Generalized Linear Models outperform commonly used canonical analysis in estimating spatial structure of presence/absence data.

BACKGROUND: Ecological communities tend to be spatially structured due to environmental gradients and/or spatially contagious processes such as growth, dispersion and species interactions. Data transformation followed by usage of algorithms such as Redundancy Analysis (RDA) is a fairly common approach in studies searching for spatial structure in ecological communities, despite recent suggestions advocating the use of Generalized Linear Models (GLMs). Here, we compared the performance of GLMs and RDA in describing spatial structure in ecological community composition data. We simulated realistic presence/absence data typical of many ß-diversity studies. For model selection we used standard methods commonly used in most studies involving RDA and GLMs. METHODS: We simulated communities with known spatial structure, based on three real spatial community presence/absence datasets (one terrestrial, one marine and one freshwater). We used spatial eigenvectors as explanatory variables. We varied the number of non-zero coefficients of the spatial variables, and the spatial scales with which these coefficients were associated and then compared the performance of GLMs and RDA frameworks to correctly retrieve the spatial patterns contained in the simulated communities. We used two different methods for model selection, Forward Selection (FW) for RDA and the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) for GLMs. The performance of each method was assessed by scoring overall accuracy as the proportion of variables whose inclusion/exclusion status was correct, and by distinguishing which kind of error was observed for each method. We also assessed whether errors in variable selection could affect the interpretation of spatial structure. RESULTS: Overall GLM with AIC-based model selection (GLM/AIC) performed better than RDA/FW in selecting spatial explanatory variables, although under some simulations the methods performed similarly. In general, RDA/FW performed unpredictably, often retaining too many explanatory variables and selecting variables associated with incorrect spatial scales. The spatial scale of the pattern had a negligible effect on GLM/AIC performance but consistently affected RDA's error rates under almost all scenarios. CONCLUSION: We encourage the use of GLM/AIC for studies searching for spatial drivers of species presence/absence patterns, since this framework outperformed RDA/FW in situations most likely to be found in natural communities. It is likely that such recommendations might extend to other types of explanatory variables.

Seasonal factors driving biochemical biomarkers in two fish species from a subtropical reservoir in southern Brazil: An integrated approach.

Reservoirs are lentic man-made waterbodies resulting from river damming processes. Pollutants coming from adjacent areas can accumulate in the water and sediment of these modified freshwater environments. Fish are often found in reservoirs occupying several trophic niches. Biochemical biomarkers are early warning signals of environmental disturbance to an organism. It is essential to understand how pollutants, abiotic variables and biochemical biomarker responses behave throughout the seasons to implement biomonitoring programs. Loricariichthys anus and Geophagus brasiliensis were collected, and abiotic variables were seasonally measured for one year, at six sampling sites in Passo Real reservoir, in a subtropical region of Southern Brazil. Biochemical biomarkers were analyzed in four tissues of both fish species, as well as metal and pesticide concentrations in the reservoir's water and sediment. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was carried out to find the temporal relationship between biomarkers and environmental variables. RDA has clearly shown the separation of seasons for both species. Azoxystrobin, simazine and propoxur were the pesticides mostly contributing to the variation, whereas metals had lesser contribution to it. Seasonality appears to be the main factor explaining biomarkers' variability. PERMANOVA has confirmed the effect of temperature and dissolved oxygen on biomarkers of both fish species. Thus, it is hard to differentiate if the fluctuation in biomarkers' responses only reflects the normal state of organisms or it is a biological consequence from negative effects of fish exposure to several types of pollution (sewage, pesticides, and fertilizers) entering this aquatic system. In this study, to circumvent the seasonality issue on biomonitoring, the analysis of biomarkers on these fish should not be carried out in organs directly affected by temperature (such as liver and gills), or during reproduction periods (mainly in Spring).

Higher Protein Intake Does Not Improve Lean Mass Gain When Compared with RDA Recommendation in Postmenopausal Women Following Resistance Exercise Protocol: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a higher protein intake on lean body mass (LBM) gain in postmenopausal women practicing resistance exercise and compare it to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) recommendation. Twenty-three postmenopausal women (63.2 ± 7.8 years) were randomized into two groups. The group with higher protein intake (n = 11) (HP) received a dietary plan with ~1.2 g·kg-1·day-1 of protein, while the normal protein (NP) group (n = 12) was instructed to ingest ~0.8 g·kg-1·day-1 of protein (RDA recommendation). Both groups performed the same resistance training protocol, 3 times a week, with progression of the number of sets (from 1 to 6 sets) and 8-12 repetitions. The intervention occurred over 10 weeks. Body composition evaluation was performed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The diet was evaluated by nine 24-h food recall summaries over the course of the study. During the intervention period, the HP group presented a higher protein (1.18 ± 0.3 vs. 0.87 ± 0.2 g·kg-1·day-1, p = 0.008) and leucine (6.0 ± 1.4 vs. 4.3 ± 0.9 g/day, p < 0.001) intake than the NP group, respectively. At the end of the intervention, there were increases in LBM both in HP (37.1 ± 6.2 to 38.4 ± 6.5 kg, p = 0.004) and in NP (37.6 ± 6.2 to 38.8 ± 6.4 kg, p < 0.001), with no differences between the groups (p = 0.572). In conclusion, increased protein intake did not promote higher LBM gain when compared to RDA recommendation in postmenopausal women performing resistance exercise during 10 weeks. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03024125.

