A cooperação brasileira não é um almoço grátis: uma análise dos interesses na estratégia de cooperação internacional para o desenvolvimento

This work challenges the Brazilian official discourse on international development cooperation with the role that the government and other actors, such as business and civil society, play in this policy. The research aims to identify the real interests of Brazil in its strategy of cooperation and examine whether the insertion of Brazilian reality is less self-interest, as it is officially stated by Brazilian Foreign Ministry.Este trabajo cuestiona el discurso oficial de Brasil en la cooperación internacional para el desarrollo, con el papel que el gobierno y otros actores, como las empresas y la sociedad civil, desempeñan en esta política. La investigación tiene como objetivo identificar los verdaderos intereses de Brasil en su estrategia de cooperación y de examinar si la inserción brasileña es menos interesada en sus propios objetivos, ya que se afirma oficialmente por Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Brasil.Este artigo questiona o discurso oficial brasileiro sobre a política de cooperação para o desenvolvimento, em relação com o papel desempenhado pelo governo e por outros atores, como empresas e a sociedade civil. A pesquisa busca identificar os reais intereses do Brasil na sua estratégia de cooperação e analisa se a inserção brasileira é, de fato, menos autointeressada, como defende o Ministério das Relações Exteriores

The use of norms at the aid/cooperation regime: the role of Britain and Brazil

This thesis examines the use of norms by British and Brazilian actors in the aid/cooperation regime in the 21st century. Using a constructivist approach, this research analyses actors’ agency in asymmetric international and domestic environments, in which different norms, dissimilar identities, and opposing interests coexist. This research argues that, regardless of the discourses and theories surrounding the differentiation between North-South and South-South aid/cooperation, British and Brazilian actors use norms to achieve their own goals at the domestic and international levels. The used strategies also resemble both case studies. Processes of norm circulation in the aid/cooperation regime have a greater impact at the international level and within the domestic environment of donor/partner countries, than in promoting behavioural changes in recipient countries. However, the content of British and Brazilian norms is different given their historical position in the international regime and domestic context. The present study sought to unveil how actors use aid/cooperation norms in order to achieve their goals in three major instances: 1- the international forums where actors debate the aid/cooperation regime’s architecture; 2- the domestic environment of donor/partner countries; and, 3- the domestic level of recipient countries, where international norms are diffused

SARS-CoV-2 intra-host diversity, antibody response, and disease severity after reinfection by the variant of concern Gamma in Brazil

Abstract The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern (VOC) Gamma in Amazonas during early 2021 fueled a second large COVID-19 epidemic wave and raised concern about the potential role of reinfections. Very few cases of reinfection associated with the VOC Gamma have been reported to date, and their potential impact on clinical, immunological, and virological parameters remains largely unexplored. Here we describe 25 cases of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in Brazil. SARS-CoV-2 genomic analysis confirmed that individuals were primo-infected with distinct viral lineages between March and December 2020 (B.1.1, B.1.1.28, B.1.1.33, B.1.195, and P.2) and reinfected with the VOC Gamma between 3 to 12 months after primo-infection. We found a similar mean cycle threshold (Ct) value and limited intra-host viral diversity in both primo-infection and reinfection samples. Sera of 14 patients tested 10–75 days after reinfection displayed detectable neutralizing antibodies (NAb) titers against SARS-CoV-2 variants that circulated before (B.1.*), during (Gamma), and after (Delta and Omicron) the second epidemic wave in Brazil. All individuals had milder or no symptoms after reinfection, and none required hospitalization. These findings demonstrate that individuals reinfected with the VOC Gamma may display relatively high RNA viral loads at the upper respiratory tract after reinfection, thus contributing to onward viral transmissions. Despite this, our study points to a low overall risk of severe Gamma reinfections, supporting that the abrupt increase in hospital admissions and deaths observed in Amazonas and other Brazilian states during the Gamma wave was mostly driven by primary infections. Our findings also indicate that most individuals analyzed developed a high anti-SARS-CoV-2 NAb response after reinfection that may provide some protection against reinfection or disease by different SARS-CoV-2 variants

Growing knowledge: an overview of Seed Plant diversity in Brazil

Abstract An updated inventory of Brazilian seed plants is presented and offers important insights into the country's biodiversity. This work started in 2010, with the publication of the Plants and Fungi Catalogue, and has been updated since by more than 430 specialists working online. Brazil is home to 32,086 native Angiosperms and 23 native Gymnosperms, showing an increase of 3% in its species richness in relation to 2010. The Amazon Rainforest is the richest Brazilian biome for Gymnosperms, while the Atlantic Rainforest is the richest one for Angiosperms. There was a considerable increment in the number of species and endemism rates for biomes, except for the Amazon that showed a decrease of 2.5% of recorded endemics. However, well over half of Brazillian seed plant species (57.4%) is endemic to this territory. The proportion of life-forms varies among different biomes: trees are more expressive in the Amazon and Atlantic Rainforest biomes while herbs predominate in the Pampa, and lianas are more expressive in the Amazon, Atlantic Rainforest, and Pantanal. This compilation serves not only to quantify Brazilian biodiversity, but also to highlight areas where there information is lacking and to provide a framework for the challenge faced in conserving Brazil's unique and diverse flora

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora