Marine and coastal environmental education in the context of global climate changes - synthesis and subsidies for ReBentos (Coastal Benthic Habitats Monitoring Network)

As changes in coastal and marine environments are expected to negatively affect Brazilian ecosystems, the importance of Marine Environmental Education (MEE) comes to the fore. However, so far only 32 contributions related to this issue have been published in Brazil. The MEE workgroup of ReBentos aims at promoting EE and the communication of marine ecological research to the scholastic public as a whole, as well as to groups which exert an influence on general perception, such as the media, politicians, and scientists. This paper presents an overview of the initiatives of MEE in Brazil, with emphasis on the ReBentos projects and guidelines. The conceptual background of action is based on the Rio'92 Treaty on Environmental Education, thereby implying an MEE with Transdisciplinar, emancipatory and reflexive characteristics, directed to changes in values, principles and attitudes. During the period 2011 to 2015, 10 projects were developed from Alagoas to Santa Catarina States, involving the development, implementation and testing through scientific research of 16 MEE activity-models. The didactic material subsequently produced comprised three books and 21 book-chapters. A public of around 6,500 Conservation Unit visitors, 250 public school teachers and 800 high school students have been impacted to date. To act as monitors and multipliers, 250 undergraduate students and professionals were trained. Research project evaluation generated the publication of nine papers. As a further step, the need for protocol elaboration for each model is placed in evidence, in order to direct and facilitate future initiatives.A importância da educação ambiental marinha (EAM) vem tomando relevância à medida que aumenta a expectativa de impactos nos ecossistemas brasileiros ocasionados por mudanças nos ambientes costeiros. Entretanto, apenas 32 contribuições sobre esse assunto foram publicadas no Brasil. O grupo de trabalho em EAM da ReBentos objetiva promover a comunicação da pesquisa ecológica marinha para o público escolar como um todo, bem como a grupos com influência na percepção comum, como a mídia, políticos e cientistas. Este trabalho apresenta uma visão das iniciativas em EAM no Brasil, com ênfase nos projetos e diretrizes da ReBentos. A base conceitual de ação é o Tratado de Educação Ambiental da Rio 92, implicando em um ensino com características transdisciplinares, reflexivas e emancipatórias, dirigidas a mudanças em valores, princípios e atitudes. Durante o período de 2011 a 2015, 10 modelos de atividade foram desenvolvidos, de Alagoas a Santa Catarina, envolvendo sua concepção, implementação e teste por meio de pesquisa científica. O material didático produzido compreendeu três livros e 21 capítulos de livros. Um público total ao redor de 5500 visitantes de UCs, 250 professores de escolas públicas e 800 estudantes foi impactado. Como monitores e multiplicadores, foram treinados 250 estudantes de graduação e profissionais. Projetos de avaliação de pesquisa geraram nove trabalhos científicos. Como uma próxima iniciativa, é salientada a necessidade de elaboração de protocolos para cada modelo, a fim de direcionar e facilitar futuras iniciativas

Fifth European Dirofilaria and Angiostrongylus Days (FiEDAD) 2016

Peer reviewe

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Marine and coastal environmental education in the context of global climate changes - synthesis and subsidies for ReBentos (Coastal Benthic Habitats Monitoring Network)

Abstract As changes in coastal and marine environments are expected to negatively affect Brazilian ecosystems, the importance of Marine Environmental Education (MEE) comes to the fore. However, so far only 32 contributions related to this issue have been published in Brazil. The MEE workgroup of ReBentos aims at promoting EE and the communication of marine ecological research to the scholastic public as a whole, as well as to groups which exert an influence on general perception, such as the media, politicians, and scientists. This paper presents an overview of the initiatives of MEE in Brazil, with emphasis on the ReBentos projects and guidelines. The conceptual background of action is based on the Rio'92 Treaty on Environmental Education, thereby implying an MEE with Transdisciplinar, emancipatory and reflexive characteristics, directed to changes in values, principles and attitudes. During the period 2011 to 2015, 10 projects were developed from Alagoas to Santa Catarina States, involving the development, implementation and testing through scientific research of 16 MEE activity-models. The didactic material subsequently produced comprised three books and 21 book-chapters. A public of around 6,500 Conservation Unit visitors, 250 public school teachers and 800 high school students have been impacted to date. To act as monitors and multipliers, 250 undergraduate students and professionals were trained. Research project evaluation generated the publication of nine papers. As a further step, the need for protocol elaboration for each model is placed in evidence, in order to direct and facilitate future initiatives

A Transcript Finishing Initiative for Closing Gaps in the Human Transcriptome

We report the results of a transcript finishing initiative, undertaken for the purpose of identifying and characterizing novel human transcripts, in which RT-PCR was used to bridge gaps between paired EST clusters, mapped against the genomic sequence. Each pair of EST clusters selected for experimental validation was designated a transcript finishing unit (TFU). A total of 489 TFUs were selected for validation, and an overall efficiency of 43.1% was achieved. We generated a total of 59,975 bp of transcribed sequences organized into 432 exons, contributing to the definition of the structure of 211 human transcripts. The structure of several transcripts reported here was confirmed during the course of this project, through the generation of their corresponding full-length cDNA sequences. Nevertheless, for 21% of the validated TFUs, a full-length cDNA sequence is not yet available in public databases, and the structure of 69.2% of these TFUs was not correctly predicted by computer programs. The TF strategy provides a significant contribution to the definition of the complete catalog of human genes and transcripts, because it appears to be particularly useful for identification of low abundance transcripts expressed in a restricted set of tissues as well as for the delineation of gene boundaries and alternatively spliced isoforms