Scientometric Analysis of Research Output from Brazil in Response to the Zika Crisis Using e-Lattes

Purpose:This paper aims to test the use of e-Lattes to map the Brazilian scientific output in a recent research health subject:Zika Virus.Design/methodology/approach:From a set of Lattes CVs of Zika researchers registered on the Lattes Platform,we used the e-Lattes to map the Brazilian scientific response to the Zika crisis.Findings:Brazilian science articulated quickly during the public health emergency of international concern(PHEIC)due to the creation of mechanisms to streamline funding of scientific research.Research limitations:We did not assess any dimension of research quality,including the scientific impact and societal value.Practical implications:e-Lattes can provide useful guidelines for different stakeholders in research groups from Lattes CVs of members.Originality/value:The information included in Lattes CVs permits us to assess science from a broader perspective taking into account not only scientific research production but also the training of human resources and scientific collaboration.

Environmental siblings of black agents of human chromoblastomycosis

Agents of human chromoblastomycosis,a skin disease almost exclusively caused by members of the order Chaetothyriales,are assumed to be traumatically inoculated into the skin with sharp environmental materials such as plant thorns or wooden splinters carrying the respective opportunist.In the supposition that such fungi should have their main habitat in the environment,we investigated the occurrence of black fungi in living areas of patients with chromoblastomycosis.In South America Fonsecaea agents are prevalent as agents of the disease,while also related Cladophialophora species,known from other types of skin infections,are known from the continent.Ninety environmental isolates were preliminarily selected as possible agents of chromoblastomycosis,based on morphology.Judging from ITS sequence data isolates were attributed to the genera Cladophialophora,Cyphellophora,Exophiala,Fonsecaea,Phialophora,and Veronaea.A total of 45 fungi morphologically identified as Fonsecaea or Cladophialophora isolated from debris and thorns of living prickly plants in Brazil were processed for taxonomic studies.Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates indeed belonged to the Chaetothyriales,but only rarely an agent of chromoblastomycosis was concerned;only two strains of F.pedrosoi and one F.monophora were isolated from debris plants.The remaining isolates belonged to hitherto unknown molecular siblings of Fonsecaea.Two novel taxa are introduced.

The differential genetic signatures related to climatic landscapes for jaguars and pumas on a continental scale

Modern and paleoclimate changes may have altered species dynamics by shifting species’niche suitability over space and time.We analyze whether the current genetic structure and isolation of the two large American felids,jaguar(Panthera onca)and puma(Puma concolor),are mediated by changes in climatic suitability and connection routes over modern and paleoclimatic landscapes.We estimate species distribution under 5 climatic landscapes(modern,Holocene,last maximum glaciations[LMG],average suitability,and climatic instability)and correlate them with individuals’genetic isolation through causal modeling on a resemblance matrix.Both species exhibit genetic isolation patterns correlated with LMG climatic suitability,suggesting that these areas may have worked as“allele refuges.”However,the jaguar showed higher vulnerability to climate changes,responding to modern climatic suitability and connection routes,whereas the puma showed a continuous and gradual transition of genetic variation.Despite differential responsiveness to climate change,both species are subjected to the climatic effects on genetic configuration,which may make them susceptible to future climatic changes,since these are progressing faster and with higher intensity than changes in the paleoclimate.Thus,the effects of climatic changes should be considered in the design of conservation strategies to ensure evolutionary and demographic processes mediated by gene flow for both species.