Essays on the history of Brazilian dipterology. I. The first notices about Brazilian Diptera (16th century)

Essays on the history of Brazilian dipterology. I. The first notices about Brazilian Diptera (16th century). This paper presents a historical resume of the first notices about Brazilian Diluent during the 16th century, given by Francisco Pires in 1552 (the oldest mention known), Jose de Anchieta, Leonardo do Valle, Pero de Magalhaes de Gandavo, Jean de Lery and Gabriel Soares de Souza, ending with Fernao Cardim, who made the last mentions of Brazilian Diptera in that century.

Essays on the history of Brazilian dipterology. II. Notices about Brazilian Diptera (17th century)

Essays on the history of Brazilian dipterology. II. Notices about Brazilian Diptera (17th century). Notices from the Brazilian Diptera from the 17th century come mainly from two foreign invasions occurred in Brazil, the first one by the French in Maranhao and the second by the Dutch in northeastern Brazil. This paper includes reports of Fathers Claude d'Abbeville and Yves d'Evreux and from Piso and Marcgrave, the last two presenting the first illustrations of Brazilian Diptera. The paper also includes reports of Friar Laureano de la Cruz, Father Joao de Sotto Mayor and Mauricio de Heriarte.

Essays on the history of Brazilian dipterology. III. Three remarkable notices from the 18th century, mainly related to myiasis-producing flies (Cochliomyia and Dermatobia)

Essays on the history of Brazilian dipterology. III. Three remarkable notices from the 18th century, mainly related to myiasis-producing flies (Cochliomyia and Dermatobia). This paper registers reports about dipterans made by three Portuguese who lived in Brazil during the 18th century. Luiz Gomes Ferreira, in his book "Erario mineral" ["Mineral revenue"], wrote curious passages related with myiasis-causing flies of the genus Cochliomyia. Jose Rodrigues de Mello registered, in Latin verses, the folklore for curing myiases caused by Cochliomyia hominivorax in cattle. Luiz dos Santos Vilhena, in the last of his twenty letters dealing with several aspects of life in Brazil, made reference to horseflies, human bot flies and mosquitos.

Essays on the history of Brazilian dipterology: II. notices about Brazilian Diptera (17th century)

Essays on the history of Brazilian dipterology. II. Notices about Brazilian Diptera (17th century). Notices from the Brazilian Diptera from the 17th century come mainly from two foreign invasions occurred in Brazil, the first one by the French in Maranhão and the second by the Dutch in northeastern Brazil. This paper includes reports of Fathers Claude d'Abbeville and Yves d'Evreux and from Piso and Marcgrave, the last two presenting the first illustrations of Brazilian Diptera. The paper also includes reports of Friar Laureano de la Cruz, Father João de Sotto Mayor and Maurício de Heriarte.

Essays on the history of brazilian dipterology: III. Three remarkable notices from the 18th century, mainly related to myiasis-producing flies (Cochliomyia and Dermatobia)

This paper registers reports about dipterans made by three Portuguese who lived in Brazil during the 18th century. Luiz Gomes Ferreira, in his book "Erário mineral" ["Mineral revenue"], wrote curious passages related with myiasis-causing flies of the genus Cochliomyia. José Rodrigues de Mello registered, in Latin verses, the folklore for curing myiases caused by Cochliomyia hominivorax in cattle. Luiz dos Santos Vilhena, in the last of his twenty letters dealing with several aspects of life in Brazil, made reference to horseflies, human bot flies and mosquitos.

Chemistry and Chemical Education Through Text and Image: Analysis of Twentieth Century Textbooks Used in Brazilian Context

Assuming that textbooks give literary expression to cultural and ideological values of a nation or group, we propose the analysis of chemistry textbooks used in Brazilian universities throughout the twentieth century. We analyzed iconographic and textual aspects of 31 textbooks which had significant diffusion in the context of Brazilian universities at that period. As a result of the iconographic analysis, nine categories of images were proposed: (1) laboratory and experimentation, (2) industry and production, (3) graphs and diagrams, (4) illustrations related to daily life, (5) models, (6) illustrations related to the history of science, (7) pictures or diagrams of animal, vegetable or mineral samples, (8) analogies and (9) concepts of physics. The distribution of images among the categories showed a different emphasis in the presentation of chemical content due to a commitment to different conceptions of chemistry over the period. So, we started with chemistry as an experimental science in the early twentieth century, with an emphasis change to the principles of chemistry from the 1950s, culminating in a chemistry of undeniable technological influence. Results showed that reflections not only on the history of science, but on the history of science education, may be useful for the improvement of science education.

