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Background: The widely implemented prevention program in Brazil, PROERD (a translated version of the DARE-kiR program), showed no evidence of effect in preventing drug use in a recent trial. The lack of cultural adaptation and instructors' deviations from the curriculum were identified as potential reasons for its ineffectiveness. This study aims to identify points of inadequacy of the PROERD program for the Brazilian culture, suggesting strategies for revising the curriculum to improve implementation., Methods: We triangulated data obtained from three different groups of study participants: semi-structured interviews with the law enforcement officer who implemented the program, focus groups with students who participated in the program, and questionnaires completed by external experts in the prevention field who evaluated the program's manuals. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis based on the Ecological Validity Model theory, which encompasses three main axes: methodology, content, and language to identify the main points for cultural adaptation., Results: Regarding the program's methodology, there is an excess of activities with little interactivity involving literacy skills that do not match Brazilian students' cognitive development and require equipment unavailable in Brazilian public schools. Regarding content, activities were considered appropriate for evidence-based prevention; however, there were some contradictions related to the drug content. The language presented in the program's manuals was considered inappropriate for the culture of Brazilian youth (vocabulary, examples, and images)., Conclusions: In conclusion, this study strongly recommends revising the PROERD curriculum Caindo na Real, ensuring it will align with the international prevention standards and Brazilian Culture., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All procedures complied with institutional and national research committee ethical standards, the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki, and subsequent amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of São Paulo (nº: 1327/2018 and 1292/2020). Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Consent for publication: Consent for publication was obtained from all participants. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

School-based prevention drug programs in the United States and Brazil are most commonly delivered by law enforcement officers (LEOs). However, limited research has explored challenges involved in the delivery of these interventions specifically related to their implementation by LEOs. We aim to describe the challenges affecting the implementation of school-based drug prevention programs delivered by LEOs. We conducted a qualitative study using 31 semi-structured interviews with LEOs who delivered the Brazilian version of the DARE-Keepin' it REAL program (fifth- and seventh-grade curriculum) and 8 focus groups with 80 students who participated in the program. All data were thematically analyzed. LEOs perceived devaluation from the police corporation, resulting in resource limitations and commanders' resistance to adapting schedules. Relationships with the school community posed additional challenges. Fifth graders seemed generally positive about LEOs' presence while seventh graders showed more negative responses. LEOs' street-level policing experiences influenced their approach to clarifying the consequences of drug use and willingness to share related experiences, even though this content is not part of the program. Therefore, it is crucial to consider alternative approaches to delivering preventive programs in schools, while simultaneously improving the training of LEOs already involved in program implementation to ensure alignment with evidence-based practices., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site–for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Understanding the factors underpinning species abundance patterns in space and time is essential to implement effective cave conservation actions. Yet, the methods employed to monitor cave biodiversity still lack standardization, and no quantitative assessment has yet tried to optimize the amount and type of information required to efficiently identify disturbances in cave ecosystems. Using a comprehensive monitoring dataset for tropical iron caves, comprising abundance measurements for 33 target taxa surveyed across 95 caves along four years, here we provide the first evidence-based recommendations to optimize monitoring programs seeking to follow target species abundance through time. We found that seasonality did not influence the ability to detect temporal abundance trends. However, in most species, abundance estimates assessed during the dry season resulted in a more accurate detection of temporal abundance trends, and at least three surveys were required to identify global temporal abundance trends. Finally, we identified a subset of species that could potentially serve as short-term disturbance indicators. Results suggest that iron cave monitoring programs implemented in our study region could focus sampling efforts in the dry season, where detectability of target species is higher, while assuring data collection for at least three years. More generally, our study reveals the importance of long-term cave monitoring programs for detecting possible disturbances in subterranean ecosystems, and for using the generated information to optimize future monitoring efforts., Competing Interests: Rodolfo Jaffé is an Academic Editor for PeerJ. Matheus Simoes, Xavier Prous, Thadeu Pietrobon, and Iuri Viana Brandi are employees of Vale S.A., (© 2021 Trevelin et al.)

Coleoptera presents most of the cave fauna biodiversity, with several troglobite species belonging to the aquatic family Dytiscidae. However, very little is known on both genetic and genomic diversity traits of Neotropical cave beetles. Thus, here we present the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of five specimens of Desmopachria collected in a ferruginous cave from Serra dos Carajás in Parauapebas (Pará, Brazil, Eastern Amazon). Besides the general characteristics of the mitogenome of the analyzed specimens, we present their phylogenetic position within the family, considering the available genome sequences of different subfamilies within Dytiscidae., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

We report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Glomeridesmus spelaeus , the first sequenced genome of the order Gomeridesmida. The genome is 14,825 pb in length and encodes 37 mitochondrial (13 PCGs, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA) genes and contains a typical AT-rich region. The base composition of the mitogenome was A (40.1%), T (36.4%), C (15.8%), and G (7.6%), with an GC content of 23.5%. Our results indicated that G. spelaeus is only distantly related to the other Diplopoda species with available mitochondrial genomes in the public databases. As the broadest genetic characterization of a Glomeridesmida species available to date, the mitogenome of G. spelaeus will help understanding the evolution of such a little-known millipede group. Also, our data will be important for the characterization and conservation of the diverse invertebrate troglofauna of the Amazonian caves., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

A new species, Metopioxys carajas, is described from caves of Pará state in Brazil. Photographs and the major diagnostic characters are provided for the new species.