The use and misuse of the "impact factor" as a parameter for evaluation of scientific publication quality: a proposal to rationalize its application

We present a critical analysis of the generalized use of the "impact factor". By means of the Kruskal-Wallis test, it was shown that it is not possible to compare distinct disciplines using the impact factor without adjustments. After assigning the median journal the value of one (1.000), the impact factor value for each journal was calculated by the rule of three. The adjusted values were homogeneous, thus permitting comparison among distinct disciplines

Occurrence of the off-host life stages of Tunga penetrans (Siphonaptera) in various environments in Brazil

To explore the local transmission dynamics of Tunga penetrans in Brazil, 134 soil samples from various environments were collected in three different endemic regions of the country and checked for the presence of the flea's larvae, pupae and adults. The samples, which came from an urban slum in the north-east, a village of Xavante indians in the central-west and a community of Yanomami indians living in traditional longhouses (malocas) in the north, were categorized as indoor, outdoor or indoor-outdoor (the latter representing samples collected in the malocas). The proportion of samples found positive for T. penetrans was lowest in the slum (9.3%) and highest in the Yanomami village (32.0%; P=0.01). Soil samples collected below bedsteads or hammocks or from the indoor resting places of dogs were significantly more likely to be positive than the indoor samples collected at other sites (65.0% v. 35.0%; P=0.02). There was no evidence indicating that the presence of T. penetrans in a soil sample was markedly affected by soil temperature, air temperature or air humidity. As no life stages of T. penetrans were found in any outdoor sample, it seems likely that, in resource-poor settings in Brazil, most transmission of T. penetrans occurs indoors. Control measures against the off-host life stages of T. penetrans should therefore be targeted at particular indoor micro-environments

Primeiro registro de Rhynchopsyllus pulex (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) em Nyctinomops laticaudatus (Chiroptera: Molossidae) no Brasil First record of Rhynchopsyllus pulex (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) in Nyctinomops laticaudatus (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in Brazil

Descreve-se o parasitismo de Rhynchopsyllus pulex (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) em Nyctinomops laticaudatus (Chiroptera) no município de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.<br>The parasitism of Rhynchopsyllus pulex (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) is described in Nyctinomops laticaudatus (Chiroptera) in the county of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil