Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro

Nature is perceived and valued in starkly different and oftenconflicting ways. This paper presents the rationale for theinclusive valuation of nature's contributions to people (NCP) indecision making, as well as broad methodological steps fordoing so. While developed within the context of theIntergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), this approach is more widely applicable toinitiatives at the knowledge?policy interface, which require apluralistic approach to recognizing the diversity of values. Weargue that transformative practices aiming at sustainablefutures would benefit from embracing such diversity, which require recognizing and addressing power relationships across stake holder groups that hold different values on human nature relations and NCP

BACKGROUND: Soils are widely recognized as a non-renewable natural resource and as biophysical carbon sinks. As such, there is a growing requirement for global soil information. Although several global soil information systems already exist, these tend to suffer from inconsistencies and limited spatial detail. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We present SoilGrids1km--a global 3D soil information system at 1 km resolution--containing spatial predictions for a selection of soil properties (at six standard depths): soil organic carbon (g kg-1), soil pH, sand, silt and clay fractions (%), bulk density (kg m-3), cation-exchange capacity (cmol+/kg), coarse fragments (%), soil organic carbon stock (t ha-1), depth to bedrock (cm), World Reference Base soil groups, and USDA Soil Taxonomy suborders. Our predictions are based on global spatial prediction models which we fitted, per soil variable, using a compilation of major international soil profile databases (ca. 110,000 soil profiles), and a selection of ca. 75 global environmental covariates representing soil forming factors. Results of regression modeling indicate that the most useful covariates for modeling soils at the global scale are climatic and biomass indices (based on MODIS images), lithology, and taxonomic mapping units derived from conventional soil survey (Harmonized World Soil Database). Prediction accuracies assessed using 5-fold cross-validation were between 23-51%. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: SoilGrids1km provide an initial set of examples of soil spatial data for input into global models at a resolution and consistency not previously available. Some of the main limitations of the current version of SoilGrids1km are: (1) weak relationships between soil properties/classes and explanatory variables due to scale mismatches, (2) difficulty to obtain covariates that capture soil forming factors, (3) low sampling density and spatial clustering of soil profile locations. However, as the SoilGrids system is highly automated and flexible, increasingly accurate predictions can be generated as new input data become available. SoilGrids1km are available for download via http://soilgrids.org under a Creative Commons Non Commercial license.

This paper presents a program emphasizing ethnopharmacological approaches that could allow great success in the study of medicinal plants. The minimum ethnopharmacological research team should consist of a botanist, a chemist and a pharmacologist with each carrying the responsibility for answering in sequential fashion critical questions. The chemical composition and pharmacological properties of the very efficient medicinal plant Croton cajucara were investigated according to ethnopharmacological approaches. The study with this Croton proved to be both efficient and successful. This happy situation was only possible because a multidisciplinary team was involved getting the research done correctly. The ethnopharmacological study involving one other especies Copaifera will be cited.

The profitability of livestock activities can be diminished significantly by the effects of parasites. Economic losses caused by cattle parasites in Brazil were estimated on an annual basis, considering the total number of animals at risk and the potential detrimental effects of parasitism on cattle productivity. Estimates in U.S. dollars (USD) were based on reported yield losses among untreated animals and reflected some of the effects of parasitic diseases. Relevant parasites that affect cattle productivity in Brazil, and their economic impact in USD billions include: gastrointestinal nematodes - $7.11; cattle tick (Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus) - $3.24; horn fly (Haematobia irritans) - $2.56; cattle grub (Dermatobia hominis) - $0.38; New World screwworm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax) - $0.34; and stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) - $0.34. The combined annual economic loss due to internal and external parasites of cattle in Brazil considered here was estimated to be at least USD 13.96 billion. These findings are discussed in the context of methodologies and research that are required in order to improve the accuracy of these economic impact assessments. This information needs to be taken into consideration when developing sustainable policies for mitigating the impact of parasitism on the profitability of Brazilian cattle producers.

Local extinctions have cascading effects on ecosystem functions, yet little is known about the potential for the rapid evolutionary change of species in human-modified scenarios. We show that the functional extinction of large-gape seed dispersers in the Brazilian Atlantic forest is associated with the consistent reduction of the seed size of a keystone palm species. Among 22 palm populations, areas deprived of large avian frugivores for several decades present smaller seeds than nondefaunated forests, with negative consequences for palm regeneration. Coalescence and phenotypic selection models indicate that seed size reduction most likely occurred within the past 100 years, associated with human-driven fragmentation. The fast-paced defaunation of large vertebrates is most likely causing unprecedented changes in the evolutionary trajectories and community composition of tropical forests.

