The last dinosaurs of Brazil: The Bauru Group and its implications for the end-Cretaceous mass extinction

ABSTRACT The non-avian dinosaurs died out at the end of the Cretaceous, ~66 million years ago, after an asteroid impact. The prevailing hypothesis is that the effects of the impact suddenly killed the dinosaurs, but the poor fossil record of latest Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) dinosaurs from outside Laurasia (and even more particularly, North America) makes it difficult to test specific extinction scenarios. Over the past few decades, a wealth of new discoveries from the Bauru Group of Brazil has revealed a unique window into the evolution of terminal Cretaceous dinosaurs from the southern continents. We review this record and demonstrate that there was a diversity of dinosaurs, of varying body sizes, diets, and ecological roles, that survived to the very end of the Cretaceous (Maastrichtian: 72-66 million years ago) in Brazil, including a core fauna of titanosaurian sauropods and abelisaurid and carcharodontosaurid theropods, along with a variety of small-to-mid-sized theropods. We argue that this pattern best fits the hypothesis that southern dinosaurs, like their northern counterparts, were still diversifying and occupying prominent roles in their ecosystems before the asteroid suddenly caused their extinction. However, this hypothesis remains to be tested with more refined paleontological and geochronological data, and we give suggestions for future work

Possibilities of care for serodiscordant couples for HIV who got pregnant

Objective: Understanding the meaning of pregnancy for heterosexual couples facing serodiscordant situation for HIV, aiming at construction of care possibilities based on subjectivity. Method: Phenomenological research, theoretical-philosophical-methodological framework by Martin Heidegger. Research was conducted in a University Hospital in the countryside of Southern Brazil, from September 2013 to May 2014 through a phenomenological interview, with participation of eleven couples. Results: For the couples, pregnancy is part of life when they wish to have a child, even when one or both of them already have children from previous relationships. In addition, it is part of life when they consider the risks and do not want to have children in such circumstances anymore, but it happened unexpectedly. Conclusion: Understanding reproductive needs and demands of these couples is an aid for qualification and improvement of care as a contribution to nursing care planning towards reproductive health of these couples.Objetivo: Comprender el significado del embarazo para las parejas heterosexuales serodiscordantes al VIH con el propósito de establecer cuidados basados en la subjetividad. Método: Estudio fenomenológico, de referencial teórico, filosófico, metodológico heideggeriano. Se empleó entrevista fenomenológica a once parejas participantes del estudio en el Hospital Universitario de una ciudad en la región Sur de Brasil en el periodo de septiembre de 2013 a mayo de 2014. Resultados: Para las parejas el embarazo forma parte de sus experiencias, ya sea porque desean tener hijos con el/la compañero/a, incluso si uno o ambos ya tienen hijos provenientes de relación anterior. Asimismo forma parte al considerar los riesgos y no desean tener más hijos en estas circunstancias, pero ocurre lo inesperado al quedarse embarazada. Conclusión: Comprender las necesidades y demandas reproductivas de estas parejas es importante para la calificación, el mejoramiento de los cuidados y la planificación de la asistencia ofrecida por el personal de enfermería a la salud reproductiva de estas personas