Delimiting floristic biogeographic districts in the Cerrado and assessing their conservation status

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via the DOI in this recordThe Cerrado is a biodiversity hotspot in central Brazil that represents the largest expanse of savanna in the Neotropics. Here, we aim to identify and delimit biogeographic districts within the Cerrado, to provide a geographic framework for conservation planning and scientific research prioritisation. We used data from 588 sites with tree species inventories distributed across the entire Cerrado. To identify districts, we clustered sites based on their similarity in tree species composition. To investigate why districts differ in composition, we 1) determined the proportion of tree species in different districts that derive from other biomes, to assess the influence of neighbouring biomes upon geographically marginal districts and 2) assayed key climatic differences between districts, to test the effect of environmental factors upon compositional differences. We found seven biogeographic districts within the Cerrado. Marginal districts have a large proportion of tree species characteristic of Amazonia and Atlantic Forest, but the Cerrado endemic species are also important. Further, districts differed significantly for multiple climatic variables. Finally, to provide a preliminary conservation assessment of the different districts, we assessed their rate of land conversion and current coverage by protected areas. We found that districts in the south and southwest of the Cerrado have experienced the greatest land conversion and are the least protected, while those in the north and northeast are less impacted and better protected. Overall, our results show how biogeographic analyses can contribute to conservation planning by giving clear guidelines on which districts merit greater conservation and management attention.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível SuperiorConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológic

Visual behavior of infants in the first and second months of life

Este estudo objetivou avaliar e conhecer o comportamento visual de lactentes no primeiro e segundo meses de vida. Os participantes foram 66 lactentes procedentes da região metropolitana de Campinas, nascidos no Centro de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (CAISM/UNICAMP), assintomáticos, com peso ao nascimento variando de 3000g a 4140g, integrantes do Programa de Detecção de Alterações Audiológicas em Neonatos (DAANE), que compareceram ao Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas em Reabilitação "Prof. Dr. Gabriel Porto" da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (CEPRE/FCM/UNICAMP) para triagem auditiva e cujos pais concordaram em participar do estudo. Para avaliação do comportamento visual utilizou-se o Método de Avaliação da Conduta Visual em Lactentes. A análise dos resultados utilizando-se o SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences, versão 13) revelou, no primeiro mês, um destaque para as provas: fixação visual 97,62%, contato de olho 97,62%, sorriso 52,38%, seguimento visual horizontal 97,62% e seguimento visual vertical 52,38%. No segundo mês obteve-se 100% de resposta para as provas fixação visual, contato de olho, sorriso, seguimento visual horizontal e vertical. Os resultados obtidos no presente estudo estão em concordância com dados de estudos recentes sobre o comportamento visual de lactentes no primeiro trimestre de vida. A possibilidade de detectar oportunamente alterações no desenvolvimento visual está ligada a um diagnóstico oportuno e a um pronto encaminhamento a serviços de habilitação infantil, favorecendo, assim, a qualidade de vida das crianças e suas famílias.The aim of this study was to assess as well as understand the visual behavior of infants in the first and second months of life. The participants were 66 asymptomatic infants from Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, born at the Integral Attention Center for Women's Health at Campinas State University (CAISM/UNICAMP), with birth weight ranging from 3000g to 4140g. These infants were participants in the Program for Detecting Audiological Alterations in Newborns (DAANE) who attended the Center for Studies and Research on Rehabilitation "Prof. Dr. Gabriel Porto" at the Faculty of Medical Sciences (CEPRE/FCM/UNICAMP) for auditory trial, and whose parents consented to participate in this study. Visual behaviors were assessed through the Method for Assessing Visual Acuity in Infants. The data analysis was performed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 13). In the first month, the infants showed: visual fixation (97.62%), eye contact (97.62%), smile (52.38%), horizontal tracking (97.62%), and vertical tracking (52.38%). In the second month, they reached 100% in these same tests. The results are in accordance with recent studies on visual behavior of infants in the first three months of life. The possibility of opportunely detecting alterations in visual development is related to a timely diagnosis and a prompt referral to rehabilitation services for infants. As a consequence, it may improve the quality of life of children and their families

