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Dam installation causes profound changes in the structure and quality of aquatic habitats, transforming the lotic upstream stretches in lentic habitats and severely modifying hydrologic and sedimentary patterns downstream. As many impacts cannot be avoided, conservation actions are often implemented to minimize ecological losses. Translocation is a conservation tool that can be used to mitigate dams' impacts on freshwater species, particularly those having restricted mobility. Building from the experience of translocations actions of freshwaters mussels carried out in Portugal by the authors, and the available literature, we address the challenges of planning, executing, and following up translocations of freshwater mussels. The guidelines presented increase chances of conducting successful freshwater mussels translocations and also provide guidance for others biological groups and project types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at higher risk for having underdiagnosed heart failure, however there are no recommendations regarding echocardiographic screening. We aimed to determine the prevalence of subclinical ventricular dysfunction in RA applying current echocardiographic guidelines, its association with patients' characteristics, biomarkers and prognostic parameters and compare the 2016 guidelines to the recommendations from 2009. Prospective study of RA patients without known heart disease, categorized as preserved ventricular function (PVF), systolic dysfunction (SD), isolated diastolic dysfunction (DD) or indeterminate diastolic function (IDF) as per the 2016 echocardiography guidelines-or any ventricular dysfunction (AVD) comprehending the last 3. The median age was 58 years and 78% were females. The majority had PVF (73%), followed by DD (13%), IDF (11%) and SD (4%). Concordance with the 2009 echocardiographic guidelines was low. Compared with PVF, AVD patients were older (65 vs 55 years, p < 0.001), had a higher prevalence of hypertension and dyslipidaemia (56% vs 38%, p = 0.003 and 60% vs 41%, p = 0.002, respectively). In multivariable analysis, age (particularly > 57 years) was the only independent predictor of AVD or DD. AVD was significantly associated with higher NT-proBNP and lower distance in 6-min walk test. There were no significant independent associations between characteristics of RA disease and ventricular function. A total of 17% of RA patients without known cardiovascular disease presented subclinical systolic or diastolic dysfunction, which was associated with older age. The echocardiographic screening may have clinical value in identifying subclinical ventricular dysfunction, especially in older RA patients.

Research on the connection between sleep-related problems and Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) is scarce. The aim of the current study was to investigate a potential link between EMSs and poor sleep quality. Participants (n = 249) were selected from a larger sample of 1253 European Portuguese college students who completed the BaSIQS and the YSQ-S3. The major inclusion criteria for the selected participants were high versus low scores on the BaSIQS (poor versus good sleep quality). Students with poor sleep quality had significantly higher levels of Abandonment/ Instability, Mistrust/Abuse, Social Isolation/Alienation, Vulnerability to Harm or Illness, Entitlement/Grandiosity, Self-Sacrifice, and Negativity/Pessimism. These data suggest that EMSs are associated with poor sleep quality. However, additional studies are necessary to better understand this relationship.

Aim: Remote ischemic conditioning may reduce acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing a coronary intervention. As preinfarct angina (PIA) might act as a preconditioning stimulus in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), we aimed to study whether PIA reduces AKI in accordance to pre-existing chronic kidney disease., Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective study including 891 consecutive STEMI patients who underwent primary coronary intervention from January 2008 to March 2016. AKI was determined on the basis of KDIGO criteria. The impact of PIA was evaluated in three groups according to the baseline glomerular filtration rate: less than 45 ml/min/1.73 m (group 1, n = 89), 45-59 ml/min/1.73 m (group 2, n = 117), and greater than or equal to 60 ml/min/1.73 m (group 3, n = 642). Univariate and multivariate predictors for AKI were determined., Results: AKI developed in 13.8% of patients (n = 117) and was more prevalent in patients with worse baseline renal function (35% in group 1; 22% in group 2; and 9% in group 3, P < 0.01). The prevalence of PIA was similar across groups (28-34%, P = 0.2). Only in group 1 did patients with PIA have a significantly lower rate of AKI than patients without PIA (19 vs. 42%, P = 0.033). In multivariate analysis, the absence of PIA in group 1 patients conferred an almost three-fold risk of developing AKI (odds ratio = 2.92, P = 0.009), whereas no differences were found for the other groups. Age, total ischemic time, and intra-aortic balloon pump utilization were also related independently to AKI., Conclusion: In our series, STEMI patients with at least stage 3B chronic kidney disease had a three-fold risk of developing AKI in the absence of PIA. These findings suggest that patients with worse renal function may be more susceptible to the renoprotective effect of myocardial ischemic preconditioning.

Objectives: Preinfarction angina (PIA) may play a protective role in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Data on the relationship between PIA and time to reperfusion are scarce. We aimed to assess infarct size by peak troponin-T (TnT) in patients with or without PIA in three different time intervals to a primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI), the relationship between PIA and left ventricular ejection fraction, and its impact on midterm survival., Patients and Methods: Single-center, retrospective analyses were carried out of 575 consecutive PPCI-treated patients, divided into three groups from symptom onset to reperfusion: less than 3, 3-6, and greater than 6 h., Results: Patients with PIA had smaller infarct size [TnT=3.76 (5.07) vs. 5 (6.12) ng/ml, P=0.024]. Infarct size of patients with PIA versus no-PIA was lower for patients presenting within 3-6 h from onset of symptoms [3.73 (5.38) vs. 5.53 (6.9) ng/ml, P=0.028], but not different for those who presented less than 3 h [4.15 (5.53) vs. 4.0 (3.96) ng/ml, P=0.702] nor for those who presented greater than 6 h [3.65 (4.24) vs. 5.0 (5.9) ng/ml, P=0.141]. On multivariate analyses, only PIA protected from moderate to severe left ventricle dysfunction (odds ratio=0.557, 95% confidence interval: 0.352-0.881, P=0.012), but failed to reduce overall mortality [hazard ratio=0.784, 95% confidence interval: 0.356-1.724, P=0.545; median follow-up time=23 (20) months]., Conclusion: PPCI-treated patients within 3-6 h from symptom onset had smaller infarcts if they had experienced PIA, with no benefit for those who presented less than 3 h nor for those who presented greater than 6 h from symptom onset. Moderate to severe left ventricle dysfunction was less prevalent in PIA patients. However, PIA failed to have an independent impact on midterm survival.