A species-level trait dataset of bats in Europe and beyond.

Knowledge of species' functional traits is essential for understanding biodiversity patterns, predicting the impacts of global environmental changes, and assessing the efficiency of conservation measures. Bats are major components of mammalian diversity and occupy a variety of ecological niches and geographic distributions. However, an extensive compilation of their functional traits and ecological attributes is still missing. Here we present EuroBaTrait 1.0, the most comprehensive and up-to-date trait dataset covering 47 European bat species. The dataset includes data on 118 traits including genetic composition, physiology, morphology, acoustic signature, climatic associations, foraging habitat, roost type, diet, spatial behaviour, life history, pathogens, phenology, and distribution. We compiled the bat trait data obtained from three main sources: (i) a systematic literature and dataset search, (ii) unpublished data from European bat experts, and (iii) observations from large-scale monitoring programs. EuroBaTrait is designed to provide an important data source for comparative and trait-based analyses at the species or community level. The dataset also exposes knowledge gaps in species, geographic and trait coverage, highlighting priorities for future data collection.

Bat responses to climate change: a systematic review.

Understanding how species respond to climate change is key to informing vulnerability assessments and designing effective conservation strategies, yet research efforts on wildlife responses to climate change fail to deliver a representative overview due to inherent biases. Bats are a species-rich, globally distributed group of organisms that are thought to be particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change because of their high surface-to-volume ratios and low reproductive rates. We systematically reviewed the literature on bat responses to climate change to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge, identify research gaps and biases and highlight future research needs. We found that studies are geographically biased towards Europe, North America and Australia, and temperate and Mediterranean biomes, thus missing a substantial proportion of bat diversity and thermal responses. Less than half of the published studies provide concrete evidence for bat responses to climate change. For over a third of studied bat species, response evidence is only based on predictive species distribution models. Consequently, the most frequently reported responses involve range shifts (57% of species) and changes in patterns of species diversity (26%). Bats showed a variety of responses, including both positive (e.g. range expansion and population increase) and negative responses (range contraction and population decrease), although responses to extreme events were always negative or neutral. Spatial responses varied in their outcome and across families, with almost all taxonomic groups featuring both range expansions and contractions, while demographic responses were strongly biased towards negative outcomes, particularly among Pteropodidae and Molossidae. The commonly used correlative modelling approaches can be applied to many species, but do not provide mechanistic insight into behavioural, physiological, phenological or genetic responses. There was a paucity of experimental studies (26%), and only a small proportion of the 396 bat species covered in the examined studies were studied using long-term and/or experimental approaches (11%), even though they are more informative about the effects of climate change. We emphasise the need for more empirical studies to unravel the multifaceted nature of bats' responses to climate change and the need for standardised study designs that will enable synthesis and meta-analysis of the literature. Finally, we stress the importance of overcoming geographic and taxonomic disparities through strengthening research capacity in the Global South to provide a more comprehensive view of terrestrial biodiversity responses to climate change.

Fatores predisponentes para a ocorrência da amamentação na primeira hora de vida / Predisposing factors for breastfeeding in the first hour of life

RESUMO Objetivo investigar a prevalência e os fatores predisponentes à amamentação na primeira hora de vida em maternidades públicas. Métodos estudo de corte transversal, analítico e exploratório, desenvolvido com 390 puérperas de duas maternidades públicas. Foram analisadas características sociodemográficas, antecedentes obstétricos e variáveis relativas ao trabalho de parto, parto e pós-parto. Avaliaram-se as diferenças estatísticas pelo teste Qui-quadrado ou exato de Fisher. A razão de prevalência foi calculada por regressão de Poisson, com variância robusta. Resultados a prevalência de amamentação na primeira hora de vida em sala de parto foi de apenas 29,2% (Intervalo de Confiança 95%: 24,68-33,71) e mostrou-se associada ao ruído, ao clampeamento do cordão umbilical, ao contato pele a pele e ao tempo decorrido para o primeiro banho no neonato. Conclusão os fatores predisponentes da amamentação na primeira hora de vida estiveram associados a medidas assistenciais adotadas durante o parto e nascimento, demandando estratégias de qualificação do cuidado. Contribuição para a prática os resultados podem fornecer redirecionamento para a orientação de mudanças estruturais e educativas, visando a qualificação do cuidado na atenção ao parto e nascimento ofertado à população.

ABSTRACT Objective to investigate the prevalence and predisposing factors to breastfeeding in the first hour of life in public maternity hospitals. Methods this is a cross-sectional, analytical, and exploratory study of 390 puerperal women from two public maternity hospitals. Sociodemographic characteristics, obstetric history, and variables relating to labor, delivery, and postpartum were analyzed. Statistical differences were assessed using the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. The prevalence ratio was calculated using Poisson regression with robust variance. Results the prevalence of breastfeeding in the first hour of life in the delivery room was only 29.2% (95% Confidence Interval: 24.68-33.71) and was associated with noise, the clamping of the umbilical cord, skin-to-skin contact, and the time taken to bathe the newborn for the first time. Conclusion the predisposing factors for breastfeeding in the first hour of life were associated with care measures adopted during labor and birth, calling for strategies to improve care. Contribution to practice the results can provide guidance for structural and educational changes, with a view to improving the care offered to the population during labor and birth.

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL: A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in Portugal.

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n =31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n = 18,857), Carnivora (n = 18,594), Lagomorpha (n = 17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n = 11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n = 7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n = 12,159], Monachus monachus [n = 1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n = 197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications.

Crowding after sudden habitat loss affects demography and social structure in a bat population.

The sudden loss of habitats due to natural or anthropogenic disturbances causes displacement of mobile animals from affected areas to refuge habitats, where large but often transitory concentrations of individuals may occur. While these local density increases have been previously described, the hypothesis that crowding disrupts demographic processes remains largely untested. Here we used the sudden flooding of a river valley by a hydroelectric reservoir as a quasi-experiment to investigate the consequences of crowding on demography, fecundity and social structure in the European free-tailed bat Tadarida teniotis. We monitored bat populations at roosts near and far from the flooded area, before (2013-2014), during (2015) and after (2016) habitat flooding. We assessed population demographic parameters using Capture-Mark-Recapture (CMR) models (3,821 PIT-tagged individuals), and used genetic relatedness among individuals (1,407 individuals genotyped for 14 microsatellite markers) to infer changes in social structure. Habitat loss through flooding was associated with significant but transitory increases in the number of bats using nearby roosts. This may be related to the higher probability of individuals arriving at those roosts during flooding, together with increases in individual local residency through time, particularly among males. Individual apparent survival was highest during flooding and lowest in the following year, while the probability of leaving a roost safe from flooding was higher near the impact area than farther away. Crowding did not negatively affect fecundity, but the arrival of new individuals led to changes in social structure as revealed by lower genetic relatedness between individuals after disturbance at roosts near the flooding area, but not in those farther afield. Our study documents a clear example of crowding effects, suggesting that bats losing roosts due to a hydroelectric reservoir moved to alternative roosts, where local increases in population size and the arrival of new individuals reduced genetic relatedness and apparent survival, but not fecundity. These results support the hypothesis that crowding after habitat loss can disrupt population processes, even though effects may be subtle and short-lived. Also, they point out the need to duly consider crowding effects when assessing and mitigating anthropogenic impacts on animal populations.

Bats use topography and nocturnal updrafts to fly high and fast.

During the day, flying animals exploit the environmental energy landscape by seeking out thermal or orographic uplift, or extracting energy from wind gradients.1-6 However, most of these energy sources are not thought to be available at night because of the lower thermal potential in the nocturnal atmosphere, as well as the difficulty of locating features that generate uplift. Despite this, several bat species have been observed hundreds to thousands of meters above the ground.7-9 Individuals make repeated, energetically costly high-altitude ascents,10-13 and others fly at some of the fastest speeds observed for powered vertebrate flight.14 We hypothesized that bats use orographic uplift to reach high altitudes,9,15-17 and that both this uplift and bat high-altitude ascents would be highly predictable.18 By superimposing detailed three-dimensional GPS tracking of European free-tailed bats (Tadarida teniotis) on high-resolution regional wind data, we show that bats do indeed use the energy of orographic uplift to climb to over 1,600 m, and also that they reach maximum sustained self-powered airspeeds of 135 km h-1. We show that wind and topography can predict areas of the landscape able to support high-altitude ascents, and that bats use these locations to reach high altitudes while reducing airspeeds. Bats then integrate wind conditions to guide high-altitude ascents, deftly exploiting vertical wind energy in the nocturnal landscape.

Exercise interventions improve depression and anxiety in chronic kidney disease patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This systematic review examined the effects of exercise interventions on depression and anxiety in chronic kidney disease patients. METHODS: Electronic searches were conducted between August 2019 and February 2020 at PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, EBSCO, Scopus, LILACS, EMBASE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, and Cochrane Library databases. Original clinical trial studies that examined the effects of exercise on depression and anxiety in chronic kidney disease patients, stages 3-5, were included. A total of eight studies were included in the systematic review after applying the eligibility criteria, and six studies used for the meta-analysis procedures. RESULTS: The meta-analysis demonstrated statistical difference on depression in favour to exercise when compared to active control (SMD = - 0.66 [- 1.00, - 0.33], p < 0.0001) and passive control (MD = - 6.95 [- 8.76, - 5.14], p < 0.00001). Same results on anxiety demonstrated statistical difference between exercise and active control (SMD = - 0.78 [- 1.21, - 0.34], p = 0.0004). CONCLUSION: From the current limited number and quality of published studies, exercise seems to be more effective than sedentary control and other active control groups for improving depression and anxiety symptoms in chronic kidney disease patients.

Conhecimento, atitude e prática de trabalhadoras rurais sobre prevenção do câncer de colo uterino / Knowledge, attitude and practices of women agricultural workers on the prevention of cervical cancer

Objetivou-se identificar o conhecimento, a atitude e a prática sobre a prevenção do câncer de colo uterino de mulheres trabalhadoras rurais, bem como conhecer o perfil sociodemográfico, as principais dificuldades para realização do exame citopatológico e os fatores de risco do câncer de colo uterino. Trata-se de um estudo observacional, de corte transversal, desenvolvido com 50 trabalhadoras rurais associadas ao Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Rurais da cidade de Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco. Dentre as mulheres entrevistadas, em relação à prevenção do câncer de colo uterino, 32 (64%) possuíam conhecimento inadequado; 26 (52%) apresentavam atitude adequada e 39 (78%) apresentavam prática adequada. As trabalhadoras rurais precisam conhecer o exame citopatológico e a importância de sua realização, para aderirem à prática do exame. Dessa forma, é de grande importância definir estratégias para suprir as deficiências encontradas, de maneira que essas mulheres possam ter mais conhecimento do exame e adesão ao mesmo.

The main purpose of this work is to identify the knowledge, the attitude and the prevention practices of uterine cervix cancer held by women that are agricultural workers. Recognize their sociodemographic profile and consequential difficulties to take cytopathological exams are also objectives of this work, as well as detect risk factors that may advance uterine cervix cancer. This is an observational study, cross-sectional, conducted with 50 farm women workers associated in the rural workers union of the city of Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco. Among women interviewed, with respect to uterine cervix cancer prevention, 32 (64%) revealed improper understanding; 26 (52%) showed appropriate attitude and 39 (78%) presented proper practice. The workers need to know better about cytopathological examination and its significance to adhere to a constant practice of it. Therefore, is of great significance to define strategies to supply the deficiencies encountered, in a way these women may get more expertise and commitment with the examination.

