Relative growth and reproduction in Achelous spinicarpus (Crustacea: Portunidae) on the south-eastern continental shelf of Brazil

This investigation aimed to study the relative growth, morphological sexual maturity and fecundity of the swimming crab Achelous spinicarpus in a tropical region, on the south-eastern continental shelf of Brazil (25°S). Biometry of all specimens was conducted, including measurements of the cephalothorax, cheliped, abdomen and gonopods. Relative growth was described based on the equation for allometry (y = axb), and size at sexual maturity was determined from inflections in relations involving the cheliped, gonopods (males), and abdomen (females), as dependent variables, related to the cephalothorax width (independent variable). Fecundity was estimated by the gravimetric method. The relations of the length of the chelar propodus and carpal spine to the carapace width without the lateral spines (CW) showed positive allometry in both sexes, with a significant variation in the constant 'b' for males between the developmental stages (juvenile and adult) and the size at maturity estimated at 37 mm CW. In females, the abdomen was most appropriate for the estimate of morphological maturity, which occurred at a smaller size (32 mm CW), with a change in the growth pattern between the stages, passing from isometric (juveniles) to positive allometric (adults). The gonopods also showed different growth rates between developmental stages, in synchrony with the variables of the cheliped. Mean fecundity for the species was 53,984 eggs, with a positive correlation between the number of eggs exteriorized and the size of the female; the equations allowed interconversion between these variables, due to the adjustment of the power function (r2 ≥ 86%). © 2012 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

Excess androgen during perinatal life alters steroid receptor expression, apoptosis, and cell proliferation in the uteri of the offspring

Exposure to environmental chemicals may contribute to reproductive disorders, especially when it occurs in critical periods of development. The female reproductive system can be a target for androgens derived from environmental contaminants or pathological conditions. The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term effects of androgens on uterine tissue after maternal exposure limited to the time of gestation and lactation. Pregnant Wistar rats were treated with testosterone propionate (TP) at 0.05. mg/kg, 0.1. mg/kg, 0.2. mg/kg or corn oil (vehicle), s.c., from gestational day 12 until the end of lactation. The results show changes in the pattern of expression of receptors for estrogen, progesterone, and androgen at all doses tested, and decreases in both apoptosis and cell proliferation indices at 0.1 and 0.2. mg/kg. We conclude that early TP exposure, under these experimental conditions, causes changes in cellular and molecular parameters that are essential for normal uterine function in the adult. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

Frequency of estrus in santa inês, texel and ile de france ewes in the northwest of Paraná state, Brazil

The incidence of estrus in nulliparous Santa Inês (n = 16), Texel (n = 16) and Ile de France (n = 15) ewes fed two levels of crude protein (CP, 12 or 16%) was monitored from July 2005 to December 2006, and seasonality in the Santa Inês breed in the south of Brazil was characterized. The solar radiation data were recorded daily, and samples of blood were collected biweekly for determination of the plasma concentration of progesterone in Santa Inês lambs at, on average, 11±1 months of age. The female Santa Inês lambs, in the experimental period, stayed among teaser rams with a powdered-dye-ink mixture placed on their chest to mark the females that accepted to be mounted. Santa Inês ewes did not manifest estrus in the firstfortnightofNovemberandinDecember2005,norinthelastfortnightofDecember2006.Estrusactivitywasnotobservedon any of the three breeds in October 2006. Breeds differed at the level of 12% CP. Santa Inês and Ile de France females did not differ as for the probability estrus manifestation and both presented higher probabilities then Texel. When the effect of 12 or 16% CP on each breed was evaluated separately, it was verifiedthatlevelsof12or16%ofcrudeproteindidnotchangethe probability of estrus manifestation in any of the studied breeds. The concentration of plasma progesterone inSanta Inês ewes during the spring of 2005 and 2006 indicated that there is difference between 12% CP (0.68±1.32 ng/mL) and 16% CP (1.28±1.99 ng/mL) and between the years 2005 (0.39±0.78 ng/mL) and 2006 (1.47±2.08 ng/mL), demonstrating the anestrous seasonality of Santa Inês in South Brazil. © 2013 Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia.

Entre o porão e sótão: espaços de formação em The wives of Bath, de Susan Swan

Pós-graduação em Letras - FCLAS

A caracterização do feminino em The Silmarillion, de J. R. R. Tolkien

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Confinamento e vastidão: a representação feminina e a subversão em The magic toyshop

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

Regional study on Women's unrecognized contribution to the economy

The findings and analysis of this study are based on desk review and secondary data to substantiate this growing phenomenon, especially among the female population. Further the recommendations that will be put forward in this study will be added to the literature and serve as a baseline for further study in the Caribbean region. The study is sectionalized as follows. Chapter one discusses in brief the demographics, social and economic profiles of Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. This chapter also examines the employment rate, gender and poverty, and the achievements and progress of member states as it relates to the MDGs especially goal number 3. Men are more likely to be employed in the formal sector than women, and earn higher wages and salaries in the labour market despite the fact women may have obtained tertiary level education. The literature showed that women are at home spending more time on child care and other household related responsibilities but this can still be considered employment. This chapter also addresses the achievements and progress of member states as it relates to the MDGs especially Goal 3. Chapter 2 identifies the literature review of related subjects for this study. Chapter 3 discusses the categories and type of labour activities in the informal economies in the Caribbean Region, for example, paid and unpaid work, time use, women working and their caring, responsibilities for their relatives, domestic workers being undervalued and under paid, street and market vendors, micro-enterprises the services sector and commercial sex workers. Chapter 4 examines the importance of social protection for those employed in the informal labour market and the self employed. Chapter 5 provides a preliminary analysis of the findings from this study. Chapter 6 details the preliminary conclusions and recommendations.

Development of the male reproductive system in Callinectes ornatus Ordway, 1863 (Brachyura: Portunidae)

This study describes the histology and histochemistry of the male reproductive system in Callinectes ornatus, comparing juvenile and adult developmental stages. We also analyzed changes in the gonadosomatic (GSI) and hepatosomatic (HSI) indices, and the weights of the testis and vas deferens during the development. The results showed that all stages, beginning with the juvenile (JUV), through developing (DEV) and mature (MAT) adult males of C. ornatus produce sperm and spermatophores. During development, testicular lobes showed the same characteristics of production and release of sperm into the seminiferous duct. The vas deferens showed little histological and histochemical change in the epithelium in juvenile and adult males. The differences consisted of the larger amount of secretion in MAT males compared to JUV and DEV ones. The chemical composition of the seminal fluid was similar, but MAT males produced a more homogeneous secretion. Morphological and physiological maturation are not synchronized in C. ornatus, since JUV males produced spermatophores similar to those in DEV and MAT males. However, these JUV are not yet able to reproduce, since they still have the abdomen attached to the cephalothoracic sternum. The increase of the GSI during development was significant for MAT males, and is related to the production of sufficient volume of seminal fluid to form the sperm plug in the female seminal receptacle. The HSI decreased from DEV to MAT adult stages, indicating that reserves from the hepatopancreas are used to develop the reproductive system after the pubertal molt.

Perinatal Androgenic Exposure and Reproductive Health Effects Female Rat Offspring

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Polymorphism analysis in genes of the somatotropic axis in Nellore cattle selected for growth

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

Seasonal changes in the prostatic complex of Artibeus planirostris (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

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

Relative growth and morphological sexual maturity of the freshwater crab Trichodactylus fluviatilis Latreille 1828 (Decapoda, Trichodactylidae) from west central Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Determination of equine fetal sex by Doppler ultrasonography of the gonads

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

Functional morphology of the reproductive system and sperm transfer in Stenopus hispidus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Stenopodidea), and their relation to the mating system

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Morphological Changes in the Seminal Receptacle During Ovarian Development in the Speckled Swimming Crab Arenaeus cribrarius

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