The scale development process is critical to building knowledge in human and social sciences. The present paper aimed (a) to provide a systematic review of the published literature regarding current practices of the scale development process, (b) to assess the main limitations reported by the authors in these processes, and (c) to provide a set of recommendations for best practices in future scale development research. Papers were selected in September 2015, with the search terms "scale development" and "limitations" from three databases: Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science, with no time restriction. We evaluated 105 studies published between 1976 and 2015. The analysis considered the three basic steps in scale development: item generation, theoretical analysis, and psychometric analysis. The study identified ten main types of limitation in these practices reported in the literature: sample characteristic limitations, methodological limitations, psychometric limitations, qualitative research limitations, missing data, social desirability bias, item limitations, brevity of the scale, difficulty controlling all variables, and lack of manual instructions. Considering these results, various studies analyzed in this review clearly identified methodological weaknesses in the scale development process (e.g., smaller sample sizes in psychometric analysis), but only a few researchers recognized and recorded these limitations. We hope that a systematic knowledge of the difficulties usually reported in scale development will help future researchers to recognize their own limitations and especially to make the most appropriate choices among different conceptions and methodological strategies.

The use of peanut as a trap-plant for obtaining rhizobia may result in a high diversity of efficient isolates. This study aimed to evaluate the diversity and symbiotic efficiency of peanut rhizobia from the Southeastern region of Brazil. The bacteria were isolated from nodules of two genotypes in soils from the States of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The bacteria were authenticated and evaluated regarding to their symbiotic capacity. The rhizobial diversity was evaluated through their culture characteristics on yeast mannitol agar (YMA) culture media and by polymerase chain reaction Box- (PCR). Two selected isolates were characterized phenotypically regarding their capacity to solubilize phosphate, to grow on media with different concentrations of NaCI, pH's and incubation temperatures. For these the 16S rRNA gene sequencing and symbiotic efficiency using non-autoclaved soils were conducted. The majority of the obtained isolates showed rapid growth and acidified the culture medium. Analysis of the isolates through the Box-PCR revealed low similarity to the reference strain indicated for the culture and a large genetic variability of the obtained isolates. The isolates AM 01 and AM 07, which clustered with Bradyrhizobium and Rhizobium genus, respectively, showed a potential for evaluations and a means to recommend new rhizobia strains for peanut.

Is active restoration the best approach to achieve ecological restoration success (the return to a reference condition, that is, old-growth forest) when compared to natural regeneration in tropical forests? Our meta-analysis of 133 studies demonstrated that natural regeneration surpasses active restoration in achieving tropical forest restoration success for all three biodiversity groups (plants, birds, and invertebrates) and five measures of vegetation structure (cover, density, litter, biomass, and height) tested. Restoration success for biodiversity and vegetation structure was 34 to 56% and 19 to 56% higher in natural regeneration than in active restoration systems, respectively, after controlling for key biotic and abiotic factors (forest cover, precipitation, time elapsed since restoration started, and past disturbance). Biodiversity responses were based primarily on ecological metrics of abundance and species richness (74%), both of which take far less time to achieve restoration success than similarity and composition. This finding challenges the widely held notion that natural forest regeneration has limited conservation value and that active restoration should be the default ecological restoration strategy. The proposition that active restoration achieves greater restoration success than natural regeneration may have arisen because previous comparisons lacked controls for biotic and abiotic factors; we also did not find any difference between active restoration and natural regeneration outcomes for vegetation structure when we did not control for these factors. Future policy priorities should align the identified patterns of biophysical and ecological conditions where each or both restoration approaches are more successful, cost-effective, and compatible with socioeconomic incentives for tropical forest restoration.

Abstract In this commentary we critically discuss the suitability of payments for ecosystem services and the most important challenges they face. While such instruments can play a role in improving environmental governance, we argue that over‐reliance on payments as win‐win solutions might lead to ineffective outcomes, similar to earlier experience with integrated conservation and development projects. Our objective is to raise awareness, particularly among policy makers and practitioners, about the limitations of such instruments and to encourage a dialogue about the policy contexts in which they might be appropriate.

