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 un derstanding 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,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 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 underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities 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 or ganism 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 ne glected 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 lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

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

Influence of Er: YAG laser and ceramic bur on the micro-tensile bond strength of a self-etch adhesive system in demineralized dentin after aging

Este estudo avaliou a influência do laser de Er: YAG e da broca de cerâmica em baixa rotação na adesão de um sistema adesivo autocondicionante na dentina desmineralizada após envelhecimento. Oitenta terceiros molares humanos hígidos tiveram suas raízes e seus terços oclusais seccionados. As câmaras pulpares foram preenchidas com resina composta e a dentina foi desgastada com lixas de granulação decrescente para padronização da smear layer. Os espécimes foram isolados com esmalte cosmético ácido resistente para a indução de cárie artificial. Após 28 dias de ciclagem de pH, os espécimes foram aleatoriamente divididos em quatro grupos, de acordo com o método de remoção do tecido cariado: (WR) sem remoção, (L) Laser de Er: YAG, (B) Broca Carbide em turbina de baixa rotação, (C) Broca de Cerâmica em turbina de baixa rotação. Após a remoção do tecido cariado, os espécimes foram restaurados com o adesivo autocondicionante Clearfil SE Bond e restaurados com resina composta Filtek Z 350. Os espécimes permaneceram em estufa a 37°C durante 24 horas e então foram seccionados para produzir palitos com área de secção transversal de 1 mm². Cada grupo foi dividido em dois grupos antes do envelhecimento (NA) sem envelhecimento e (H) imersão em hipoclorito de sódio 10% por três horas compondo oito grupos (n = 10) WRNA, LNA, BNA, CNA, WH, LH, BH e CH. Os espécimes foram submetidos ao teste de microtração em máquina universal de testes com velocidade de 0.5 mm/min (MPa). A classificação dos padrões de fratura foi realizada com lupa estereoscópica com aumento de 90 X. O teste não paramétrico de Kruskal-Wallis 5% demonstrou significância estatística para a interação entre os fatores analisados (remoção do tecido cariado e envelhecimento). O teste complementar de Mann-Whitney 5%, demonstrou que os maiores valores de resistência adesiva foram observados quando o tecido cariado foi removido com o método convencional utilizando a turbina de baixa rotação, tanto para a broca carbide (BNA) como para a broca de cerâmica (CNA) sem envelhecimento, que foram diferentes estatisticamente dos demais grupos. Após o envelhecimento, a broca de cerâmica (CH) obteve o melhor resultado e foi estatisticamente similar à broca carbide (BH). O grupo BH foi estatisticamente similar ao laser de Er:YAG, com (LH) ou sem (LNA) envelhecimento, e ao tecido desmineralizado com envelhecimento (WRH) que foram os menores valores obtidos. A broca de cerâmica em turbina de baixa rotação influenciou negativamente a resistência adesiva do adesivo autocondicionante após envelhecimento e o laser de Er: YAG influenciou negativamente a resistência do adesivo autocondicionante em ambas as condições testadas.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of Er: YAG laser and conventional method of caries removal employing ceramic bur on the bond strength of a self-etching system in demineralized dentin after aging. Eighty recently extracted non-carious human third molars were cut and ground to expose a flat dentin surface. Each tooth was submmited to pH cycles to produce artificial caries affected dentin. The specimens were divided according to the method of caries removal: (WR) without removal, (L) Er: YAG laser, (B) Carbide bur at low speed, (C) Ceramic bur at low speed. After that, the specimens were restored with a self-etch adhesive system (Clearfil SE Bond) and composite resin (Filtek Z 350). The restored teeth were stored in distilled water at 37°C for 24 hours and thereafter-sectioned perpendicular to the bonded interface with a refrigerated low-speed diamond disc to produce sticks 1 mm² crossseccional area. Then, each group was divided into two groups before aging in 10% sodium hypocloride (n = 10): NA (No aging) WRNA, LNA, BNA, CAN and H (immersion in 10% sodium hypocloride for 3 hours) WRH, LH, BH, CH. The microtensile bond strength (microTBS) test was performed in a universal test machine with a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/minute. Bond strengths were calculated in MPa and analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney at a 0.05 level of significance. Failure patterns were examined with a stereomicroscope. The results showed that there were statistical significance for the interaction between the factors analyzed (removal of decayed tissue and aging). The highest bond strength values were observed for both ceramic bur (CNA) and carbide bur (BNA) without aging, which were statistically different from the other groups. After aging, the ceramic bur (CH) and carbide bur (BH) were statistically similar and showed the highest TBS values. Ceramic bur at low speed seemed to be a conservative alternative for the removal of carious tissue and more studies are necessary to establish a more favorable bond strength over time using self-etch adhesive system

