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

Correction: Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP) Triggered by Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS): A Promising Tool to Assess Spinal Cord Function in Schistosomal Myeloradiculopathy.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004672.]

Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP) Triggered by Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS): A Promising Tool to Assess Spinal Cord Function in Schistosomal Myeloradiculopathy

<div><p>Background</p><p>Schistosomal myeloradiculopathy (SMR), the most severe and disabling ectopic form of <i>Schistosoma mansoni</i> infection, is caused by embolized ova eliciting local inflammation in the spinal cord and nerve roots. The treatment involves the use of praziquantel and long-term corticotherapy. The assessment of therapeutic response relies on neurological examination. Supplementary electrophysiological exams may improve prediction and monitoring of functional outcome. Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) triggered by galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) is a simple, safe, low-cost and noninvasive electrophysiological technique that has been used to test the vestibulospinal tract in motor myelopathies. This paper reports the results of VEMP with GVS in patients with SMR.</p><p>Methods</p><p>A cross-sectional comparative study enrolled 22 patients with definite SMR and 22 healthy controls that were submitted to clinical, neurological examination and GVS. Galvanic stimulus was applied in the mastoid bones in a transcranial configuration for testing VEMP, which was recorded by electromyography (EMG) in the gastrocnemii muscles. The VEMP variables of interest were blindly measured by two independent examiners. They were the short-latency (SL) and the medium-latency (ML) components of the biphasic EMG wave.</p><p>Results</p><p>VEMP showed the components SL (p = 0.001) and ML (p<0.001) delayed in SMR compared to controls. The delay of SL (p = 0.010) and of ML (p = 0.020) was associated with gait dysfunction.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>VEMP triggered by GVS identified alterations in patients with SMR and provided additional functional information that justifies its use as a supplementary test in motor myelopathies.</p></div

Osteopontin is upregulated in human and murine acute schistosomiasis mansoni

Background Symptomatic acute schistosomiasis mansoni is a systemic hypersensitivity reaction against the migrating schistosomula and mature eggs after a primary infection. The mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of acute schistosomiasis are not fully elucidated. Osteopontin has been implicated in granulomatous reactions and in acute hepatic injury. Our aims were to evaluate if osteopontin plays a role in acute Schistosoma mansoni infection in both human and experimentally infected mice and if circulating OPN levels could be a novel biomarker of this infection. Methodology/Principal Findings Serum/plasma osteopontin levels were measured by ELISA in patients with acute (n = 28), hepatointestinal (n = 26), hepatosplenic (n = 39) schistosomiasis and in uninfected controls (n = 21). Liver osteopontin was assessed by immunohistochemistry in needle biopsies of 5 patients. Sera and hepatic osteopontin were quantified in the murine model of schistosomiasis mansoni during acute (7 and 8 weeks post infection, n = 10) and chronic (30 weeks post infection, n = 8) phase. Circulating osteopontin levels are increased in patients with acute schistosomiasis (p = 0.0001). The highest levels of OPN were observed during the peak of clinical symptoms (7-11 weeks post infection), returning to baseline level once the granulomas were modulated (&amp;gt;12 weeks post infection). The plasma levels in acute schistosomiasis were even higher than in hepatosplenic patients. The murine model mirrored the human disease. Macrophages were the major source of OPN in human and murine acute schistosomiasis, while the ductular reaction maintains OPN production in hepatosplenic disease. Soluble egg antigens from S. mansoni induced OPN expression in primary human kupffer cells. Conclusions/Significance S. mansoni egg antigens induce the production of OPN by macrophages in the necroticexudative granulomas characteristic of acute schistosomiasis mansoni. Circulating OPN levels are upregulated in human and murine acute schistosomiasis and could be a noninvasive biomarker of this form of disease

SL and ML electromyographic normal responses to galvanic stimulation in comparison to abnormal responses.

<p>(A) Normal responses: superimposed traces of two polarities (cathode right anode left and then cathode left and anode right) reveal inversion of waves and define short-latency (SL) and medium-latency (ML) onsets points. The continuous vertical thick line indicates the galvanic vestibular stimulus onset. (B) Abnormal responses: no identification of SL or ML waves.</p

Frequency of clinical manifestations of 22 patients with schistosomal myeloradiculopathy.

<p>Frequency of clinical manifestations of 22 patients with schistosomal myeloradiculopathy.</p

Frequency of affected spinal cord segment of patients with schistosomal myeloradiculopathy.

<p>Frequency of affected spinal cord segment of patients with schistosomal myeloradiculopathy.</p

VEMP with galvanic vestibular stimulation being performed in a patient.

<p>VEMP with galvanic vestibular stimulation being performed in a patient.</p