RESUMO
Forest dynamics and tree species composition vary substantially between Paleotropical and Neotropical forests, but these broad biogeographic regions are treated uniformly in many land models. To assess whether these regional differences translate into variation in productivity and carbon (C) storage, we compiled a database of climate, tree stem growth, litterfall, aboveground net primary production (ANPP), and aboveground biomass across tropical rainforest sites spanning 33 countries throughout Central and South America, Asia, and Australasia, but excluding Africa due to a paucity of available data. Though the sum of litterfall and stem growth (ANPP) did not differ between regions, both stem growth and the ratio of stem growth to litterfall were higher in Paleotropical forests compared to Neotropical forests across the full observed range of ANPP. Greater C allocation to woody growth likely explains the much larger aboveground biomass estimates in Paleotropical forests (~29%, or ~80 Mg DW/ha, greater than in the Neotropics). Climate was similar in Paleo- and Neotropical forests, thus the observed differences in C likely reflect differences in the evolutionary history of species and forest structure and function between regions. Our analysis suggests that Paleotropical forests, which can be dominated by tall-statured Dipterocarpaceae species, may be disproportionate hotspots for aboveground C storage. Land models typically treat these distinct tropical forests with differential structures as a single functional unit, but our findings suggest that this may overlook critical biogeographic variation in C storage potential among regions.
Assuntos
Florestas , Clima Tropical , África , Ásia , Biomassa , Carbono/análise , América do Sul , ÁrvoresRESUMO
Understanding the impact on human health during peak episodes in air pollution is invaluable for policymakers. Particles less than PM2.5 can penetrate the respiratory system, causing cardiopulmonary and other systemic diseases. Statistical regression models are usually used to assess air pollution impacts on human health. However, when there are databases missing, linear statistical regression may not process well and alternative data processing should be considered. Nonlinear Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are not employed to research environmental health pollution even though another advantage in using ANN is that the output data can be expressed as the number of hospital admissions. This research applied ANN to assess the impact of air pollution on human health. Three well-known ANN were tested: Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Extreme Learning Machines (ELM) and Echo State Networks (ESN), to assess the influence of PM2.5, temperature, and relative humidity on hospital admissions due to respiratory diseases. Daily PM2.5 levels were monitored, and hospital admissions for respiratory illness were obtained, from the Brazilian hospital information system for all ages during two sampling campaigns (2008-2011 and 2014-2015) in Curitiba, Brazil. During these periods, the daily number of hospital admissions ranged from 2 to 55, PM2.5 concentrations varied from 0.98 to 54.2⯵gâ¯m-3, temperature ranged from 8 to 26⯰C, and relative humidity ranged from 45 to 100%. Of the ANN used in this study, MLP gave the best results showing a significant influence of PM2.5, temperature and humidity on hospital attendance after one day of exposure. The Anova Friedman's test showed statistical difference between the appliance of each ANN model (pâ¯<â¯.001) for 1 lag day between PM2.5 exposure and hospital admission. ANN could be a more sensitive method than statistical regression models for assessing the effects of air pollution on respiratory health, and especially useful when there is limited data available.
Assuntos
Poluentes Atmosféricos/análise , Poluição do Ar/estatística & dados numéricos , Exposição Ambiental/estatística & dados numéricos , Redes Neurais de Computação , Material Particulado/análise , Doenças Respiratórias/epidemiologia , Poluição do Ar/análise , Brasil/epidemiologia , Hospitalização , Humanos , Umidade , Modelos Lineares , Modelos Estatísticos , Análise de Regressão , Transtornos Respiratórios/epidemiologia , TemperaturaRESUMO
Helicobacter pylori (Hp) is the primary cause of gastric cancer but we know little of its relative abundance and other microbes in the stomach, especially at the time of gastric cancer diagnosis. Here we characterized the taxonomic and derived functional profiles of gastric microbiota in two different sets of gastric cancer patients, and compared them with microbial profiles in other body sites. Paired non-malignant and tumor tissues were sampled from 160 gastric cancer patients with 80 from China and 80 from Mexico. The 16S rRNA gene V3-V4 region was sequenced using MiSeq platform for taxonomic profiles. PICRUSt was used to predict functional profiles. Human Microbiome Project was used for comparison. We showed that Hp is the most abundant member of gastric microbiota in both Chinese and Mexican samples (51 and 24%, respectively), followed by oral-associated bacteria. Taxonomic (phylum-level) profiles of stomach microbiota resembled oral microbiota, especially when the Helicobacter reads were removed. The functional profiles of stomach microbiota, however, were distinct from those found in other body sites and had higher inter-subject dissimilarity. Gastric microbiota composition did not differ by Hp colonization status or stomach anatomic sites, but did differ between paired non-malignant and tumor tissues in either Chinese or Mexican samples. Our study showed that Hp is the dominant member of the non-malignant gastric tissue microbiota in many gastric cancer patients. Our results provide insights on the gastric microbiota composition and function in gastric cancer patients, which may have important clinical implications.