The evaluation of the minimal evolution time between two distinguishable states of a system is important for assessing the maximal speed of quantum computers and communication channels. Lower bounds for this minimal time have been proposed for unitary dynamics. Here we show that it is possible to extend this concept to nonunitary processes, using an attainable lower bound that is connected to the quantum Fisher information for time estimation. This result is used to delimit the minimal evolution time for typical noisy channels.

ABSTRACT Natural products are used in wound healing in order to prevent infection. Propolis is a well known antimicrobial with phenolic compounds and flavonoid content which vary according to the propolis origin. Besides propolis (from both Brazilian and UK sources), pomegranate, dragon's blood and sage are possible antimicrobials to be used in biomaterials. The goal of this work was to analyze the amount of phenols and flavonoid compounds in these natural products, their antioxidant activities and the bonds present by FTIR. The FTIR analysis revealed the presence of active compounds in all drug samples. The phenols quantification showed that Brazilian propolis was rich in phenols compared to the other drugs, followed by pomegranate and UK propolis. UK propolis was the most rich in flavonoids, which is expected on account of its origin. Pomegranate, UK propolis and Dragon's blood presented the highest antioxidant activity. All samples presented antioxidant activity > 82%.

ABSTRACT The leaf model of C 3 photosynthesis of Farquhar, von Caemmerer & Berry ( Planta 149, 78–90, 1980) provides the basis for scaling carbon exchange from leaf to canopy and Earth‐System models, and is widely used to project biosphere responses to global change. This scaling requires using the leaf model over a wider temperature range than that for which the model was originally parameterized. The leaf model assumes that photosynthetic CO 2 uptake within a leaf is either limited by the rate of ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate (RuBP) regeneration or the activity of RuBP carboxylase‐oxygenase (Rubisco). Previously we reported a re‐parameterization of the temperature responses of Rubisco activity that proved robust when applied to a range of species. Herein this is extended to re‐parameterizing the response of RuBP‐limited photosynthesis to temperature. RuBP‐limited photosynthesis is assumed to depend on the whole chain electron transport rate, which is described as a three‐parameter non‐rectangular hyperbolic function of photon flux. Herein these three parameters are determined from simultaneous measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence and CO 2 exchange of tobacco leaves, at temperatures from 10 to 40 °C. All varied significantly with temperature and were modified further with variation in growth temperature from 15 to 35 °C. These parameters closely predicted the response of RuBP‐limited photosynthesis to temperature measured in both lemon and poplar and showed a significant improvement over predictions based on earlier parameterizations. We provide the necessary equations for use of the model of Farquhar et al . (1980) with our newly derived temperature functions for predicting both Rubisco‐ and RuBP‐limited photosynthesis.

BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis has become an urban health problem as slum settlements have expanded worldwide. Efforts to identify interventions for urban leptospirosis have been hampered by the lack of population-based information on Leptospira transmission determinants. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of Leptospira infection and identify risk factors for infection in the urban slum setting. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed a community-based survey of 3,171 slum residents from Salvador, Brazil. Leptospira agglutinating antibodies were measured as a marker for prior infection. Poisson regression models evaluated the association between the presence of Leptospira antibodies and environmental attributes obtained from Geographical Information System surveys and indicators of socioeconomic status and exposures for individuals. Overall prevalence of Leptospira antibodies was 15.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.0-16.8). Households of subjects with Leptospira antibodies clustered in squatter areas at the bottom of valleys. The risk of acquiring Leptospira antibodies was associated with household environmental factors such as residence in flood-risk regions with open sewers (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.42, 95% CI 1.14-1.75) and proximity to accumulated refuse (1.43, 1.04-1.88), sighting rats (1.32, 1.10-1.58), and the presence of chickens (1.26, 1.05-1.51). Furthermore, low income and black race (1.25, 1.03-1.50) were independent risk factors. An increase of US$1 per day in per capita household income was associated with an 11% (95% CI 5%-18%) decrease in infection risk. CONCLUSIONS: Deficiencies in the sanitation infrastructure where slum inhabitants reside were found to be environmental sources of Leptospira transmission. Even after controlling for environmental factors, differences in socioeconomic status contributed to the risk of Leptospira infection, indicating that effective prevention of leptospirosis may need to address the social factors that produce unequal health outcomes among slum residents, in addition to improving sanitation.

