On the status of the species of Acanthistius (Gill, 1862) (Percoidei) in the South-West Atlantic Ocean

We review the species of Acanthistius Gill (1862) (Osteichthyes, Percoidei) from the South-Western Atlantic, solving a discrepancy concerning the taxonomic status of Acanthistius brasilianus (Cuvier & Valenciennes 1828) and Acanthistius patachonicus (Jenyns 1842), and providing an objective diagnostic key for the two species. While Argentinean fishery biologists consider A. patachonicus to be a synonym of A. brasilianus, ichthyologists elsewhere regard them as separate species with different distributional ranges. Based on a literature review, examination of museum specimens and observation of live individuals in the field, we identified the sources of the dissent and concluded that A. brasilianus and A.patachonicus are separate species, differing in diagnostic morphological characters and distinctive color patterns and having slightly overlapping distributional ranges. Distinction between these two species has significant implications for management and conservation.Fil: Irigoyen, Alejo Joaquin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Gerhardinger, Leopoldo Cavaleri. Associação de Estudos Costeiros e Marinhos dos Abrolhos; BrasilFil: Carvalho Filho, Alfredo. Fish Ltd.; Brasi

New records of marine eels (Teleostei: Anguilliformes) from Brazilian waters

Two species of different families belonging to the order Anguilliformes have their ranges extended in the southwestern Atlantic: the chlopsid Chlopsis dentatus (Seale, 1917) from Rio de Janeiro and the muraenid Gymnothorax maderensis (Johnson, 1862) from Bahia.  The new records extend the distribution of these species south along the Brazilian coastline.  Morphometric data of the specimens are provided and compared to data from the literature

Behavioral and electroencephalographic analysis of seizures induced by intrahippocampal injection of granulitoxin, a neurotoxic peptide from the sea anemone Bunodosoma granulifera

In this study, the behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) analysis of seizures induced by the intrahippocampal injection in rats of granulitoxin, a neurotoxic peptide from the sea anemone Bunodosoma granulifera, was determined. The first alterations occurred during microinjection of granulitoxin (8 µg) into the dorsal hippocampus and consisted of seizure activity that began in the hippocampus and spread rapidly to the occipital cortex. This activity lasted 20-30 s, and during this period the rats presented immobility. During the first 40-50 min after its administration, three to four other similar short EEG seizure periods occurred and the rats presented the following behavioral alterations: akinesia, facial automatisms, head tremor, salivation, rearing, jumping, barrel-rolling, wet dog shakes and forelimb clonic movements. Within 40-50 min, the status epilepticus was established and lasted 8-12 h. These results are similar to those observed in the acute phase of the pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy and suggest that granulitoxin may be a useful tool not only to study the sodium channels, but also to develop a new experimental model of status epilepticus.Universidade Estadual do Ceará Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas Laboratório de NeurofarmacologiaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de Neurologia e Neurocirurgia Laboratório de Neurologia ExperimentalUniversidade de Brasília Departamento de Biologia Celular Centro Brasileiro de Serviços e Pesquisas em ProteínasUNIFESP, Depto. de Neurologia e Neurocirurgia Laboratório de Neurologia ExperimentalSciEL

Control room design of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope

A control room is defined as a functional entity with an associated physical structure, where the operators carry out the centralized control, monitoring and administrative responsibilities. Inadequate integration between control room and operators reduces safety, increases the operation complexity, complicates operator training and increases the likelihood of human errors occurrence. The purpose of this paper is to present a specific approach for the design of the main control room of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope. The approach is based on human factors standards and the participation of a multidisciplinary team in the conceptual and basic phases of the design. Using the information gathered from standards and from the multidisciplinary an initial sketch 3D of the main control room is being developed

Evolutionary history, biogeography, and a new species of Sphoeroides (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae): how the major biogeographic barriers of the Atlantic Ocean shaped the evolution of a pufferfish genus

ABSTRACT: Tetraodontidae is the most speciose family of Tetraodontiformes and is represented by fish popularly known as pufferfishes. They are characterized by modified jaws with four dental plates and the ability to inflate their bodies. Tetraodontids are distributed throughout the world and have a wide range of habitat use. One of its genera, Sphoeroides, shows a biogeographical pattern, with 19 of its 21 species restricted to coastal regions of the Americas. Although represented in large-scale phylogenies, the evolutionary history and biogeography of the genus have not been explored in detail. The present study aims to understand the historical and biogeographic processes that shaped the evolutionary history of Sphoeroides. Including samples from all biogeographic regions of its occurrence, we reconstruct a phylogenetic/biogeographic history hypothesis for the genus. Our results show that Sphoeroides is a paraphyletic group comprising Colomesus; indicate a central role of the biogeographic barriers of the Atlantic Ocean in the diversification of the genus; and identified a cryptic species in Brazilian waters, formally known as S. spengleri, described here through integrative taxonomy. We also propose nomenclatural changes given the position of Colomesus deeply nested within Sphoeroides.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Brazilian tropical fishes in their southern limit of distribution: checklist of Santa Catarina’s rocky reef ichthyofauna, remarks and new records

We present a checklist of 278 species of reef fishes recorded along the coastline of Santa Catarina state, the southernmost limit of distribution of tropical ichthyofauna on the coast of Brazil. Twelve new species records for this state are presented: Acanthurus coeruleus, Acanthurus monroviae, Apogon americanus, Cantherhines macrocerus, Chaetodon sedentarius, Chromis flavicauda, Clepticus brasiliensis, Decapterus punctatus, Gymnothorax vicinus, Herpetoichthys regius, Muraena retifera and Stegastes partitus. Stegastes partitus and H. regius are reported for the first time, respectively, from the Southwestern Atlantic and for the coastal part of this region, while Acanthurus monroviae is reported for the second time for the Southwestern Atlantic. We present habitat distribution, trophic structure and comment on biogeographic affinities of this transitional region, discussing both remarkable species presences and absences

Fatigue design in reinforced concrete bridges according to Brazilian code

There has been an increase in the flow of freight vehicles commuting on Brazilian highways. Then, special attention to the structural performance of bridges regarding the fatigue in beams is needed. Brazil has neither normative metrology to study real data flow of vehicles, nor specific fatigue load train models and coefficients to the analysis and design of road bridges. The same load train that is used for general dimensioning, TB 450, is used for the fatigue verification. Hence, this work aims to verify if the current TB 450 is representative of the freight heavy vehicles with 2 to 9 axles concerning the effects of fatigue in the longitudinal reinforcement of beams of theoretical reinforced concrete bridges with two, three, and five beams. This verification is performed analyzing the stress variations found in the longitudinal reinforcement of vehicles with 2 to 9 axles and the TB 450. Based on the results, the longitudinal steel reinforcement was more susceptible to fatigue\u27s effects. Freight vehicles with 5, 6, 8 and 9 axles presented the most significant stress, therefore, they tend to cause more deleterious effects. Hence, the adoption of a Brazilian normative fatigue specific load train and coefficients is necessary to analyze pre-existing road bridges and design new ones most accurately

Teleostei fishes of the North Coast of Brazil

The North Coast of Brazil is a biogeographical area of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Brazil that share environmental features with region under influence of the Plume of the rio Amazon and Orinoco. Despite the relevance of the region's fish fauna, in biogeo-graphic, ecologic, and commercial terms, this area is poorly known. This study presents the most complete and updated list of the bony fish fauna from the North Coast of Brazil, aiming to minimize our knowledge gap on such region's biodiversity. The main sources of infor-mation were records from zoological collections, inventories obtained during the surveys of the Research and Conservation National Center of Northern Marine Biodiversity and collec-tions from the authors. A total of 787 species of the Teleostei were recorded off the North Coast of Brazil and adjacent waters, representing 156 families and 45 orders. Most (531) of these species are coastal, 256 inhabit deeper water, and 31 pelagic (oceanic) species are com-mon to both the internal and external continental shelf, of which 54 represent new records. Given the progressive intensification of fisheries and increasing incentives for the exploita-tion of the local gas and oil reserves, a more adequate inventory of the marine fish fauna of the North Coast of Brazil is fundamentally important for the management of the region's aquatic biodiversity

Production optimization of biodiesel from frying oil waste to reduce the environmental impacts

The objective of this study was to reduce the environmental impacts of used frying oil waste through the production of biodiesel. A 22 factorial planning has been used to evaluate the influences of alcohol/oil and reaction time on the biodiesel production yield. The optimal condition to produce the biodiesel has been found by use of the response surface methodology and analysis of variance to obtain the fitting model. This study was conducted in Campinas city, Brazil, where were collected the waste oil. An analysis of ecological cost also has been developed. Cooking oils collected from Campinas homes were mixed with ethanol in planned proportions (1:9, 1:7 and 1:5) and were transesterified at 60 °C and planned reaction times (30, 60 or 90 min), in order to obtain biodiesel, using 0.1% NaOH as a catalyst. The results of the physical-chemical analyses demonstrated that the biodiesels obtained possessed characteristics close to those required by Brazilian standards. This fuel could be used in fleets of buses, trucks and machines, or even sold to fuel distributors, which results in a solving between US$0.8 and US$4.5 millions. Thus, Campinas would gain environmental credits and become a sustainable city8621625CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQsem informaçãoThe authors thank to Nine July University (UNINOVE) and National Research Council CNPq for the financial support