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

A social and ecological assessment of tropical land uses at multiple scales: the Sustainable Amazon Network

Science has a critical role to play in guiding more sustainable development trajectories. Here, we present the Sustainable Amazon Network (Rede Amazonia Sustentavel, RAS): a multidisciplinary research initiative involving more than 30 partner organizations working to assess both social and ecological dimensions of land-use sustainability in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. The research approach adopted by RAS offers three advantages for addressing land-use sustainability problems: (i) the collection of synchronized and co-located ecological and socioeconomic data across broad gradients of past and present human use; (ii) a nested sampling design to aid comparison of ecological and socioeconomic conditions associated with different land uses across local, landscape and regional scales; and (iii) a strong engagement with a wide variety of actors and non-research institutions. Here, we elaborate on these key features, and identify the ways in which RAS can help in highlighting those problems in most urgent need of attention, and in guiding improvements in land-use sustainability in Amazonia and elsewhere in the tropics. We also discuss some of the practical lessons, limitations and realities faced during the development of the RAS initiative so far.Keywords: Social–ecological systems, Tropical forests, Land use, Interdisciplinary research, Sustainability, Trade-off

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

Participação do CD163 na via anti-inflamatória do polo lepromatoso da hanseníase

Submitted by Alessandra Portugal ([email protected]) on 2013-09-17T11:35:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Danielle Versao Final.pdf: 5521521 bytes, checksum: bcd4e1200342929a6452f7261e7193ee (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-17T11:35:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Danielle Versao Final.pdf: 5521521 bytes, checksum: bcd4e1200342929a6452f7261e7193ee (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-31Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Estudos anteriores demonstraram que macrófagos de pacientes lepromatosos possuem um fenótipo regulador que contribui para a imunossupressão observada na hanseníase. IDO, CD86 e HLA-DR são moléculas altamente expressas por macrófagos de pacientes lepromatosos, como também o receptor “scavenger” CD163, regulado pela IL-10. Este trabalho foi realizado com o intuito de analisar a expressão de CD163 nas lesões cutâneas de pacientes polares da hanseníase e em monócitos infectados pelo Mycobacterium leprae (ML). Observamos um aumento de macrófagos CD163+IDO+ nas lesões e nas células isoladas do infiltrado inflamatório de pacientes LL. Ademais, durante o período de cultura de 6 dias dos macrófagos isolados das lesões lepromatosas, houve uma gradativa redução da expressão gênica de CD163, IDO e IL-10, assim como dos receptores de superfície CD163, CD209, HLA-DR, CD86 e CD14 observada por citometria de fluxo, fato que ocorreu concomitantemente com a saída de ML destas células. A expressão de células CD163+IDO+CD209+ aumentou em monócitos de indivíduos saudáveis, estimulados com ML irradiado obtido de extratos de lesão. Adição de citocalasina B na cultura de monócitos reduziu a expressão de CD163 nessas células, e, na presença de anti- CD163, a entrada de bactérias nos monócitos também foi reduzida. A adição da anti- IL-10 em cultura de monócitos de indivíduos sadios reduziu a expressão de CD163 até mesmo na presença do ML. Além disso, os níveis séricos de sCD163, IL-10 e heme estavam aumentados nos pacientes lepromatosos, em comparação com pacientes tuberculóides e indivíduos sadios, assim como os depósitos intracelulares de ferro. Estes resultados sugerem que o perfil de expressão de CD163 é importante na endocitose e sobrevivência do ML no polo lepromatoso da hanseníase.According to prior studies, macrophages from lepromatous patients present a regulatory phenotype that contributes to the immunosuppression observed in the disease. IDO, CD86, and HLA-DR molecules are highly expressed by macrophages from lepromatous patients, as well the scavenger receptor CD163, regulated by IL- 10. The purpose of this study was to analyze CD163 expression on polar leprosy skin lesions and monocytes infected by Mycobacterium leprae. We observed an increased number of CD163+IDO+ in the lesions and cells isolated from the inflammatory infiltrate of LL patients. Moreover, during the 6-day culture of macrophages isolated from lepromatous lesions, the gene expression of CD163, IDO and IL-10 and the surface receptors CD163, CD209, HLA-DR, CD86, CD14 presented a gradual decrease, as shown by flow cytometry, simultaneously with the output of ML from these cells. The expression of IDO+CD163+CD209+ cells was augmented in monocytes from healthy individuals, stimulated with irradiated ML, obtained from extracts of lesion. The addition of cytochalasin B to monocyte culture reduced the expression of CD163 in these cells, and, in presence of anti-CD163, the bacterial input into monocytes was also reduced. The addition of anti-IL-10 in monocyte culture from healthy individuals led to a decrease at the expression of CD163, even in presence of ML. Besides, serum levels of sCD163, IL-10 and heme were increased in lepromatous patients, when compared to tuberculoid patients and healthy controls, while intracellular iron deposits were also augmented. These results suggest the relevance of CD163 expression profile for endocytosis and also for the survival of ML itself in lepromatous patients

Prevalência dos fatores instrínsecos e extrínsecos do processo de aprendizagem em crianças com epilepsia

Objetivo levantar a prevalência dos fatores intrínsecos e extrínsecos que podem interferir no processo de aprendizagem em crianças com epilepsia. Métodos este estudo descritivo foi realizado no Ambulatório de Neurologia Infantil do Hospital de Pediatria Professor Heriberto Bezerra (HOSPED) da UFRN. A obtenção dos dados ocorreu durante setembro/2009 a março/2010 por meio da aplicação de um questionário com pais e cuidadores de crianças com epilepsia. A amostra foi constituída por 41 crianças, seguindo os seguintes critérios de inclusão: a) pais ou cuidadores de crianças com diagnóstico inequívoco de epilepsia atendidas no ambulatório do HOSPED; b) crianças com idades entre 3 e 12 anos; e c) pais ou responsáveis assinarem o termo de consentimento livre e esclarecido. Resultados 61% das crianças apresentaram diagnóstico de epilepsia pura. 59% tiveram sua primeira crise antes dos 03 anos de idade. 34% apresentavam crises do tipo generalizada. 51% apresentavam crises no período da pesquisa. 98% estavam em tratamento medicamentoso para controle das crises, sendo 55% monoterapia e 45% politerapia. 76% estavam inseridas na escola, sendo 50% em escolas públicas. 66% nunca repetiram o ano. 49% das crianças tiveram assiduidade escolar prejudicada em virtude das crises. 64% nunca foram excluídas da escola pelos professores devido a epilepsia e 85% dos pais afirmaram superproteger os filhos. Conclusão o estudo concluiu que, além da epilepsia, as crianças com essa patologia são também expostas a outros fatores, decorrentes da doença, que podem influenciar negativamente no processo de aprendizagem dessas crianças