Ethnobotanical knowledge is vastly under-documented in northwestern South America

A main objective of ethnobotany is to document traditional knowledge about plants before it disappears. However, little is known about the coverage of past ethnobotanical studies and thus about how well the existing literature covers the overall traditional knowledge of different human groups. To bridge this gap, we investigated ethnobotanical data-collecting efforts across four countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia), three ecoregions (Amazon, Andes, Chocó), and several human groups (including Amerindians, mestizos, and Afro-Americans). We used palms (Arecaceae) as our model group because of their usefulness and pervasiveness in the ethnobotanical literature. We carried out a large number of field interviews (n = 2201) to determine the coverage and quality of palm ethnobotanical data in the existing ethnobotanical literature (n = 255) published over the past 60 years. In our fieldwork in 68 communities, we collected 87,886 use reports and documented 2262 different palm uses and 140 useful palm species. We demonstrate that traditional knowledge on palm uses is vastly under-documented across ecoregions, countries, and human groups. We suggest that the use of standardized data-collecting protocols in wide-ranging ethnobotanical fieldwork is a promising approach for filling critical information gaps. Our work contributes to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and emphasizes the need for signatory nations to the Convention on Biological Diversity to respond to these information gaps. Given our findings, we hope to stimulate the formulation of clear plans to systematically document ethnobotanical knowledge in northwestern South America and elsewhere before it vanishesThis study was funded by the European Union, 7th Framework Programme (contract no. 212631), the Russel E. Train Education for Nature Program of the WWF (to NPZ), the Anne S. Chatham fellowship of the Garden Club of America (to NPZ), and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid travel grants programme (to RCL

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

metabolic bone disease and osteoporosis in children

To understand the basics of pediatric bone metabolism and mechanisms underlying osteoporosi

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss: a case report supporting the immunologic theory Surdez neurosensorial súbita: relato de um caso clínico corroborando a teoria auto-imune

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is one of the autoimmune diseases of the inner ear (AIED), which is characterized by a hearing loss of above 30 decibels in at least three contiguous audiometric frequencies over a time course of 72 hours or shorter. Its cause can be found in only 10% to 15% of patients. Histopathologic findings have reported retrograde neuronal degeneration and atrophy of Corti's organ and of the vascular stria. This paper describes a case of a middle-aged female patient undergoing a treatment for hyperthyroidism who developed bilateral SSNHL. The patient was treated with methylprednilisone (1mg/kg/day) for three days with considerable hearing improvement. This treatment was followed by lung and kidney tuberculosis. The immune mechanism of this entity and the possibility of interconnected participation of the antigen type, of an autoimmune disease and of bacterial infection are discussed.<br>A surdez neurosensorial aguda (SNSA) é uma das doenças auto-imunes do ouvido interno caracterizada pela perda da audição acima de 30 decibéis, em pelo menos 3 freqüências audiométricas contíguas, no período máximo de 3 dias. Sua causa só é definida em 10 a 15% dos pacientes. Achados histopatológicos demonstram degeneração neuronal retrógrada e atrofia do órgão de Corti e da estria vascular. Relatamos o caso de uma paciente de média idade em tratamento de hipertireoidismo que apresentou SNSA bilateral. A paciente foi tratada com metil-prednisilona (1mg/kg/dia) durante três dias evoluindo para uma melhora considerável da audição. Este tratamento foi seguido de tuberculose pulmonar e renal. Discute-se o mecanismo imunológico desta entidade, e a possibilidade de participação cruzada do tipo antígeno, doença autoimune e infecção bacteriana