Taxorchis caviae sp. n. (Trematoda, Paramphistomidae), parasito intestinal de Cavia aperea Erxleben, 1777 (Rodentia, Caviidae)

Descreve-se uma nova espécie de trematóide paranfistomídeo, encontrado no intestino grosso de preá, Cavia aperea aperea Erxleben, 1777, roedor silvestre muito freqüente no Estado de São Paulo de outras regiões do país. Para o trematóide em apreço é proposto o nome de Taxorchis caviae sp. n. São discutidas as diferenças entre T. caviae e as espécies próximas,dos gêneros Chiorchis, Taxorchis e Stichorchis. São propostas alterações na diagnose clássica do gênero Taxorchis, de modo a nele ser incluído T. caviae.

Ciclo biológico de Paraibatrema inesperata n.g., n.sp. (Trematoda, Paramphistomidae), a partir de metacercárias desenvolvidas em Biomphalaria tenagophila (D'Orbigny, 1835) (Mollusca, Planorbidae)

Em exemplares de B. tenagophila, capturados em ambiente natural, foram encontradas paranfistomocercárias de precoce encistamento. Procedeu-se à infecção, per os, de animais de biotério; em camundongos e ratos, verificou-se o desenvolviemnto de trematóide paranfistomídeo desconhecido e que, por suas características, não se enquadra nos g~eneros conhecidos de Paramphistomidae de mamíferos. Para o parasito em apreço é proposta a denominação Paraibatema inesperata n.g, n.sp.. A partir de miracídios, oriundos de ovos eliminados pelos roedores em experiência, procurou-se infectar B. tenagophila e B. glabrata, criadas no moluscário. Verificou-se ser ativa a penetração dos miracídios no tecido do molusco, sendo freqüente a formação de tumorações nas antenas. A evolução experimental no hospedeiro intermediário apresenta-se lenta; ao fim de 40 dias de pós-infecção, não se observou a formação de esporocistos, rédias e cercárias.

Utilização da reação de imunofluorescência indireta no acompanhamento da terapêutica da leishmaniose tegumentar americana'

Foram estudados 17 indivíduos cujas idades variaram de 2 a 78 anos, procedentes da área endêmica de Jacarepaguá (RJ), com diagnóstico clínico, epidemiológico, imunológico e parasitológico de leishmaniose tegumentar americana. Todos foram tratados pelo antimoniato de N-metilglucamina na dose de 60 mg/kg/dia em três séries de 10 dias de duração, com 10 dias de intervalo entre cada série e submetidos à coleta e sangue venoso para a reação de imunofluorescência indireta (IF-IgG) antes, durante e após o medicamento. Estes 17 indivíduos foram reatores a intradermorreação de Montenegro (= 5 mm) e soro-reagentes (= 1:45) na IF-1gG, sendo que em 6 deles (31,7%) foi demonstrado ou isolado Leishmania braziliensis. A positividade da IF-IgG antes do tratamento foi de 76,4% (13 casos com título = 1:90). As médias geométricas das recíprocas dos títulos antes da primeira série do antimonial (89,9), durante o tratamento (63,6 a 29,3) e 10, 30 e 120 dias após medicação, mostraram uma graduação nitidamente decrescente (14,9;2,1 e 1,2), respectivamente. Todos tiveram suas lesões cicatrizadas ao final do tratamento sendo maior o número de cicatrizações após a 2°série. Somente 120 dias após a terapêutica, foram observados títulos abaixo de 1:45 na quase todalidade dos pacientes (16 casos - 94,1%) sugerindo que, na utilização da IF-IgG como controle de cura, faz-se necessário um acompanhamento sorológico de no mínimo 3 a 4 meses.

Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: clinical, parasitological, therapeutical and epidemiological findings (1977-1983)

Forty dogs from the periphery of the city of Rio de Janeiro were studied. All dogs where diagnosed as positive for leishmaniasis either parasitologically and/or serologically. Among them, 19 came from areas where only Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) occurs (Realengo, Bangu, Senador Camará). Clinical signs of the disease were seen in 36.8% of the cases, including emaciation - 100%, lymphadenopathy and depilation - 85.7%. The other 21 dogs came from an area (Campo Grande) where both diseases (VL, and American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis - ACL) occur. Clinical signs of the disease, mainly cutaneous or mucocutaneous ulcers were seen in 76.2% of the cases. Leishmania parasites were found in 39 cases: 22% in viscera, 42.5% in viscera and normal skin and 35% in cutaneous or mucocutaneous ulcers. All the Leishmania stocks isolated from dogs which came from Realengo, Bangu, Senador Camará (VL area), and from Campo Grande (VL + ACL area) were characterized as L. donovani (except in one case) according to their schizodeme, zymodeme and serodeme. The only stock characterized as L. b. braziliensis, was isolated from the lymph node of a dog from Campo Grande with visceral disease and without skin lesions. Antimony therapy attempted in eight Leishmania donovani positive dogs was unsuccessful.

Henneguya intracornea n.sp. (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) parasita do olho do lambari, Astyanax Scabripinnis (Jenyns, 1842) (Osteichthyes, Characidae)

Descreve-se um novo mixosporídeo - Henneguya intracornea n.sp - parasita da córnea de peixe de água doce, Astyanax scabripinnis (Jenyns, 1842) da região de Campinas, Sp. As sucessivas fases evolutivas são descritas. Assinalam-se os caracteres morfológicos e biológicos que distinguem H. intracornea n.sp. das demais espécies do gênero. Destaca-se o parasitismo exclusivo da córnea do peixe parasitado e suas características morfológicas, com ênfase para sua típica cápsula polar, com a forma de garrafa e para os dois processos caudais, desiguais no comprimento.

Urocleidoides astyanacis n. sp. (Mongenva ancyrocephalinae) from frescwater characidians on the genus Astyanax

A new species of Urocleidoides, U. astyanacis (Monogenea, Ancyrocephalinae) is described from the "lambari" Astyanax scabripinnis (Jenyns, 1842) and A. fasciatus (Cuvier, 1819). Hosts were collected in Atibaia and Jaguari Rivers near Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil.

Social capital formation across space: proximity and trust in European regions

An extensive economics and regional science literature has discussed the importance of social capital for economic growth and development. Yet, what social capital is and how it is formed are elusive issues, which require further investigation. Here, we refer to social capital in terms of civic capital and good culture , as rephrased by Guiso, Sapienza and Zingales (2010) and Tabellini (2010). The accumulation of this kind of capital allows the emerging of regional informal institutions, which may help explaining diff erences in regional development. In this paper, we take a regional perspective and use exploratory space and space-time methods to assess whether geography, via proximity, contributes to the formation of social capital across European regions. In particular, we ask whether generalized trust, a fundamental constituent of social capital and an ingredient of economic development, tends to be clustered across space and over time. From the policy standpoint, the spatial hysteresis of regional trust may contribute to the formation of spatial traps of social capital and act as a further barrier to regional economic development and convergence.

Enterolobin induces rat paw oedema independently of PAF-acether

The potential participation of PAF-acether (PAF) on the paw oedema triggered by enterolobin was investigated. Intraplantar injections of enterolobin )5-20 µg/paw) yielded a dose response curve for edema which appeared after 30 min, peaked in the interval between 2-4 h and faded after 24h. The pre-treatment with BN 52021, but not with other PAF antagonists such as PCA 4248 or WEB 2086, significantly blocked enterolobin-induced oedema. To clarify better the discrepant results obtained with the PAF antagonists, desensitization to PAF was performed. The oedema triggered by enterolobin was not modified in paf desensitized animals. It was concluded that the paw inflammation induced by enterolobin does not require PAF mechanism.

Screening of the antimalarial activity of plants of the Cucurbitaceae family

Crude ethanolic extracts (CEEs) from two species of Cucurbitaceae, Cucurbita maxima and Momordica charantia (commonly called "abóbora moranga" and melão de São Caetano", respectively) were assayed for antimalarial activity by the 4-d suppressive test. The CEE of dry C. maxima seeds showed strong antimalarial activity following oral administration (259 and 500 mg/kg), reducing by 50% the levels of parasistemia in Plasmodium berghey-infected mice. Treatment of normal animals with 500 mg/Kg of the extract three days before intravenous injection of P. berghei caused a significant 30% reduction in parasitemic levels. No effect was observed when the animals were treated with the CEE only on the day of inoculation. Oral administration of the CEE of dry M. charantia leaves adminstered orally was ineffective up to 500 mg/Kg in lowering the parasitemic levels of malarious mice.

Validation of the German version of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale and its relation to orientations to happiness and work stress

Career adapt-ability has recently gained momentum as a psychosocial construct that not only has much to offer the field of career development, but also contributes to positive coping, adjustment and self-regulation through the four dimensions of concern, control, curiosity and confidence. The positive psychology movement, with concepts such as the orientations to happiness, explores the factors that contribute to human flourishing and optimum functioning. This research has two main contributions; 1) to validate a German version of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS), and 2) to extend the contribution of adapt-abilities to the field of work stress and explore its mediating capacity in the relation between orientations to happiness and work stress. We used a representative sample of the German-speaking Swiss working population including 1204 participants (49.8% women), aged between 26 and 56 (Mage = 42.04). Results indicated that the German version of the CAAS is valid, with overall high levels of model fit suggesting that the conceptual structure of career adapt-ability replicates well in this cultural context. Adapt-abilities showed a negative relationship to work stress, and a positive one with orientations to happiness. The engagement and pleasure scales of orientations to happiness also correlated negatively with work stress. Moreover, career adapt-ability mediates the relationship between orientations to happiness and work stress. In depth analysis of the mediating effect revealed that control is the only significant mediator. Thus control may be acting as a mechanism through which individuals attain their desired life at work subsequently contributing to reduced stress levels.

Esclerose de varizes do esôfago em pacientes esquistossomóticos

To assess the therapeutic possibilities of injection sclerosis in schistosomotic portal hypertension, a 5-year prospective study was conducted in northeast Brazil, where this parasitosis is endemic. Fifty patients undergoing endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal hemorrage from rupture of esophageal varices from July through December 1981 were chosen for the study. The 32 consenting patients were submitted to injection sclerotherapy paravariceally, using ethanolamine oleate; the 18 refusing to participate were assigned to the control group. The incidence of rebleeding was 28.1% in the former and 44.5% in the latter, a difference wich was not statistically significant (Fisher's test, p = 0.017). Since sclerotherapymarkedly improved the long-term survival rate of the patients, this procedure is advocated for the treatment of esophageal varices in cases of portal hypertension due to schistosomiasis.

American cutaneous leishmaniasis in Pernambuco, Brazil: eco-epidemiological aspects in "Zona da Mata" region

American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) has been increasing in Pernambuco, thus becoming an important problem for Public Health. The incindence is predominant in the region called "Zona da Mata", in the east of this state. This region corresponds geographically to the primitive area of the Atlantic forest. In order to characterize the eco-epidemiology expression of ACL in this region, two localities situated in the municipalities of Amaraji e Cortes have been selected by the criterion of higher incindence of human cases. Five stocks of patients were characterized and identified on the basis of enzyme profiles as a new variant of Leishmania (V.) braziliensis. A survey of wild and domestic animals was carried out by means of a parasitological and serological diagnosis. Through the analysis of the spleen and liver imprints, were detected amastigotes compatible with Leishmania in five Nectomys s. squamipes, five Bolomys l. pixuna, two Rattus r. alexandrinus and one Rattus r. frugivorus. For two years we carried out monthly sandflies captures using CDC light traps as well as manual captures. Lutzomyia whitmani was predominant, which accounted for 97.4 por cento of the total. These data indicate a strong evidence on the vector and the potential reservoirs of L. braziliensis in this region.

Why do educated mothers matter? A model of parental help

The paper investigates the role of mothers in affecting childrens' performance at school. It develops a theoretical model in which household is treated as an individual, whose utility depends on the performance at school of the student and on consumption. The model focuses on the possibilities through which mother’s help may affect pupil's performance in terms of time devoted to supervision and spillover effects. Empirical evidence, using Italian PISA 2006, shows that highly educated mothers have a positive impact on students' score only when they are highly qualified in the job market.