Assuntos
Bactérias/isolamento & purificação , Microbioma Gastrointestinal , Neoplasias Gástricas/microbiologia , Estômago/microbiologia , Adulto , Idoso , Bactérias/classificação , Bactérias/genética , China , Feminino , Helicobacter pylori/classificação , Helicobacter pylori/genética , Helicobacter pylori/isolamento & purificação , Humanos , Masculino , México , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Long-distance migratory organisms are under strong selection to migrate quickly. Stopovers demand more time than flying and are used by individuals to refuel during migration, but the effect of fuel loads (fat) acquired at stopover sites on the subsequent pace of migration has not been quantified. We studied stopover behaviour of Grey-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus) at a site in northern Colombia and then tracked their migration using an intercontinental radio-telemetry array. Tracking confirmed long-distance flights of more than 3000 km, highlighting the key importance of a single stopover site to the migration strategy of this species. Our results suggest that these songbirds behave as time-minimizers as predicted by optimal migration theory, and that fuel loads acquired at this South American stopover site, together with departure date, carry-over to influence the pace of migration, contributing to differences in travel time of up to 30 days in birds subsequently detected in the U. S. and Canada. Such variation in the pace of migration arising from a single stopover site, likely has important fitness consequences and suggests that identifying important fuelling sites will be essential to effectively conserve migratory species.
Assuntos
Migração Animal/fisiologia , Comportamento Animal/fisiologia , Comportamento Alimentar , Aves Canoras/fisiologia , Telemetria/métodos , Animais , Modelos Biológicos , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
We hypothesized that dinitrogen (N2 )- and non-N2 -fixing tropical trees would have distinct phosphorus (P) acquisition strategies allowing them to exploit different P sources, reducing competition. We measured root phosphatase activity and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) colonization among two N2 - and two non-N2 -fixing seedlings, and grew them alone and in competition with different inorganic and organic P forms to assess potential P partitioning. We found an inverse relationship between root phosphatase activity and AM colonization in field-collected seedlings, indicative of a trade-off in P acquisition strategies. This correlated with the predominantly exploited P sources in the seedling experiment: the N2 fixer with high N2 fixation and root phosphatase activity grew best on organic P, whereas the poor N2 fixer and the two non-N2 fixers with high AM colonization grew best on inorganic P. When grown in competition, however, AM colonization, root phosphatase activity and N2 fixation increased in the N2 fixers, allowing them to outcompete the non-N2 fixers regardless of P source. Our results indicate that some tropical trees have the capacity to partition soil P, but this does not eliminate interspecific competition. Rather, enhanced P and N acquisition strategies may increase the competitive ability of N2 fixers relative to non-N2 fixers.
Assuntos
Fósforo/metabolismo , Floresta Úmida , Solo/química , Árvores/fisiologia , Costa Rica , Fabaceae/fisiologia , Moraceae/fisiologia , Micorrizas , Fixação de Nitrogênio , Monoéster Fosfórico Hidrolases/metabolismo , Raízes de Plantas/metabolismo , Raízes de Plantas/microbiologia , Plântula/fisiologia , Especificidade da Espécie , Clima TropicalRESUMO
Distributions of foliar nutrients across forest canopies can give insight into their plant functional diversity and improve our understanding of biogeochemical cycling. We used airborne remote sensing and partial least squares regression to quantify canopy foliar nitrogen (foliar N) across ~164 km2 of wet lowland tropical forest in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. We determined the relative influence of climate and topography on the observed patterns of foliar N using a gradient boosting model technique. At a local scale, where climate and substrate were constant, we explored the influence of slope position on foliar N by quantifying foliar N on remnant terraces, their adjacent slopes, and knife-edged ridges. In addition, we climbed and sampled 540 trees and analyzed foliar N in order to quantify the role of species identity (phylogeny) and environmental factors in predicting foliar N. Observed foliar N heterogeneity reflected environmental factors working at multiple spatial scales. Across the larger landscape, elevation and precipitation had the highest relative influence on predicting foliar N (30% and 24%), followed by soils (15%), site exposure (9%), compound topographic index (8%), substrate (6%), and landscape dissection (6%). Phylogeny explained ~75% of the variation in the field collected foliar N data, suggesting that phylogeny largely underpins the response to the environmental factors. Taken together, these data suggest that a large fraction of the variance in foliar N across the landscape is proximately driven by species composition, though ultimately this is likely a response to abiotic factors such as climate and topography. Future work should focus on the mechanisms and feedbacks involved, and how shifts in climate may translate to changes in forest function.
