Brazilian recommendations on the safety and effectiveness of the yellow fever vaccination in patients with chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases

Background: In Brazil, we are facing an alarming epidemic scenario of Yellow fever (YF), which is reaching the most populous areas of the country in unvaccinated people. Vaccination is the only effective tool to prevent YF. In special situations, such as patients with chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (CIMID), undergoing immunosuppressive therapy, as a higher risk of severe adverse events may occur, assessment of the risk-benefit ratio of the yellow fever vaccine (YFV) should be performed on an individual level. Main body of the abstract: Faced with the scarcity of specific orientation on YFV for this special group of patients, the Brazilian Rheumatology Society (BRS) endorsed a project aiming the development of individualized YFV recommendations for patients with CIMID, guided by questions addressed by both medical professionals and patients, followed an internationally validated methodology (GIN-McMaster Guideline Development). Firstly, a systematic review was carried out and an expert panel formed to take part of the decision process, comprising BRS clinical practitioners, as well as individuals from the Brazilian Dermatology Society (BDS), Brazilian Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Study Group (GEDIIB), and specialists on infectious diseases and vaccination (from Tropical Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Immunizations National Societies); in addition, two representatives of patient groups were included as members of the panel. When the quality of the evidence was low or there was a lack of evidence to determine the recommendations, the decisions were based on the expert opinion panel and a Delphi approach was performed. A recommendation was accepted upon achieving ≥80% agreement among the panel, including the patient representatives. As a result, eight recommendations were developed regarding the safety of YFV in patients with CIMID, considering the immunosuppression degree conferred by the treatment used. It was not possible to establish recommendations on the effectiveness of YFV in these patients as there is no consistent evidence to support these recommendations. Conclusion: This paper approaches a real need, assessed by clinicians and patient care groups, to address specific questions on the management of YFV in patients with CIMID living or traveling to YF endemic areas, involving specialists from many areas together with patients, and might have global applicability, contributing to and supporting vaccination practices. We recommended a shared decision-making approach on taking or not the YFV

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

Spatial pattern of a fish assemblage in a seasonal tropical wetland: effects of habitat, herbaceous plant biomass, water depth, and distance from species sources

The influence of habitat, biomass of herbaceous vegetation, depth and distance from permanent water bodies on the structure of fish assemblages of a seasonal floodplain was evaluated using data collected along 22 transects in an area of 25 km² in the floodplain of Cuiabá River, Pantanal, Brazil. Each transect was sampled for fish using throw traps and gillnets during the flood period of 2006. Multivariate multiple regression analysis and multivariate analysis of covariance indicated that depth was the only variable that affected the structure of the fish assemblage, both for quantitative data (abundance) and qualitative data (presence-absence). Species such as Neofundulus parvipinnis and Laetacara dorsigera were more abundant in shallower sites (below 25 cm), while Serrasalmus maculatus and Metynnis mola were found mostly in the deepest areas (over 55 cm). However, species such as Hoplias malabaricus and Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus occurred at all sampled depths. Although the distribution of most species was restricted to a few sites, there was a positive relationship between species richness and depth of the water body. Surprisingly, the replacement of native vegetation by exotic pasture did not affect the fish assemblage in the area, at the probability level considered

Persistence and stability of cichlid assemblages in neotropical floodplain lagoons

In this study, we evaluated how cichlid assemblages are affected by seasonal and interannual variations in water volume in the floodplain lagoons of the Cuiaba River in the Pantanal wetland. Eleven lagoons were sampled in the early dry season and the early rainy season over a three-year period. Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed that the species compositions and relative abundances were distinct between the seasons, which indicates that neither persistence nor stability was maintained on a seasonal basis. However, the interannual comparisons show the opposite tendency, indicating strong stability and persistence on an annual basis. These results indicate that the cichlid assemblages in these lagoons have two equilibrium points, one in the early dry season and the other in the early rainy season, and that the assemblages alternate between these points through the hydrologic cycle. In addition to the effect of the water level variation, the abundance distribution is also affected by conductivity and pH, which also influence the total abundance of the species in the assemblage.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Spatial and temporal variation in population structure of Hemigrammus marginatus (Characiformes: Characidae) in streams of the Ivinhema River Basin, Brazil

The present study has assessed spatial and temporal variations in the length structure of Hemigrammus marginatus Ellis, 1911 and estimated growth parameters for the species. Sampling was carried out in five streams in the Vitória and Piravevê sub-basins of the Ivinhema River from January to December 2002. A total of 933 specimens of H. marginatus were caught (97 in the Vitória sub-basin and 836 in the Piravevê sub-basin). Mean length of the individuals caught in the Piravevê sub-basin was shorter (21.58 mm, SD = 4.67) than that of individuals caught in the Vitória sub-basin (29.24 mm, SD = 4.42). Analysis of condition factor calculated from the weight/length relationship revealed that the values were constant both spatially (between sub-basins) and temporally (throughout the year). In the Piravevê sub-basin, the theoretical maximal length estimated for this species was 37.26 mm, with natural mortality rate of 1.22 year¹, growth rate (k) of 0.66 year-1, and growth performance index (w) of 3.80 and 4.25 years of longevity. The input of new individuals in the population occurs twice per year, with greater recruitment at the peak of the rainy season (May) and the peak of the dry season (August)

Effects of local and regional factors on the fish assemblage structure in Meridional Amazonian streams

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of local, regional and temporal factors structuring fish assemblages in Meridional Amazonian streams during the months of May (rainy season) and August (dry season) of 2008. To accomplish this task, 14 streams located in Serra do Expedito (Aripuanã River basin) were sampled along 30-m stretches. A total of 3,212 specimens distributed among five orders, 18 families, and 55 species were recorded. The fish assemblage structure in the streams presented variation among types of riparian vegetation (local factor) and watersheds (regional factor), but did not present variation between seasons (temporal factor) and stream order (regional factor). Larger streams with margins covered with pasture presented higher species richness and abundance than smaller streams with margins covered with forest. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V