CROCODYLOMORPH EGGS and EGGSHELLS FROM THE ADAMANTINA FORMATION (BAURU GROUP), UPPER CRETACEOUS of BRAZIL

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A new specimen of Stratiotosuchus maxhechti (Baurusuchidae, Crocodyliformes) from the Adamantina Formation (Upper Cretaceous), southeastern Brazil.

This is a report about the second occurrence and description of the third specimen of Stratiotosuchus maxhechti (Baurusuchidae, Crocodyliformes) from the Bauru Basin, Upper Cretaceous of southeastern Brazil. The material was found in the typical reddish, fine-grained sandstone from the Adamantina Formation, Bauru Group, Monte Alto County, São Paulo State. These strata are considered to be Campanian-Maastrichtian in age. It is the second skull of Stratiotosuchus maxhechti recovered where the choanal region and the skull-mandible articulation is preserved. The holotype of this species comes from the Adamantina Formation from southwestern São Paulo State, while this new specimen comes from its northern-central region, making possible biocbronological and paleoccological correlations among different geographically distant stratigraphic horizons within the Bauru Basin. The main osteologic contributions from this new specimen are the surangular taking part in the skull/mandible articulation and the presence of a relatively well-preserved choanal region, which are not seen in the holotype, furthering the knowledge of Stratiotosuchus maxhechti. Based on the features of this new specimen, an emended diagnosis is provided.

Three new species of Neoplecostomus (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the Upper Rio Parana basin of southeastern Brazil

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

Astyanax pirapuan: a new characid species from the upper Rio Paraguay system, Mato Grosso, Central Brazil (Characiformes, Characidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Techniques in electromanometry of the upper esophageal sphincter

The various pull-through techniques used to measure pressure and length of the upper esophageal sphincter have not been studied in depth. Because of the importance of obtaining further information about these techniques, a group of 25 dogs was submitted to upper esophageal sphincter pressure and length measurements by three different pull-through techniques (two of the continuous type and one of the station type), each with three replications per animal, to determine possible differences among techniques. A single introduction provided reliable results, with no sequential effect of the measurements or of any one technique on resting pressure. However, each technique yielded different sphincter lengths, higher values being obtained when the continuous techniques were used.

An N2: CH4: H2O DC glow discharge plasma probed by optical and electric techniques: significance to the radiation chemistry of Titan's upper atmosphere in the presence of meteoritic water

This paper presents optical and electrical measurements on plasma generated by DC excited glow discharges in mixtures composed of 95% N2, 4.8% CH4 and 0.2% H2O at pressures varying from 1.064 mbar to 4.0 mbar. The discharges simulate the chemical reactions that may occur in Titan's atmosphere in the presence of meteorites and ice debris coming from Saturn's systems, assisted by cosmic rays and high energy charged particles. The results obtained from actinometric optical emission spectroscopy, combined with the results from a pulsed Langmuir probe, show that chemical species CH, CN, NH and OH are important precursors in the synthesis of the final solid products and that the chemical kinetics is essentially driven by electronic collision processes. It is shown that the presence of water is sufficient to produce complex solid products whose components are important in prebiotic compound synthesis. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting fish diversity and abundance in drying ponds and lagoons in the upper Paraná River basin, Brazil

Monthly samples were taken from April 1992 to March 1993 of fish assemblages present in six permanent lagoons and four ponds, fragmented from them during the drought period and during the terminal phases of desiccation, to evaluate changes in their diversity, abundance and dominance. Their relationships with hydrological and environment conditions were examined. A total of 63 fish species were identified. Species composition and abiotic factors were heterogeneous among the different water bodies. The proportion of piscivores and oxygen concentration were the determining factors for structuring the assemblages. The impact of piscivory upon fish diversity was neutral at the beginning and negative at the end of the dry season. In the terminal phase of desiccation, diversity was higher in ponds that contained a moderate proportion of piscivores than in these containing a higher proportion.

Bryconamericus turiuba, a new species from the upper Rio Paraná system (Ostariophysi: Characiformes)

Bryconamericus turiuba, new species, is described from the upper Rio Paraná system in Brazil. It differs from all congeners in the following combination of characters: 15-20 branched anal-fin rays; four or five scales in a transverse series from the dorsal-fin origin to the lateral line; shallow body (depth 23.6-30.6% of SL); 37-43 perforated lateral line scales; first, third, and fifth or, more rarely, first and fourth outer premaxillary tricuspid teeth projecting anteriorly; two to five tricuspid to pentacuspid maxillary teeth; dentary with three or four tricuspid or pentacuspid large teeth, followed by five to seven smaller conical to tricuspid teeth; a conspicuous dark, vertically elongate humeral spot, extending to below the lateral line; a dark dorsal stripe extending from the supraoccipital spine to the caudal peduncle with a gap at the adipose-fin base; caudal-fin lobes without conspicuous markings, uniformly pigmented along rays; mature males lacking hooks on the pelvic- and anal-fin rays. The new species is compared with the Bryconamericus species described from the basins of the Rio Paraná, Rio Paraguay, Rio São Francisco, and coastal Brazilian rivers. © 2005 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

Treatment of developmental defect of upper lip with carbon dioxide laser radiation (CO2): First surgical time

With the exception of the cleft lip, developmental defects (DD) of the lip are rare. The upper lip originates from the ectomesenchyme and is formed by the merging of the nasal medial and lateral processes with the maxillary process. Disturbances during this formation period can cause DD with functional and/or esthetic repercussions. We present a case of DD of the upper lip in a patient with a history of progressive growth of the left lateral portion of the upper lip that occurred from the time of birth until the age of 22 years. Clinical examination revealed hypertrophy of the area from the left philtral columns to the left commissure of the lip, extending the portion of the surface mucosa creating a flaccid and asymptomatic tissue mass. All other buccal structures appeared to be within normal limits and without any evidence of defects or deformities. In the surgical planning we decided to carry out corrective surgery in two phases. The first phase accomplished a conservative excision of the total abnormal labial tissue mass with a CO2 laser radiation (5 W in continuous mode, bunch diameter φ = 0.6 mm with a power density of 768 W/cm2 and fluency of 0.231 J/cm2) being careful to preserve the vermilion portion of the lip. Postsurgical clinical evaluations were done every three days until the skin sutures were removed and then every seven days until two months post surgery. While the entire mass of excessive tissue could not be completely removed, the removal of the excessive mucosal tissue produced a very good outcome relative to lip function, with a good esthetic result without scarring, and good tissue mobility. The results showed that the CO2 laser is an extremely useful instrument that can provide excellent control of the surgical field and allow for healing that produces excellent functional and esthetic results. © 2005 Taylor & Francis.

Characterization and environmental interpretation of a floodplain Holocene paleosoil: Implications for paleohydrological reconstructions in the Upper Paraná River, Brazil

Alluvial paleosoil horizons from the 3 to 4 m high banks of the Paraná River were used to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental history and palaeohydrological regime of the river. The bank consists of a Middle to Late Holocene sequence of sandy to silty clay layers of overbank deposits. The paleosoil horizon is located to a depth of 1.95 m from the top of the bank and is recognized as a guide horizon throughout the floodplain of the Upper Paraná River floodplain. Analyses of organic matter (δ13C and humic/fulvic acids), palynology (pollen and charcoal fragments), magnetic susceptibility, micromorphology, x-ray diffraction and 14C dating were conducted for samples from two representative profiles of the study area. Two phases were characterized in the history of the river: 1) An older phase, of stability in fluvial hydrology (stasis) with low frequency of floods, which produced conditions for soil development (14C 1700 ± 70 yr. BP). At this period, the predominance of herbaceous vegetation (determinated by pollen and δ13C analyses) suggests a climate less humid than the present one, and 2) A second phase, when climate changed to the present conditions of humidity (annual rain fall of 1600 rum) and characterized by the predominance of C3 plants. Under this new hydrological regime, the river developed an agradational floodplain, with a depositional sedimentary rate of 1.2 mm.y-1. © 2006 Gebrüder Borntraeger.

Corumbataia britskii (Siluriformes: Loricariidae: Hypoptopomatinae) a new species from the upper Rio Paraná basin, Mato Grosso do Sul, Central Brazil

A new Hypoptopomatinae, Corumbataia britskii, is described based on specimens recently collected in a tributary of the upper Rio Paraná basin, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. Corumbataia britskii differs from its congeners by having a more depressed head profile (vs. a more rounded head profile in C. cuestae and C. tocantinensis), by having a more developed and conspicuous tuft of enlarged odontodes on the tip of the supraoccipital (vs. its reduced condition found in C. cuestae and C. tocantinensis), and by heaving a partially enclosed arrector fossae (vs. an almost completely enclosed arrector fossae in C. cuestae and C. tocantinensis). Copyright © 2007 Magnolia Press.

Oligosarcus perdido (Characiformes, Characidae), a new species of freshwater fish from Serra da Bodoquena, upper Rio Paraguai basin, Brazil

Oligosarcus perdido, a new species of freshwater fish from Serra da Bodoquena, upper Rio Paraguai basin, Brazil, is described. The new species is distinguished from congeners by the number of lateral-line scales, number of scales around the caudal peduncle, and osteological characters. The osteology of this new species is also documented by stereomicroscopic photography of cleared and stained specimens. Ecological notes based on direct observation by scuba diving in the field are also provided. Copyright © 2007 Magnolia Press.