Descrição da larva de Idiataphe longipes (Odonata, Libellulidae, Trameini)

A larva de Idiataphe longipes (Hagen, 1861) é descrita com base em cinco exúvias associadas aos respectivos adultos emergidos, coletadas no Açude da Concórdia, Valença, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

Mamíferos de médio e grande porte e sua relação com o mosaico de habitats na cuesta de Botucatu, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

A região da cuesta de Botucatu caracteriza-se por um gradiente topográfico contendo um mosaico de ambientes com diferentes formações de vegetação natural (floresta estacional semidecidual, cerrado e matas ciliares), além de áreas antropizadas com a predominância de pastagens, plantações de cana-de-açúcar, laranja, e reflorestamentos de eucalipto, com paisagem fragmentada. Inserida nesta região, a Fazenda Experimental Edgardia, pertencente à Universidade Estadual Paulista, Campus de Botucatu, representa uma amostra desta heterogeneidade ambiental, tendo grande importância para a conservação da biodiversidade, tanto de flora como fauna. Entretanto, poucos são os estudos sobre a sua fauna, principalmente de mamíferos. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo conhecer a fauna de mamíferos de médio e grande porte nesta área, e sua relação com o mosaico de habitats. Foram obtidos registros indiretos da presença de mamíferos através de vestígios (pegadas e fezes) em transectos (trilhas pré-existentes), ao longo de um ano. De março de 2004 a março de 2005 foram registradas 18 espécies de mamíferos silvestres de médio e grande porte. Quanto à ocorrência destacou-se Mazama sp., presente em todos os ambientes, com maior abundância relativa no ambiente de transição de floresta/Cerradão. Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771), Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758), Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766), Procyon cancrivorus (Cuvier, 1798) e Dasypus novemcinctus (Linnaeus, 1758) também foram encontradas em praticamente todos os ambientes, e espécies como Chironectes minimus (Zimmermann, 1780), Cuniculus paca Linnaeus, 1766, Eira barbara (Linnaeus, 1758) e uma espécie do gênero Conepatus Gray, 1837 estiveram restritas a ambientes específicos. A análise de correspondência mostrou oito espécies com ocorrência em todos os ambientes: sete mais associadas aos ambientes de várzea, floresta e pastagem e três aos ambientes de cultura de arroz, transição entre floresta/Cerradão e vegetação natural em estádio sucessional secundário. Os resultados sugerem que a fauna de mamíferos de médio e grande porte na Fazenda Experimental Edgardia está sujeita às modificações ambientais que a região vem sofrendo. Embora existam preferências de algumas espécies por determinados hábitats, parece ocorrer certa plasticidade em relação às modificações de seus hábitats originais.

Os escorpiões brazileiros

A fauna escorpionica do Brasil é constituida de 37 especies e uma variedade, pertencentes a 4 familias e 10 generos. São as seguintes: FAM. BUTHIDAE. 1. Genero Ananteris - Com a especie A. balzani. 2 Genero Isometrus - Com a especie I. maculatus. 3. Genero Tityus - com as especies: T. microcystis, T. magnimanus, T. metuendus, T. cambridgei, T. duckei, T. paraensis, T. mattogrossensis, T. paraguavensis, T. pusillus, I. silvestris, T. intermedius, T. stigmurus, T. baiensis, T. costatus, T. trivittatus, T. dorsomaculatus, T. serrulatus. 4. Genero Rhopalurus - Com as especies: R. agamemnon, R. debilis, R. stenocuirus, R. melleipalpus, R. barythemar, R. rochai, R. acromelas, R. borelli, R. laticauda. FAM. SCORPIONIDAE. 5. Genero Diplocentrus - Com a especie: D. gundlachi. FAM. CHACTIDAE. 6. Genero Broteas. Com as especies: B. gervaisii. 7. Genero Broteochacatas - Com as especies B. parvulus e B. delicatus. FAM. BOTHRIURIDAE 8. Genero Bothriurus - Com as especies: B. bonariensis, B.signatus a var asper de B. bonariensis. 9. Genero Thestylus - Com a especie T. glasioui. 10. Genero Urophonius - Com a especie U. brachycentrus. De um modo eschematico, pode-se dizer que a fam. Bothriuridae está limitada ao sul do paiz e as fam. Chactldae e Scorpionidae limitadas ao norte (bacia amazonica). A fam. Buthidae se distribue do seguinte modo: o gen. Ananteris é limitado a Matto Grossoo gen. Isometrus é cosmopolita, o gen. Rhopalurus predomina no nordeste brazileiro e o genero Tityus é representado em todo o paiz, ao norte pelos grupos Cambridgei (bacia amazonica) e pusillus (bacia amazonica e Estado do Matto Grosso), no centro e sul pelo grupo stigmurus. No Estado de Minas predominam as especies T. bahiensis e T. serrulatus, aquella em Ouro-Preto, e esta em Bello Horizonte, Santa Barbara, Itabira. etc. Das especies referidas, 6 foram descriptas pelo auctor em collaboração ccm ADOLPHO LUTZ. São as seguintes: T serrulatus, T. dorsomaculatus, T. microcystis, T. intermedius, R. acromelas e R. melleipalpus.