Hidden in our pockets: building of a DNA barcode library unveils the first record of Myotis alcathoe for Portugal.

BACKGROUND: The advent and boom of DNA barcoding technologies have provided a powerful tool for the fields of ecology and systematics. Here, we present the InBIO Barcoding Initiative Database: Portuguese Bats (Chiroptera) dataset containing DNA sequences of 63 specimens representing the 25 bat species currently known for continental Portugal. For that, we sequenced tissues samples obtained in a vast array of projects spanning the last two decades. NEW INFORMATION: We added four new Barcoding Index Numbers (BINs) to existing Chiroptera barcodes on BOLD, two belonging to Myotis escalerai, one to Plecotus auritus and the other to Rhinolophus hipposideros. Surprisingly, one of the samples initially identified in the field as Myotis mystacinus turned out to be Myotis alcathoe, which represents the first record of this species for Portugal. The presence of Nyctalus noctula in Portugal was also genetically confirmed for the first time. This case study shows the power and value of DNA barcoding initiatives to unravel new data that may be hidden on biological collections.

Adenovirus emergence in a red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in Iberian Peninsula.

Adenoviruses (AdV) are pathogens capable of infecting animals and humans leading to a wide spectrum of diseases. They have a widespread geographical dissemination and infect several species, including red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris). In the Iberian Peninsula, there are no reports of infection of red squirrels by AdV. In this study, we report for the first time the detection of squirrel AdV in a red squirrel trapped in central Portugal. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequences obtained for the hexon and the penton base genes were similar to the Korean squirrel AdV strain and strongly divergent from the strains present in red squirrels in Europe. These findings indicate the emergence of a new strain circulating in Europe and raise concerns regarding the conservation of the red squirrel.

First report on extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli from European free-tailed bats (Tadarida teniotis) in Portugal: A one-health approach of a hidden contamination problem.

The main aim of this study was to characterize the diversity of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) in Escherichia coli isolates from European free tailed-bats (Tadarida teniotis) in Portugal. ESBL-producing E. coli isolates were recovered from 14 of 146 faecal samples (9.6%) and a total of 19 isolates were completely characterized. The more prevalent beta-lactamase genes detected were blaCTX-M-1 (57.9%) and blaCTX-M-3 (36.8%), followed by blaSHV (31.6%), blaTEM (21.1%), blaOXA (10.5%) and blaCTX-M-9 (10.5%). Among other associated resistance genes studied, tet(A) and tet(B) were predominant and fimA was the main virulence factor detected. Phylogroups D (47.4%) and A (31.6%) were the more prevalent, followed by group B2 (21.1%). Bats are reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and resistance determinants and is important in further studies to identify the main sources of pollution in the environment, such as water or insects that may contain these multiresistant organisms.

How much is enough? Effects of technical and biological replication on metabarcoding dietary analysis.

DNA metabarcoding is increasingly used in dietary studies to estimate diversity, composition and frequency of occurrence of prey items. However, few studies have assessed how technical and biological replication affect the accuracy of diet estimates. This study addresses these issues using the European free-tailed bat Tadarida teniotis, involving high-throughput sequencing of a small fragment of the COI gene in 15 separate faecal pellets and a 15-pellet pool per each of 20 bats. We investigated how diet descriptors were affected by variability among (a) individuals, (b) pellets of each individual and (c) PCRs of each pellet. In addition, we investigated the impact of (d) analysing separate pellets vs. pellet pools. We found that diet diversity estimates increased steadily with the number of pellets analysed per individual, with seven pellets required to detect ~80% of prey species. Most variation in diet composition was associated with differences among individual bats, followed by pellets per individual and PCRs per pellet. The accuracy of frequency of occurrence estimates increased with the number of pellets analysed per bat, with the highest error rates recorded for prey consumed infrequently by many individuals. Pools provided poor estimates of diet diversity and frequency of occurrence, which were comparable to analysing a single pellet per individual, and consistently missed the less common prey items. Overall, our results stress that maximizing biological replication is critical in dietary metabarcoding studies and emphasize that analysing several samples per individual rather than pooled samples produce more accurate results.

