Polycladida biodiversity and systematics: an integrative approach

In face of the fact that marine biodiversity is highly threatened by human impacts on the environment, it is important to know what we want to protect. This thesis addresses the biodiversity and systematics of Polycladida, which are free-living Platyhelminthes with highly ramified intestine. Polylclads live in all types of marine environments whereas most areas of the world remain unsampled. From the around 1000 species considered valid many were described based on single or immature specimens and few have designated type material or specimens deposited in museums or research institutions. This is especially the case for Brazilian species that had no type material designated, labeled with codes in the publication or deposited. Characters used traditionally in polyclad taxonomy concern eyespots, type of pharynx, reproductive system, especially prostatic vesicle, but so far, those characters have not been tested against molecular evidence. The order Polycladida has two suborders, Cotylea and Acotylea, and their systematics is based on two conflictive classifications in use, which reflects inadequacy in characters choice. Molecular data from this group is still scarce and there is no morphological or molecular phylogeny that includes the whole order. Three gaps in knowledge are addressed in this work: biodiversity, type material and phylogeny with character evolution. Here I contribute to fill the first one by describing some new species, and by adding novel information, such as color photographs of living animals and microscopic observations to species that are already known. Samplings were made in some previously non-assessed areas in Brazil, Senegal and Cape Verde. One new species from each area is described and distribution ranges are discussed. The genus of the African species Pseudobiceros wirtzi is revised based on literature records. Additionally species associated to aquaculture were sampled for the first time in Brazil. To fill the second gap I studied species from Brazil described by Ernst Marcus and / or Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus. Specimens donated by Eveline Marcus to the Swedish Museum of Natural History were analyzed and I recognized holotypes, paratypes, and designated lectotypes and paralectotypes, as required. Before this work began, most Brazilian species had unknown type material, whereas in this work type specimens of 52 species were designated or recognized. Out the 71 species reported from Brazil, ten remain without information about type material. 4 As a way to fill the third gap I present here a new and comprehensive set of partial 28S nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) data across Polycladida families. Our phylogenetic analysis, despite being based only on a single molecular marker, is the first to test traditional morphology-based hypotheses on relationships inside the order. Remarkably, all our molecular trees were fully resolved and most nodes robustly supported. The overall topology is consistent with evidences from an updated and revised list of morphological and histological characters. Albeit largely congruent at genus and family level, our integrative phylogenetic hypothesis is not compatible with superfamilies and suborders of neither of the two conventional yet conflicting classification systems by Faubel and Prudhoe. The suborders Acotylea and Cotylea, as traditionally considered, were rejected in the hypothesis tests, thus the taxa were amended to reflect molecular monophyly. According to our trees, just two of Prudhoe’s and Faubel’s superfamilies were monophyletic; a novel concept of polyclad superfamily was thus proposed. Molecular results revealed that prominent characters used in previous classifications, such as the position of eyespots, the type of pharynx, and the type of prostatic vesicles were prone to homoplasy in both the Acotylea and the Cotylea branches. A novel scenario of morphological character evolution is suggested and the significance of certain features for taxonomy is discussed. Overall, samples from areas not previously sampled resulted in several new records for Brazil and two new species in this thesis, indicating the potential for future biodiversity exploration. The re-discovery of Ernst and Eveline Marcus’ type material is very important for both the contemporary and future study of Atlantic Polycladida. Our molecular results and its combination to morphological data is a unique effort in Polycladida phylogeny. Even though they are preliminary, the novel hypotheses and the data presented here provide a fresh baseline for future studies on Polycladida systematics

Polycladida biodiversity and systematics: an integrative approach

In face of the fact that marine biodiversity is highly threatened by human impacts on the environment, it is important to know what we want to protect. This thesis addresses the biodiversity and systematics of Polycladida, which are free-living Platyhelminthes with highly ramified intestine. Polylclads live in all types of marine environments whereas most areas of the world remain unsampled. From the around 1000 species considered valid many were described based on single or immature specimens and few have designated type material or specimens deposited in museums or research institutions. This is especially the case for Brazilian species that had no type material designated, labeled with codes in the publication or deposited. Characters used traditionally in polyclad taxonomy concern eyespots, type of pharynx, reproductive system, especially prostatic vesicle, but so far, those characters have not been tested against molecular evidence. The order Polycladida has two suborders, Cotylea and Acotylea, and their systematics is based on two conflictive classifications in use, which reflects inadequacy in characters choice. Molecular data from this group is still scarce and there is no morphological or molecular phylogeny that includes the whole order. Three gaps in knowledge are addressed in this work: biodiversity, type material and phylogeny with character evolution. Here I contribute to fill the first one by describing some new species, and by adding novel information, such as color photographs of living animals and microscopic observations to species that are already known. Samplings were made in some previously non-assessed areas in Brazil, Senegal and Cape Verde. One new species from each area is described and distribution ranges are discussed. The genus of the African species Pseudobiceros wirtzi is revised based on literature records. Additionally species associated to aquaculture were sampled for the first time in Brazil. To fill the second gap I studied species from Brazil described by Ernst Marcus and / or Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus. Specimens donated by Eveline Marcus to the Swedish Museum of Natural History were analyzed and I recognized holotypes, paratypes, and designated lectotypes and paralectotypes, as required. Before this work began, most Brazilian species had unknown type material, whereas in this work type specimens of 52 species were designated or recognized. Out the 71 species reported from Brazil, ten remain without information about type material. 4 As a way to fill the third gap I present here a new and comprehensive set of partial 28S nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) data across Polycladida families. Our phylogenetic analysis, despite being based only on a single molecular marker, is the first to test traditional morphology-based hypotheses on relationships inside the order. Remarkably, all our molecular trees were fully resolved and most nodes robustly supported. The overall topology is consistent with evidences from an updated and revised list of morphological and histological characters. Albeit largely congruent at genus and family level, our integrative phylogenetic hypothesis is not compatible with superfamilies and suborders of neither of the two conventional yet conflicting classification systems by Faubel and Prudhoe. The suborders Acotylea and Cotylea, as traditionally considered, were rejected in the hypothesis tests, thus the taxa were amended to reflect molecular monophyly. According to our trees, just two of Prudhoe’s and Faubel’s superfamilies were monophyletic; a novel concept of polyclad superfamily was thus proposed. Molecular results revealed that prominent characters used in previous classifications, such as the position of eyespots, the type of pharynx, and the type of prostatic vesicles were prone to homoplasy in both the Acotylea and the Cotylea branches. A novel scenario of morphological character evolution is suggested and the significance of certain features for taxonomy is discussed. Overall, samples from areas not previously sampled resulted in several new records for Brazil and two new species in this thesis, indicating the potential for future biodiversity exploration. The re-discovery of Ernst and Eveline Marcus’ type material is very important for both the contemporary and future study of Atlantic Polycladida. Our molecular results and its combination to morphological data is a unique effort in Polycladida phylogeny. Even though they are preliminary, the novel hypotheses and the data presented here provide a fresh baseline for future studies on Polycladida systematics

Turismo em unidades de conservação e o desenvolvimento local em Soure-PA

O turismo, como prática social que utiliza o ambiente, deve ser planejado e organizado para que os efeitos negativos gerados pela atividade sejam minimizados. Essa atenção deve ser maior quando se trata de uma área protegida por sua relevância ambiental e/ou social. Nesse sentido, esse estudo tem o objetivo de analisar o planejamento e a gestão pública do turismo na Unidade de Conservação de Soure, no que se refere ao Desenvolvimento Local. Como procedimento teórico-metodológico, para essa pesquisa, de cunho qualitativo, foram utilizadas bases teóricas sobre Turismo em Unidades de Conservação, Desenvolvimento Local, Planejamento e Gestão Pública. Esta pesquisa foi realizada com estudos exploratórios combinando o referencial teórico, análise documental de planejamentos públicos com a pesquisa de campo no período de janeiro/2017 a fevereiro/2018, com observação sistemática e entrevistas semiestruturadas com os setores público, privado, moradores locais e visitantes. A partir do estudo, identificou-se que o principal desafio para consolidar o turismo numa perspectiva de preocupação socioambiental está a partir da participação e sensibilização dos agentes envolvidos.Palavras-chave: Turismo. Planejamento. Gestão Pública

Sea slugs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) from Rio Grande do Norte, Northeastern Brazil

Heterobranch sea slugs (Gastropoda) present reduction, internalization, or absence of shell, and include more than 6,000 described species. Approximately 250 species are recorded from Brazil but only 14 had been previously recorded from Rio Grande do Norte, on the Brazilian northeastern coast. As a result of different expeditions conducted between 2008 and 2020, species were collected and identified. Among them, five species were recorded for the first time from the South Atlantic Ocean: Chelidonura hirundinina (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833); Sclerodoris prea (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967); Thuridilla malaquita Ortea & Buske, 2014; Berthella nebula Ghanimi, Schrödl, Goddard, Ballesteros, Gosliner & Valdés, 2020 and Berthella vialactea Ghanimi, Schrödl, Goddard, Ballesteros, Gosliner & Valdés, 2020. Thirty-six species are recorded for the first time from Rio Grande do Norte. The present survey expands the knowledge of the diversity of sea slugs from Brazil and supports the hypothesis of similarity between the heterobranch sea slug fauna from the northeastern Brazil and the Caribbean Sea

Litomosoides silvai (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) parasitizing Akodon montensis (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in the southern region of Brazil

In the present study, Litomosoides silvai parasitizing Akodon montensis in the southern region of Brazil is reported for the "rst time. New morphological information is provided for some structures of this nematode species, such as a #attened cephalic extremity, presence of two dorsal cephalic papillae, female tail with a constriction at its tip, “s” shaped vagina, spicules characteristic of the carinii species group and micro"laria tail constricted at the tip. $is nematode was found parasitizing the thoracic cavity with a prevalence of 10$is occurrence of L. silvai in A. montensis is a new geographical record for southern Brazil, in the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest ecoregion of the northwestern region of Rio Grande do Sul, which is part of the Atlantic Forest biome.No presente estudo é relatado pela primeira vez Litomosoides silvai parasitando Akodon montensis coletados na região Sul do Brasil. Foram fornecidas novas informações morfológicas para algumas estruturas desta espécie de nematódeo, tais como extremidade cefálica achatada, a presença de duas papilas cefálicas dorsais, cauda das fêmeas com uma constrição na ponta da cauda, vagina em forma de “s”, espículas de característica do grupo de espécies de carinii e cauda da microfilária com constrição na ponta. Este nematódeo parasitava a cavidade torácica com uma prevalência de 10% (2/20), intensidade média de 4 (8/2) e abundância média de 0,4 (8/20), e intervalo de infecção de 2-6 espécimes por hospedeiro no Sul do Brasil. A ocorrência de L. silvai em A. montensis é um novo registro geográfico, no sul do Brasil, a noroeste do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, na ecorregião da Mata Atlântica do Alto Paraná, parte do bioma da Mata Atlântica.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

A CULTURA ORGANIZACIONAL E O PLANEJAMENTO DE AÇÕES EM UMA ORGANIZAÇÃO NA CIDADE DE SALVADOR-BA

Organizational culture designates a set of values, beliefs, rituals and norms adopted by an organization. Its fundamental character for the organizations’ structuring and functioning explains the vast literary production surrounding this theme. Due to this, the present work aims to contribute with the research that has been carried out within the organizational culture by the investigation of na organization’s culture located in the city of Salvador (Bahia-Brazil). This is a qualitative and quantitative research carried out in the context of a hotel business, in which interviews and observations were made and the IBACO (Brazilian Instrument for Evaluation of Organizational Culture) questionnaire was used. The research fulfilled its overall goal in what concerns the analysis of the organizational culture’s aspects, obtaining in its results suggestions for improvements about their environment and the professional praxis as well.Cultura organizacional designa um conjunto de valores, crenças, rituais e normas adotados por uma organização. Seu caráter fundamental para a estruturação e funcionamento das organizações explica a vasta produção literária circundante à esta temática. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho visa contribuir com as pesquisas que vêm sendo realizadas no âmbito da cultura organizacional a partir da investigação da cultura de uma organização localizada na cidade de Salvador-BA. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa e quantitativa realizada no contexto de uma empresa de hotelaria, na qual foram utilizadas entrevistas, observações e aplicação de questionário IBACO (Instrumento Brasileiro para Avaliação da Cultura Organizacional). A pesquisa cumpriu seu objetivo geral no que diz respeito à análise de aspectos da cultura organizacional da referida organização, obtendo em seus resultados propostas de melhorias tanto acerca do seu ambiente quanto das práxis profissionais

Gynecological and obstetrics aspects of patients treated in public and private health services: are there any differences?

PURPOSE: To evaluate the epidemiological and clinical aspects of gynecological patients seeking care in the private and public health networks. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study we analyzed the records of 243 patients (122 public service patients and 121 private service ones), from January 2007 to January 2008. We excluded records of pregnant patients with vaginal bleeding, history of using vaginal creams or gels at intervals of less than 15 days and patients who had sexual intercourse within less than five days before their visit and with incomplete clinical data. Data were analyzed statistically using the Stata software, version 9.2, with a 5% level of significance. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients attending the public health service was 27±12 years-old and 25.9±10.4 years-old for patients attending the private health service, with no statistical difference between means (F=0.5 and p=0.4). Patients attending the public health service had lower education (p<0.001), they were preferentially housewives (p<0.001), began sexual life early, had a greater number of partners (p<0.001), of pregnancies (p<0.001) and of deliveries (p=0.004), and mainly used the condom as a contraceptive method (p=0.013). There was no statistical difference between groups regarding the history of sexual transmitted diseases, diagnosis of candidiasis, bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, or neoplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Patients attending the public health service have a higher number of pregnancies and births. They are usually housewives with low educational level, their sex life begins early, and they have more partners. However, there was no difference between groups when evaluating breast diseases, gynecological infections, or cancer of the cervix, which suggests that socioeconomic status is not the only element in the determination of the disease and, therefore, other variables should be evaluated.OBJETIVO: Avaliar os aspectos epidemiológicos e clínicos de pacientes ginecológicas atendidas nas redes privada e pública de saúde. MÉTODOS: Estudo de corte transversal, no qual foram estudados prontuários de 243 pacientes (122 pacientes no serviço público e 121 no privado), de janeiro de 2007 a janeiro de 2008. Excluíram-se os prontuários de pacientes grávidas, com sangramento genital, histórico de uso de cremes ou géis vaginais em intervalos inferiores há 15 dias e pacientes que tiveram relação sexual em prazo inferior a cinco dias da consulta avaliada. A análise dos dados foi realizada com recursos de processamento estatístico do software Stata, versão 9.2, considerando-se o nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: A média de idade das pacientes foi de 27±12 anos entre pacientes da rede pública, e de 25,9±10,4 anos na rede particular, não havendo diferença estatística entre estas médias (F=0,5 e p=0,4). As pacientes da rede pública apresentaram escolaridade mais baixa (p<0,001), eram preferencialmente do lar (p<0,001), iniciaram vida sexual mais precocemente, tiveram maior número de parceiros (p<0,001), de gestações (p<0,001) e de partos (p=0,004) e utilizavam principalmente a camisinha como método contraceptivo (p=0,013). Não houve diferença estatística em relação aos antecedentes de doenças sexualmente transmissíveis, ao diagnóstico de candidíase, vaginose bacteriana, tricomoníase ou neoplasia. CONCLUSÕES: As pacientes da rede pública de saúde apresentam maior número de gestações e partos. São, em geral, donas de casa, com baixa escolaridade, iniciam vida sexual mais precocemente e com maior número de parceiros. Entretanto, não houve diferença entre os grupos quando se avaliaram doenças mamárias, infecções ginecológicas ou neoplasias de colo uterino, o que sugere que o nível socioeconômico não é o único elemento no determinismo da doença e, por isso, outras variáveis devem ser avaliadas

Highly Endemic, Waterborne Toxoplasmosis in North Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

In Campos dos Goytacazes, northern Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, reports of uveitis consistent with toxoplasmosis led to a survey of the prevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection in 1997–1999. The survey population was selected randomly from schools, randomly chosen communities, and an army battalion. Serum samples from 1,436 persons were tested. With results adjusted for age, 84% of the population in the lower socioeconomic group was seropositive, compared with 62% and 23% of the middle and upper socioeconomic groups, respectively (p<0.001). When multivariate analysis was performed, drinking unfiltered water was found to increase the risk of seropositivity for the lower socioeconomic (odds ratio [OR]: 3.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3 to 6.9) and middle socioeconomic (OR: 1.7, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.3) populations. We also found a high T. gondii seroprevalence in this Brazilian community. Drinking unfiltered water increased the risk of T. gondii seropositivity, indicating the potential importance of oocyst transmission in water in this region

Radical Scavenger Capacity of Jabuticaba Fruit ( Myrciaria cauliflora

Jabuticaba is an exotic fruit native to Brazil that has been arousing medicinal interest. Using chemical (HPLC-PDA, resonance mass spectra, and NMR), electroanalytical (differential pulse voltammetry, radical scavenging assay), and pharmacological (in vivo and in vitro) approaches, we have identified its bioactive compounds and hypotensive effects on hypertensive rats. The hydroalcoholic extract of jabuticaba (HEJ) presents a great quantity of phenolic compounds, and several molecules with hydroxyl groups present high efficiency as an antioxidant. The treatment with HEJ (100 and 300 mg/kg/day, for four weeks) presented hypotensive effects on L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats, possibly improving the nitric oxide bioavailability because of its high antioxidant potential. Furthermore, renal and cardiac hypertrophies were also attenuated after the HEJ treatment. Moreover, the vascular responses to contractile and dilating agonists were improved with the HEJ treatment, which is also able to induce nitric oxide production in endothelial cells