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

Influence of ethylbenzene on the pharmacokinetic enantiosselective of lercanidipine in rats.

O Citocromo P450 (CYP) é responsável pela biotransformação de fármacos, poluentes e outros xenobióticos. O lercanidipino (LER), empregado na clínica como racemato no tratamento da hipertensão arterial, é biotransformado pelo CYP3A4. O etilbenzeno (EBZ), um solvente de ampla utilização industrial, é substrato e indutor do CYP3A em ratos. O estudo visa investigar a influência do EBZ na farmacocinética enantiosseletiva do LER administrado sob forma racêmica a ratos. Foram investigados ratos Wistar tratados com dose única de 3 mg kg-1 de LER racêmico administrado por gavagem. Os animais foram divididos em 3 grupos: controle, expostos ao EBZ 436 mg/m3 e expostos ao EBZ 876 mg/m3. Os animais foram expostos ao EBZ durante 6 horas, em câmara de exposição, do tipo somente pelo nariz, por 5 dias consecutivos. As amostras seriadas de sangue (n=6 animais por tempo de coleta) foram coletadas até 6 horas após a administração do LER. Os enantiômeros do LER em plasma de ratos foram analisados em coluna de fase quiral utilizando LC-MS/MS. A farmacocinética do LER é enantiosseletiva em ratos do grupo controle com acúmulo plasmático do distômero (-)- (R)-LER (AUC0-? = 19,23 vs 5,53 Ig min-1 mL-1) e razões enantioméricas de concentrações plasmáticas (-)-(R)/(+)-(S)-LER com mediana de 3,87. O clearance aparente (78,25 vs 277,08 mL min-1 kg-1) e o volume de distribuição aparente (16,63 vs 48,95 L kg-1) mostraram-se reduzidos para o distômero (-)-(R)-LER. A disposição cinética do LER para os animais dos grupos EBZ 436 mg/m3 e 876 mg/m3, à semelhança do grupo controle, foi enantiosseletiva com observação de acúmulo plasmático do enantiômero (-)-(R)-LER. O acúmulo plasmático do enantiômero (-)-(R)- LER, traduzido pelo parâmetro AUC0-?, respectivamente para os grupos EBZ 436 mg/m3 e 876 mg/m3 (34,06 vs 10,23 Ig min mL-1 e 23,79 vs 6,97 Ig min mL-1) foi decorrente do menor volume de distribuição (17,02 vs 57,79 L kg-1 e 23,11 vs 76,05 L kg-1) e do menor clearance aparente (44,87 vs 147,60 mL min-1 kg-1 e 65,57 vs 258,21 mL min-1 kg-1). Não foram observadas diferenças nas razões de AUC(-)/(+) entre os grupos controle (3,87), EBZ 436 mg/m3 (3,35) e EBZ 876 mg/m3 (4,26). Os parâmetros farmacocinéticos relativos aos enantiômeros do LER não mostraram diferenças significativas entre os animais do grupo controle e os animais expostos ao EBZ nas concentrações 434 e 868 mg/m3.Cytochrome P450 (CYP) is responsible for biotransformation of drugs, pollutants and other xenobiotics. Lercanidipine (LER), clinically employed as quiral compound in the treatment of arterial hypertension, is biotransformed by CYP3A4. Etylbenzene (EBZ), a solvent of large industrial use, is substrate and inducer of CYP3A in rats. The present study investigated influence of EBZ in pharmacokinetics of racemic LER 3 mg kg-1 in rats. Animals were divided into 3 groups: control, exposed to EBZ 436 mg/m3 and exposed to EBZ 876 mg/m3. Animals were exposed to EBZ during 6 hours, in a chamber of exposition with nose only exposure system, 5 consecutive days. Serial blood samples (n=6, each time of collection) were collected up to 6 hours after LER administration. LER enantiomers were separated on a quiral phase column and analyzed by LC-MS/MS. LER pharmacokinetics was enantiosselective in control rats not treated with EBZ, with plasma accumulation of (-)-(R)-LER distomer (AUC0-? = 19.23 vs 5.53 Ig min-1 mL-1) and enantiomeric ratios of (-)-(R)/(+)-(S)-LER of 3.87. Apparent clearance (78.25 vs 277.08 mL min-1 kg-1) and apparent volume of distribution (16.63 vs 48.95 L kg-1) were decreased for (-)-(R)-LER distomer. Kinetic disposition of LER for animals exposed to EBZ 436 and 876 mg/m3, as for control group, was enantiosselective with plasma accumulation of (-)-(R)-LER enantiomer. Plasmatic accumulation of (-)-(R)-LER enantiomer for 436 mg/m3 and 876 EBZ mg/m3 groups (34.06 vs 10.23 Ig min mL-1 and 23.79 vs 6.97 Ig min mL-1, respectively) was consequent of lower volume of distribution (17.02 vs 57.79 L kg-1 and 23.11 vs 76.05 L kg-1) and lower apparent clearance (44.87 vs 147.60 mL min-1 kg-1 and 65.57 vs 258.21 mL min-1 kg-1). No differences were observed in AUC(-)/(+) ratios between the control group (3.87), 436 EBZ mg/m3 (3,35) and EBZ 876 mg/m3 (4.26). Pharmacokinetic parameters of LER enantiomers did not show significant differences between animals of control group and exposed animals to EBZ 434 and 868 mg/m3