Plano de parto como instrumento das boas práticas no parto e nascimento: revisão integrativa / Plan de parto como instrumento de buenas prácticas en el trabajo de parto y en el parto: una revisión integradora / Birth plan as an instrument of good practices in delivery and birth: an integrative review

Objetivo analisar as evidências disponíveis sobre as principais contribuições do plano de parto como instrumento das boas práticas obstétricas no processo de parto e nascimento em ambiente hospitalar. Método revisão integrativa com 12 artigos publicados entre 2013 e 2018 nas bases de dados MEDLINE, Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde, LILACS, SciELO e PubMed, utilizando trabalhos originais, reflexão, atualização e relato de experiência, completos e disponíveis na íntegra. Resultados observou-se a importância do plano de parto para estimular as boas práticas obstétricas, permitir maior autonomia e liberdade de escolha das mulheres, contribuir para um atendimento qualificado e humanizado, facilitar a confiança da mulher com a equipe, além de favorecer maior satisfação com o parto, comunicação com os profissionais envolvidos e propiciar resultados maternos/neonatais mais satisfatórios. Conclusão comprovou-se que o plano de parto é um instrumento que propicia boas práticas obstétricas no processo de parto e nascimento em ambiente hospitalar.

Objetivo analizar las evidencias disponibles sobre las principales contribuciones del plan de parto como instrumento de las buenas prácticas obstétricas en el proceso de parto y nacimiento en el entorno de un hospital. Método revisión integradora con 12 artículos publicados entre 2013 y 2018 en las siguientes bases de datos: MEDLINE, Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde, LILACS, SciELO y PubMed, utilizando trabajos originales, de reflexión, de actualización y reporte de experiencias, completos y disponibles en forma íntegra. Resultados se observó la importancia del plan de parto para estimular las buenas prácticas obstétricas, permitir mayor autonomía y libertad de elección de las mujeres, contribuir a una asistencia calificada y humanizada, facilitar que la mujer confíe en el equipo médico, además de favorecer una mayor satisfacción con el parto, la comunicación con los profesionales participantes, y propiciar resultados maternos/neonatales más satisfactorios. Conclusión se comprobó que el plan de parto es un instrumento que propicia buenas prácticas obstétricas en el proceso de parto y nacimiento en un ambiente de hospital.

Objective to analyze the available evidence on the main contributions of the birth plan as an instrument of good obstetric practices in the process of delivery and birth in a hospital environment. Method an integrative review with 12 articles published between 2013 and 2018 in the MEDLINE, Virtual Health Library, LILACS, SciELO and PubMed databases, using full and complete original works, reflection, update and experience report. Results the importance of the birth plan importance was observed to encourage good obstetric practices, allow greater autonomy and freedom of women's choice, contribute to a qualified and humanized care, facilitate women's trust with the team, and promote greater satisfaction with childbirth, communication with the involved professionals and provide more satisfactory maternal/neonatal results. Conclusion it was proved that the birth plan is an instrument that provides good obstetric practices in the process of delivery and birth in a hospital environment.

Following the water? Landscape-scale temporal changes in bat spatial distribution in relation to Mediterranean summer drought.

