Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time, and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space. While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes, vast areas of the tropics remain understudied. In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity, but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases. To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications 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, 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

Ten Cases of Feline Mesothelioma: an Immunohistochemical and Ultrastructural Study

Mesotheliomas are rare in the cat with only ten previously reported cases in the veterinary literature, affecting mostly the peritoneum. This paper describes another ten cases (5 females and 5 males; age range 1-17 years; 8 pleural and 2 peritoneal). Histologically, 5 tumours were epithelial, 3 fibrosarcomatous and 2 biphasic. Several immunohistochemical markers have been suggested in human pathology as useful markers for the identification of mesothelioma: vimentin, cytokeratin (CK) AE1/AE3, HBME-1, CK 5/6, calretinin, thrombomodulin, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CD15, E-cadherin and desmin. On the basis of this, antibodies CK 5/6, HBME-1, calretinin, thrombomodulin and CD15 have been tested in the cat for the first time. All cases were positive for both vimentin and CK AE1/AE3, 6 cases for HBME-1, 2 cases for CK 5/6, 3 cases for CEA and 4 cases for E-Cadherin. All cases were negative for desmin, calretinin. Thrombomodulin and CD15 did not cross-react with feline tissues. Electron microscopy was performed in 4 cases, revealing the presence of microvillar structures, desmosomes and intracytoplasmic lumina, confirming its utility as diagnostic tool. The results presented show that mesothelial markers commonly used in humans can be used for the diagnosis of feline mesothelioma, preferably a panel of antibodies rather than a single one

Mesotelioma peritoneale deciduoide in un cane: caratterizzazione istochimica, immunoistochimica ed ultrastrutturale

Il mesotelioma deciduoide, descritto finora solamente nella patologia umana, rappresenta una rara variante istologica del mesotelioma epiteliale, in cui il termine deciduoide indica le strette analogie istomorfologiche tra le cellule neoplastiche e quelle della decidua. Viene descritto un caso di mesotelioma peritoneale deciduoide in un cane femmina di 10 anni. Macroscopicamente si osservava una disseminazione in peritoneo ed in omento di numerose formazioni nodulari biancastre di piccole dimensioni (da 1 a 5 mm). Istologicamente il tessuto neoplastico era composto da voluminose cellule poligonali od ovoidali, con abbondante citoplasma intensamente eosinofilo, d\u2019aspetto vitreo. Sono inoltre riportati i rilievi istochimici, immunoistochimici ed ultrastrutturali, che confermano definitivamente la natura mesoteliale del processo neoplastico

DECIDUOID PERITONEAL MESOTHELIOMA IN A DOG

Deciduoid mesothelioma is a rare variant of epithelial mesothelioma, up to now only described in human pathology, that bears remarkable cytomorphological resemblance to endometrium of pregnancy, termed decidua. A case of peritoneal mesothelioma with deciduoid features in a ten-year-old female dog is reported. Multiple whitish-grey nodules (1-5 mm in diameter) in parietal peritoneum and mesentery were histologically composed of large, proliferating polygonal or ovoid cells with an abundant eosinophilic glassy cytoplasm. Immunohistochemical evaluation indicated that the neoplastic cells coexpressed cytokeratin and vimentin with strong and diffuse cytoplasmic staining, and ultrastructural analysis showed long and slender mesothelial-type microvilli; these findings confirmed the mesothelial origin of the tumor

