As espécies de Croton L. sect. Cyclostigma Griseb. e Croton L. sect. Luntia (Raf.) G. L. Webster subsect. Matourenses G. L. Webster (Euphorbiaceae s.s.) ocorrentes na Amazônia brasileira

Como parte de uma revisão taxonômica das espécies de Croton L. na Amazônia brasileira, estudou-se as seguintes espécies de Croton sect. Cyclostigma Griseb. e Croton sect. Luntia (Raf.) G. L. Webster subsect. Matourenses G. L. Webster: Croton urucurana Baill., C. draconoides Müll. Arg., C. trombetensis R. Secco, P. E. Berry & N.A. Rosa, C. sampatik Müll. Arg., C. palanostigma Kl., C. pullei Lanj. e C. matourensis Aubl. O estudo foi baseado em trabalho de campo realizado nos Estados do Pará e Maranhão, e em material depositado nos herbários IAN, INPA, MG e RB, incluindo tipos. Algumas dessas espécies, como C. urucurana, C. draconoides, C. palanostigma e C. sampatik , são frequentemente encontradas nos herbários com identificações equivocadas. São discutidas a posição taxonômica das espécies nas seções e suas afinidades, e uma chave dicotômica e ilustrações foram elaboradas para um melhor entendimento dos táxons.

Alteration in the endogenous intestinal flora of swiss webster mice by experimental Angiostrongylus costaricensis infection

The association between worm infections and bacterial diseases has only recently been emphasized. This study examined the effect of experimental Angiostrongylus costaricensis infection on endogenous intestinal flora of Swiss Webster mice. Eight mice aging six weeks were selected for this experiment. Four were infected with A. costaricensis and the other four were used as controls. Twenty eight days after the worm infection, all mice in both groups were sacrificed and samples of the contents of the ileum and colon were obtained and cultured for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. In the mice infected with A. costaricensis there was a significant increase in the number of bacteria of the endogenous intestinal flora, accompanied by a decrease in the number of Peptostreptococcus spp. This alteration in the intestinal flora of mice infected by the nematode may help to understand some bacterial infections described in humans.

Infectious disease among enslaved African Americans at Eaton's Estate, Warren County, North Carolina, ca. 1830-1850

The skeletal remains of 17 people buried in the Eaton Ferry Cemetery in northern North Carolina provide a means of examining health and infectious disease experience in the XIX century South. The cemetery appears to contain the remains of African Americans enslaved on the Eaton family estate from approximately 1830-1850, and thus offers a window into the biological impacts of North American slavery in the years preceding the Civil War. The sample includes the remains of six infants, one child, and one young and nine mature adults (five men, four women, and one unknown). Skeletal indices used to characterize health and disease in the Eaton Ferry sample include dental caries, antemortem tooth loss, enamel hypoplasia, porotic hyperostosis, periosteal lesions, lytic lesions, and stature. These indicators reveal a cumulative picture of compromised health, including high rates of dental disease, childhood growth disruption, and infectious disease. Specific diseases identified in the sample include tuberculosis and congenital syphilis. Findings support previous research on the health impacts of slavery, which has shown that infants and children were the most negatively impacted segment of the enslaved African American population.