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Natural regeneration is key for large‐scale forest restoration, yet it may lead to different biodiversity outcomes depending on socio‐environmental context. We combined the results of a global meta‐analysis to quantify how biodiversity recovery in naturally regenerating forests deviates from biodiversity values in reference old‐growth forests, with structural equation modeling, to identify direct and indirect associations between socioeconomic, biophysical and ecological factors and deviation in biodiversity recovery at a landscape scale. Low deviation within a landscape means higher chances of multiple sites in naturally regenerating forests successfully recovering biodiversity compared to reference forests. Deviation in biodiversity recovery was directly negatively associated with the percentage of cropland, forest cover, and positively associated with the percentage of urban areas in the surrounding landscape. These three factors mediated the indirect associations with rural population size, recent gross deforestation, time since natural regeneration started, mean annual temperature, mean annual water deficit, road density, land opportunity cost, percentage cover of strictly protected forest areas, and human population variation in the surrounding landscape. We suggest that natural forest restoration should be prioritized in landscapes with both low socioeconomic pressures on land use conversion to pasturelands and urban areas, and high percentage of forest cover.

Evidence of phylogenetic conservatism in plant ecological traits has accumulated over the past few years, suggesting an interplay between the distribution of phylogenetic clades and major environmental gradients. Nonetheless, determining what environmental factors underlie the distribution of phylogenetic lineages remains a challenge because environmental factors are correlated with spatial gradients where the latter might indicate some degree of dispersal limitation in phylogenetic pools. We analyzed the phylogenetic structure of plant assemblages across the Brazilian Araucaria forests and assessed how phylogenetic structure responds to environmental and spatial gradients. We compiled data on plant occurrence in 45 plots across the Araucaria forest biome. The phylogenetic structure of the plots was characterized using phylogenetic fuzzy-weighting followed by principal coordinates of phylogenetic structure (PCPS). We used distance-based redundancy analysis (db-RDA) to analyze the relationships between phylogenetic clades and environmental and spatial factors. Variation partitioning showed that the phylogenetic structure of Brazilian Araucaria forests was better explained by environment factors (altitude and annual mean temperature) than by space. Yet, spatially-structured environmental variation explained about one-third of total variation in the phylogenetic structure. Thus, the influence of spatial filters on the phylogenetic structure was more related to environmental gradients across the Brazilian Araucaria forest biome than to dispersal limitation of phylogenetic lineages. Furthermore, the influence of explanatory factors on the phylogenetic structure was concentrated in few nodes, the one splitting tree ferns from seed plants, and a second splitting malvids from other eurosids. Assessing the functional links between species distribution patterns and environmental gradients is not an easy task when we have to deal with large species pools. Identifying major phylogenetic gradients across an environmental and/or geographical range of interest can represent a first step towards a better understanding of general assembly processes in ecological communities.

Question: Does the creation of linear canopy openings in a lowland Atlantic tropical forest cause edge effects on understorey treelets, saplings and shrubs? Location: União Biological Reserve, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil (22°25′30″S, 42°02′30″W). Methods: We sampled shrub, sapling and treelet communities at forest edges adjacent to two linear canopy openings (gas pipeline and power line) and in forest interiors far from any edge. Rarefaction curves were plotted to assess differences in species richness among treatments. Variation partitioning was used to assess main drivers of species composition and abundance. Partial Mantel correlations were calculated to verify edge effects controlling for effect of space on the abundance of Euterpe edulis palm and two ecological groups. For this purpose, species were classified either as disturbance-tolerant or disturbance-sensitive. Results: Edge effects of linear canopy openings affect understorey species composition, but not species richness. Disturbance-tolerant species were more abundant in edges than in forest interiors, while disturbance-sensitive species did not show differences among treatments. However, the late-successional palm Euterpe edulis, which is abundant in forest interiors, was significantly less common at edges. Response to edge effects was stronger among treelets than shrubs and saplings. Conclusions: The creation of infrastructure-related linear canopy openings caused edge effects that significantly affected understorey communities in the studied lowland Atlantic forest remnant. Such effects however were clearly distinct from those found at typical edges of tropical forest fragments.

