Sellersmidtgaard2774

The psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown on frail populations with advanced Parkinson disease (APD) and their caregivers may present with peculiar features and require specific interventions.

We enrolled here 100 APD patients and 60 caregivers. Seventy-four patients were treated with device-aided therapies (DAT) and 26 with standard medical treatment (SMT). Through a telephonic interview, subjects underwent the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A; HADS-D), and an ad hoc questionnaire to explore thoughts and emotions related to the pandemic.

Depression was observed in 35% of APD patients and anxiety in 39%, with a significant reduction of the latter after the lockdown (p= 0.023). We found a significant correlation between the type of therapy and the HADS-A score (p= 0.004). Patients' main worries were as follows a possible higher risk of COVID-19 infection (25%), interruption of non-pharmacological treatments (35%), interruption of outpatient clinics (38%), PD complications related to COVID-19 (47%). Patients treated with DAT manifested worries about device-related issues and risk for caregivers' infection. The 40% of caregivers showed anxiety, while the 21.7% of them showed depression.

Our study reveals a higher prevalence of anxiety and the presence of peculiar worries and needs in APD patients during the pandemic alongside psychological sequelae of their caregivers. These findings are important for neurologists and healthcare services to foster strategies for the management of psychological distress in both patients and caregivers.

Our study reveals a higher prevalence of anxiety and the presence of peculiar worries and needs in APD patients during the pandemic alongside psychological sequelae of their caregivers. These findings are important for neurologists and healthcare services to foster strategies for the management of psychological distress in both patients and caregivers.

Agroforestry (AF) is an ancient tradition in Ethiopian dryland farming system. Several studies have examined system design, soil fertility management and system interactions, but the biodiversity and mitigation aspects of climate change have received less focus. We assessed the diversity of woody species, biomass carbon (C), and soil organic carbon (SOC) stock associated with indigenous dryland AF practices. A total of 197 smallholder farmers representing four AF practices (home garden, parkland, boundary plantation, and woodlot) from lowland, midland, and highland areas were systematically selected. The inventory of woody species was carried out on each farm's randomly formed plot.

We identified a total of 59 woody species representing 48 genera and 32 families. Shannon diversity index (H') was highest in home garden and parkland AF, while woodlots had the highest mean total stock of biomass C (31MgCha

). C stocks for smallholding systems (total biomass C and SOC 0-60cm) ranged from 77-135Mgha

. Total biomass C stocks were significantly correlated with abundance (Spearman r = 0.333; p = 0.002) but biomass components were not significantly correlated with H'. SOC soil depth stock (0-60cm) was positively and significantly associated with H' (Spearman r = 0.291 & 0.351; p < 0.01).

We report greater species richness in home garden and parkland AF systems than in woodlots. While parkland AF produce lower biomass and SOC stock relative to other AF systems. The strategic use of home gardens and boundary planting can improve tree diversity and carbon storage in Ethiopian dryland ecosystems.

We report greater species richness in home garden and parkland AF systems than in woodlots. While parkland AF produce lower biomass and SOC stock relative to other AF systems. The strategic use of home gardens and boundary planting can improve tree diversity and carbon storage in Ethiopian dryland ecosystems.The literature provides many works that focused on cell nuclei segmentation in histological images. However, automatic segmentation of bone canals is still a less explored field. In this sense, this paper presents a method for automatic segmentation approach to assist specialists in the analysis of the bone vascular network. We evaluated the method on an image set through sensitivity, specificity and accuracy metrics and the Dice coefficient. We compared the results with other automatic segmentation methods (neighborhood valley emphasis (NVE), valley emphasis (VE) and Otsu). Results show that our approach is proved to be more efficient than comparable methods and a feasible alternative to analyze the bone vascular network.Examining interactions among sympatric primate species can provide interesting information about competition, cooperation, and avoidance between those species. Those interactions can be neutral, positive, or negative for the species involved. Capuchin monkeys are medium-sized primates that can encounter both larger and smaller primates in their varied habitats. Gracile capuchins (Cebus) are reported to present different types of interactions with other primates. Interactions with howler monkeys frequently include physical aggression, while interactions with spider monkeys are mostly threats and chases. Crenolanib inhibitor Moreover, interaction types are not consistent across populations. Among robust capuchins (Sapajus spp.), however, no reports have been published. Here we describe and classify encounters of Sapajus libidinosus and S. nigritus with Alouatta caraya, A. guariba, Brachyteles arachnoides, and Callithrix jacchus in three sites in the environments of Cerrado, Caatinga (savannah-like), and Atlantic forest, and compare the interaction patterns among sites and different group sizes. The latter is a factor that can influence the outcome, and we expected capuchins in larger groups to be more aggressive toward other primates. Our results of 8421 h of total contact with the capuchin groups show that, indeed, capuchins in sites with larger groups presented aggressive interactions with higher frequency. However, the other species' body size also seems important as smaller primates apparently avoided capuchins, and interactions with the larger muriquis were mostly neutral for the capuchin. Capuchins showed neutral or aggressive behaviors toward howler monkeys, with differences between the rainforest and savannah groups. We found that robust capuchins can present aggressive interactions even to primates larger than themselves and that aggressive behavior was the most common response in populations living in larger groups and drier environments.