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Although the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) is the most cultivated native fish species in Brazil, estimated breeding values for growth traits are rarely used for selection of superior individuals in commercial fingerling production. This study aimed to estimate the (co)variance components of growth traits. Body weight, length and width of 2500 tambaqui were determined at tagging and at 6 and 12 months after tagging in a commercial breeding programme in Brazil. Heritability estimates were low for traits measured at tagging (0.10 to 0.19) and moderate to high for traits measured at 6 and 12 months (0.23 to 0.81). Common full-sib effects were high at tagging (>73%), low at 6 months and negligible at 12 months. Positive genetic correlations were found among growth traits at 12 months (0.84 to 0.99) and between growth traits at 6 and 12 months (0.80 to 0.92). These results show that animal selection can be performed at 6 months after tagging. Expected genetic gains for growth traits ranged from 8% to 31%. A simulation of the sex ratio was performed, as individuals did not reach sexual maturity during the experimental period. Because of the sexual dimorphism, more accurate heritability estimates were obtained when considering the female proportion to be 90% in the high-weight group. The findings indicate that it is possible to obtain considerable genetic gains in growth by selecting for growth traits. The development of a tool to determine the sex of animals at early stages can improve the response to selection in tambaqui.

Objective: To determine whether weight loss in women with morbid obesity subjected to bariatric surgery alters lung function, respiratory muscle strength, functional capacity and the level of habitual physical activity and to investigate the relationship between these variables and changes in both body composition and anthropometrics., Methods: Twenty-four women with morbid obesity were evaluated with regard to lung function, respiratory muscle strength, functional capacity, body composition, anthropometrics and the level of habitual physical activity two weeks prior to and six months after bariatric surgery., Results: Regarding lung function, mean increases of 160 mL in slow vital capacity, 550 mL in expiratory reserve volume, 290 mL in forced vital capacity and 250 mL in forced expiratory volume in the first second as well as a mean reduction of 490 mL in inspiratory capacity were found. Respiratory muscle strength increased by a mean of 10 cmH2O of maximum inspiratory pressure, and a 72-meter longer distance on the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test demonstrated that functional capacity also improved. Significant changes also occurred in anthropometric variables and body composition but not in the level of physical activity detected using the Baecke questionnaire, indicating that the participants remained sedentary. Moreover, correlations were found between the percentages of lean and fat mass and both inspiratory and expiratory reserve volumes., Conclusion: The present data suggest that changes in body composition and anthropometric variables exerted a direct influence on functional capacity and lung function in the women analyzed but exerted no influence on sedentarism, even after accentuated weight loss following bariatric surgery.

Aim: To assess the relationship between both photoreceptor function and choroidal thickness and endothelin-1 (ET-1) plasma levels in patients with early stage retinitis pigmentosa (RP)., Main Methods: We compared 24 RP patients (14 males and 10 females), 25 to 42 years of age (mean age: 34±7 years) with 24 healthy controls (12 males and 12 females) aged between 28 and 45 years (mean 36±6.8 years). All patients underwent visual field test, electroretinogram and multifocal-electroretinogram and choroidal thickness measurement by using spectral domain optical coherence tomography., Key Findings: RP patients had a visual acuity of 0.95, a mean defect of the visual field of -7.90±1.75 dB, a pattern standard deviation index of 6.09±4.22 dB and a b-wave ERG amplitude of 45.08±8.24 μV. Notably RP subjects showed significantly increased ET-1 plasma levels and reduced choroidal thickness compared with controls: respectively, 2.143±0.258 pg/ml vs. 1.219±0.236 pg/ml; p<0.002 and 226.75±76.37 μm vs. 303.9±39.87 μm; p<0.03. Spearman's correlation test highlighted that the increase of ET-1 plasma levels was related with the decrease of choroidal thickness (r=-0.702; p<0.023) and the increase of implicit time in both ring 2 (r=-0.669; p<0.034) and ring 3 (r=-0.883; p<0.007) of mfERG., Significance: Increased ET-1 plasma levels may play a key role in the impairment of retinal and choroidal blood flow due to the vasoconstriction induced by ET-1. This could lead to worsening of the abiotrophic process of the macular photoreceptors., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To investigate the status of the blood-aqueous barrier and to evaluate the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) in patients with asymptomatic untreated chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection without any anterior or posterior ocular involvement and to search for possible correlations., Design: Observational case-control study., Participants and Controls: A total of 80 eyes of 20 HCV-positive patients (male-to-female ratio, 12:8; mean age, 46.9±7.23 years) and 20 healthy controls (male-to-female ratio, 10:10; mean age, 48.2±8.71 years) were examined., Methods: Participants underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination. Aqueous flare was quantified objectively by using the noninvasive laser flare cell meter FC-500 (Kowa Company Ltd, Tokyo, Japan), whereas SCT was evaluated by using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (Spectralis OCT; Heidelberg Engineering GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany). A Wilcoxon rank-sum test was performed to compare ocular findings between HCV patients and controls, and correlations were assessed by using the Spearman rank test., Main Outcome Measures: Retinal and choroidal thickness and anterior chamber inflammation of HCV patients and healthy controls., Results: Patients with HCV showed significantly higher aqueous flare values (8.37±2.25 photon counts/ms vs. 4.56±1.45 photon counts/ms; P<0.0001) and a significantly increased SCT (362.7±46.5 μm vs. 320.25±32.82 μm; P<0.0001) than healthy controls. Moreover, subjects with liver fibrosis had higher flare values than those with no significant hepatic fibrosis (9.62±1.99 photon counts/ms vs. 6.97±2.19 photon counts/ms; P = 0.0003) and thicker choroids (379.15±44.75 μm vs. 346.3±43.27 μm; P = 0.024). Statistical analysis revealed that there was a positive correlation between aqueous flare values and SCT in HCV patients (r = 0.69; P<0.0001) and between flare and the degree of liver fibrosis (r = 0.67; P = 0.0001)., Conclusions: This study showed that impairment of the blood-aqueous barrier and thickened choroids are features of asymptomatic HCV patients, and that choroidal thickness increases as the degree of subclinical inflammation of the anterior chamber increases. Patients with significant liver fibrosis have the highest flare values and the thickest choroids., (Copyright © 2013 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To assess the relationship between endothelial dysfunction, endothelin 1 (ET-1) plasma levels and subclinical inflammation in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients., Main Methods: We enrolled 40 POAG patients with progressive visual field damage, although well controlled intraocular pressure (IOP) and compared to age and sex matched healthxy subjects. Each patient underwent an ophthalmological examination, a standard achromatic perimetry (SAP), blood sampling to assess ET-1 plasma levels, an objective assessment of cellularity within the anterior chamber (FLARE) and measurement of flow mediated dilation (FMD) with high resolution 2-dimensional ultrasonographic imaging of the brachial artery., Key Findings: At baseline, POAG patients, compared to healthy controls, showed an increase of ET-1 plasma levels: 2.83 ± 0.28 pg/ml vs. 1.75 ± 0.25 pg/ml (p<0.001), lower FMD values 4.46 ± 1.28% vs. 13.18 ± 2.80% (p<0.001) and increased FLARE values 9.98 ± 0.97 photons/ms vs. 5.87 ± 0.64 photons/ms (p<0.001). A follow up after 1 year revealed a further increase of ET-1 plasma levels (to 3.68 ± 0.60; p<0.001) and decrease of FMD (3.52 ± 1.28; p>0.001)., Significance: The increase of ET-1 in POAG patients is related to vascular dysfunction (r=0.942; p=0.001) and vascular dysfunction is related to sub-clinical intraocular inflammation (r=0.968; p=0.001). Thus ET-1 and vascular dysfunction related to sub-clinical inflammation may play a key role in determining a progressive visual field damage in POAG patients who present a well-controlled IOP., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy evolves over a long period of time after initial infection by Trypanosoma cruzi. Similarly, a cardiomyopathy appears later in life in muscular dystrophies. This study tested the hypothesis that dystrophin levels are decreased in the early stage of T. cruzi-infected mice that precedes the later development of a cardiomyopathy. CD1 mice were infected with T. cruzi (Brazil strain), killed at 30 and 100 days post infection (dpi), and the intensity of inflammation, percentage of interstitial fibrosis, and dystrophin levels evaluated. Echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging data were evaluated from 15 to 100 dpi. At 30 dpi an intense acute myocarditis with ruptured or intact intracellular parasite nests was observed. At 100 dpi a mild chronic fibrosing myocarditis was detected without parasites in the myocardium. Dystrophin was focally reduced or completely lost in cardiomyocytes at 30 dpi, with the reduction maintained up to 100 dpi. Concurrently, ejection fraction was reduced and the right ventricle was dilated. These findings support the hypothesis that the initial parasitic infection-induced myocardial dystrophin reduction/loss, maintained over time, might be essential to the late development of a cardiomyopathy in mice., (Copyright © 2011 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)