Anatomy and histology of Embolyntha batesi MacLahlan, 1877 (Embiidina)

The Embioptera are rather generalized insects whose internal anatomy is simple and not subject to great modifications. For this reason these insects form an ideal group for elementary anatomical and histological studies (fig. 2). The digestive tract is a long, simple tube without convolutions or diverticulae from the buccal cavity to the rectum. The buccal structures are of the chewing type. The oesophagus and ingluvia are differentiated only by slight dilation of their walls. In nymphs and females the proventriculus is very distinct due to folds which flatten as the structure becomes packed with food. The enteron is the largest in such forms and in both sexes limited caudally by the Malpighian tubules. The proctodeus has six large rectal papillae. The nervous system is complete with only the fifth abdominal segment lacking a ganglion in the metathorax includes the ganglion of the first abdominal segment. The brain exhibits very clear structure in histological sections. The tracheal system includes two pairs of thoracic spiracles and eight abdominal pairs. Only th metathoracic spiracle has an air expiration function; all others serve for inspiration. Various structures in the spiracles protect the atrium. The circulatory system includes a long, simple dorsal vessel which extends forward from the ninth abdominal segment into the cranium. It opens anteriorly near the circumoesophageal connectives. The dorsal vessel has a pair of ostia and valves corresponding to each abdominal and thoracic segment. It lacks the diverticulae or folds commonly found in more highly evolved insects. The excretory system is represented by Malphighian tubules, pericardial cells, and fat-body. The number and disposition of Malpighian tubules is variable within the order. The pericardial cells are localized around the entire dorsal vessel up to the opening of the aorta in the head. The fat-bodies form compact layers in the dorsal and ventral regions of the body. In males they are more developed in the abdominal region. The mandibles, maxillae, and salivary glands are of a simple type with very few cytological modifications. Only the salivary glands which extend into the mesothoracic region show appreciable specialization. The reproductive system is bi-sixual and shows considerable sexual dimorphism. Males have five pair of testes with a metameric disposition, two distinct ducts, two epidymis, and the ejaculatory organs. The accessory glands vary in number and size and open in the anterior portion of the ejaculatory duct. The female reproductive organs are of the panoistic type. The system includes five pairs of ovarioles, two long paired oviducts a small, unpaired oviduct and the spermatheca which opens in the vagina. Reproduction usually involves a union of male and female gametes, and eggs are usually laid in clusters attached to a substrate.

Trematódeos monogenéticos (Polistomatas) da costa brasileira I. sobre Loimos scitulus sp. n. (Loimoidae) e Tagia ecuadori (Meserve, 1938) Sproston, 1946 (Diclidophoridae)

Em continuação aos estudos dos trematódeos monogenéticos da Coleção Helmintológica do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, descrevemos no presente trabalho uma espécie do gênero Loimos MacCallum, 1917, Loimolinae Price, 1936, loimoidae Bychowsky, 1957 que consideramos nova para a ciência, e assinalamos nova ocorrência de Tagia ecuadori (Meserve, 1938) Sproston, 1946, Tagiinae Yamaguti, 1963, Diclidophoridae Najibina & Obonikova, 1971, no Atlântico Sul. Loimos scitulus sp. n. diferencia-se das outras espécies do gênero pelos seguintes caracteres: forma e estrututra do proaptor, oótipo grande, número de testículos, posição do poro genital, filamento do ovo e forma de opistaptor. Dentre as diferenças dadas Loimos scitulus sp. n. aproxima-se de L. salpinggoides pela estrutura do proaptor, de L. secundus pela posição do poro genital; de L. winteri pelo opistaptor. Quanto aos exemplares de Tagia ecuadori por nós estudados, apesar de ter sido evidenciada uma vagina, identificamos a esta espécie, por apresentar estruturas e medidas que se enquadram nas variações dadas pelos estudiosos do grupo.

Contribuição ao conhecimento de Thubunaea dactyluris karve, 1938 (Nematoda, Spiruroidea)

Na presente nota, redescrevemos Thubunaea dactyluris karve, 1938, em novo hospedador e assinalamos a ocorrência deste gênero pela primeira vez no Brasil. O material é resultante de uma necrópsia feita em Ameiva ameiva (L.), proveniente da Praia do Anil, Município de Magé, Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Foram estudados 8 machos e 10 fêmeas. São apresentados 9 figuras e 1 quadro com as medidas correspondentes, mostrando as variações encontradas.

Nota sobre Lutzomyia (Lutzomyia) Cruzi (mangabeira, 1938), com a descrição da fêmea (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae)

Depois de examinar o tipo de Lutzomyia (Lutzomyia) cruzi (Mangabeira, 1938), depositado na coleção do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Rio de Janeiro), sob o número 941, e 74 espécimens machos da mesma espécie, a maioria da localidade tipo (Camapuan, Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul), os Autores verificaram que o tufo basal do basistilo é composto de apenas quatro cerdas foliáceas, e não seis, como descrito por Mangabeira, devido á superposição dos dois basistilos no holótipo. Além disso é feita uma descrição da fêmea, até agora não conhecida, e a redescrição do macho, baseada no holótipo.

Irish Land Bonds: 1891-1938

This paper introduces a new database on Irish land bonds listed on the Dublin Stock Exchange from 1891 to 1938: it outlines the nature of these bonds and presents data on their size, liquidity and market returns. These government-guaranteed bonds arose during a period when the possibility of Irish secession from the United Kingdom appeared ever more likely, and were used to finance the transfer of land ownership from landlords to tenants in Ireland (North & South). Movements in the prices of these bonds can help to understand how financial markets responded to events in the early economic and political history of the Irish Free State, including Irish partition, Independence, Civil War and de facto default. Understanding these issues has contemporary relevance for regions in Spain (Catalonia, Euskadi), Great Britain (Scotland) and Belgium (Flanders).

Pseudocapillaria (Ichthyocapillaria) maricaensis n. sp. (Nematoda, Capillariidae) and remarks on the helminthological fauna of Liolaemus lutzae Mertens, 1938 (Lacertilia, Iguanidae)

Pseudocapillaria (Ichthyicapillaria) maricaensis n. sp. is described from the small intestine of the lizard, Liolaemus lutzae Meterns, 1938, collected in the State of Rio de Janeiro Brazil. The author compares the new species with Capillaria crotaliRudolphi, 1819) Travassos, 1915, Capillaria freitaslenti Araujo & Gandra, 1941, Pseudocapillaria (Pseudocapillaria) amarali (Freitas & Lent, 1934) Moravec, 1952, Pseudocapillaria (Pseudocapillaria) cezarpintoi (Freitas & Lent, 1934)Moravec, 1952 and Pseudocapillaria (Ichthyocapillaria) murinae (travassos, 1914) Moravec, 1952 previously reported from lizards in Brazil. The nematode Thelandros sceleratus Travassos, 1923 and the trematode paradistomum parvissimum (Travassos, 1918) Travassos, 1919 are for the first time reported from this same host.

Crecimiento, instituciones e hidrocarburos : el proyecto petrolero mexicano en perspectiva histórica comparada (1938-2000)

En este trabajo se analiza la política petrolera mexicana durante el período 1938-2000 y su aportación al crecimiento económico mexicano. La orientación de la producción petrolera permite distinguir dos modelos de gestión de la industria petrolera. El primero de ellos; entre 1938-1976 tuvo por finalidad el aprovisionamiento energético del mercado interior a bajos precios. El segundo a partir de 1976 orientado hacia la exportación y la captura de la renta petrolera internacional. Esta ruptura en la política petrolera asociada constituye un caso interesante en sí mismo porque permite comparar los efectos de dos políticas totalmente opuestas sobre el crecimiento económico y sobre el desempeño de la propia industria petrolera en un país donde el Estado tiene derechos de propiedad exclusivos sobre el sector petrolero. Por ello, se aborda el tema como una problemática institucional que toma en cuenta tanto las características internas de México como la dinámica del mercado petrolero internacional. Se incide en el hecho de que el Estado mexicano ha utilizado a la industria petrolera y; concretamente los recursos que ésta genera no sólo como un instrumento para favorecer el crecimiento económico del país sino también para mantener el control del poder político frente a la élite económica. Así el inmovilismo institucional; la falta de ingresos e inversiones propias y el comportamiento rentista del Estado parecen haber condenado al sector petrolero mexicano al atraso y la ineficiencia. De este modo; se focaliza en las interrelaciones entre las instituciones económicas y políticas como elemento explicativo del por qué la industria petrolera no ha logrado convertirse en un elemento dinamizador del crecimiento económico mexicano en el largo plazo.

A Comparison of Two Brazilian Populations of Culex quinquefasciatus (Say, 1823) from Endemic and Non-endemic Areas to Infection with Wuchereria bancrofti (Cobbold, 1877)

Culex quinquefasciatus is known to be an efficient insect host of Wuchereria bancrofti. In Brazil Cx. quinquefasciatus is widely distributed throughout the country and is often abundant in and around human habitations. In contrast, Bancroftian filariasis is limited to three foci in Brazil. Experiments were undertaken to compare the vector capacities of Cx. quinquefasciatus originating from Maceió (Alagoas), one of the endemic areas of W. bancrofti infection in Brazil, and Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais), a non endemic area. Laboratory-reared Cx. quinquefasciatus were dissected 20 days after blood feeding on microfilaraemic patients. Survival rates and the number of infective larvae that developed did not differ in female mosquitoes of different origins. Thus both populations of Culex were susceptible to infection with W. bancrofti

Relocalization of telomeric Ku and SIR proteins in response to DNA strand breaks in yeast.

Telomeric TG-rich repeats and their associated proteins protect the termini of eukaryotic chromosomes from end-to-end fusions. Associated with the cap structure at yeast telomeres is a subtelomeric domain of heterochromatin, containing the silent information regulator (SIR) complex. The Ku70/80 heterodimer (yKu) is associated both with the chromosome end and with subtelomeric chromatin. Surprisingly, both yKu and the chromatin-associated Rap1 and SIR proteins are released from telomeres in a RAD9-dependent response to DNA damage. yKu is recruited rapidly to double-strand cuts, while low levels of SIR proteins are detected near cleavage sites at later time points. Consistently, yKu- or SIR-deficient strains are hypersensitive to DNA-damaging agents. The release of yKu from telomeric chromatin may allow efficient scanning of the genome for DNA strand breaks.

Isolation and Identification of 9-methylgermacrene-B as the Putative Sex Pheromone of Lutzomyia cruzi (Mangabeira, 1938) (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Lutzomyia (Lutzomyia) cruzi has been named as a probable vector of Leishmania chagasi in Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Taxonomically L. cruzi is closely related to the L. longipalpis species complex. Females of L. cruzi and L. longipalpis are morphologically indistinguishable and associated males must be examined carefully to confirm identifications. Chemical analysis hexane extracts of male L. cruzi has revealed the presence of a 9-methylgermacrene-B (C16), a homosesquiterpene (mw 218) previously shown to be the sex pheromone of one of the members of the L. longipalpis species complex.