Alternatives exist: analysis of scientific literature in two Brazilian journals about the pedagogical work of Physical Education

Considering that the process of teacher training in universities takes into account the confrontation of knowledge produced by the scientific methods, the current study intended to identify what are the main contributions of the Brazilian scientific production of Physical Education teaching. Therefore, an exploratory study was done from the articles published on the subject in the two main periodicals of the area. The data analyzes allowed us to verify the relevancy of the knowledge produced and to suggest alternatives to its inclusion in the docent training programs.

Saccharification of Brazilian sisal pulp: evaluating the impact of mercerization on non-hydrolyzed pulp and hydrolysis products

Cultivation of sisal, a plant with a short growth cycle, is highly productive in Brazil. This work is part of extensive research in which sisal is valued. In these studies, sisal fibers are used in the preparation of bio-based composites and in the derivatization of the pulp, including posterior preparation of films. This study aimed to examine the use of sisal pulp in the production of bioethanol, which can potentially be a high efficiency process because of the cellulose content of this fiber. A previous paper addressed the hydrolysis of sisal pulp using sulfuric acid as a catalyst. In the present study, the influence of the mercerization process on the acid hydrolysis of sisal pulp was evaluated. Mercerization was achieved in a 20% wt NaOH solution, and the cellulosic pulp was suspended and vigorously mixed for 1, 2 and 3 h, at 50 A degrees C. The previously characterized mercerized pulps were hydrolyzed (100 A degrees C, 30% H2SO4, v/v), and the results are compared with those obtained for unmercerized pulp (described in a companion paper). The starting sample was characterized by viscometry, alpha-cellulose content, crystallinity index and scanning electron microscopy. During the reactions, aliquots were withdrawn, and the liquor was analyzed by HPLC. The residual pulps (non-hydrolyzed) were also characterized by the techniques described for the initial sample. The results revealed that pretreatment decreases the polyoses content as well as causes a decrease of up to 23% in the crystallinity and up to 21% in the average molar mass of cellulose after 3 h of mercerization. The mercerization process proved to be very important to achieve the final target. Under the same reaction conditions (30% and 100 A degrees C, 6 h), the hydrolysis of mercerized pulp generated yields of up to 50% more glucose. The results of this paper will be compared with the results of subsequent studies obtained using other acids, and enzymes, as catalysts.

Assembly of Myrmelachista Roger (Formicidae: Formicinae) in twigs fallen on the leaf litter of Brazilian Atlantic Forest

The nests of Myrmelachista are found in tree trunk cavities and branches. The biology of these arboreal ants is still relatively unknown. We investigated the nesting behaviour of this genus in fallen dry twigs in the Atlantic rainforest of southeastern Brazil. Physical characteristics of the nests, colony demographics, presence of breeders and ant worker sizes were recorded. Samples were collected weekly for 12 months, along open, sunny and undisturbed trails within forest remnants. In all, 202 nests were collected and six species were recorded. Myrmelachista ruszkii had the highest population of immatures and the greatest number of nests found. Myrmelachista nodigera had the smallest workers, was the least populous and the colony was housed in the finest branches. These results expand the current knowledge about the diversity and biology of Myrmelachista in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, and describe polydomic nests and competitive behaviour of M. ruszkii.

Prior history of sexually transmitted diseases in women living with AIDS in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Objectives: To describe the epidemiological profile, risk behaviors, and the prior history of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in women living with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Methods: Cross-sectional study, performed at the Centro de Referencia e Treinamento em DST/AIDS of Sao Paulo. The social, demographic, behavioral, and clinical data such as age, schooling, marital status, age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, parity, use of drugs, time of HIV diagnosis, CD4 count, and viral load determination were abstracted from the medical records of women living with AIDS who had gynecological consultation scheduled in the period from June 2008 to May 2009. Results: Out of 710 women who were scheduled to a gynecological consultation during the period of the study, 598 were included. Previous STD was documented for 364 (60.9%; 95% CI: 56.9%-64.8%) women. The associated factors with previous STDs and their respective risks were: human development index (HDI) <0.50 (ORaj = 5.5; 95% CI: 2.8-11.0); non-white race (ORaj = 5.2; 95% CI: 2.5-11.0); first sexual intercourse at or before 15 years of age (ORaj = 4.4; 95% CI: 2.3-8.3); HIV infection follow-up time of nine years or more (ORaj = 4.2; 95% CI: 2.3-7.8)]; number of sexual partners during the entire life between three and five partners (ORaj = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1-4.6), and six or more sexual partners (ORaj = 3.9; 95% CI: 1.9-8.0%); being a sex worker (ORaj = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.1-3.1). Conclusions: A high prevalence of a prior history of STDs in the studied population was found. It is essential to find better ways to access HIV infection prevention, so that effective interventions can be more widely implemented. (C) 2012 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

INVESTIGATING THE PRESENCE OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE IN UNIVERSITY GENERAL CHEMISTRY TEXTBOOKS

INVESTIGATING THE PRESENCE OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE IN UNIVERSITY GENERAL CHEMISTRY TEXTBOOKS. This paper aims at analyzing the history of science content of three general chemistry textbooks used in Brazilian universities: the translations of Kotz and Treichel's Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity, Atkins and Jones's Chemical Principles, and Garritz and Chamizo's Quimica. Results revealed different trends for the inclusion of history of science in chemistry teaching. Katz & Treichel and Atkins & Jones used history mainly as curiosity and ornament. Garritz & Chamizo adopted the historical approach as one of the organizing axis of their textbook. Nevertheless, the historical content of the three textbooks may be criticized from current historiographical standpoint.

Gender characterization in a large series of Brazilian patients with spondyloarthritis

An increasing number of women have been diagnosed with spondyloarthritis (SpA) in recent decades. While a few studies have analyzed gender as a prognostic factor of the disease, no studies have addressed this matter with a large number of patients in South America, which is a peculiar region due to its genetic heterogeneity. The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of gender on disease patterns in a large cohort of Brazilian patients with SpA. A prospective study was carried out involving 1,505 patients [1,090 males (72.4%) and 415 females (27.6%)] classified as SpA according to the European Spondyloarthropaties Study Group criteria who attended at 29 reference centers for rheumatology in Brazil. Clinical and demographic variables were recorded and the following disease indices were administered: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Radiologic Index (BASRI), Maastricht Ankylosing Spondylitis Enthesitis Score (MASES), and Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life (ASQoL). Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) was the most frequent disease in the group (65.4%), followed by psoriatic arthritis (18.4%), undifferentiated SpA (6.7%), reactive arthritis (3.3%), arthritis associated to inflammatory bowel disease (3.2%), and juvenile SpA (2.9%). The male-to-female ratio was 2.6:1 for the whole group and 3.6:1 for AS. The females were older (p<0.001) and reported shorter disease duration (p=0.002) than the male patients. The female gender was positively associated to peripheral SpA (p<0.001), upper limb arthritis (p<0.001), dactylitis (p=0.011), psoriasis (p<0.001), nail involvement (p<0.001), and family history of SpA (p=0.045) and negatively associated to pure axial involvement (p< 0.001), lumbar inflammatory pain (p=0.042), radiographic sacroiliitis (p<0.001), and positive HLA-B27 (p=0.001). The number of painful (p<0.001) and swollen (p=0.006) joints was significantly higher in the female gender, who also achieved higher BASDAI (p<0.001), BASFI (p=0.073, trend), MASES (p=0.019), ASQoL (p=0.014), and patient's global assessment (p=0.003) scores, whereas the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (p<0.001) and biological agents (p=0.003) was less frequent in the female gender. Moreover, BASRI values were significantly lower in females (p<0.001). The female gender comprised one third of SpA patients in this large cohort and exhibited more significant peripheral involvement and less functional disability, despite higher values in disease indices.

