Sistema de avaliação e comparação espacial do processo de desertificação no Seridó Potiguar e Paraibano, Semiárido Brasileiro.

A desertificação é um fenômeno de escala global caracterizado pela degradação das terras nas zonas áridas, semiáridas e subúmidas secas para o qual concorrem fatores de ordem ambiental, social, econômica e institucional. Definir um conjunto de ações para seu enfrentamento requer o conhecimento das complexas relações estabelecidas entre a sociedade e o meio ambiente de modo a identificar e monitorar as causas e consequências do processo. A modelagem dessa realidade permanece um desafio para pesquisadores em todo o mundo, especialmente no Brasil, em virtude da grande quantidade de aspectos a serem considerados para os quais nem sempre há informações confiáveis e disponíveis. Procurando reduzir essa lacuna, o presente estudo estruturou um sistema de avaliação e comparação espacial da desertificação para os 32 municípios das microrregiões geográficas do Seridó paraibano e potiguar a partir de um conjunto de 27 indicadores recomendados na literatura relacionada, organizados segundo o modelo conceitual DPSIR - força motriz, pressão, estado, impacto e resposta. Os indicadores, discretos ou continuamente distribuídos, foram calculados, normalizados, ajustados à relação direta ou inversa com a desertificação, ponderados por especialistas de diferentes áreas do conhecimento e organizados em planos de informação do tipo raster. Técnicas de análise de decisão multicritério incorporadas a um sistema de informações geográficas foram utilizadas para desenvolver índices multicriteriais de desertificação, para cada categoria DPSIR, como instrumentos de avaliação das causas estruturais, causas diretas, susceptibilidade, consequências e respostas da sociedade para o problema. Os resultados apontaram que causas estruturais do processo, entre elas a concentração de terra, desigualdade social e cultura do consumo, mantêm 49,7% da área estudada em níveis de severidade moderado, forte ou muito forte de desertificação. Já as causas diretas, representadas pelo desmatamento e manejo inadequado da terra, afetam 19,7% da área com a mesma gravidade. Quanto à susceptibilidade ambiental, econômica e social, 83% da área está sujeita a iniciar ou agravar processos de desertificação em níveis de severidade moderado, forte e muito forte. Os impactos do processo, observados pela migração do campo para a cidade e pelo declínio da participação da agropecuária no PIB municipal, ocorrem com igual gravidade em 73,5% da área. Por fim, apenas 19,9% da área está relativamente preparada para enfrentar o problema através da organização do poder público e da sociedade civil em virtude dos níveis baixo e muito baixo de desertificação registrados. Numa avaliação global, considerando simultaneamente os 27 descritores do problema, observou-se que 59,7% da região está submetida a níveis moderado, forte ou muito forte de desertificação. Diante dos resultados alcançados, o estudo em questão sugere a promoção de ações governamentais e da sociedade civil para ampliar o acesso da população rural, nas áreas mais afetadas, à terra, à programas de geração ou transferência de renda, à educação básica universalizada, à assistência técnica agroecológica, à programas de recomposição da vegetação nativa, à serviços de proteção social dos contingentes que migram para as cidades, entre outras iniciativas, visando o enfrentamento do processo de desertificação e mitigação de suas consequências.Desertification is a global phenomenon characterized by the degradation of land in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas for which environmental, social, economic and institutional factors compete. Define a set of actions to address it requires knowledge of the complex relationships established between society and the environment to identify and monitor the causes and consequences of the process. The modeling of this reality remains a challenge for researchers worldwide, especially in Brazil, due to the large number of aspects to be considered for which there is not always reliable and available information. To reduce this gap, this study structured a system of evaluation and spatial comparison of desertification for the 32 municipalities of Seridó geographical microregions in Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte from a set of 27 indicators recommended in the related literature, organized according to the conceptual model DPSIR - forces, pressures, state, impacts, and responses. The indicators, either discrete or continuously distributed, were calculated, normalized, adjusted for the direct or inverse relationship with desertification, weighted by experts from different areas of knowledge and organized into raster type information plans. Multicriteria decision analysis techniques incorporated into a geographic information system were used to develop multicriteria desertification indexes for each DPSIR category as instruments for assessing the structural causes, direct causes, susceptibility, consequences and society’s responses to the problem. The results pointed out that the structural causes of the process, including land concentration, social inequality and consumption culture, hold 49.7% of the area in a moderate, strong or very strong level of desertification. Direct causes, represented by deforestation and inadequate land management, affect 19.7% of the area in the same way. Regarding environmental, economic and social susceptibility, 83% of the area is subject to initiate or aggravate desertification processes at moderate, strong and very strong levels. The impacts of the process, observed by migration from the countryside to the city and by the decline of agriculture and livestock’s contribution to local GDP, occur equally in 73.5% of the area. Finally, only 19.9% of the area is relatively prepared to tackle the problem through the organization of government and civil society. In an overall assessment, 59.7% of the region is subjected to moderate, strong or very strong levels of desertification, considering all the 27 descriptors of the problem. Most of the region, according to the study, demand actions of governments and society to expand rural population access to land, income generation or transfer programs, universal basic education, agroecological technical assistance, native vegetation recovery programs, social protection services for the contingents that migrate to the cities, among other initiatives, aiming to confront the desertification process and mitigate its consequences

