Ecology of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in a restricted focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis en Northern Venezuela: I. Description of the study area, catching methods and species composition

A study on the ecology of phlebotomine sandfly fauna in a restricted focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in northern Venezuela was undertaken in order to investigate the species responsible for the transmission. The study area and catching methods for phlebotomine sandflies are described. A total of 9,061 females and 1,662 males were collected during a year-term study. 12 species of Lutzomya and 1 species of Brumptomya sp. were identified. Absolute and relative abundance and ocurrence for each species were determined. The rel ative occurrence allowed to distinguish the common species, viz. L. panamensis, L. ovallesi, L. gomezi, L. tinidadensis, L. atroclavata, L. cayennensis, L. shannoni and L. olmeca bicolor from the rare species vis., L. punctigeniculata, L. rangeliana, L. evansi and L. dubitans. General comments on the species composition of the sandfly fauna in this locality are made.

Early Tithonian Saturnalidae (Radiolaria) from the Solnhofen area (Southern Franconian Alb, Southern Germany)

In order to complete the study of the very rich early Tithonian (Hybonoticeras hybonotum Zone) radiolarian fauna from the Muhlheim Member of the Mornsheim Formation outcropping in the Solnhofen area, the taxa of the family Saturnalidae are described. Although rather rare, the Saturnalidae of this member contain 14 species, ten of which are new. These species belong to four genera, one of which is new (Moebicircus n. gen.), and two subfamilies (Hexasaturnalinae and Saturnalinae). The taxonomy at generic level of these late Jurassic radiolarians is founded on the basis of the position of the blades along the ring and number and morphology of the spines. Type of spines (simple or forked) has either species level value or none, depending on species. Special attention was given to anomalies, which sometimes are rather frequent, since they can give information of paleobiological and paleoecological orders. Among them frequent cases of open ring and additional spines with Dicerosaturnalis and Siamese twins skeletons with Spongosaturninus and Dicerosaturnalis are to be noted. The authors hope that this new taxonomy will give a better image of the evolution and radiation of the Saturnalidae during the Tithonian.

Avaluació de la biomassa forestal disponible del Parc Natural de l'Alt Pirineu per a l'obtenció d'energia calorífica

Al present article s’han sintetitzat els resultats principals del projecte. S’avalua la biomassa forestal disponible al Parc Natural de l’Alt Pirineu, a partir d’un conjunt de mètodes d’estimació que pretenen veure la diferència de biomassa disponible segons una sèrie de restriccions que es tenen en compte en cada cas. L’estudi té com a objectiu principal l’estimació de la biomassa forestal aprofitable que és susceptible de ser utilitzada per a l’abastament de la demanda d’energia calorífica pels habitatges de la zona. S’ha realitzat per a tres àmbits d’estudi diferents: Parc Natural de l’Alt Pirineu (PNAP), Vall de Cardós i el municipi d’Esterri de Cardós. Per a cadascun d’ells s’ha analitzat la demanda total d’energia calorífica dels habitatges, així com les seves emissions en Kg de CO2 i l’energia obtinguda a partir de la biomassa disponible. Finalment, com a escenari d’aprofitament, s’ha proposat fer una substitució d’aquells habitatges que utilitzen gasoil per la biomassa, amb la finalitat de comprovar les reduccions en emissions de CO2 i en els costos econòmics que tindrien lloc.

Gestió forestal de masses d'arboç (Arbutus unedo) en regeneració després de foc al terme municipal d'Esparreguera

Els incendis forestals són una pertorbació amb un paper decisiu en l’estructura i dinàmica dels ecosistemes mediterranis. La majoria de les seves espècies vegetals presenten mecanismes de resposta al foc, com la germinació de llavors i la rebrotada d’individus cremats. Les masses forestals regenerades a partir de rebrots assoleixen densitats massa altes i una baixa producció, i, per tant, és fonamental dur a terme una gestió mitjançant tractaments silvícoles. El principal objectiu d’aquest projecte és quantificar l’efecte de la selecció de rebrots i la selecció de rebrots més la desbrossada sobre el creixement de l’Arbutus unedo. S’han estudiat 12 parcel—les en regeneració després dels incendis de 1985, 1986 i 1994 al terme municipal d’Esparreguera. Els resultats mostren que els dos tractaments afavoreixen de la mateixa manera el creixement dels peus d’Arbutus unedo, a causa de la disminució de la competència intraespecífica i interespecífica. La desbrossada (a nivell de parcel—la, no d’individu), no obstant, provoca un increment probablement perjudicial de l’alçada dels rebrots, per la major disponibilitat de llum. Per tal de proposar un model de gestió forestal, s’ha realitzat una anàlisi multicriterial dels diferents escenaris, on s’han considerat altres criteris, com són el model de combustible, la possibilitat de pastura i el cost econòmic. L’alternativa preferida en els boscos d’Arbutus unedo és la selecció de rebrots i la desbrossada.

An outbreak of american cutaneous leishmaniasis (Leishmania braziliensis braziliensis) in a periurban area of Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil: clinical and epidemiological studies

From July 1984 to September 1986, 105 cases of American cutaneous leishmaniasis were studied in a locality closely situated to an urbanized area of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Settement in this area was established at least 20 years ago but the first cases were noted six months prior to the beginning of this study. Cases were almost exlusively cutaneous and ulcerated, with one to six months of evolution. Montenegro's skin tests were positive in all cases and anti-Leishmania antibodies were detected by indirect immunofluorescence test in 74.3% of the patients. Parasites were demonstrated in 69.5% of cases. Domestic animals were easily found infected; 32% of the examined dogs and 30.8% of the examined equines were positive to the presence of Leishmania in cutaneous ulcerated lesions. Parasite isolates from human, dog andequines were immunologically characterized and identified as L. b. braziliensis. 73,0% of the sandfly population were Lutzomyia intermedia mainly caught on human baits and on domestic animals. Our observations suggest that this is an area of recent established L. b. braziliensis infection and that transmission probably occurs indoors or outdoors close to the houses.

Garnet growth in the Nufenen Pass area (Swiss Alps)

Abstract : Textural division of a mineral in pyramids, with their apices located at the centre of the mineral and their bases corresponding to the mineral faces is called textural sector zoning. Textural sector zoning is observed in many metamorphic minerals like andalousite and garnet. Garnets found in the graphite rich black shales of the Mesozoic cover of the Gotthard Massif display textural sector zoning. The morphology of this sector zoning is not the same in different types of black shales observed in the Nufenen pass area. Garnets in foliated black shales display a well developed sector zoning while garnets found in cm-scale layered black shales display well developed sectors in the direction of the schistosity plane. This sector zoning is always associated with up to 30μm sized birefringent lamellae emanating radial from the sector boundaries. They alternate with isotrope lamellae. The garnet forming reaction was determined using singular value decomposition approach and results compared to thermodynamic calculations. It is of the form chl + mu + cc + cld = bt + fds + ank + gt + czo and is similar in both layered and foliated black shales. The calculated X(O) is close to 0.36 and does not significantly vary during the metamorphic history of the rock. This corresponds to X CO2, X CH4, and X H2O BSE imaging of garnets on oriented-cuts revealed that the orientation of the lamellae found within the sectors is controlled by crystallography. BSE imaging and electron microprobe analysis revealed that these lamellae are calcium rich compared to the isotropic lamellae. The addition of Ca to an almandine rich garnet causes a small distortion of the X site and potentially, ordering. Ordered and disordered garnet might have very similar free energies for this composition. Hence, two garnets with different composition can be precipitated with minor overstepping of the reaction. It is enough that continued nucleation of a new garnet layer slightly prefers the same structure to assure a fiber-like growth of both garnet compositions side by side. This hypothesis is in agreement with the thermodynamic properties of the garnet solid solution described in the literature and could explain the textures observed in garnets with these compositions. To understand the differences in sector zoning morphology, and crystal growth kinetics, crystal size distribution were determined in several samples using 2D spatial analysis of slab surfaces. The same nucleation rate law was chosen for all cases. Different growth rate law for non-layered black shales and layered black shales were used. Garnet in layered black shales grew according to a growth rate law of the form R=kt ½. The transport of nutrient is the limiting factor. Transport will occur preferentially on the schistosity planes. The shapes of the garnets in such rocks are therefore ovoid with the longest axis parallel to the schistosity planes. Sector zoning is less developed with sectors present only parallel to the schistosity planes. Garnet in non-layered blackshales grew according to a growth rate law of the form R=kt. The limiting factor is the attachment at the surface of the garnet. Garnets in these rocks will display a well developed sector zoning in all directions. The growth rate law is thus influenced by the texture of the rock. It favours or hinders the transport of nutrient to the mineral surface. Résumé : La zonation sectorielle texturale consiste en la division d'un cristal en pyramides dont les sommets sont localisés au centre du minéral. La base de ces pyramides correspond aux faces du minéral. Ce type de zonation est fréquemment observé dans les minéraux métamorphiques tels que l'andalousite ou le grenat. Les grenats présents dans les marnes riches en graphites de la couverture Mésozoïque du Massif du Gotthard présent une zonation sectorielle texturale. La morphologie de cette zonation n'est pas la même dans les marnes litées et dans les marnes foliées. Les grenats des marnes foliées montrent des secteurs bien développés dans 3 directions. Les grenats des marnes litées montrent des secteurs développés uniquement dans la direction des plans de schistosité. Cette zonation sectorielle est toujours associée à des lamelles biréfringentes de quelques microns de large qui partent de la limite des secteurs et qui sont perpendiculaires aux faces du grenat. Ces lamelles alternent avec des lamelles isotropes. La réaction de formation du grenat a été déterminée par calcul matriciel et thermodynamique. La réaction est de la forme chl + mu + cc + cld= bt + fds + ank + gt + czo. Elle est similaire dans les roches litées et dans les roches foliées. L'évaluation des conditions fluides montrent que le X(O) est proche de 0.36 et ne change pas de façon significative durant l'histoire métamorphique de la roche. Des images BSE sur des coupes orientées ont révélé que l'orientation de lamelles biréfringentes est contrôlée parla crystallographie. La comparaison des analyses à la microsonde électronique et des images BSE révèle également que les lamelles biréfringentes sont plus riches en calcium que les lamelles isotropes. L'addition de calcium va déformer légèrement le site X et ainsi créer un ordre sur ce site. L'énergie interne d'un grenat ordré et d'un grenat désordonné sont suffisamment proches pour qu'un léger dépassement de l'énergie de la réaction de formation permette la coexistence des 2 types de grenat dans le même minéral. La formation de lamelles est expliquée par le fait qu'un grenat préférera la même structure. Ces observations sont en accord avec la thermodynamique des solutions solides du grenat et permet d'expliquer les structures similaires observées dans des grenats provenant de lithologies différentes. Une étude de la distribution des tailles des grenats et une modélisation de la croissance a permis de mettre en évidence 2 mécanismes de croissance différents suivant la texture de la roche. Dans les 2 cas, la loi de nucléation est la même. Dans les roches litées, la loi de croissance est de forme R=kt½. Le transport des nutriments est le facteur limitant. Ce transport a lieu préférentiellement dans la direction des niveaux de schistosité. Les grenats ont une forme légèrement allongée car la croissance des secteurs est facilitée sur les niveaux de schistosité. La croissance des grenats dans les roches foliées suit une loi de croissance de la forme R=kt. Les seuls facteurs limitant la croissance sont les processus d'attachement à la surface du grenat. La loi de croissance de ces grenats est donc contrainte par la texture de la roche. Cela se marque par des différences dans la morphologie de la zonation sectorielle.

