Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias最新文献

Pterosaurs, remarkable for their extensive evolutionary history and role as the first vertebrates to achieve active flight, have long intrigued paleontologists and the public alike. Spanning over 150 million years and vanishing at the end of the Mesozoic Era, pterosaurs represent a major evolutionary radiation within terrestrial ecosystems. Despite their prominence, the origins of pterosaurs have remained a complex puzzle in paleontology for over 200 years. We present a comprehensive catalog of pterosaur precursors specimens from the Upper Triassic of the Candelária Sequence within the Santa Maria Supersequence in southern Brazil and discuss their significance for understanding pterosauromorph radiation and the origins of Pterosauria. Additionally, we carried out a phylogenetic analysis to investigate the hypothesis that lagerpetids are closely related to pterosaurs, incorporating new data into the most comprehensive dataset of Triassic dinosauromorphs. Our results support the hypothesis that lagerpetids are pterosauromorphs, offering new insights into the evolutionary relationships between non-pterosaur pterosauromorphs and their better known volant relatives. This study highlights the importance of detailed anatomical and phylogenetic analyses in resolving the complex origins of pterosaurs and underscores the value of the Triassic fossil record in understanding the early evolution of pterosauromorphs.

The initial step in many biogeography approaches involves identifying biogeographical units, which serve as fundamental building blocks for understanding biodiversity patterns and guiding conservation efforts. We aimed to analyse the conservation of biogeographical units of an endangered biodiversity hotspot by: (i) detecting clusters of endemic frog species; (ii) testing predictions of vicariance model; (iii) evaluating the conservation of the patterns based on protected areas and habitat loss; and (iv) highlighting priority biogeographical units for conservation. Biogeographical units were identified via Biotic Elements analysis, using range polygons for 381 endemic frogs. We tested two predictions of vicariance model: (i) the occurrence of non-random patterns, forming clusters of co-occurring species (Biotic Elements, BEs); and (ii) the occurrence of closely related species in distinct BEs. We calculated the percentage of forest remnants in each BE and their overlap with protected areas. We highlighted those with high degrees of irreplaceability and/or vulnerability as priority BEs for conservation. We recovered 21 Biotic Elements. Both predictions of the vicariance model were validated. On average, BEs presented 28% of forest remnants, but only 12% of their total areas were protected. Mountain ranges of central Atlantic Forest harbour most of BEs, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding these regions.

Herbstosaurus pigmaeus Casamiquela, 1975 is a Late Jurassic pterosaur from northwestern Patagonia. It is based on the natural moulds and a few bony patches of the sacrum, prepubis, ilium, and both femora of a small-sized specimen. The phylogenetic relationships of this species have been a matter of debate, having been originally interpreted as a theropod dinosaur and subsequently as a pterosaur, either as an indeterminate pterodactyloid or a probable dsungaripteroid. However, a detailed and updated reassessment of its anatomy was still lacking. Here, we redescribe and compare the holotype and only known specimen of Herbstosaurus pigmaeus. We agree with previous authors in that the specimen is diagnostic to the species level and provide an emended diagnosis, including two autapomorphies. Quantitative phylogenetic analyses consistently find Herbstosaurus pigmaeus as deeply nested within the Pterodactyloidea and as a member of the Dsungaripteroidea. The dsungaripteroid affinities of Herbstosaurus pigmaeus are weak, based solely on femoral character-states, but is the most parsimonious hypothesis with the evidence at hand. The recognition of Herbstosaurus pigmaeus as a deeply nested pterodactyloid expands the taxonomic diversity of the pterosaur record of southwestern Gondwana during the Late Jurassic.

The lucuma tree (Pouteria lucuma), native to South America, is gaining attention for its unique nutritional profile and potential health benefits. This study aimed to analyze the nutritional composition, antioxidant capacity, and fatty acid profile of lucuma fruit from a high-altitude valley in Bolivia. The proximate analysis revealed high levels of carbohydrates (41.7%), dietary fibre (2.4%), and protein (6.9%). Antioxidant assays identified significant amounts of polyphenols, flavonoids, and carotenoids, known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The fruit's fatty acid profile showed a healthy omega-6:omega-3 ratio of 0.21. These results highlight lucuma's potential as a functional food and support further research into its health benefits.

This study describes the embryonic and larval development of the ornamental fish Heros severus, and the effects of delaying its initial feeding, providing insights for its captive breeding. Experiment 1 describes the embryonic and larval until hatching. The Experiment 2 determined the point-of-no-return (PNR) and evaluated the effect of delaying the first feeding on the development and survival of H. severus larvae. This experiment consisted of 10 treatments represented by the day of first feeding (delays of 1 to 10 days to first feeding), and two controls (positive: larvae continuously fed; negative: not-fed larvae. The cleavage occurred at 55 minutes post- fertilization and hatching at 53 hours post-fertilization at a water temperature of 28±0.5°C. The newly hatched larvae showed average total length of 4.18±0.18mm and remained attached to the substrate until mouth opening, which was observed at 125 hpf, when they filled the gas bladder and initiated swimming movements. The longer was the time for first feeding, the lower was larval weight and length. However, one day of feed deprivation did not affect larval development. The estimated point-of-no-return for H. severus larvae were 6 and 8 days for PNR50 and PNR100, respectively.

The emerging global events of Marine Heatwaves (MHW), including those in Antarctica, are generally caused by large-scale meteorological and oceanographic changes responsible for rapid warming, but with lasting consequences in marine communities worldwide. Several abiotic features, such as surface seawater temperature (SST), salinity, pH, nutrients, and ice dynamic limit the reproduction, growth and distribution of macroalgae, which are sensitive to abrupt oscillations in these features resulting in changes in polar assemblages. This review compiled and related MHWs spatial data from South Shetland Islands (SSI), Eastern and Western Antarctic Peninsula (EAP/WAP), discussing seaweed assemblages possible responses on composition, distribution and richness, as well species expansion and retreat. Additionally, we present an updated and compiled checklist of macroalgal taxa from the WAP. The present data showed a clear enhance in MHWs events in SSI, when compared to EAP and WAP. Also, this coincides with the increase in richness and distributional changes of seaweed assemblages along the SSI, in the last decade. Changes in these marine sentinel assemblages constitute a warning to the Antarctic biota. Besides, the present review expands current polar knowledge and detects gaps in Antarctic phycological conservation studies and their connections facing climate change.

Cervical cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in 36 countries, and high-risk human papillomavirus types are responsible for most cases. Identifying strategies to make treatment more targeted and effective has become a priority. This study aims to validate a set of differentially expressed genes previously identified in cervical cancer stem cells as predictive biomarkers for response to chemoradiotherapy using minimally invasive samples. Additionally, it aims to elucidate the relationship between high-risk human papillomavirus infection and cervical cancer patients' response to treatment. Gene expression for three differentially expressed genes (COPZ1, ILF2, and SNX2) was evaluated from 20 cervical cancer patients' cervical cytology brushes. Unmapped reads from the same transcriptome were used to evaluate the presence of human papillomavirus in tumor tissue through qualitative screening of 13 high-risk human papillomavirus types. Our study did not clarify the relationship between high-risk human papillomavirus infection and the treatment response. However, we found downregulation of COPZ1 in patients who responded to treatment compared to non-responders, and ILF2 in patients with more advanced tumor stages. This suggests that COPZ1 and ILF2 expressions are potential cervical cancer prognostic biomarkers that can be assessed using samples commonly used in clinical practice.

Breastfeeding experiences differ between primiparous and multiparous women. This study aims to investigate how parity influences breastfeeding duration among Brazilian women and to examine the relationship between the number of siblings and the duration of breastfeeding for each child. Data from the Pró-Saúde Study (1999-2012) were used to analyze breastfeeding duration. Differences between parity groups were tested using the chi-square test, while Kruskal-Wallis test and analysis of variance assessed variations in breastfeeding duration, with comparisons visualized using Kaplan-Meier plots. Characteristics such as maternal age and mode of delivery are relevant, especially among primiparous mothers, while maternal education and household income have a positive impact on breastfeeding duration. The use of the Cox model to analyze breastfeeding duration highlights the need for further investigation into the factors influencing this practice, especially considering the decrease in breastfeeding duration among children born in the 1990s and 2000s. These results point to the complex interaction of social, economic, and behavioral factors that should be considered in public policies aimed at maternal and child health.

The Borrachudos Granitic Suite (BGS) comprises an acid magmatism that occurred in the west edge of Araçuaí orogen (Late Neoproterozoic), southeastern Brazil. Previous papers attributed the magma genesis to crustal thickening related to an older Paleoproterozoic, Transamazonian orogeny. However, geochronological data indicate that BGS is younger, dominated by about 1.7 Ga granitoids hosted in the archean basement. To investigate the nature of this magmatism, mineralogical, geochemical, Nd-Sr isotopic studies in the BGS and genetically related metarhyolites inside the fold belt were carried out. High SiO2, K, Fe, F, Nb, Y, Zr and REE contents characterize granitoids and metarhyolites. The suite has ENd(T) values of -10.10 and -6.17, with TDM of 2.6-3.0 Ga, and initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.7057, indicating features of alkaline and anorogenic (A-type) within plate granitic magmas, derived from a Proterozoic crustal source. Therefore, we argue that an orogenic model for this magmatism is not viable. We propose that BGS is associated to crustal melting induced by mantle diapirism or mantle derived magmas related to the Paleoproterozoic extensional tectonic that produced crustal rifting, westward, precursory to the Espinhaço Supergroup basin. Beryl- and topaz-rich pegmatites of NYF-type intruded the granites as well as nearby host gneisses during BGS evolution.