Descubriendo los modelos de los datos interconectados: BibFrame

Por medio de esta revisión, se busca realizar un recuento y una explicación sobre el entorno de intercambio bibliográfico BibFrame a partir del conocimiento que ha sido diseminado, en su mayor parte, por un grupo de profesionales de la Biblioteca del Congreso de los Estados Unidos de América. En este trabajo, se muestran aspectos clave de esta iniciativa en y se enfocan cuestiones medulares de su funcionamiento como entorno ubicado en la web. Se discute su posible normalización partiendo del traslado de MARC21 a esta herramienta.

This review aims to report on and explain the bibliographic exchange environment BibFrame taking as starting point the knowledge that has been disseminated, mainly, by a group of professionals from the Library Of Congress of the United States of America. This work shows key aspects of this initiative and focus on medular points regarding its functioning as a web environment. The work discusses the possible standardization of this environment, starting with transferring from MARC21 to this tool.

Nutritional composition of school meals serving children from 7 to 36 months of age in municipal day-care centres in the metropolitan area of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.

The Brazilian National School Feeding Program (PNAE) seeks to meet student's nutritional needs during the period they remain in school. This study aimed to determine the nutritional composition of meals provided in municipal day-care centres serving children of 7-11 months (group A) and 12-36 months (group B) of age and to compare observed values with the PNAE's and dietary reference intakes' (DRI) recommendations. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 4 day-care centres in the metropolitan area of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, between June and November 2013. Food samples of six daily meals were collected during 20 non-consecutive days, totalling 120 samples. For each meal, average served and consumed portions were submitted for laboratory analysis of moisture, ash, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, dietary fibre, Na, Ca and Fe and compared with the PNAE's and DRI's values. No statistically significant difference was found between age groups (P=0·793) regarding portion sizes and nutritional composition. The same menu was offered to both groups in 95 % of the meals (n 114), although the groups' nutritional needs were different. For group A, served meals met PNAE's recommendations for energy, carbohydrates, proteins, Na and Ca content, and consumed portions provided 70 % of the nutritional needs for carbohydrates, proteins and Ca. For group B, served portions complied with the PNAE's values for proteins, Na and Ca. Proteins and Na reached 70 % of the nutritional needs when consumed food was evaluated. School feeding in day-care centres partially meet PNAE's guidelines and children's nutritional requirements, contradicting the primary objective established by the national programme.

Consumo de alimentos fortificados en estudiantes secundarios de la región metropolitana de Chile / Fortified food consumption in high school students from the metropolitan region of Chile

Introducción: Las vitaminas son nutrientes que tienen múltiples beneficios para nuestro organismo, lo que hace que se utilicen para enriquecer alimentos con el fin de aumentar su aporte nutricional. Objetivo: Determinar si la ingesta de alimentos fortificados sobrepasa las recomendaciones dietarías (RDA) y el Nivel Máximo de Ingesta Tolerable (UL). Métodos: Se identificaron los 213 alimentos fortificados del mercado. Se aplicó una encuesta alimentaria utilizando un set fotográfico a 298 estudiantes secundarios de ambos sexos de la Región Metropolitana. Se calculó la ingesta de nutrientes y sobre el resultado se agregó las vitaminas fortificadas en los alimentos. Resultados: Los hombres superan la ingesta para todas las vitaminas, en cambio las mujeres presentan un déficit en la B12. Las vitaminas cuya ingesta supera la UL son, folato 27,5%, B3 16,4%, Vitamina A 7,8% y B6 1,6%. Conclusión: Todas las vitaminas analizadas superan las recomendaciones a excepción de la B12 en mujeres y vitaminas como folato, B3, B6 y vitamina A, superan la UL.

Introduction: Vitamins are nutrients that have multiple benefits for our body which are used to enrich foods to increase nutritional intake. Objective: To determine whether the intake of fortified foods exceeded dietary recommendations (RDA) and tolerable upper intake level (UL). Methods: 213 fortified foods on the market were identified. An alimentary survey was performed using a photographic set of298foods in high school males and females students from Metropolitan Region. The intake of nutrients was calculated and the fortified vitamins on foods were added. Results: Men exceeded recommended intake for all vitamins, whereas women have a deficit in B12 Vitamin. Vitamins whose intake exceeds the UL are, folate, 27.5%, B3 vitamin 16.4%, A vitamin 7.8% and B6 vitamin 1.6%. Conclusion: All tested vitamins exceeded recommendations except for B1vitamins in women; folate; B3, B6 and A vitamin exceed the UL.

Micronutrientes envolvidos no crescimento / Micronutrients involved in growth

Os hábitos alimentares infantis têm sofrido modificações drásticas nas ultimas décadas. A aversão a frutas, verduras, carnes e laticínios, juntamente à predileção por produtos artificiais e industrializados observada entre crianças, tem despertado preocupação entre os profissionais da saúde. Isso porque estudos têm demonstrado a influência negativa do consumo insuficiente de alguns nutrientes no crescimento e desenvolvimento infantil. Cientes deste problema, desenvolvemos este artigo visando esclarecer algumas dúvidas quanto a função e importância de alguns micronutrientes como o zinco, ferro, vitamina A, ácido fólico, cálcio e vitamina D, bem como suas recomendações nutricionais, como auxilio a elaboração de tratamento e estratégias nutricionais que poderão garantir o crescimento e desenvolvimento normais entre as crianças

The infant habits have suffered drastic alterations in the last decades. The avoidance of fruits, vegetables, meat and milk products, with the preference to artificial and industrialized products observed among children have raised concerned among the health working groups. This is due to the studies that have demonstrated the negative influence of insufficient intake of some nutrients on infant growth and developing. Considering this problem, we wrote this article to clarify some doubts about the functions and importance of some micronutrients such as zinc, iron, vitamin A, folic acid, calcium and vitamin D, as well as nutritional recommendations, as a contribution to the elaboration of treatment and nutritional strategies that would ensure children growth and development