Este artigo é resultado de uma Tese de doutorado em Educação intitulada Exu e a Pedagogia das Encruzilhadas. O mesmo tem como proposta desenvolver a crítica e propor outros caminhos no que tange as problemáticas do racismo, colonialismo e da educação. A ação aqui é invocar e encarnar as potências de Exu, divindade iorubana transladada na diáspora, para propor uma Pedagogia das Encruzilhadas. Parto da defesa da não redenção do colonialismo, problematizando a continuidade de seus efeitos na formação de um mundo múltiplo e inacabado, lido, aqui, a partir da disponibilidade conceitual assente na encruzilhada de Exu ‒ que emerge, assim, como símbolo de um projeto político/poético/educativo outro. A pedagogia encarnada pelas potências do orixá tece um balaio de múltiplos conceitos que confrontam a arrogância e a primazia dos modos edificados pela lógica colonial. Dessa forma, mais que confrontar os limites da razão dominante, a proposta que por ora se lança aponta outros caminhos: a partir de invenções paridas nas fronteiras e nos vazios deixados, são sabedorias reconstrutoras dos seres que, na invenção do Novo Mundo, foram submetidos à política de subordinação, encarceramento e morte da raça/racismo. A educação, nesse sentido, é apresentada como caminhos enquanto possibilidades de reinvenção de seres, uma resposta responsável e comprometida com a justiça cognitiva/social e com a vida em sua diversidade e imanência.

Similarity of genetic and phenotypic variation patterns among populations is important for making quantitative inferences about past evolutionary forces acting to differentiate populations and for evaluating the evolution of relationships among traits in response to new functional and developmental relationships. Here, phenotypic co variance and correlation structure is compared among Platyrrhine Neotropical primates. Comparisons range from among species within a genus to the superfamily level. Matrix correlation followed by Mantel's test and vector correlation among responses to random natural selection vectors (random skewers) were used to compare correlation and variance/covariance matrices of 39 skull traits. Sampling errors involved in matrix estimates were taken into account in comparisons using matrix repeatability to set upper limits for each pairwise comparison. Results indicate that covariance structure is not strictly constant but that the amount of variance pattern divergence observed among taxa is generally low and not associated with taxonomic distance. Specific instances of divergence are identified. There is no correlation between the amount of divergence in covariance patterns among the 16 genera and their phylogenetic distance derived from a conjoint analysis of four already published nuclear gene datasets. In contrast, there is a significant correlation between phylogenetic distance and morphological distance (Mahalanobis distance among genus centroids). This result indicates that while the phenotypic means were evolving during the last 30 millions years of New World monkey evolution, phenotypic covariance structures of Neotropical primate skulls have remained relatively consistent. Neotropical primates can be divided into four major groups based on their feeding habits (fruit-leaves, seed-fruits, insect-fruits, and gum-insect-fruits). Differences in phenotypic covariance structure are correlated with differences in feeding habits, indicating that to some extent changes in interrelationships among skull traits are associated with changes in feeding habits. Finally, common patterns and levels of morphological integration are found among Platyrrhine primates, suggesting that functional/developmental integration could be one major factor keeping covariance structure relatively stable during evolutionary diversification of South American monkeys.

Sheep milk has a high nutritional value and high concentrations of proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins, as compared to the milks of other domestic species. The physicochemical and nutritional characteristics of sheep milk can be advantageous for the manufacture of products containing prebiotic ingredients and/or probiotic bacteria, which are major categories in the functional food market. Following this technological trend, this review will address the characteristics and advantages of sheep milk as a potentially functional food, as well as the development of sheep milk dairy products containing prebiotics and/or probiotics.

