Sobre a validade das espécies pertencentes ao gênero Prosthogonimus Luehe, 1899, da coleção Helmintológica do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz

Os autores estudam todo o material brasileiro pertencente ao gênero Prosthogonimus Luehe, 1899, depositado na Coleção Helmintológica do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, determinado e sem determinação, e concluem que apesar de apresentar grande variação em seus caracteres, pertence à uma única espécie Prosthogonimus ovalus (Rudolphi, 1803). Essa variação já havia sido observada anteriormente por Travassos (1922-1928) e confirmada experimentalmente por Boddeke (1960). São apresentadas 49 figuras e 5 quadros com as medidas correspondentes, mostrando as variações encontradas.

Biomphalaria subprona (Martens, 1899) (Gastropoda: Planorbidae)

A description is given of the shell, head-foot, pulmonary wall, reproductive system and radula of Biomphalaria subprona (Martens, 1899). A diagnosis between it and two other congeneric species under 10 mm in shell diameter occurring in Middle America (Biomphalaria helophila and B. schrammi) is presented.

Presence of Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus (Champion, 1899) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) in Argentina

Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus is reported for the first time in Argentina. Four adults were attracted by the light of human dwellings in Calilegua National Park, Jujuy, at 1150 masl within the subtropical humid forest. The individuals were similar to those described in the literature. The epidemiological significance of this species is very low in the area, although deforestation might increase its role in the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Elytra colour polymorphism and randomness of matings in Chauliognathus fallax Germar 1824 from southern Brazil (Coleoptera, Cantharidae)

Beetles of the species Chauliognathus fallax Germar 1824 are polymorphic for elytron colouration with six morphs distinguished on the basis of black pigmentation on a yellow background. We investigated samples of C. fallax taken in eight consecutive weeks aiming to determine the frequency of the morphs which were grouped, for statistical analysis, into three classes according to elytra pigmentation as well as the possible occurrence of assortative mating. Our results showed a variation in the frequency of the classes throughout the season, both in males and females, with the maximum frequency of each class at the fourth and fifth week. The three classes (A, B, C) showed the same pattern of variation, and class B was always the more frequent. To test randomness of matings two approaches were taken: in the first, we compared the frequency of each class in copulating and non-copulating insects. In the second, the frequency of each class in the whole sample was taken as the probability of occurrence of the respective class; then, using the criterion of the probability of independent events we calculated the expected proportion of copulating insects for each pair of events. Both methods gave non-significant differences, suggesting that the matings were random.

Uma nova espécie de Strebla Wiedemann, 1824 (Diptera, Streblidae, Streblinae) sobre Anoura caudifer (E. Geoffroy, 1818) (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae, Glossophaginae)

A new species of Strebla Wiedemann, S. carvalhoi sp. nov., collected, on Anoura caudifer (E. Geoffroy, 1818) from Southern of Brazil, is described. Drawings of the postvertex, occipital plates, gonopods and tergite VII are provided.

Reflexões sobre a contribuição da Carnot à primeira lei da termodinâmica

The classical interpretations of Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot on some physical principles involved in the operation of heat engines were fundamental to the development and formulation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Moreover, an accurate historical survey clearly reveals that Carnot was, by that time, also well aware about some new concepts, which were further worked out by other scientists to lead to what was, some time later, known as the mechanical equivalent of heat and the conservation of energy. Benoit Paul Émile Clapeyron recognized these original concepts in the first of Carnot´s monographs, published in 1824, but no explicit citation is found in any post-Carnot classical texts dealing with the First Law of Thermodynamics, including those by Julius Robert Mayer, James Prescott Joule and Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz. The main objective of the present work is to point out some historical evidences of the pioneering contribution of Carnot to the modern concept of the First Law of Thermodynamics.

Morphology and topographic anatomy of the spinal cord of the red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria Spix, 1824)

The aim of this study was to describe the topography of the spinal cord of the red-footed tortoise to establish a morphological basis for applied research in anesthesiology and morphology. Six tortoises from the state of Maranhão (Brazil) that had died of natural causes were used. The common carotid artery was used to perfuse the arterial system with saline solution (heated to 37ºC) and to fix the material with a 20% formaldehyde solution. The specimens were then placed in a modified decalcifying solution for 72 hours to allow dorsal opening of the carapace with a chisel and an orthopedic hammer. Dissection of the dorsal musculature and sectioning of the vertebral arches were performed to access the spinal cord. The results revealed the spinal cord of G. carbonaria to be an elongated, whitish mass that reached the articulation between the penultimate and last caudal vertebrae. The cervical intumescence (Intumescentia cervicalis) was located between vertebral segments C5 and T1, whereas the lumbosacral intumescence (Intumescentia lumbalis) was located between T6 and Ca1.

A primazia da natureza ante o espírito em Ludwig Feuerbach

O presente artigo pretende destacar a tese de que a natureza para Feuerbach é um existente autônomo e independente e possui primazia ante o espírito. Para ele, a natureza material, que existe, em sua diferencialidade qualitativa, independente do pensar, é diante do espírito o original, o fundamento não deduzível, imediato, não criado, de toda existência real, que existe e consiste por si mesmo. Feuerbach opõe a natureza ao espírito, pois ele a entende não como um puro outro, que só por meio do espírito foi posto como natureza, mas como o primeiro, a realidade objetiva, material, que existe fora do entendimento e é dada ao homem, por meio de seus sentidos, como fundamento e essência de sua vida. Trata-se, pois, primeiro daquela essência (luz, ar, água, fogo, plantas, animais etc.) sem a qual o homem não pode nem ser pensado nem existir. A natureza é, para Feuerbach, a pluralidade de todos os objetos e essências que realmente são. Sob esta condição, é possível conceber a natureza como a garantia da exterioridade mesma, como que um existente fora de nós, que nada sabe de si e é em si e por si mesmo; por conseguinte, ela não deve ser vista como aquilo que ela não é, isto é, nem como divina, nem como humana. A natureza sempre existiu, quer dizer, ela existe por si e tem seu sentido apenas em si mesma; ela é ela mesma, ou seja, nenhuma essência mística, pois, por trás dela, não se esconde nenhum absoluto, nada humano, nada divino, transcendental ou ideal.