Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time, and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space. While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes, vast areas of the tropics remain understudied. In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity, but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases. To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications 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, 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

Cultivares, espaçamento entrelinhas e programas de aplicação de fungicidas no controle de Phakopsora pachyrhizi Sidow em soja Cultivars, row spacing and fungicide application programs on Phakopsora pachyrhizi Sydow control in soybean

Com este trabalho, buscou-se avaliar a resposta de cultivares de soja, em duas safras, submetidas a diferentes espaçamentos entrelinhas e programas de controle sob pressão natural de Phakopsora pachyrhizi Sidow. Nas safras 07/08 e 08/09, os espaçamentos entrelinhas de 40, 50 e 60cm representavam as parcelas principais, as cultivares 'A 8000 RG' e 'A 6001 RG', as subparcelas e os programas de controle, as subsubparcelas. A redução do espaçamento entrelinhas permitiu melhores condições para o estabelecimento e progresso da ferrugem asiática para as duas cultivares e menor eficácia de controle. A melhor resposta de controle foi verificada com a utilização do programa após uma aplicação no estádio de desenvolvimento R1 e uma segunda aplicação 25 dias após a primeira. O espaçamento de 60cm entrelinhas proporcionou menores valores de doença acumulada e maior produtividade.<br>This study aimed to assess in two seasons, the response of soybean cultivars subjected to different row spacings and control programs under Phakopsora pachyrhizi Sidow natural pressure. The research was carried out at the seasons 07/08 and 08/09. The main plots were composed of the row spacings of 40, 50 and 60cm and the split plots corresponded to the cultivars A 8000 RG and A 6001 RG. The control programs were the split split plots.The reduction of row spacing allowed more conditions for the rust establishment and progress for both cultivars and less effective control. The best control response was verified using the program with an application in R1 and a second application, 25 days after the first one. The row spacing of 60cm gave lower AUDPC values and higher productivity

Interstitial nephritis of slaughtered pigs in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil

This study evaluated histological lesions in kidney samples from pigs with nephritis in two slaughterhouses in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Four hundred samples were subjected to histology, anti-porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) immunohistochemistry (IHC), anti-Leptospira sp. immunofluorescence (IF), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for PCV2, porcine parvovirus (PPV), and Torque teno virus type 1 and 2 (TTV1, TTV2) detection. Histological lesions were found in 81% of the samples, and mononuclear interstitial nephritis was the most frequent lesion (77.50%). A follicular pattern was observed in 40.97% of the interstitial nephritis lesions. PCV2, PPV, TTV1, and TTV2 were identified in the kidneys by PCR in 27.25%, 28.50%, 94%, and 87.5% of the samples, respectively. Leptospira sp. was not detected through IF. Infection by PCV2 (PCR) and the presence of histological lesions (P=0.008) and giant cells (P=0.0016) were significantly associated. An association was observed between the TTV2-TTV1 co-infection (P<0.0001) and the risk for pathogenesis. These findings indicated that PCV2, PPV, TTV1, and TTV2 were widely distributed among pigs in the local farms and that the presence of these agents should be considered in the differential diagnosis of kidneys with interstitial nephritis in pigs

Caracterização microestrutural de soldas dissimilares dos aços ASTM A-508 e AISI 316L Characterization of dissimilar metal weld between low alloy steel ASTM A-508 and 316L stainless steel

As soldas dissimilares (dissimilar metal welds - DMWs) são utilizadas em diversos segmentos da indústria. No caso específico de usinas nucleares, tais soldas são necessárias para conectar tubulações de aço inoxidável com componentes fabricados em aços baixa liga. Os materiais de adição mais utilizados neste tipo de solda são as ligas de níquel 82 e 182. Este trabalho consistiu na soldagem de uma junta dissimilar de aço baixa liga ASTM A-508 G3 e aço inoxidável austenítico AISI 316L utilizando as ligas de níquel 82 e 182 como metais de adição. A soldagem foi realizada manualmente empregando os processos de soldagem ao arco SMAW (Shielded Metal Arc Welding) e GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding). Os corpos de prova foram caracterizados microestruturalmente utilizando-se microscópio óptico e microscópio eletrônico de varredura com microanálise por dispersão de energia de raios X (EDS) e ensaios de microdureza Vickers. Observou-se uma microestrutura constituída de dendritas de austenita com a presença de precipitados com formas e dimensões definidas pelo aporte térmico e pela direção de soldagem. Não houve variação significativa da dureza ao longo da junta soldada, demonstrando a adequação dos parâmetros de soldagem utilizados.<br>The dissimilar metal welds (DMWs) are used in several areas of the industries. In the nuclear power plant, this weld using nickel alloy welding wires is used to connect stainless steel pipes to low alloy steel components on the reactor pressured vessels. The filler materials commonly used in this type of weld are nickel alloys 82 and 182.. In this study, dissimilar metal welds composed of low alloy steel ASTM A-508 G3, nickel alloys 82 e 182 as weld metals, and austenitic stainless steel AISI 316L were prepared by manual shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and gas tungsten arc welding techniques (GTAW). Samples were microstructural characterized by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy using energy dispersive X ray microanalysis (EDS). It was noticed that there was a microstructure consisting of austenite dendrites with the presence of precipitates with shapes and dimensions set by the thermal contribution and direction of welding. There was no significant variation of hardness along the weld joint, demonstrating the suitability of the welding parameters used