Uma abordagem etnoherpetológica das concepções dos estudantes de ensino médio sobre serpentes

Snakes are animals of ecological, economic, and medical importance. Despite this, there is a lack of knowledge about these animals, even in educational environments such as school. Therefore, this work aims to register the conceptions of students from the State School of Professional Education in the municipality of Itapipoca, Ceará on the ethnoherpetological domain “serpents”. For this, a semi-structured investigative questionnaire with objective and subjective questions was asked to 75 students from the 2nd year of high school. Students are unaware of the biological aspects of snakes, as well as confusion between the term’s “poison” and “venom”. They also cited the obsolete concepts for the identification of venomous snakes, and it was notorious that their framework of knowledge is supported by the media and folklore (regional and international). It is believed that environmental education is the best way to solve the problems that were highlighted by the research.As serpentes são animais de importância ecológica, econômica e médica. Apesar disso, existe um desconhecimento sobre estes animais, mesmo em ambientes formativos, como a escola. Diante disso, este trabalho objetiva registrar as concepções dos alunos de uma Escola Estadual de Educação Profissional do município de Itapipoca, Ceará sobre o domínio etnoherpetológico “serpentes”. Para isto foi aplicado um questionário investigativo semiestruturado com perguntas objetivas e subjetivas a 75 estudantes do 2º ano do Ensino Médio. Os estudantes apresentaram desconhecimento dos aspectos biológicos das serpentes, bem como confusão entre os termos “veneno” e “peçonha”. Eles também citaram conceitos obsoletos para identificação de serpentes peçonhentas, e foi notório que o arcabouço de conhecimentos dos mesmos apresenta influência da mídia e folclore (regionais e internacionais). Acredita-se que a educação ambiental é a melhor forma de solucionar as problemáticas que foram evidenciadas pela pesquisa

Anuran diversity indicates that Caatinga relictual Neotropical forests are more related to the Atlantic Forest than to the Amazon

The relationships among the morphoclimatic domains of South America have been a major biogeographical issue of recent years. Palynological, geological and phytogeographical data suggest that the Amazon Forest and the Atlantic Forest were connected during part of the Tertiary and Quaternary periods. This study uses amphibians as model organisms to investigate whether relict northeastern forests are a transition between the Amazon Forest and the Atlantic Forest. We compiled matrices of species composition for four different phytogeographic formations and “Brejos de Altitude,” and analyzed them using clustering methods and Cladistic Analysis of Distributions and Endemism. Our results indicate that the anurofauna of these northeastern forest relicts is most similar in composition to the areas of the Atlantic Forest included in this study, and most dissimilar to the Amazon Forest, which leads us to affirm that events of biotic exchange were more frequent within the Atlantic Forest areas

ANÁLISE DAS TAXAS DE DESMATAMENTO E SEUS FATORES ASSOCIADOS NA AMAZÔNIA LEGAL BRASILEIRA NAS ÚLTIMAS TRÊS DÉCADAS

O bioma Amazônia possui a mais extensa floresta tropical do planeta. O seu papel fundamental no equilíbrio climático, assim como a intensificação das atividades econômicas que têm degradado a cobertura vegetal nas últimas décadas, evidenciam a necessidade da conservação da Amazônia. Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar as taxas de desmatamento na Amazônia Legal Brasileira (ALB) ao longo da série histórica do Projeto de Monitoramento do Desmatamento na Amazônia Legal por Satélite (PRODES) e discutir os valores de perda de floresta acumulados até o ano de 2020 em cada unidade federativa. Ao longo da série PRODES, as maiores taxas de desmatamento foram registradas em 1995 e em 2004, motivadas, respectivamente, pela implantação do Plano Real e pela recuperação da economia do país, devido à estabilização da moeda – o que impulsionou a economia, inclusive em setores ligados ao agronegócio. A crise das commodities, a criação de políticas públicas e ações de fiscalização contribuíram para a redução do desmatamento até 2012. Todavia, a partir de 2013 as taxas voltaram a crescer, estimuladas pelo enfraquecimento da legislação ambiental e das ações de combate ao desmatamento e pela conjuntura econômica favorável a expansão das atividades agropecuárias. Cerca de 20,62 % das florestas originais da ALB foram suprimidas até 2020, sendo que os estados com maior perda florestal são o Pará, Mato Grosso, Maranhão e Rondônia

Integrative multi-kinase approach for the identification of potent antiplasmodial hits

Malaria is a tropical infectious disease that affects over 219 million people worldwide. Due to the constant emergence of parasitic resistance to the current antimalarial drugs, the discovery of new antimalarial drugs is a global health priority. Multi-target drug discovery is a promising and innovative strategy for drug discovery and it is currently regarded as one of the best strategies to face drug resistance. Aiming to identify new multi-target antimalarial drug candidates, we developed an integrative computational approach to select multi-kinase inhibitors for Plasmodium falciparum calcium-dependent protein kinases 1 and 4 (CDPK1 and CDPK4) and protein kinase 6 (PK6). For this purpose, we developed and validated shape-based and machine learning models to prioritize compounds for experimental evaluation. Then, we applied the best models for virtual screening of a large commercial database of drug-like molecules. Ten computational hits were experimentally evaluated against asexual blood stages of both sensitive and multi-drug resistant P. falciparum strains. Among them, LabMol-171, LabMol-172, and LabMol-181 showed potent antiplasmodial activity at nanomolar concentrations (EC50 15 folds. In addition, LabMol-171 and LabMol-181 showed good in vitro inhibition of P. berghei ookinete formation and therefore represent promising transmission-blocking scaffolds. Finally, docking studies with protein kinases CDPK1, CDPK4, and PK6 showed structural insights for further hit-to-lead optimization studies.7CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP405996/2016-0; 400760/2014-2Sem informação2018/05926-2; 2017/02353-9; 2012/16525-2; 2017/18611-7; 2018/07007-4; 2013/13119-6; 2018/24878-9; 2015/20774-

Estimulação Cerebral Profunda em Transtorno Obsessivo Compulsivo – Um Estudo de Revisão Sistemática / Deep Brain Stimulation in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - A Systematic Review Study

O Transtorno Obsessivo Compulsivo (TOC) é uma condição crônica incapacitante em que 40-60% dos pacientes não respondem adequadamente ao tratamento farmacológico com inibidores seletivos de recaptação de serotonina (ISRS). Ademais, aproximadamente 10% têm TOC refratário ao tratamento [6]. Portanto, há uma demanda por estratégias alternativas no tratamento da doença. A Estimulação Cerebral Profunda (ECP) tem sido um dos métodos prósperos entre os pacientes refratários ao tratamento conservador. Essa revisão de literatura tem como objetivo avaliar o efeito da ECP e comparar resultados clínicos entre pacientes com TOC avaliando os prós e contras desse tratamento inovador. Foram utilizados artigos publicados no PubMed, na seleção de um total de seis estudos, originais e de revisão, de pacientes diagnosticados com TOC submetidos à ECP. Além disso, os métodos utilizados foram baseados exclusivamente em estudos de 2016 a 2020, excluindo-se quaisquer artigos sem a utilização de ECP nos pacientes com TOC. Destaca-se a utilização do software de cirurgia BrainLab iPlan Stereotaxy e da tractografia como ferramentas para a seleção do alvo e planejamento da trajetória. As evidências apontam para o núcleo subtalâmico como o alvo de estimulação mais favorável, embora os ensaios clínicos ainda estejam em andamento. A ECP é uma área de desenvolvimento promissor para a ciência e para os pacientes com TOC refratário ao tratamento, no entanto, as limitações aparentes ensejam novos estudos

Estimulação Cerebral Profunda em Transtorno Obsessivo Compulsivo – Um Estudo de Revisão Sistemática / Deep Brain Stimulation in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - A Systematic Review Study

