Three-dimensional description and mathematical characterization of the parasellar internal carotid artery in human infants

Inside the `cavernous sinus` or `parasellar region` the human internal carotid artery takes the shape of a siphon that is twisted and torqued in three dimensions and surrounded by a network of veins. The parasellar section of the internal carotid artery is of broad biological and medical interest, as its peculiar shape is associated with temperature regulation in the brain and correlated with the occurrence of vascular pathologies. The present study aims to provide anatomical descriptions and objective mathematical characterizations of the shape of the parasellar section of the internal carotid artery in human infants and its modifications during ontogeny. Three-dimensional (3D) computer models of the parasellar section of the internal carotid artery of infants were generated with a state-of-the-art 3D reconstruction method and analysed using both traditional morphometric methods and novel mathematical algorithms. We show that four constant, demarcated bends can be described along the infant parasellar section of the internal carotid artery, and we provide measurements of their angles. We further provide calculations of the curvature and torsion energy, and the total complexity of the 3D skeleton of the parasellar section of the internal carotid artery, and compare the complexity of this in infants and adults. Finally, we examine the relationship between shape parameters of the parasellar section of the internal carotid artery in infants, and the occurrence of intima cushions, and evaluate the reliability of subjective angle measurements for characterizing the complexity of the parasellar section of the internal carotid artery in infants. The results can serve as objective reference data for comparative studies and for medical imaging diagnostics. They also form the basis for a new hypothesis that explains the mechanisms responsible for the ontogenetic transformation in the shape of the parasellar section of the internal carotid artery.

Menezesite, the first natural heteropolyniobate, from Cajati, Sao Paulo, Brazil: Description and crystal structure

Menezesite, ideally Ba2MgZr4(BaNb12O42)center dot 12H(2)O, occurs as a vug mineral in the contact zone between dolomite carbonatite and ""jacupirangite"" (=a pyroxenite) at the Jacupiranga mine, in Cajati county, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, associated with dolomite, calcite, magnetite, clinohumite, phlogopite, ancylite-(Ce), strontianite, pyrite, and tochilinite. This is also the type locality for quintinite-2H. The mineral forms rhombododecahedra up to I mm, isolated or in aggregates. Menezesite is transparent and displays a vitreous luster; it is reddish brown with a white streak. It is non-fluorescent. Mohs hardness is about 4. Calculated density derived from the empirical formula is 4.181 g/cm(3). It is isotropic, 1.93(1) (white light); n(calc) = 2.034. Menezesite exhibits weak anomalous birefringence. The empirical formula is (Ba1.47K0.53Ca0.3,Ce0.17Nd0.10Na0.06La0.02)(Sigma 2.66)(Mg0.94Mn0.23Fe0.23Al0.03)(Sigma 1.43)(Zr2.75Ti0.96Th0.29)(Sigma 4.00)[(Ba0.72Th0.26U0.02)(Sigma 1.00)(Nb9.23Ti2.29Ta0.36Si0.12)Sigma O-12.00(42)]center dot 12H(2)O. The mineral is cubic, space group 10 (204), a = 13.017(1) angstrom, V = 2206(1) angstrom(3), Z = 2. Menezesite is isostructural with the synthetic compound Mg-7[MgW12O42](OH)(4)center dot 8H(2)O. The mineral was named in honor of Luiz Alberto Dias Menezes Filho (born 1950), mining engineer, mineral collector and merchant. Both the description and the name were approved by the CNMMN-IMA (Nomenclature Proposal 2005-023). Menezesite is the first natural heteropolyniobate. Heteropolyanions have been employed in a range of applications that include virus-binding inorganic drugs (including the AIDs virus), homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, electro-optic and electrochromic materials, metal and protein binding, and as building blocks for nanostructuring of materials.

Description and prevalence of Thynnascaris sp. larvae Dollfus, 1933 (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in Plagioscion squamosissimus Heckel, 1840 from Volta Grande Reservoir, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo o estudo da helmintofauna da corvina de água doce Plagioscion squamosissimus, do reservatório de Volta Grande, MG, Brasil. Foram colhidos 68 peixes com comprimento médio de 25,2 cm e peso médio de 180,9 g, com rede de espera, bimestralmente no período de dezembro de 1995 a dezembro de 1996. Os parasitos foram cuidadosamente retirados de seus cistos que estavam aderidos ao mesentério intestinal. Os espécimes foram fixados em AFA a 65°C e conservados em álcool 70°GL contendo 5% de glicerina. Após diafanização com ácido acético ou lactofenol de Amann, 21 nematóides foram desenhados em câmara clara. As larvas foram identificadas como Thynnascaris sp. (Nematoda: Anisakidae). Das 68 corvinas examinadas, 30 estavam infectadas por esses parasitos com uma prevalência de 44,1%. O número médio de parasitos por hospedeiro foi de 0 a 13,8 e a intensidade média, de 0 a 16. A análise estatística, de acordo com o Teste Exato de Fisher, mostrou que a sazonalidade foi dependente da pluviosidade e temperatura do ar.

Description and key to the fifth-instars of some Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) associated with coffee plants in Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Comparative description and discussion of spermiogenesis and spermatozoal ultrastructure in some species of Heptapteridae and Pseudopimelodidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes)

Os dados obtidos no presente estudo sobre a ultraestrutura da espermiogênese e dos espermatozóides de Pseudopimelodidae e Heptapteridae mostram que eles compartilham algumas características, mas são bastante diferentes uns dos outros. As principais diferenças são a ocorrência de espermiogênese do tipo I em Pseudopimelodidae e do tipo III em Heptapteridae, a presença de fossa nuclear em Pseudopimelodidae e sua ausência em Heptapteridae, a presença de uma peça intermediária longa em Pseudopimelodidae e uma peça intermediária curta em Heptapteridae, a presença de um canal citoplasmático em Pseudopimelodidae e sua ausência em Heptapteridae, a presença de muitas vesículas grandes na peça intermediária de Pseudopimelodidae, e a presença de vesículas muito alongadas e dispostas em posição periférica distal em Heptapteridae e mitocôndrias distribuídas em toda a peça intermediária de Pseudopimelodidae e muito próximas ao núcleo em Heptapteridae. Heptapteridae e Pimelodidae compartilham várias características como a espermiogênese do tipo III, o mesmo padrão de condensação da cromatina e a ausência de fossa nuclear e projeções laterais ou fins. O espermatozóide de Pseudopimelodidae é mais similar aos dos Siluridae, porém a ausência de dados adicionais sobre a espermiogênese e o espermatozóide de outros siluriformes ainda limitam uma discussão mais ampla na ordem.

Description and relationships of Otothyropsis marapoama, a new genus and species of hypoptopomatine catfish (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from rio Tietê basin, southeastern Brazil

Otothyropsis marapoama, novo gênero e espécie, é descrito baseado em espécimes recentemente coletados em um riacho de cabeceira da porção media do rio Tietê, um rio da bacia do alto rio Paraná no sudeste do Brasil. O novo táxon pertence a um clado que inclui também os gêneros Schizolecis, Otothyris e Pseudotothyris. Otothyropsis marapoama é considerado o grupo-irmão de Pseudotothyris e Otothyris baseado principalmente na presença de vários caracteres derivados da cápsula da bexiga natatória e ossos associados. Vários caracteres pedomórficos compartilhados por Pseudotothyris e Otothyris e seu significado filogenético para a posição deste novo gênero são discutidos.

Karyotype description and evidence of multiple sex chromosome system X1X1X2X2/X1X2Y in Potamotrygon aff. motoro and P. falkneri (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae) in the upper Paraná River basin, Brazil

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

A new species of Urostreptus (Diplopoda, Spirostreptidae): description and chromossome number

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Description and chromosome number of a species of Pseudonannolene Silvestri (Arthropoda, Diplopoda, Pseudonannolenidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Anatomy of the oral cavity of hylid larvae from the genera Aplastodiscus, Bokermannohyla, and Hypsiboas (Amphibia, anura): Description and systematic implications

