Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others

Síndrome de Miller Fisher e neurite óptica: relato de caso

Descreve-se um caso de síndrome de Miller Fisher associada a neuropatia óptica desmielinizante bilateral, confirmada pelo exame de potencial evocado visual, sugerindo possível comprometimento do sistema nervoso central nessa síndrome

Uma etnologia dos "índios misturados"? Situação colonial, territorialização e fluxos culturais

Até recentemente os estudos sobre os povos e culturas indígenas do Nordeste brasileiro não constituíram um objeto mais sistemático de investigações, parecendo apenas propiciar uma etnologia secundária e menor. Na visão do autor, isso decorreu da dificuldade de aplicação àquelas culturas dos pressupostos da antropologia americanista, a qual opera com modelos societários que enfatizam a descontinuidade cultural, bem como a objetividade e a exterioridade do observado em face do pesquisador e de sua sociedade. Dialogando com diferentes perspectivas teóricas, o autor delineia ou reelabora algumas noções como, respectivamente, as de "territorialização", "situação colonial", "diáspora" e "viagem da volta" que lhe permitem realizar uma análise compreensiva do processo histórico que veio a transformar tais populações nos grupos étnicos atuais. Sugere, ao final, que os estudos que vêm sendo realizados no Brasil e em diferentes partes do mundo sobre "índios misturados" (isto é, relações interétnicas em áreas de colonização muito antiga) podem contribuir para a construção de uma antropologia mais articulada com a história.<br>Until quite recently, indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Northeast were not the object of systematic investigation, rather appearing to inspire a kind of secondary, lesser ethnology. According to the author, this oversight resulted from a difficulty in applying the premises of Americanist anthropology to such cultures, since the latter operates with societal models emphasizing both cultural discontinuity and the objectivity and externality of the observed vis-à-vis the researcher and his/her society. By establishing a dialogue with different theoretical perspectives, the author delineates or reworks several notions, such as "territorialization", "colonial situation", "diaspora", and "return journey", allowing him to produce a comprehensive analysis of the historical process which turned such populations into the current ethnic groups. Finally, he suggests that studies on "mixed Indians" (i.e., relations between ethnic groups in areas of very old colonization) in Brazil and elsewhere can help construct an anthropology that is better articulated with history