We introduce this special issue by explaining seven characteristics of land grabbing in Latin America. These features are not unique to the region. By highlighting them – arguing, for instance, that a key aspect in Latin America is intra-regional land grabbing driven by (trans)Latina companies – we hope to inspire new cross-regional comparisons to understand the dynamics of “global” land grabbing. Our focus on Latin America challenges some problematic generalisations in the literature, for instance, that land grabs occur mainly in fragile states. We interrogate the relationship between land grabbing and the “foreignisation” narrative, and the need to revisit the broader question of land concentration. Thus we build upon the literature locating land grabs and the land question within the political economy of global capitalism. Cette introduction au numéro spécial présente sept caractéristiques de l'accaparement des terres en Amérique latine, caractéristiques qui ne sont pas propres à la région. En les mettant en lumière, notamment en soutenant qu'en Amérique latine le phénomène, impulsé par des compagnies latino-américaine, est avant tout intra-régional, nous espérons susciter de nouvelles comparaisons inter-régionales afin de mieux comprendre les dynamiques mondiales de l'accaparement de terres. L'accent mis sur Amérique latine permet de remettre en question des généralisations auxquelles s'adonnent de nombreux écrits, comme par exemple que l'accaparement se produit principalement dans les états fragiles. Nous examinons les liens établis entre l'accaparement de terres et la main mise étrangère pour montrer la nécessité de réévaluer la question élargie de la concentration de terres. Les articles du numéro situent l'accaparement des terres dans le cadre de l’économie politique du capitalisme mondial.

This article proposes an innovative theoretical framework that combines institutional and policy network approaches to study multi-level governance. The framework is used to derive a number of propositions on how cross-level power imbalances shape communication and collaboration across multiple levels of governance. The framework is then applied to examine the nature of cross-level interactions in climate change mitigation and adaptation policy processes in the land use sectors of Brazil and Indonesia. The paper identifies major barriers to cross-level communication and collaboration between national and sub-national levels. These are due to power imbalances across governance levels that reflect broader institutional differences between federal and decentralized systems of government. In addition, powerful communities operating predominantly at the national level hamper cross-level interactions. The analysis also reveals that engagement of national level actors is more extensive in the mitigation and that of local actors in the adaptation policy domain, and specialisation in one of the climate change responses at the national level hampers effective climate policy integration in the land use sector.

As a major contributor to the reduced nitrogen pool in the biosphere, symbiotic nitrogen fixation by legumes plays a critical role in a sustainable production system. However this legume contribution varies with the physico-chemical and biological conditions of the nodulated-root rhizosphere. In order to assess the abiotic and biotic constrains that might limit this symbiosis at the agroecosystem level, a nodular diagnosis is proposed with common bean as a model grain-legume, and a major source of plant proteins for world human nutrition. The engineering of the legume symbiosis is addressed by participatory assessment of bean recombinant inbred lines contrasting for their efficiency in use of phosphorous for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. With this methodology, in field-sites chosen with farmers of an area of cereal-cropping in the Mediterranean basin, a large spatial and temporal variation in the legume nodulation was found. Soil P availability was a major limiting factor of the rhizobial symbiosis. In order to relate the field measurements with progress in functional genomics of the symbiosis, in situ RT-PCR on nodule sections has been implemented showing that the phytase gene is expressed in the cortex with significantly higher number of transcripts in P-efficient RILs. It is concluded that various tools and indicators are available for developing the ecological engineering of the rhizobial symbiosis, in particular for its beneficial contribution to the bio-geochemical cycle of N, and also P and C.

Rhodnius prolixus not only has served as a model organism for the study of insect physiology, but also is a major vector of Chagas disease, an illness that affects approximately seven million people worldwide. We sequenced the genome of R. prolixus, generated assembled sequences covering 95% of the genome (∼ 702 Mb), including 15,456 putative protein-coding genes, and completed comprehensive genomic analyses of this obligate blood-feeding insect. Although immune-deficiency (IMD)-mediated immune responses were observed, R. prolixus putatively lacks key components of the IMD pathway, suggesting a reorganization of the canonical immune signaling network. Although both Toll and IMD effectors controlled intestinal microbiota, neither affected Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease, implying the existence of evasion or tolerance mechanisms. R. prolixus has experienced an extensive loss of selenoprotein genes, with its repertoire reduced to only two proteins, one of which is a selenocysteine-based glutathione peroxidase, the first found in insects. The genome contained actively transcribed, horizontally transferred genes from Wolbachia sp., which showed evidence of codon use evolution toward the insect use pattern. Comparative protein analyses revealed many lineage-specific expansions and putative gene absences in R. prolixus, including tandem expansions of genes related to chemoreception, feeding, and digestion that possibly contributed to the evolution of a blood-feeding lifestyle. The genome assembly and these associated analyses provide critical information on the physiology and evolution of this important vector species and should be instrumental for the development of innovative disease control methods.