O Transtorno Obsessivo Compulsivo (TOC) é uma condição crônica incapacitante em que 40-60% dos pacientes não respondem adequadamente ao tratamento farmacológico com inibidores seletivos de recaptação de serotonina (ISRS). Ademais, aproximadamente 10% têm TOC refratário ao tratamento [6]. Portanto, há uma demanda por estratégias alternativas no tratamento da doença. A Estimulação Cerebral Profunda (ECP) tem sido um dos métodos prósperos entre os pacientes refratários ao tratamento conservador. Essa revisão de literatura tem como objetivo avaliar o efeito da ECP e comparar resultados clínicos entre pacientes com TOC avaliando os prós e contras desse tratamento inovador. Foram utilizados artigos publicados no PubMed, na seleção de um total de seis estudos, originais e de revisão, de pacientes diagnosticados com TOC submetidos à ECP. Além disso, os métodos utilizados foram baseados exclusivamente em estudos de 2016 a 2020, excluindo-se quaisquer artigos sem a utilização de ECP nos pacientes com TOC. Destaca-se a utilização do software de cirurgia BrainLab iPlan Stereotaxy e da tractografia como ferramentas para a seleção do alvo e planejamento da trajetória. As evidências apontam para o núcleo subtalâmico como o alvo de estimulação mais favorável, embora os ensaios clínicos ainda estejam em andamento. A ECP é uma área de desenvolvimento promissor para a ciência e para os pacientes com TOC refratário ao tratamento, no entanto, as limitações aparentes ensejam novos estudos

The Importance Of Neuronal Plasticity In The Prognosis Of Cases Of Cerebral Ischemia: A Systematic Review

Background: Neuronal plasticity is the capacity that the neurons have to make new connections and enable new ways of transmitting information. Under this context, new methodologies are being addressed in order to measure how important this neuronal capacity is in the process of full recovery of learning in subjects who suffered damage from cerebral ischemia.Methods: A systematic review was performed on the online databases: Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) and Scopus, between 1998 and 2014. The MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) descriptors used in this review were: "neuronal plasticity", "brain ischemia" and "learning". We found 164 articles that, when screened, resulted in 46 articles that met the criteria of evidence and were included in this review.Results: There are several ways available in the literature to increase neuronal plasticity to keep the learning process after bad conformations resulting from cerebral ischemia. We highlighted the most elucidated: those promoted by SMe1EC2 antioxidant, which brings therapeutic benefits when neuronal plasticity is impaired; and Atorvastatin, a statin which facilitates recovery of spatial learning. It is further observed that the body has a number of intrinsic devicessuch as the endogenous compensatory mechanisms that contribute to the development of neuronal plasticity when there is brain damage caused by ischemia.Conclusion: The improvement of neuronal plasticity appears in several studies mapped as a new and still little explored possibility of treatment of damages caused by brain processes of oxygen deprivation. Multiple devices, endogenous and exogenous, that promote an increase in neuronal plasticity, are being elucidated in an attempt to promote the full recovery of the learning process, decreased by brain damage from ischemic processes. Thus, it is pointed the necessity of scientific studies that allows to define and maximize the potentials of the neuronal plasticity

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

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

ATLANTIC-PRIMATES: a dataset of communities and occurrences of primates in the Atlantic Forests of South America

Primates play an important role in ecosystem functioning and offer critical insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and emerging infectious diseases. There are 26 primate species in the Atlantic Forests of South America, 19 of them endemic. We compiled a dataset of 5,472 georeferenced locations of 26 native and 1 introduced primate species, as hybrids in the genera Callithrix and Alouatta. The dataset includes 700 primate communities, 8,121 single species occurrences and 714 estimates of primate population sizes, covering most natural forest types of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and some other biomes. On average, primate communities of the Atlantic Forest harbor 2 ± 1 species (range = 1–6). However, about 40% of primate communities contain only one species. Alouatta guariba (N = 2,188 records) and Sapajus nigritus (N = 1,127) were the species with the most records. Callicebus barbarabrownae (N = 35), Leontopithecus caissara (N = 38), and Sapajus libidinosus (N = 41) were the species with the least records. Recorded primate densities varied from 0.004 individuals/km 2 (Alouatta guariba at Fragmento do Bugre, Paraná, Brazil) to 400 individuals/km 2 (Alouatta caraya in Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Our dataset reflects disparity between the numerous primate census conducted in the Atlantic Forest, in contrast to the scarcity of estimates of population sizes and densities. With these data, researchers can develop different macroecological and regional level studies, focusing on communities, populations, species co-occurrence and distribution patterns. Moreover, the data can also be used to assess the consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and disease outbreaks on different ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, species invasion or extinction, and community dynamics. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this Data Paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data. © 2018 by the The Authors. Ecology © 2018 The Ecological Society of Americ