Insect occurrence in agricultural land‐uses depends on realized niche and geographic range properties

Geographic range size predicts species' responses to land-use change and intensification, but the reason why is not well established because many correlates of larger geographic ranges, such as realized niche breadth, may mediate species' responses to environmental change. Agricultural land uses (hereafter 'agroecosystems') have warm, dry and more variable microclimates than do cooler and wetter mature forests, so are predicted to filter for species that have warmer, drier and broader fundamental and realized niches. To test these predictions, we estimated species' realized niches, for temperature and precipitation, and geographic range sizes of 764 insect species by matching GBIF occurrence records to global climate layers, and modelled how species presence/absence in mature forest and nearby agroecosystems depend on species' realized niches or geographic ranges. The predicted species niche effects consistently matched the expected direction of microclimatic transition from mature forest to agroecosystems. We found a clear signal that species with preference for warmer and drier climates were more likely to be present in agroecosystems. In addition, the probability that species occurred in different land-use types was predicted better by species' realized niche than their geographic range size. However, niche effects are often context-dependent and varied amongst studies, taxonomic groups and regions used in this analysis: predicting which particular aspects of species' realized niche cause sensitivity to land-use change, and the underpinning mechanisms, remains a major challenge for future research and multiple components of species' realized niches may be important to consider. Using realized niches derived from open-source occurrence records can be a simple and widely applicable tool to help identify when biodiversity responds to the microclimate component of land-use change.CW and ADP were supported by the Natural Environmental Research Council (grants no. NE/L002531/1 and NE/M014533/1, respectively).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Efeitos do fluor no metabolismo glicolitico do germe dental de rato

Orientador: Carlos Eduardo PinheiroDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de PiraciacabaResumo: o flúor foi identificado como um ativador da adenilciclase, fato que levou à. formulação do presente trabalho. Este, teve como objetivo, analisar os efeitos do flúor no metabolismo glicolítico do germe dental de ratos, o qual está relacionado com a atividade da adenilciclase. Para tanto foram utilizados germes dentais de ratos de oito dias, os quais foram submetidos aos tratamentos com fluoreto de sódio (NaF), monofluorfosfato de sódio (MFP Na) e fluoraluminato (AIF4 -). Esses experimentos foram conduzidos in vitro e in vivo. Um grupo experimental complementar foi formado com o intuito de avaliar a ação do flúor na ausência do alumínio. Para tanto, foi acrescentado às soluções, o EDT A que age quelando o íon alumínio. Essa etapa do trabalho foi conduzida in vitro. O metabolismo glicolítico foi avaliado através da produção de ácido láctico. Os resultados mostraram que o flúor diminuiu a produção de ácido láctico, ou seja, inibiu o metabolismo glicolítico. O composto que melhor caracterizou esta inibição foi o AIF4 -. O MFP Na não alterou a produção de lactato. A adição de EDTA aboliu o efeito inibitório do flúor no metabolismo glicolíticoAbstract: Fluoride was identified as an activator of adenylate cyclase. The aim of the present work was to verify its effects on glicolitic metabolism of rat tooth germ, which is related to adenylate cyclase activity. Eight-days old rat germs were submmited to treatments with, sodium fluoride (NaF), sodium monofluoridephosphate (Na MFP) and fluoroaluminate (AlF 4 -). The expirements were carried on in vitro and in vivo. In order to evaluate the influence of fluoride in absence of aluminum, another group was formed using EDT A as a chelating agent of aluminum ions. This was an only in vitro experiment. Glycolitic metabolism was measured by lactate production. The results showed that fluoride decreased acid production, therefore it had inhibited glycolitic metabolismo The compound that best showed this inhibition was AlF4 -. Na MFP didn't influence acid production. Addition of EDTA abolished fluoride inhibitory effect on glycolitic metabolismoMestradoFisiologia e Biofisica do Sistema EstomatognaticoMestre em Ciência

Dental caries and food practices among children attending daycare centers in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated associations between the prevalence of dental caries and introduction of complementary foods in children aged 11 to 34 months attending daycare centers. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 288 children from eight daycare centers in São Paulo, 2007. The modified decay-missing-filled index, used for diagnosis, was investigated by a team of three trained dentists aiming at precision and accuracy. Food introduction was assessed using a pre-codified and pre-tested questionnaire. The Chisquare test was used to quantify associations and logistic regression models (p<0.05) were adjusted for multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 228 children aged 11 to 34 months (M=24 months, SD=6.02). Of these, 53.9% were male and 57.45% attended philanthropic daycare centers. Seventy-seven percent of the sample had modified decay-missing-filled index ≥1 and the average modified decay-missing-filled index of the population is 3.8. Significant risk factors according to modified decay-missing-filled index were being male (OR=1.815, p=0.03) and paternal formal education of less than eight years (OR=1.94, p=0.02). The logistic regression model identified the exposure to simple carbohydrates as an independent risk factor, after controlling for the effects of sex and parental educational. Such exposure increased the chances of having modified decay-missing-filled index ≥1 by 2.5 times. CONCLUSION: Special attention should be given to this group of individuals, implementing preventive policies in oral health and building healthy food habits in daycare centers.OBJETIVO: Este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar associações entre a cárie dentária e a introdução de alimentos complementares em crianças de 11 a 34 meses matriculadas em creches. MÉTODOS: Trata-se de estudo transversal com 288 crianças de oito creches do município de São Paulo, realizado em 2007. Para o diagnóstico da cárie dentária foi utilizado o Índice de Cárie Modificado, que foi investigado por uma equipe de três cirurgiãs-dentistas treinadas quanto à precisão e acurácia. A introdução de alimentos foi avaliada por meio de questionário pré-codificado e pré-testado. Para quantificar as associações foi utilizado o teste Quiquadrado. Para análise multivariada foram ajustados modelos de regressão logística (p<0,05). RESULTADOS: Foram examinadas 228 crianças com idade entre 11 e 34 meses (M=24 meses; Dp=6,02), das quais 53,9% eram do sexo masculino e 57,45% frequentavam creches filantrópicas. A maioria da amostra (77,0%) apresentou Índice de Cárie Modificado igual ou superior a 1, enquanto o índice médio encontrado foi de 3,8 cáries por criança. Como fatores de risco significantes, foram identificados o sexo masculino (OR=1,815; p=0,03) e a escolaridade paterna inferior a oito anos (OR=1,94; p=0,02). O modelo de regressão logística identificou a exposição a carboidratos simples como fator de risco independente após o controle dos efeitos de sexo e escolaridade paterna, responsável por aumento de 2,5 vezes nas chances de apresentar o Índice de Cárie Modificado igual ou superior a 1. CONCLUSÃO: Atenção especial deve ser dada a esse grupo de indivíduos, adotando-se políticas preventivas em saúde bucal e formação de hábitos alimentares saudáveis nas creches.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de PediatriaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de PediatriaSciEL

Genetic diversity of environmental Aspergillus flavus strains in the state of São Paulo, Brazil by random amplified polymorphic DNA

Aspergillus flavus is a very important toxigenic fungus that produces aflatoxins, a group of extremely toxic substances to man and animals. Toxigenic fungi can grow in feed crops, such as maize, peanuts, and soybeans, being thus of high concern for public health. There are toxigenic and non-toxigenic A. flavus variants, but the necessary conditions for expressing the toxigenic potential are not fully understood. Therefore, we have studied total-DNA polymorphism from toxigenic and non toxigenic A. flavus strains isolated from maize crops and soil at two geographic locations, 300 km apart, in the Southeast region of Brazil. Total DNA from each A. flavus isolate was extracted and subjected to polymerase chain reaction amplification with five randomic primers through the RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) technique. Phenetic and cladistic analyses of the data, based on bootstrap analyses, led us to conclude that RAPD was not suitable to discriminate toxigenic from non toxigenic strains. But the present results support the use of RAPD for strain characterization, especially for preliminary evaluation over extensive collections

