The genus Tapecomys (Rodentia, Cricetidae) in Argentina: a clarification

El roedor filotino Tapecomys ha sido mencionado con 2 especies en Argentina, la típica Tapecomys primus Anderson y Yates, 2000 y Tapecomys wolffsohni (Thomas, 1902); ambas han sido reportadas como simpátricas en 1 localidad de las Yungas de Jujuy. Una revisión de estos materiales indica que la referencia a T. wolffsohni es incorrecta. En este contexto, en la selva montana solo se registra T. primus con 4 localidades en Jujuy. Otro registro para T. wolffsohni en Argentina, correspondiente a una localidad de Salta, es discutido sobre la base de una nueva aproximación morfológica. En el estado de conocimiento actual no es posible afirmar que T. wolffsohni habite el país.The 2 known species of the phyllotine rodent Tapecomys , the typical, Tapecomys primus Anderson and Yates, 2000 and Tapecomys wolffsohni (Thomas, 1902), have been cited for Argentina, and reported to be sympatric in 1 locality in the Yungas of Jujuy. A review of these materials suggest that the reference for T. wolffsohni is incorrect. In this context, only 1 species— T. primus —is present in 4 localities in the montane forests of Jujuy. A record for T. wolffsohni from 1 locality in Salta, is discussed based on a critical assessment of the morphological variation of these species. Currently it is not possible to confirm that T. wolffsohni inhabits the country.Fil: Pardiñas, Ulises Francisco J.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; ArgentinaFil: Teta, Pablo Vicente. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Salazar Bravo, Jorge. Texas Tech University; Estados Unido

Trans-complexity: a management fad or a mathematical construct

Trans–complex organizations concept has been introduced in the management science, even becoming an object of study. In the global context, definitions, concepts, research and philosophical or practical proposals have emerged for the understanding of organizations from a trans-complex perspective. In this work, a critical position of trans-complexity is presented as a historical discovery that associates a new characterization of phenomena: for example, in exchange for trans–complex organizations, a trans-complex epistemic vision of social organizations is proposed. Thus, the trans-complexity is ratified not as a quality, but as a requirement of epistemic order of scientific research. From this perspective, that complex organization can be explained through elements such as uncertainty, chaos and self-organization, with an epistemological explanation of systems theory, decision theory and dynamic systems theory. This paper shows the trans-complexity more than a management fad, an analysis model or a management topic, as an element to be incorporated by researchers in the construction of theoretical frameworks and methodical designs of their researches in order to purpose significant contributions to science, and to the organization itself, based on such important mathematical theories

Developmental perspectives of numerical thinking for the interpretation of physical quantities

This research reveals the perspectives in the teaching of numerical thinking through a documentary review. The representation of physical elements such as functions, vectors and operators, and their subsequent interpretation through numerical thinking gives meaning to the physical quantities that such elements represent. A documentary sample integrated for 40 sources on numerical thinking such as articles published in indexed journals, postgraduate dissertations, and books is considered. A qualitative content analysis method is used. First, an encoding procedure is applied for tagging the extracted information from the source documents. Then, a split and merge procedure is considered in order to establish from the tags the dimensions and categories that allow determining the conceptual relationships that support the developmental perspectives of numerical thinking. The method reveals that the numerical thinking can be developed in the global context from four perspectives, namely, historical, theoretical, curricular, and social perspectives. From these results, an incorporation of the such perspectives can be institutionalized for promoting curricular, didactic and evaluative new proposals for numerical thinking teaching

Cystoid Macular Edema: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a review of studies on cystoid macular edema published in the last seven years. Cystoid macular edema is a major cause of loss of visual acuity. It is the final common pathway of many diseases and can be caused by numerous processes including inflammatory, vascular, adverse drug reactions, retinal dystrophy or intraocular tumors. These processes disrupt the blood-retinal barrier, with fluid extravasation to the macular parenchyma. Imaging tests are essential for both detection and monitoring of this pathology. Fluorescein angiography and autofluorescence show the leakage of liquid from perifoveal vessels into the tissue where it forms cystic spaces. Optical coherence tomography is currently the gold standard technique for diagnosis and monitoring. This allows objective measurement of retinal thickness, which correlates with visual acuity and provides more complete morphological information. Based on the underlying etiology, the therapeutic approach can be either surgical or medical with anti-inflammatory drugs. We found that disruption of the blood-retinal barrier for various reasons is the key point in the pathogenesis of cystoid macular edema, therefore we believe that studies on its treatment should proceed on this path

