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

Insecticidal activity of citronella grass essential oil on Frankliniella schultzei and Myzus persicae Atividade inseticida do óleo essencial de capim-citronela sobre Frankliniella schultzei e Myzus persicae

The thrips, Frankliniella schultzei, and green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, cause direct damage to plants of economic importance and transmit phytoviruses, causing large economic losses. Chemical constituents of essential oils present a wide range of biological activities. The aim of this work was to evaluate insecticidal activity of essential oil from citronella grass, Cymbopogon winterianus, on F. schultzei and M. persicae. This essential oil was obtained by steam distillation and components were identified by GC/FID and GC/MS. A Potter spray tower was used to spray insects with the essential oil. The major constituents are geraniol (28.62%), citronellal (23.62%) and citronellol (17.10%). Essential oil of C. winterianus at 1% (w v-1) causes mortality in F. schultzei and M. persicae at 34.3% and 96.9%, respectively. The LC50 value for M. persicae was 0.36% and LC90 0.66%. Thus, citronella grass essential oil at 1% (w v-1) is more toxic to M. persicae than F. schultzei. This essential oil shows promise for developing pesticides to manage M. persicae.O tripes, Frankliniella schultzei, e o pulgão-verde, Myzus persicae, além de causarem danos diretos a plantas de importância econômica, também são importantes transmissores de fitoviroses, acarretando grandes perdas econômicas. Os constituintes químicos dos óleos essenciais têm sido cada vez mais estudados, pois apresentam uma ampla gama de atividades biológicas. Neste trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar a atividade inseticida do óleo essencial de capim-citronela, Cymbopogon winterianus, sobre F. schultzei e M. persicae. O óleo essencial foi obtido por hidrodestilação e a identificação dos seus componentes foi realizada por CG/DIC e CG/EM. Uma torre de Potter foi utilizada para pulverizar os insetos com óleo essencial. Os componentes majoritários encontrados são geraniol (28,62%), citronelal (23,62%) e citronelol (17,10%). O óleo essencial de C. winterianus a 1% (m v-1) causa mortalidade de F. schultzei e M. persicae em 34,3% e 96,9%, respectivamente. O valor estimado de CL50 para M. persicae foi 0,36% e CL90 de 0,66%. Assim, o óleo essencial de capim-citronela a 1% (m v-1) é mais tóxico para M. persicae do que para F. schultzei. Este óleo essencial mostra-se promissor para o desenvolvimento de inseticidas para o manejo de M. persicae

Flavonoids as Therapeutic Agents in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases: A Systematic Review of Preclinical Evidences

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are considered the most common neurodegenerative disorders, representing a major focus of neuroscience research to understanding the cellular alterations and pathophysiological mechanisms involved. Several natural products, including flavonoids, are considered able to cross the blood-brain barrier and are known for their central nervous system-related activity. Therefore, studies are being conducted with these chemical constituents to analyze their activities in slowing down the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. The present systematic review summarizes the pharmacological effects of flavonoids in animal models for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. A PRISMA model for systematic review was utilized for this search. The research was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, BIREME, and Science Direct. Based on the inclusion criteria, 31 articles were selected and discussed in this review. The studies listed revealed that the main targets of action for Alzheimer’s disease therapy were reduction of reactive oxygen species and amyloid beta-protein production, while for Parkinson’s disease reduction of the cellular oxidative potential and the activation of mechanisms of neuronal death. Results showed that a variety of flavonoids is being studied and can be promising for the development of new drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, it was possible to verify that there is a lack of translational research and clinical evidence of these promising compounds

Núcleos de Ensino da Unesp: artigos 2010: volume 2: formação de professores

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq