Le courant de Lomonosov dans le fond du Golfe de Guinée en mai 1973

A cruise of the R. V. Capricorne in May 1973, in inner part of the gulf of Guinea, allowed the authors to identify the main part of the Atlantic circulation at the longitude of 5 degrees E, between 4 degrees N and 4 degrees S. It gave new data on the termination of the equatorial undercurrent. At the equator, under the westward south equatorial current flows the Atlantic equatorial undercurrent with a maximum eastward velocity of 90 cm/sec at 30 m depth linked to a salinity maximum higher than 36.20 ppt. Below the equatorial undercurrent, about 80-100 m depth, flows a westward current with a velocity as high as 30 cm/sec. At 4 degrees S, the south equatorial countercurrent is well delineated by a high salinity core (more than 36.10 ppt) at 30 m depth with an eastward velocity core of 40 cm/sec. On the contrary, near 3 degrees 30N, a high salinity core (36.10 ppt) flows westwards with a speed of 40 cm/sec at 40 m depth: it is the "return flow" of the undercurrent (Hisard and Moliere 1974). At 4 degrees N the Guinea current carries eastwards surface salinities of 34.50 ppt at 40 cm/sec. Off Cape Lopez (0 degrees 35'S-8 degrees 42'E) the high salinity core of the undercurrent becomes wider near the shore. It is 25m wide offshore, and 70 m wide near the cape. A part of undercurrent water extends northwards, then flows westwards with the subsurface westward circulation in the inner part of the Gulf of Guinea. Another part flows south-southwestwards in a high salinity tongue along the African coast to 4 degrees S. South-west of Cape Lopez, the trades divergence contributes to an upwelling of cold and high salinity water; this water increases at the Cape Lopez front.

Avaliação da aspirina e do ácido cafeico fenetil estersobre o reparo tecidual cutâneo

Numerosos modelos in vitro e in vivo foram desenvolvidos para estudar o reparo de lesões e identificar os mecanismos chave deste processo. Visando avaliar o processo de cicatrização utilizamos um modelo de lesão excisional total e um modelo de queimadura promovida por escaldamento. No estudo utilizando o modelo de lesão excisional total, abordamos o uso da aspirina (um inibidor não seletivo da COX) e seu efeito diferenciado sobre os sexos na cicatrização cutânea de camundongos. Observamos que os grupos fêmea controle e tratado apresentaram contração atrasada comparado aos grupos macho controle e tratado, respectivamente. Entre os grupos fêmea e macho controles, as fêmeas apresentaram menor atividade da mieloperoxidase e menor quantidade de células MIF-positivas do que os machos controle. Já entre os grupos fêmea e macho tratados, foi observado que nas fêmeas tratadas, a atividade da mieloperoxidase e a quantidade de macrófagos F4/80-positivos estavam maiores do que no grupo macho tratado. Ainda entre os grupos tratados, as fêmeas apresentaram menores níveis de hidroxiprolina e maior expressão proteica de vWF e VEGF comparado aos machos. No estudo das lesões causadas por queimadura, avaliamos as propriedades anti- inflamatórias e antioxidantes do ácido cafeico fenetil ester (CAPE) no reparo destas lesões e observamos que em 7, 14, 21 e 70 dias após a queimadura, o grupo queimado+CAPE apresentou menor área lesada, além de menor atividade da mieloperoxidase e dos níveis de nitrito do que o grupo queimado. Também foi observado que no grupo queimado+CAPE a expressão proteica de CD68 e de PECAM-1 estava reduzida comparada ao grupo queimado. Analisando os parâmetros de dano oxidativo foi observado que os níveis de MDA e de proteínas carboniladas estavam menores no grupo queimado+CAPE do que no grupo queimado, tanto no plasma quanto na lesão. Em suma, nosso estudo avaliou o processo de cicatrização de dois modelos de lesão, em roedores de diferentes espécies e em abordagens distintas. No modelo de lesão excisional total em camundongos observamos que a administração da aspirina prejudicou o processo de cicatrização em camundongos Balb/c fêmeas, mas não afetou esse processo nos machos da mesma linhagem, o que pode ser explicado pela redução dos níveis de estrógenos nas fêmeas. A utilização do CAPE na cicatrização de queimaduras em ratas comprovou sua eficácia anti-inflamatória e antioxidante devido ao grupo queimado+CAPE ter apresentado maior taxa de cicatrização, redução da resposta inflamatória, além da redução do dano oxidativo em lipídeos e proteínas comparado ao grupo queimado.

Outros Atlânticos: reconfigurações identitárias de estudantes cabo-verdianos em trânsito entre Cabo Verde, Portugal e Brasil

Tendo como foco de reflexão a produção de novas identidades em situação de deslocamento, o presente trabalho compara as trajetórias de estudantes cabo-verdianos em trânsito no Brasil (Rio de Janeiro) e em Portugal (Lisboa) em busca da elaboração de seus projetos de vida e formação superior. A partir da análise de suas narrativas, aborda como esses estudantes constroem suas identidades, em contexto pós-colonial e transnacional, em contato com diversas pessoas e grupos sociais (estudantes brasileiros, portugueses e de outras nacionalidades) e como vivenciam as tensões raciais nos distintos contextos de destino. Deixar Cabo Verde para emigrar para outros países é vivido por muitos jovens cabo-verdianos não só como um destino e um sonho de vida melhor, de ter uma formação superior no exterior, mas também de conhecer outras pessoas e lugares dos quais eles têm notícias de sucessos através de outros estudantes e imigrantes. Longe de casa, da família e dos amigos, as narrativas ressaltam a importância das escolhas na elaboração de seus projetos e das redes de relações construídas nos países de destino para minimizar a saudade, ajudar no acolhimento na universidade e integração na sociedade. Assim, com base nas estratégias de adaptação, vivenciando processos de inclusão e exclusão em diversas situações sociais, no Rio de Janeiro e em Lisboa, o trabalho discute o impacto do trânsito para a reconfiguração de identidades e pertencimentos dos estudantes.

Food habits of Atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus) off the coast of New England

Although the Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) is one of the most common dolphins off New England, little has been documented about its diet in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Current federal protection of marine mammals limits the supply of animals for investigation to those incidentally caught in the nets of commercial fishermen with observers aboard. Stomachs of 62 L. acutus were examined; of these 62 individuals, 28 of them were caught by net and 34 were animals stranded on Cape Cod. Most of the net-caught L. acutus were from the deeper waters of the Gulf of Maine. A single stomach was from the continental slope south of Georges Bank. At least twenty-six fish species and three cephalopod species were eaten. The predominant prey were silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), spoonarm octopus (Bathypolypus bairdii), and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus). The stomach from a net-caught L. acutus on the continental slope contained 7750 otoliths of the Madeira lanternfish (Ceratoscopelus maderensis). Sand lances (Ammodytes spp.) were the most abundant (541 otoliths) species in the stomachs of stranded L. acutus. Seasonal variation in diet was indicated; pelagic Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) was the most important prey in summer, but was rare in winter. The average length of fish prey was approximately 200 mm, and the average mantle length of cephalopod prey was approximately 50 mm.

Age- and length-at-maturity of female arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias) in the Gulf of Alaska

Arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias) has had the highest abundance of any groundfish species in the Gulf of Alaska since the 1970s (Matarese et al., 2003; Turnock et al., 2005; Blood et al., 2007); however, commercial catches have been restricted because Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) are caught as bycatch in the fishery. Arrowtooth flounder plays a key role in the ecosystem because it is a dominant organism within the food web, both as an apex predator of fish and invertebrates, as well as an important prey for walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma; Aydin et al., 2002). Walleye pollock is the dominant groundfish in the Bering Sea, a principal groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska, and the primary prey for marine mammals. The distribution of arrowtooth flounder extends from Cape Navarin and the eastern Sea of Okhotsk in Russia, across the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, Gulf of Alaska, and south to the coast of central California (Shuntov, 1964; Britt and Martin, 2001; Chetvergov, 2001; Weinberg et al., 2002; Zenger, 2004). Because of the importance of arrowtooth flounder in the marine ecosystem of A laska, a maturity study of this species was undertaken to determine age-at-maturity, which is essential for age-based stock management models. Before these results, management has had to rely upon a length-at-maturity-based estimate (Zimmermann, 1997) to manage stocks in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands. The central GOA was selected as the location for this maturity study Age- and length-at-maturity of female arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias) in the Gulf of Alaska because it contains approximately 70% of the total Gulf of Alaska arrowtooth flounder biomass (1.9×106 t, age 3 and older)— the highest percentage in the world (Shuntov, 1964; Britt and Martin, 2001; Weinberg et al., 2002; Wilderbuer and Nichol, 2006).

Decline in sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations along the Alaska Peninsula, 1986–2001

During the 1990s, sea otter (Enhydra lutris) counts in the Aleutian archipelago decreased by 70% throughout the archipelago between 1992 and 2000. Recent aerial surveys in the Aleutians did not identify the eastward extent of the decline; therefore we conducted an aerial survey along the Alaska Peninsula for comparison with baseline information. Since 1986, abundance estimates in offshore habitat have declined by 27– 49% and 93 –94% in northern and southern Alaska Peninsula study areas, respectively. During this same time period, sea otter density has declined by 63% along the island coastlines within the south Alaska Peninsula study area. Between 1989 and 2001, sea otter density along the southern coastline of the Alaska Peninsula declined by 35% to the west of Castle Cape but density increased by 4% to the east, which may indicate an eastward extent of the decline. In all study areas, sea otters were primarily concentrated in bays and lagoon, whereas historically, large rafts of otters had been distributed offshore. The population declines observed along the Alaska Peninsula occurred at roughly the same time as declines in the Aleutian islands to the east and the Kodiak archipelago to the west. Since the mid-1980s, the sea otter population throughout southwest Alaska has declined overall by an estimated 56–68%, and the decline may be one of the most significant sea otter conservation issues in our time.

Preliminary evidence of increased spawning aggregations of mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis) at Riley’s Hump two years after establishment of the Tortugas South Ecological Reserve

In this note we describe the re-formation of a spawning aggregation of mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis). A review of four consecutive years of survey data indicates that the aggregation may be increasing in size. Mutton snapper are distributed in the temperate and tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from Florida to southeastern Brazil (Burton, 2002). Juveniles and subadults are found in a variety of habitats such as vegetated sand bottoms, bays, and mangrove estuaries (Allen, 1985). Adults are found offshore on coral reefs and other complex hardbottom habitat. They are solitary and wary fish, rarely found in groups or schools except during spawning aggregations (Domeier et al., 1996). Spawning occurs from May through July at Riley’s Hump (Domeier et al., 1996) and peaks in June, as indicated by gonadosomatic indices (M. Burton, unpubl. data). Mutton snapper are highly prized by Florida fishermen for their size and fighting ability, and the majority of landings occur from Cape Canaveral, through the Florida Keys, including the Dry Tortugas (Burton, 2002).

Subnotificação da Tuberculose no Concelho da Praia no período de 2006 a 2012

Segundo a OMS, Cabo Verde possui uma importante subnotificação de tuberculose, quase metade dos casos, que é muito preocupante. Ainda assim a TUberculose é um problema de saúde pública, devido à sua elevada incidência, com tendência a aumento nos últimos anos. Essa doença é a quarta causa de óbito e sua morbidade diminui a qualidade de vida. O estudo objetiva descrever a situação de subnotificação da tuberculose no concelho da Praia no período de 2006 a 2012. A subnotificação foi avaliada com base na comparação entre o número de registros das unidades de saúde e oconsolidado enviado ao PNLTL. Também foi usado o relacionamento probabilístico entre os bancos do registro dos exames laboratoriais e do registro de hospitalização dos casos de Tuberculose. Três estratégias foram adotadas para extração de dados de acordo com os documentos disponíveis nas unidades: (i) centros de saúde; (ii) laboratórios da delegacia de saúde e do HAN e (iii) hospital (HAN). Nos centros de saúde foram extraídos dados das fichas de atendimento dos pacientes diagnosticados com TB e do livro de registros dos casos de TB. Esses documentos continham dados de identificação do paciente, dados clínicos e laboratoriais. No hospital, como não havia livro de registro de casos de TB buscou-se no arquivo nosológico pacientes . Nesses prontuários buscou-se extrair os mesmo dados que dos do centro de saúde, ou seja, dados de identificação individual, dados clínicos e laboratoriais. Nos laboratórios (HAN e Delegacia) foram extraídos dados de pacientes com resultado positivo para a TB. A análise consistiu na avaliação da qualidade dos bancos e remoção de registros duplicados por intermédio do relacionamento probabilístico. Para o relacionamento dos bancos foi empregada a função reclink usando a versão 10 do programa STATA. Foram calculadas taxas de subnotificação ou sobrenotificação para cada unidade e cada ano de estudo. O cálculo considerou a diferença entre o número de casos encontrados nos registros menos o número de casos notificados dividido pelo número de casos encontrados, expresso em percentual. Valores positivos indicam a ocorrência de subnotificação enquanto valores negativos indicam sobrenotificação. Os resultados permitiram concluir que existe importante subnotificação da tuberculose em Cabo Verde, no período 2006 a 2012. A subnotificação teve maior magnitude no hospital do que nas unidades básicas de saúde. A maior parte da subnotificação detectada nesse trabalho pode ser atribuída ao desconhecimento dos resultados de exames laboratoriais pelos profissionais responsáveis pelo diagnóstico dos casos e consequentemente por sua notificação. O maior número de casos não notificados foi encontrado na listagem de resultados de exames baciloscópicos positivos no laboratório. A segunda grande fonte de casos não notificados é o registro dos pacientes internados no HAN para tratamento da TB. Com base nesse estudo recomendamos medidas de aperfeiçoamento da vigilância epidemiológica da tuberculose em Cabo Verde.

Humpback and Fin Whaling in the Gulf of Maine from 1800 to 1918

The history of whaling in the Gulf of Maine was reviewed primarily to estimate removals of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, especially during the 19th century. In the decades from 1800 to 1860, whaling effort consisted of a few localized, small-scale, shore-based enterprises on the coast of Maine and Cape Cod, Mass. Provincetown and Nantucket schooners occasionally conducted short cruises for humpback whales in New England waters. With the development of bomb-lance technology at mid century, the ease of killing humpback whales and fin whales, Balaenoptera physalus, increased. As a result, by the 1870’s there was considerable local interest in hunting rorquals (baleen whales in the family Balaenopteridae, which include the humpback and fin whales) in the Gulf of Maine. A few schooners were specially outfitted to take rorquals in the late 1870’s and 1880’s although their combined annual take was probably no more than a few tens of whales. Also in about 1880, fishing steamers began to be used to hunt whales in the Gulf of Maine. This steamer fishery grew to include about five vessels regularly engaged in whaling by the mid 1880’s but dwindled to only one vessel by the end of the decade. Fin whales constituted at least half of the catch, which exceeded 100 animals in some years. In the late 1880’s and thereafter, few whales were taken by whaling vessels in the Gulf of Maine.

The U.S. Fish Commission Steamer Albatross: A History (Papers from a Symposium)

At her launch on 19 October 1882 in Wilmington, Del., the Albatross was the world’s first large deep-sea oceanographic and fisheries research vessel, and she would go on to have a distinguished 40-year career, ranging from the north Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, around Cape Horn in 1887–88, and into the North Pacific. By 1908, Deputy Fish Commissioner Hugh M. Smith reported that “The Albatross has contributed more to the knowledge of marine biology than has any other vessel.” And, of course, her career continued for another 13 years, being decommissioned in late 1921, serving later as a training vessel for nautical cadets, and disappearing from the records in Hamburg, Germany, in late 1928.

History of Whaling and Estimated Kill of Right Whales, Balaena glacialis, in the Northeastern United States, 1620–1924

This study, part of a broader investigation of the history of exploitation of right whales, Balaena glacialis, in the western North Atlantic, emphasizes U.S. shore whaling from Maine to Delaware (from lat. 45°N to 38°30'N) in the period 1620–1924. Our broader study of the entire catch history is intended to provide an empirical basis for assessing past distribution and abundance of this whale population. Shore whaling may have begun at Cape Cod, Mass., in the 1620’s or 1630’s; it was certainly underway there by 1668. Right whale catches in New England waters peaked before 1725, and shore whaling at Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket continued to decline through the rest of the 18th century. Right whales continued to be taken opportunistically in Massachusetts, however, until the early 20th century. They were hunted in Narragansett Bay, R.I., as early as 1662, and desultory whaling continued in Rhode Island until at least 1828. Shore whaling in Connecticut may have begun in the middle 1600’s, continuing there until at least 1718. Long Island shore whaling spanned the period 1650–1924. From its Dutch origins in the 1630’s, a persistent shore whaling enterprise developed in Delaware Bay and along the New Jersey shore. Although this activity was most profi table in New Jersey in the early 1700’s, it continued there until at least the 1820’s. Whaling in all areas of the northeastern United States was seasonal, with most catches in the winter and spring. Historically, right whales appear to have been essentially absent from coastal waters south of Maine during the summer and autumn. Based on documented references to specific whale kills, about 750–950 right whales were taken between Maine and Delaware, from 1620 to 1924. Using production statistics in British customs records, the estimated total secured catch of right whales in New England, New York, and Pennsylvania between 1696 and 1734 was 3,839 whales based on oil and 2,049 based on baleen. After adjusting these totals for hunting loss (loss-rate correction factor = 1.2), we estimate that 4,607 (oil) or 2,459 (baleen) right whales were removed from the stock in this region during the 38-year period 1696–1734. A cumulative catch estimate of the stock’s size in 1724 is 1,100–1,200. Although recent evidence of occurrence and movements suggests that right whales continue to use their traditional migratory corridor along the U.S. east coast, the catch history indicates that this stock was much larger in the 1600’s and early 1700’s than it is today. Right whale hunting in the eastern United States ended by the early 1900’s, and the species has been protected throughout the North Atlantic since the mid 1930’s. Among the possible reasons for the relatively slow stock recovery are: the very small number of whales that survived the whaling era to become founders, a decline in environmental carrying capacity, and, especially in recent decades, mortality from ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.

Assessment of the Distribution and Abundance of Coastal Sharks in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Seaboard, 1995 and 1996

During 1995 and 1996, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), conducted pilot studies to develop survey methodology and a sampling strategy for assessment of coastal shark populations in the Gulf of Mexico and western North Atlantic. Longline gear similar to that used in the commercial shark fishery was deployed at randomly selected stations within three depth strata per 60 nautical mile gridf rom Brownsville, Tex. to Cape Ann, Mass. The survey methodology and gear design used in these surveys proved effective for capturing many of the small and large coastal sharks regulated under the auspices of the 1993 Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) for Sharks oft he Atlantic Ocean. Shark catch rates, species composition, and relative abundance documented in these pilot surveys were similar to those reported from observer programs monitoring commercial activities. During 78 survey days, 269 bottom longline sets were completed with 879 sharks captured.

Spotted Seals, Phoca largha, in Alaska

The worldwide literature on management of spotted seals, Phoca largha, was reviewed and updated, and aerial surveys weref lown in 1992 and 1993 to determine the species' distribution and abundance in U.S. waters. In April, spotted seals were found only in the Bering Sea ice front. In June, they were seen along deteriorating ice floes and fast ice in Norton Sound. Surveys along most of Alaska's western coast in August and September found over 2,500 spotted seals in Kuskokwim Bay and concentrations of 100-400 seals around Nunivak Island, Scammon Bay, Golovnin Bay/Norton Sound, Cape Espenberg/Kotzebue Sound, and Kasegaluk Lagoon. All of these sites have been used by spotted seals in the past. The sum of the highest counts, irrespective of year, was 3,570 seals (CV =0.06). This is not an abundance estimate for all spotted seals in the Bering Sea, because it does not account for animals in the water, and we did not survey the Asian coast and some islands. Also, spotted seals and harbor seals, Phoca vitulina, are too similar in appearance to be identified accurately from the air, so our results probably include a mix of these species where their ranges overlap.

Catch and Bycatch in the Shark Drift Gillnet Fishery off Georgia and East Florida

An observer program of the shark drift gillnet fishery off the Atlantic coast of Florida and Georgia was begun in 1993 to define the fishery and estimate bycatch including bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, and sea turtles. Boats in the fishery were 12.2-19.8 m long. Nets used were 275-1,800 m long and 3.2-4.1 m deep. Stretched-mesh sizes used were 12.7-29.9 cm. Fishing trips were usually <18 h and occurred within 30 n.mi. of port. Fishing with an observer aboard occurred between Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla., and off Cape Canaveral, Fla. Nets were set at least 3 n.mi. offshore. Numbers of boats in the fishery increased from 5 in 1993 to 11 in 1995, but total trips decreased from 185 in 1994 to 149 in 1995. During 1993-95, 48 observer trips were completed and 52 net sets were observed. No marine mammals were caught and two loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, were caught and released alive. A total of 9,270 animals (12 shark, 21 teleost, 4 ray, and 1 sea turtle species) were captured. Blacknose, Carcharhinus acronotus; Atlantic sharpnose, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae; and blacktip shark, C. limbatus), were the dominant sharks caught. King mackerel, Scomberomorus cavalIa; little tunny, Euthynnus alleteratus; and cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus, were the dominant bycatch species. About 8.4% of the total catch was bycatch. Of the totals, 9.4% of the sharks and 37.3% ofthe bycatch were discarded.