Comportamento dos cromossômios no gênero Hypselonotus (Hemiptera -Coreidae)

The three species studied have 19 chromosomes, being one heterochromosome, one pair of microchromosomes and 8 pairs of autosomes. The microchromosomes of Hypselonotus fulvus are amongst the largest we know. During the synizesis, in Hypselonotus fulvus, we can see in several strands that scape from the chromatic knot a place in which they are widley open. As, in that phase the chromosomes have both ends converging to the same place, the openings suggest a side-to-side pairing of the chromosomal threads. The tetrads are like that studied by Piza (1945-1946). The bivalents are united side by side at their entire length. The unpaired part at the midle of the bivalents gives origin to the arms of the cross-shapede tetrads. The chromosomes have a kinetochore at each end. The bivalents sometimes unite their extremities to form ring-shaped figures, which open themselves out before metaphase. The tetrads are oriented parallelly to the spindle axis. At telophase the kinetochores repeli one another, the chiasmata, if present, slip toward the acentric extremities and the chromosomes rotate in order to arrange themselves parallelly to the axis of the new spindle. Separation is therefore through the pairing plane. In the spermatogonial anaphase of Hypselonotus subterpunctatus the chromosomes are curved to the poles, like those described by PIZA (1946) and PIZA and ZAMITH (1946). The sex chromosomes in Hypselonotus interruptus and Hypselonotus fulvus appears longitudinally divided. It is oriented with the ends in the plane of the equator and its chomatids separate by the plane of division. In the second division the sex chromosome, provided as it is with an actve klnetochore at each end, orients itself with its length parallelly to the spindle axis and passes undivided to one pole. Sometimes it is distended between the poles. This corresponds to case (a) established by PIZA (1946) for the sex chromosomes of Hemiptera In Hypselonotus subterpunctatus the sex chromosome, in the first division of the spermatocytes, orients like the tetrads and divides transversaly. In the second division, as its kinetochore becomes inactive, it remans monocentric, does not orient in the spindle, and is finally enclosed in the nearer nucleus. In the secondary telophase it recuperates its dicentricity like the autosomal chromatids. This behavior corresponds to case (c) of PIZA (1946).

Polinização de Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa (Passiflorales, Passifloraceae), por abelhas (Hymenoptera, Anthophoridae) em Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro

The yellow passion Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa Deg. is allogamous, self incompatible, and it depends of insects pollinators to disseminate the pollen grains. The field work was conducted at Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from October 17 to November 9 and December 12 to 21, 1995. It was analyzed 1565 flower buds, from which 423 showed well developed ovaries, five days after opening, this represents 27% of fruit set by natural pollination. It was observed 76,86 % of completely curved flowers, 21,22 % of partially curved flowers, and 1,92 % flowers without curvature. Five species of bees where observed on the flowers, from which two were the effective pollinator of yellow passion flower: Xylocopa (Megaxylocopa) frontalis (Olivier, 1789) and X. (Neoxylocopa) ordinaria Smith, 1874.

Um novo gênero e espécie de Baetidae (Ephemeroptera) do Estado de Minas Gerais Sudeste do Brasil

Iguaira gen. nov., type species, I. poranga, sp. nov., based on one nymph from the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, are proposed. The new taxon is distinguished by the labrum with multiple, unorganized setae dorsally; hypopharynx with three-lobed lingua; cleft mandibular incisors; labium with internally curved paraglossae; labial palps with second segment with strong, apically rounded distomedial process and third segment with truncate medial and apical margins; elongate tarsal claws with minute denticles; and absence of scales and scale bases.

Establishment of a new genus for Parastenocaris itica (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) from El Salvador, Central America, with discussion of the Parastenocaris fontinalis and P. proserpina groups

A new genus of Parastenocarididae is described from the Neotropical region. Iticocaris gen. nov. is established to include Parastenocaris itica Noodt, 1962. Iticocaris gen. nov. is defined by the following characters: 1) male leg 3 with 2-segmented exopod; 2) first exopodal segment short and rectangular; 3) thumb hypertrophic, longer than the second exopodal segment and inserted on the distal edge of exopod segment 1, occupying the whole distal margin; 4) exopod 2 or apophysis strongly sclerotized, articulated with the exopod segment 1 on its inner margin and curved against the thumb, forming a strong forceps; 5) leg 4 endopod without dimorphism in shape and size vs. minor dimorphism in ornamentation; 6) leg 5 with three setae and 7) lack of the anterolateral furcal seta II. The new genus is monotypic, represented by Iticocaris itica (Noodt, 1962) comb. nov., from El Salvador, Central America. A close relationship is hypothesized between I. itica and the genus Brasilibathynellocaris Jakobi, 1972, the males of which both share the forceps-like elongated apophysis.

Nopyllus, a new South American Drassodinae spider genus (Araneae, Gnaphosidae)

Nopyllus gen. nov. is proposed to include Apopyllus isabelae Brescovit & Lise, 1993 and Nopyllus vicente sp. nov. from southern Brazil. Nopyllus gen. nov. is close to Apodrassodes Vellard, 1924 and Apopyllus Platnick & Shadab, 1984, can be distinguished from both genera by the absence of a dorsal abdominal scutum in males, the absence of a median apophysis on bulb, the curved, narrow and reniform cymbium, and by the presence of a very conspicuous cymbial basal projection.

Plastic ingestion by sea turtles in Paraíba State, Northeast Brazil

ABSTRACT Currently, plastics are recognized as a major pollutant of the marine environment, representing a serious threat to ocean wildlife. Here, we examined the occurrence and effects of plastic ingestion by sea turtles found stranded along the coast of Paraíba State, Brazil from August 2009 to July 2010. Ninety-eight digestive tracts were examined, with plastic found in 20 (20.4%). Sixty five percent (n = 13) of turtles with plastic in the digestive tract were green turtles (Chelonia mydas), 25% (n = 5) were hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata), and 10% (n = 2) were olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea). More plastic was found in the intestine (85%) than in other parts of the gastrointestinal tract. We observed complete blockage of the gastrointestinal tract due to the presence of plastic in 13 of the 20 turtles that had ingested plastic. No correlation was found between the curved carapace length (CCL) and the number or mass of the plastic ingested items. Significant differences were found between the intake of hard and soft plastic and the ingestion of white/transparent and colored plastic, with soft and white/transparent plastics being more commonly ingested. This study reveals the serious problem of plastic pollution to sea turtles at the area.

Distortion of surface groups in Cat (0) free-by-cyclic groups

Given a non-positively curved 2-complex with a circle-valued Morse function satisfying some extra combinatorial conditions, we describe how to locally isometrically embed this in a larger non- positively curved 2-complex with free-by-cyclic fundamental group. This embedding procedure is used to produce examples of CAT(0) free-by-cyclic groups that contain closed hyperbolic surface subgroups with polynomial distortion of arbitrary degree. We also produce examples of CAT(0) hyperbolic free-by-cyclic groups that contain closed hyperbolic surface subgroups that are exponentially distorted.

Infinite index subgroups and finiteness properties of intersections of geometrically finite groups

We explore which types of finiteness properties are possible for intersections of geometrically finite groups of isometries in negatively curved symmetric rank one spaces. Our main tool is a twist construction which takes as input a geometrically finite group containing a normal subgroup of infinite index with given finiteness properties and infinite Abelian quotient, and produces a pair of geometrically finite groups whose intersection is isomorphic to the normal subgroup.

Preparació de materials híbrids orgànico-inorgànics a partir de sals d'imidazoli

Estudi elaborat a partir d’una estada a l’ Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier, França, durant 2006. S’han sintetitzat materials híbrids orgànico-inorgànics mitjançant el procés sol-gel i altres estratègies sintètiques. En alguns casos, s’ha intentat estructurar aquests materials, ja sigui per autoestructuració o per mitjà de tensioactius. Com a catalitzadors de les reaccions d'hidròlisi i policondensació s’han utilitzat àcids, bases i fluorurs. Els materials obtinguts s’han caracteritzat mitjançant diferents tècniques: BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller), TEM (microscopia electrònica de transmissió), SEM (microscòpia electrònica de rastreig), raigs X en pols , IR i RMN (ressonància magnètica nuclear) en estat sòlid. Amb aquests materials es pretén preparar catalitzadors heterogenis de Pd per reaccions d’acoblament creuat, i de Ru per reaccions de metàtesi. També s’han sintetitzat sals d'imidazoli amb cadenes hidrocarbonades llargues amb l'objectiu de preparar gels de sílice amb aquestes molècules atrapades dins la matriu inorgànica. Aquests materials s’utilitzaran com a organocatalitzadors i també es prepararan els corresponents catalitzadors de Pd per reaccions de Heck, Suzuki i Sonogashira. Les sals d’imidazoli s’han utilitzat com a tensioactius en la preparació de gels de sílice estructurats. Aquestes molècules han resultat ser cristalls líquids i s’han caracteritzar mitjançant DSC (differential scanning calorimetry), microscopia òptica i raigs X.

Preparació i caracterització de materials mesoporosos en sistemes tensioactius

Estudi elaborat a partir d’una estada a la Universitat Nacional de Yokohama des de maig fins a mitjans de juny del 2006. S'ha estudiat el comportament fàssic i la preparació de sílica mesoporosa pels nous tensioactius fluorats d'estructura C8F17SO2(C3H7)N(C2H4O)nH (abreujat C8F17(EO)n. El tensioactiu C8F17(EO)n forma micel•les allargades i cristalls líquids en aigua, i per tant pot ser adequat per a la preparació de materials mesoporosos. Sílica mesoestructurada es va preparar pel mètode de precipitació per autoagregació cooperativa. Un estudi sistemàtic es va realitzar, investigant la influència de les concentracions de tensioactiu i precursor (TEOS), l’efecte del pH i de la longitud de cadena de poliòxid d’etilè. Els materials es van caracteritzar per raigs X a angle petit (SAXS), sorció de nitrògen i TEM. Els materials obtinguts presenten diàmetres de por petits i parets de por gruixudes. A més, aquests materials posseeixen altes superfícies específiques, que s’han obtingut emprant concentracions de tensioactiu petites, produint parets de por robustes sense microporositat significativa. La superfície específica es manté durant el procés de calcinació, malgrat un petit encongiment degut a l’entrecreuament de la sílica. Els materials de sílica obtinguts han mostrat ser significativament més robustos que altres materials similars descrits a la bibliografia, com la sílica MCM-41.

The viral nature of Toddia França, 1912

Toddia França, 1912 under the light microscope occurs as inclusion corpuscles in the cytoplasm of erythrocytes of cold-blooded vertebrates sometimes accompanied by crystalloid bodies. Its position among the protozoans or the viruses has been discussed by some authors, but remained unclear. To elucidate this problem we studied Toddia from a Brazilian frog (Leptodactylus ocellatus) by electron microscopy. In the cytoplasm of the infected cells we found no protozoan, but rather virus-like particles often hexagonal in outline, averaging 195 nm excluding their two involving membranes, and presenting a central area of variable electron density. Particles at different stages of development were generally found around or on area lighter density than the cytoplasm. which resembled a virus synthesis site. At high magnification, the nuclear or cytoplasmic crystals allied to Toddia resembled the crystalline lattice of the inclusion bodies associated with the polyhedrosis viruses and poxviruses from insects, of the capsules of granulosis viruses and of other protein crystals in ultrathin sections. Cytochemical tests in Toddia corpuscles displayed exclusively the presence of deoxyribonucleic acid. These findings indicate that Toddia is not a protozoan and demonstrate that it is in all probability a viral inclusion corpuscle. Taking into account the nucleic acid type found in its structure (DNA) and the hexagonal shape usually shown in ultrathin sections by its component particles, which have a cytoplasmic site of synthesis and assembly, we tentatively relate Toddia with the so-called "Icosahedral Cytoplasmic Deoxyriboviruses". We believe that the present paper gives the first report of virus-like particles in L. ocellatus.

Lymnaea rupestris sp. n. from Southern Brazil (Pulmonata: Lymnaeidae)

A new species of South American lymnaeid snail, Lymnaea rupestris, is described. So far it has been found only in its type-locality, Nova TeuTõnia, a village in the municipality of Seara (27° 07' S, 52° 17' W), state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. It is distinguishable, by characteristics of the shell and internal organs, from the other two lymnaeid species known to occur in the area, Lymnaea columella and L. viatrix. Its shell has 4 markedly shouldered whorls, deep suture, ovoid or rounded aperture occupying about half the length of the shell, and reaches about 6 mm in length in adults; in columella and viatrix the shell has 4-5 rounded whorls, shallow suture, and reaches over 10 mm in adults; the aperture is ovoid, occupying about half the length of the shell in viatrix, about two thirds in columella. Anatomically it is readily separated from L. columella by the shape of the ureter, straight in rupestris, with a double flexure in columella. Comparison with L. viatrix shows the following main differences: distalmost portion of the oviduct with a low, caplike lateral swelling in rupestris, with a well-developed pouch in viatrix; uterus bent abruptly caudalward in rupestris, only slightly curved rightward in viatrix; basal half of the spermathecal duct hidden by the prostate in rupestris, wholly visible or nearly so in viatrix; spermiduct sinuous and uniformly wide in rupestris, straight and gradually narrowing in viatrix; prostate more than half as long and nearly as wide as the nidamental gland, and with a slit-like lumen in cross-section in rupestris, less than half as long as and much narrower than the nidamental gland, and with an inward fold in cross-section in viatrix; penial sheath about as long and as wide as the prepuce in rupesris, shorter and narrower than the prepuce in viatrix. An important ecological characteristic of L. rupestris is its habitat on wet rocks most often outside bodies of water, although in close proximity to them. Specimens were deposited in the following malacological collections: Instituto OswaldoCruz, Rio de Janeiro; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia; Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan; and British Museum (Natural History).

Physa Marmorata Guilding, 1828 (Pulmonata: Physidae)

A description of Physa marmorata Guilding, 1828, based on material collected at its type-locality, the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent, is presented. The shell is thin, horn-colored, surface very glossy, diaphanous. Spire acute, elevated; protoconch distinct, rounded-conical, reddish-brown; five not shouldered, broadly convex whorls with subobsolete spiral lines and thin growth lines. Aperture elongated, 1.4-2.0 times as long as the remaining shell length, narrow obovate-lunate; upper half acute-angled,lower half oval,narrowly rounded at the base, outer lip sharp, inner lip completely closing the umbilical region; a very distinct callus on the parietal wall; columellar lip with a low ridge gradually merging into the callus. ratios: shell width/shell length = 0.44 - 0.52 (mean 0.47); spire length /shell lenght = 0.33-0.41 (mean 0.39); aperture length/shell lenght = 0.59-0.67 (mean 0.62). Oral lappets laterally mucronate, foot spatulate with deeply pigmented acuminate tail. Mantle reflection with 6-10 short triangular dentations covering nearly half the right surface of the body whorl, and 4-6 covering a part of the ventral wall. Body surface with tiny dots of greenish-yellow pigment besides melanin. Renal tube tightly folded in toa zigzag course. Ovotestis diverticula acinous, laterally pressed against each other around a collecting canal. Ovispermiduct with well-developed seminal vesicle. oviduct highly convoluted, merging into a less convoluted nidamental gland which narrows to a funnel-shaped uterus and a short vagina. Spermathecal body oblong, more or less constricted in the middle and somewhat curved; spermathecal duct uniformly narrow, a little longer than be body. About 20 prostatic diverticula, simple, bifurcate or divided into a few short branches, distalmost ones assembled into a cluster. Penis long, nearly uniformly narrow; penial canal with lateral opening about the junction of its middle and lower thirds. Penial sheath with a bulbous terminal expasion the tip of which isinserted into the caudal end of the prepuce. Prepuce shouldered, much wider than the narrow portion of the penial sheath. Penial sheath/prepuce ratio about 2.08 (1.45-2.75). The main extrinsic muscles of the penial complex are a retractor, with a branch attached to the bulb, and another to the caudal end of the penial sheath; and a protractor, with a branch attached to the shoulder of the prepuce and adjoining area of the penial sheath, and another to the caudal end of the penial sheath. Egg capsule C-shaped, with 10-30 elliptical eggs (snails 10mm long) measuring about 1.10 mm (0.90-1.32) through the long axis and surrounded by an inner and an outer lamellate membranes. Jaw a simple obtusely V-shaped plate. radula will be described separately.

Acute flare induced by the calcific tendonitis of the rotator cuff: inhibition of IL-1 a potential therapeutic target?