Granulomatous hypersensitivity to Schistosoma mansoni egg antigens in human Schistosomiasis: I. Granuloma formation and modulation around polyacrylamide antigen-conjugated beads

We have developed an in vitro model of granuloma formation for the purpose of studying the immunological components of delayed type hypersensitivity granuloma formation in patients infected with Schistosoma mansoni. Our data show that 1) granulomatous hypersensitivity can be studied by examining the cellular reactivity manifested as multiple cell layers surrounding the antigen conjugated beads; 2) this reactivity is a CD4 cell dependent, macrophage dependent, B cell independent response and 3) the in vitro granuloma response is antigenically specific for parasite egg antigens. Studies designed to investigate the immune regulation of granulomatous hypersensitivity using purified populations of either CD4 or CD8 T cells have demonstrated the complexity of cellular interactions in the suppression of granulomatous hypersensitivity. The anti-S. mansoni egg immune responses of individual patients with chronic intestinal schistosomiasis can be classified either as soluble egg antigen (SEA) hypersensitive with maximal granulomatous hypersensitivity or SEA suppressive with activation of the T cell suppressor pathway with effective SEA granuloma modulation. Our data suggest that T cell network interactions are active in the generation of effective granuloma modulation in chronic intestinal schistosomiasis patients.

En torno a la obra teatral de Manuel Veiga

Manuel Veiga parece estar creando un universo dramático personal. Muestra una voluntad no sólo de darles la palabra a los marginados de la sociedad haciendo de ellos los protagonistas de sus obras sino que busca recuperar una tradición y una memoria del siglo XX tanto española como mundial en un punto de vista histórico y cultural. Le interesa la memoria en general, su necesidad para algunos, y sus ataduras para otros. Para escenificarla, utiliza la alteración de la temporalidad y el realismo mágico, la fantasía, el sueño y el azar.

Fum i miralls: trobant l'ordre en un món caòtic

El calidoscopi és una joguina que converteix fragments de vidre acolorit en patrons infinitament variats mitjançant l'ús de miralls. Hi ha quelcom satisfactori en els patrons –els necessitem per crear significat, i trobem bellesa en la seva simetria. No obstant, els sistemes complexos desobeeixen les fórmules simples. Per exemple, és impossible descriure una cosa tan prosaica com el comportament del fum mentre ascendeix fent servir les matemàtiques clàssiques. Agafant en préstec idees de diferents disciplines, podem considerar l'alfabetització informacional com una invitació per als nostres estudiants per jugar amb la imprevisible varietat de l'experiència humana i descobrir patrons que els resultin plens de significat.

Globalization and international relations: the Olympic Movement and European Integration

Essay elaborated by Shaelyne Johnson, undergraduate student of Global Studies at the University of California-Santa Barbara, during her internship at CEO-UAB for the academic course 2008/2009. She compares the organisational structure, goals and objectives of the institutions in the Olympic Movement and the European Integration, in order to find connections between both movements which were caused by globalization. The paper begins with an introduction of the changing world nowadays, followed by an overview on the structural similarities in the historical unfolding between these two parallel movements and, before concluding, new means for international relations are considered. This document is available in English through the digital library at the CEO-UAB Portal of Olympic Studies and the digital repository RECERCAT.

International Institutions as Solutions to Underlying Games of Cooperation

This Working Paper was presented at the international workshop "Game Theory in International Relations at 50", organized and coordinated by Professor Jacint Jordana and Dr. Yannis Karagiannis at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals on May 22, 2009. The day-long Workshop was inspired by the desire to honour the ground-breaking work of Professor Thomas Schelling in 1959-1960, and to understand where the discipline International Relations lies today vis-à-vis game theory.

Human schistosomiasis mansoni: studies on in vitro granuloma modulation

Infection with Schistosoma mansoni induces humoral and T cell mediated responses and leads to delayed hipersensitivity that results in granulomatous inflamatory disease around the parasite eggs. Regulation of these responses resulting in a reduction in this anti-egg inflamatory disease is appsrently determined by idiotypic repertoires of the patient, associated with genetic background and multiple external factors. We have previously reported on idiotype/anti-idiotype-receptor transactions in clinical human schistosomiasis. These findings support a hypothesis that anti-SEA cross-reactive idiotypes develop in some patients during the course of a chronic infection and participate in regulation of anti-SEA cellular immune responses. We repport here on experiments wich extend those observations to the regulation of granulomatous hypersensitivity measured by an in vitro granuloma model. T cells from chronic intestinal schistosomiasis patients were stimulated in vitro with anti-SEA idiotypes and assayed in an autologous in vitro granuloma assay for modulation of granuloma formation. These anti-SEA idiotype reactive T cells were capable of regulating autologous in vitro granuloma formation. This regulatory activity, initiated with stimulatory anti-SEA idiotypic antibodies, was antigenically specific and was dependent on the present of intact (F(ab')2 immunoglobulin molecules. The ability to elicit this regulatory activity appears to be dose dependent and is more easily demonstrated in chronically infected intestinal patients or SEA sensitized individuals. These data support the hypothesis that anti-SEA cross reactive idiotypes are important in regulating granulomatous hypersensitivy in chronic intestinal schistosomiasis patients and these cross-reactive idiotypes appear to play a major role in cell-cell interactions which result in the regulation of anti-SEA cellular immune responses.

Hechtiella lopesi sp. n. from São Paulo state, Brazil (Siphonaptera: Rhopalopsyllidae)

Descriptions are given of the male and female of Hechtiella lopesi sp. n., collected on Proechimys sp. and Tayra barbara from Boracéia Ecological Station, Salesópolis, São Paulo State, Brazil. The new species is discussed in relation to Hechtiella lakoi and Hechtiella nitidus, species previously included in the genus Polygenis. The name is a tribute to the late Brazilian entomologist, Prof. Hugo de Souza Lopes.

Oxidative stress and inflammation response after nanoparticle exposure : differences between human lung cell monocultures and an advanced three-dimensional model of the human epithelial airways

Combustion-derived and manufactured nanoparticles (NPs) are known to provoke oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in human lung cells; therefore, they play an important role during the development of adverse health effects. As the lungs are composed of more than 40 different cell types, it is of particular interest to perform toxicological studies with co-cultures systems, rather than with monocultures of only one cell type, to gain a better understanding of complex cellular reactions upon exposure to toxic substances. Monocultures of A549 human epithelial lung cells, human monocyte-derived macrophages and monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDCs) as well as triple cell co-cultures consisting of all three cell types were exposed to combustion-derived NPs (diesel exhaust particles) and to manufactured NPs (titanium dioxide and single-walled carbon nanotubes). The penetration of particles into cells was analysed by transmission electron microscopy. The amount of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and the production of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-a and interleukin (IL)-8 were quantified. The results of the monocultures were summed with an adjustment for the number of each single cell type in the triple cell co-culture. All three particle types were found in all cell and culture types. The production of ROS was induced by all particle types in all cell cultures except in monocultures of MDDCs. The TAC and the (pro-)inflammatory reactions were not statistically significantly increased by particle exposure in any of the cell cultures. Interestingly, in the triple cell co-cultures, the TAC and IL-8 concentrations were lower and the TNF-a concentrations were higher than the expected values calculated from the monocultures. The interplay of different lung cell types seems to substantially modulate the oxidative stress and the inflammatory responses after NP exposure. [Authors]

Sublime Cornerstones

Review of Nigel Smith, Is Milton Better Than Shakespeare; Paradise Lost, introduced by Philip Pullman; Paradise Lost, ed Barbara Lewalski; Milton and Toleration, eds. Sharon Achinstein and Elizabeth Sauer; Concise Companion to Milton, ed Angelica Duran.