NEW FOSSIL RECORDS OF PLEISTOCENE MARINE MOLLUSKS IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL

Fossils of the gastropods Diodora patagonica, Zidona dufresnei, Olivancillaria carcellesi, Lamniconus lemniscatus carcellesi and the bivalve Arcinella brasiliana are registered for the first time from the outcrops of Chui Creek, on the coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul State, southernmost Brazil, together with other taxa previously known elsewhere. The specimens were collected in a shallow Pleistocene marine facies exposed at the base of the banks of the creek, in a fossil concentration possibly formed by storm events. The taxa described here live in shallow environments (with the exception of A. brasiliana and Z. dufresnei) with sandy bottoms (except for D. patagonica, T patagonica, B. odites, C. rhizophorae and A. brasiliana). The presence of L. lemniscatus carcellesi, found living today only in Uruguay and Argentina, indicates a wider distribution for this taxon during the late Pleistocene.

Hepatitis B virus genotypes from European origin explains the high endemicity found in some areas from southern Brazil

Southern Brazil is considered an area of low Hepatitis B endemicity, but some areas of higher endemicity have been described in the Southwest of Parana and Santa Catarina states. The aim of this study was to evaluate viral genotypes circulating throughout Parana state. PCR amplification and partial sequencing of the S gene was carried out in 228 samples from HBsAg positive candidate blood donors. Samples have been collected in seven different counties (Cascavel, Curitiba, Foz do Iguacu, Francisco Beltrao, Matinga Londrina and Paranagua). The most common HBV genotype in Parana state was D (82.9%; 189/228), followed by A (14.1%; 32/228). Genotypes F (1.3%; 3/228), C (1.3%; 3/228) and H (0.4%; 1/228) were also found. Distribution of genotypes was different in the studied counties, but genotype D was the most frequent in all of them. In Francisco Beltrao, all studied samples belonged to genotype D. The high prevalence of HBV genotype Din South of Brazil is explained by the intense migration of settlers from Europeans countries. Subgenotypes A1 and A2 were identified circulating in all cities where HBV/A was found. As observed in other areas of Brazil, HBV/A1 is more frequent than the HBV/A2 in Parana state and its presence was significantly larger in black and mulatto individuals. Genotype C was found only in individuals with Asian ancestry from Londrina and Maringa. Most HBV/F sequences identified in this study were classified as subgenotype F2a that was previously described in Brazil. The sole case of subgenotype F4 was from Foz do Iguacu city, near to Northern Argentina, where F4 is highly prevalent. The single genotype H sample was from Curitiba. This is the first case of this genotype described in Brazil. Further studies should be carried out to determine if more genotype H samples can be found in other populations from Brazil. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phylogeographic Analysis of HIV-1 Subtype C Dissemination in Southern Brazil

The HIV-1 subtype C has spread efficiently in the southern states of Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Parana). Phylogeographic studies indicate that the subtype C epidemic in southern Brazil was initiated by the introduction of a single founder virus population at some time point between 1960 and 1980, but little is known about the spatial dynamics of viral spread. A total of 135 Brazilian HIV-1 subtype C pol sequences collected from 1992 to 2009 at the three southern state capitals (Porto Alegre, Florianopolis and Curitiba) were analyzed. Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods were used to explore the degree of phylogenetic mixing of subtype C sequences from different cities and to reconstruct the geographical pattern of viral spread in this country region. Phylogeographic analyses supported the monophyletic origin of the HIV-1 subtype C clade circulating in southern Brazil and placed the root of that clade in Curitiba (Parana state). This analysis further suggested that Florianopolis (Santa Catarina state) is an important staging post in the subtype C dissemination displaying high viral migration rates from and to the other cities, while viral flux between Curitiba and Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul state) is very low. We found a positive correlation (r(2) = 0.64) between routine travel and viral migration rates among localities. Despite the intense viral movement, phylogenetic intermixing of subtype C sequences from different Brazilian cities is lower than expected by chance. Notably, a high proportion (67%) of subtype C sequences from Porto Alegre branched within a single local monophyletic sub-cluster. These results suggest that the HIV-1 subtype C epidemic in southern Brazil has been shaped by both frequent viral migration among states and in situ dissemination of local clades.

Petrogenesis of syntectonic granites emplaced at the transition from thrusting to transcurrent tectonics in post-collisional setting: Whole-rock and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope geochemistry in the Neoproterozoic Quatro Ilhas and Mariscal Granites, Southern Brazil

The Neoproterozoic post-collisional period in southern Brazil (650-580 Ma) is characterized by substantial volumes of magma emplaced along the active shear zones that compose the Southern Brazilian Shear Belt. The early-phase syntectonic magmatism (630-610 Ma) is represented by the porphyritic, high-K, metaluminous to peraluminous Quatro Ilhas Granitoids and the younger heterogranular, slightly peraluminous Mariscal Granite. Quatro II has Granitoids include three main petrographic varieties (muscovite-biotite granodiorite mbg; biotite monzogranite - bmz: and leucogranite - lcg) that, although sharing some significant geochemical characteristics, are not strictly comagmatic, as shown by chemical and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data. The most primitive muscovite-biotite granodiorite was produced by contamination of more mafic melts (possibly with some mantle component) with peraluminous crustal melts; the biotite monzogranite, although more felsic, has higher Ca, MgO,TiO2 and Ba, and lower K2O, FeOt, Sr and Rb contents, possibly reflecting some mixing with coeval mafic magmas of tholeiitic affinity; the leucogranite may be derived from pure crustal melts. The Mariscal Granite is formed by two main granite types which occur intimately associated in the same pluton, one with higher K (5-6.5 wt.% K2O) high Rb and lower CaO, Na2O, Ba and Zr as compared to the other (3-5 wt.% of K2O). The two Mariscal Granite varieties have compositional correspondence with fine-grained granites (fgg) that occur as tabular bodies which intruded the Quatro Ilhas Granoitoids before they were fully crystallized, and are inferred to correspond to the Mariscal Granite feeders, an interpretation that is reinforced by similar U-Pb zircon crystallization ages. The initial evolution of the post-collisional magmatism, marked by the emplacement of the Quatro Ilhas Granitoids varieties, activated sources that produced mantle and crustal magmas whose emplacement was controlled both by flat-lying and transcurrent structures. The transition from thrust to transcurrent-related tectonics coincides with the increase in the proportion of crustal-derived melts. The transcurrent tectonics seems to have played an essential role in the generation of mantle-derived magmas and may have facilitated their interaction with crustal melts which seem to be to a large extent the products of reworking of orthogneiss protoliths. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rickettsial Infection in Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) Collected on Birds in Southern Brazil

The aim of the study was to evaluate rickettsial infection in ticks from wild birds of the Semidecidual and Atlantic Rainforest remnants of three municipalities of the State of Parana, southern Brazil. Overall, 53 larvae and nymphs collected from birds were checked for the presence of Rickettsia DNA by molecular tests. Five tick species were tested: Amblyomma aureolatum (Pallas), Amblyomma calcaratum Neumann, Amblyomma longirostre (Koch), Amblyomma ovale Koch, and Amblyomma parkeri Fonseca and Aragao. A. longirostre ticks were infected with the spotted fever group agents Rickettsia amblyommii strain AL (32.3% infection rate) and Rickettsia parkeri strain NOD (5.9% infection rate). A new rickettsial genotype was detected in the tick A. parkeri (50% infection rate), which had never been reported to be infected by rickettsiae. Through phylogenetic analysis, this new genotype, here designated as strain ApPR, grouped in a cluster composed by different strains of Rickettsia africae, Rickettsia sibirica, and R. parkeri. We consider strain ApPR to be a new genotype of R. parkeri. This study reports for the first time rickettsial infection in ticks from birds in southern Brazil. The role of migrating birds in the dispersal of these rickettsial strains should be considered in ecological studies of spotted fever group agents in Brazil.

Seismites as a tool in the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of fluvial deposits: The Cambrian Guarda Velha Formation, southern Brazil

Soft-sediment deformation (SSD) is widely described in the literature, but there is no clear consensus regarding its origin and significance. Existing models for SSD in fluvial sediments do not clearly demonstrate a relationship between the structures, preserved facies expression, and larger-scale depositional architecture. In this study several types of SSD structures are recorded in Cambrian fluvial deposits and these occur interbedded with undeformed strata throughout the entire stratigraphic interval. The random distribution of these features in relation to primary facies types and fluvial forms indicates that they have neither a direct nor indirect relationship with any depositional processes or bedform type. We propose that the relationship of SSD at the bed-set-scale to larger-scale depositional architecture, combined with tectono-stratigraphic analysis allows the determination of both short-term fluvial hydraulic conditions in ancient stream systems, such as the nature of the flow regime responsible for depositing ancient fluvial stream successions, and the long-term subsidence rates, in the form of mean recurrence interval of the seismic events responsible for triggering the generation of SSD in tectonically active basins. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

VVV DR1: The first data release of the Milky Way bulge and southern plane from the near-infrared ESO public survey VISTA variables in the Via Lactea

Context. The ESO public survey VISTA variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) started in 2010. VVV targets 562 sq. deg in the Galactic bulge and an adjacent plane region and is expected to run for about five years. Aims. We describe the progress of the survey observations in the first observing season, the observing strategy, and quality of the data obtained. Methods. The observations are carried out on the 4-m VISTA telescope in the ZYJHK(s) filters. In addition to the multi-band imaging the variability monitoring campaign in the K-s filter has started. Data reduction is carried out using the pipeline at the Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit. The photometric and astrometric calibration is performed via the numerous 2MASS sources observed in each pointing. Results. The first data release contains the aperture photometry and astrometric catalogues for 348 individual pointings in the ZYJHK(s) filters taken in the 2010 observing season. The typical image quality is similar to 0 ''.9-1 ''.0. The stringent photometric and image quality requirements of the survey are satisfied in 100% of the JHK(s) images in the disk area and 90% of the JHK(s) images in the bulge area. The completeness in the Z and Y images is 84% in the disk, and 40% in the bulge. The first season catalogues contain 1.28 x 10(8) stellar sources in the bulge and 1.68 x 10(8) in the disk area detected in at least one of the photometric bands. The combined, multi-band catalogues contain more than 1.63 x 10(8) stellar sources. About 10% of these are double detections because of overlapping adjacent pointings. These overlapping multiple detections are used to characterise the quality of the data. The images in the JHK(s) bands extend typically similar to 4 mag deeper than 2MASS. The magnitude limit and photometric quality depend strongly on crowding in the inner Galactic regions. The astrometry for K-s = 15-18 mag has rms similar to 35-175 mas. Conclusions. The VVV Survey data products offer a unique dataset to map the stellar populations in the Galactic bulge and the adjacent plane and provide an exciting new tool for the study of the structure, content, and star-formation history of our Galaxy, as well as for investigations of the newly discovered star clusters, star-forming regions in the disk, high proper motion stars, asteroids, planetary nebulae, and other interesting objects.

The Southern Ocean and Its Climate in CCSM4

The new Community Climate System Model, version 4 (CCSM4), provides a powerful tool to understand and predict the earth's climate system. Several aspects of the Southern Ocean in the CCSM4 are explored, including the surface climatology and interannual variability, simulation of key climate water masses (Antarctic Bottom Water, Subantarctic Mode Water, and Antarctic Intermediate Water), the transport and structure of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and interbasin exchange via the Agulhas and Tasman leakages and at the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence. It is found that the CCSM4 has varying degrees of accuracy in the simulation of the climate of the Southern Ocean when compared with observations. This study has identified aspects of the model that warrant further analysis that will result in a more comprehensive understanding of ocean-atmosphere-ice dynamics and interactions that control the earth's climate and its variability.

Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in Prescriptions to Patients over 45 Years of Age in Primary Care, Southern Brazil

Background: Few cross-sectional studies involving adults and elderly patients with major DDIs have been conducted in the primary care setting. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in patients treated in primary care. Methodology/Principal Findings: A cross-sectional study involving patients aged 45 years or older was conducted at 25 Basic Health Units in the city of Maringa (southern Brazil) from May to December 2010. The data were collected from prescriptions at the pharmacy of the health unit at the time of the delivery of medication to the patient. After delivery, the researcher checked the electronic medical records of the patient. A total of 827 patients were investigated (mean age: 64.1; mean number of medications: 4.4). DDIs were identified in the Micromedex (R) database. The prevalence of potential DDIs and major DDIs was 63.0% and 12.1%, respectively. In both the univariate and multivariate analyses, the number of drugs prescribed was significantly associated with potential DDIs, with an increasing risk from three to five drugs (OR = 4.74; 95% CI: 2.90-7.73) to six or more drugs (OR = 23.03; 95% CI: 10.42-50.91). Forty drugs accounted for 122 pairs of major DDIs, the most frequent of which involved simvastatin (23.8%), captopril/enalapril (16.4%) and fluoxetine (16.4%). Conclusions/Significance: This is the first large-scale study on primary care carried out in Latin America. Based on the findings, the estimated prevalence of potential DDIs was high, whereas clinically significant DDIs occurred in a smaller proportion. Exposing patients to a greater number of prescription drugs, especially three or more, proved to be a significant predictor of DDIs. Prescribers should be more aware of potential DDIs. Future studies should assess potential DDIs in primary care over a longer period of time.

