favourable effects on cognitive deterioration caused by HIV.

Many aquatic invertebrates that inhabit temporary ponds produce resting forms to overcome the dry period, building up the egg bank. When the wet phase returns, the resting forms hatch and the community is restored, and then pioneer species may have a major influence on how the pond community will assemble. We aimed to evaluate the diversity of an initial pond metacommunity by comparing the early active metacommunity collected in the field and the egg bank metacommunity (by carrying out a hatching experiment) of 32 Mediterranean temporary ponds. We hypothesised that both metacommunities would be similar but also that species turnover may play an important role, and that γ diversity would be similar with both approaches. After the identification and counting of rotifers and crustaceans in both metacommunities (i.e. the field vs. the experiment) we performed a Partial Triadic Analysis comparing the field metacommunity with those corresponding to each of the eight times the hatching experiment was checked for hatchlings. Furthermore, we compared the field and experimental metacommunities with a PROTEST analysis and identified the taxa responsible for differences between metacommunities with a SIMPER analysis. We assessed γ diversity using a size‐based rarefaction curve and an evenness profile and explored β diversity and its components (turnover and nestedness) for the two metacommunities. Our experimental results showed differences in the temporal pattern of emergence between groups of organisms, with copepods, rotifers, and anostracans appearing first, but ostracods and rotifers reaching the highest diversity at the end of the experiment. The active and experimental pioneer metacommunities were similar according to a Procrustes analysis. Nevertheless, β diversity was high in both metacommunities and the differences among ponds and between both assemblages were mostly explained by species turnover. Both the active and experimental pond metacommunities showed some exclusive species that may be more difficult to uncover with only one type of approach. Furthermore, the high β diversity observed indicates that each temporary pond is an important contributor to γ diversity in the metacommunity. These results show that hatching experiments provide information that is complementary to standard sampling of the active community, and consequently is a useful tool to uncover pond biodiversity.