Annual changes in the Biodiversity Intactness Index in tropical and subtropical forest biomes, 2001–2012

Few biodiversity indicators are available that reflect the state of broad-sense biodiversity—rather than of particular taxa—at fine spatial and temporal resolution. One such indicator, the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), estimates how the average abundance of the native terrestrial species in a region compares with their abundances in the absence of pronounced human impacts. We produced annual maps of modelled BII at 30-arc-second resolution (roughly 1 km at the equator) across tropical and subtropical forested biomes, by combining annual data on land use, human population density and road networks, and statistical models of how these variables affect overall abundance and compositional similarity of plants, fungi, invertebrates and vertebrates. Across tropical and subtropical biomes, BII fell by an average of 1.9 percentage points between 2001 and 2012, with 81 countries seeing an average reduction and 43 an average increase; the extent of primary forest fell by 3.9% over the same period. We did not find strong relationships between changes in BII and countries’ rates of economic growth over the same period; however, limitations in mapping BII in plantation forests may hinder our ability to identify these relationships. This is the first time temporal change in BII has been estimated across such a large region

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity

Occurrence and risk assessment of pesticides in a Mediterranean Basin with strong agricultural pressure (Guadiana Basin: Southern of Portugal)

The study aimed to assess the occurrence and the environmental risk of a group of 51 selected pesticides in the Guadiana Basin (a biodiversity hotspot, in the Mediterranean). The most abundant pesticides were bentazone and 2,4-D, while terbuthylazine together with terbutryn constituted the most ubiquitous pesticides. Eighteen out of the 38 pesticides detected are no longer approved in Europe, and 5 of them are included in the list of priority substances. The risk assessment showed that azinphos ethyl, diflufenican, irganol, imidacloprid, and oxadiazon occurred occasionally, but always in concentrations above their respective ecotoxicological threshold value. Contrary, bentazone, terbuthylazine, and terbutryn presented a high risk in most of the sampled locations and periods. The site-specific risk assessment showed a spatial and temporal pattern, with a higher risk occurring mainly in intermittent streams, in the drought period. The presence of pesticides banned from the EU market since 2009 showed the importance of improving the monitoring process, to identify the main sources of pollution and the fate of these emerging compounds. The results showed the need of implementing actions to improve the sustainable use of pesticides in agricultural areas,workingwith farmers and management entities to reduce the contamination of aquatic ecosystems. Transboundarywater governance is also required to solve potential transboundary contamination problems

Human land use is comparable to climate as a driver of global plant occurrence and abundance across life forms

Publication history: Accepted - 23 May 2023; Published online - 9 June 2023.Aim Historically, climate has been a dominant driver of global vegetation patterns. Recently, ecological understanding has been updated to acknowledge the influence of human land use (the dominant driver of biodiversity change) in shaping global vegetation patterns. We test whether Raunkiær's life form, a plant classification system designed to reflect climatic drivers, affects how plants respond to both land use and climate. Location Forty-one countries across six continents. Time period 1990 to 2013. Major taxa studied Terrestrial plants. Methods Combining data from the biodiversity and land use database PREDICTS, and plant trait databases TRY and BIEN, we use generalized linear mixed models with weighted effects coding to test whether Raunkiær's life form affects plant response to land use and climate in over 4800 species at over 300 sites globally. Results We provide evidence that human land use is comparable to climate in influencing life form occurrence and that land use produces divergent outcomes across life forms. Main conclusions Combined with climatic suitability, land use acts as a filter contracting the realized niche of trees and expanding the realized niche of disturbance-tolerant species. Our results highlight the fundamental role of human activity in shaping species' distribution.Irish Research Council, Grant/Award Number: GOIPD/2016/324, GOIPG/2018/475 and IRCLA/2017/60; Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (though Plants Under Pressure II), Grant/Award Number: E/M014533/

