Reevaluación de la tafonomía de las asociaciones conservadas in situ de Cloudina en la Formación de Tagatiya Guazu, Grupo ediacárico de Itapucumi, Paraguay

The fossil assemblage from the Tagatiya Guazu Formation (Ediacaran Itapucumi Group, Paraguay) represents a unique opportunity to investigate paleoecological parameters and contribute with taxonomic information regarding Cloudina associations in SW Gondwana.La asociación fósil de la Formación de Tagatiya Guazu (Grupo ediacárico de Itapucumi, Paraguay) representa una oportunidad única para investigar los parámetros paleoecológicos y contribuir con información taxonómica sobre las asociaciones de Cloudina en Gondwana SW

Calibrando la transición ediacárico-cámbrica en Gondwana suddoccidental

The paleontological, isotopic and geochronological data summarized below support the paleogeographic and temporal correlation between Itapucumi (Paraguay) and Corumbá (Brazil) groups, suggesting a coeval sedimentary evolution of these units in the margins of the Amazon Craton and the Rio Apa Block.Los datos paleontológicos, isotópicos y geocronológicos que se resumen a continuación apoyan la correlación paleogeográfica y cronológica entre los Grupos de Itapucumi (Paraguay) y Corumbá (Brasil), sugiriendo una evolución sedimentaria contemporánea entre estas unidades en los márgenes del Cratón Amazónico y del Bloque del Río Apa

Polydrug Use among IDUs in Tijuana, Mexico: Correlates of Methamphetamine Use and Route of Administration by Gender

Tijuana is situated on the Mexico–USA border adjacent to San Diego, CA, on a major drug trafficking route. Increased methamphetamine trafficking in recent years has created a local consumption market. We examined factors associated with methamphetamine use and routes of administration by gender among injection drug users (IDUs). From 2006–2007, IDUs ≥18 years old in Tijuana were recruited using respondent-driven sampling, interviewed, and tested for HIV, syphilis, and TB. Logistic regression was used to assess associations with methamphetamine use (past 6 months), stratified by gender. Among 1,056 participants, methamphetamine use was more commonly reported among females compared to males (80% vs. 68%, p < 0.01), particularly, methamphetamine smoking (57% vs. 34%; p < 0.01). Among females (N = 158), being aged >35 years (AOR, 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1–0.6) was associated with methamphetamine use. Among males (N = 898), being aged >35 years (AOR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3–0.6), homeless (AOR, 1.4 (0.9–2.2)), and ever reporting sex with another male (MSM; AOR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.4–2.7) were associated with methamphetamine use. Among males, a history of MSM was associated with injection, while sex trade and >2 casual sex partners were associated with multiple routes of administration. HIV was higher among both males and females reporting injection as the only route of methamphetamine administration. Methamphetamine use is highly prevalent among IDUs in Tijuana, especially among females. Routes of administration differed by gender and subgroup which has important implications for tailoring harm reduction interventions and drug abuse treatment

The Oldest Case of Decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil)

We present here evidence for an early Holocene case of decapitation in the New World (Burial 26), found in the rock shelter of Lapa do Santo in 2007. Lapa do Santo is an archaeological site located in the Lagoa Santa karst in east-central Brazil with evidence of human occupation dating as far back as 11.7-12.7 cal kyBP (95.4% interval). An ultra-filtered AMS age determination on a fragment of the sphenoid provided an age range of 9.1-9.4 cal kyBP (95.4% interval) for Burial 26. The interment was composed of an articulated cranium, mandible and first six cervical vertebrae. Cut marks with a v-shaped profile were observed in the mandible and sixth cervical vertebra. The right hand was amputated and laid over the left side of the face with distal phalanges pointing to the chin and the left hand was amputated and laid over the right side of the face with distal phalanges pointing to the forehead. Strontium analysis comparing Burial 26's isotopic signature to other specimens from Lapa do Santo suggests this was a local member of the group. Therefore, we suggest a ritualized decapitation instead of trophy-taking, testifying for the sophistication of mortuary rituals among hunter-gatherers in the Americas during the early Archaic period. In the apparent absence of wealth goods or elaborated architecture, Lapa do Santo's inhabitants seemed to use the human body to express their cosmological principles regarding death

