Diversity and genetic structure in natural populations of Hancornia speciosa var. speciosa Gomes in northeastern Brazil

Hancornia speciosa Gomes is a fruit tree native from Brazil that belongs to Apocinaceae family, and is popularly known as Mangabeira. Its fruits are widely consumed raw or processed as fruit jam, juices and ice creams, which have made it a target of intense exploitation. The extractive activities and intense human activity on the environment of natural occurrence of H. speciosa has caused genetic erosion in the species and little is known about the ecology or genetic structure of natural populations. The objective of this research was the evaluation of the genetic diversity and genetic structure of H. speciosa var. speciosa. The genetic variability was assessed using 11 allozyme loci with a sample of 164 individuals distributed in six natural populations located in the States of Pernambuco and Alagoas, Northeastern Brazil. The results showed a high level of genetic diversity within the species (e= 0.36) seeing that the most of the genetic variability of H. speciosa var. speciosa is within its natural populations with low difference among populations ( or = 0.081). The inbreeding values within ( = -0.555) and among populations ( =-0.428) were low showing lacking of endogamy and a surplus of heterozygotes. The estimated gene flow ( m ) was high, ranging from 2.20 to 13.18, indicating to be enough to prevent the effects of genetic drift and genetic differentiation among populations. The multivariate analyses indicated that there is a relationship between genetic and geographical distances, which was confirmed by a spatial pattern analysis using Mantel test (r = 0.3598; p = 0.0920) with 1000 random permutations. The high genetic diversity index in these populations indicates potential for in situ genetic conservation.

Molecular epidemiology of animal rabies in the semiarid region of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil

In the semiarid of the state of Paraíba, the anti-rabies vaccination is not common, most of the local inhabitants who deal with the animals do not know the incidence of the disease in the region. In this study, samples of foxes (Pseudalopex vetulus), insectivorous bats (Molossus molossus), raccoons (Procyon cancrivorous) and domestic animals brains were submitted to the diagnosis of rabies, by using the direct fluorescent antibody technique (d-FAT) and mouse inoculation test (MIT). Of the 581 examined materials, 50 (8.60 %) were positive for d-FAT and 47 (8.09 %) for MIT. From the positive samples for rabies, RNAs were extracted and transformed to cDNA, at the Laboratory of Rabies/Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia/USP, SP. The phylogenetic characterization of the N gene was performed at the Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Universidade Nihon, Faculdade de Ciências Bioresource, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japão. Based on the results of genotyping and phylogenetic analyzes, it is concluded that the epidemiology of rabies is complex in the semiarid of Paraíba, with different viral variants being maintained in domestic dogs, foxes, insectivorous bats and vampire bats. All the isolates examined belong to the genotype I of the genus Lyssavirus and it is possible to state that in the region, foxes are important sylvatic reservoirs of the rabies virus.

Catch rates of artisanal fisheries targeting Dasyatis guttata (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) in Todos os Santos Bay, northeastern Brazil

Dasyatis guttata has been target of artisanal fisheries in the coast of Bahia (Northeast Brazil) mainly by “arraieira” (gillnet) and “grozeira” (bottom long-line), but until now there is no stock assessment study. One of the important data for this knowledge is reliable indices of abundance. The aims of the present work are to: (1) estimate the best predictor for relative abundance (catch-per-unit-of-effort, CPUE), examining whether catch (production – kg) was related to: soak time of the gear, size of the gillnet or number of hooks, applying generalized linear model (GLM); (2) estimate the annual CPUE (kg/hooks and kg/m) averaged by gear; and (3) assess the temporal CPUE variance. Based on monthly sampling between January 2012 and January 2013, 222 landings by grozeira and 76 by arraiaiera were recorded in the two landing sites in Todos os Santos Bay, Bahia. A total of 14,550 kg (average = 44 kg/month) of D. guttata was captured. Models for both gears were highly significant (P < 0.0001). The analysis indicated that the most appropriate variable for CPUE analysis was the size of the gillnet (P < 0.001) and the number of hooks (P < 0.0001). Soak time of the gear was not significant for both gears (P = 0.4). High residual deviance expresses the complexity of the relations between ecosystem factors and other fisheries factors affecting relative abundance, which were not considered in this study. The average CPUE by grozeira was 6.39 kg/100 hooks ± 8.89 and by arraieira, 1.47 kg/100 m ± 1.66 over the year. Kruskal-Wallis test showed effect of the month on the mean grozeira CPUE (P = <0.001), but no effect (P = 0.096) on the mean arraieira CPUE. Grozeira CPUE values were highest in December and March, and lowest between May to August

Stable isotope ratios of foraminifera from sediment cores off northeastern Brazil

The western South Atlantic boundary currents represent a sensitive system within the global thermohaline circulation (THC). We investigated the impact of deglacial THC changes on the western tropical Atlantic studied in six high resolution sediment cores from the upper continental slope of Brazil. The stratigraphy of the cores is mainly based on 14C AMS dating of monospecific foraminiferal samples. Changes in the upper layer tropical ocean during the deglaciation are inferred from stable oxygen isotope measurements on planktic and benthic foraminifera. Variations in the delta18O residuals are assumed to be mainly temperature related. During the Oldest and Younger Dryas cooling periods, two major deglacial THC disturbances are reported from North Atlantic sediment cores. Concomitant to the repeated THC slowdown, we observe an upper layer warming in the tropical ocean. A reduced northward heat export from the tropical areas during these periods (weak North Brazil Current) is additionally reflected by low meridional gradients in the stable oxygen records. This generally agrees with results from coupled ocean atmosphere models.

Sedimentology and stable isotope ratios of planktonic foraminifera from two cores off Northeastern Brazil

The stable isotope composition of planktonic foraminifera correlates with evidence for pulses of terrigenous sediment in a sediment core from the upper continental slope off northeastern Brazil. Stable oxygen isotope records of the planktonic foraminiferal species Globigerinoides sacculifer and Globigerinoides ruber (pink) reveal sub-Milankovitch changes in sea-surface hydrography during the last 85,000 yr. Warming of the surface water coincided with terrigenous sedimentation pulses that are inferred from high XRF intensities of Ti and Fe, and which suggest humid conditions in northeast Brazil. These tropical signals correlate with climatic oscillations recorded in Greenland ice cores (Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles) and in sediment cores from the North Atlantic (Heinrich events). Trade winds may have caused changes in the North Brazil Current that altered heat and salt flux into the North Atlantic, thus affecting the growth and decay of the large glacial ice sheets.

Oceanic conditions off Northeastern Brazil, February-March and October-November 1966

"CG 373-34."

Toothache and social and economic conditions among adolescents in Northeastern Brazil

O objetivo deste estudo foi relacionar dor de dente com condição socioeconômica, acesso aos serviços de saúde bucal e estilo de vida em adolescentes do município de Sobral, Ceará, desenvolvido com delineamento transversal analítico, com amostra composta por 688 indivíduos. A prevalência de dor de dente no grupo pesquisado foi de 31,8%. Para avaliar a relação entre as variáveis independentes e a dor de dente, realizou-se teste de associação pelo qui-quadrado, estimando-se a razão de prevalências por meio da regressão de Poisson. Os fatores que mais demonstraram relação com a dor de dente foram severidade da cárie, motivo do atendimento odontológico relacionado com urgência, frequência ao dentista e recebimento de escova na escola. Observou-se que a alta prevalência de dor de dente em adolescentes está diretamente relacionada às condições de acesso, assim como às características das ações desenvolvidas pelos serviços de saúde. Assim como há necessidade da implantação de serviços vinculados à promoção de saúde, pautados pela equidade e integralidade, é necessária a implantação de serviços de urgência que não simplesmente intervenham na dor de forma mutiladora, mas a encarem como mecanismo de estímulo ao desenvolvimento de procedimentos de prevenção das doenças bucais.