INCLUSÃO DIGITAL E PARTICIPAÇÃO SOCIAL DE IDOSOS

Introdução: O envelhecimento demográfico apresenta desafios para a sociedade, dentre estes a necessidade de criar oportunidades de engajamento do idoso em atividade sociais e produtivas. Estudos nacionais apontam que a capacitação para o uso de tecnologias, como o smartphone, aumenta as possibilidades de interação com outros, melhora a qualidade de vida, sensação de pertencimento e envolvimento social. A inclusão digital do idoso pode contribuir para integração, ampliação e formação de redes sociais e aumentar a participação social. Objetivo: Analisar as percepções de idosos participantes de um projeto de inclusão digital sobre a relação entre participação social e aprendizado de tecnologia. Método: Estudo de abordagem qualitativa-quantitativa, realizado com 38 idosos inscritos em um Projeto de Inclusão Digital de Adultos e Idosos. Os participantes foram submetidos à Escala de Depressão Geriátrica, para rastreamento de possíveis desordens psiquiátricas. Para a caracterização da amostra, foi aplicado um questionário socioeconômico. Os dados sobre a participação social foram coletados através de questionários estruturados e grupos focais. Para análise dos dados, utilizaram-se técnicas de estatística descritiva, análise de conteúdo e o teste de McNemar. Resultados: Prevaleceu na amostra o sexo feminino (76,3%), idade média de 69 anos (DP = 7,48). Observou-se que, após a oficina de telefone celular, houve aumento na frequência de utilização do smartphone para interação com amigos e familiares e agendamento de eventos de participação social. Conclusão: Projetos de inclusão digital oferecidos a pessoas idosas podem contribuir para o aumento da participação social desta parcela da população, em seus contextos cultural, pessoal e virtual

Sulfonamides in milk by high performance liquid chromatography with pre-column derivatization and fluorescence detection

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar e validar um método para deteminação de resíduos de sulfatiazol (STZ), sulfametazina (SMZ) e sulfadimetoxina (SDM) em leite UHT integral. A extração foi realizada com diclorometano e coluna de extração em fase sólida de sílica. Os resíduos, após derivação com fluorescamina, foram quantificados por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência com detector de fluorescência. O limite de detecção das três sulfas em amostra de leite integral foi 0,3 µg L-1 e o limite de quantificação foi 1 µg L-1 para STZ e SMZ e 2,5 µg L-1 para SDM, com coeficientes de variação entre 4,4 e 6,6%. Os valores de recuperação para STZ, SMZ e SDM foram 63,2, 91,2 e 63,2%, respectivamente. Considerando o limite máximo de resíduo estabelecido pela legislação brasileira de 100 µg kg-1 para a soma das concentrações totais de STZ, SMZ e SDM, o método descrito permite a determinação simultânea dos três analitos em amostras de leite UTH integral.The objective of this work was to evaluate and validate a method for analysis of sulfathiazole (STZ), sulfamethazine (SMZ) and sulfadimethoxine (SDM) residues in milk. Extraction was carried out with diclhoromethane followed by silica solid phase extraction. The extracts were derivatizated with fluorescamine and quantified by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The detection limit for the three sulfonamides was 0.3 µg L-1 and the quantification limit was 1 µg L-1 for STZ and SMZ and 2.5 µg L-1 for SDM, with coefficient of variation ranging from 4.4 to 6.6%. The recoveries for STZ, SMZ and SDM were 63.2, 91.2 and 63.2%, respectively. Considering that Brazilian regulation sets maximum residue limit in milk of 100 µg kg-1 for total sulfonamide concentrations (STZ, SMZ and SDM), the present method is adequate to quantify the residues of three sulfonamides simultaneously in UHT milk