Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time, and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space. While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes, vast areas of the tropics remain understudied. In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity, but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases. To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications 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, 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

Undernutrition risk at hospital admission and length of stay among pulmonology inpatients

Background: There is a lack of evidence regarding the association between the undernutrition risk at hospital admission with adverse clinical outcomes amongst pulmonology inpatients. The aim of this study was to quantify the association between undernutrition risk at hospital admission and time to discharge alive. Methods: A retrospective cohort study including patients consecutively admitted to a pulmonology unit was conducted. Undernutrition risk at hospital admission was identified using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool. Survival analyses (Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox regression) were carried out. Results: The sample was composed of 683 patients. Patients who presented high undernutrition risk on hospital admission had a longer length of hospital stay (approximately 50% were discharged to home after 14 days of hospitalization). In the multivariable Cox regression, high undernutrition risk was shown to be independently associated with a lower probability of discharge alive over time (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.70; 95% confidence interval: 0.55–0.90). Conclusions: Pulmonology inpatients with high undernutrition risk have a longer length of hospital stay and had a lower probability of being discharged to home. In particular, lung cancer patients had a lower probability of being discharged to home, which corroborates a worse prognosis for these patients. Keywords: Malnutrition, Nutritional status, Respiratory medicine, Length of sta

Substituição do grão de milho pelo grão de milheto em dietas contendo silagem de milho ou silagem de capim-elefante na alimentação de bovinos de corte Replacement of corn grain by pearl millet grain in diets containing corn or elephant grass silage fed beef cattle

O objetivo neste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos da substituição do grão de milho pelo grão de milheto em dietas contendo silagem de milho ou de capim-elefante sobre o consumo, a digestibilidade aparente dos nutrientes e os parâmetros ruminais de bovinos de corte. Seis novilhos da raça Nelore, providos de cânula ruminal, foram distribuídos em quadrado latino 6 x 6, em arranjo fatorial 2 x 3, com duas fontes de volumoso (silagem de milho ou silagem de capim-elefante) e três níveis de substituição do grão de milho pelo grão de milheto (0, 50 ou 100%). A substituição do grão de milho pelo grão de milheto e as fontes de volumoso não influenciaram o consumo de nutrientes. Entretanto, a utilização da silagem de capim-elefante aumentou o consumo de fibra em detergente ácido e reduziu o consumo de amido em comparação às dietas contendo silagem de milho. Não houve efeito da substituição do grão de milho pelo grão de milheto sobre a digestibilidade de matéria seca, matéria orgânica, proteína bruta, fibra em detergente neutro e fibra em detergente ácido. Contudo, houve aumento da digestibilidade do extrato etéreo, e os maiores valores foram observados para as dietas contendo 50 e 100% de grão de milheto em relação às dietas contendo 100% de grão de milho, independentemente da fonte de volumoso. A digestibilidade do amido também aumentou com a substituição do grão de milho pelo grão de milheto. A fonte de volumoso influenciou a digestibilidade da fibra em detergente neutro e da fibra em detergente ácido, que aumentou com a utilização da silagem de capim-elefante. A substituição do grão de milho pelo grão de milheto na dieta reduz a concentração ruminal de amônia sem alterar a concentração de acetato, propionato, ácidos graxos voláteis totais e o pH ruminal. A utilização de silagem de capim-elefante aumenta a concentração ruminal de acetato e a relação acetato:propionato.<br>The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of replacing corn grain by pearl millet grain in diets containing corn silage or elephant grass silage on feed intake, apparent digestibility of nutrients and ruminal parameters of beef cattle. Six cannulated Nellore steers were distributed in a 6 x 6 Latin square, in a 2 x 3 factorial scheme, with two sources of roughages (corn silage or elephant grass silage) and three levels of replacement of corn grain by pearl millet grain (0, 50 or 100%). Replacement of corn grain by pearl millet grain and the roughage sources did not affect nutrient intake. However, the use of elephant grass silage increased acid detergent fiber and decreased starch intake when compared to diets containing corn silage. There was no effect of replacement of corn grain by pearl millet grain on digestibilities of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber. However, there was an increase of digestibility of ether extract and the highest values were observed for diets containing 50 and 100% of pearl millet grain in relation to diets containg 100% corn grain, regardless to roughage source. Digestibility of starch was also increased by the replacement of corn grain by pearl millet grain. Roughage source also had an effect on neutral and acid detergent fiber digestibilities, which increased with the use of elephant grass silage. Replacement of corn grain by pearl millet grain in the diet decreases ruminal ammonia concentration without changing concentrations of ruminal acetate, propionate, total volatile fatty acids and ruminal pH. The use of elephant grass silage increases ruminal acetate concentration and acetate:propionate ratio

A importância de Reservas Particulares do Patrimônio Natural para a conservação da brioflora da Mata Atlântica: um estudo em El Nagual, Magé, RJ, Brasil The importance of Private Natural Heritage Reserves for conservation of Atlantic rain forest bryoflora: a study at El Nagual, Magé, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Foi realizado o levantamento das briófitas da RPPN El Nagual, uma área de floresta submontana no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Foram registradas 137 espécies (um antócero, 70 hepáticas e 66 musgos) e duas variedades, distribuídas em 75 gêneros e 37 famílias, sendo cinco novas ocorrências para o estado. Lejeuneaceae (27 spp.), Pilotrichaceae (17 spp.), Aneuraceae (9 spp.) e Calymperaceae (8 spp.) destacam-se pela riqueza de espécies (44% da brioflora). Sete formas de vida foram caracterizadas, predominando trama (37%), tufo (16%) e talosa (15%). Seis tipos de substrato são colonizados na área, predominando espécies corticícolas (52%) e rupícolas (42%). Em relação aos padrões de distribuição, predominaram espécies neotropicais e pantropicais. Foram encontradas quatro espécies caracterizadas como vulneráveis no estado. Os resultados demonstram que a brioflora da RPPN é rica e evidenciam a importância dessa categoria de unidade de conservação na proteção de remanescentes de Mata Atlântica e conservação da brioflora.<br>A floristic survey of the bryophytes was carried out in the El Nagual Private Natural Heritage Reserve, a submontane Atlantic rain forest remnant in Rio de Janeiro state. One hundred and thirty seven species were recorded (one Anthocerotae, 70 hepatics and 66 mosses) plus two varieties, in 75 genera and 37 families. Five species are new records for Rio de Janeiro state. Lejeuneaceae (27 spp.), Pilotrichaceae (17 spp.), Aneuraceae (9 spp.), and Calymperaceae (8 spp.) are especially rich in species (44% of the bryoflora). Seven life-forms were found; the most common are weft (37%), turf (16%), and thallose (15%). Six kinds of substrate were colonized, the most important species types being corticicolous (52%) and rupicolous (42%). The most common distribution patterns were Neotropical and Pantropical. Four species were considered to be vulnerable in the state. The results show that the bryoflora of the El Nagual Reserve is relatively rich and demonstrate the importance of this conservation unit category in the protection of remnant Atlantic rain forests and in the conservation of the bryoflora