Thermal decomposition kinetics of Brazilian limestones: effect of CO2 partial pressure

The influence of the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (CO2) on the thermal decomposition process of a calcite (CI) and a dolomite (DP) is investigated in this paper using a thermogravimetric analyser. The tests were non-isothermal at five different heating rates in dynamic atmosphere of air with 0% and 15% carbon dioxide (CO2). In the atmosphere without CO2, the average activation energies (E-alpha) were 197.4 kJ mol(-1) and 188.1 kJ mol(-1) for CI and DP, respectively. For the DP with 15% CO2, two decomposition steps were observed, indicating a change of mechanism. The values of E-alpha for 15% CO2 were 378.7 kJ mol(-1) for the CI, and 299.8 kJ mol(-1) (first decomposition) and 453.4 kJ mol(-1) (second decomposition) for the DP, showing that the determination of E-alpha for DP should in this case be considered separately in those two distinct regions. The results obtained in this study are relevant to understanding the behaviour changes in the thermal decomposition of limestones with CO2 partial pressure when applied to technologies, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), in which carbon dioxide is present in high concentrations.

Risk factors for hepatitis C virus infection in Inland Brazil: An analysis of pooled epidemiological sectional studies

In order to assess the contribution of different parenteral routes as risk exposure to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), samples from nine surveys or cross-sectional studies conducted in two Brazilian inland regions were pooled, including a total of 3,910 subjects. Heterogeneity among the study results for different risk factors was tested and the results were shown to be homogeneous. Anti-HCV antibodies were observed in 241 individuals, of which 146 (3.7%, 95% CI?=?3.24.4) had HCV exposure confirmed by immunoblot analysis or PCR test. After adjustment for relevant variables, a correlation between confirmed HCV exposure and injection drug use, tattooing, and advance age was observed. In a second logistic model that included exposures not searched in all nine studies, a smaller sample was analyzed, revealing an independent HCV association with past history of surgery and males who have sex with other males, in addition to repeated injection drug use. Overall, these analyses corroborate the finding that injection drug use is the main risk factor for HCV exposure and spread, in addition to other parenteral routes. J. Med. Virol. 84:756762, 2012. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Ethnic Influence in Clinical and Functional Measures of Brazilian Patients with Spondyloarthritis

Objective. Spondyloarthritides (SpA) can present different disease spectra according to ethnic background. The Brazilian Registry of Spondyloarthritis (RBE) is a nationwide registry that comprises a large databank on clinical, functional, and treatment data on Brazilian patients with SpA. The aim of our study was to analyze the influence of ethnic background in SpA disease patterns in a large series of Brazilian patients. Methods. A common protocol of investigation was prospectively applied to 1318 SpA patients in 29 centers distributed through the main geographical regions in Brazil. The group comprised whites (65%), African Brazilians (31.3%), and people of mixed origins (3.7%). Clinical and demographic variables and various disease index scores were compiled. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) was the most frequent disease in the group (65.1%); others were psoriatic arthritis (18.3%), undifferentiated SpA (6.8%), enteropathic arthritis (3.7%), and reactive arthritis (3.4%). Results. White patients were significantly associated with psoriasis (p = 0.002), positive HLA-B27 (p = 0.014), and use of corticosteroids (p < 0.0001). Hip involvement (p = 0.02), axial inflammatory pain (p = 0.04), and radiographic sacroiliitis (p = 0.025) were associated with African Brazilian descent. Sex distribution, family history, and presence of peripheral arthritis, uveitis, dactylitis, urethritis, and inflammatory bowel disease were similar in the 3 groups, as well as age at disease onset, time from first symptom until diagnosis, and use of anti-tumor necrosis factor-a agents (p > 0.05). Schober test and thoracic expansion were similar in the 3 groups, whereas African Brazilians had higher Maastricht Ankylasing Spondylitis Enthesitis Scores (p = 0.005) and decreased lateral lumbar flexion (p = 0.003), while whites had a higher occiput-to-wall distance (p = 0.02). African Brazilians reported a worse patient global assessment of disease (p = 0.011). Other index scores and prevalence of work incapacity were similar in the 3 groups, although African Brazilians had worse performance in the Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life questionnaire (p < 0.001). Conclusion. Ethnic background is associated with distinct clinical aspects of SpA in Brazilian patients. African Brazilian patients with SpA have a poorer quality of life and report worse disease compared to whites, (First Release Nov 1 2011; J Rheumatol 2012;39:141-7; doi:10.3899/jrheum.110372)