A desertificação no Seridó do Rio Grande do Norte e da Paraíba: questão fundiária, pobreza rural e analfabetismo

Pesquisa realizada no Seridó da Paraíba e do Rio Grande do Norte analisou o fenômeno da desertificação a partir do levantamento de indicadores socioeconômicos, ambientais e institucionais, organizados em força motriz, pressão, estado, impacto e resposta. O objetivo da presente pesquisa foi aprofundar a discussão sobre a relação entre os indicadores de força motriz e o meio ambiente. Os indicadores selecionados foram concentração de terras (área dos estabelecimentos rurais menores que o módulo fiscal e sob regime de não propriedade) e desigualdades no campo (população rural abaixo da linha de pobreza e analfabetismo), os quais representam causas estruturais ou indiretas da desertificação. A metodologia utilizada foi revisão bibliográfica e sistematização de dados referentes à estrutura fundiária, à escolaridade e à renda de 32 municípios do Núcleo Seridó do Rio Grande do Norte e da Paraíba. O Seridó do Rio Grande do Norte possui maior número de grandes propriedades e predomínio de imóveis com assentados sem titulação definitiva, arrendatários e produtores sem área. O analfabetismo no campo é maior nos municípios do Seridó Ocidental potiguar e Oriental paraibano. No Seridó paraibano predominam minifúndios e maior população rural abaixo da linha da pobreza. Em sua porção oriental predominam parceiros e ocupantes e na ocidental, arrendatários e ocupantes. A relação entre os indicadores estudados com o meio ambiente é variável e, portanto, dependente de dinâmicas locais.A study carried out in Seridó of the Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte analyzed the desertification phenomenon based on the survey of socioeconomic, environmental and institutional indicators, organized in driving force, pressure, state, impact and response. The main goal of this research was to deepen the discussion about the driving force indicators and to investigate their relationship with the environment. The selected indicators were land concentration (rural establishments area smaller than the fiscal module and under non-property regime) and inequalities in the countryside (rural population below the poverty line and illiteracy), which represent structural or indirect desertification causes. The methodology used was a bibliographic review and data systematization on land ownership, education and income of 32 municipalities in the Seridó in Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba. Seridó of Rio Grande do Norte has the greater number of large properties and predominates settlers with no title, tenants and landless producers. In the Western and Eastern Seridó of Rio Grande do Norte and Paraiba, respectively, there are higher illiteracy rates. In the Seridó of Paraiba predominates smallholdings and rural population below the poverty line. In the Eastern Seridó of Paraiba sharecroppers and occupiers are predominant, while in the Weastern Seridó region the ones predominating are tenants and occupiers. The relationship between the indicators studied and the environment is variable, and therefore, dependent on local dynamics

Associação entre a ooforectomia bilateral precoce e o desenvolvimento do parkinsonismo e Doença de Parkinson em mulheres na pré-menopausa

O parkinsonismo é um distúrbio do sistema nervoso de maior incidência masculina do que feminina, visto que, por mecanismos fisiológicos, o estrogênio possui efeitos neuroprotetores, com funções como aumento da dopamina, um neurotransmissor essencial para o controle das funções motoras. Além disso, previne a formação dos corpúsculos de Lewy e da agregação da α-sinucleína, responsáveis pela progressão da Doença de Parkinson. Por isso, a doença se apresenta diferentemente nas mulheres. A remoção cirúrgica de ambos os ovários em mulheres na pré-menopausa para a prevenção do câncer de ovário parece favorecer o surgimento da doença, tendo em vista a perda da produção do hormônio protetor. Assim, o objetivo do estudo é analisar a associação entre a ooforectomia bilateral precoce e o desenvolvimento de parkinsonismo e Doença de Parkinson em mulheres na pré-menopausa. Trata-se de uma revisão bibliográfica sistemática, do tipo quantitativa, que utilizou as plataformas do PubMed, SciELO e Cochrane Library como bases de dados para seleção dos artigos, todos na língua inglesa. Foram utilizadas literaturas publicadas com recorte temporal de 2017 a 2022. De acordo com as literaturas analisadas, a ooforectomia bilateral precoce em mulheres na pré-menopausa aumenta o risco do desenvolvimento de parkinsonismo. Desse modo, a diminuição dos procedimentos cirúrgicos profiláticos para câncer de ovário nas pacientes com risco médio de malignidade reduziria o risco dessa condição

Diretriz da Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia sobre Diagnóstico e Tratamento de Pacientes com Cardiomiopatia da Doença de Chagas

This guideline aimed to update the concepts and formulate the standards of conduct and scientific evidence that support them, regarding the diagnosis and treatment of the Cardiomyopathy of Chagas disease, with special emphasis on the rationality base that supported it.  Chagas disease in the 21st century maintains an epidemiological pattern of endemicity in 21 Latin American countries. Researchers and managers from endemic and non-endemic countries point to the need to adopt comprehensive public health policies to effectively control the interhuman transmission of T. cruzi infection, and to obtain an optimized level of care for already infected individuals, focusing on diagnostic and therapeutic opportunistic opportunities.   Pathogenic and pathophysiological mechanisms of the Cardiomyopathy of Chagas disease were revisited after in-depth updating and the notion that necrosis and fibrosis are stimulated by tissue parasitic persistence and adverse immune reaction, as fundamental mechanisms, assisted by autonomic and microvascular disorders, was well established. Some of them have recently formed potential targets of therapies.  The natural history of the acute and chronic phases was reviewed, with enhancement for oral transmission, indeterminate form and chronic syndromes. Recent meta-analyses of observational studies have estimated the risk of evolution from acute and indeterminate forms and mortality after chronic cardiomyopathy. Therapeutic approaches applicable to individuals with Indeterminate form of Chagas disease were specifically addressed. All methods to detect structural and/or functional alterations with various cardiac imaging techniques were also reviewed, with recommendations for use in various clinical scenarios. Mortality risk stratification based on the Rassi score, with recent studies of its application, was complemented by methods that detect myocardial fibrosis.  The current methodology for etiological diagnosis and the consequent implications of trypanonomic treatment deserved a comprehensive and in-depth approach. Also the treatment of patients at risk or with heart failure, arrhythmias and thromboembolic events, based on pharmacological and complementary resources, received special attention. Additional chapters supported the conducts applicable to several special contexts, including t. cruzi/HIV co-infection, risk during surgeries, in pregnant women, in the reactivation of infection after heart transplantation, and others.     Finally, two chapters of great social significance, addressing the structuring of specialized services to care for individuals with the Cardiomyopathy of Chagas disease, and reviewing the concepts of severe heart disease and its medical-labor implications completed this guideline.Esta diretriz teve como objetivo principal atualizar os conceitos e formular as normas de conduta e evidências científicas que as suportam, quanto ao diagnóstico e tratamento da CDC, com especial ênfase na base de racionalidade que a embasou. A DC no século XXI mantém padrão epidemiológico de endemicidade em 21 países da América Latina. Investigadores e gestores de países endêmicos e não endêmicos indigitam a necessidade de se adotarem políticas abrangentes, de saúde pública, para controle eficaz da transmissão inter-humanos da infecção pelo T. cruzi, e obter-se nível otimizado de atendimento aos indivíduos já infectados, com foco em oportunização diagnóstica e terapêutica. Mecanismos patogênicos e fisiopatológicos da CDC foram revisitados após atualização aprofundada e ficou bem consolidada a noção de que necrose e fibrose sejam estimuladas pela persistência parasitária tissular e reação imune adversa, como mecanismos fundamentais, coadjuvados por distúrbios autonômicos e microvasculares. Alguns deles recentemente constituíram alvos potenciais de terapêuticas. A história natural das fases aguda e crônica foi revista, com realce para a transmissão oral, a forma indeterminada e as síndromes crônicas. Metanálises recentes de estudos observacionais estimaram o risco de evolução a partir das formas aguda e indeterminada e de mortalidade após instalação da cardiomiopatia crônica. Condutas terapêuticas aplicáveis aos indivíduos com a FIDC foram abordadas especificamente. Todos os métodos para detectar alterações estruturais e/ou funcionais com variadas técnicas de imageamento cardíaco também foram revisados, com recomendações de uso nos vários cenários clínicos. Estratificação de risco de mortalidade fundamentada no escore de Rassi, com estudos recentes de sua aplicação, foi complementada por métodos que detectam fibrose miocárdica. A metodologia atual para diagnóstico etiológico e as consequentes implicações do tratamento tripanossomicida mereceram enfoque abrangente e aprofundado. Também o tratamento de pacientes em risco ou com insuficiência cardíaca, arritmias e eventos tromboembólicos, baseado em recursos farmacológicos e complementares, recebeu especial atenção. Capítulos suplementares subsidiaram as condutas aplicáveis a diversos contextos especiais, entre eles o da co-infecção por T. cruzi/HIV, risco durante cirurgias, em grávidas, na reativação da infecção após transplante cardíacos, e outros.    Por fim, dois capítulos de grande significado social, abordando a estruturação de serviços especializados para atendimento aos indivíduos com a CDC, e revisando os conceitos de cardiopatia grave e suas implicações médico-trabalhistas completaram esta diretriz.&nbsp

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

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For schoolaged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI <2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI >2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

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