Assuntos
Nitrogênio , Folhas de Planta , Costa Rica , Florestas , Árvores , Clima TropicalRESUMO
Observations of high dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations in stream water have reinforced the notion that primary tropical rain forests cycle nitrogen (N) in relative excess compared to phosphorus. Here we test this notion by evaluating hydrologic N export from a small watershed on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, where prior research has shown multiple indicators of conservative N cycling throughout the ecosystem. We repeatedly measured a host of factors known to influence N export for one year, including stream water chemistry and upslope litterfall, soil N availability and net N processing rates, and soil solution chemistry at the surface, 15- and 50-cm depths. Contrary to prevailing assumptions about the lowland N cycle, we find that dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) averaged 85% of dissolved N export for 48 of 52 consecutive weeks. For most of the year stream water nitrate (NO3-) export was very low, which reflected minimal net N processing and DIN leaching from upslope soils. Yet, for one month in the dry season, NO3- was the major component of N export due to a combination of low flows and upslope nitrification that concentrated NO3- in stream water. Particulate organic N (PON) export was much larger than dissolved forms at 14.6 kg N x ha(-1) x yr(-1), driven by soil erosion during storms. At this rate, PON export was slightly greater than estimated inputs from free-living N fixation and atmospheric N deposition, which suggests that erosion-driven PON export could constrain ecosystem level N stocks over longer timescales. This phenomenon is complimentary to the "DON leak" hypothesis, which postulates that the long-term accumulation of ecosystem N in unpolluted ecosystems is constrained by the export of organic N independently of biological N demand. Using an established global sediment generation model, we illustrate that PON erosion may be an important vector for N loss in tropical landscapes that are geomorphically active. This study supports an emerging view that landscape geomorphology influences nutrient biogeochemistry and limitation, though more research is needed to understand the mechanisms and spatial significance of erosional N loss from terrestrial ecosystems.
Assuntos
Ecossistema , Nitrogênio/química , Clima Tropical , Movimentos da Água , Animais , Costa Rica , Sedimentos Geológicos , Chuva , Estações do Ano , Solo/química , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
Tropical forests store large amounts of carbon in tree biomass, although the environmental controls on forest carbon stocks remain poorly resolved. Emerging airborne remote sensing techniques offer a powerful approach to understand how aboveground carbon density (ACD) varies across tropical landscapes. In this study, we evaluate the accuracy of the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system to detect top-of-canopy tree height (TCH) and ACD across the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. LiDAR and field-estimated TCH and ACD were highly correlated across a wide range of forest ages and types. Top-of-canopy height (TCH) reached 67 m, and ACD surpassed 225 Mg C ha-1, indicating both that airborne CAO LiDAR-based estimates of ACD are accurate in tall, high-biomass forests and that the Osa Peninsula harbors some of the most carbon-rich forests in the Neotropics. We also examined the relative influence of lithologic, topoedaphic and climatic factors on regional patterns in ACD, which are known to influence ACD by regulating forest productivity and turnover. Analyses revealed a spatially nested set of factors controlling ACD patterns, with geologic variation explaining up to 16% of the mapped ACD variation at the regional scale, while local variation in topographic slope explained an additional 18%. Lithologic and topoedaphic factors also explained more ACD variation at 30-m than at 100-m spatial resolution, suggesting that environmental filtering depends on the spatial scale of terrain variation. Our result indicate that patterns in ACD are partially controlled by spatial variation in geologic history and geomorphic processes underpinning topographic diversity across landscapes. ACD also exhibited spatial autocorrelation, which may reflect biological processes that influence ACD, such as the assembly of species or phenotypes across the landscape, but additional research is needed to resolve how abiotic and biotic factors contribute to ACD variation across high biomass, high diversity tropical landscapes.
