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

Cattle diseases associated with consumption of beer residues

The use of brewery by-products in cattle feed has grown in recent years as an excellent alternative for maintenance or increase in cattle productivity especially in Southeastern Brazil. Among the most employed by-products are malted barley waste and brewer's yeast, a liquid by-product that contains alcohol and is widely used in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Careless or incorrect use of these products, as well as inadequate storage, can cause ethanol poisoning, neurotoxicosis by Aspergillus clavatus, ruminal acidosis and botulism. This paper highlights the importance of these conditions as causes of severe economic losses to livestock, and provides support for the establishment of diagnosis, differential diagnosis and prophylaxis.A utilização de subprodutos de cervejaria na alimentação de bovinos tem crescido nos últimos anos como uma excelente alternativa na manutenção ou aumento da produtividade na bovinocultura, sobretudo na Região Sudeste. Entre os resíduos mais empregados estão o bagaço de malte oriundo da "cevada" e o "levedo de cerveja", um subproduto líquido que contém álcool, muito utilizado no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. O uso incorreto ou sem os devidos cuidados, bem como o armazenamento de forma inadequada, contudo, podem ser responsáveis por quadros de intoxicação por etanol, neurotoxicose por Aspergillus clavatus, acidose ruminal e botulismo. Esse trabalho tem por intuito alertar para a importância dessas condições como causa de sérios prejuízos econômicos à pecuária e fornecer subsídios para o estabelecimento do diagnóstico, diagnóstico diferencial e profilaxia das mesmas

EFEITOS DA CASTRAÇÃO SOBRE CARACTERÍSTICAS FÍSICO-QUÍMICAS E CELULARES DO LÍQUIDO PERITONEAL DE EQUINOS

As one of the most frequently performed surgical techniques and the constant association with complications, ten animals were submitted to castration and physical, chemical and cytological peritoneal fluid characteristics were evaluated. The peritoneal fluid samples were obtained before surgery and after castration. It was evaluated the color and turbidity, total concentration and count of differential leukocyte, lactate, protein and phosphorus, as well as the activity of CK, AST, LDH and FA. After castration, the peritoneal fluid has become reddish and cloudy, there was an increase in protein, lactate and phosphorus as well the activity of CK, AST, AP and LDH. The changes were not associated with the development of postoperative complications and were due to inflammatory response triggered by surgical trauma. The analysis of peritoneal fluid can assist in post castration monitoring to the aiming the early and efficiently resolution of possible complications

Proteinograma do líquido sinovial de equinos hígidosobtido por eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida

The aim of this study was to determine the proteinogram of the proteins included in the synovial fluid of forty healthy horses. After collection, centrifugation and fractionation of the samples, the acute phase proteins were separated by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel containing SDS-PAGE, and their concentrations were determined by computerized densitometry. It was found 16 to 26 proteins on the electrophoretic fraction, with molecular weights from 16 to 238.000 Daltons (Da). The molecular weights found, corresponding to most known proteins were albumin, 63,000Da; ceruloplasmin, 113.000Da; transferrin, 80,000Da; haptoglobin, 40.000Da, α-1-acid glycoprotein, 37.000Da; IgA, IgG and 189.000Da, 74.000Da. The knowledge proteinogram of synovial fluid of healthy horses can bring significant contribution to the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of animals with articular changes.O objetivo do presente trabalho foi determinar o proteinograma do líquido sinovial de quarenta equinos hígidos. Após colheita, centrifugação e fracionamento das amostras, as proteínas de fase aguda foram separadas por eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida, contendo SDS-PAGE, e suas concentrações determinadas por densitometria computadorizada. Foram encontradas 16 a 26 proteínas no fracionamento eletroforético, compeso molecular variando de 16 a 238.000 Daltons (Da). Os pesos moleculares encontrados, correspondentes às proteínas mais conhecidas, foram albumina, 63.000Da; ceruloplasmina, 113.000Da; transferrina, 80.000Da; haptoglobina, 40.000Da; α-1-glicoproteínaácida, 37.000Da; IgA, 189.000Da e IgG, 74.000Da. O estabelecimento do proteinograma do líquido sinovial de equinos hígidos pode trazer contribuição significativa ao diagnóstico, tratamento e prognóstico de animais com alterações articulares.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved