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Fish show rapid movements in various behavioral activities or associated with the presence of food. However, in periods of rapid movement, the rate at which occlusion occurs among the fish is quite high, causing inconsistency in the detection and tracking of fish, hindering the fish's identity and behavioral trajectory over a long period of time. Although some algorithms have been proposed to solve these problems, most of their applications were made in groups of fish that swim in shallow water and calm behavior, with few sudden movements. To solve these problems, a convolutional network of object recognition, YOLOv2, was used to delimit the region of the fish heads to optimize individual fish detection. In the tracking phase, the Kalman filter was used to estimate the best state of the fish's head position in each frame and, subsequently, the trajectories of each fish were connected among the frames. The results of the algorithm show adequate performances in the trajectories of groups of zebrafish that exhibited rapid movements.

Activity budget analyses are important for understanding how animals spend their time in daily activities like resting, foraging, moving and socializing. These behaviors are closely linked to energy management, so habitat quality and resource availability are known to influence the activity budgets of species. Therefore, many studies have examined the consequences of habitat loss and fragmentation on the energetic demands and activity budgets of species. However, we still have limited knowledge of how animals behave in large, continuous, and protected environments, as such habitats are currently rare. The present study analyzed how temporal variation, age, sex and reproductive status influenced the activity budget of wild red howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba clamitans), in one of the last Atlantic Forest remnants that remains large and protected. Between November 2017 and December 2018, we monitored two groups, G3 and G4, in Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho, São Paulo, Brazil. The groups were composed of one adult male, two adult females and their offspring and one (G3) or two (G4) subadult males, using scan sampling for behavioral for data collection every 20 min. The most common behavior was resting, followed by foraging, moving and social interactions, with inter-group differences. Temporal variation explained most of the fluctuations in the activity budget, so did age and sex, but to a lesser degree. The reproductive status of females did not alter their activity budget. These findings reveal that even neighboring groups display distinct and intricate relationships with their habitat. Future studies should be conducted in continuous forests to determine what is the expected range of variation in activity budget, particularly in those species considered as flexible and inhabiting endangered habitats, such as the Atlantic Forest.

Background With nearly 1,100 species, the fish family Characidae represents more than half of the species of Characiformes, and is a key component of Neotropical freshwater ecosystems. The composition, phylogeny, and classification of Characidae is currently uncertain, despite significant efforts based on analysis of morphological and molecular data. No consensus about the monophyly of this group or its position within the order Characiformes has been reached, challenged by the fact that many key studies to date have non-overlapping taxonomic representation and focus only on subsets of this diversity. Results In the present study we propose a new definition of the family Characidae and a hypothesis of relationships for the Characiformes based on phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences of two mitochondrial and three nuclear genes (4,680 base pairs). The sequences were obtained from 211 samples representing 166 genera distributed among all 18 recognized families in the order Characiformes, all 14 recognized subfamilies in the Characidae, plus 56 of the genera so far considered incertae sedis in the Characidae. The phylogeny obtained is robust, with most lineages significantly supported by posterior probabilities in Bayesian analysis, and high bootstrap values from maximum likelihood and parsimony analyses. Conclusion A monophyletic assemblage strongly supported in all our phylogenetic analysis is herein defined as the Characidae and includes the characiform species lacking a supraorbital bone and with a derived position of the emergence of the hyoid artery from the anterior ceratohyal. To recognize this and several other monophyletic groups within characiforms we propose changes in the limits of several families to facilitate future studies in the Characiformes and particularly the Characidae. This work presents a new phylogenetic framework for a speciose and morphologically diverse group of freshwater fishes of significant ecological and evolutionary importance across the Neotropics and portions of Africa.

Fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) methods and fault-tolerant control (FTC) have been the focus of intensive research across various fields to ensure safe operation, reduce costs, and optimize maintenance tasks. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), particularly quadcopters or quadrotors, are often prone to faults in sensors and actuators due to their complex dynamics and exposure to various external uncertainties. In this context, this work implements different FDD approaches based on the Kalman filter (KF) for fault estimation to achieve FTC of the quadcopter, considering different faults with nonlinear behaviors and the possibility of simultaneous occurrences in actuators and sensors. Three KF approaches are considered in the analysis: linear KF, extended KF (EKF), and unscented KF (UKF), along with three-stage and adaptive variations of the KF. FDD methods, especially the adaptive filter, could enhance fault estimation performance in the scenarios considered. This led to a significant improvement in the safety and reliability of the quadcopter through the FTC architecture, as the system, which previously became unstable in the presence of faults, could maintain stable operation when subjected to uncertainties.

The text analyzes interreligious organizations and movements in Brazil based on the concept of the pluralist principle. It aims to systematize, based on observations of practices and studies of documents from prominent inter-religious experiences in Brazil, the degree of incidence of efforts to deepen democracy; defend human rights and the rights of nature; provide citizenship; appreciate ethnic, sexual, and gender diversity; and other effective decolonial forms of counter-hegemonic social articulation in these groups. Among the results, we present theoretical bases that show that it is necessary, for social analyses, to pay special attention to the articulation of the intersection between religious groups’ capacity for dialogue and the challenges surrounding social agendas that reinforce decolonial socio-religious perspectives. The profile of some inter-religious experiences within the scope of the research is also indicated.

