Estratégia de vida do peixe anual Hypsolebias antenori (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae) do semiárido brasileiro

This work deals with the life strategy of an endangered annual fish, Hypsolebias antenori (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), of the Brazilian semiarid region. The eggs of these fish hatch at the onset of the rainy season, grows rapidly and they reproduce during the rainy season. When the water puddles dry out, the entire population dies. The resistant eggs which are buried in the bottom of the dried pools go through diapause stages, during which time the embryonic development becomes temporarily arrested. With the onset of the next rainy season, the eggs hatch and a new generation is formed. Specimens of H. antenori were captured during 2011 and 2013, in temporary water pools located in the hydrographic basin of river Jaguaribe in Ceará, Brazil. Sex ratio, the length-weight relationship, the growth type, first sexual maturity, anatomy and histology of the digestive tract, development of gonads, reproductive strategy, karyotypic pattern of the species, and the conservation status of H. antenori were investigated. The results of this study are presented in the form of eight articles. The first article is about the fish faunal composition of the hydrographic basins of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, wherein the record of H. antenori is included. The second article deals with the sex ratio, secondary sexual characteristics of males, the length-weight relationship and the type of growth. Males show a pattern of intense coloration with well developed fins. The sex ratio showed a significant predominance of females (1M:1.7 F). Males were larger in length and weight. The equation of weight and total length relationship was Wt=0.0271Lt3,8937, showing a positively allometric growth, indicating greater increase in weight than in length. The third article discusses the anatomy and histology of the digestive tract of H. antenori. It is considered as a generalist feeder with characteristics of omnivore, which utilizes different food sources. The fourth article discusses the stages and phases of gonad development and type of spawning of H. antenori. The fifth article is about the r reproductive strategy adopted by H. antenori which helps in successful reproduction over a short period of life. The sixth article deals karyotypic pattern of the species, constituting the first cytogenetic contribution to the genus. The seventh article discusses about the risk of extinction of this species which suffers a series of threats, such as, habitat loss through land use, deforestation, construction of reservoirs, pollution due to domestic and industrial sewage, besides pesticides and agrochemicals. Furthermore, decreasing rainfall and intensification of aridity due to global climate changes, interferes with the reproductive cycle. The eighth article deals with aggressive behavior adopted between males and among females during reproduction. All temporary water pools sampled during this study were in high degree of degradation, mainly due to human action. There is a great need for conservation measures to protect the populations of annual fish, including the creation of protected areas in the semiarid ephemeral aquatic environments of Brazil

As competições sociais em grupos de Callithrix jacchus (Callitrichidae, Primates) são influenciadas pelo parentesco e pela convivência?

The Callitrichidae family is characterized by flexibility in its mating system, being possible to find monogamous, polyandrid and polygynic groups. Its social organization and mating system can be defined by the interaction between ecological and demographic factors plus the degree of relatedness among the individuals in the population. The objective of this work was to demonstrate the influence of relatedness and coexistence on the establishment and maintenance of social relations between Callithrix jacchus adult males. Four pairs of related adult males (CP), 4 pairs with coexistence between the animals in the pair (CC) and 4 pairs with no relatedness (SP) were studied. The pairs in the group CC had been kept in the same cage for at least 8 months before the experiment and the pairs in the group SP were put together at the beginning of the study. Each animal was observed 3 times/week for 2 months, in 15 min. sessions, through focal time sampling with instantaneous record each minute. In the first month, only the pair of males was kept in the cage (Phase I) and in the second month, a female was introduced into the cage (Phase II). The affiliative, agonistic and sexual interactions were registered. Affiliative interactions showed similar frequencies for all groups in phases. There was also no significant difference in the agonistic interactions of the CP, CC and SP males in Pase I, even considering that group SP exhibited higher levels of agonism. In Phase II, there was a statistically significant increase comparing to the others. The results demonstrate that relatedness and coexistence are of great importance for maintaining reprodutive and social stability inside the group. Nonetheless, in this study, only one of the males in the pair had sexual interations with the females, except for 2 pairs. This was assured through mate guarding and agonism directed to the potencial competitor. The most probable mating system would be functional monogamy, where the males would present low levels of competition, if there is relatedness and coexistence among them; on the other hand, a strong competition if there is no relatedness between the individuals. Even so, a polyandric system would also have to be considered

Perfil hormonal anual de machos e fêmeas adultos de saguis (callithrix jacchus)

Many behavioral and biological variables of animals are expressed in the form of biological rhytms, down by the Circadian Timing System, that synchronize them with the environment from external stimuli such as light. One of them is the secretion profile of most circulating hormones regulated by the hypothalamuspirtuitary axis, which controls functions essential for the survival and reproduction of organisms. The sagüi, Callithrix jacchus, one of the most studied species about their endocrine physiology, is an appropriate subject for evaluating the profile of plasma prolactin and cortisol of adult males and females born in captivity throughout the year. Three male and two adult femelas were housed individually and subjected to natural environmental conditions over two years. Blood samples were used to measure the circulating levels of both hormones by methods radioimmunoassay (RIA) and immunoassay (ELISA), respectively. The analysis during the year of the plasmatic values of both hormones test was performed by ANOVA for repeated measures, the correlation of Spearman, and the test of Friedman and Student's t-test. The levels of prolactin in plasma were higher during the months in which there is a greater incidence of births of baby in the colony, possibly serving for modulating the expression of the behavior of parental care in both sexes. The plasma cortisol showed a lift in anticipation of the station with the highest birth rate and may be associated with the preparation of individual participation in caring for the baby, and also with the establishment of emotional bond between reproductive partners. Thus, this study shows that, despite the variations observed in the environment in which the animals live, plasma levels of prolactin and cortisol vary little throughout the year.

Estudo da preferência manual durante o desenvolvimento ontogenético em sagüi comum ( Callithix jacchus)

The study of manual preference is a widely used approach to investigate cerebral laterality in nonhuman primates. However, in New World primates, little is known about the ontogenesis of hand use asymmetry, in both forced and spontaneous activities, as well as how they correlate with sexual hormones. Accordingly, a longitudinal study was conducted on the manual preference of 6 female and 4 male common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). The study included the record of forced tests to reach for the food using only one hand (forced activity) and activities such as grooming (auto and social), scratching, grasping the food and hanging, in weekly sessions from the infantile (4 months) to the early adult phase (15 months). Feces samples were also collected, at least once a week, to evaluate the level of gonadal steroids and their influence on these behaviors. In the forced activity, the results confirm the influence of the development period on manual preference during feeding, shown by the increase in lateral stability when grasping the food between the juvenile and adult phases. During this period, a sexual hormone effect on development was also observed, mainly of progesterone in females and androgen in males, but no difference between sexes was found. In the females, progesterone also influenced the manual preference index, with a proportional increase in the degree of manual asymmetry during puberty. With respect to spontaneous activities, the animals showed proportional use of both hands when scratching, hanging, holding the food and grooming. A positive correlation was also found between the preference for holding the food in forced activities and in spontaneous activities

Preferências e escolhas românticas entre universitários

Several studies have found different patterns of preferences to men and women for short term and long term relationship romantic partners. It is known that the preferences vary with the sex of individuals, the expected involvement level of the relationship and according to the perceptions that subjects have about themselves. In the present study, we investigate whether the preferences typically founded for sexes are also founded between Brazilian undergraduate students. We also investigated if the individuals choose partners in accord of the sex preferences and if the ideal preferences are really expressed in real choices. For these investigations, 370 undergraduate students described profiles of an ideal partner for a short-term and a long-term relationship, through the joint evaluation of nine characteristics. Each ideal s profile has been described over three simulations, in which the amount of points available to be invested were limited and gradually reduced. After the descriptions of these profiles, the participants described the current or previous partner (if they were not in a relationship) and performed a self-assessment with the same characteristics used in the description of preferences. Overall, the results obtained in several countries were observed in Brazil. For short-term relationships men prioritize physical attributes and women value physical and personal attributes. For long-term, personal traits gained in importance on masculine preferences and women emphasized personal traits and the partner disposition to acquire resources. We also identified similar preferences profiles for both sexes and that the romantic preferences reflect similarities with the own individual s characteristics, in addition to the typical sexual preferences expected for the Parental Investment Theory. When evaluated their real partners, men considerate them more physically attractive than themselves but less intelligent, good humorous and ambi tion/willing to work. Women, in turn, described their partners as good as them. Finally, we observed equivalence between characteristics of the subjects and those of its partners, this effect being more pronounced among men. The last partners were described only as less sincere. The interpretation of the most part of our results was possible from evolutionist s and socio-cultural s explanations and was discussed under the two perspectives. We conclude this study stressing that the traditional romantic preferences occur in Brazil and that the sex, the kind of relationship and the vision that people have about their own characteristics affect the preferences, which are expressed in the real partner choices

Relações sociais de callithrix jacchus machos: competição ou cooperação?

The group Callithrichidae is characterized by the flexibility in its mating system. This fact generates questions about the mechanisms that Callithrix jacchus males reach the breeding position in a group and how they prevent the subordinates reproduction, since the competition apparently happens with less intensity when compared to the females. Studies have shown the importance of social interactions and kinship among individuals in the distribution of mating opportunities in a group. This work aimed to evaluate if dyads of Callithrix jacchus males acted socially different due to kinship. We observed the agonistic and affiliative behaviours made by the males when associated in dyads (Phase 1) and when these dyads received a female (Phase 2), which was introduced in the pair`s cage for 45 minutes. In the phase 2, we also accounted for the sexual interactions between males and female in each trio. We used 16 males, 8 related (brothers-R) and 8 nonrelated (NR), as well as 8 females. Each phase lasted 4 weeks, with 3 observations/week, during 15 min/male in phase 1 and 2. In the first phase, two pairs of R males had a contested dominance and the other two, just like in the NR males, had an uncontested dominance. The NR dominant males were more aggressive than the subordinates. With the female`s entrance in the cage, all male pairs began to have an uncontested dominance. The NR males aggression frequency rose along with the subordinates` submission. In the R males, the frequency of grooming and physical contact was higher than in the NR males. So, we conclude that the low levels of agonism presented by the R males, along with the higher tolerance shown amongst them, lead us to believe that kinship attenuate the competition among these males

Ecologia alimentar e comportamento de forrageamento de Ameivula aff. ocellifera (Squamata: Teiidae) em área de caatinga do nordeste do Brasil

This study investigated the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the feeding ecology and foraging behavior of the whiptail lizard Ameivula aff. ocellifera, a new species widely distributed in the Brazilian Caatinga, and that is in process of description. In attendance to the objectives, the Dissertation was structured in two chapters, which correspond to scientific articles, one already published and the other to be submitted for publication. In Chapter 1 were analyzed the general diet composition, the relationship between lizard size and prey size, and the occurrence of sexual and ontogenetic differences in the diet. Chapter 2 contemplates a seasonal analysis of diet composition during two rainy seasons interspersed with a dry season, and the quantitative analysis of foraging behavior during two distinct periods. The diet composition was determined through stomach analysis of lizards (N = 111) collected monthly by active search, between September 2008 and August 2010, in the Estação Ecológica do Seridó (ESEC Seridó), state of Rio Grande do Norte. Foraging behavior was investigated during a rainy and a dry month of 2012 also in ESEC Seridó, by determining percent of time moving (PTM), number of movements per minute (MPM) and prey capture rate by the lizards (N = 28) during foraging. The main prey category in the diet of Ameivula aff. ocellifera was Insect larvae, followed by Orthoptera, Coleoptera and Araneae. Termites (Isoptera) were important only in numeric terms, having negligible volumetric contribution (<2%) and low frequency of occurrence, an uncommon feature among whiptail lizards. Males and females did not differ neither in diet composition nor in foraging behavior. Adults and juveniles ingested similar prey types, but differed in prey size. Maximum and minimum prey sizes were positively correlated with lizard body size, suggesting that in this population individuals experience an ontogenetic change in diet, eating larger prey items while growing, and at the same time excluding smaller ones. The diet showed significant seasonal differences; during the two rainy seasons (2009 and 2010), the predominant prey in diet were Insect larvae, Coleoptera and Orthoptera, while in the dry season the predominant prey were Insect larvae, Hemiptera, Araneae and Orthoptera. The degree of mobility of consumed prey during the rainy seasons was lower, mainly due to a greater consumption of larvae (highly sedentary prey) during these periods. Population niche breadth was higher in the dry season, confirming the theoretical prediction that when food is scarce, the diets tend to be more generalized. Considering the entire sample, Ameivula aff. ocellifera showed 61,0 ± 15,0% PTM, 2,03 ± 0,30 MPM, and captured 0,13 ± 0,14 per minute. Foraging mode was similar to that found for other whiptail lizards regarding PTM, but MPM was relatively superior. Seasonal differences were verified for PTM, which was significantly higher in the rainy season (66,4 ± 12,1) than in the dry season (51,5 ± 15,6). It is possible that this difference represents a behavioral adjustment in response to seasonal variation in the abundance and types of prey available in the environment in each season

Lógica por trás dos contratos sociais

Natural selection shapes body and behavior of each species. For primates, the social environment constituted one of the greatest selective pressure for the development of their cognition. When we consider gender differences, we see that sexual selection also operates through different selective pressures for men and women not only in physical terms but in terms of cognitive skills. Among these, the primary cognitive abilities - that emerge naturally - and secondary - that rely on an artificial environment for learning - develop differently for each sex, making them suitable for specific tasks in different capacities. Previous studies utilized the Wason Selection Test a conditional logic tool - to measure, among several other things, the ability to recognize violation of rules in abstract contexts and social contexts. Subjects generally had better performance in the latter, however, in these studies possible differences motivated by learning in formal logic or genre were not considered. Our study investigated these two variables, as well as the time spent to solve each task. Furthermore, we used an index to take into account the rights and wrongs of the participants in tasks. We realized that although learning in formal logic does not bring significant differences in solving tests, the gender differences are strongly observed when we consider the social contexts and abstract. Women perform better in social tasks. This can be explained due to different sexual selective pressures for this gender in terms of one-on-one relationships within the group. Men are better at tasks of abstract context and this is probably due to the same reason. Their capabilities for territory defense, habitat navigation and forming coalitions depends on primary cognitive abilities that support secondary cognitive skills of abstraction. Thus, gender differences are a factor to be taken into account in controlling future experiments with the same tool

Efeitos de diferentes tipos estressores sobre a memória e aprendizagem de ratas

The exposure to stressors produces physiological changes of the organism in order to adapt the individual to the environment. Depending on the type, intensity and duration, stress can affect some cognitive functions, particularly processes of learning and memory. Several studies have also proposed that some level of anxiety would be necessary for memory formation. In this context, memories of previously aversive experiences may determine the manner and intensity with which are expressed fear responses, which explains the great interest in analyzing both anxiety and memory in animals. In addition, males and females demonstrate different reactions in relation to stressful stimuli, showing different levels of anxiety and differences in processing of the acquisition, retention and recall of information. Based on this information, the present study aimed to verify the effect of stress on learning, memory and anxiety behavioral parameters in rats exposed at different types of stressors of long duration (seven consecutive days): restraint (4h/day), overcrowding (18h/day) and social isolation (18h/day) in the different phases of the estrous cycle. Our results showed that the stress induced by restraint and social isolation did not cause changes in the acquisition process, but impaired the recall of memory in rats. Furthermore, it is suggested a protective effect of sex hormones on retrieval of aversive memory, since female rats in proestrus or estrus phase, characterized by high estrogen concentrations, showed no aversive memory deficits. Furthermore, despite the increased plasma levels of corticosterone observed in female rats subjected to restraint stress and social isolation, anxiety levels were unaltered, compared to those various stress conditions. Animal models based on psychological and social stress have been extensively discussed in the literature. Correlate behavioral responses, physiological and psychological have contributed in increasing the understanding of stress-induced psychophysiological disorders

Amor como medida de satisfação marital

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

Estilos de aprendizagem sob a ótica da Psicologia Evolucionista

Among a variety of learning conceptions, David Kolb´s Experiential Learning Theory proposes four different learning styles: diverging, characterized by orientation towards people and multi-perspective vision; assimilating, concerned with ideas and abstract concepts as well as theory formulation; converging, expert in dealing with technical tasks and problem solving; and accommodating, risk taker and good at getting things done. Interesting correlations have been pointed out between Kolb s learning styles, professional careers and genders. With respect to behaviors, specific cognitive skills and interests, sex differences are widely known, and explained by Evolutionary Psychology as the result of distinct selective pressures acting on each gender. The aim of this research was to assess adolescents learning styles and their relation with interests on school and career choices, analyzing possible gender differences. We distributed questionnaires to 221 senior high school students to research their preferences for school disciplines, professional activities and career choices. The Learning Style Inventory specified the learning style of each individual. Our results showed a high frequency of reflective styles, with predominance of females as diverging and males as assimilating. Concerning school and professional interests, there were correlations between styles oriented towards the abstract and technical interests. Moreover, females preferred disciplines related to languages and interpersonal activities while males preferred disciplines related to science and technical activities. There were more males in exact science and engineering careers, and more females in social science and applied social science. Correlations found between learning styles, school and professional interests corroborate Kolb´s propositions, and the findings about gender differences are supported by Evolutionary Psychology theories

Saúde psíquica e condições de trabalho dos profissionais de saúde nos hospitais da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

A tese se propôs a avaliar a relação entre saúde psíquica e condições de trabalho em dois hospitais da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, a saber: Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes e Hospital Universitário Ana Bezerra. Adotou como ponto de partida epistemológico a abordagem psicossociológica, considerando que a compreensão sócio-histórica do contexto é indispensável para entender os fenômenos em análise. As condições de trabalho e a saúde psíquica foram abordadas interdisciplinarmente, fundamentando a construção de um modelo compreensivo de saúde psíquica que orientou a investigação. O caminho metodológico utilizado foi a pesquisação. Essa foi desenvolvida, utilizando técnicas como análise documental, observação participante, entrevistas não estruturadas, grupo focal e aplicação de um protocolo de pesquisa composto pelo questionário de condições de trabalho, pelo Questionário de Saúde Geral (QSG-60), pela Escala de Bem-Estar Afetivo no Trabalho (JAWS-12) e por questões sociodemográficas. A análise dos resultados mostrou que os escores sintomáticos de saúde psíquica variam por hospitais e que a saúde psíquica sofre influência das condições de trabalho, sobretudo em aspectos referentes a três dimensões: condições físicas e materiais; processos e características do trabalho e o ambiente sociogerencial. Em referência à primeira dessas dimensões, destacaram-se a exposição aos riscos psicobiológicos e de acidentes, bem como as exigências de esforço físico. Na segunda dimensão, a complexidade das atividades e a responsabilidade implicada nas mesmas. E, na última, os fatores de organização da atividade, violência e ambiente conflitivo. Como a relação do indivíduo com seu contexto é dialética, os resultados encontrados corroboraram que quanto mais as condições de trabalho são desfavoráveis, maior a afetação da saúde psíquica e dos afetos com relação ao trabalho, repercutindo novamente no ambiente de trabalho. Portanto, ações de melhoria das condições de trabalho precisam ser estabelecidas para resultar, no efeito inverso, proporcionando o aumento dos afetos positivos e a redução dos sintomas psíquicos

A apreciação musical infantil: aspectos da constituição da infância contemporânea no discurso de crianças do Ensino Fundamental

Music can be found in peculiar historical and social context with distinct functions, such as religious rituals, ethic-esthetic education of subjects, therapeutic elements, critic and maintenance of established patterns, among others. Considered as language, music acts on dialogue dimensions of the body, the senses, the affectionate-cognitive and of social interactions. Their uses reveal the social forces that cross the culture and constitution of subjectivities. The attribution of senses by the subjects to musical production reveals the cultural voices in dialogue, that circumscribe determined social places to them. Our aim in this work is to investigate the child musical appreciation, with children about 7 to 9 years old, and, by attributing uses and senses to music, unveil the voices that settle the places intended and assumed by infancy in contemporaneity The child constructs its musical appreciation through cultural access and mediation, possible by circulation in several socializing groups like family, school, church, infant groups, community groups and, more recently, publicity and media These last two spheres, enabled by the development of the technological means of communication, contributed to the dissemination of the set of consume ideas and for the emergence of the cultural industry, characteristic of the capitalistic production way in its present configuration. They develop new possibilities of perception of the world, in which the limits between childhood and adulthood are not anymore the same that have been established in previous centuries. So, the child musical appreciation is constituted by homogeneity regarding the senses built and disseminated by cultural industry and by the logical merchandizing, and singularities, associated to the construction of senses in interaction with global, local, and multiple contexts, through which the subject circulates and constitutes himself polyphonically

Avaliação das características de afetividade em crianças e jovens com síndrome de down

This work presents the processes and the results of a research concerning the affectivity in children suffering from the Down´s Syndrome (DS). The relevance of the study is justified due to the need of the development of researches, in the area of psychological evaluation of people who suffers from Down´s Syndrome (DS), that are backed by the use of appropriate instruments for such purpose. The thematic discussed focuses the characteristics of the affectivity of children suffering from Down´s Syndrome. Affectivity, conceptually, is considered a wide phenomenon, including several aspects such as emotions, passions, anxiety, anguish, sadness, happiness and even the pleasure sensations and pain. The general objective of the study consisted of investigating the manifestation of the affectivity in children and young with Down´s Syndrome and the parents´ and educators´ perception concerning the expression of the affectivity in the behavior and in the social activities. The specific objectives were: to identify the parents' perceptions about the several manifestations of indicative behaviors of affectivity; to verify in the social atmosphere, outside home, through the teachers' perception, the several forms and intensities of the expression of the affectivity; and, to make possible the use of the technique of Zulliger (Z-test) in people with Down´s Syndrome. 70 (seventy) children and young with Down´s Syndrome participated in the research, in the age group from 04 to 26 years old, which are attended by Institutions of Paraíba and of Rio Grande do Norte. The instruments used were two questionnaires, applied with the parents and teachers, and the projective technique, Z-test, applied, individually, with the children and young with Down´s Syndrome. For analysis of the data of the questionnaires, the program Trideux-Mots was used, with the intention of selecting the main outstanding words for the parents and teachers concerning the expression of the children's affectivity and young with Down´s Syndrome. For so much, it was organized a database that was processed by that program and, soon after, interpreted through the Factorial Analysis by Correspondence (AFC), looking for to clear the modalities of presented answers in an organized way, through a graph. The data of the Z-test were analyzed, taking in consideration the need to characterize the aspects of the affectivity and the elaboration of specific norms for this sample type, through normalized scores. In agreement with the data presented by Tri-deux-Mots, it was observed that in the affective behavior and in the relationship with the other, home and in the school, the children and young with Down´s Syndrome they express your affectivity through positive and negative characteristics, in the same way that any other child that doesn't have to syndrome. The Z-test made possible initial elements to work with that population, however it is necessary that grow other researches with the intention of investigating the reason of the answers they present not the specific categories that you/they are related to the affectivity, since it was well-known the diversity of affective characteristics presented by the researched group

Contando histórias de cuidado à infância em unidade de terapia intensiva pediátrica

The tales of children's literature, in their plots, mark existential dilemmas belonging in human‟s lives, such as death, situations of separation, loss, abandonment, fear, challenges, achievements and other elements that make them suitable material to assist children in their developmental process. Such elements, present in children‟s storybooks, are close to the experiences lived by the children in the context of hospitalization in a special manner. With that said this study focus on the understanding of the therapeutic possibilities of the tales of children's literature in the care of hospitalized children in Pediatric Intensive Care Units (UTIPED) based on the Heidegger's concept of Care and adopting the Phenomenology as the method. The UTIPED of a state public hospital located in the municipality of Natal/RN was elected as the study site and four hospitalized children aged between six and nine years, all males, presenting different clinical conditions were selected to participate in the study following age and clinical conditions as the selective criteria. The procedure of corpus construction included eight individual sessions of storytelling accompanied by the use of ludic resources. The phenomenological understanding about the therapeutic possibilities of tales was structured under three main elements: (1) the ludic axis; (2) the reflective axis; and (3) the affective axis. The appropriateness of the proposed therapy in the context of the UTIPED and the potential of the tales as a protection factor to the child was evident. The storytelling activity framed a scenario of care unusual in the context of intensive care units, establishing a symbolic space for children‟s expression. Therefore, this study indicates this therapeutic proposal for children‟s care in the UTIPED that considers their evolutionary stage, their clinical conditions at the time and especially their emotional needs during their immersion in a diverse and foreign environment which is filled with potentially harmful elements to their full development.