Notas sôbre Tabânidas brasileiros: III. Fidena adnaticornis n. sp

Fidena adnaticornis n. sp. is described from female specimens. It closely resembles Fidena besckii (WIED. ), 1828 and indeed more closely Fidena soledadei (LUTZ), 1911. It can be distinguished from both by the antenna which are so close together that the distance between their basis is less that the width of the first antennal segment; also by the prevalence of yellow hairs on the coxae. In F. soledadei and chiefly in F. besckii the antennae an evidently more separated; they have also few yellow hairs limited to the base extremity of the coxae with prevalence of brown or black hairs. In F. besck the prealar hairs are predominantly yellow ones and there exist yellow hair around the edge of the scutellum, which does not occours in F. adnaticorn and in F. soledadei. In the abdomen the following areas, covered by whit hairs are more extensive in F. besckii: the mid row of white patches on the sternites is more conspicuous and involves the fifth segment; on the sternites instead of stripes the hairs form bands somewhat broader at the middle the respective segment, they may even form triangles with the base as with as the whole segment. Both cotypes of F. soledadei have the hairs damages but, at least, in the 1+2 sternites the areas covered by the white hairs see to be larger than in F. adnaticornis; they have also a higher frons: index : = 2.9.

As espécies neotropicais da família Simuliidae Schiner (Diptera Nematocera): II. Lutzsimulium cruzi, n. gen. e n. sp. e nova concepção da nervação das asas dos Simulídeos

A new system for wing venation of Simuliidae is proposed. Lutzsimulium cruzi n., gen. and n. sp. is described based on an single female and its pupal skin.

Influência de elementos climáticos na mortalidade de cidades brasileiras

In this paper, preliminary to a series of investigations that the A. has the purpose to make about the influence of climatic factors particularly upon the prevalence of the most important acute infectious diseases in Brazil, he raises the question whether such factors do affect in this country the total death rates, as it is reasonable to suppose, according to what has been observed in temperate zones of northern and southern hemispheres. The inclusion of absolute humidity among other climatic factors to be dealt with seems justifiable according to Rogers and Stallybrass. Owing to scarcety of reliable data the A. was obliged to limit to a five-years period (1940-1944) the complete proposed investigation, which includes seven of the most important cities, scattered throughout the brazilian territory, from north to south - Belém, recife, Salvador, Rio, S. Paulo, Curitiba and Porto Alegre. Reference is made to their normal climatic conditions and monthly death-rates variations with their mean values and standard deviations. In a first part dealing with seasonal variations only for purposes of comparison, he points out that in there tropical cities of Brazil, without very clear seasonal differentiation, the curve of general mortality reached its highest point in austral autumn season and the remaining four (including Rio near the tropic) in the spring, with the exception of Curitiba, where the peak coincided with the summer season. He shows how such important causes of deaths, as diarrheas, common respiratory diseases and tuberculosis, whose seasonal distribution for each one of the seven cities is referred, may explain such seasonal variations. On a second part, a study is made of the general mortality distribution by four-months periods selected in accordance respectively with the highest or lowest values of rainfall and of mean temperature and humidity during period 1940-1944. Finally he compares the monthly waves of such climatic factors and the corresponding waves of total death - rates and finds through correlation coefficients 17 significant values with respect to their standard errors. Variations in the death - rates seemed to be perhaps more closely and uniformly associated with variations of mean humidity, as is indicated by coefficients ranging from + 0.3 to 0.6.

Doenças intestinais em cidades brasileiras: associação com elementos climáticos

Enteric fevers and dysenteries showed, during the period 1940-44, a summer prevalence in brazilian cities of the temperate zone. The distribu¬tion of the diseases by four-months periods, selected in acordance with the highest of lowest values of rainfall, mean temperature and absolute humidity induced to suppose that, in those cities, and also in tropical ones, both enteric fevers and dysenteries were closely associated with such climatic factors: enteric fevers mainly with absolute humidity and temperature, and dysenteries with humidity and rainfall. Correlation coefficients, statistically significant, have been obtained comparing monthly waves of climatic factors and corresponding waves of prevalence of the diseases. For enteric fevers, clear associations have been disclosed: with temperature variations in all temperate cities (coefficients ranging from + 0.42 to + 0.75, higher with mean temperature in the previous month) and in two of the four tropical cities (from + 0.26 to ± 0.30); with absolute humidity variations in cities of the first group (from + 0.51 to 0.71) and in the tropical city of Rio ( + 0.26 ± 0.12 and + 0.28 ± 0.12); and also with rainfall variations but only in two temperate cities (from + 0.28 to + 0.64). For dysenteric diseases, in cities of temperate zone similar associations have been found with absolute humidity (values of r, ranging from + 0.32 to + 0.45), with temperature (from + 0.26 to + 0.44); and with rainfall only in Curitiba ( + 0.25 ± 0.12). Recife (tropical city) yielded two significant values : r = — 0.27 ± 0.12 (correlation with mean temperature in the same month) and r = + 0.40 ± 0.11 and -h 0.37 ± 0.11 (between monthly morbidity rates and rainfall, respectively in the same month and in the previous one). Deaths by diarrhea and enteritis, in the cities of the temperate zone, prevailed in spring-summer seasons, also in four-months periods of highest temperature and humidity, for those cities and for the tropical ones, with the exception of Belem in which percentages were identical to those of opposite periods. Still with the exception of Belem, in all cities studied positive correla¬tion coefficients, statistically significant, have been obtained with temperature variations (ranging from + 0.25 to + 0.65 in tropical cities, and from + 0.47 to + 0.76 in temperate zone) and with humidity variations (from + 0.34 to + 0.44 in the first group, and from + 0.43 and + 0.74 in the second) . With rainfall, only Rio (in the tropical region) showed a significant value for r ( + 0.26 ±0:12); similarly in S. Paulo and Curitiba, the values ranged from + 0.46 to + 0.56, while in Porto Alegre there were found — 0.26 ± 0.12 and — 0.32 ± 012, for rainfall variations in the same and previous months.

Espécies neotropicais da família Simuliidae Schiner: (Diptera Nematocera): II. Lutzsimulium cruzi, n. gen. e n. sp. e nova concepção da nervação das asas dos Simulídeos

A new system for wing venation of Simuliidae is proposed. Lutzsimulium cruzi n., gen. and n. sp. is described based on a single female and its pupal skin.

Temperatura, humidade e pluviosidade nas suas relações com doenças respiratórias, em cidades brasileiras

During the period 1940-44, deaths by respiratory diseases and particularly by influenza and pneumonias prevailed during the winter in brazilian cities of the temperate zone (S. Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre) and, with the exception of Rio de Janeiro, in tropical ones (Belem, Recife, Salvador) particularly during the four-months period of highest absolute humidity. For the first group of cities, negative correlation coefficients, statistically significant, have been uniformly obtained comparing monthly death-rates both with temperature - in the same month and in the previous one (values of r ranging from - 0.36 to - 0.640 - and with similar humidity variations (values of r from - 0.33 to - 0.59); also with rainfall, but only in S. Paulo and Curitiba (values of r from - 0.33 to - 0.61). Such associations have been disclosed irregularly and less frequently for the group of tropical cities: statistically significant values of r, in the death-rates correlations with temperature and humidity variations, have been eventually either positive (Recife, Salvador) or negative (Belem, Rio). Whooping cough showed during the same period a winter incidence in Curitiba and Porto Alegre: the compulsory notification of the disease is not required in S. Paulo, a third one brazilian city of the temperate zone. In the brazilian tropical cities of Belem, Recife, Salvador and Rio, the whooping cough distribution by four-months periods - selected in accordance with the highest or lowest values of rainfall, mean temperature and absolute humidity - induced to suppose that the disease was associated more uniformly with a high rainfall than with a low temperature or a low absolute humidity. However, only a few correlation coefficients statistically significant have been found out: between monthly morbidity rates and mean humidity in the same month and in the previous one in recife (-0.43 and - 0.39), and in Porto Alegre (-0.35 and - 0.46); and between the same rates and temperature variations in this last city (-0.28 and - 0.43).

Espécies novas do Herbário do Dr. Adolpho Lutz: Melastomataceae Tibouchina Lutzii Brade n.sp

A posição desta espécie é após Tibouchina floribunda Cogn. No hábito assemelha-se a Tibouchina Schwackei Cogn. mas distingue-se bem desta pelo revestimento diferente e a côr alva da página inferior da folha.

Compositae: Mutisia Lutzii G. M. Barroso n. sp

Planta muitíssimo interessante, que se distingue das demais espécies do gênero pela forma pectinada da folha. Dedicamos a linda espécie ao Dr. Adolpho Lutz, eminente sábio, que tanto trabalhou em prol da ciência, no Brasil.

Bromeliaceae do Herbário do Dr. Adolpho Lutz: Encholirium Lutzii L. B. Smith n. sp

Encholirium Lutzii is distinguished from the majority of species by its branched inflorescence. Only E. horridum L. B. Smith and rarely E. spectabile Martius exhibit this character, but have much larger flowers than E. Lutzii and stout floral axes. Also the wing of the seed in E. horridum is very long-caudate. We feel that it is particularly appropriate to dedicate this new species to Dr. Adolpho Lutz because of his great discoveries in the biological relationships of the Bromeliaceae.

New or rare frogs from the Coastal Ranges of Brazil: eleutherodactylus venancioi n.sp., E. hoehnei n.sp. Holoaden bradei n.sp. e H. lüderwaldti Mir. Rib., 1920

Field-work in the sierras near the sea-board of south-eastern Brazil continues to yield new or rare frogs. Four more of these forms are presented here. Two of them, both new, are put into the genus Eleutherodactylus, to which they belong by their general habitat, morphology, and also by the osteological characters. They differs from the known regional species of this genus only by the wider and shorter disks of some of the digits and the more lanceolate build. The other two species belong to the very little known genus Holoaden, established by MIRANDA RIBEIRO in 1920. One of them is his type-species, H. lüderwaldti, which continues to be very rare. The other, H. bradei, is new. It seems endemic to the Upper Itatiaia and is very plentiful there.