O papel das relações sociais e da atenção social durante tarefas cooperativas em Callithrix jacchus

Several studies on nonhuman primates show that the relationships between individuals strongly influence the expression of cooperative behavior, both in natural environment and in captivity settings. Recent studies suggest that cooperative breeders present outstanding performance in tasks involving social cognition, such as cooperative tasks with experimental apparatuses. In experimental research on this subject it is crucial to differentiate between real cooperation (or communicative cooperation, mediated by social attention) and by-product cooperation that results from simultaneous actions of individuals. The present study assessed, in Callithrix jacchus, a cooperative breeder species, if social relationships and social attention between subjects are important factors during performance in cooperative tasks. During the experimental procedure the animals participated in three different cooperative tasks: cooperation task, prosocial task and control task. Diverging from the literature, matrix correlation tests revealed no significant relationship between grooming or proximity and the execution of the tasks, suggesting that other factors such as age or hierarchy may have an effect on the performance in cooperative tasks in this species. There was also no relationship between the execution of the cooperative tasks and social glances, suggesting that there was no social attention during the tasks. Moreover, there were lower rates of social glances in the cooperative tasks as opposed to the control tasks. However, the small number of pulls in prosocial tasks suggests that the animals distinguished between tasks that benefited only a partner and tasks that generated benefits to themselves, choosing the latter. We conclude that, for the tasks presented in this study, we could neither detect the role of social relationships on the cooperative tasks nor assert that there were true cooperation and prosocial behavior

Detecção de predadores por dicromatas e tricromatas humanos e a sua implicação na evolução da visão de cores em primatas

Among placental mammals, primates are the only ones to present trichromatic color vision. However, the distribution of trichromacy among primates is not homogeneous: Old World primates shows an uniform trichromacy (with all individuals being trichromats) and New World primates exhibit a color vision polymorphism (with dichromatic males and dichromatic or trichromatic females). Visual ecology studies have investigated which selective pressures may have been responsible for the evolution of trichromacy in primates, diverging from the dichromat standard found in other mammals. Cues associated with foraging and the socio-reproductive status were analyzed, indicating a trichromatic advantage for the rapid detection of visually conspicuous objects against a green background. However, dichromats are characterized by an efficient capture of cryptic and camouflaged stimuli. These advantages regarding phenotype may be responsible for the maintenance of the visual polymorphism in New World primates and for the high incidence of color blindness in humans (standing around 8% in Caucasian men). An important factor that has not yet been experimentally taken into account is the predation risk and its effect on the evolution of trichromacy in primates. To answer this question, we prepared and edited pictures of animals with different coats: oncillas (Leopardus spp.), puma (Puma concolor) and ferret (Galictis cuja). The specimens were taxidermized and the photographs were taken in three different vegetation scenarios (dense forest, cerrado and grassland). The images of the predators were manipulated so that they fit into two categories of stimulus size (small or large). After color calibration and photo editing, these were presented to 40 humans (20 dichromats and 20 trichromats) by a computer program, which presented a set of four photos at a time (one picture containing the taxidermized animal amid the background vegetation and three depicting only the background vegetation) and recorded the response latency and success rate of the subjects. The results show a trichromatic advantage in detecting potential predators. The predator detection was influenced by the background, the predator species, the dimension of the stimulus and the observer s visual phenotype. As humans have a high rate of dyschromatopsias, when compared to wild Catarrhini or human tribal populations, it is possible that the increased rate of dichromats is a result of reduced pressure for rapid predator detection. Since our species came to live in more cohesive groups and resistant to attack by predators, with the advent of agriculture and the formation of villages, it is possible that the lower risk of predation has reduced the selection in favor of trichromats

A percepção das características da face infantil por adultos e crianças sob uma perspectiva evolucionista

Child facial cues evoke attention, parental care behaviors and modulate for infant- caretaker interactions. Lorenz described the baby schema ( Kindchenschema ) as a set of infantile physical features such as the large head, round face, high and protruding forehead, big eyes, chubby cheeks, small nose and mouth. Previous work on this fundamental concept was restricted to positive perception to infant face, and did not show consistent results about the development individuals perceptions, regarding the physical attributes that worked as markers of cuteness. Here, we experimentally tested the effects of baby schema on the perception of cuteness of infant faces by children and adults. We used 60 none graphically manipulated photos of different stimulus children faces from 4 to 9 years old. In the first task for the adults experimental subjects, ten stimulus photos were shown, whereas for children experimental subjects, four stimulus photos were shown at a time, with a total of six rounds. The second task involved only adults, who indicated the motivation of affective behaviors and care directed to children through a Likert scale. Our results suggest that both participants judged similarly the cuteness of children's faces, and the physical features markers of this perception were observed only for younger stimulus children. Adults have attributed more motivations of positive behaviors to cuter stimulus children. The recognition of the baby schema by individuals of different ages and genders confers the universality and power of children's physical attributes. From the evolutionary perspective the responsiveness to baby schema is significant to ensure aloparental and parental investment, and the consequent children survival

Lógica por trás dos contratos sociais

Natural selection shapes body and behavior of each species. For primates, the social environment constituted one of the greatest selective pressure for the development of their cognition. When we consider gender differences, we see that sexual selection also operates through different selective pressures for men and women not only in physical terms but in terms of cognitive skills. Among these, the primary cognitive abilities - that emerge naturally - and secondary - that rely on an artificial environment for learning - develop differently for each sex, making them suitable for specific tasks in different capacities. Previous studies utilized the Wason Selection Test a conditional logic tool - to measure, among several other things, the ability to recognize violation of rules in abstract contexts and social contexts. Subjects generally had better performance in the latter, however, in these studies possible differences motivated by learning in formal logic or genre were not considered. Our study investigated these two variables, as well as the time spent to solve each task. Furthermore, we used an index to take into account the rights and wrongs of the participants in tasks. We realized that although learning in formal logic does not bring significant differences in solving tests, the gender differences are strongly observed when we consider the social contexts and abstract. Women perform better in social tasks. This can be explained due to different sexual selective pressures for this gender in terms of one-on-one relationships within the group. Men are better at tasks of abstract context and this is probably due to the same reason. Their capabilities for territory defense, habitat navigation and forming coalitions depends on primary cognitive abilities that support secondary cognitive skills of abstraction. Thus, gender differences are a factor to be taken into account in controlling future experiments with the same tool

Memória de reconhecimento em indivíduos adultos com mais de 45 anos

As we grow old, there are many cognitive processes which decline in the human brain. One of them is the memory, a function that allows retention and posterior use of knowledge learned during the life, understood as a result of multiple systems highly organized and spread in several neural regions. This work aimed to evaluate the recognition memory in adults over 45 years old through words and pictures recognition tasks and the use of two codification or learning conditions (same distracters and different distracters). Twelve individuals were studied (6 men and 6 women) aged between 45 and 88 years old and with similar demographic characteristics. They presented better performance on picture tasks rather than word tasks. Better results were also verified when the codification context had different distracters, which significantly reflected in a long term principally in elderly individuals. The results reached suggest that the codification context influenced the lists of pictures and words learning, mainly for the elderly ones, when compared to adults, and that these results can be related to the phenomena involved with the recognition memory, the recollection and familiarity

Efeitos do substrato e da densidade populacional sobre as atividades comportamentais e níveis de homócitos em relação à densidade em Litopenaeus vannamei (BOONE, 1931)

