A restauração na trajetória de um teodolito do acervo do MAST

MAST is a science and technology museum located in the grounds and architectural complex belonging to the former National Observatory in Rio de Janeiro. Soon after the museum was created, the historical heritage existing there, relating to a significant period in the history of science in Brazil, was listed by the Brazilian National Heritage Institute (Iphan) and the Rio de Janeiro State Cultural Heritage Institute (Inepac) in 1986 and 1987, respectively. The studies that preceded the restoration of a theodolite from the MAST collection started with an appraisal of the state of conservation of the institution's scientific instruments collection. Next, a set of pre-established criteria were used to select this object, which was in a critical state of conservation. After this, historical research was undertaken of the instrument, the composition of its main parts was determined, a study was made into its working, and finally the intervention per se was undertaken on the object. The restoration procedure involved three stages: the conservation of parts, the restoration of parts, and the replacement of missing parts. The whole process was photographed exhaustively. The procedure adopted in this study has been replicated in further restoration projects. Studies were undertaken into the conservation of scientific instruments and research was done into the construction of trajectories of objects and collections by the Archive Preservation Group, based at MAST, resulting in the identification of restoration as a singular moment in these trajectories

Effects of abandoned Eucalyptus plantations on lizard communities in the Brazilian Cerrado

The rapid expansion of human altered landscapes affects biodiversity on every continent. A fundamental goal of conservation biologists is to understand why certain species are at risk of extinction while others are able to persist in human altered landscapes. Afforestation, the conversion of unforested lands to planted forest, is rapidly altering many natural landscapes worldwide. In the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna), a global biodiversity hotspot, a shortage of government incentives has the landscape riddled with abandoned plantation forests that are not subject to active restoration projects. Studies investigating the impacts of abandoned plantations on biodiversity are strikingly limited. We examine the effects of abandoned Eucalyptus plantations on the structure of Cerrado lizard communities. We assessed changes in lizard capture, richness and equitability along cerrado sensu stricto—Eucalyptus transects. Our results indicate abandoned Eucalyptus plantations have subsets of Cerrado species persisting with a great loss of endemic species. The cerrado sensu stricto—Eucalyptus linear transect analysis demonstrated distance from native habitat is positively correlated with loss of biodiversity. We performed correspondence analyses to summarize the variation in species captures across different sites, habitats and pitfall array positions. These analyses depicted strong species associations between habitats and their pitfall array positions. This study is the first to show the negative impacts of abandoned Eucalyptus plantations on Cerrado lizard communities, serving as a cautionary tale of Cerrado biodiversity non-resilience in abandoned Eucalyptus plantations. Mitigation requires that abandoned Eucalyptus plantations are made more suitable to Cerrado lizards by implementing targeted habitat heterogeneity restoration

Adolpho Lutz and controversies over the transmission of leprosy by mosquitoes Adolpho Lutz e as controvérsias sobre a transmissão da lepra por mosquitos

During his years of study in Switzerland and Germany, Adolpho Lutz published his first articles on zoology, clinical practice, and therapeutics. In Limeira, São Paulo, he began studies on animal and human diseases caused by germs and parasites. In 1885-86, Lutz traveled to Hamburg to study the morphology of germs related to skin diseases, in conjunction with Paul Gerson Unna, one of Germany's foremost dermatologists. He proposed the inclusion of Hansen's and Koch's bacilli in a new genus. In 1889, Unna nominated his student as physician-in-chief of the Leper Settlement on Molokai Island, Hawaii. From then on, Lutz sustained the theory that the disease was transmitted by mosquitoes. He conducted research to prove this theory when he was head of the Instituto Bacteriológico de São Paulo (1893-1908) and, later, after he moved to the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (1908-1940). Although this research was not successful, on commissions and at congresses in which he participated until his death in October 1940, he still held to his conviction that leprosy was transmitted by mosquitoes.<br>Quando estudava na Suíça e Alemanha, Adolpho Lutz publicou os primeiros trabalhos sobre zoologia, clínica e terapêutica. Em Limeira, São Paulo, iniciou estudos sobre doenças humanas e animais causadas por germes e parasitas. Em 1885-86, viajou para Hamburgo para estudar microrganismos relacionados a doenças de pele sob a orientação de Paul Gerson Unna, um dos mais renomados dermatologistas alemães. Propôs a inclusão dos bacilos de Hansen e Koch num novo gênero. Em 1889, Unna indicou seu discípulo como chefe dos serviços médicos do Leprosário de Molokai, no Havaí. Lutz passou a defender a transmissão da doença por mosquitos. Realizou pesquisas para provar esta teoria depois que assumiu a chefia do Instituto Bacteriológico de São Paulo (1893-1908) e, sobretudo, após a transferência para o Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (1908-1940). Apesar de não terem sido bem-sucedidas estas pesquisas, sustentou a transmissão da lepra por mosquitos nas comissões e congressos de que participou, até sua morte em outubro de 1940