The Akodon boliviensis species group (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) in Argentina: species limits and distribution, with the description of a new entity

Akodon, with about 42 living species, is the most diverse genus of the subfamily Sigmodontinae. The Akodon boliviensis species group includes small-bodied, morphologically similar forms inhabiting Altiplano grasslands and grassland/forest ecotones of the eastern slope of the Andes, from central Peru to central Argentina. Northwestern Argentina contains the largest diversity of species of the group; the taxonomic treatment of these species has been based largely on unsupported and some weakly based opinions as underscored by recurrent changes. Based on morphologic and molecular data we assessed species limits among Argentinean populations of the Akodon boliviensis species group. We conclude that four species of the A. boliviensis species group inhabit northwestern Argentina. These are: A. boliviensis; A. caenosus (under which we synonymyze A. aliquantulus); A. spegazzinii (of which the nominal forms alterus, leucolimnaeus, and tucumanensis are junior synonyms); and A. sylvanus. Additionally, we described here a new species of the A. Boliviensis species group, Akodon polopi, which inhabits central Argentina. This is the only species of the A. boliviensis species group inhabiting the Sierras Grandes range (ca. 2000 m), mountain system of medium height isolated (ca., 600 km) from the main Andean chain by low elevation arid and semiarid environments. Additionally, our phylogenetic analysis suggests that the Akodon varius species group is polyphyletic.Fil: Jayat, Jorge Pablo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Ecológicas de las Yungas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ortiz, Pablo Edmundo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucuman. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto Miguel Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Salazar Bravo, Jorge. Texas Tech University; Estados UnidosFil: Pardiñas, Ulises Francisco J.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: D’Elía, Guillermo. Universidad de Concepción; Chil

Akodon polopi Jayat et al., 2010 is a senior subjective synomym of Akodon viridescens Braun et al., 2010

Two new taxa of species level were recently named for grass mice of the genus Akodon (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) from central Argentina: Akodon polopi Jayat, Ortiz, Salazar-Bravo, Pardiñas et D’Elía, 2010 and Akodon viridescens Braun, Mares, Coyner et Van Den Bussche, 2010. Several lines of evidence show that both taxa refer to the same biological species. Various morphologic characters enumerated by the two research teams for A. polopi and A. viridescens are coincident. The brownish coloration of the dorsal pelage, the chin with a small but distinguishable white patch, the tail of approximately 70% of head and body length, and the broad rostrum are among the diagnostic characters cited for both forms. Other additional characters mentioned in the diagnosis of only one of the nominal forms are also enumerated in the general description of the other. These include the size intermediate for the genus, the hour-glass shaped interorbital region with sharply squared posterior margins in older individuals, the anterior border of mesopterygoid fossa rounded with sides parallel or slightly diverging backward, and the parapterygoid fossae with straight and gradually divergent sides. Many additional features are mentioned for both nominal forms in their general descriptions.Fil: D' Elía, Guillermo. Universidad Austral de Chile. Instituto de Ecología y Evolución; ChileFil: Jayat, Jorge Pablo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Ecológicas de Las Yungas; ArgentinaFil: Ortiz, Pablo Edmundo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Cátedra de Paleontología; ArgentinaFil: Salazar-bravo, Jorge. Texas Tech University. Department of Biological Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Pardiñas, Ulises Francisco J.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentin

Socio-ecology of the Marsh Rice Rat (\u3ci\u3eOryzomys palustris\u3c/i\u3e) and the Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Bayou Virus in Coastal Texas