The spatial inequality of wage income in Barcelona Metropolitan Area

ABSTRACT The measure and estimation of income levels in Barcelona Metropolitan Area (BMA) goes back a long way. Using different approaches and focusing on different municipalities, there is a lot of work in the field. The majority of the literature has focused on the estimation of income levels using variables related to consumption. The empirical evidence on wage differentials has shown an important growth during 80’s and 90’s especially in United Kingdom and USA. Less is known on spatial distribution of inequality. This paper presents a new data set for analyzing spatial distribution of wage income. This data is obtained by matching Wage Structure Survey (WSS) with data from Census disaggregated by census tracts. In this way we have a unique data set with wage incomes for every census track for 36 municipalities belonging to BMA. We develop a descriptive analysis of spatial distribution, testing for spatial autocorrelation and use the family of Generalised Entropy Indices to measure inequality. Properties of the index allow us to decompose inequality into inter and intra-municipality measures. Since we have two cross-sectional data for WSS (1995-2002) we can also analyze the evolution of the inequality in this period of economic growth. Key words: spatial distribution of wages, spatial autocorrelation, inequality indices.

Human leptospirosis in a slum area in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a serological and epidemiological study

A serologic survey was carried out on slum dwellers in the city of Rio de Janeiro. A total of 259 serum samples from male and female individuals of different age groups were tested for the presence of antileptospire antibodies by microagglutination. Prevalence data were analyzed in relation to the major risk factors present at the site, mainly represented by the presence of carrier animals and the occurence of frequent floods. Of the samples tested, 25% reacted with antigens of different serogroups at titres ranging from 1:100 to 1:6400, with a predominance of titres <= 1:400; 35% of positive sera reacted with leptospirae of the Icterohaemorrhagiae serogroup. Reactions with Djasiman, Panama, Javanica, Canicola, Pyrogenes, Australis, Ballum, Sejroe, Bataviae, Grippotyphosa, Autumnalis and Cynopteri were also detected, though at lower frequencies. There was no statistically significant difference between sexes, but higher prevalence rates were found to be associated with increasing age. A focus of infection was characterized, in which social and economic factors contribute to the persistance of leptospirae by favoring the proliferation of the main reservoir.

On the real effects of financial pressure: Evidence from euro area firm-level employment during the recent financial crisis.

Using a large panel of unquoted euro-area firms over the period 2003-11, this paper examines the impact of financial pressure on firms’ employment. The analysis finds evidence that financial pressure negatively affects firms’ employment decisions. This effect is stronger during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, especially for firms in the periphery area compared to their counterparts in the core European economies. We also find that impact of financial pressure on employment is more potent for firms classified as financially constrained and operating in periphery economies during the financial crisis.

An Empirical Assessment of Optimal Monetary Policy Delegation in the Euro Area

We estimate a New Keynesian DSGE model for the Euro area under alternative descriptions of monetary policy (discretion, commitment or a simple rule) after allowing for Markov switching in policy maker preferences and shock volatilities. This reveals that there have been several changes in Euro area policy making, with a strengthening of the anti-inflation stance in the early years of the ERM, which was then lost around the time of German reunification and only recovered following the turnoil in the ERM in 1992. The ECB does not appear to have been as conservative as aggregate Euro-area policy was under Bundesbank leadership, and its response to the financial crisis has been muted. The estimates also suggest that the most appropriate description of policy is that of discretion, with no evidence of commitment in the Euro-area. As a result although both ‘good luck’ and ‘good policy’ played a role in the moderation of inflation and output volatility in the Euro-area, the welfare gains would have been substantially higher had policy makers been able to commit. We consider a range of delegation schemes as devices to improve upon the discretionary outcome, and conclude that price level targeting would have achieved welfare levels close to those attained under commitment, even after accounting for the existence of the Zero Lower Bound on nominal interest rates.