Encefalitozoonosi del coniglio, rilievi ispettivi e situazione epidemiologica

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a microsporidium that multiplies intracellularly in cells of the kidneys and in the central nervous system and is excreted as a spore in the urine. Non purulent interstitial nephritis is the only sign that is found at post-mortem inspection, the spore is infectious and is transmitted horizontally by ingestion of contaminated food or water, or more rarely by inhalation. However, cooked meat is considered to be safe. Post-mortem findings in rabbit slaughterhouses show that prevalence in farms in Emilia Romagna and Veneto is variable from zero to 30 percent, but infection affects many farms (over 90%) and human exposure to E. cuniculi may be common in farming environment and slaughterhouses. Although infections in humans are very rare and affect immunocompromised individuals, tissues and organs with high infectivity should be removed and the wastes disposed to prevent spreading of the very resistant spores, because these are infective not only for rabbits and other rodents, but also for domestic animals and humans. Intensive rearing, poor hygiene, overcrowding, moving animals, and the introduction of (unchecked) animals from outside, are all factors that help spread infection, that can be controlled also by appropriate treatments under veterinary supervision. Ante-mortem inspections of domestic rabbits should include evaluation of results of inspections in previous lots originating from the same farm in order to assure adequate control at post-mortem inspection. Adoption of hygienic measures in the farms and slaughterhouses to reduce the prevalence of the infection should be considere

Qui a besoin de suivi intensif dans le milieu dans un programme spécialisé pour les psychoses émergentes ?

Les programmes spécialisés pour les psychoses émergentes se sont largement développés dans le monde. La plupart de ces programmes incluent des éléments de suivi intensif dans le milieu (assertive community treatment). Il existe deux modèles. Dans le premier, le suivi intensif dans le milieu est proposé à tous les patients et constitue le cœur de l'intervention. Dans le second, un programme de case management standard est proposé à tous les patients et un case management intensif à un sous-groupe de patients difficiles à engager dans les soins. Le programme TIPP à Lausanne fait partie de cette deuxième catégorie. Le but de cet article est d'examiner dans un programme spécialisé pour les psychoses émergentes (TIPP) les caractéristiques et l'évolution de patients qui nécessitent ou non un suivi intensif dans le milieu, et de l'illustrer par des exemples cliniques. Il s'agit d'une étude prospective portant sur 229 patients inclus dans le programme TIPP de manière consécutive pendant trois ans. Environ un quart de ces patients ont nécessité un case management intensif. Au début du suivi TIPP, ces patients présentent une adhésion au traitement, un fonctionnement académique et un insight plus faibles, et ont des antécédents de consommation d'alcool et de cannabis. Après 18 mois, le niveau d'adhésion au traitement est semblable dans les deux groupes. Toutefois, les patients qui nécessitent un case management intensif continuent à présenter un niveau de fonctionnement plus faible, et d'avantage de symptômes psychotiques après trois ans de suivi

Impact of the extreme 2015-16 El Niño climate event on forest and savanna tree species of the Amazonia-Cerrado transition

Extreme drought events, driven by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), are linked to increased tree mortality and alterations in vegetation structure, dynamics, and floristic composition in tropical forests. Existing analyses, primarily focusing on Africa, Central America, and Amazonia, overlook the floristic impacts on biome transitions. This study evaluates the profound effects of the severe 2015/2016 ENSO event on tree density and floristic composition in the critical transition zone between Amazonia and Cerrado, South America's largest biomes. Our findings not only document significant biodiversity loss but also offer insights into species resilience, guiding conservation strategies under changing climate conditions. We inventoried long-term plots before and after the extreme drought event, sampling 12,465 individuals from 526 species, 224 genera, and 65 families, in Open Ombrophilous Forest (OF), Seasonal Forest (SF), Cerradão (CD), and Typical Cerrado (TC). We document the disappearance from our plots of 97 species after the ENSO, with only 61 new species being recorded. The total loss of individuals across the transition zone was almost 10 %. The SF and CD forest plots showed the greatest replacements, species losses, and reductions in tree density. Their markedly seasonal baseline climate probably drove these changes. In most phytophysiognomies, there was an increase in pioneer species and drier environment habitat specialist species, indicating that although many species are vulnerable to extreme climate events, others benefit, especially those with a short life cycle. We found that the vegetation of the Amazonia-Cerrado transition overall is vulnerable to climate anomalies, with widespread loss of tree density and change in floristic composition. Our study also provides a species-by-species list of the most vulnerable and resistant trees which helps point to overall climate change vulnerabilities and assist with initiatives to recover degraded areas