Assuntos
Carbono/metabolismo , Florestas , Costa Rica , Tecnologia de Sensoriamento RemotoRESUMO
Polymorphisms in genes encoding polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolizing enzymes may alter metabolism of these carcinogens and contribute to inter-individual difference in urine concentrations. We investigated the influence of genetic polymorphism on PAH metabolism in urine from 199 healthy subjects from Southern Brazil. We measured urine 1-hydroxypyrene glucuronide (1-OHPG) concentrations using immunoaffinity chromatography and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy and genotyped subjects using standard methods. Genetic variants in CYP1B1 (rs1056827, rs1800440, rs10012) were strongly associated with urine 1-OHPG with P-values < 0.010. Variants in aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) (rs4986826), CYP1A1 (rs1799814) and CYP1A2 (rs2069514) were also, although less strongly, associated with changes in urine 1-OHPG concentrations. These variants had P-values of 0.074, 0.040 and 0.025, respectively. The median urine 1-OHPG concentrations (pmol/ml) in the homozygous wild-type and homozygous variants for CYP1B1 (rs10012) and the Ahr, CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 variants listed above were 2.16 and 0.10, 2.16 and 0.41, 2.03 and 0.46, 2.19 and 2.79, respectively. We found no effect of deletions in GST M1 or GST T1, or different alleles of UGT1A1*28. Adjusting for age, sex, place of residence, tobacco smoke exposure, maté drinking, cachaça and barbeque preparation had only a minor impact on the associations. A model containing just exposure variables had an r2 of 0.21; a model with single genotypes for Ahr, CYP1A1, CYP1A2 and CYP1B1 had an r2 of 0.10; and a model combining both exposure and genotype information had a total r2 of 0.33. Our results suggest that CYP1B1 genotypes are strongly associated with urine 1-OHPG concentrations in this population.
Assuntos
Hidrocarboneto de Aril Hidroxilases/genética , Citocromo P-450 CYP1A1/genética , Citocromo P-450 CYP1A2/genética , Glucuronatos/urina , Glucuronosiltransferase/genética , Glutationa Transferase/genética , Polimorfismo Genético , Receptores de Hidrocarboneto Arílico/genética , Brasil/epidemiologia , Cromatografia de Afinidade , Citocromo P-450 CYP1B1 , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , PirenosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The highest rates of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Brazil occur in Rio Grande do Sul, the most southern state, which has incidence rates of 20.4/100,000/year for men and 6.5/100,000/year for women. Exposure to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through tobacco smoke and other sources may increase the risk of ESCC. The aims of the current study were to investigate the degree and sources of PAH exposure of the inhabitants of this region of southern Brazil. METHODS: Two hundred healthy adults (half smokers, half non smokers, half male and half female) were recruited, given a standardized questionnaire, and asked to provide a urine sample for measurement of 1-hydroxypyrene glucuronide (1-OHPG), a PAH metabolite). Urine 1-OHPG concentrations were measured using immunoaffinity chromatography and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy and urine cotinine was measured using a dipstick test. We examined factors associated with 1-OHPG concentration using Wilcoxon tests and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Urine 1-hydroxypyrene glucuronide (1-OHPG) was successfully measured on 199 subjects. The median (interquartile range) of urine 1-OHPG in the 199 participants was 2.09 pmol/mL (0.51, 5.84). Tobacco smoke exposure and maté drinking were statistically significantly associated with higher urine 1-OHPG concentrations in the multivariate linear regression model. CONCLUSION: Tobacco smoke and maté both contribute to high levels of benzo[a]pyrene exposure in the people of southern Brazil. This high PAH exposure may contribute to the high rates of ESCC observed in this population. The increased urine 1-OHPG concentrations associated with maté suggest that contaminants, not just thermal injury, may help explain the increased risk of ESCC previously reported for maté consumption.
Assuntos
Benzo(a)pireno/farmacocinética , Bebidas/efeitos adversos , Carcinógenos Ambientais/farmacocinética , Culinária/estatística & dados numéricos , Glucuronatos/urina , Ilex paraguariensis/efeitos adversos , Hidrocarbonetos Policíclicos Aromáticos/farmacocinética , Fumaça/efeitos adversos , Fumar/efeitos adversos , Poluição por Fumaça de Tabaco/efeitos adversos , Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas/epidemiologia , Benzo(a)pireno/efeitos adversos , Biomarcadores , Biotransformação , Brasil/epidemiologia , Carcinógenos Ambientais/efeitos adversos , Cocarcinogênese , Culinária/métodos , Cotinina/urina , Exposição Ambiental , Neoplasias Esofágicas/epidemiologia , Temperatura Alta/efeitos adversos , Incidência , Carne , Hidrocarbonetos Policíclicos Aromáticos/efeitos adversos , Pirenos , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
Prostate cancer continues to be a major health threat, especially among African American men. The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), which opened on July 25, 2001, was planned to study possible agents for the prevention of prostate cancer in a population of 32,400 men in the United States, including Puerto Rico, and Canada. SELECT is a phase III randomized, placebo-controlled trial of selenium (200 microg/day from L-selenomethionine) and/or vitamin E (400 IU/day of all rac alpha-tocopheryl acetate) supplementation for a minimum of 7 years (maximum of 12 years) in non-African American men at least 55 years of age and African American men at least 50 years of age. SELECT is a large, simple trial that conforms as closely as possible with community standards of care. This commentary discusses the design problems the SELECT investigators had to resolve in developing the trial, including the role of prostate cancer screening, the best forms and doses of the study agents, and estimation of the event (prostate cancer) rate of men on the placebo arm.