Introduction: Calcific tendonitis of rotator cuff is observed on plainradiographs in 10% of adults, but remains asymptomatic in half thesecases. Sometimes, these calcifications induce acute flares withmassive inflammation similar to gout or CPPD crisis. Analgesics/anti-inflammatory medications are usually not sufficient to controlssymptoms in these situations. Local steroid infiltration with or withoutremoval of the calcific deposition with a needle aspiration may beuseful. A new approach could be IL-1 inhibitors. Indeed, basic calciumphosphate crystals are capable of stimulating the release of activeIL-1β in vitro. These crystals trigger IL-1β release, in an analogousmanner to MSU crystals in acute gout, suggesting that IL-1β blockademay be clinically useful.Case presentation: This report describes a 70-year old woman withacute rest pain of the right shoulder since 48 hours. On examination,we found massive limitations of active and passive movements. Thepatient evaluated, on the visual scale, her symptoms at 10/10 the nightand 5/10 the day. The radiography and showed a rounded, 8 mmcalcification in the subscapularis tendon. The ultrasound aspectrevealed a heterogeneous calcification partially non solid, surroundedby massive inflammation on Doppler. C-reactive protein anderythrocyte sedimentation rate were high (74 mg/ml, 54 mm/hour).The patient received subcutaneous injections of anakinra: 100 mgdaily for 3 days (D1-D3). We evaluated the patient in our consult at dayD1, D2, D3, D7, D16 and by phone at D70.This treatment rapidly relieved the inflammatory symptoms (within afew hours with no relapse). The mobility of the shoulder, the biologicsparameters improved and the size of the calcification as well thedegree of inflammation regressed on ultrasound after 3 days.Conclusion: This is the first report of a woman with an acute flareinduced by calcific tendonitis who received anakinra. IL-1 inhibitionmay be a therapeutic target in calcific tendonitis. To analyse thisresponse more precisely and elaborate definitive conclusions, aprospective pilot study is on-going in our ambulatory institute.

The tectonically controlled emplacement of a vertically sheeted gabbro-pyroxenite intrusion: Feeder-zone of an ocean-island volcano (Fuerteventura, Canary Islands)

The Miocene PX1 gabbro-pyroxenite pluton, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, is a 3.5 x 5.5 km shallow-level intrusion (0.15-0.2 GPa and 1100-1120 degrees C), interpreted as the feeder-zone to an ocean-island volcano. It displays a vertical magmatic banding expressed in five 50 to 100 metre-wide NNE-SSW trending alkaline gabbro sequences alternating with pyroxenites. This emplacement geometry was controlled by brittle to ductile shear zones, generated by a regional E-W extensional tectonic setting that affected Fuerteventura during the Miocene. At a smaller scale, the PX1 gabbro and pyroxenite bands consist of metre-thick differentiation units, which suggest emplacement by periodic injection of magma pulses as vertical dykes that amalgamated, similarly to a sub-volcanic sheeted dyke complex. Individual dykes underwent internal differentiation following a solidification front parallel to the dyke edges. This solidification front may have been favoured by a significant lateral/horizontal thermal gradient, expressed by the vertical banding in the gabbros, the fractionation asymmetry within individual dykes and the migmatisation of the wall rocks. Pyroxenitic layers result from the fractionation and accumulation of clinopyroxene +/- olivine +/- plagioclase crystals from a mildly alkaline basaltic liquid. They are interpreted as truncated differentiation sequences, from which residual melts were extracted at various stages of their chemical evolution by subsequent dyke intrusions, either next to or within the crystallising unit. Compaction and squeezing of the crystal mush is ascribed to the incoming and inflating magma pulses. The expelled interstitial liquid was likely collected and erupted along with the magma flowing through the newly injected dykes. Clinopyroxene mineral orientation - as evidenced by EBSD and micro X-ray tomography investigations - displays a marked pure-shear component, supporting the interpretation of the role of compaction in the generation of the pyroxenites. Conversely, gabbro sequences underwent minor melt extraction and are believed to represent crystallised coalesced magma batches emplaced at lower rates at the end of eruptive cycles. Clinopyroxene orientations in gabbros record a simple shear component suggesting syn-magmatic deformation parallel to observed NNE-SSW trending shear zones induced by the regional tensional stress field. This emplacement model implies a crystallisation time of 1 to 5 years for individual dykes, consistent with PX1 emplacement over less than 0.5 My. A minimum amount of approximately 150 km(3) of magma is needed to generate the pluton, part of it having been erupted through the Central Volcanic Centre of Fuerteventura. If the regional extensional tectonic regime controls the PX1 feeder-zone initiation and overall geometry, rates and volumes of magma depend on other, source-related factors. High injection rates are likely to induce intrusion growth rates larger than could be accommodated by the regional extension. In this case, dyke intrusion by propagation of a weak tip, combined with the inability of magma to circulate through previously emplaced and crystallised dykes could result in an increase of non-lithostatic pressure on previously emplaced mushy dyke walls; thus generating strong pure-shear compaction within the pluton feeder-zone and interstitial melt expulsion. These compaction-dominated processes are recorded by the cumulitic pyroxenite bands. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.