A new Coniacian-Santonian conchostracan genus from the Bauru Group, south-east Brazil: Taxonomy, palaeobiogeography and palaeoecology

Abundant conchostracans occur in Coniacian-Santonian dark grey, argillaceous, lacustrine sediments of the Sao Carlos Formation, Bauru Group, Parana Basin, in the central part of São Paulo State, south-east Brazil. They are ascribed to a new genus and species, Bauruestheria sancarlensis, included in the family Jilinestheriidae. The new taxon is similar to some Late Cretaceous species from China and Mongolia. It probably evolved from a Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous ancestral form (Migransia), which first lived in West Gondwana, and later dispersed to Europe and Asia, originating distinct parallel lineages with increasing ornamental complexity. The conchostracans probably lived in oxygenated marginal areas of a very calm, perennial lake with an anoxic bottom, and were transported in suspension to the depositional site by weak turbidity currents or storm-induced flows. Great concentrations of juvenile conchostracans in some thin layers can be related to mass mortality, episodes caused by convection and dispersion of anoxic water during storms. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Population genetic relationships between Casearia sylvestris (Salicaceae) varieties occurring sympatrically and allopatrically in different ecosystems in south-east Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A new titanosaur from western São Paulo State, Upper Cretaceous Bauru Group, south-east Brazil

Material from a new titanosaur from the Bauru Basin (Bauru Group), Brazil is described and compared with well-known titanosaurs. Adamantisaurus mezzalirai gen. et sp. nov. is based on six articulated anterior caudal vertebrae and two haemapophyses collected from the Adamantina Formation, which is considered to be Campanian-Maastrichtian? in age. Adamantisaurus mezzalirai is characterized by the following combination of characteristics: anterior caudal vertebrae with straight or slightly backwardly-projecting neural spines with strongly expanded distal ends, stout prespinal lamina, very wide pre- and postzygapophyseal articular facets, and concave postzygapophyseal articular facets on anterior caudal vertebrae. Although our cladistic analysis has produced equivocal results, Adamantisaurus mezzalirai shares with DGM 'Series B' (Peiropolis titanosaur) and Aeolosaurus the presence of postzygapophyses with concave articular facets, and shares with DGM 'Series B' the presence of laterally expanded neural spines and stout prespinal lamina. Additionally, A. mezzalirai shares with DGM 'Series' C (other titanosaur from Peiropolis) the presence of short neural spines.

Range extension for buff-fronted owl Aegolius harrisii in south-east Brazil.

Buff-fronted Owl Aegolius harrisii is a poorly known species. Field records are rare and sparse, with large gaps throughout its distribution. We present five new records of A. harrisii in south-east Brazil, in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, and the second ever nest description. In São Paulo, records from Franca are >300 km from previous records, while the new record in Minas Gerais is 600 km from the only previous state record. More nocturnal field work is required to better evaluate the true distribution of A. harrisii.

Nutrient cycling in two south-east Brazilian forests. I. Litterfall and litter standing crop

Examined litterfall and litter standing crops in Altitudinal forest (AF and Semideciduous forest (SF) at Serra do Japi, Jundiai, Sao Paulo State. Total litterfall was 7 t ha-1 y-1 for AF: 4.9 leaves, 1.8 woody, 0.13 flower, 0.16 fruits; and the total for SF was 8.6 t ha-1 y-1; 5.5 leaves, 2.1 woody, 0.5 flower, 0.4 fruits. Litter standing crop was 5.5 t ha-1 y-1 for the two forest sites studied with a turnover coefficient (K1) of 1.3 for AF and 1.6 for SF. Litterfall occurred throughout the year but was greater during the dry season (August-September); seasonality of litter and leaf fall was greater in SF than in AF. -from Author

The deep mycoses in HIV infection

The deep mycoses are uncommon infections, usually acquired from the inhalation or ingestion of fungal spores, sometimes from the soil in areas of endemicity, such as in the Americas and south-east Asia, or from decaying vegetable matter. They are also seen in immunocompromised persons and, increasingly, in HIV-infected persons. Respiratory involvement is frequent, with granuloma formation, and mucocutaneous involvement may be seen. Oral lesions of the deep mycoses are typically chronic but non-specific, though nodular or ulcerative appearances are common. Person-to-person transmission is rare. In HIV disease, the most common orofacial involvement of deep mycoses has been in histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, aspergillosis and zygomycosis. Diagnosis is usually confirmed by lesional biopsy although culture may also be valuable. Treatment is with amphotericin or an azole.

Care arrangements for people with dementia in developing countries

Background: Rapid demographic ageing will soon lead to large increases in the numbers of persons with dementia in developing countries. This study is the first comprehensive assessment of care arrangements for people with dementia in those regions. Methods: A descriptive and comparative study of dementia care; caregiver characteristics, the nature of care provided, and the practical, psychological (Zarit Burden Interview, General Health Questionnaire) and economic impact upon the caregiver in 24 centres in India, China and South East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa. Results: We interviewed 706 persons with dementia, and their caregivers. Most caregivers were women, living with the person with dementia in extended family households. One-quarter to one-half of households included a child. Larger households were associated with lower caregiver strain, where the caregiver was co-resident. However, despite the traditional apparatus of family care, levels of caregiver strain were at least as high as in the developed world. Many had cutback on work to care and faced the additional expense of paid carers and health services. Families from the poorest countries were particularly likely to have used expensive private medical services, and to be spending more than 10% of the per capita GNP on health care. Conclusions: Older people in developing countries are indivisible from their younger family members. The high levels of family strain identified in this study feed into the cycle of disadvantage and should thus be a concern for policymakers in the developing world. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Record of the goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni (Chondrichthyes: Lamniformes: Mitsukurinidae) from the south-western Atlantic.

This paper reports the first well-documented specimen of the goblin shark, Mitsukurina owstoni in the south-western Atlantic, based on a mature male measuring 3152 mm total length, caught on 27 November 2008 off the Rio de Janeiro coast, south-east Brazil.

Food web structure in a tropical stream ecosystem

This study investigated the structure and properties of a tropical stream food web in a small spatial scale, characterizing its planktonic, epiphytic and benthic compartments. The study was carried out in the Potreirinho Creek, a second-order stream located in the south-east of Brazil. Some attributes of the three subwebs and of the conglomerate food web, composed by the trophic links of the three compartments plus the fish species, were determined. Among compartments, the food webs showed considerable variation in structure. The epiphytic food web was consistently more complex than the planktonic and benthic webs. The values of number of species, number of links and maximum food chain length were significantly higher in the epiphytic compartment than in the other two. Otherwise, the connectance was significantly lower in epiphyton. The significant differences of most food web parameters were determined by the increase in the number of trophic species, represented mainly by basal and intermediate species. High species richness, detritus-based system and high degree of omnivory characterized the stream food web studied. The aquatic macrophytes probably provide a substratum more stable and structurally complex than the sediment. We suggest that the greater species richness and trophic complexity in the epiphytic subweb might be due to the higher degree of habitat complexity supported by macrophyte substrate. Despite differences observed in the structure of the three subwebs, they are highly connected by trophic interactions, mainly by fishes. The high degree of fish omnivory associated with their movements at different spatial scales suggests that these animals have a significant role in the food web dynamic of Potreirinho Creek. This interface between macrophytes and the interconnections resultant from fish foraging, diluted the compartmentalization of the Potreirinho food web.

Discharge pulses of hydroelectric dams and their effects in the downstream limnological conditions: A case study in a large tropical river (SE Brazil)

To address daily fluctuations in electricity demands, the quantities of water passing through the turbines of hydropower plants can vary significantly (up to fourfold) during a 24-h cycle. This study evaluates the effects of hourly variations in water discharges on the limnological conditions observed in two below-dam river stretches. The study reservoirs, Capivara and Taquaruçu, are the 9th and 10th reservoirs in a cascade of dams in the Paranapanema River in south-east Brazil. The reservoirs exhibit different trophic conditions, water retention times, thermal regimes and spillway positions. Capivara Reservoir is deeper, meso-eutrophic, with a high water retention time and hypolimnetic discharges (32 m) varying between 500 and 1400 m3 s-1. In contrast, Taquaruçu Reservoir is relatively shallow, oligo-mesotrophic, and has a low retention time, with water discharges varying between 500 and 2000 m3 s-1. Its turbine water intake zone also is more superficial (7 m). For two periods of the year, winter and summer, profiles of limnological measurements were developed in the lacustrine (above-dam site) zones of the reservoirs, as well as in the downstream river stretches (below-dam site). In both cases, the sampling was carried out at 4-h intervals over a complete nictemeral cycle. The results demonstrated that the reservoir operating regime (water discharge variations) promoted significant differences in the conditions of the river below the dams, especially for water velocity, turbidity, and nutrient and suspended solids concentrations. The reservoir physical characteristics, including depth, thermal stratification and outlet structure, are also key factors influencing the limnology and water quality at the below-dam sampling sites. In the case of Capivara Reservoir, for example, the low dissolved oxygen concentration (<5.0 mg L-1) in its bottom water layer was transferred to the downstream river stretches during the summer. These study results demonstrated that it is important to continue such investigations as a means of verifying whether or not these high-amplitude/low-frequency variations could negatively affect the downstream river biota. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Análise da formação de Complexos Regionais de Segurança (CRS): um estudo comparativo entre a América do Sul e o leste asiático

Pós-graduação em Relações Internacionais (UNESP - UNICAMP - PUC-SP) - FFC