Scientific diving in Brazil: history, present and perspectives

Scientific diving (SD) is defined as any diving activity that applies scientific procedures to produce subsidies forstudies and technical works in underwater environments. The first report of an underwater scientific study inBrazil dates to the 19th century, in the Abrolhos reefs. Currently, in Brazil, scientific diving has been performedin various areas, from shallow coastal regions to remote and sometimes hard-to-reach places, such as oceanicislands, flooded caves, and icy areas like Antarctica. However, the regulation of SD in Brazil still lacks moreconcrete actions towards an effective and efficient self-regulation that offers physical safety to practitioners andinstitutional safeguards for organizations that use it in their research projects. Thus, this article aims to contributeto a better understanding of this critical issue in Brazil and to serve as a reference and incentive for the trainingof professionals and the development of these activities in the country. It includes: 1) a historical review ofSD; 2) a diagnosis of the training and application of SD in Brazil; 3) the evolution of marine sciences in Brazilfrom the perspective of SD; 4) a review of the use of environmental assessment and underwater conservationtechniques in oceans and internal waters; 5) an analysis of the evolution of scientific diver training in Brazil,including a diagnosis on training; 6) the history and updates of the rules, regulations, and safety of SD. Givenall the potential of diving combined with specific techniques for research, monitoring, and marine and limnicscience in Brazil, we aim to understand the evolution of scientific diving teaching and to outline perspectives inthe country, as it is crucial for the training of qualified scientists capable of performing these underwater tasks.Finally, we present futture plans for the development of this activity in Brazil from the point of view of researchand the labor market

Comportamentos agressivos em crianças e adolescentes com risco para esquizofrenia: diferenças entre gêneros

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether differences in aggression-related behavioral problems occur between boys and girls at high risk for schizophrenia living in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. METHOD: Using the Child Behavior Checklist, we compared the prevalence of behavioral problems between genders for the offspring (6-18 years) of mothers with diagnosis of schizophrenia and a comparison group of children born to women with no severe mental disorders recruited at the gynecology outpatient clinic of the same hospital. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders, Patient Edition was applied for the evaluation of diagnostic status of mothers. RESULTS: Male children of women with schizophrenia had a lower prevalence of aggressive behavior compared to females (4% vs. 36%; p = 0.005), whereas no gender differences regarding aggression were detected in the comparison group (24% vs. 32%; p = 0.53). Logistic regression analyses showed that male gender and being a child of women with schizophrenia interacted so as to favor lower prevalence of aggressive behavior (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: These findings reinforce the notion that behavioral gender differences related to schizophrenia are already detectable in childhood.OBJETIVO: Investigar diferenças da ocorrência de comportamentos agressivos entre crianças e adolescentes do sexo masculino e feminino com risco genético para desenvolver esquizofrenia. MÉTODO: A prevalência de comportamentos agressivos foi medida utilizando o inventário de comportamentos para crianças e adolescentes, Child Behavior Checklist, e comparada entre os gêneros para o grupo de crianças filhas de mulheres com esquizofrenia e para um grupo de crianças filhas de mulheres atendidas no serviço de ginecologia do mesmo hospital. A entrevista clínica estruturada para DSM-IV (The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders Patient Edition) foi utilizada para confirmar o diagnóstico materno. RESULTADOS: Os filhos de mulheres com esquizofrenia do sexo masculino apresentaram prevalência menor de comportamentos agressivos quando comparados às meninas (4% x 36%; p = 0,005), o que não ocorreu para o grupo comparativo (24% x 32%; p = 0,53). A análise de regressão logística mostrou que pertencer ao sexo masculino e ser filho de mulher com esquizofrenia interagiram de forma a favorecer menor prevalência de comportamentos agressivos (p = 0,03). CONCLUSÃO: Esses achados corroboram para a noção que as diferenças comportamentais entre os gêneros na esquizofrenia podem ser detectadas precocemente durante a infância

Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others

Substance Use Portrayal in Oscar-nominated Movies

Background: As one of the forms of media and art most consumed in the world, Os-car-nominated movies should have their drug use representation monitored because of possibly influencing but also reflecting society’s behavior. Objective: The present study aims to investigate drug use representation in scenes from movies nominated for the Academy Awards (Oscar) from 2008-2011 through media content analysis. Methods: 437 scenes from Oscar-nominated movies (best film, best actor and best actress cate-gories) showing drug consumption and/or its effects were assessed. Each drug represented and identified in a given scene (i.e., drug use incident) was counted as a unit for the present study (n = 515). Survey settings were used to control for over-or under-estimation of the prevalence of a variable in a given year or movie. Results: All the Oscar-nominated movies portrayed at least one scene of drug use. There was a massive predominance of alcohol and tobacco in movies, with a high use among men who also use drugs, habitually or occasionally, but related to stress/tension, predominantly at home. However, there was a significant progressive increase in the use of drugs other than alcohol and tobacco, multiple drugs, and by women. Conclusion: These findings echo epidemiological studies on substance use in western countries, an overall trend towards greater home drug use representation and gender convergence since 1970, which increased since 2000. Monitoring drug use representation in Oscar-nominated movies may represent an important public health tool

Assessment of Remote Sensing and Re-Analysis Estimates of Regional Precipitation over Mato Grosso, Brazil

The spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation is of great importance for the rain-fed agricultural production and the socioeconomics of Mato Grosso (MT), Brazil. MT has a sparse network of ground rain gauges that limits the effective use of precipitation information for sustainable agricultural production and water resources in the region. Several gridded precipitation products from remote sensing and reanalysis of land surface models are currently available that can enhance the use of such information. However, these products are available at different spatial and temporal resolutions which add some challenges to stakeholders (users) to identify their appropriateness for specific applications (e.g., irrigation requirements, length of growing season, and drought monitoring). Thus, it is necessary to provide an assessment of the reliability of these precipitation estimates. The objective of this work was to compare regional precipitation estimates over MT as provided by the Global Land Data Assimilation (GLDAS), Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA), Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM), Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), and the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) with ground-based measurements. The comparison was conducted for the 2000–2018 period at eleven ground-based weather stations that covered different climate zones in MT using daily, monthly, and annual temporal resolutions. The comparison used the Pearson correlation index–r, Willmott index–d, root mean square error—RMSE, and the Wilks methods. The results showed GPM and GLDAS estimates did not differ significantly with the measured daily, monthly, and annual precipitation. TRMM estimates slightly overestimated daily precipitation by about 4.7% but did not show significant difference on the monthly and annual scales when compared with local measurements. The GPCP underestimated annual precipitation by about 7.1%. MERRA underestimated daily, monthly, and annual precipitation by about 22.9% on average. In general, all products satisfactorily estimated monthly precipitation, and most of them satisfactorily estimated annual precipitation; however, they showed low accuracy when estimating daily precipitation. The TRMM, GPM, GPCP, and GLDAS estimates had the highest performance, from high to low, while MERRA showed the lowest performance. The findings of this study can be used to support the decision-making process in the region in application related to water resources management, sustainability of agriculture production, and drought management

Sofrimento mental e agências religiosas como rede social de apoio: subsídios para a enfermagem Sufrimiento mental y agencias religiosas como red social de apoyo: soporte para la enfermería Mental suffering and religious agencies as a social support network: support for nursing

O sofrimento mental já foi considerado divinatório, misterioso e sagrado em relação as suas manifestações. O sagrado, a fé e a religião são procurados pelo sofredor em busca de alento para o sofrimento causado pelo transtorno mental. O objetivo do estudo é compreender a inserção e a percepção dos membros da rede social de apoio que se forma nas agências religiosas em torno da pessoa em sofrimento mental. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa, descritiva, exploratória. Foram entrevistados 42 membros de agências religiosas (católica, evangélica e espírita). A análise dos resultados aponta que a pessoa em sofrimento procura aceitação, acolhimento e sentimento de pertença diante de um mundo que nem sempre o compreende. Em resposta à sua procura encontra apoio, compreensão e alento. A complexidade do tema merece reflexão e revisão de conceitos que perpassam a realidade vivida pelo sujeito em sofrimento mental.<br>El sufrimiento mental ya se consideró divinatorio, misterioso y sagrado respecto a sus manifestaciones. Independiente de la religión, la búsqueda por el sagrado, la fe y las agencias religiosas son procuradas por el sufridor en búsqueda de aliento para el sufrimiento que causa el trastorno mental. La finalidad del estudio es comprehender la inserción y la percepción de los miembros de la red social de apoyo que se forma en las agencias religiosas alrededor de la persona en sufrimiento mental. Se trata de una investigación de aproximación cualitativa, descriptiva y exploratoria, donde fueron entrevistados 42 miembros de agencias religiosas (católica, protestante y espírita). El análisis de los resultados indica que, en las agencias religiosas, el sujeto sufridor busca aceptación, acogimiento y sentimiento de pertenencia ante un mundo que ni siempre lo comprehende. En respuesta a su búsqueda encuentra apoyo, comprensión y aliento. La complexidad del tema merece reflexión y revisión de conceptos involucrados en la realidad vivida por el sujeto en sufrimiento mental.<br>Manifestations of mental suffering have already been considered divine, mysterious and sacred. Sufferers look for the sacred, agencies of faith and religion, in search of relief for the suffering their mental disorder causes. This study aims to understand the position and perception of members of the social support network that is established in the context of religious agencies for people suffering mentally. A descriptive and exploratory qualitative research project was developed. Forty-two members of religious agencies (Catholic, Protestant and spiritist) were interviewed. The analysis of the results reveals that people in suffering seek acceptance, welcoming and a feeling of belonging in view of a world that does not always understand them. They would also find support, understanding and relief in response to their search. The complexity of this theme deserves reflection and a review of concepts permeating what subjects in mental suffering experience