Erroneous and veridical recall are not two sides of the same coin: evidence from semantic distraction in free recall

Two experiments examined the extent to which erroneous recall blocks veridical recall using, as a vehicle for study, the disruptive impact of distractors that are semantically similar to a list of words presented for free recall. Instructing participants to avoid erroneous recall of to-be-ignored spoken distractors attenuated their recall but this did not influence the disruptive effect of those distractors on veridical recall (Experiment 1). Using an externalised output-editing procedure—whereby participants recalled all items that came to mind and identified those that were erroneous—the usual between-sequence semantic similarity effect on erroneous and veridical recall was replicated but the relationship between the rate of erroneous and veridical recall was weak (Experiment 2). The results suggest that forgetting is not due to veridical recall being blocked by similar events.

Want to block earworms from conscious awareness?B(u)y gum!

Three experiments examine the role of articulatory motor planning in experiencing an involuntary musical recollection (an “earworm”). Experiment 1 shows that interfering with articulatory motor programming by chewing gum reduces both the number of voluntary and the number of involuntary—unwanted—musical thoughts. This is consistent with other findings that chewing gum interferes with voluntary processes such as recollections from verbal memory, the interpretation of ambiguous auditory images, and the scanning of familiar melodies, but is not predicted by theories of thought suppression, which assume that suppression is made more difficult by concurrent tasks or cognitive loads. Experiment 2 shows that chewing the gum affects the experience of “hearing” the music and cannot be ascribed to a general effect on thinking about a tune only in abstract terms. Experiment 3 confirms that the reduction of musical recollections by chewing gum is not the consequence of a general attentional or dual-task demand. The data support a link between articulatory motor programming and the appearance in consciousness of both voluntary and unwanted musical recollections.

Queering Philip Roth: homosocial discourse in 'An actor’s life for me', 'Letting go', 'Sabbath’s theater' and the 'American trilogy'

Much has been written on Roth’s representation of masculinity, but this critical discourse has tended to be situated within a heteronormative frame of reference, perhaps because of Roth’s popular reputation as an aggressively heterosexual, libidinous, masculinist, in some versions sexist or even misogynist author. In this essay I argue that Roth’s representation of male sexuality is more complex, ambiguous, and ambivalent than has been generally recognized. Tracing a strong thread of what I call homosocial discourse running through Roth’s oeuvre, I suggest that the series of intimate relationships with other men that many of Roth’s protagonists form are conspicuously couched in this discourse and that a recognition of this ought to reconfigure our sense of the sexual politics of Roth’s career, demonstrating in particular that masculinity in his work is too fluid and dynamic to be accommodated by the conventional binaries of heterosexual and homosexual, feminized Jew and hyper-masculine Gentile, the “ordinary sexual man” and the transgressively desiring male subject.

Description of two new species of Avicularia Lamarck 1818 and redescription of Avicularia diversipes (C. L. Koch 1842) (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Aviculariinae)-three possibly threatened Brazilian species

Avicularia diversipes (C. L. Koch 1842) known previously only from its original description is redescribed along with Avicularia sooretama sp. nov. and Avicularia gamba sp. nov. The three species are endemic to Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. With other Avicularia species, they share a procurved anterior eye row, slender embolus and medially folded spermathecae, whereas they have unusual characters, such as a very long and spiraled embolus (A. diversipes) and spermathecae with multilobular apex (A. sooretama sp. nov.). Furthermore, the three species lack a tibial apophysis in males and share a distinctive color pattern ontogeny that is not known in any other Avicularia species. The conservation status of the three species is discussed, especially with respect to endemism, illegal trafficking and habitat destruction. The creation of protected areas in southern State of Bahia, Brazil, is recommended, as well as the inclusion of these species in IUCN and CITES lists. Appendices with figures and species information are presented to facilitate correct specimen identification by custom officers, in order to limit illegal traffic.

Establishment of the comet assay in the freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818)

The single cell gel eletrophoresis or the comet assay was established in the freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata. For detecting DNA damage in circulating hemocytes, adult snails were irradiated with single doses of 2.5. 5, 10 and 20 Gy of Co-60 gamma radiation. Genotoxic effect of ionizing radiation was detected at all doses as a dose-related increase in DNA migration. Comet assay in B. glabrata demonstrated to be a simple, fast and reliable tool in the evaluation of genotoxic effects of environmental mutagens. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fecundity and reproductive output of the speckled swimming crab Arenacus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818) (Brachyura, Portunidae)

Areanaeus cribrarius females were collected over a 12-month period with otter-trawl nets in the Ubatuba littoral zone, Brazil. Ovigerous individuals were measured (CW = carapace width excluding lateral spines) and weighed (WW = wet weight). Each egg brood was weighed (WE = wet weight), dried, and the number of eggs (EN) counted. Scatterplots from EN/CW, EN/WW, and EN/WE were submitted to regression analyses. Mean relative fecundity ((F) over bar') was calculated in each month/season to assess seasonal variation of reproductive intensity. The number of eggs showed a positive correlation with CW, WW, and WE. Fecundity of A. cribrarius ranged from 135,210 to 682,156 eggs, intermediate in comparison with other portunids. Fecundity in Portunidae is typically high; lower values are found in Polybiinae and higher ones in Portuninae. Mean fecundity did not reveal significant differences over months and seasons, but reproductive activity tended to be more intense in summer and winter, a phenomenon related to reduced temperature oscillations as found in subtropical regions.

Ultramorphology of digestive tract of Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hubner, 1818) (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) at final larval development

The digestive tract of insects is an important natural, physical, and chemical defense barrier against pathogen invasion. Certain. lepidopteran caterpillars are serious pests of agricultural crops and their biology has received much attention, but little is known about the larval noctuid gut. The morphological analysis of the digestive tract in Anticarsia gemmatalis under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a good model for studies about its defense mechanism. The material was fixed (2,5% glutaraldehyde solution; 0.1 M-phosphate buffer, pH 7.3), post-fixed (1% osmium tetroxide in the same buffer), dried at critical point, gold coated and analyzed in a SEM 515-Philips. A. gemmatalis digestive tract consists of a straight duct of varying length and diameter, subdivided in three main regions: the foregut formed by the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, and crop; the midgut that is the largest portion of the digestive tract without noticeable morphological differentiation along its length; and the hindgut that is morphologically differentiated in pylorus, ileum, colon, and rectum. Although the general morphology of the A. gemmatalis digestive tract is quite similar to the other Lepidoptera species, the anatomical array of the crop muscular layers is quite different comparing with the description for other larval insect.

Permian non-marine bivalves of the Falkland Islands and their palaeoenvironmental significance

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

Reproductive behavior of the swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818) (Crustacea, Brachyura, Portunidae) in captivity

In this study, the reproductive behavior exhibited by Arenaeus cribrarius in captivity was described, and the duration of each behavioral stage was measured. Swimming crabs were trawled in Ubatuba, northern littoral of São Paulo State, Brazil, and maintained in aquaria. Water conditions and food items were provided according to this species' natural requirements in the wild. In the presence of premolt females, intermolt males exhibited a courtship display that became intensified when the potential mate was visually perceived. After mate selection, the male carried the female under itself (precopulatory position) for 29.8 +/- 5.1 d until the female molted. Afterwards, the male manipulated the recently molted female, and inverted her position under itself as to penetrate her with his first pair of pleopods (copulation), a process that took 17.1 +/- 4.6 h. After copulation the male continued to carry his soft-shelled mate for 29.7 +/- 5.8 d (postcopulatory position). The time elapsed between copulation and spawning was 57.8 +/- 3.8 d and the time interval between successive spawns 33.8 +/- 7.1 d. Total embryonic development took 13.5 +/- 2.1 d in temperature conditions of 25.0 +/- 2.0 degrees C. During the last 4.7 +/- 1.4 d embryos' eyes were already visible. The reproductive behavior pattern in A. cribrarius is very similar to those previously described in other portunids.

Sexual maturity of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae), in the Ubatuba Littoral, São Paulo state, Brazil

The sizes at morphological and physiological maturity of male and female Arenaeus cribrarius were estimated to determine if both events are synchronous. Animals were captured with otto-trawls at Ubatuba, Brazil. A total of 2356 specimens, 977 males and 1379 females, were obtained. The major carapace width without spines (CW), the propodus length of the major cheliped (PL) and the width of the 5th abdominal somite (AW) were measured with vernier calipers. Allometric relationships and gonadal development were analyzed to determine the maturity in both sexes. The size at the onset of male morphological maturity was estimated at CW 52 mm, smaller than the CW 63.4 mm physiological maturity size observed. For females, these events are synchronous since both estimates converged at CW 59.7 mm. The onset of functional sexual maturity in A. cribrarius at CW 63.4 and 59.7 mm in males and females, respectively, would indicate a minimum size of CW 64 mm for fishing purposes. Differences between allometric and gonadal estimates indicate the importance of considering both methods. A comparison of the present results with other available data in portunid crabs is provided.

Sexual maturity of Eurytium limosum (say 1818) from a subtropical mangrove in Brazil

The size at onset of maturity of Eurytium limosum from a subtropical mangrove in Brazil was investigated. In this species, sexual maturity for males can be indicated by the allometric growth and gonopod length. For females, the morphological sexual maturity can only be externally verified through the relative quantity of setae along the abdominal margins and pleopods. Internally, gonad development was also examined. The size at which half of the population is physiologically mature was 11.6 mm of CW for females and 12.3 mm of CW for males. The values for the morphological and physiological maturity are very similar, indicating that the development of the secondary sexual characters is synchronized with the achievement of the physiological maturity for E. limosum.

Predation of Platyrrhinus lineatus (E. Geoffroy, 1810) (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) by Cyanocorax chrysops (Vieillot, 1818) (Passeriformes: Corvidae).

The predation on vertebrates by birds, including bats, is very common in some families (Accipitridae, Falconidae, Tytonidae, Strigidae), constituting their main diet. For other families (except those that feed strictly on fish), it is occasional and sometimes a matter of opportunity. Here we recorded the predation on a bat (Platyrrhinus lineatus) by the neotropical bird plush-crested jay (Cyanocorax chrysops). on July 26, 2009, around 11:00 am, we recorded an individual of C. chrysops taking part of a P. lineatus on its beak. This record occurred on Jacarezinho Farm (Valparaiso [long dash] SP). The prey species identification was done by visual observation, considering the bat size and its external morphology, especially by the presence of the white dorsal bright stripe. Probably, Platyrrhinus lineatus behavior, which involves living together or in couples on tree canopies, made the capture by the plush-crested jay easier. This is a new record for the diet of C. chrysops and highlights the necessity of additional studies related to birds diet in the Neotropics, even the more conspicuous ones.

Características morfológicas do miocárdio ventricular de Tambaqui (Colossoma macropomun; Characidae, Cuvier, 1818)

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

RELATIVE GROWTH OF THE SPECKLED SWIMMING CRAB ARENAEUS-CRIBRARIUS (LAMARCK, 1818) (BRACHYURA, PORTUNIDAE), NEAR UBATUBA, STATE OF SAO-PAULO, BRAZIL

Arenaeus cribrarius is a mainly tropical crab that occurs in the Western Atlantic Ocean, Brazil being its type-locality. The species ranges from Vinevard Sound, Massachusetts, USA to La Paloma, Uruguay. Information about this species is scarce. The relative growth of A. cribrarius was analyzed, based on some morphometric relations, where the carapace width, excluding lateral spines (CW), was used as an independent variable. A total of 403 specimens (189 males and 214 females), was collected in Ubatuba, State of São Paulo, Brazil, with otter-trawls. The animals were sexed and sorted to maturation phase (juvenile or adult). Some measurements were made: carapace (length and width excluding lateral spines), abdomen (greatest width of the fifth somite in females and the sixth in males) and major chela (greatest length, width and height, dactylus length). This study was made by the application of the power function (y=a.x(b)) which was fitted to the data and the pattern of growth established for each parameter by the ''b''-value (constant of allometry), as positive allometry (b>1), negative allometry (b<1) or isometry (b=1). The morphometric relations of the carapace showed a tendency to isometry. In females, the abdominal width grew in positive allometry, higher in juveniles (b=1.33) than in adults (b=1.18). In this case, an overlap and discontinuity was noticed between the phases over a carapace width range of 55 to 70 mm, where the puberty molt occurs. The majority of relationships showed that the major chela of the males grew in positive allometry, however, the greatest allometric difference between the phases was observed towards the propodus length with 1.09 as juvenile and 1.26 as adult ''b''values. In the males, this variable showed an inflection between the CW range of 45' to 55 mm, where the transition to the maturation phase occurs. The relative growth of this species is similar to those of previously studied species. This indicates, that the propodus length and the abdominal width are the morphometric variables most appropriate to estimate the size of the beginning of the sexual maturity for males and females of this species, respectively.