Reconstructing the Deep Population History of Central and South America

We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 49 individuals forming four parallel time transects in Belize, Brazil, the Central Andes, and the Southern Cone, each dating to at least 9,000 years ago. The common ancestral population radiated rapidly from just one of the two early branches that contributed to Native Americans today. We document two previously unappreciated streams of gene flow between North and South America. One affected the Central Andes by 4,200 years ago, while the other explains an affinity between the oldest North American genome associated with the Clovis culture and the oldest Central and South Americans from Chile, Brazil, and Belize. However, this was not the primary source for later South Americans, as the other ancient individuals derive from lineages without specific affinity to the Clovis-associated genome, suggesting a population replacement that began at least 9,000 years ago and was followed by substantial population continuity in multiple regions

Discs and discord: The paleontological record of Ediacaran discoidal structures in the south American continent

Discoidal sedimentary structures are commonly described in Proterozoic strata, and even more common in Ediacaran to lower Cambrian sedimentary successions. Many abiotic processes are able to produce such circular or discoidal structures in bedding planes, however, their abundance in Ediacaran strata suggests a possible correlation with the evolution and preservation of epibenthic metazoans that emerged at the end of this period. In the South American paleontological record, studies regarding the Ediacaran soft-bodied organisms are meager and restricted to few reports in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. In many cases, such “fossils” were only tentatively characterized in terms of their general morphology and putative taxonomic affinity. Thus, considering the almost absence of work on these enigmatic structures in South America, this paper aims to make a critical analysis on the main occurrences of Ediacaran-Cambrian discoidal structures described in this continent. Based on a detailed review and unpublished data, it was possible to provide a general picture concerning the main paleoenvironmental and sedimentary significance of this structures, as well as on the most promising prospects in terms of the paleontological record of Ediacaran soft-bodied metazoans in South American. In this sense, it was settled that occurrences such as those in the Jaibaras and Itajaí basins should be reassessed in order to establish reliable criteria of biogenicity. In the case of the material from the Sete Lagoas and Tagatiya Guazu formations, it is considered more parsimonious to interpret the discoidal features as resulting from microbial processes. Similarly, the discoidal structures of the Cerro Negro Formation presents a series of internal laminations and textures that resembles those developed by processes of microbial grain binding and trapping suggesting that, at least part of this material, can be related to microbially induced sedimentary structures. Finally, for the ichnologically diversified Puncoviscana and Camaquã basins, two different scenarios were identified. The first presents an ichnological assemblage strongly indicative of lower Paleozoic, and possibly Cambrian affinity. Thus, the discs in association with these traces, should be viewed with caution and interpretations made in light of a Paleozoic context. The second possesses an ichnological association typical of that expected for the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, and the diversity of discoidal forms can potentially represent imprints of macroorganisms on a microbially bounded substrate, thus deserving a more detailed approach.Fil: Inglez, L.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Warren, L. V.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Okubo, J.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Simões, M. G.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Quaglio, F.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Arrouy, Maria Julia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; ArgentinaFil: Netto, R. G.. Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos; Brasi

Observações preliminares sôbre o modo de aplicação do fósforo e a sua absorção pela videira, empregando-se superfosfato radioativo

O presente trabalho foi realizado em um vinhedo comercial na região de Jundiaí com a finalidade de se estudar o efeito do modo de aplicação do superfosfato-P32 na sua absorção pela videira. A variedade IAC 313 foi a escolhida. Os resultados dêste ensaio permitem concluir preliminarmente que, para as condições de solo e da variedade estudada, a absorção do fósforo do superfosfato aplicado em cobertura se efetua de maneira mais rápida do que quando em profundidade.Les résultats de cet essai ont montré que l\u27absorption du phosphore, appliqué sous la forme de superphosphate - 32P, est plus rapide en surface qu\u27en profondeur. Si bien qu\u27il a été constaté une tendance des teneuns, en phosphore à diminuer à la fin de l\u27essai, fait dû probablement à la migration de cet element des feuilles aux racines, le pourcentage de phosphore provenant de l\u27engrais continua à augmenter; ceci nous indique que l\u27utilisation du phosphore de l\u27engrais continue même à la fin du cycle végétatif