Effects of Black Leaf Streak Disease and Sigatoka Disease on fruit quality and maturation process of bananas produced in the subtropical conditions of southern Brazil

Banana fruits are harvested at the green-mature stage (pre-climacteric) in order to allow sufficient time for transport and marketing. The time between the harvest and the initiation of the natural ripening process is called green life (GL), which is closely correlated to physiological age. Sigatoka Disease (SD: also called yellow Sigatoka) and Black Leaf Streak Disease (BLSD; also called black Sigatoka) are the main foliar diseases affecting banana production. The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of these diseases on banana GL and postharvest behavior in subtropical conditions (southeastern Brazil). The results showed that both diseases shortened the banana's GL when compared to control bananas of the same physiological age. Moreover, fruits from infested plots showed higher values of CO2 (+100% for SD and +300% for BLSD) and C2H4 production (+30% for SD and +60% for BLSD) at the climacteric peak. BLSD caused 40% reduction in fruit weight. Fruits from plants with a high degree of SD or BLSD undergo an altered maturation process. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Alien shrimps in evidence: new records of the genus Athanas Leach, 1814 on the coast of So Paulo, southern Brazil (Caridea: Alpheidae)

The occurrence of two alien alpheid shrimps of the genus Athanas Leach, 1814 [in Leach 1813-1814], the Indo-West Pacific A. dimorphus Ortmann, 1894 and the Eastern Atlantic A. nitescens (Leach, 1813 [in Leach 1813-1814]), on the coast of the state of So Paulo, Brazil, is reported. The presence of A. dimorphus extends the range of this species in the western Atlantic farther to the south in Brazil, whereas A. nitescens is reported for the first time in the western Atlantic, representing the second alien alpheid species on this side of the Atlantic and the twenty-first decapod crustacean introduced in Brazil. We provide morphological accounts of the material examined and illustrate the most important diagnostic characters of both species. An overview of the possible mechanisms of their introduction on the coast of So Paulo is also provided.

Depositional age, provenance and metamorphic age of metasedimentary rocks from southern Madagascar

Southern Madagascar is the core of a >1 million km(2) Gondwanan metasedimentary belt that forms much of the southern East African Orogen of eastern Africa, Madagascar, southern India and Sri Lanka. Here the Vohibory Series yielded U-Pb isotopic data from detrital zircon cores that indicate that it was deposited in the latest Tonian to late Cryogenian (between -900 and 640 Ma). The deposition of the Graphite and Androyen Series protoliths is poorly constrained to between the late Palaeoproterozoic and the Cambrian (similar to 1830-530 Ma). The Vohibory Series protoliths were sourced from very restricted-aged sources with a maximum age range between 910 and 760 Ma. The Androyen and Graphite Series protoliths were sourced from Palaeoproterozoic rocks ranging in age between 2300 and 1800 Ma. The best evidence of the timing of metamorphism in the Vohibory Series is a weighted mean Pb-206/U-238 age of 642 +/- 8 Ma from 3 analyses of zircon from sample M03-01. A considerably younger Pb-206/U-238 metamorphic age of 531 +/- 7 Ma is produced from 10 analyses of zircon from sample M03-28 in the Androyen Series. This similar to 110 Ma difference in age is correlated with the early East African Orogeny affecting the west of Madagascar along with its type area in East Africa, whereas the Cambrian Malagasy Orogeny affected the east of Madagascar and southern India during the final suturing of the Mozambique Ocean. (C) 2011 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE SAILFIN DORY Zenopsis conchifer (LOWE, 1852) CAUGHT BY DEEP-SEA TRAWLING FISHERY OFF SOUTHERN BRAZIL

Biological aspects of sailfin dory, Zenopsis conchifer, were studied from 839 individuals obtained from deep-sea commercial bottom trawling off southern Brazil at depths up to 526 m in 2002 and 2003. Samples included fish from 101 mm Lt and 15 g up to 640 mm Lt and 2,9 g. The sex-ratio was 50% at 150 mm Lt and between 300-350 mm Lt, with females outnumbering males in the remaining size classes. Reproductive activity seems to peak between July and August ( austral winter). Size at attainment of 50% maturity (Lt(50)) was 311 mm Lt in females. The mean length and maturity of the specimens increased with depth, suggesting that larger fish concentrate in deeper waters.

Activity, movement and secretive behavior of a threatened arboreal folivore, the thin-spined porcupine, in the Atlantic forest of southern Bahia, Brazil

Activity and behavior patterns are important components of a given species ecological strategy, as they have profound implications for its survival and reproduction. Here, we studied the activities, movements and secretive behavior of the thin-spined porcupine Chaetomys subspinosus (Rodentia: Erethizontidae), a threatened arboreal folivore in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. We aimed to ascertain the behavioral strategies used by this species as well as its responses to seasonal and daily climatic changes. Four radio-collared individuals were followed continuously for 72-h in the summer and winter, as well as during 146 half-night sessions conducted from April 2005 to September 2006 in forest remnants in southern Bahia. The thin-spined porcupines were nocturnally active (17:30-05:40 h), with peaks in activity and movement from 19:00 to 20:00 h and 03:00 to 04:00 h. Animals followed a circadian rhythm of activity during both the summer and winter. During the diel cycle, porcupines spent 74% of their time resting, 14% feeding, 11% traveling and 2% performing other activities. Distance traveled during the diel cycle averaged 277.5 +/- 117.9 m sd. The mean movement rate during the night was 21.6 +/- 30.1 m/h sd. No significant changes in activity budget or daily distance traveled were observed between seasons, most likely in response to the low fluctuations in climatic conditions and food availability throughout the year in the study region. However, rainfall reduced the time that the animals spent on feeding activities and explained day-to-day differences in activity budgets. We also provide details about intraspecific interactions and defecation behavior. Our observations confirmed that thin-spined porcupines, similar to other folivorous species, present low activity levels and short daily movements, and have adopted various cryptic habits, such as nocturnality, a solitary lifestyle, the tendency to leave offspring alone most of the time and defecation in concealed latrines.

Space-time relation of post-collisional granitic magmatism in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil: U-Pb LA-MC-ICP-MS zircon geochronology of coeval mafic-felsic magmatism related to the Major Gercino Shear Zone

LA-MC-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon dating was performed on syntectonic, early post-collisional granitic and associated mafic rocks that are intrusive in the Brusque Metamorphic Complex and in the Florianopolis Batholith, major tectonic domains separated by the Neoproterozoic Major Gercino Shear Zone (MGSZ) in south Brazil. The inferred ages of magmatic crystallization are consistent with field relationships, and show that the syntectonic granites from both domains are similar, with ages around 630-620 Ma for high-K calc-alkaline metaluminous granites and ca. 610 Ma for slightly peraluminous granites. Although ca. 650 Ma inherited zircon components are identified in granites from both domains, important contrasts on the crustal architecture in each domain are revealed by the patterns of zircon inheritance, indicating different crustal sources for the granites in each domain. The granites from the southern domain (Floriandpolis Batholith) have essentially Neoproterozoic (650-700 Ma and 900-950 Ma) inheritance; with a single 2.0-2.2 Ga inherited age obtained in the peraluminous Mariscal Granite. In the northern Brusque Metamorphic Complex, the metaluminous Rio Pequeno Granite and associated mafic rocks have scarce inherited cores with ages around 1.65 Ga, whereas the slightly peraluminous Serra dos Macacos Granite has abundant Paleoproterozoic (1.8-2.2 Ga) and Archean (2.9-3.4 Ga) inherited zircons. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the MGSZ separates domains with distinct geologic evolution; however, the contemporaneity of 630-610 Ma granitic magmatism with similar structural and geochemical patterns on both sides of this major shear zone indicates that these domains were already part of a single continental mass at 630 Ma, reinforcing the post-collisional character of these granites. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.