Osteology of an exceptionally well-preserved tapejarid skeleton from Brazil: Revealing the anatomy of a curious pterodactyloid clade

Funding Information: FLP is supported by grants from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq process numbers 407969/ 2016-0, 305758/2017-9) and Fundac?o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS process number 16/2551-0000271-1). OM is supported by grants from GeoBioTec-GeoBioSciences, GeoTechnologies and GeoEngineering NOVA [GeoBioCi?ncias, GeoTecnologias e GeoEngenharias], grant UIDB/ 04035/2020 by the Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e Tecnologia. FRC is supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq) for support (grant No. 421772/2018-2).A remarkably well-preserved, almost complete and articulated new specimen (GP/2E 9266) of Tupandactylus navigans is here described for the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil. The new specimen comprises an almost complete skeleton, preserving both the skull and post-cranium, associated with remarkable preservation of soft tissues, which makes it the most complete tapejarid known thus far. CT-Scanning was performed to allow the assessment of bones still covered by sediment. The specimen can be assigned to Tupa. navigans due to its vertical supra-premaxillary bony process and short and rounded parietal crest. It also bears the largest dentary crest among tapejarine pterosaurs and a notarium, which is absent in other representatives of the clade. The new specimen is here regarded as an adult individual. This is the first time that postcranial remains of Tupa. navigans are described, being also an unprecedented record of an articulated tapejarid skeleton from the Araripe Basin.publishersversionpublishe

Acoustic analysis of vocalization and the behavioral response associated to sound production of the nine banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus (Mammalia, Cingulata, Dasypodidae) in an agonistic context

Although communication capabilities are displayed by many vertebrate groups, some repertoires are poorly known, such as the case of xenarthrans, particularly armadillos, for which vocalization as a source of communicating to others remains poorly understood and relies on punctual reports of sounds. Here we provide the first description of a behavioral response associated with sound emission of two subjects of Dasypus novemcinctus. Both audio and visual registration was performed to subsequent analyses of expressed behaviors and emitted calls, which accounted for 76 vocalizations from a total of eight video recordings randomly collected from 2017 to 2019. Sound is acoustically characterized by both inhale and exhale phases composed of two vocal units, and no harmonic structure was observed. Once the subjects have always produced these vocalizations while cornered and exhibiting defensive behavior against another subject/human disturbance, these vocalizations were termed as distress. Subjects produced a hiss-purr-like sound while trying to avoid contact with another by bowing or lowering their bodies, humping, or even moving elsewhere when sound production ceased. This shows that the sound repertoire of armadillos is still to be unveiled and seems to be much more complex than previously thought

Análise da transição de fluidos refrigerantes com baixo GWP aplicados em ar condicionado/Analysis of the transition of refrigerated fluids with low GWP applied in air conditioning

Os fluidos refrigerantes quando lançados na atmosfera tem um grande potencial de destruição da camada de ozônio, o interesse internacional na mitigação das reduções das emissões de fluidos refrigerantes tem estimulado o aparecimento de fluidos refrigerantes com baixos GWP, a partir do protocolo de Montreal e posteriormente do protocolo de quito buscou-se novas alternativas para a redução dos danos ambientais causados pelos fluidos refrigerantes. o presente artigo enfatiza uma análise técnica que dará suporte a implementação de ações políticas brasileiras na regulamentação de novos fluidos refrigerantes com baixo GWP, esta  análise foi desenvolvida para avaliar a redução nas emissões de gases de efeito em função da transição de novos fluidos refrigerantes com baixo GWP usados em sistemas de condicionamento de ar para o setor residencial brasileiro, além de enfatizar os benefícios que essas fontes alternativas podem trazer para o meio ambiente.

Um panorama atual sobre a filogenia de Metazoa: conflitos e concordâncias

Metazoa is the grouping that brings together all the animals, a target that has been the subject of fervent debate for decades. The roots of understanding about their phylogenetic relationships arose through observations of morphological characteristics, which nurtured from the perspective of common ancestry became the basis for the first systematizations. New positions were proposed from the advent of molecular techniques and data, but several problems remain unresolved. In this review we present changes in the positions of some of the most conflicting groups of Metazoa. We conclude by pointing out gaps and paths to be traveled in the near future with the objective of improving the scientific understanding of the evolutionary trajectory of animals and their characters. As relações evolutivas dentro de Metazoa são alvos de debates há décadas. As raízes da compreensão de seus relacionamentos filogenéticos surgiram através da análise de características morfológicas, seguidas de técnicas moleculares cada vez mais sofisticadas, como a filogenômica. Estudos provenientes de dados moleculares trouxeram grandes contribuições propondo novas hipóteses, mas neste momento ainda existem incertezas advindas de problemas de amostragem e técnicas moleculares, resultando em lacunas de conhecimento. No presente trabalho discutimos hipóteses da literatura sobre o posicionamento de alguns táxons chave na evolução dos animais, como Porifera, Ctenophora, Placozoa e Chaetognatha, além de discutir relações internas de grupos mais diversos, como Ecdysozoa, Spiralia e Deuterostomia. Por fim, discutimos suas implicações e consequências para o entendimento das relações entre os metazoários e suas trajetórias evolutivas

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in COVID-19 patients and healthy volunteers up to 6 months post disease onset

SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as a human pathogen, causing clinical signs, from fever to pneumonia—COVID-19—but may remain mild or asymptomatic. To understand the continuing spread of the virus, to detect those who are and were infected, and to follow the immune response longitudinally, reliable and robust assays for SARS-CoV-2 detection and immunological monitoring are needed. We quantified IgM, IgG, and IgA antibodies recognizing the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) or the Spike (S) protein over a period of 6 months following COVID-19 onset. We report the detailed setup to monitor the humoral immune response from over 300 COVID-19 hospital patients and healthcare workers, 2500 University staff, and 198 post-COVID-19 volunteers. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses follow a classic pattern with a rapid increase within the first three weeks after symptoms. Although titres reduce subsequently, the ability to detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies remained robust with confirmed neutralization activity for up to 6 months in a large proportion of previously virus-positive screened subjects. Our work provides detailed information for the assays used, facilitating further and longitudinal analysis of protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Importantly, it highlights a continued level of circulating neutralising antibodies in most people with confirmed SARS-CoV-2.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SARS-CoV-2 uses CD4 to infect T helper lymphocytes

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the agent of a major global outbreak of respiratory tract disease known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infects mainly lungs and may cause several immune-related complications, such as lymphocytopenia and cytokine storm, which are associated with the severity of the disease and predict mortality. The mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 infection may result in immune system dysfunction is still not fully understood. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 infects human CD4+ T helper cells, but not CD8+ T cells, and is present in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage T helper cells of severe COVID-19 patients. We demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (S) directly binds to the CD4 molecule, which in turn mediates the entry of SARS-CoV-2 in T helper cells. This leads to impaired CD4 T cell function and may cause cell death. SARS-CoV-2-infected T helper cells express higher levels of IL-10, which is associated with viral persistence and disease severity. Thus, CD4-mediated SARS-CoV-2 infection of T helper cells may contribute to a poor immune response in COVID-19 patients.</p

SARS-CoV-2 uses CD4 to infect T helper lymphocytes

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the agent of a major global outbreak of respiratory tract disease known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infects mainly lungs and may cause several immune-related complications, such as lymphocytopenia and cytokine storm, which are associated with the severity of the disease and predict mortality. The mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 infection may result in immune system dysfunction is still not fully understood. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 infects human CD4+ T helper cells, but not CD8+ T cells, and is present in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage T helper cells of severe COVID-19 patients. We demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (S) directly binds to the CD4 molecule, which in turn mediates the entry of SARS-CoV-2 in T helper cells. This leads to impaired CD4 T cell function and may cause cell death. SARS-CoV-2-infected T helper cells express higher levels of IL-10, which is associated with viral persistence and disease severity. Thus, CD4-mediated SARS-CoV-2 infection of T helper cells may contribute to a poor immune response in COVID-19 patients.</p

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