Purpose Vascular dysfunction is a pathophysiological mechanism in peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD patients exhibit reduced circulating expression of microRNA-126 (c-miRNA-126) and VEGF. Submaximal walking (SW) is recommended in PAD because it increases walking capacity, partially by improving vascular regulation, which can be observed after a walking session. Nevertheless, previous studies were conducted with maximal walk...

Aim We investigate the distribution of dispersal modes — endozoochory (via animal ingestion), synzoochory (via animal seed accumulation) and anemochory (via wind)—and seed mass of woody plants across Brazilian ecosystems, testing whether their relative abundance in local plant communities could be predicted by climate, edaphic factors and dispersal agents (e.g., the main vectors moving seeds). We expected climate to be the mai...

Urban beaches are increasingly vulnerable to litter accumulation, especially during large-scale coastal events that create short-lived but intense pollution pulses. Despite growing interest in marine litter monitoring, traditional methods often lack the spatial and temporal sensitivity required to capture such episodic surges. This study presents a methodological adaptation of the OSPAR beach litter monitoring protocol, applyi...

This exploratory study investigates the association between imaging findings, clinical symptoms and gait parameters in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). To explore this hypothesis, this study aims (1) to study how IVD height and intervertebral angle measurements obtained from MRI compare with those obtained from X-ray imaging; (2) to compare spatiotemporal gait parameters between LDH patients and healthy individuals...

Although agricultural expansion is one of the main causes of tropical deforestation, some agroecosystems, such as shaded cocoa agroforests, can minimize the effects of habitat loss and contribute to biodiversity conservation. Nonetheless, the effects of habitat modification at the regional and landscape scales on insect diversity inhabiting agricultural landscapes are still poorly understood, especially for Ichneumonidae wasps...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is advancing at an unprecedented pace, offering transformative opportunities for marine research, fisheries management, environmental governance and policy development. Particularly in the context of the interconnected data needs of ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation, these technologies can enhance data acquisition, processing and decision support, enabling more integrated approache...

Cynara cardunculus inflorescence plays a significant role in cheese manufacturing and human consumption due to the milk-clotting capacity and the production of edible immature capitula. Consequently, it is crucial to understand the complex cellular and molecular processes involved in the development of cardoon flowers. The current study used western wild cardoon in two developmental stages, vegetative and reproductive, to unde...

Tropical landscapes are undergoing rapid transformation due to human activities and global change. Forest restoration has emerged as a key strategy to mitigate biodiversity loss and climate warming. However, a standardized assessment of how different restoration methods contribute to biodiversity recovery and conservation remains lacking. Here, we present the first comprehensive comparison of tree diversity restoration and the...

Understanding how small populations cope with loss of genetic diversity and deleterious variation is crucial to address the current biodiversity crisis. Insular populations are particularly interesting as they have often persisted at lower population sizes and higher inbreeding than their mainland counterparts. While the genome‐wide consequences of inbreeding in threatened insular species have received some attention, comparat...