8-Methoxypsoralen is a competitive inhibitor of glutathioneS-transferase P1-1

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is known to protect healthy brain cells from potentially dangerous chemical agents, but there are many evidences supporting the idea that this protective action is extended to tumor cells. Since the process of angiogenesis in brain tumors leads to BBB breakdown, biochemical characteristics of the BBB seem to be more relevant than physical barriers to protect tumor cells from chemotherapy. In fact, a number of resistance related factors were already demonstrated to be component of both BBB and tumor cells. The enzyme glutathione S-transferases (GST) detoxify electrophilic xenobiotics and endogenous secondary metabolites formed during oxidative stress. A role has been attributed to GST in the resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents. This study characterized 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) as a human GST P1-1 (hGST P1-1) inhibitor. To identify and characterize the potential inhibitory activity of 8-MOP, we studied the enzyme kinetics of the conjugation of 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) with GSH catalyzed by hGST P1-1. We report here that 8-MOP competitively inhibited hGST P1-1 relative to CDNB, but there was an uncompetitive inhibition relative to GSH. Chromatographic analyses suggest that 8-MOP is not a substrate. Molecular docking simulations suggest that 8-MOP binds to the active site, but its position prevents the GSH conjugation. Thus, we conclude that 8-MOP is a promising prototype for new GST inhibitors pharmacologically useful in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and the resistance of cancer to chemotherapy

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

Health-status outcomes with invasive or conservative care in coronary disease

BACKGROUND In the ISCHEMIA trial, an invasive strategy with angiographic assessment and revascularization did not reduce clinical events among patients with stable ischemic heart disease and moderate or severe ischemia. A secondary objective of the trial was to assess angina-related health status among these patients. METHODS We assessed angina-related symptoms, function, and quality of life with the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) at randomization, at months 1.5, 3, and 6, and every 6 months thereafter in participants who had been randomly assigned to an invasive treatment strategy (2295 participants) or a conservative strategy (2322). Mixed-effects cumulative probability models within a Bayesian framework were used to estimate differences between the treatment groups. The primary outcome of this health-status analysis was the SAQ summary score (scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better health status). All analyses were performed in the overall population and according to baseline angina frequency. RESULTS At baseline, 35% of patients reported having no angina in the previous month. SAQ summary scores increased in both treatment groups, with increases at 3, 12, and 36 months that were 4.1 points (95% credible interval, 3.2 to 5.0), 4.2 points (95% credible interval, 3.3 to 5.1), and 2.9 points (95% credible interval, 2.2 to 3.7) higher with the invasive strategy than with the conservative strategy. Differences were larger among participants who had more frequent angina at baseline (8.5 vs. 0.1 points at 3 months and 5.3 vs. 1.2 points at 36 months among participants with daily or weekly angina as compared with no angina). CONCLUSIONS In the overall trial population with moderate or severe ischemia, which included 35% of participants without angina at baseline, patients randomly assigned to the invasive strategy had greater improvement in angina-related health status than those assigned to the conservative strategy. The modest mean differences favoring the invasive strategy in the overall group reflected minimal differences among asymptomatic patients and larger differences among patients who had had angina at baseline

Initial invasive or conservative strategy for stable coronary disease

BACKGROUND Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, whether clinical outcomes are better in those who receive an invasive intervention plus medical therapy than in those who receive medical therapy alone is uncertain. METHODS We randomly assigned 5179 patients with moderate or severe ischemia to an initial invasive strategy (angiography and revascularization when feasible) and medical therapy or to an initial conservative strategy of medical therapy alone and angiography if medical therapy failed. The primary outcome was a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest. A key secondary outcome was death from cardiovascular causes or myocardial infarction. RESULTS Over a median of 3.2 years, 318 primary outcome events occurred in the invasive-strategy group and 352 occurred in the conservative-strategy group. At 6 months, the cumulative event rate was 5.3% in the invasive-strategy group and 3.4% in the conservative-strategy group (difference, 1.9 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8 to 3.0); at 5 years, the cumulative event rate was 16.4% and 18.2%, respectively (difference, 121.8 percentage points; 95% CI, 124.7 to 1.0). Results were similar with respect to the key secondary outcome. The incidence of the primary outcome was sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction; a secondary analysis yielded more procedural myocardial infarctions of uncertain clinical importance. There were 145 deaths in the invasive-strategy group and 144 deaths in the conservative-strategy group (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.32). CONCLUSIONS Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, we did not find evidence that an initial invasive strategy, as compared with an initial conservative strategy, reduced the risk of ischemic cardiovascular events or death from any cause over a median of 3.2 years. The trial findings were sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction that was used