A resorcinarene derivative of vanillin, resvan, was synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic techniques. We measured the cytotoxicity (in vivo and in vitro), antioxidant and anti-Toxoplasma activities of vanillin and the resorcinarene compound. Here we show that vanillin has a dose-dependent behavior with IC50 of 645 µg/mL through an in vitro cytotoxicity assay. However, we could not observe any cytotoxic response at higher concentrations of resvan (IC50 > 2,000 µg/mL). The in vivo acute toxicity assays of vanillin and resvan exhibited a significant safety margin indicated by a lack of systemic and behavioral toxicity up to 300 mg/kg during the first 30 min, 24 h or 14 days after administration. The obtained derivative showed greater antioxidative activity (84.9%) when comparing to vanillin (19.4%) at 1,000 μg/mL. In addition, vanillin presents anti-Toxoplasma activity, while resvan does not show that feature. Our findings suggest that this particular derivative has an efficient antioxidant activity and a negligible cytotoxic effect, making it a potential target for further biological investigations.

Purpose: This work analyzes, through social-environmental reports, whether banks with higher transparency in social-environmental policies better safeguard financial stability in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis is carried out through a panel database analysis of the 42 largest Brazilian banks, representing 98% of the Brazilian financial system. Seeking to avoid spurious results, we followed rigorous methodological standards. Hence, we conducted an empirical analysis using a dynamic panel data model, we used the difference generalized method of moments (D-GMM) and the system generalized method of moments (S-GMM). Findings: The results show that the higher the transparency of social-environmental policies, the lower the chance of possible stress on the financial stability of Brazilian banks. In sum, this study builds evidence that disclosing risks related to policies about sustainability can enhance financial stability. It is essential to highlight that social-environmental transparency does not have as direct objective financial stability. Originality/value: The manuscript submitted represents an original work that analyzes whether banks with higher transparency in social-environmental policies better safeguard financial stability. Some countries, such as Brazil, have their potential for sustainable policies spotlighted due to their green territory and diverse natural ecosystems. Besides having green potential, Brazil is a developing country with a well-developed financial system. These characteristics make Brazil one of the best laboratories for studying the relationship between transparency in social-environmental policies and financial stability.

DNA barcoding has been used extensively to solve taxonomic questions and identify new species. Neotropical fishes are found in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, with a large number of species yet to be described, many of which are very difficult to identify. Characidae is the most species-rich family of the Characiformes, and many of its genera are affected by taxonomic uncertainties, including the widely-distributed, species-rich genus Astyanax. In this study, we present an extensive analysis of Astyanax covering almost its entire area of occurrence, based on DNA barcoding. The use of different approaches (ABGD, GMYC and BIN) to the clustering of the sequences revealed ample consistency in the results obtained by the initial cutoff value of 2% divergence for putative species in the Neighbor-Joining analysis using the Kimura-2-parameter model. The results indicate the existence of five Astyanax lineages. Some groups, such as that composed by the trans-Andean forms, are mostly composed of well-defined species, and in others a number of nominal species are clustered together, hampering the delimitation of species, which in many cases proved impossible. The results confirm the extreme complexity of the systematics of the genus Astyanax and show that DNA barcoding can be an useful tool to address these complexes questions.

Impaired lung function, respiratory muscle weakness and exercise intolerance are present in COPD and contribute to poor prognosis. However, the contribution of the combination of these manifestations to define prognosis in COPD is still unknown. This study aimed to define cut-off points for both inspiratory and expiratory muscle strength (MIP and MEP, respectively) for mortality prediction over 42-months in patients with COPD, and to investigate its combination with other noninvasive established prognostic measures (FEV 1 , V̇ O 2peak and 6MWD) to improve risk identification. Patients with COPD performed pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength, six-minute walk and cardiopulmonary exercise tests, and were followed over 42 months to analyze all-cause mortality. A total of 79 patients were included. The sample was mostly (91.1%) comprised of severe ( n  = 37) and very severe ( n  = 34) COPD, and 43 (54%) patients died during the follow-up period. Cut-points of ≤ 55 and ≤ 80 cmH 2 O for MIP and MEP, respectively, were associated with increased risk of death (log-rank p  = 0.0001 for both MIP and MEP) in 42 months. Furthermore, MIP and MEP substantially improved the mortality risk assessment when combined with FEV 1 (log-ranks p  = 0.006 for MIP and p  < 0.001 for MEP), V̇ O 2peak (log-rank: p  < 0.001 for both MIP and MEP) and 6MWD (log-ranks: p  = 0.005 for MIP; p  = 0.015 for MEP). Thus, patients severely affected by COPD presenting MIP ≤ 55 and/or MEP ≤ 80 cmH2O are at increased risk of mortality. Furthermore, MIP and MEP substantially improve the mortality risk assessment when combined with FEV1, V̇O2peak and 6MWD in patients with COPD.

The exposure of adult fish to warm or high temperatures is known to impair reproduction, yet the long-term reproductive impacts for treatments at early life are not well clarified. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of warm temperature (WT) during juvenile stage on gonad maturation, gamete quality, and offspring thermotolerance in rainbow trout. While the comparison of basic reproductive parameters in WT females did not reveal any kind of impairment, many WT males showed an atrophied, undeveloped gonad, or a smaller testis with lower milt volume; sperm quality parameters in WT males and deformity rates in the respective progeny were also highly affected. However, despite of such negative effects, many of the remaining progeny presented better rates of survival and growth when exposed to the same conditions as those of parental fish (WT), suggesting that thermal stress in parr stage males elicited intergenerational thermotolerance after a single generation. The present results support that prolonged warming stress during early life stages can adversely affect key reproductive aspects, but contrastingly increase offspring performance at upper thermal ranges. These findings have implications on the capacity of fish to adapt and to cope with global warming.