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

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

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Dos Mestres à Universidade Um diálogo de saberes

O projeto de extensão “Dos  Mestres à Universidade - Um diálogo de saberes”, ligado diretamente à Companhia Folclórica do Rio-UFRJ, acontece desde 2009, trazendo para o ambito da comunidade acadêmica na Escola de Educação Física e Desportos da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, mestres de diversas regiões e manifestações culturais, proporcionando uma troca e transmissão de conhecimentos, direto da fonte, através de discussões sobre questões referentes às condições de preservação e transmissão do saber popular, estabelecendo uma linha de diálogo entre os saberes acadêmicos e populares. Em 2015, serão abordados os  impactos e as mudanças dos diversos temas e da transmissão de conhecimentos  a partir das aulas oferecidas pelo mestre popular no projeto e da refleção sobre as diversas formas de ensinar e aprender, sobre a particularidade e realidade de cada grupo cultural tradicional, além da legitimidade da metodologia de ensino e do saber popular que cada grupo aprensentará. A Lei 10.639/03 estabelece a obrigatoriedade do ensino de História e Cultura Afro-brasileira e Africana em todas as escolas, públicas e particulares, do ensino fundamental até o ensino médio, buscamos salientar a importância das manifestações da cultura afro-brasileira no Ensino Básico, dando um complemento na formação dos discentes no Ensino Superior através das vivencias da extensão. O presente trabalho utilizará de entrevistas e questionários para analisar tal experiência e levantará dados que permitirão a analise da proporção dos impactos do projeto de extensão “Dos Mestres Populares à Universidade Um diálogo de saberes” refletindo sobre o valor do saber popular e seus métodos de ensino. Para o ano de 2015, foram convidados mestres da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, para comemorar os 450 anos da cidade. Participam da troca e transmissão de conhecimento os mestres de Caxambu do Salgueiro, Capoeira de Angola, Folia de Reis e  Escola de Mestres Sala e Porta Bandeira

Cafeína altera la disponibilidad de glucosa en sangre durante ejercicio prolongado de baja intensidad en diabéticos tipo 2

Objective: The study investigated the effect of supplementation with maltodextrin (CHO) alone or associated to caffeine during exercise in T2DM subjects. Methods: Pilot study, using Eight subjects with T2DM, aged 55±10 years, received CHO (1g/kg) or caffeine (1.5 mg/kg) alone or associated before exercise protocol. The exercise was executed at 40% heart rate (HR) reserve for 40 min, with 10-min recovery. Blood pressure (BP) and perceived exertion scale (Borg) were checked every 2 min. Blood glucose (BG) was checked every 10 min. For statistical analysis, ANOVA test was used and the value was considered statistically significant at p <0.05. Results: The results showed that BP and HR did not change significantly among all treatments. Caffeine promoted a significant reduction in BG of 75 mg/dL (65%, p <0.05) during 40 min of exercise protocol compared to all groups. Conclusion: Supplementation with 1.5 mg/kg of caffeine reduces BG concentration during prolonged exercise in T2DM patients. Objectivo: El objetivo del estudio fue investigar los efectos de la suplementación con maltodextrina (CHO) sólo o combinado con cafeína durante el ejercicio en sujetos con diabetes tipo 2. Métodos: Estudio piloto que incluyó ocho sujetos con DM2, de 55±10 años, el CHO (1g/kg) o cafeína (1.5 mg/kg) sólo o combinado antes del protocolo de ejercicio. El ejercicio se realizó a 40% de la frecuencia cardiaca (FC). Reserva del corazón durante 40 min con 10 min de recuperación. La presión arterial (PA) y la escala de esfuerzo (Borg) fueron revisados cada 2 min. La glucosa en sangre (GS) se comprobó cada 10 minutos. El análisis estadístico se realizó mediante ANOVA y consideró significación estadística un valor de p <0.05. Resultados: Los resultados muestran que PA, FC y Borg no difirió significativamente entre los tratamientos. La cafeína promueve una reducción significativa en los niveles de glucosa en la sangre de 75 mg/dL (65%, p <0.05) durante un protocolo de ejercicio de 40 min en comparación con todos los grupos. Conclusiones: Suplementación con 1.5 mg/kg de cafeína redujo significativamente los niveles de GS durante el protocolo de ejercicio en pacientes con DM2

Intracerebroventricular administration of the (1→6)-β-d-glucan (lasiodiplodan) in male rats prevents d-penicillamine-induced behavioral alterations and lipoperoxidation in the cortex

Context: Lasiodiplodan, an exocellular (1→6)-β-d-glucan of molecular weight >1.4 × 106 Da produced by MMPI strain of Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl. (Brotyosphaeriaceae) is known to exhibit anti-proliferative activity on breast cancer cells (MCF-7), anticoagulant activity when sulfonylated, and reduction in transaminase activity when administered in rats. Objective: The effect of intracerebroventricular (I.C.V) injection of lasiodiplodan on neurotoxicity and behavioural changes induced by d-penicillamine was investigated. Materials and methods: Twenty-four male Wistar rats were initially separated in groups of six and treated with 0.15 μmol/μL of NaCl (Groups Ct and d-Pen) and 0.01 μg/μL of lasiodiplodan (Groups Las and Las + d-Pen). After 15 min, they received 6 μmol/μL of NaCl (Groups Ct and Las) and 2 μmol/μL of d-penicillamine (Groups d-Pen and Las + d-Pen). The animal behavior was observed in an open-field test for 60 min. Twenty-four h later, the animals were sacrificed and histopathological analysis and Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) production measurements were performed. Results: Lasiodiplodan prevented neurotoxicity induced by d-penicillamine significantly reducing the production of TBARS (308%; p < 0.05), and behavioural signs; convulsive and pre-convulsive. No histopathological alterations in the cerebral cortex were observed. Discussion and conclusion: The reduction of TBARS production and convulsive episodes suggests that the protector effect provided by lasiodiplodan passes thought an antioxidant path, possibly interfering in a cascade of neurochemical events, triggering cell death and convulsive episodes. These results demonstrated that lasiodiplodan can be effective in treating neurotoxicity, and reducing damage triggered by convulsions in neuropathies related to GABAergic system