BACKGROUND: Studies that have examined the impact of a physical activity intervention on cardiometabolic risk factors have yielded conflicting results. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of a standardized physical activity program on adiposity and cardiometabolic risk factors in schoolchildren. METHODS: Cluster randomized trial study of 712 schoolchildren, 8–10 years, from 20 public schools in the Province of Cuenca, Spain. The intervention (MOVI-2) consisted of play-based and non-competitive activities. MOVI-2 was conducted during two 90-minute sessions on weekdays and one 150-minute session on Saturday mornings every week between September 2010 and May 2011. We measured changes in adiposity (overweight/obesity prevalence, body mass index [BMI], triceps skinfold thickness [TST], body fat %, fat-free mass, waist circumference) and other cardiometabolic risk factors (LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides/HDL-cholesterol ratio, insulin, C-reactive protein and blood pressure). The analyses used mixed regression models to adjust for baseline covariates under cluster randomization. RESULTS: Among girls, we found a reduction of adiposity in intervention versus control schools, with a decrease in TST (−1.1 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI] -2.3 to −0.7), body fat % (−0.9%; 95% CI −1.3 to −0.4), waist circumference (−2.7 cm; 95% CI −4.5 to −0.9), and an increase in fat-free mass (0.3 kg; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.6). The intervention also led to lower serum LDL-cholesterol and insulin levels. Among boys, a reduction in waist circumference (−1.4 cm; 95% CI −2.6 to −0.1; P = 0.03), and an increase in fat-free mass (0.5 kg; 95% CI 0.2 to 0.9; P = 0.003) was associated with the intervention versus control schools. The prevalence of overweight/obesity or underweight, BMI, and other cardiometabolic risk factors was not modified by the intervention. No important adverse events were registered. CONCLUSIONS: An extracurricular intervention of non-competitive physical activity during an academic year, targeting all schoolchildren regardless of body weight, is a safe and effective measure to reduce adiposity in both genders and to improve cardiometabolic risk profile in girls. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trials NCT01277224 .

ONCOFIT is a randomized clinical trial with a two-arm parallel design aimed at determining the influence of a multidisciplinary Prehabilitation and Postoperative Program (PPP) on post-surgery complications in patients undergoing resection of colon cancer. This intervention will include supervised physical exercise, dietary behavior change, and psychological support comparing its influence to the standard care. Primary and secondary endpoints will be assessed at baseline, at preoperative conditions, at the end of the PPP intervention (after 12 weeks) and 1-year post-surgery, and will include: post-surgery complications (primary endpoint); prolonged hospital length of stay; readmissions and emergency department call within 1-year after surgery; functional capacity; patient reported outcome measures targeted; anthropometry and body composition; clinical/tumor parameters; physical activity levels and sedentariness; dietary habits; other unhealthy habits; sleep quality; and fecal microbiota diversity and composition. Considering the feasibility of the present intervention in a real-life scenario, ONCOFIT will contribute to the standardization of a cost-effective strategy for preventing and improving health-related consequences in patients undergoing resection of colon cancer with an important clinical and economic impact, not only in the scientific community, but also in clinical practice.