Internal larval oral anatomy was used to explore morphological diversity and its contribution to the systematics of the genera Aplastodiscus, Bokerinannohyla, and Hypsiboas, belonging to the tribe Cophomantini. Internal oral morphology was examined for tadpoles of 12 species. All species have a large pair of infralabial papillae on the buccal floor and other papillae on the prelingual region. In Aplastodiscus and Bokerinannohyla, the large infralabial papillae have digitiform secondary projections. The number and arrangement of the buccal floor papillae varies among species, but they are more numerous in Aplastodiscus and Bokerinannohyla. The arrangement of the postnarial papillae is variable, but in Aplastodiscus and Bokerinannohyla, they show a definite, inverted V-shape pattern. The lateral ridge papillae are more complex in larvae of Bokertnannohyla with long digitiform secondary projections. Tadpoles of only Aplastodiscus albofrenatus, Aplastodiscus eugenioi, and Bokerinannohyla luctuosa have papillae on the buccal roof arena and larvae of all species have lateral roof papillae except Hypsiboas albomarginatus and Hypsiboas cinerascens. Larvae of Aplastodiscus, Bokermannohyla, and Hypsiboas presumably share the presence of vacuities anterior to the internal nares; although this character state is clearly synapomorphic within hylids, it is still uncertain whether it is exclusive of these three genera or whether it is present in the other genera of the tribe Cophomantini (Hyloscirtus and Myersiohyla). The inclusion of internal oral anatomy characters, such as the narial vacuities, in systematic studies is certainly valuable because it will provide additional information toward the understanding of phylogenetic relationships.

A new synonym, a new male description and new geographical records for three Ceraeochrysa species (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Ceraeochrysa Adams is the largest genus in Chrysopini with 62 valid species distributed in the New World. The taxonomy of this group is complex and largely based on male genitalic characters. There are still serious complications, especially with the species that have been described solely from female specimens. The male of C. montoyana (Navas, 1913), unknown previously, is herein described for the first time, and compared with its closest relative, C. claveri (Navas, 1911). Ceraeochrysa acutipuppis Adams & Penny, 1985 is designated as a junior synonym of C. fairchildi (Banks, 1946) based on the evidence that both species share external morphological features uncommon in other species of the genus. The species C. claveri, C. fairchildi and C. montoyana are recorded from Venezuela for the first time. External morphology and genitalia of these insects are described and illustrated.

Description and morphometry of the sting apparatus in the three worker casts of Acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus (Formicidae, Attini)

We studied the morphometry of the sting apparatus of Acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus workers by dissection and mounting of the structures on slides, and present here a brief description and illustrations. Sting apparatus examinations showed differences in size, but without morphological differences. The seven morphometric variables studied permitted grouping of the Ac. subterraneus brunneus workers into the following three groups: cluster 1 - consisting of 85, 39 large, 45 medium and 1 small workers; cluster 2 - consisting of 44 small workers, and cluster 3 - consisting of 6 large workers. This study demonstrated that all worker castes follow the same morphological pattern, although functional characteristics of the sting apparatus should be highlighted.

E-commerce and export promotion policies for small- and medium-sized enterprises: East Asian and Latin American experiences

Includes bibliography

Description and genetic analysis of three sets of monozygotic twins resulting from transfers of single embryos to recipient mares

Case Description-3 sets of monozygotic twins resulting from transfers of single embryos to recipient mares were examined. Clinical Findings-In all 3 recipient mares with twin pregnancies, only 1 embryonic vesicle was detected before day 25 of gestation. In 1 recipient mare, 2 apparent adjacent vesicles, each containing an embryo with a heartbeat, were visualized on ultrasonographic examination on day 37 of gestation. The other 2 recipient mares underwent ultrasonographic examination on day 30 of gestation, at which time only 1 vesicle and embryo was identified. In these latter 2 recipient mares, however, a thorough ultrasonographic examination for a second conceptus on day 30 had not been performed, as only 1 embryo had been transferred and visualized on early ultrasonographic examination. Treatment and Outcome-All twin pregnancies resulted in death of both fetuses. Genetic analysis confirmed that each set of monozygotic twins originated from the transferred embryo. Clinical Relevance-Monozygotic twin pregnancy may occur after embryo transfer; thus recipient mares should be examined thoroughly for multiple conceptuses, especially between 25 and 30 days of gestation. At this time, the allantoides of monozygotic twins should be visible ultrasonographically and effective management may still be possible.