Along the southeastern coast of the United States of America (USA), the marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris) is the primary host for the hantavirus genotype Bayou. According to the socio-ecological model for a territorial, polygamous species, females should be distributed across space and time by habitat resources and predation risks, whereas males should space themselves according to the degree of female aggregation and reproductive synchrony. To investigate how females affect the male-male transmission paradigm of Bayou virus, rodents were captured, marked, released, and re-captured in two macrohabitat types across a 30-month period. Microhabitat cover variables were quantified around the individual trap stations. A geodatabase was created from habitat and rodent capture data and analysed in a geographical information system. The ratio of breeding to non-breeding females was ~1:1, with breeding females overly dispersed and non-breeding females randomly dispersed. Spatial analyses revealed both macro- and microhabitat preferences in females. Compared to sero-negatives, higher proportions of seropositive adult males were found consistently within closer proximities to breeding females but not to non-breeding females, indicating that male locations were not driven simply by habitat selection. Activities to acquire dispersed receptive females could be an important driver of Bayou virus transmission among male hosts. To date, socio-ecological theory has received little attention as an investigative framework for studying pathogen dynamics in small, solitary mammals. Herein, we describe an interdisciplinary effort providing a novel approach to elucidate the complexity of hantavirus trafficking and maintenance in rodent populations of a coastal marsh ecosystem

Natural hosts of different hantavirus genotypes in south America: who is who?

Gardenal, C.N., Gonzalez-Ittig, R.E., Rivera, P.C., Levis, S., Salazar-Bravo, J., Barquez, R.M

Cyperus spp.: A Review on Phytochemical Composition, Biological Activity, and Health-Promoting Effects

Cyperaceae are a plant family of grass-like monocots, comprising 5600 species with a cosmopolitan distribution in temperate and tropical regions. Phytochemically, Cyperus is one of the most promising health supplementing genera of the Cyperaceae family, housing ˜950 species, with Cyperus rotundus L. being the most reported species in pharmacological studies. The traditional uses of Cyperus spp. have been reported against various diseases, viz., gastrointestinal and respiratory affections, blood disorders, menstrual irregularities, and inflammatory diseases. Cyperus spp. are known to contain a plethora of bioactive compounds such as a-cyperone, a-corymbolol, a-pinene, caryophyllene oxide, cyperotundone, germacrene D, mustakone, and zierone, which impart pharmacological properties to its extract. Therefore, Cyperus sp. extracts were preclinically studied and reported to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, neuroprotective, antidepressive, antiarthritic, antiobesity, vasodilator, spasmolytic, bronchodilator, and estrogenic biofunctionalities. Nonetheless, conclusive evidence is still sparse regarding its clinical applications on human diseases. Further studies focused on toxicity data and risk assessment are needed to elucidate its safe and effective application. Moreover, detailed structure-activity studies also need time to explore the candidature of Cyperus-derived phytochemicals as upcoming drugs in pharmaceuticals.NM acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the Horizon 2020 Program (PTDC/PSI-GER/28076/2017)

Therapeutic Potential of Isoflavones with an Emphasis on Daidzein

Daidzein is a phytoestrogen isoflavone found in soybeans and other legumes. The chemical composition of daidzein is analogous to mammalian estrogens, and it could be useful with a dual-directional purpose by substituting/hindering with estrogen and estrogen receptor (ER) complex. Hence, daidzein puts forth shielding effects against a great number of diseases, especially those associated with the control of estrogen, such as breast cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease. However, daidzein also has other ER-independent biological activities, such as oxidative damage reduction acting as an antioxidant, immune regulator as an anti-inflammatory agent, and apoptosis regulation, directly linked to its potential anticancer effects. In this sense, the present review is aimed at providing a deepen analysis of daidzein pharmacodynamics and its implications in human health, from its best-known effects alleviating postmenopausal symptoms to its potential anticancer and antiaging properties.N.M. acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the Horizon 2020 Program (PTDC/PSI-GER/28076/2017). M. T-M was funded by a grant from the Programa Postdoctoral Margalida Comas-Comunidad Autónoma de las Islas Baleares (PD/050/2020). The authors also acknowledge that some of the icons used in figures are adapted from Flaticon