Understanding how the spatial distribution of ecological resources shapes species' diversity and abundance in human-modified landscapes is a central theme in conservation biology. However, studies often disregard that such patterns may vary over time, thereby potentially missing critical environmental constraints to species persistence. This may be particularly important in highly mobile species such as bats, which are able to track temporal variations in spatial resource distribution. Here we test the hypothesis that bats in Mediterranean landscapes are strongly affected by the progressive reduction in water availability during the seasonal summer drought. We analyzed the effects of landscape composition and structure on bat diversity and activity, during pregnancy, lactation, and postlactation periods, and identified the most influential variables within and across periods. Water bodies showed the strongest positive effect on bats, followed by riparian habitats and areas with steeper (>30%) slopes. However, while during pregnancy, there were only small landscape effects, these increased during lactation and postlactation, highlighting a progressively stronger association with water habitats during the summer drought. The spatial projection of habitat models showed that the landscape distribution of bat diversity and activity hotspots changed markedly over time. During pregnancy, the spatial pattern of hotspot distribution was weakly defined, while during lactation and particularly postlactation, there was a concentration of hotspots along permanently flowing watercourses. Our study highlights that permanently flowing watercourses are critical for bat conservation in Mediterranean landscapes, calling for measures to counteract their ongoing degradation due in particular to climate change, water abstraction and damming. More generally, our study underlines the importance of considering the temporal dimension in habitat selection studies, without which there is the risk of overlooking the importance of habitats that are key for species persistence only at certain times of the year.

First complete mitochondrial genomes of molossid bats (Chiroptera: Molossidae).

Bats represent around one-fourth of the world's mammals and their taxonomy is still controversial. Molossids are one of the most diverse bat families with a wide knowledge gap. In this study, we report the first complete mitochondrial genomes of three molossid bats: the European free-tailed bat Tadarida teniotis, the La Touche's free-tailed bat Tadarida latouchei, and the Wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat Chaerephon plicatus. The mitogenomes are 16,869 and 16,784 bp long for T. teniotis and T. latouchei, respectively, while in C. plicatus it is at least 16,216 bp although the control region was not fully recovered due to its higher divergence from T. teniotis. The genomes show conserved synteny with other mammalian mitogenomes, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and 1 control region (d-loop). All protein-coding genes start with the ATG start codon, except for ND2, ND3, and ND5 which begin with ATA or ATT. Eleven protein-coding genes terminated in a canonical stop codon, TAA or TAG, two contain incomplete stop codons, T or TA. Cytochrome b terminates in the mitochondria-specific stop codon AGA. These mitogenomes provide a valuable resource for future studies of Molossidae and other bat and mammal species.

Female dietary bias towards large migratory moths in the European free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis).

In bats, sexual segregation has been described in relation to differential use of roosting and foraging habitats. It is possible that variation may also exist between genders in the use of different prey types. However, until recently this idea was difficult to test owing to poorly resolved taxonomy of dietary studies. Here, we use high-throughput sequencing to describe gender-related variation in diet composition of the European free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis), while controlling for effects of age and season. We analysed guano pellets collected from 143 individuals mist-netted from April to October 2012 and 2013, in northeast Portugal. Moths (Lepidoptera; mainly Noctuidae and Geometridae) were by far the most frequently recorded prey, occurring in nearly all samples and accounting for 96 out of 115 prey taxa. There were significant dietary differences between males and females, irrespective of age and season. Compared to males, females tended to consume larger moths and more moths of migratory behaviour (e.g.Autographa gamma). Our study provides the first example of gender-related dietary variation in bats, illustrating the value of novel molecular tools for revealing intraspecific variation in food resource use in bats and other insectivores.

Length of perineal pain relief after ice pack application: A quasi-experimental study.

INTRODUCTION: Ice pack is effective for alleviating postpartum perineal pain in primiparous women while multiparous women's levels of perineal pain appear to be poorly explored. Ice pack is a low-cost non-invasive localised treatment that can be used with no impact on breastfeeding. However, how long perineal analgesia persists after applying an ice pack is still unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if perineal analgesia is maintained up to 2h after applying an ice pack to the perineum for 20min. METHOD: A quasi-experimental study, using a pre and post-test design, was undertaken with a sample size of 50 multiparous women in Brazil. Data was collected by structured interview. The intervention involved a single application of an ice pack applied for 20min to the perineal area of women who reported perineal pain ≥3 by use of a numeric rating scale (0-10), with intact perineum, 1st or 2nd degree lacerations or episiotomy, between 6 and 24h after spontaneous vaginal birth. Perineal pain was evaluated at three points of time: before, immediately after and 2h after applying an ice pack. RESULTS: Immediately after applying an ice pack to the perineal area, there was a significant reduction in the severity of perineal pain reported (5.4 vs. 1.0, p<0.0005), which continued for 1h 35min up to 2h after the local application. CONCLUSION: Ice pack application for 20min is effective for alleviating postpartum perineal pain and continues to be effective between 1h 35min for up to 2h.

