A closer look at chaotic advection in the stratosphere: part I: geometric structure

The relevance of chaotic advection to stratospheric mixing and transport is addressed in the context of (i) a numerical model of forced shallow-water flow on the sphere, and (ii) a middle-atmosphere general circulation model. It is argued that chaotic advection applies to both these models if there is suitable large-scale spatial structure in the velocity field and if the velocity field is temporally quasi-regular. This spatial structure is manifested in the form of “cat’s eyes” in the surf zone, such as are commonly seen in numerical simulations of Rossby wave critical layers; by analogy with the heteroclinic structure of a temporally aperiodic chaotic system the cat’s eyes may be thought of as an “organizing structure” for mixing and transport in the surf zone. When this organizing structure exists, Eulerian and Lagrangian autocorrelations of the velocity derivatives indicate that velocity derivatives decorrelate more rapidly along particle trajectories than at fixed spatial locations (i.e., the velocity field is temporally quasi-regular). This phenomenon is referred to as Lagrangian random strain.

The syntax-semantics of bare and definite plural subjects in the L2 Spanish of English natives

This study investigates the extent to which advanced native-English L2 learners of Spanish come to acquire restrictions on bare plural preverbal subjects in L2 Spanish (e.g. gatos “cats��� vs. definite plurals such as los gatos “the cats���). It tests L2 knowledge of available semantic readings of bare plurals and definite plurals in Spanish, where [+specific] and [+generic] interpretations are syntactically represented differently from English. Assuming L1 transfer, and in view of a potential subset/superset relationship of the two grammars, the learning task in this domain is not a straightforward one. Target acquisition requires both grammatical expansion and retraction; Spanish definite plural subjects require the addition of an L1-unavailable [+generic] reading, while a loss of an L1-available [+generic] reading for preverbal subject bare plurals is required. The results and analysis show that advanced L2 learners of Spanish (English L1) can circumvent a superficial subset/superset learnability problem by means of feature resetting in line with the Nominal Mapping Parameter.

Beyond behaviour: is social anxiety low in Williams syndrome

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) exhibit striking social behaviour that may be indicative of abnormally low social anxiety. The present research aimed to determine whether social anxiety is unusually low in WS and to replicate previous findings of increased generalised anxiety in WS using both parent and self report. Fifteen individuals with WS aged 12-28 years completed the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and the Children’s Automatic Thoughts Scale (CATS). Their responses were compared to clinically anxious and community comparison groups matched on mental age. The findings suggest that WS is not associated with unusually low social anxiety but that generalised anxiety symptoms and physical threat thoughts are increased in WS, relative to typically developing children.

Ranging characteristics of the domestic cat (Felis catus) in an urban environment

In many countries, high densities of domestic cats (Felis catus) are found in urban habitats where they have the potential to exert considerable predation pressure on their prey. However, little is known of the ranging behaviour of cats in the UK. Twenty cats in suburban Reading, UK, were fitted with GPS trackers to quantify movement patterns. Cats were monitored during the summer and winter for an average of 6.8 24 h periods per season. Mean daily area ranged (95 % MCP) was 1.94 ha. Including all fixes, mean maximum area ranged was 6.88 ha. These are broadly comparable to those observed in urban areas in other countries. Daily area ranged was not affected by the cat’s sex or the season, but was significantly larger at night than during the day. There was no relationship between area ranged and habitat availability. Taking available habitat into account, cat ranging area contained significantly more garden and other green space than urban habitats. If cats were shown to be negatively affecting prey populations, one mitigation option for consideration in housing developments proposed near important wildlife sites would be to incorporate a ‘buffer zone’ in which cat ownership was not permitted. Absolute maximum daily area ranged by a cat in this study was 33.78 ha. This would correspond to an exclusory limit of approximately 300–400 m to minimise the negative effects of cat predation, but this may need to be larger if cat ranging behaviour is negatively affected by population density

Clonal Relationship among Atypical Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Different Animal Species and Humans

Forty-nine typical and atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains belonging to different serotypes and isolated from humans, pets (cats and dogs), farm animals (bovines, sheep, and rabbits), and wild animals (monkeys) were investigated for virulence markers and clonal similarity by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The virulence markers analyzed revealed that atypical EPEC strains isolated from animals have the potential to cause diarrhea in humans. A close clonal relationship between human and animal isolates was found by MLST and PFGE. These results indicate that these animals act as atypical EPEC reservoirs and may represent sources of infection for humans. Since humans also act as a reservoir of atypical EPEC strains, the cycle of mutual infection of atypical EPEC between animals and humans, mainly pets and their owners, cannot be ruled out since the transmission dynamics between the reservoirs are not yet clearly understood.

Use of extensible internal device in the femur of young dogs

An extensible internal device (EID) was developed to preserve growth plate during the treatment of fracture complications or segmental bone loss from tumour resection in children. Since this type of extensible, trans-physeal, internal fixation device has only been used in a few paediatric cases; the aim of this study was to evaluate an in vivo canine study, a surgical application of this device, and its interference with longitudinal growth of the non-fractured distal femur. Ton clinically healthy two- to three-month-old poodles weighing 1.5-2.3 kg were used. Following a medial approach to the right distal femur, one extremity of the EID, similar to a T-plate, was fixed in the femoral condyle with two cortical screws placed below the growth plate. The other extremity, consisting of an adaptable brim with two screw holes and a plate guide, was fixed in the third distal of the femoral diaphysis with two cortical screws. The EID was removed 180 days after application. All of the dogs demonstrated full weight-bearing after surgery. The values of thigh and stifle circumferences, and stifle joint motion range did not show any difference between operated and control hindlimbs. The plate slid in the device according to longitudinal bone growth, in all but one dog. In this dog, a 10.5% shortening of the femoral shaft was observed due to a lack of EID sliding. The other dogs had the some longitudinal lengths in both femurs. The EID permits longitudinal bone growth without blocking the distal femur growth plate if appropriately placed.

Human toxocariasis in rural Brazilian Amazonia: Seroprevalence, risk factors, and spatial distribution

This population-based cross-sectional study of 403 rural settlers in Brazilian Amazonia revealed an overall rate of IgG seropositivity to Toxocara canis excretory-secretory larval antigen of 26.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.5-31.4%). Multilevel logistic regression analysis identified current infection with hookworm (odds ratio [OR], 2.32; 95% CI, 1.11-4.86) and residence in the most recently occupied sectors of the settlement (OR, 1.81.; 95%CI, 1.3-2.52) as significant risk factors for Toxocara seropositivity; age > 14 years (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.28-0.73) and the presence of cats in the household (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.32-1.02) appeared to be protective. Two significant high-prevalence clusters were detected in the area, together comprising 38.9% of the seropositive subjects; households in the clusters had slightly lower socioeconomic status and were less likely to have cats as pets. The obstacles for controlling human toxocariasis in this and other tropical rural settings are discussed.

Malassezia spp. in acoustic meatus of bats (Molossus molossus) of the Amazon region, Brazil

The yeasts of the Malassezia genus are opportunistic microorganisms and can cause human and animal infections. They are commonly isolated from the skin and auricular canal of mammalians, mainly dogs and cats. The present study was aimed to isolate Malassezia spp. from the acoustic meatus of bats (Molossus molossus) in the Montenegro region, `` Rondonia ``, Brazil. From a total of 30 bats studied Malassezia spp. were isolated in 24 (80%) animals, the breakdown by species being as follows (one Malassezia sp. per bat, N=24): 15 (62.5%) M. pachydermatis, 5 (20.8%) M. furfur, 3 (12.5%) M. globosa and 1 (4.2%) M. sympodialis. This study establishes a new host and anatomic place for Malassezia spp., as it presents the first report ever of the isolation of this genus of yeasts in the acoustic meatus of bats.

Avaliação do uso de tecnologia de atendimento telefônico automático nos serviços ao consumidor

Com vários propósitos, inclusive o de redução de custos e o de facilitar a obtenção das informações desejadas pelo usuário, muitas empresas prestadoras de serviços ao consumidor adotam em suas CATs (Centrais de Atendimento Telefônico) recursos tecnológicos de automação da interação. Examinando-se sob a ótica dos usuários das CATs, estes poderão ter expectativas sobre o serviço que encontrarão e manifestar preferências com relação aos recursos de interação automática. As CATs, ao utilizarem tecnologias de automação da interação, podem estar ou não satisfazendo as expectativas e as preferências dos usuários. Para a determinação de argumentos que suportem as proposições levantadas durante a revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema, realizou-se uma pesquisa dividida em três partes: a) um focus group com alguns usuários de CATs; b) um estudo de campo com usuários de CATs; c) entrevistas com especialistas (levantamento de experiência). Com a técnica Análise de Preferência, propõe-se um modelo das preferências dos usuários em relação ao atendimento automático em CATs. Esse modelo, em princípio, não é generalizável devido às características do processo de amostragem utilizado nesse estudo exploratório. Determinaram-se três grupos distintos de usuários, de acordo com a similaridade entre suas preferências. Determinaram-se usos da tecnologia de atendimento automático que estão em sintonia com as preferências dos usuários. Finalmente, usando os conceitos do Balanced Scorecard, propõe-se um modelo de avaliação gerencial para o uso da tecnologia de atendimento automatizado nas Centrais de Atendimento Telefônico das empresas prestadoras de serviços ao consumidor.

Análise dos acidentes e doenças do trabalho ocorridos na atividade de construção, instalação e manutenção de redes de telecomunicações no Rio Grande do Sul em 2001 e 2002

Esta dissertação apresenta um levantamento da incidência de acidentes do trabalho nas atividades de construção, manutenção e instalação de redes de telecomunicações no Rio Grande do Sul. Os dados foram obtidos a partir da análise das CATs (Comunicação de Acidente do Trabalho), referentes aos anos de 2001 e 2002. São analisados o perfil dos trabalhadores, o tipo de atividade da empresa, a distribuição temporal dos acidentes, as partes do corpo atingidas, a natureza e a causa dos acidentes e das lesões. Os principais agentes causadores dos acidentes do trabalho, foram às escadas, os veículos e o esforço físico; a principal situação geradora de lesão foi o impacto de pessoa contra objeto; os tipos de lesões mais encontradas foram as contusões, fraturas e distensões; as partes do corpo atingidas foram os membros superiores, inferiores e dorso; os acidentes ocorreram em maior número nas primeiras horas trabalhadas, com os solteiros e o tipo de gravidade das lesões determinadas pelo maior número de afastamento com mais de 15 dias. Com os resultados obtidos, pretende-se subsidiar ações preventivas nestas atividades, pois com base nas principais causas de acidentes do trabalho é possível adotar medidas para reduzir o número e a gravidade dos acidentes.

Important, unimportant a critical anticipation of the assumptions of legal positivism in Alice in Wonderland

Almost a full century separates Lewis’ Alice in Wonderland (1865) and the second, lengthier and more elaborate edition of Hans Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law (1960; first edition published in 1934). And yet, it is possible to argue that the former anticipates and critically addresses many of the philosophical assumptions that underlie and are elemental to the argument of the latter. Both texts, with the illuminating differences that arise from their disparate genre, have as one of their key themes norms and their functioning. Wonderland, as Alice soon finds out, is a world beset by rules of all kinds: from the etiquette rituals of the mad tea-party to the changing setting for the cricket game to the procedural insanity of the trial with which the novel ends. Pure Theory of Law, as Kelsen emphatically stresses, has the grundnorm as the cornerstone upon which the whole theoretical edifice rests2. This paper discusses some of the assumptions underlying Kelsen’s argument as an instance of the modern worldview which Lewis satirically scrutinizes. The first section (Sleepy and stupid) discusses Lewis critique of the idea that, to correctly apprehend an object (in the case of Kelsen’s study, law), one has to free it from its alien elements. The second section (Do bats eat cats?) discusses the notion of systemic coherence and its impact on modern ways of thinking about truth, law and society. The third section (Off with their heads!) explores the connections between readings of systems as neutral entities and the perpetuation of political power. The fourth and final section (Important, Unimportant) explains the sense in which a “critical anticipation” is both possible and useful to discuss the philosophical assumptions structuring some positivist arguments. It also discusses the reasons for choosing to focus on Kelsen’s work, rather than on that of Lewis’ contemporary, John Austin, whose The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (published in 1832) remains influential in legal debates today.

Avaliação do uso de tecnologia de atendimento telefônico automático nos serviços ao consumidor

Com vários propósitos, inclusive o de redução de custos e o de facilitar a obtenção das informações desejadas pelo usuário, muitas empresas prestadoras de serviços ao consumidor adotam em suas CATs (Centrais de Atendimento Telefônico) recursos tecnológicos de automação da interação. Examinando-se sob a ótica dos usuários das CATs, estes poderão ter expectativas sobre o serviço que encontrarão e manifestar preferências com relação aos recursos de interação automática. As CATs, ao utilizarem tecnologias de automação da interação, podem estar ou não satisfazendo as expectativas e as preferências dos usuários. Para a determinação de argumentos que suportem as proposições levantadas durante a revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema, realizou-se uma pesquisa dividida em três partes: a) um focus group com alguns usuários de CATs; b) um estudo de campo com usuários de CATs; c) entrevistas com especialistas (levantamento de experiência). Com a técnica Análise de Preferência, propõe-se um modelo das preferências dos usuários em relação ao atendimento automático em CATs. Esse modelo, em princípio, não é generalizável devido às características do processo de amostragem utilizado nesse estudo exploratório. Determinaram-se três grupos distintos de usuários, de acordo com a similaridade entre suas preferências. Determinaram-se usos da tecnologia de atendimento automático que estão em sintonia com as preferências dos usuários. Finalmente, usando os conceitos do Balanced Scorecard, propõe-se um modelo de avaliação gerencial para o uso da tecnologia de atendimento automatizado nas Centrais de Atendimento Telefônico das empresas prestadoras de serviços ao consumidor.

Histopathology findings in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus Linnaeus, 1758) with chronic weight loss associated with bile tract obstruction by infestation with Platynosomum (Loos, 1907)

Chronic weight loss in marmosets is often associated with wasting marmoset syndrome (WMS), an important disease that occurs in callitrichid colonies around the world. Even though its etiology is very difficult to determine, particular variables, such as weight loss, diarrhea and alopecia, associated or not with infestation in the pancreatic ducts with Trichospirura leptossoma (Nematoda: Thelazioidea), seem to be linked with the syndrome. This study investigated the histopathology of the lungs, duodenum, liver, gallbladder, extrahepatic bile ducts and pancreatic ducts of six common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) suffering from severe non-diarrheic weight loss. Three individuals died naturally and the other three were euthanized. Microscopic findings showed the presence of adult flukes (Platynosomum) in the liver. These flukes, which provoke common infection in cats, were also observed inside the gallbladder as well as in the intra and extrahepatic bile ducts in common marmosets. Portal fibrosis was observed in two animals, which developed chronic fibrosing hepatopathy (biliary pattern, grade 3). The disease progresses without diarrhea and without pancreatic lesions or infestation. With the rogression, the animals presented with ascending cholangitis, cholestasis and portal fibrosis, sometimes culminating in secondary biliary cirrhosis. Therefore, this nfirmity, associated with chronic weight loss in common marmosets, could be another tiological factor linked with WMS

Estudo da frequência e perfil epidêmico-sorológico da toxoplasmose ocular em pacientes atendidos no ambulatório de oftalmologia do hospital universitário onofre lopes no município de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte

Toxoplasmosis, provoked by the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is one of the most prevalent parasitoses in the world. In humans, transmission occurs by three evolutionary forms of the parasite: oocysts, tissue cysts and tachyzoites. Wild and domestic felines are definitive hosts. The ocular form of toxoplasmosis can be of congenital origin with early or late clinical manifestations, or acquired after birth. T. gondii is considered the main culprit for most cases of infectious uveitis. This study aimed at assessing ocular toxoplasmosis, relating it to factors associated to the patient s lifestyle and describing the epidemic-serological and clinical profile of affected individuals. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a population of 159 patients. Univariate analysis (odds ratio) was used to evaluate the data, with a confidence interval of 95% and p-value < 0.05. A prevalence of 4% of ocular toxoplasmosis was observed in the population of patients treated at an ophthalmological clinic. Of patients directly examined by immunoenzymatic assay (MEIA-AxSYM®- Microparticle Enzyme Immune Assay), considering only uveitis, a frequency of anti-T. gondii of 73%, most of whom exhibited titulation between 40-99 UI IgG/mL. With respect to location of ocular lesions, bilaterality was observed in 57% of patients assessed by the ophthalmoscopy technique. When compared with the results of an active search of medical records, a similarity in ocular toxoplasmosis (74%) and bilateral lesion location (55%) was observed. Type I lesion was the most frequent type observed, with intraocular disposition in the macula. An epidemiological survey revealed that direct contact with cats; consuming raw or poorly cooked meat and direct contact with the soil were significantly associated with greater likelihood of acquiring ocular toxoplasmosis. Sample characterization in relation to age range was significant for patients between 31 and 40 years [χ², chi-square test (p = 0.04)], but population traits such as schooling, sanitary district, and monthly income were not significant. Results confirm that ocular toxoplasmosis is widely distributed in the metropolitan area of Natal, Brazil, with significant prevalence of ocular lesions provoked by T.gondii. It is suggested that sanitary authorities exert greater control in order to minimize the risk of toxoplasmic infection, mainly in pregnant women.

Fissura placentária de gatas SRD, Felis catus - Linnaeus, 1758: aspectos macro e microscópicos

Nossa pesquisa consiste no estudo esquemático macroscópico na placenta de gatos e a sua caracterização como tipo, placenta zonária, que 62,5% dos casos apresenta uma fissura na área distal do funículo umbilical. Esse é formado por uma área justa fetal, área justa placentária e área média, encontrando achados histológicos de 2 artérias, uma veia, 2 pedículos vitelínicos e 2 pedículos alantoidianos. Na fissura, encontramos um epitélio alantoidiano cobrindo esta área em 10% dos casos e, em 90% dos achados foram encontrados um trofoblasto diminuído comparado com outras áreas placentárias fora da fissura. Portanto, a placenta felina, com sua relação materno fetal mostra uma placenta zonária incompleta, diferente do ocorrido nos outros carnívoros.