Carciniculture in Brazil occupies world-wide prominence due to shrimp culture, and the state of Rio Grande do Norte has presented the best results in the culture of the Litopenaeus vannamei in the last decade. This species has been shown to adapt easily to different environments and is between the five most cultivated penaeids of the world. The ponds are usually constructed in areas close to water courses and estuaries. Stock density and substrate ponds can pollute environment, causing losses in the growth and survival of the shrimps, being considered stress factors. Shrimps in inadequate densities and substrates can result reduced productivity of the farm; and favor diseases. So, it is important to verify how these variables influence the development of the animals in the culture farms. Our objective was to study the influence of the type of substrate and the stock density on the behavior and haemocyte count of the L. vannamei. Individually marked juvenile shrimps were kept in aquaria with 30 L of seawater and continuous aeration, in 12L-12D photoperiod. They were observed through Ad libitum and focal sampling instantaneous methods during thirty days, five times per week, six times per day (8:00 to 18:00) in windows of 15 minutes every two hours. The marking of carapace permitted quantifying molting and the feeding was supplied three times a day. Two experiments were carried out: the first one tested animals in the three different substrates (fine sand, smaller rocks-SPP and biggest rocks-SGR) with 33 shrimp/m2. In the second one, the animals were tested in three stock densities (26, 52 and 66 shrimp/m2) in fine sand substrate. At the end of experiment, biometry (first and second ones) and haemocyte count (second one) were made. The behavior of the L. vannamei seems to have been influenced by substrate and stocking density. In low granulometry of the substrate; the exploratory behavior became more frequent and inactivity of the shrimps was reduced. Burrowing was registered in sand substrate, specially in the initial period of the day. Cleaning was gradually higher along the day, presenting the biggest levels as the dark phase approached. The ingestion of feeding was more frequent in low density, and the animals were bigger and heavier at the end of the experiment. In the fine sand condition, the animals presented better growth, probably associated with the burrowing. The molting was equivalent in all types of substrate, but it was more frequent in high densities. Mortality of the shrimps was more frequent in high densities, and cannibalism and diseases were also registered in that condition. The clinical signals were similar to the ones of infectious mionecrosis (IMNV), generally associated with environment and physical stress. The haemocyte count was low for the hematologic standards of the penaeid, which we attributed for greater dilution of haemolymph in the postmolting phase. Smaller shrimps presented lower levels of haemocytes in relation to the bigger animals, count was also low in 26 shrimp/m2 density. The study demonstrates that stocking density and the granulometry of the substrate can affect the welfare, the health and the behavior of the L. vannamei. The sand substrate and low stocking density can be important tools in the management systems of shrimp production

Efeitos do tratamento com lítio na memória aversiva, comportamentos relacionados à ansiedade e depressão e na expressão de BDNF em ratos

Lithium (Li) is the first choice to treat bipolar disorder, a psychiatric illness characterized by mood oscillations between mania and depression. However, studies have demonstrated that this drug might influence mnemonic process due to its neuroprotector, antiapoptotic and neurogenic effects. The use of Li in the treatment of cognitive deficits caused by brain injury or neurodegenerative disorders have been widely studied, and this drug shows to be effective in preventing or even alleviating the memory impairment. The effects of Li on anxiety and depression are controversial and the relationship of the effects of lithium on memory, anxiety and depression remain unknown. In this context, this study aims to: evaluate the effects of acute and chronic administration of lithium carbonate in aversive memory and anxiety, simultaneously, using the plus maze discriminative avoidance task (PMDAT); test the antidepressant effect of the drug through the forced swimming test (FS) and analyze brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in structures related to memory and emotion. To evaluation of the acute effects, male Wistar rats were submitted to i.p. administration of lithium carbonate (50, 100 or 200 mg/kg) one hour before the training session (PMDAT) or lithium carbonate (50 or 100 mg/kg) one hour before the test session (FS). To evaluation of the chronic effects, the doses administered were 50 or 100 mg/kg or vehicle once a day for 21 days before the beginning of behavioral tasks (PMDAT and FS). Afterwards, the animals were euthanized and their brains removed and submitted to immunohistochemistry procedure to quantify BDNF. The animals that received acute treatment with 100 and 200 mg/kg of Li did not discriminated between the enclosed arms (aversive and non-aversive) in the training session of PMDAT, showing that these animal did not learned the task. This lack of discrimination was also observed in the test session, showing that the animals did not recall the aversive task. We also observed an increased exploration of the open arms of these same groups, indicating an anxiolytic effect. The same groups showed a reduction of locomotor activity, however, this effect does not seem to be related with the anxiolytic effect of the drug. Chronic treatment with Li did not promote alterations on learning or memory processes. Nevertheless, we observed a reduction of open arms exploration by animals treated with 50 mg/kg when compared to the other groups, showing an anxiogenic effect caused by this dose. This effect it is not related to locomotor alterations since there were no alterations in these parameters. Both acute and chronic treatment were ineffective in the FS. Chronic treatment with lithium was not able to modify BDNF expression in hippocampus, amygdala and pre-frontal cortex. These results suggest that acute administration of lithium promote impairments on learning in an aversive task, blocking the occurrence of memory consolidation and retrieval. The reduction of anxiety following acute treatment may have prevented the learning of the aversive task, as it has been found that optimum levels of anxiety are necessary for the occurrence of learning with emotional context. With continued, treatment the animals recover the ability to learn and recall the task. Indeed, they do not show differences in relation to control group, and the lack of alterations on BDNF expression corroborates this result. Possibly, the regimen of treatment used was not able to promote cognitive improvement. Li showed acute anxiolytic effect, however chronic administration 4 promoted the opposite effect. More studies are necessary to clarify the potential beneficial effect of Li on aversive memory

Aspectos didáticos, laicos e científicos de artigos de divulgação científica de duas revistas de conteúdo geral

Muitos professores buscam, em textos jornalísticos, revistas ou jornais, matérias com conteúdo científico para utilizarem como material de apoio em classe. Será que o conteúdo científico contido nesse material é, realmente, aproveitável? O discurso utilizado pelos jornalistas promove o conhecimento científico sobre os assuntos que discutem? Assim, este trabalho teve por objetivo analisar, quanto ao conteúdo científico, didático e acessível, matérias das revistas semanais de conteúdo geral mais lidas do país, Veja e Época, publicadas em 2008, com o tema Meio Ambiente. Os resultados permitiram concluir que os textos apresentados pela revista Veja promovem um discurso científico aproveitável do ponto de vista didático, podendo ser utilizados em sala de aula como material de apoio e complementar pelos professores.

Aspectos do cuidado cooperativo em dois grupos de Callithrix jacchus selvagens

The Callitrichidae family presents cooperative breeding, where breeders and non breeders take care of the offspring. The aspects of care analyzed in this study were infant carrying, supervision, proximity and food transfer. Three sets of infants from two wild groups of Callithrix jacchus were studied in the environments of Caatinga (Assu group) and Atlantic Forest (Jundiaí group). The methods used in the study were instantaneous focal sampling (infant carrying, supervision and proximity) and continuous focal sampling (food transfer). In the two sets observed in Assu group, the father carried and transferred food to infants more than the rest of the group. The biggest contribution in supervision was from the father and from another adult male. The members that remained in proximity to the infants in both groups were the younger in the groups (juveniles and sub-adults). In the Jundiaí group, the father and the adult male helper of the group were the main caregivers; one of the sub-adult females was responsible for supervision of the infants. With the disappearance of the reproductive male and one of the sub-adults females in 3º month of infants life, the care was redistributed and the only adult male left in the group was the animal that contributed more in provisioning of the infant. In the Assu group, there were adult females in its composition which were involved in agonistic interactions with breeders and adult males, and seemed to influence their low participation in care. Food transfer initiates early in the development of the infants, as a way to encourage nutritional independence. Different types of food transfer (active food transfer, food steal, food steal attempt, passive food transfer and food handling) were observed in the study and frequency of each one varied with developmental phase and tolerance by the members. One relevant data of the study was the presence of active food transfer in Assu group, since in literature there are very few registers of this type of transfer for this species. It is important that groups from distinct environments and composition be studied for a better understanding of the dynamics of infants development

Publicação e avaliação de periódicos científicos: paradoxos da classificação Qualis em Psicologia

Recently, Brazilian scientific production has increased greatly, due to demands for productivity from scientific agencies. However, this high increases requires a more qualified production, since it s essential that publications are relevant and original. In the psychological field, the assessment scientific journals of the CAPES/ANPEPP Commission had a strong effect on the scientific community and raised questions about the chosen evaluation method. Considering this impact, the aim of this research is a meta-analysis on the assessment of Psychological journals by CAPES to update the Qualis database. For this research, Psychology scientific editors (38 questionnaires were applied by e-mail) were consulted, also 5 librarians who work with scientific journals assessment (semi-structured interviews) and 8 members who acted as referees in the CAPES/ANPEPP Commission (open questions were sent by e-mail). The results are shown through 3 analysis: general evaluation of the Qualis process (including the Assessment Committee constitution), evaluation criteria used in the process and the effect of the evaluation on the scientific community (changes on the editing scene included). Some important points emerged: disagreement among different actors about the suitability of this evaluation model; the recognition of the improvement of scientific journals, mainly toward normalization and diffusion; the verification that the model does not point the quality of the journal, i.e., the content of the scientific articles published in the journal; the disagreement with the criteria used, seemed necessary and useful but needed to be discussed and cleared between the scientific community. Despite these points, the scientific journals evaluation still is the main method to assure quality for Psychology publications

Cuidado ambiental em tempos de sustentabilidade: explorando dimensões da conduta sustentável com estudantes universitários

The pro-ecological commitment (CPE) constitutes an important topic within Person- Environment Studies, here seen as a predisposition to practices that result in environmental protection. Under the framework of sustainability, the concept of sustainable behavior emerges, covering, in addition to CPE, new psychological dimensions such as: the future time perspective (PTF) and the ecological worldviews (VEM). The current study intended to explore the concept of sustainable behavior of university students, by means of the association among some of its dimensions: CPE, PTF and VEM. For this purpose, 380 undergraduate students of biology, ecology, nursing, geography, and social service answered a form containing: socio-demographic questionnaire, a question on self-assessment of environmental care, the Scale of Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Environmentalisms, the Scale Consideration of Future Consequences, and the Scale Ecological Worldviews. Based on descriptive and correlational procedures, it was found that 78% of the participants practice or have practiced environmental care (caregivers) and the spread of information has been the practice more frequently reported, and the source of influence for such practices were the school, social networks, and the contact with nature It was also observed the association between practice of environmental care and ecocentric environmentalism, consideration of future consequences and egalitarian worldview (worldview of fragile nature). The lack of environmental care was associated with anthropocentric environmentalism, apathy, and individualistic worldview (worldview of passivity). As expected, and suggested by the literature, positive association were found between the sustainable behavior dimensions investigated in this study and the practice of environmental care

Método da continuação aplicado na análise de contingência de linhas de transmissão

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

Avaliação das habilidades neurocognitivas em crianças e adolescentes sobreviventes da Leucemia Linfoide Aguda - LLA

The present study investigated the impact of the treatment modalities of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on neurocognitive abilities of children and adolescents survivors, aged between 6 and 16 years of age, accompanied in pediatric oncology sectors of public health services in the cities of Campina Grande-PB and Natal-RN. The study included 52 children, 13 of these being children and adolescents diagnosed with leukemia and 39 healthy children matched in relation to the study group considering gender, age, school type and level of maternal education. Later the group of children with leukemia was subdivided into two subgroups depending on treatment modality which were submitted: Group 1A (only chemotherapy) and 1B (chemotherapy and radiotherapy). All participants were subjected to a battery of neuropsychological tests that investigated the following neurocognitive abilities: intellectual ability, memory system, attention, visuospatiality and visuoconstruction, processing speed and executive functions. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential measurements with the aid of the U test of Mann-Whitney and T test, considering the influence of the variables: sex, age at diagnosis, time since completion of treatment and level of schooling mothers, on the performance of children. Overall, it is concluded that the illness and the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia significantly favors the emergence of cognitive deficits, particularly in terms of visuospatial skills, and executive skills visoconstrutivas. In turn, the treatment modality of radiotherapy is associated with the presence of more severe deficits, highlighting the significant impact on the speed of information processing. It is hoped that the results presented here will contribute to a better understanding of the nature and extent of neurocognitive effects arising ALL treatment

Preparação de resinas de poliuretana à base de óleo de mamona e dietanolamina

The aim of this work was the preparation of polyols from reactions between castor oil and dietanolamine to increase the hydroxyl content and the network degree in the products to application in electronic devices. The polyols and the mixtures obtained were characterized by nuclear magnetic ressonance. Castor oil (CO) is a natural triglyceride - based polyol possessing hydroxyl groups, which allow several reactions that produce many different products. Among them are the polyurethanes (PU), which have been considered an ideal product for the covering of electricelectronic circuits, due to their excellent electrical, shock-absorbing, solvents resistance and hydrolytic stability properties. About 90% of the fatty acids present in the castor oil are ricinoleic acid (12-hydroxyoleic acid), while the remaining 10% correspond to non-hydroxylated fatty acids, mainly linoleic and oleic acids. The chemical analysis of castor oil indicates a hydroxyl number of 2.7. In this work, a polyol was obtained by the reaction of the CO with diethanolamine (DEA), in order to elevate the hydroxyl value from 160 to 230 or to 280 mgKOH/g, and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) 1H and 13C (Mercury 200). The polyadition of the resulting polyol with isophorone diisocianate (IPDI) was carried out at 60°C, and the reaction kinetics was followed by rheological measurements in a Haake RS150 rheometer. The electrical properties were determined in a HP LCR Meter 4262A, at 1.0 Hz and 10.0 KHz. The chemical analysis showed that the polyols obtained presented hydroxyl number from 230 to 280 mgKOH/g. The polyadition reaction with IPDI produced polyurethane resins with the following properties: hardness in the range from 45 shore A to 65 shore D (ASTM D2240); a dielectric constant of 3.0, at 25°C (ASTM D150). Those results indicate that the obtained resins present compatible properties to the similar products of fossil origin, which are used nowadays for covering electric-electronic circuits. Therefore, the PUs from castor oil can be considered as alternative materials of renewable source, free from the highly harmful petroleum - derived solvents

Influência espaço-temporal e fisiológica na absorção de nutrientes e elementos tóxicos por Eichhornia crassipes visando o uso adequado da sua biomassa: o caso do Rio Apodi/Mossoró - RN

This study aims to determine the amount of nutrients and toxic elements in aquatic macrophytes of species Eichhornia crassipes present in River Apodi/Mossoró - RN and check some of the possibilities of using the biomass produced, based on the influence of space - temporal and physiological absorption of nutrients by plants. For this, was determined: Leaf area, Leaf wet mass, Leaf dry mass, Real humidity, Apparent humidity, Ash, Total nitrogen, Crude protein, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Total phosphorus, Sodium, Iron, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Nickel, Cobalt, Aluminum, Cadmium, Lead and Total chromium at different times, 2 sampling points and 2 parts of plants (leaves and roots). The results show that the levels of nutrients, protein and toxic elements present in plant tissue of Eichhornia crassipes are influenced by spatial, temporal and physiological variability. In general, because the maximum values in the dry matter for total nitrogen (4.4088 g/100g), crude protein (27.5549 g/100g), total phosphorus (0.642 g/100 g), calcium (1.444 g/100g), magnesium (0.732 g/100 g), potassium (7.51 g/100 g), copper (4.4279 mg/100g), manganese (322.668 mg/100g), sodium (1.39 g/100g), iron (194.169 mg/100g) and zinc (3.5836 mg/100g), there was the possibility of using biomass of Eichhornia crassipes for various purposes such as in food animal, products production for human consumption, organic fertilizers, fabrication of brick low cost, and crafts. For all these applications requires a control of the levels of substances in plant tissue. Based on the levels of nutrients and crude protein, the younger plants (0 Month) would be best to have their biomass used. Moreover, one factor that contributes to the use of larger plants (6 Months), the levels of toxic elements which have significantly small or below the detection limit. Therefore, further studies quantifying the biomass produced/m2 at 0 and 6 months are needed for a more correct choice for the best time of harvest