Este artículo tiene la finalidad de explorar la complejidad del vocabulario relacionado con los colores. La motivación para abordar este tema radica en que la nomenclatura del color, en el habla común, no es consistente y varía en función del contexto cultural y social, lo que a su vez refleja la diversidad lingüística vinculada a esta realidad. Además, se debe considerar la globalización y el hecho de que dominar un idioma no significa necesariamente que se comparta la misma conceptualización de una determinada realidad. Así, en este estudio se destaca la complejidad de la nomenclatura de los colores, que incluye colores primarios, secundarios, terciarios, tonalidades y adjetivos asociados al color. Además, subraya la falta de consenso en la clasificación de los colores y cómo las variaciones culturales y sociales influyen en su percepción y denominación. Para el desarrollo del análisis de los nombres de los colores utilizados por hablantes de español como L2 (segunda lengua), se realizó una revisión bibliográfica sistemática utilizando la metodología PRISMA. Se consultaron las bases de datos Dialnet, Scielo, Google Scholar y DispoLex, y se seleccionaron 23 documentos. Los hallazgos han indicado que los colores más mencionados por los estudiantes de ELE (español como lengua extranjera) son blanco, rojo, negro, verde, azul, amarillo, marrón, rosa, gris y naranja. El artículo concluye que la enseñanza de los colores en ELE debe adaptarse a las necesidades léxicas y contextuales de los estudiantes, teniendo en cuenta su cultura y exposición a variedades diatópicas. The aim of this article is to explore the complexity of the vocabulary related to colors. The motivation for approaching this topic lies in the fact that the nomenclature of color, in common language, is not consistent and varies according to the cultural and social context, which in turn reflects the linguistic diversity linked to this reality. In addition, globalization must be considered and the fact that mastering a language does not necessarily mean that the same conceptualization of a given reality is shared. Thus, this study highlights the complexity of color nomenclature, which includes primary, secondary, tertiary colors, shades and adjectives associated with color. It also highlights the lack of consensus in the classification of colors and how cultural and social variations influence their perception and naming. For the development of the analysis of color names used by speakers of Spanish as an L2 (second language), a systematic bibliographic review was carried out using the PRISMA methodology. The databases Dialnet, Scielo, Google Scholar and DispoLex were consulted, and 23 documents were selected. The results indicated that the colors most frequently mentioned by SFL (Spanish as a foreign language) students are white, red, black, green, blue, yellow, brown, pink, gray and orange. The article concludes that the teaching of colors in SFL should be adapted to the lexical and contextual needs of the students, taking into account their culture and exposure to diatopic varieties.

Background Pneumonia is the primary cause of death among HIV-infected children in Africa, with mortality rates as high as 35–40% in infants hospitalized with severe pneumonia. Bacterial pathogens and Pneumocystis jirovecii are well known causes of pneumonia-related death, but other important causes such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) and tuberculosis (TB) remain under-recognized and undertreated. The immune response elicited by CMV may be associated with the risk of developing TB and TB disease progression, and CMV may accelerate disease caused both by HIV and TB. Minimally invasive autopsies confirm that CMV and TB are unrecognized causes of death in children with HIV. CMV and TB may also co-infect the same child. The aim of this study is to compare the impact on 15-day and 1-year mortality of empirical treatment against TB and CMV plus standard of care (SoC) versus SoC in HIV-infected infants with severe pneumonia. Methods This is a Phase II-III, open-label randomized factorial (2 × 2) clinical trial, conducted in six African countries. The trial has four arms. Infants from 28 to 365 days of age HIV-infected and hospitalized with severe pneumonia will be randomized (1:1:1:1) to (i) SoC, (ii) valganciclovir, (iii) TB-T, and (iv) TB-T plus valganciclovir. The primary endpoint of the study is all-cause mortality, focusing on the short-term (up to 15 days) and long-term (up to 1 year) mortality. Secondary endpoints include repeat hospitalization, duration of oxygen therapy during initial admission, severe and notable adverse events, adverse reactions, CMV and TB prevalence at enrolment, TB incidence, CMV viral load reduction, and evaluation of diagnostic tests such as GeneXpert Ultra on fecal and nasopharyngeal aspirate samples and urine TB-LAM. Discussion Given the challenges in diagnosing CMV and TB in children and results from previous autopsy studies that show high rates of poly-infection in HIV-infected infants with respiratory disease, this study aims to evaluate a new approach including empirical treatment of CMV and TB for this patient population. The potential downsides of empirical treatment of these conditions include toxicity and medication interactions, which will be evaluated with pharmacokinetics sub-studies. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03915366, Universal Trial Number U111-1231-4736, Pan African Clinical Trial Registry PACTR201994797961340.

We present a flora and fauna dataset for the Mira-Mataje binational basins. This is an area shared between southwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador, where both the Chocó and Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspots converge. We systematized data from 120 sources in the Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) standard and geospatial vector data format for geographic information systems (GIS) (shapefiles). Sources included natural history museums, published literature, and citizen science repositories across 13 countries. The resulting database has 33,460 records from 6,821 species, of which 540 have been recorded as endemic, and 612 as threatened. The diversity represented in the dataset is equivalent to 10% of the total plant species and 26% of the total terrestrial vertebrate species in both hotspots. The dataset can be used to estimate and compare biodiversity patterns with environmental parameters and provide value to ecosystems, ecoregions, and protected areas. The dataset is a baseline for future assessments of biodiversity in the face of environmental degradation, climate change, and accelerated extinction processes.