An Innovative Vessel for Research Studies at Amazon as a Potential Support for Sustainable Development and Conservation of the Region

This study proposes an innovative and demonstrably necessary vessel intended for the research and logistic support of scientific or non-scientific activities in the Amazon, designed in accordance with the environmental and geographical requirements and characteristics of the region (possibly applicable to other similar hydrographic basins). The study also demonstrates the existence of a demand (actual and potential) for the infrastructure proposed. This infrastructure could subsidize the efforts devoted to the expansion of knowledge about the region, since many areas of science, institutions and business segments could benefit from its implementation. The access to knowledge could attract private investments with the perspective of developing business whose origin has been a rational and sustainable exploitation of the natural potential of the region.

Designing optimized multi-species monitoring networks to detect range shifts driven by climate change: a case study with bats in the North of Portugal.

Here we develop a framework to design multi-species monitoring networks using species distribution models and conservation planning tools to optimize the location of monitoring stations to detect potential range shifts driven by climate change. For this study, we focused on seven bat species in Northern Portugal (Western Europe). Maximum entropy modelling was used to predict the likely occurrence of those species under present and future climatic conditions. By comparing present and future predicted distributions, we identified areas where each species is likely to gain, lose or maintain suitable climatic space. We then used a decision support tool (the Marxan software) to design three optimized monitoring networks considering: a) changes in species likely occurrence, b) species conservation status, and c) level of volunteer commitment. For present climatic conditions, species distribution models revealed that areas suitable for most species occur in the north-eastern part of the region. However, areas predicted to become climatically suitable in the future shifted towards west. The three simulated monitoring networks, adaptable for an unpredictable volunteer commitment, included 28, 54 and 110 sampling locations respectively, distributed across the study area and covering the potential full range of conditions where species range shifts may occur. Our results show that our framework outperforms the traditional approach that only considers current species ranges, in allocating monitoring stations distributed across different categories of predicted shifts in species distributions. This study presents a straightforward framework to design monitoring schemes aimed specifically at testing hypotheses about where and when species ranges may shift with climatic changes, while also ensuring surveillance of general population trends.

Women's experiences of perineal pain during the immediate postnatal period: a cross-sectional study in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the severity and prevalence of perineal pain during the post partum in-patient period and associated obstetric, maternal and newborn baby factors following birth. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: A postnatal ward of a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: 303 Postnatal women. MEASUREMENTS: Interviews and perineal assessment were conducted to evaluate the perineal outcomes (trauma and pain). Data on maternal characteristics and infant anthropometric variables were collected. RESULTS: Among all women, 80.5% had perineal trauma (60.7% had episiotomy) and 18.5% reported perineal pain. The mean pain intensity score was 4.8 ± 1.9 on the visual analogue scale. Only maternal age (ORa = 1.08) and performance of episiotomy (ORa = 3.80) remained as independent predictors of perineal pain in the final logistic regression model. KEY CONCLUSIONS: Perineal pain in the immediate postnatal period was highly associated with older maternal age and use of episiotomy, although the overall reporting of perineal pain was low. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Perineal pain following vaginal birth is associated with interventions during labour as well as with maternal characteristics. Despite the negative impact on a woman's daily activities, perineal pain following birth is neglected by care givers and usually not reported by women who may consider it to be a normal outcome of giving birth. Care providers need to ensure all interventions during labour and birth are informed by evidence of benefit and that barriers to implementation of evidence are addressed. Further work is needed to obtain the views of women in Brazil on their health and well-being following birth.