FTIR and SEM analysis of CO2 laser irradiated human enamel

Objectives: Considering the enamel chemical structure, especially carbonate band, which has a major role in the caries prevention, the objective of the present study was to assess the chemical alterations on the enamel irradiated with CO2 laser by means of FTIR spectroscopy and SEM analysis. Design: The enamel surfaces were analysed on a spectrometer for acquisition of the absorption spectrum relative to the chemical composition of the control sample. The irradiation was conducted with a 10.6-mu m CO2 laser (0.55 W, 660 W/cm(2)). The carbonate absorption band at 1600-1291 cm(-1) as well as the water absorption band at 3793-2652 cm(-1) was measured in each sample after the irradiation. The water band was measured again 24-h after the irradiation. The band area of each chemical compound was delimited, the background was subtracted, and the area under each band was integrated. Each area was normalized by the phosphate band (1190-702 cm(-1)). Results: There was a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.05) in the water content after irradiation (control: 0.184 +/- 0.04; irradiated: 0.078 +/- 0.026), which increased again after rehydration (0.145 +/- 0.038). The carbonate/phosphate ratio was measured initially (0.112 +/- 0.029) and its reduction after irradiation indicated the carbonate loss (0.088 +/- 0.014) (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The 10.6-mu m CO2 laser irradiation diminishes the carbonate and water contents in the enamel after irradiation. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)FAPESP - Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo [2003/13489-6, 2010/06861-0

Time-spatial analysis supporting coastal erosion process evaluation at Atafona, São João da Barra (RJ)

This paper provides a presentation of the preliminary results obtained from cartographic mapping process with the aim of making an assessment of coastal erosion observed in Atafona beach, in São João da Barra district – RJ, as a requirement to make a spatial and temporal monitoring of this phenomenon. The records indicate erosion since 1975 in the south portion of the Paraíba do Sul River delta. So far, 183 buildings have already been destroyed, distributed in 14 blocks. The erosion process with real estates losses has directly affected the resident population. This work is an unfolding of a research project in the area of geological oceanography. Several cartographic data sources such as SPOT satellite image collection and LANDSAT7 ETM+ system were used for the following dates of acquisition: 14/07/1997, 29/08/1999 and 17/07/2001. Aerial photos are being used as well for the following dates: 1954, 1957, 1964, 1966, 1974, 1976 e 2000. The beach escarpment dynamics are being monitored by GPS system and the SPRING4.0 system is used to generate a spatial database and digital thematic maps indicating spatial configuration of erosion

Anti-Infective Potential of Marine Invertebrates and Seaweeds from the Brazilian Coast

This manuscript describes the evaluation of anti-infective potential in vitro of organic extracts from nine sponges, one ascidian, two octocorals, one bryozoan, and 27 seaweed species collected along the Brazilian coast. Antimicrobial activity was tested against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Candida albicans (ATCC 10231) by the disk diffusion method. Antiprotozoal activity was evaluated against Leishmania braziliensis (MHOM/BR/96/LSC96-H3) promastigotes and Trypanosoma cruzi (MHOM/BR/00/Y) epimastigotes by MTT assay. Activity against intracellular amastigotes of T. cruzi and L. brasiliensis in murine macrophages was also evaluated. Antiviral activity was tested against Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1, KOS strain) by the plaque number reduction assay (IC50). Cytotoxicity on VERO cells was evaluated by the MTT assay (CC50). The results were expressed as SI = CC50/IC50. The most promising antimicrobial results were obtained against S. aureus and C. albicans with Dragmacidon reticulatum. Among the seaweeds, only Osmundaria obtusiloba showed moderate activity against P. aeruginosa. Concerning antiprotozoal activity, Bugula neritina, Carijoa riseii, Dragmaxia anomala and Haliclona (Halichoclona) sp. showed the most interesting results, mainly against extracellular promastigote forms of L. braziliensis (66, 35.9, 97.2, and 43.6% inhibition, respectively). Moreover, six species of seaweeds Anadyomene saldanhae, Caulerpa cupressoides, Canistrocarpus cervicornis, Dictyota sp., Ochtodes secundiramea, and Padina sp. showed promising results against L. braziliensis (87.9, 51.7, 85.9, 93.3, 99.7, and 80.9% inhibition, respectively), and only Dictyota sp. was effective against T. cruzi (60.4% inhibition). Finally, the antiherpes activity was also evaluated, with Haliclona (Halichoclona) sp. and Petromica citrina showing the best results (SI = 11.9 and SI > 5, respectively). All the active extracts deserve special attention in further studies to chemically characterize the bioactive compounds, and to perform more refined biological assays