Note on predation of the brood of Mischocyttarus injucundus (de Saussure) by another social wasp in Caxiuanã, Pará, Brazil, with new records of species for the Ferreira Penna Research Station (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae)

ABSTRACT Predation of the brood of Mischocyttarus injucundus by another polistine social wasp is reported from an Amazonian rainforest locality. This is the first report for the American tropics of naturally occurring predation by one social wasp on the brood of another. Three species are added to the list of the Ferreira Penna Research Station, raising known local richness to 81 species: Mischocyttarus filiformis (de Saussure, 1854), Mischocyttarus vaqueroi Zikán, 1949, and Parachartergus griseus (Fox, 1898).

A harder edge: reframing Brazil's power relation with Africa

Brazil's rapprochement with Africa during the last decade has been mostly explained as an attempt to improve political dialogue, raise economic interactions, and provide technical cooperation assistance. This article, however, argues that such framework does not sufficiently account for the use of Brazilian material resources in order to attain harder strategic goals towards the continent. By focusing on defense cooperation ties, it highlights an important niche in South-South relations that has also grown exponentially, with important consequences on how Brazil exerts power across the Atlantic.

Brazil, China, US: a triangular relation?

This article is divided in three sections. The first one explores the so-called "strategic partnership" between Brazil and China. In the second section we shall examine how US-China relations in the global system could affect both Brazil-US, and Brazil-China bilateral relations. A final section presents some recommendations for Brazil strategic orientations regarding the current systemic transition in the allotment of global power.

Indirect effect of neem oil on Podisus nigrispinus (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae): biology and predatory capacity

This study evaluated the effects on the development and predatory capacity of Podisus nigrispinus fed on Spodoptera frugiperda that have ingested different concentrations of neem oil. The predatory capacity of Podisus nigrispinus was assessed, separating nymphs (fourth instar) and adults (males and females). The treatments consisted of S. frugiperda larvae reared in neem oil aqueous solutions (0.077, 0.359 and 0.599%), deltamethrin EC 25 (0.100%) and control arranged in a completely randomized design, with ten replicates. Insects were offered three larval densities (one, three and six), in the third or fourth instars. The predated larvae were examined at 24 and 48 hours after the beginning of the experiment. Biological parameters of Podisus nigrispinus were evaluated in groups of ten second-instar nymphs transferred to pots, in five replicates. Insects were offered 2-6 third and/or fourth-instar larvae reared in the same neem oil concentrations in a completely randomized design. The following parameters were evaluated: duration of each nymph stage (days), nymph mortality (%), weight of fifth-instar nymphs (mg), sex ratio, weight of males and females (mg) and longevity of unfed adults (days). The predatory capacity of nymphs and adults of Podisus nigrispinus was influenced by the neem oil at the concentrations of 0.359% and 0.599% in the highest density. The concentration of 0.359% lengthened the nymphal stage and the concentration of 0.599% reduced the weight of males.

RELATION BETWEEN BACKGROUND VARIABLES, VALUES AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

ABSTRACT Consumer perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be directly influenced by individual value structures. This research aims to provide new knowledge regarding the relationship between basic human values and the public's perception of CSR. It focuses on the values of higher education students and their views regarding a particular corporate social initiative. The study reveals that social, educational, and economic circumstances influence human values. Those values in turn influence why different students perceive CSR differently. These findings are relevant to companies as they provide a more detailed understanding of why certain consumer groups perceive certain CSR initiatives the way that they do. They also suggest that universities should increase their awareness of the importance of integrating human values and CSR in the curricula of future business managers and social leaders.

Mid-upper arm circumference in pregnant women and its relation to birth weight

OBJECTIVE: In order to determine the relationship between some maternal anthropometric indicators and birth weight, crown-heel length and newborn's head circumference, 92 pregnant women were followed through at the prenatal service of hospital in S. Paulo, Brazil. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The following variables were established for the mother: weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference, pre-pregnancy weight, gestational weight gain and Quetelet's index. For the newborn the following variables were recorded: birth weight, crown-heel length, head circumference and gestational age by Dubowitz's method. RESULTS: Significant associations were noted between gestational age and newborn variables. In addition, maternal mid-arm circumference (MUAC) and pre-pregnancy weight were found to be positively correlated to birth weight (r=0.399; r=0.378, respectively). The multivariate linear regression shows that gestational age, mother's arm circumference and pre-pregnancy weight continue to be significant predictors of birth weight. On the other hand, only gestational age and mother's age was associated with crown-heel length. Similarly MUAC was significantly associated with crown-heel length (r= 0.306; P=0.0030). CONCLUSION: Maternal mid-upper arm circumference is a potential indicator of maternal nutritional status. It could be used in association with other anthropometric measurements, instead of pre-pregnancy weight, as an alternative indicator to assess women at risk of poor pregnancy outcome.

Evaluation of alcohol outlet density and its relation with violence

OBJECTIVES: The current study set out to investigate alcohol availability in a densely populated, residential area of suburban São Paulo associated with high levels of social deprivation and violence. Gun-related deaths and a heavy concentration of alcohol outlets are notable features of the area surveyed. Given the strong evidence for a link between alcohol availability and a number of alcohol-related problems, including violent crime, measures designed to reduce accessibility have become a favored choice for alcohol prevention programs in recent years. METHODS: The interviewers were 24 residents of the area who were trained for the study. It was selected an area of nineteen streets, covering a total distance of 3.7 km. A profile of each alcohol outlet available on the area was recorded. RESULTS: One hundred and seven alcohol outlets were recorded. The number of other properties in the same area was counted at 1,202. Two measures of outlet density may thus be calculated: the number of outlets per kilometer of roadway (29 outlets/km); and the proportion of all properties that sold alcohol (1 in 12). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study is compared with others which are mainly from developed countries and shown that the area studied have the highest density of alcohol outlet density ever recorded in the medical literature. The implication of this data related to the violence of the region is discussed. By generating a profile of alcohol sales and selling points, it was hoped to gain a better understanding of alcohol access issues within the sample area. Future alcohol prevention policy would be well served by such knowledge.

Splenomegaly in relation to Schistosoma mansoni egg counts: a population based study

A cross: sectional survey on schistosomiasis was done in Comercinho (Minas Gerais State, Brazil), a town with 1474 inhabitants. Stool (Kato-Katz method) and physical examinations were done on 90% of the population and on 84% of the individuals over 2 years of age, respectively. The ecological and individual (case-control) analysis were used to investigate the relation between splenomegaly and S. mansoni egg counts in different age groups. In the ecological analysis there was a clearly correspondence between higher geometric mean of eggs and higher percentage of splenomegaly in the age groups 5-9 and 10-12 years. In the individual analysis it was found that only in the youngest individuals (5-8 or 5-9 years old) the splenomegaly was related with higher mean egg counts in the feces, having been a tendency to the decrease of excretion of eggs in patients with splenomegaly as the age increased. These results strongly suggest that the ecological data are' better indicator of the severity of schistosomiasis in endemic areas, as the decrease of the egg excretion in patients with splenomegaly may be a confounding variable for the individual analysis.

Nutritional status in relation to the efficacy of the rhesus-human reassortant, tetravalent rotavirus vaccine (RRV-TV) in infants from Belém, Pará State, Brazil

The rhesus-human reassortant, tetravalent rotavirus vaccine (RRV-TV) was licensed for routine use in the United States of America but it was recently withdrawn from the market because of its possible association with intussusception as an adverse event. The protective efficacy of 3 doses of RRV-TV, in its lower-titer (4 x 10(4) pfu/dose) formulation, was evaluated according to the nutritional status of infants who participated in a phase III trial in Belém, Northern Brazil. A moderate protection conferred by RRV-TV was related to weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ) greater than -1 only, with rates of 38% (p = 0.04) and 40% (p = 0.04) for all- and- pure rotavirus diarrhoeal cases, respectively. In addition, there was a trend for greater efficacy (43%, p = 0.05) among infants reaching an height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) of > -1. Taking WAZ, HAZ and weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) indices <= -1 together, there was no significant protection (p > 0.05) if both placebo and vaccine groups are compared. There was no significant difference if rates of mixed and pure rotavirus diarrhoeal cases are compared in relation to HAZ, WAZ and weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) indices. Although a low number of malnourished infants could be identified in the present study, our data show some evidence that malnutrition may interfere with the efficacy of rotavirus vaccines in developing countries.

The biological meaning of anti-HBC positive result in blood donors: relation to HBV-DNA and to other serological markers

In order to assess the potential risk of anti-HBc-positive blood donors for post-transfusional hepatitis and to investigate whether other HBV serological markers are capable of identifying the presence of the virus, 1000 first-time blood donors were enrolled between June and July 1997. These donors were screened using routine Brazilian blood center tests (HIV 1 and 2, HTLV 1 and 2, Chagas disease, Syphilis, HCV, HBsAg, anti-HBc and ALT ). The 120 (12%) found to be anti-HBc-positive underwent further tests: HBe, anti-HBe, anti-HBs and HBV-DNA by PCR. Ten cases were HBsAg positive and all were HBV-DNA positive by PCR. Three HBsAg-negative donors were HBV-DNA-positive. Two HBV-DNA-positive donors were also anti-HBs-positive. All the HBV-positive donors had at least one HBV marker other than anti-HBc. Anti-HBc is an important cause of blood rejection. Testing for HBsAg alone is not fully protective and anti-HBc remains necessary as a screening test. The presence of anti-HBs is not always indicative of absence of the virus. The addition of other HBV serological markers could represent an alternative in predicting the presence of the virus when compared with PCR. It is recommended that other studies should be carried out to confirm this finding.

Assessment of chemiluminescence and PCR effectiveness in relation to conventional serological tests for the diagnosis of Chagas' disease

While testing 414 sera for the diagnosis of Chagas' disease, the conventional reactions of indirect hemagglutination, indirect immunofluorescence and the immunosorbent assay showed a sensitivity of 95.7%, 100% and 98.2% and a specificity of 98%, 98% and 96.4%, respectively, and an excellent association using Fisher's exact test. Chemiluminescence presented 100% sensitivity and 89.6% specificity, while PCR showed 100% specificity and 1.2% sensitivity. It is believed that the three conventional serological reactions are still adequate for diagnosing Chagas' disease.

In vitro predatory activity of conidia of fungal isolates of the Duddingtonia flagrans on Angiostrongylus vasorum first-stage larvae

INTRODUCTION: Angiostrongylus vasorum is a nematode that parasitizes molluscs, dogs, and even man. METHODS: The objective was to evaluate the predatory activity of the conidia of two fungal isolates of Duddingtonia flagrans (AC001 and CG722) on first-stage larvae (L1) of A. vasorum in laboratory conditions. RESULTS: At the end of the experiment, there were significant reductions (p<0.01) of 74.5% and 63.2%, on average, in the A. vasorum L1 recovered in the AC001 and CG722 treatment conditions, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The two isolates of fungi were efficient in the capture and destruction of A. vasorum L1.