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

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

Aldefluor protocol to sort keratinocytes stem cells from skin

<div><p>Abstract Purpose: To investigate the use Aldefluor® and N, N - Dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (DEAB) to design a protocol to sort keratinocyte stem cells from cultured keratinocytes from burned patients. Methods: Activated Aldefluor® aliquots were prepared and maintained at temperature between 2 to 8°C, or stored at -20°C. Next, the cells were collected following the standard protocol of sample preparation. Results: Best results were obtained with Aldefluor® 1.5µl and DEAB 15 µl for 1 x 106 cells, incubated at 37°C for 15 minutes. Flow cytometer range for keratinocyte stem cells separation was evaluated. There were 14.8% of stem cells separated in one sample of keratinocyte culture used to pattern the protocol. After being defined the ideal concentration, the same test pattern was performed in other keratinocyte samples. We observed a final mean of 10.8%. Conclusion: Aldefluor® has been shown as a favorable marking of epidermal keratinocyte stem cells for subsequent separation on a flow cytometer, with detection of 10.8% of epidermal keratinocyte stem cells, in this protocol.</p></div

Association between the angiotensin-converting enzyme (insertion/deletion) and angiotensin II type 1 receptor (A1166C) polymorphisms and breast cancer among Brazilian women

Introduction. We evaluated the assocation between components of the renin-angiotensin system and the development of breast cancer in a case-control study by means of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) and angiotensin II type I (AT(1))-receptor A1166C polymorphisms.Methods. Genotyping was performed by PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) or PCR (polymerase chain reaction) using genomic DNA extracted from buccal cells of subjects with (101 cases) or without (307 controls) breast cancer.Results. the frequencies of genotypes for ACE were: DD, ID and II (in %: cases: 60; 20; 20; controls: 46; 37; 17; p=0.019, chi(2) ); and for AT(1)-receptor were: AA, AC and CC (in %; cases: 65; 30; 5; controls: 51; 44; 5; p=0.114, chi(2)). the results suggested that the A1166C polymorphism was not associated with breast cancer risk. On the other hand, for the ACE (I/D), there seemed to be different risks for cancer between cases and controls.Conclusions. the ID genotype was less frequently associated with the disease than were the DD or II; that is, women with the ID genotype were 3.1 times less likely to develop breast cancer than those with the other genotypes. the ID genotype might be protective against breast cancer and the ACE (I/D) polymorphism a possible targer for developing genetic markers for breast cancer.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Mol Gynaecol Lab, Dept Gynaecol, BR-04039032 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Mol Gynaecol Lab, Dept Gynaecol, BR-04039032 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Habitação popular e arquitetura: em busca de uma qualidade projetual nas moradias

Este projeto tem como premissas garantir a qualidade de vida dos moradores de assentamentos de baixa renda em Bauru, entendendo que para isso é necessário oferecer: qualidade arquitetônica e construtiva da habitação e qualificação do espaço público. Sendo assim, a Universidade, através do Núcleo de Pesquisa em Arquitetura e Habitação de Interesse Social - ArqHab coloca a disposição da comunidade projetos gratuitos, desenvolvidos por alunos dos cursos de Arquitetura e Engenharia Civil, orientados por professores dos respectivos departamentos. Foram desenvolvidos projetos para reforma e ampliação de casas do Núcleo Habitacional Nobuji Nagasawa Bauru 2000, juntamente com planilhas contendo quantificação dos materiais de construção e orçamento. As reformas foram e continuam sendo acompanhadas pelos integrantes do ArqHab. Para o espaço público foram desenvolvidos os projetos da Praça e das Ruas de Pedestres. Outro fato importante para o andamento do projeto foi a parceria firmada entre o ArqHab e a FACESP, com anuência da Prefeitura Municipal de Bauru, para elaboração de projetos para comunidades de baixa renda. Atualmente estão sendo desenvolvidos projetos arquitetônicos para famílias residentes em favela e que serão removidas para o Jardim Ivone. Essa obra será financiada pela CDHU e terá a participação destes moradores, portanto os projetos serão apresentados em assembléias. As obras serão acompanhadas pelo ArqHab. Avançar com o projeto de desfavelamento. Propor soluções alternativas para baratear os custos das construções. Melhorar a auto-estima dos moradores, à medida que participam das discussões projetuais. Proporcionar aos moradores a possibilidade de participação, e profissionalização na construção civil. Introduzir os alunos, dos cursos envolvidos, no desenvolvimento de um trabalho prático, e acesso ao conhecimento da realidade social à qual devem se interessar como projetistas. Além da oportunidade de trabalharem em parceria, complementando conhecimentos específicos de cada área. Abrange as seguintes etapas: Levantamento do Programa de Necessidades, Levantamento Técnico da área de intervenção, Elaboração do Projeto Arquitetônico, Apresentação do Projeto à Comunidade, Quantificação de Material e Orçamento, Acompanhamento da Obra. Tem-se como aspecto positivo a integração dos alunos de Arquitetura e Engenharia trabalhando conjuntamente para oferecer projetos com resolução espacial diferenciada e de baixo custo. Considera-se o maior avanço, o fato do grupo ArqHab, ter conquistado a credibilidade do Poder Público Municipal, da FACESP, e da CDHU, para elaborar esses projetos, buscando oferecer tipologias diferenciadas, considerando critérios de habitabilidade, funcionalidade, e conforto ambiental