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

Brazilian guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hereditary angioedema

Hereditary angioedema is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by edema attacks with multiple organ involvement. It is caused by a quantitative or functional deficiency of the C1 inhibitor, which is a member of the serine protease inhibitor family. Hereditary angioedema is unknown to many health professionals and is therefore an underdiagnosed disease. The causes of death from hereditary angioedema include laryngeal edema with asphyxia. The estimated mortality rate in patients in whom the disease goes undetected and who are therefore incorrectly treated is 25-40%. In addition to edema of the glottis, hereditary angioedema often results in edema of the gastrointestinal tract, which can be incapacitating. Patients with hereditary angioedema may undergo unnecessary surgical interventions because the digestive tract can be the primary or only organ system involved, thus mimicking acute surgical abdomen. It is estimated that patients with hereditary angioedema experience some degree of disability 20-100 days per year. The Experts in Clinical Immunology and Allergy of the "Associação Brasileira de Alergia e Imunopatologia -ASBAI" developed these guidelines for the diagnosis, therapy, and management of hereditary angioedema

Coagulation Factor XII Gene Mutation in Brazilian Families with Hereditary Angioedema with Normal C1 Inhibitor

Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) with normal C1 inhibitor (C1-INH) is a rare disorder. Mutations of the gene encoding coagulation factor XII have been identified in a subset of patients with this condition. Our aim was to investigate mutations in the F12 gene in patients with HAE with normal C1-INH from Brazil. Methods: We studied 5 Brazilian families with index female patients who presented with recurrent angioedema with normal C1-INH and C4 levels. Genomic DNA was isolated from whole blood and PCR was performed. Mutations were detected by the sequencing of exon 9 of the F12 gene and allelic discrimination. Results: The c.983C>A (p.Thr328Lys) mutation was identified in 16 subjects, from 4 of the 5 families studied, including 8 patients with symptoms of HAE with normal C1-INH (87.5% women) and 8 subjects asymptomatic for HAE (25% women). Mean age at onset of symptoms among the FXII-HAE patients was 13.8 years (range 6-25 years). Recurrent abdominal pain (100%) and subcutaneous angioedema (87.5%) were the most frequent clinical presentations. Two patients presented with associated laryngeal edema. In keeping with previous observations in patients with both C1-INH-HAE and HAE with normal C1-INH, all 7 women with FXII-HAE reported triggering or worsening of symptoms upon intake of estrogen-containing oral contraceptives and/or pregnancy. Conclusions: We report for the first time in Brazil a mutation in the F12 gene as a likely cause of HAE with normal C1-INH in patients with recurrent attacks of angioedema and/or abdominal pain. A higher frequency of abdominal pain attacks and onset of symptoms at a younger age were observed among Brazilian patients when compared to those from other parts of the world. (C) 2015 S. Karger AG, BaselFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP