Amphibians and reptiles from a protected area in western Brazilian Amazonia (Reserva Extrativista do Baixo Juruá)

Sampling gaps across the logistically challenging and extremely biodiverse Amazonia largely hamper our understanding of broad-scale amphibian and reptile diversity patterns in this ecosystem. The Juruá River basin, a southwestern tributary of the Amazon River, is one of these undersampled areas, with only punctual information documented for these vertebrates that are spatially or temporally biased. This is especially the case for the lower-middle courses of the Juruá River, which also has comparatively less protected areas than its upper course. In order to fill some biodiversity knowledge gaps associated with amphibians and reptiles in this river basin, we combined results of our field expeditions carried out in 1992, 2005-2007, and 2018 to the Reserva Extrativista (Extractive Reserve) do Baixo Juruá, a Brazilian protected area in the right bank of the lower Juruá River. Amphibians and reptiles were sampled using four complementary methods: active surveys, pitfall traps, funnel traps, and trammel nets. We identified species or updated their taxonomic status with a reanalysis of the external morphology of the preserved material in the light of novel taxonomic literature (more than 1,500 specimens) and employment of DNA barcoding analyses for some newly collected specimens with contentious taxonomic status. Our combined sampling evidenced 149 species of amphibians and reptiles occurring in this protected area (72 amphibians, 68 squamates, six chelonians, and three crocodilians). Recorded species highlight the value of the lower Juruá River region as harboring quite diverse assemblages for these vertebrates, with species typical of the western and southwestern Amazonia sub-regions. Remarkable species records are presented, as well as accounts on species with lower taxonomic resolution. Furthermore, we discuss the biogeographic affinities of recorded assemblages based on the species geographic range and preferred habitats, and the value of this protected area to preserve the regional biological diversity

Global disparities in surgeons’ workloads, academic engagement and rest periods: the on-calL shIft fOr geNEral SurgeonS (LIONESS) study

: The workload of general surgeons is multifaceted, encompassing not only surgical procedures but also a myriad of other responsibilities. From April to May 2023, we conducted a CHERRIES-compliant internet-based survey analyzing clinical practice, academic engagement, and post-on-call rest. The questionnaire featured six sections with 35 questions. Statistical analysis used Chi-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression (SPSS® v. 28). The survey received a total of 1.046 responses (65.4%). Over 78.0% of responders came from Europe, 65.1% came from a general surgery unit; 92.8% of European and 87.5% of North American respondents were involved in research, compared to 71.7% in Africa. Europe led in publishing research studies (6.6 ± 8.6 yearly). Teaching involvement was high in North America (100%) and Africa (91.7%). Surgeons reported an average of 6.7 ± 4.9 on-call shifts per month, with European and North American surgeons experiencing 6.5 ± 4.9 and 7.8 ± 4.1 on-calls monthly, respectively. African surgeons had the highest on-call frequency (8.7 ± 6.1). Post-on-call, only 35.1% of respondents received a day off. Europeans were most likely (40%) to have a day off, while African surgeons were least likely (6.7%). On the adjusted multivariable analysis HDI (Human Development Index) (aOR 1.993) hospital capacity > 400 beds (aOR 2.423), working in a specialty surgery unit (aOR 2.087), and making the on-call in-house (aOR 5.446), significantly predicted the likelihood of having a day off after an on-call shift. Our study revealed critical insights into the disparities in workload, access to research, and professional opportunities for surgeons across different continents, underscored by the HDI

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Taking the pulse of Earth's tropical forests using networks of highly distributed plots

Tropical forests are the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth. While better understanding of these forests is critical for our collective future, until quite recently efforts to measure and monitor them have been largely disconnected. Networking is essential to discover the answers to questions that transcend borders and the horizons of funding agencies. Here we show how a global community is responding to the challenges of tropical ecosystem research with diverse teams measuring forests tree-by-tree in thousands of long-term plots. We review the major scientific discoveries of this work and show how this process is changing tropical forest science. Our core approach involves linking long-term grassroots initiatives with standardized protocols and data management to generate robust scaled-up results. By connecting tropical researchers and elevating their status, our Social Research Network model recognises the key role of the data originator in scientific discovery. Conceived in 1999 with RAINFOR (South America), our permanent plot networks have been adapted to Africa (AfriTRON) and Southeast Asia (T-FORCES) and widely emulated worldwide. Now these multiple initiatives are integrated via ForestPlots.net cyber-infrastructure, linking colleagues from 54 countries across 24 plot networks. Collectively these are transforming understanding of tropical forests and their biospheric role. Together we have discovered how, where and why forest carbon and biodiversity are responding to climate change, and how they feedback on it. This long-term pan-tropical collaboration has revealed a large long-term carbon sink and its trends, as well as making clear which drivers are most important, which forest processes are affected, where they are changing, what the lags are, and the likely future responses of tropical forests as the climate continues to change. By leveraging a remarkably old technology, plot networks are sparking a very modern revolution in tropical forest science. In the future, humanity can benefit greatly by nurturing the grassroots communities now collectively capable of generating unique, long-term understanding of Earth's most precious forests.Additional co-authors: Susan Laurance, William Laurance, Francoise Yoko Ishida, Andrew Marshall, Catherine Waite, Hannsjoerg Woell, Jean-Francois Bastin, Marijn Bauters, Hans Beeckman, Pfascal Boeckx, Jan Bogaert, Charles De Canniere, Thales de Haulleville, Jean-Louis Doucet, Olivier Hardy, Wannes Hubau, Elizabeth Kearsley, Hans Verbeeck, Jason Vleminckx, Steven W. Brewer, Alfredo Alarcón, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Eric Arets, Luzmila Arroyo, Ezequiel Chavez, Todd Fredericksen, René Guillén Villaroel, Gloria Gutierrez Sibauty, Timothy Killeen, Juan Carlos Licona, John Lleigue, Casimiro Mendoza, Samaria Murakami, Alexander Parada Gutierrez, Guido Pardo, Marielos Peña-Claros, Lourens Poorter, Marisol Toledo, Jeanneth Villalobos Cayo, Laura Jessica Viscarra, Vincent Vos, Jorge Ahumada, Everton Almeida, Jarcilene Almeida, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Wesley Alves da Cruz, Atila Alves de Oliveira, Fabrício Alvim Carvalho, Flávio Amorim Obermuller, Ana Andrade, Fernanda Antunes Carvalho, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Ana Carla Aquino, Luiz Aragão, Ana Claudia Araújo, Marco Antonio Assis, Jose Ataliba Mantelli Aboin Gomes, Fabrício Baccaro, Plínio Barbosa de Camargo, Paulo Barni, Jorcely Barroso, Luis Carlos Bernacci, Kauane Bordin, Marcelo Brilhante de Medeiros, Igor Broggio, José Luís Camargo, Domingos Cardoso, Maria Antonia Carniello, Andre Luis Casarin Rochelle, Carolina Castilho, Antonio Alberto Jorge Farias Castro, Wendeson Castro, Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro, Flávia Costa, Rodrigo Costa de Oliveira, Italo Coutinho, John Cunha, Lola da Costa, Lucia da Costa Ferreira, Richarlly da Costa Silva, Marta da Graça Zacarias Simbine, Vitor de Andrade Kamimura, Haroldo Cavalcante de Lima, Lia de Oliveira Melo, Luciano de Queiroz, José Romualdo de Sousa Lima, Mário do Espírito Santo, Tomas Domingues, Nayane Cristina dos Santos Prestes, Steffan Eduardo Silva Carneiro, Fernando Elias, Gabriel Eliseu, Thaise Emilio, Camila Laís Farrapo, Letícia Fernandes, Gustavo Ferreira, Joice Ferreira, Leandro Ferreira, Socorro Ferreira, Marcelo Fragomeni Simon, Maria Aparecida Freitas, Queila S. García, Angelo Gilberto Manzatto, Paulo Graça, Frederico Guilherme, Eduardo Hase, Niro Higuchi, Mariana Iguatemy, Reinaldo Imbrozio Barbosa, Margarita Jaramillo, Carlos Joly, Joice Klipel, Iêda Leão do Amaral, Carolina Levis, Antonio S. Lima, Maurício Lima Dan, Aline Lopes, Herison Madeiros, William E. Magnusson, Rubens Manoel dos Santos, Beatriz Marimon, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Roberta Marotti Martelletti Grillo, Luiz Martinelli, Simone Matias Reis, Salomão Medeiros, Milton Meira-Junior, Thiago Metzker, Paulo Morandi, Natanael Moreira do Nascimento, Magna Moura, Sandra Cristina Müller, Laszlo Nagy, Henrique Nascimento, Marcelo Nascimento, Adriano Nogueira Lima, Raimunda Oliveira de Araújo, Jhonathan Oliveira Silva, Marcelo Pansonato, Gabriel Pavan Sabino, Karla Maria Pedra de Abreu, Pablo José Francisco Pena Rodrigues, Maria Piedade, Domingos Rodrigues, José Roberto Rodrigues Pinto, Carlos Quesada, Eliana Ramos, Rafael Ramos, Priscyla Rodrigues, Thaiane Rodrigues de Sousa, Rafael Salomão, Flávia Santana, Marcos Scaranello, Rodrigo Scarton Bergamin, Juliana Schietti, Jochen Schöngart, Gustavo Schwartz, Natalino Silva, Marcos Silveira, Cristiana Simão Seixas, Marta Simbine, Ana Claudia Souza, Priscila Souza, Rodolfo Souza, Tereza Sposito, Edson Stefani Junior, Julio Daniel do Vale, Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, Dora Villela, Marcos Vital, Haron Xaud, Katia Zanini, Charles Eugene Zartman, Nur Khalish Hafizhah Ideris, Faizah binti Hj Metali, Kamariah Abu Salim, Muhd Shahruney Saparudin, Rafizah Mat Serudin, Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri, Serge Begne, George Chuyong, Marie Noel Djuikouo, Christelle Gonmadje, Murielle Simo-Droissart, Bonaventure Sonké, Hermann Taedoumg, Lise Zemagho, Sean Thomas, Fidèle Baya, Gustavo Saiz, Javier Silva Espejo, Dexiang Chen, Alan Hamilton, Yide Li, Tushou Luo, Shukui Niu, Han Xu, Zhang Zhou, Esteban Álvarez-Dávila, Juan Carlos Andrés Escobar, Henry Arellano-Peña, Jaime Cabezas Duarte, Jhon Calderón, Lina Maria Corrales Bravo, Borish Cuadrado, Hermes Cuadros, Alvaro Duque, Luisa Fernanda Duque, Sandra Milena Espinosa, Rebeca Franke-Ante, Hernando García, Alejandro Gómez, Roy González-M., Álvaro Idárraga-Piedrahíta, Eliana Jimenez, Rubén Jurado, Wilmar López Oviedo, René López-Camacho, Omar Aurelio Melo Cruz, Irina Mendoza Polo, Edwin Paky, Karen Pérez, Angel Pijachi, Camila Pizano, Adriana Prieto, Laura Ramos, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, James Richardson, Elkin Rodríguez, Gina M. Rodriguez M., Agustín Rudas, Pablo Stevenson, Markéta Chudomelová, Martin Dancak, Radim Hédl, Stanislav Lhota, Martin Svatek, Jacques Mukinzi, Corneille Ewango, Terese Hart, Emmanuel Kasongo Yakusu, Janvier Lisingo, Jean-Remy Makana, Faustin Mbayu, Benjamin Toirambe, John Tshibamba Mukendi, Lars Kvist, Gustav Nebel, Selene Báez, Carlos Céron, Daniel M. Griffith, Juan Ernesto Guevara Andino, David Neill, Walter Palacios, Maria Cristina Peñuela-Mora, Gonzalo Rivas-Torres, Gorky Villa, Sheleme Demissie, Tadesse Gole, Techane Gonfa, Kalle Ruokolainen, Michel Baisie, Fabrice Bénédet, Wemo Betian, Vincent Bezard, Damien Bonal, Jerôme Chave, Vincent Droissart, Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury, Annette Hladik, Nicolas Labrière, Pétrus Naisso, Maxime Réjou-Méchain, Plinio Sist, Lilian Blanc, Benoit Burban, Géraldine Derroire, Aurélie Dourdain, Clement Stahl, Natacha Nssi Bengone, Eric Chezeaux, Fidèle Evouna Ondo, Vincent Medjibe, Vianet Mihindou, Lee White, Heike Culmsee, Cristabel Durán Rangel, Viviana Horna, Florian Wittmann, Stephen Adu-Bredu, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Ernest Foli, Michael Balinga, Anand Roopsind, James Singh, Raquel Thomas, Roderick Zagt, Indu K. Murthy, Kuswata Kartawinata, Edi Mirmanto, Hari Priyadi, Ismayadi Samsoedin, Terry Sunderland, Ishak Yassir, Francesco Rovero, Barbara Vinceti, Bruno Hérault, Shin-Ichiro Aiba, Kanehiro Kitayama, Armandu Daniels, Darlington Tuagben, John T. Woods, Muhammad Fitriadi, Alexander Karolus, Kho Lip Khoon, Noreen Majalap, Colin Maycock, Reuben Nilus, Sylvester Tan, Almeida Sitoe, Indiana Coronado G., Lucas Ojo, Rafael de Assis, Axel Dalberg Poulsen, Douglas Sheil, Karen Arévalo Pezo, Hans Buttgenbach Verde, Victor Chama Moscoso, Jimmy Cesar Cordova Oroche, Fernando Cornejo Valverde, Massiel Corrales Medina, Nallaret Davila Cardozo, Jano de Rutte Corzo, Jhon del Aguila Pasquel, Gerardo Flores Llampazo, Luis Freitas, Darcy Galiano Cabrera, Roosevelt García Villacorta, Karina Garcia Cabrera, Diego García Soria, Leticia Gatica Saboya, Julio Miguel Grandez Rios, Gabriel Hidalgo Pizango, Eurídice Honorio Coronado, Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, Walter Huaraca Huasco, Yuri Tomas Huillca Aedo, Jose Luis Marcelo Peña, Abel Monteagudo Mendoza, Vanesa Moreano Rodriguez, Percy Núñez Vargas, Sonia Cesarina Palacios Ramos, Nadir Pallqui Camacho, Antonio Peña Cruz, Freddy Ramirez Arevalo, José Reyna Huaymacari, Carlos Reynel Rodriguez, Marcos Antonio Ríos Paredes, Lily Rodriguez Bayona, Rocio del Pilar Rojas Gonzales, Maria Elena Rojas Peña, Norma Salinas Revilla, Yahn Carlos Soto Shareva, Raul Tupayachi Trujillo, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Rodolfo Vasquez Martinez, Jim Vega Arenas, Christian Amani, Suspense Averti Ifo, Yannick Bocko, Patrick Boundja, Romeo Ekoungoulou, Mireille Hockemba, Donatien Nzala, Alusine Fofanah, David Taylor, Guillermo Bañares-de Dios, Luis Cayuela, Íñigo Granzow-de la Cerda, Manuel Macía, Juliana Stropp, Maureen Playfair, Verginia Wortel, Toby Gardner, Robert Muscarella, Hari Priyadi, Ervan Rutishauser, Kuo-Jung Chao, Pantaleo Munishi, Olaf Bánki, Frans Bongers, Rene Boot, Gabriella Fredriksson, Jan Reitsma, Hans ter Steege, Tinde van Andel, Peter van de Meer, Peter van der Hout, Mark van Nieuwstadt, Bert van Ulft, Elmar Veenendaal, Ronald Vernimmen, Pieter Zuidema, Joeri Zwerts, Perpetra Akite, Robert Bitariho, Colin Chapman, Eilu Gerald, Miguel Leal, Patrick Mucunguzi, Miguel Alexiades, Timothy R. Baker, Karina Banda, Lindsay Banin, Jos Barlow, Amy Bennett, Erika Berenguer, Nicholas Berry, Neil M. Bird, George A. Blackburn, Francis Brearley, Roel Brienen, David Burslem, Lidiany Carvalho, Percival Cho, Fernanda Coelho, Murray Collins, David Coomes, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Greta Dargie, Kyle Dexter, Mat Disney, Freddie Draper, Muying Duan, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Robert Ewers, Belen Fadrique, Sophie Fauset, Ted R. Feldpausch, Filipe França, David Galbraith, Martin Gilpin, Emanuel Gloor, John Grace, Keith Hamer, David Harris, Tommaso Jucker, Michelle Kalamandeen, Bente Klitgaard, Aurora Levesley, Simon L. Lewis, Jeremy Lindsell, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Jon Lovett, Yadvinder Malhi, Toby Marthews, Emma McIntosh, Karina Melgaço, William Milliken, Edward Mitchard, Peter Moonlight, Sam Moore, Alexandra Morel, Julie Peacock, Kelvin Peh, Colin Pendry, R. Toby Pennington, Luciana de Oliveira Pereira, Carlos Peres, Oliver L. Phillips, Georgia Pickavance, Thomas Pugh, Lan Qie, Terhi Riutta, Katherine Roucoux, Casey Ryan, Tiina Sarkinen, Camila Silva Valeria, Dominick Spracklen, Suzanne Stas, Martin Sullivan, Michael Swaine, Joey Talbot, James Taplin, Geertje van der Heijden, Laura Vedovato, Simon Willcock, Mathew Williams, Luciana Alves, Patricia Alvarez Loayza, Gabriel Arellano, Cheryl Asa, Peter Ashton, Gregory Asner, Terry Brncic, Foster Brown, Robyn Burnham, Connie Clark, James Comiskey, Gabriel Damasco, Stuart Davies, Tony Di Fiore, Terry Erwin, William Farfan-Rios, Jefferson Hall, David Kenfack, Thomas Lovejoy, Roberta Martin, Olga Martha Montiel, John Pipoly, Nigel Pitman, John Poulsen, Richard Primack, Miles Silman, Marc Steininger, Varun Swamy, John Terborgh, Duncan Thomas, Peter Umunay, Maria Uriarte, Emilio Vilanova Torre, Ophelia Wang, Kenneth Young, Gerardo A. Aymard C., Lionel Hernández, Rafael Herrera Fernández, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Pedro Salcedo, Elio Sanoja, Julio Serrano, Armando Torres-Lezama, Tinh Cong Le, Trai Trong Le, Hieu Dang Tra

The role of environmental gradients and microclimates in structuring lizard’s community and functional groups at a rainforest-savanna transition

Raw data were used to analysed the role of environmental gradients and microclimates on amazon' lizards communities across of two transitional zones forest-savanna

Influência estrutural da paisagem e do microhábitat na diversidade de lagartos em áreas de Caatinga do Rio Grande do Norte

Abundância e riqueza de espécies são parâmetros centrais para ecologia e cruciais para medidas de diversidade e composição de espécies em um ambiente. Podem ser afetados pelas alterações, pela estrutura da paisagem e do habitat, que repercutem de maneira distinta entre os grupos taxonômicos promovendo perda de diversidade. Portanto, entender como esses padrões ocorrem é imprescindível para possíveis decisões sobre a conservação dessas espécies e seus ambientes. Diante disso, este trabalho objetivou avaliar a influência da alteração e estrutura da paisagem e do habitat sobre os lagartos com ênfase na Caatinga. Para isso, foram amostradas durante três meses sete áreas de Caatinga através do método de encontro visual por transectos. Ainda, variáveis da paisagem e do habitat foram registradas para avaliar como elas influenciam esse grupo neste ambiente, através da seleção de modelos. Nossos resultados demonstraram que a riqueza de espécies foi afetada pela complexidade topográfica de maneira positiva, assim como pela quantidade de afloramento rochoso. Este último também foi responsável por agrupar as áreas amostrais em três grupos dissimilares em relação à composição de espécies. A complexidade topográfica e o número de afloramentos rochosos afetam a riqueza de espécies de maneira positiva, devido à heterogeneidade ambiental que elas promovem no ambiente, permitindo as espécies refúgios, abrigos e locais para termorregulação. Além disso, áreas mais complexas topograficamente são menos suscetíveis às alterações e mais preservadas, apresentando maior diversidade. A composição de espécies, como registrado em outros ambientes, teve a estrutura do habitat como principal fator em agrupar as áreas amostradas. Isso corrobora nossa hipótese de que ela, através da heterogeneidade ambiental afeta os parâmetros de riqueza e abundância das espécies. Portanto, preservar esses ambientes através de unidades de conservação e de um zoneamento do uso da terra é de extrema importância para a manutenção da diversidade dos lagartos na Caatinga.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Abundância e riqueza de espécies são parâmetros centrais para ecologia e cruciais para medidas de diversidade e composição de espécies em um ambiente. Podem ser afetados pelas alterações, pela estrutura da paisagem e do habitat, que repercutem de maneira distinta entre os grupos taxonômicos promovendo perda de diversidade. Portanto, entender como esses padrões ocorrem é imprescindível para possíveis decisões sobre a conservação dessas espécies e seus ambientes. Diante disso, este trabalho objetivou avaliar a influência da alteração e estrutura da paisagem e do habitat sobre os lagartos com ênfase na Caatinga. Para isso, foram amostradas durante três meses sete áreas de Caatinga através do método de encontro visual por transectos. Ainda, variáveis da paisagem e do habitat foram registradas para avaliar como elas influenciam esse grupo neste ambiente, através da seleção de modelos. Nossos resultados demonstraram que a riqueza de espécies foi afetada pela complexidade topográfica de maneira positiva, assim como pela quantidade de afloramento rochoso. Este último também foi responsável por agrupar as áreas amostrais em três grupos dissimilares em relação à composição de espécies. A complexidade topográfica e o número de afloramentos rochosos afetam a riqueza de espécies de maneira positiva, devido à heterogeneidade ambiental que elas promovem no ambiente, permitindo as espécies refúgios, abrigos e locais para termorregulação. Além disso, áreas mais complexas topograficamente são menos suscetíveis às alterações e mais preservadas, apresentando maior diversidade. A composição de espécies, como registrado em outros ambientes, teve a estrutura do habitat como principal fator em agrupar as áreas amostradas. Isso corrobora nossa hipótese de que ela, através da heterogeneidade ambiental afeta os parâmetros de riqueza e abundância das espécies. Portanto, preservar esses ambientes através de unidades de conservação e de um zoneamento do uso da terra é de extrema importância para a manutenção da diversidade dos lagartos na Caatinga

Figure 7 in Amphibians and reptiles from a protected area in western Brazilian Amazonia (Reserva Extrativista do Baixo Juruá)

Figure 7. Amphibians recorded at the Reserva Extrativista do Baixo Juruá. (A) Osteocephalus aff. leprieurii; (B) Osteocephalus taurinus; (C) Scarthyla goinorum; (D) Scinax ruber; (E) Trachycephalus typhonius; (F) Adenomera andreae; (G) Adenomera simonstuarti; (H) Edalorhina perezi. Photographs by LJCLM (A, B, G) andVTC (C-F, H).Published as part of Moraes, Leandro João Carneiro de Lima, Rainha, Raíssa do Nascimento, Werneck, Fernanda de Pinho, Oliveira, Alan Filipe de Souza, Gascon, Claude & Carvalho, Vinícius Tadeu de, 2022, Amphibians and reptiles from a protected area in western Brazilian Amazonia (Reserva Extrativista do Baixo Juruá), pp. 1-34 in Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 62 on page 15, DOI: 10.11606/1807-0205/2022.62.054, http://zenodo.org/record/761777

Prevention of a dengue outbreak via the large-scale deployment of Sterile Insect Technology in a Brazilian city: a prospective studyResearch in context

Summary: Background: Dengue is a global problem that seems to be worsening, as hyper-urbanization associated with climate change has led to a significant increase in the abundance and geographical spread of its principal vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Currently available solutions have not been able to stop the spread of dengue which shows the urgent need to implement alternative technologies as practical solutions. In a previous pilot trial, we demonstrated the efficacy and safety of the method ‘Natural Vector Control’ (NVC) in suppressing the Ae. aegypti vector population and in blocking the occurrence of an outbreak of dengue in the treated areas. Here, we expand the use of the NVC program in a large-scale 20 months intervention period in an entire city in southern Brazil. Methods: Sterile male mosquitoes were produced from locally sourced Ae. aegypti mosquitoes by using a treatment that includes double-stranded RNA and thiotepa. Weekly massive releases of sterile male mosquitoes were performed in predefined areas of Ortigueira city from November 2020 to July 2022. Mosquito monitoring was performed by using ovitraps during the entire intervention period. Dengue incidence data was obtained from the Brazilian National Disease Surveillance System. Findings: During the two epidemiological seasons, the intervention in Ortigueira resulted in up to 98.7% suppression of live progeny of field Ae. aegypti mosquitoes recorded over time. More importantly, when comparing the 2020 and 2022 dengue outbreaks that occurred in the region, the post-intervention dengue incidence in Ortigueira was 97% lower compared to the control cities. Interpretation: The NVC method was confirmed to be a safe and efficient way to suppress Ae. aegypti field populations and prevent the occurrence of a dengue outbreak. Importantly, it has been shown to be applicable in large-scale, real-world conditions. Funding: This study was funded by Klabin S/A and Forrest Innovations Ltd

Chloride Applied via Fertilizer Affects Plant Nutrition and Coffee Quality

The present study had the objective to evaluate the effect of blends of KCl and K2SO4 fertilizers and their influence on the yield and the nutritional state of coffee plants, as well as on the chemical composition and quality of the coffee beverage. The experimental design was in randomized blocks with four repetitions and six treatments (T1: 100% KCl; T2: 75% KCl + 25% K2SO4; T3: 50% KCl + 50% K2SO4; T4: 25% KCl + 75% K2SO4; T5: 100% K2SO4; and a control, without application of K). The following analyses were performed: K and Cl content in the leaves and the soil, stocks of Cl in soil, yield, removal of K and Cl with the beans, cup quality of the beverage, polyphenol oxidase activity (PPO), electric conductivity (EC), potassium leaching (KL), the content of phenolic compounds, the content of total sugars (TS), and total titratable acidity (TTA). The stocks of Cl in the soil decreased as the proportion of KCl in the fertilizer was reduced. The fertilization with KCl reduces the cup quality and the activity of the polyphenol oxidase, probably due to the ion Cl. The increase in the application of Cl directly relates to the increase in potassium leaching, electric conductivity, and titratable acidity. Indirectly, these variables indicate damages to the cells by the use of Cl in the fertilizer. The activity of the polyphenol oxidase enzyme and the cup quality indicate that the ion Cl- reduces the quality of the coffee beverage. K content in the leaves was not influenced by the application of blends of K fertilizer while Cl content increased linearly with KCl applied. The application of KCl and K2SO4 blends influenced coffee yield and the optimum proportion was 25% of KCl and 75% of K2SO4. The highest score in the cup quality test was observed with 100% K2SO4