A new Lower Cretaceous Nymphid (Insecta, Neuroptera, Nymphidae) from the Crato Formation of Brazil

The family Nymphidae Rambur 1842 (Neuroptera) has only recently been recorded from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of the Chapada do Araripe, northeast Brazil, with three new genera and species. The new, exceptionally preserved nymphid Araripenymphes seldeni n. gen. et sp., comes from the Nova Olinda Member, basal unit of the Crato Formation. The new species shows some unique characteristics in wing venation, such as the cubital area, number of radial cells and RP branches, not shared by the other known genera. Key words: Araripe Basin, fossil, lacewing, Brazil, new genus and species.A Família Nymphidae Rambur 1842 (Neuroptera) foi recentemente registrada para a Formação Crato (Cretáceo Inferior), Bacia do Araripe, nordeste do Brasil, com três gêneros monotípicos. Um novo neuróptero, excepcionalmente preservado, Araripenymphes seldeni n. gen. et sp. é aqui proposto e descrito. O material é proveniente do nível de calcário laminado do Membro Nova Olinda, unidade inferior da Formação Crato. As relações morfológicas e diferenças na venação alar entre outros gêneros brasileiros e mesozóicos, também são discutidas. Palavras-chave: insetos fósseis, Neuroptera, Nymphidae, Formação Crato, Cretáceo Inferior, Bacia do Araripe

Morphologic changes of Paleozoic and Mesozoic insect faunas from Argentina and Brazil: paleoecologic aspects

During the Permian-Triassic transition, the insect faunas from all over the world suffered changes related to their diversity and abundance, as well as to their morphometric patterns. The data were obtained from the original descriptions of each species. The total size of wing was considered, whereas the small fragments without estimative total size were not taken into account. The morphometric analysis of the recorded species of the Carboniferous- Permian-Triassic entomofauna from Argentina and Brazil shows a morphologic change that reflects a general trend of body size reduction. The groups that showed an inverse trend were Mecopteroidea and Coleoptera. The statistical analysis demonstrated a decreasing trend of the wing size of Paleoptera, Orthopteroidea, Blattopteromorpha and Hemipteroidea from Paleozoic to Mesozoic. Decreasing or increasing trends could be directly related with climate changes occurred during Permian-Triassic times. These changes could have caused ecologic nanism or gigantism, connected to food availability or other synergetic factors. A high gradient of temperature provides ideal conditions to a big rate of insect proliferation, supporting its diversity, while the extinctions are associated to environmental catastrophic events. At first sight, it could be interpreted that the trend of decreasing insect dimensions reflects the high levels of environmental stress already documented in the literature. However, alochronic speciation, as a result of ecologic nanism or gigantism, should also be considered when the real diversity of Permian-Triassic boundary insects is analysed.Simposio III: Ecosistemas triásicos, su paleobiología y el contexto de recuperación de la gran extinciónFacultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Full description of Cordulagomphus primaerensis from Santana Formation (Lower Cretaceous of Brazil) (Odonata: Aeshnoptera: Proterogomphidae)

Thanks to the discovery of a new specimen, we discuss and confirm the differences proposed by Petrulevičius and Martins-Neto, 2007 (in Bechly, 2007) between Cordulagomphus (Procordulagomphus) primaerensis Petrulevičius and Martins-Neto, 2007 and its close relative Cordulagomphus (Procordulagomphus) michaeli Bechly, 2007.Fil: Petrulevicius, Julian Fernando. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleozoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Martins Neto, Rafael G.. Universidade Estadual do Ceará; BrasilFil: Azar, Dany. Lebanese University; LíbanoFil: Makhoul, Edouard. No especifíca;Fil: Nel, André. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Franci

Full description of Cordulagomphus primaerensis from Santana Formation (Lower Cretaceous of Brazil) (Odonata: Aeshnoptera: Proterogomphidae)

Thanks to the discovery of a new specimen, we discuss and confirm the differences proposed by Petrulevičius and Martins-Neto, 2007 (in Bechly, 2007) between Cordulagomphus (Procordulagomphus) primaerensis Petrulevičius and Martins-Neto, 2007 and its close relative Cordulagomphus (Procordulagomphus) michaeli Bechly, 2007.Fil: Petrulevicius, Julian Fernando. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleozoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Martins Neto, Rafael G.. Universidade Estadual do Ceará; BrasilFil: Azar, Dany. Lebanese University; LíbanoFil: Makhoul, Edouard. No especifíca;Fil: Nel, André. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Franci

A new Lower Cretaceous Nymphid (Insecta, Neuroptera, Nymphidae) from the Crato Formation of Brazil

A Família Nymphidae Rambur 1842 (Neuroptera) foi recentemente registrada para a Formação Crato (Cretáceo Inferior), Bacia do Araripe, nordeste do Brasil, com três gêneros monotípicos. Um novo neuróptero, excepcionalmente preservado, Araripenymphes seldeni n. gen. et sp. é aqui proposto e descrito. O material é proveniente do nível de calcário laminado do Membro Nova Olinda, unidade inferior da Formação Crato. As relações morfológicas e diferenças na venação alar entre outros gêneros brasileiros e mesozóicos, também são discutidas. Palavras-chave: insetos fósseis, Neuroptera, Nymphidae, Formação Crato, Cretáceo Inferior, Bacia do Araripe.The family Nymphidae Rambur 1842 (Neuroptera) has only recently been recorded from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of the Chapada do Araripe, northeast Brazil, with three new genera and species. The new, exceptionally preserved nymphid Araripenymphes seldeni n. gen. et sp., comes from the Nova Olinda Member, basal unit of the Crato Formation. The new species shows some unique characteristics in wing venation, such as the cubital area, number of radial cells and RP branches, not shared by the other known genera. Key words: Araripe Basin, fossil, lacewing, Brazil, new genus and species

EFFECTS OF VITAMIN C SUPPLEMENTATION ON THE CHRONIC PHASE OF CHAGAS DISEASE

Introduction: In order to examine the effectiveness of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in combating the oxidative insult caused by Trypanosoma cruzi during the development of the chronic phase of Chagas disease, Swiss mice were infected intraperitoneally with 5.0 × 104 trypomastigotes of T. cruzi QM1strain. Methods: Mice were given supplements of two different doses of vitamin C for 180 days. Levels of lipid oxidation (as indicated by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances-TBARS), total peroxide, vitamin C, and reduced glutathione were measured in the plasma, TBARS, total peroxide and vitamin C were measured in the myocardium and histopathologic analysis was undertaken in heart, colon and skeletal muscle. Results: Animals that received a dose equivalent to 500 mg of vitamin C daily showed increased production of ROS in plasma and myocardium and a greater degree of inflammation and necrosis in skeletal muscles than those that received a lower dose or no vitamin C whatsoever. Conclusion: Although some research has shown the antioxidant effect of vitamin C, the results showed that animals subject to a 500 mg dose of vitamin C showed greater tissue damage in the chronic phase of Chagas disease, probably due to the paradoxical actions of the substance, which in this pathology, will have acted as a pro-oxidant or pro-inflammatory

Platelet Activating Factor Blocks Interkinetic Nuclear Migration in Retinal Progenitors through an Arrest of the Cell Cycle at the S/G2 Transition

Nuclear migration is regulated by the LIS1 protein, which is the regulatory subunit of platelet activating factor (PAF) acetyl-hydrolase, an enzyme complex that inactivates the lipid mediator PAF. Among other functions, PAF modulates cell proliferation, but its effects upon mechanisms of the cell cycle are unknown. Here we show that PAF inhibited interkinetic nuclear migration (IKNM) in retinal proliferating progenitors. The lipid did not, however, affect the velocity of nuclear migration in cells that escaped IKNM blockade. The effect depended on the PAF receptor, Erk and p38 pathways and Chk1. PAF induced no cell death, nor a reduction in nucleotide incorporation, which rules out an intra-S checkpoint. Notwithstanding, the expected increase in cyclin B1 content during G2-phase was prevented in the proliferating cells. We conclude that PAF blocks interkinetic nuclear migration in retinal progenitor cells through an unusual arrest of the cell cycle at the transition from S to G2 phases. These data suggest the operation, in the developing retina, of a checkpoint that monitors the transition from S to G2 phases of the cell cycle

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio