ESTUDO DOS POSSÍVEIS EFEITOS SISTÊMICOS OCASIONADOS POR ALTAS DOSES DE IVERMECTINA EM UM MODELO ANIMAL DE RATOS WISTAR

Introduction: Self-medication and inappropriate prescribing are serious public health problems, creating health risks. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19, there was an urgency to obtain therapeutics, although much speculation drove deleterious habits regarding the use of medications. Objective: To evaluate the possible systemic effects caused by different doses of Ivermectin. Methods: Using an animal model of Wistar rats, the animals were divided into 4 groups of 10 members, being treated orally with: i. saline (control - placebo); ii. Ivermectin suspension 300 µg/Kg/day; iii. Ivermectin suspension 500 µg/Kg/day; and iv. Ivermectin suspension 1000 µg/Kg/day. After the 6-week experiment, the rats were euthanized and serum samples collected, with liver (ALT and AST) and kidney (creatinine and urea) function tests performed, as well as histological evaluation of the liver, kidneys, heart, and salivary glands. Results: Treatments with Ivermectin doses up to 1000 µg/kg/day did not affect ALT and AST, creatinine and urea levels compared to the control-placebo group (p > 0.05), and such doses also did not cause morphological damage to the kidneys, heart and salivary glands. Only the dose of 1000 µg/kg/day promoted slight changes in liver morphology. Conclusions: Ivermectin doses up to 1000 µg/kg/day did not promote functional changes in the organs evaluated, except for the dose of 1000 µg/kg/day in the liver. Due to the limitations of the animal model adopted, further studies in different experimental models should be conducted to corroborate these preliminary findings, in order to clarify the possible safety of Ivermectin.La automedicación y la prescripción inadecuada son graves problemas de salud pública, que generan riesgos para la salud. Debido a la pandemia de coronavirus y COVID-19, ha habido una urgencia para obtener terapias, aunque mucha especulación ha impulsado hábitos nocivos con respecto al uso de medicamentos. Objetivo: Evaluar los posibles efectos sistémicos causados por diferentes dosis de Ivermectina. Métodos: Utilizando un modelo animal de ratas Wistar, los animales fueron divididos en 4 grupos de 10 miembros, siendo tratados por vía oral con: i. salina (control – placebo); ii. suspensión de ivermectina 300 μg/Kg/día; iii. suspensión de ivermectina 500 μg/Kg/día; y iv. suspensión de ivermectina 1000 μg/Kg/día. Después de las 6 semanas del experimento, las ratas fueron sacrificadas y se recolectaron muestras de suero, con pruebas de función hepática (ALT y AST) y renal (creatinina y urea), así como evaluación histológica del hígado, riñones, corazón y glándulas salivales. Resultados: Los tratamientos con dosis de ivermectina de hasta 1000 μg/kg/día no afectaron los niveles de ALT y AST, creatinina y urea, en comparación con el grupo control placebo (p > 0,05), y tales dosis tampoco causaron daño morfológico a los riñones, corazón y glándulas salivales. Sólo la dosis de 1000 μg/kg/día promovió una ligera alteración en la morfología hepática. Conclusiones: Las dosis de ivermectina de hasta 1000 μg/kg/día no promovieron cambios funcionales en los órganos evaluados, excepto la dosis de 1000 μg/kg/día en el hígado. Debido a las limitaciones del modelo animal adoptado, se deben realizar otros estudios en diferentes modelos.A automedicação e a prescrição inapropriada são sérios problemas de saúde pública, gerando riscos à saúde. Devido à pandemia do coronavírus e à COVID-19, houve uma urgência para obtenção de terapêuticas, embora muita especulação impulsionou hábitos deletérios quanto ao uso de medicamentos. Objetivo: Avaliar os possíveis efeitos sistêmicos ocasionados por doses diferentes de Ivermectina. Métodos: Usando um modelo animal de ratos Wistar, os animais foram divididos em 4 grupos de 10 integrantes, sendo tratados oralmente com: i. salina (controle – placebo); ii. suspensão de Ivermectina 300 µg/Kg/dia; iii. suspensão de Ivermectina 500 µg/Kg/dia; e iv. suspensão de Ivermectina 1000 µg/Kg/dia. Após as 6 semanas de experimento, os ratos foram eutanasiados e amostras de soro coletadas, com realização de provas de função hepática (ALT e AST) e renal (creatinina e ureia), bem como avaliação histológica do fígado, rins, coração e glândulas salivares. Resultados: Os tratamentos com doses de Ivermectina de até 1000 µg/kg/dia não afetaram os níveis de ALT e AST, creatinina e ureia, comparados ao grupo controle-placebo (p > 0,05), sendo que tais doses também não causaram danos morfológicos nos rins, coração e glândulas salivares. Apenas a dose de 1000 µg/kg/dia promoveu ligeira alteração na morfologia hepática. Conclusões: Doses de Ivermectina até 1000 µg/kg/dia não promoveram alterações funcionais nos órgãos avaliados, com exceção para a dose de 1000 µg/kg/dia no fígado. Devido às limitações do modelo animal adotado, outros estudos em diferentes modelos experimentais devem ser conduzidos para corroborar estes achados preliminares, visando esclarecer a possível segurança da Ivermectina.A automedicação e a prescrição inapropriada são sérios problemas de saúde pública, gerando riscos à saúde. Devido à pandemia do coronavírus e à COVID-19, houve uma urgência para obtenção de terapêuticas, embora muita especulação impulsionou hábitos deletérios quanto ao uso de medicamentos. Objetivo: Avaliar os possíveis efeitos sistêmicos ocasionados por doses diferentes de Ivermectina. Métodos: Usando um modelo animal de ratos Wistar, os animais foram divididos em 4 grupos de 10 integrantes, sendo tratados oralmente com: i. salina (controle – placebo); ii. suspensão de Ivermectina 300 µg/Kg/dia; iii. suspensão de Ivermectina 500 µg/Kg/dia; e iv. suspensão de Ivermectina 1000 µg/Kg/dia. Após as 6 semanas de experimento, os ratos foram eutanasiados e amostras de soro coletadas, com realização de provas de função hepática (ALT e AST) e renal (creatinina e ureia), bem como avaliação histológica do fígado, rins, coração e glândulas salivares. Resultados: Os tratamentos com doses de Ivermectina de até 1000 µg/kg/dia não afetaram os níveis de ALT e AST, creatinina e ureia, comparados ao grupo controle-placebo (p > 0,05), sendo que tais doses também não causaram danos morfológicos nos rins, coração e glândulas salivares. Apenas a dose de 1000 µg/kg/dia promoveu ligeira alteração na morfologia hepática. Conclusões: Doses de Ivermectina até 1000 µg/kg/dia não promoveram alterações funcionais nos órgãos avaliados, com exceção para a dose de 1000 µg/kg/dia no fígado. Devido às limitações do modelo animal adotado, outros estudos em diferentes modelos experimentais devem ser conduzidos para corroborar estes achados preliminares, visando esclarecer a possível segurança da Ivermectina

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