Atherosclerosis in young Brazilians suffering violent deaths: a pathological study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke, which can cause sudden death in adulthood. In general, the clinical manifestations of cardiovascular diseases are caused by atherosclerosis, which is a process that starts during middle age. More recent studies indicate that the atherosclerotic process begins during childhood.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To evaluate the extent of atherosclerotic disease in young Brazilians, we conducted a study of the pathological alterations in the major arteries of victims of violent death. Samples of the right carotid artery, left coronary artery, and thoracic aorta of young victims of violent death were analyzed and graded in accordance with the histological atherosclerotic lesion types proposed by the American Heart Association. Samples were collected from 100 individuals who had died from external causes, aged from 12 to 33 years.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of cases (83%) were male, and 66% of deaths were homicides caused by firearms. The median age was 20.0 years and mean body mass index was 20.9 kg/m². Of the right carotid artery specimens, 3% were normal, 55% had type I, 40% had type II, 1% had type III, and 1% had type IV atherosclerotic lesions. Of the left coronary artery specimens, 5% were normal, 48% had type I, 41% had type II, 3% had type III, and 3% had type IV lesions. Of the thoracic aorta specimens, none were normal, 13% had type I, 64% had type II, 22% had type III, and 1% had type IV lesions. Overall, 97.34% of arteries examined had some degree of atherosclerosis. The most common histological type was type II (foam cells). No thoracic aorta specimens were normal, and the coronary artery specimens had the most atherosclerosis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results show a high prevalence of atherosclerotic lesions among young people in Brazil. Intervention should be undertaken to decrease the rate of sudden cardiac death in the adult population.</p

Evolving in isolation: Genetic tests reject recent connections of Amazonian savannas with the central Cerrado

AimThe effects of past climatic shifts remain enigmatic for the Amazon region, especially for islands of savanna within the tropical forest known as â Amazonian savannasâ (AS). These disjunct savanna areas share many plant and animal species with the Cerrado biome in central Brazil (the CC), fuelling debate over historical connections. We evaluate hypothesized corridors between the CC and the AS, and specifically investigate whether a history of isolation versus recent connections is supported by genetic tests.LocationCerrado and Amazon biomes.TaxonTwo woody plant species: Byrsonima coccolobifolia and B. crassifolia (Malpighiaceae).MethodsAnalyses of genomic data (SNPs from more than 4,500 loci) in 28 populations, as well as chloroplast DNA (cpDNA), were used to test for parallel geographic structuring between the CC and ASâ an expected structure if putative corridors provided regional connections between different areas of the CC and AS, and divergence times between the CC and AS were estimated using a compositeâ likelihood method based on the site frequency spectrum.ResultsGenomic data, in contrast with cpDNA, generally show strong, concordant genetic structure between the CC and AS in both species, rather than regional grouping of CC with AS populations. In addition, divergence between the CC and AS predates the Last Glacial Maximum.Main conclusionsOur results suggest the AS have remained relatively isolated from the CC even though the strong structure of genomic variation is not shared by cpDNA. We note that past evidence of putative corridors between the CC and AS based solely on cpDNA should be interpreted cautiously since the lack of structure may reflect limited genetic resolution rather than gene flow. As such, the uniqueness of AS may be more pronounced than previously thought, highlighting the importance of protecting these highly threatened areas.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147774/1/jbi13468_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147774/2/jbi13468.pd

Tree diversity and above-ground biomass in the South America Cerrado biome and their conservation implications

Less than half of the original two million square kilometers of the Cerrado vegetation remains standing, and there are still many uncertainties as to how to conserve and prioritize remaining areas effectively. A key limitation is the continuing lack of geographically-extensive evaluation of ecosystem-level properties across the biome. Here we sought to address this gap by comparing the woody vegetation of the typical cerrado of the Cerrado–Amazonia Transition with that of the core area of the Cerrado in terms of both tree diversity and vegetation biomass. We used 21 one-hectare plots in the transition and 18 in the core to compare key structural parameters (tree height, basal area, and above-ground biomass), and diversity metrics between the regions. We also evaluated the effects of temperature and precipitation on biomass, as well as explored the species diversity versus biomass relationship. We found, for the first time, both that the typical cerrado at the transition holds substantially more biomass than at the core, and that higher temperature and greater precipitation can explain this difference. By contrast, plot-level alpha diversity was almost identical in the two regions. Finally, contrary to some theoretical expectations, we found no positive relationship between species diversity and biomass for the Cerrado woody vegetation. This has implications for the development of effective conservation measures, given that areas with high biomass and importance for the compensation of greenhouse gas emissions are often not those with the greatest diversity