Occurrence of Gastroliths in _Baurusuchus_ (Baurusuchidae, Mesoeucrocodylia) from Adamantina Formation, Bauru Basin

The fossil record of Baurusuchidae Mesoeucrocodylia in the General Salgado county and its surroundings is one of the best regarding preservation, completeness and articulation of skull and skeleton remains, including specimens that shown even the most delicate bone structures and cartilaginous tissues. 

One of them, UFRJ DG 288-R, has preserved its skull and about 80% of its skeleton. During the removal of the rock matrix, on what should be the specimen’s abdominal region, together with fragments of gastralia were observed some small well-polished weathered angulous to subrounded clasts, presumed to be gastroliths. 

These xenoliths occur in a restrict cluster, where at least four peeble-sized stones are visible in the surface of the specimen. The texture and fabrics of these rock fragments differs from the surrounding matrix, presenting darker purplish tones. In thin section, one of the fragments revealed isotropic texture, with opaque minerals in abundance, of euhedric to subhedric habits. The mineralogical composition presents mainly clay minerals as weathering products; biotite and chlorite are common, being the last the result of hidratation of the first. Although highly altered, the low quartz content, small-sized and well-formed crystals suggests maphic composition in volcanic context, possibly representing a basalt fragment. 

In extant Crocodyliformes, the occurrence of gastroliths is commonly associated with food processing in the stomach, diving ballast, hunger stress and/or supplementary mineral ingestion. 

As baurusuchids are characterized as medium to large size fully terrestrial predator/scavengers, based on skeletal data, the ballast function of gasthroliths is excluded in this case. As mentioned above, extant crocodyliforms such as _Caiman_ and _Crocodylus_ ingest stones when under stressful conditions of lack of food, water or when in high population density. Osteoderms are one of the primary sources for calcium and a reservoir for the homeostasis. The hunger stress can be observed in the osteoderms histological cuts as an abnormal concentration of osteoclasts at its inner region overwhelming the presence of osteoblasts and consuming the osteocytes. The preservation of osteoderms associated with gasthroliths may reveal if the stone ingestion in baurusuchids is a normal or driven by hunger behavior. 

The paleoenvironmental conditions dominating the Adamantina Formation during the Late Cretaceous are considered mainly arid, marked with strong seasonality, alternating long droughts and short rainy periods, associated with flashflood events. The stressful condition created during the dry season would cause famine and mass mortality, thus forcing animals to endure or escape. The baurusuchids underwent the dry seasons through behavorial responses of self burial and probably stone ingestion, although natural bahavior cannot be eliminated as a cause. 

Financial support provided by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, grant no 305780/2006–9), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Instituto Virtual de Paleontologia/ Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (IVP/FAPERJ, grant no E–26/152.541/2006).
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Determinação de deformação elipsóide em um crocodyliforme fóssil do cretáceo

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Ação da musculatura adutora da mandíbula em dicinodontes triássicos do Sul do Brasil

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Reconstituição da morfologia facial de Dinodontosaurus Romer, 1943 (Synapsida, Dicynodontia), Mesotriássico do Sul do Brasil

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Função das presas caniniformes no dicinodonte Dinodontosaurus Romer, 1943 (Synapsida, Anomodontia)

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Contribuições da Bibliometria ao tratamento de dados institucionais não sistematizados de produção científica: o caso do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo (IFSP)

According to the literature, one of the means that institutions can use for an in-depth understanding of the results, as well as the causes that enhance (or limit) them, is bibliometrics and the construction of bibliometric research indicators. However, there are few studies that illustrate, based on data from a real research institution, the benefits that bibliometrics could provide when there is no systematic approach to the treatment of data from the scientific production carried out by the institution. In this sense, the objective of this work was to illustrate the potential of bibliometric indicators in the treatment of scientific production data from a research institution that does not systematically carry out this treatment. Therefore, the method used for the case study, a case unit from the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of São Paulo (IFSP) and bibliometrics used as a technique for analyzing the information. The results present the creation and interpretation, from the raw data, of several bibliometric indicators. It is concluded that the use of bibliometrics can convert unprotected data into an understanding of the research carried out by the institution, as well as generate useful insights to expand its results. De acordo com a literatura, um dos meios que as instituições podem utilizar para a compreensão em profundidade dos seus resultados, bem como as causas que os potencializam (ou limitam) é a bibliometria e a construção de indicadores bibliométricos de pesquisa. No entanto, há poucos estudos que ilustram, a partir de dados de uma instituição de pesquisa real, os benefícios que a bibliometria poderia proporcionar quando não há uma abordagem sistemática para o tratamento dos dados da produção científica realizada pela instituição. Nesse sentido, o objetivo desse trabalho foi ilustrar o potencial dos indicadores bibliométricos no tratamento de dados de produção científica de uma instituição de pesquisa que não realiza sistematicamente esse tratamento. Para tanto, o método utilizado foi o estudo de caso, a unidade caso foi o Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo (IFSP) e a bibliometria foi utilizada como técnica de análise das informações. Os resultados mostram a criação e a interpretação, a partir dos dados brutos, de vários indicadores bibliométricos. Conclui-se que o uso da bibliometria pode converter dados não tratados em compreensão da pesquisa realizada pela instituição, bem como gerar insights úteis à ampliação dos seus resultados

Relationships Between Aerobic and Anaerobic Parameters With Game Technical Performance in Elite Goalball Athletes

Our aims were to compare physiological parameters from the laboratory environment (LaB) and simulated goalball games (GaM), test relationships between physiological parameters in the laboratory and game technical performance (GTP), and examine the associations between physiological and technical responses during games. Seven elite athletes from the Brazilian National Team performed in LaB environment; (i) an incremental test to determine peak oxygen consumption (O2PEAK), its corresponding speed, and peak blood lactate concentration and (ii) submaximal and supramaximal efforts to estimate maximal anaerobic contribution (AnC). In GaM condition, simulated games were also performed to determine physiological responses throughout the game, and to analyze the GTP (number of throws, defenses, recovery, and density of actions). No correlations (unclear) were found between laboratory and games analyses for O2PEAK [47.3 (17.2) vs. 25.8 (18.2) mL⋅Kg-1⋅min-1], peak blood lactate concentrations [10.2 (5.4) vs. 2.0 (0.7) mM], and total AnC [21.0 (14.0) vs. 4.8 (6.1) mL Kg-1]. O2PEAK in the laboratory condition presented very likely correlations with throw and recovery frequency in games (r = -0.87 and confidence interval [CI] = 0.41; r = -0.90 and CI = 0.35; respectively). Oxygen consumption remained above baseline while blood lactate concentration remained unchanged during the games. The very likely correlation between anaerobic alactic contribution and action density (r = 0.95 and CI = 0.25) highlights the importance of the alactic metabolism. In general, our study demonstrates that goalball can be characterized as a high-intensity intermittent effort, where athlete performance is based on aerobic metabolism predominance while determinant actions are supplied by the anaerobic alactic metabolism. Specifically, higher values of LaB vs. GaM highlighted the need for standardization of specific protocols for goalball evaluation, mainly for the reproduction of ecologically valid values. In addition, O2PEAK correlated with recovery frequency in the LaB condition, demonstrating that passive or low-intensity recovery between actions is fundamental to maintain performance

ANSIEDAD Y MIEDO: SU VALOR ADAPTATIVO

El conjunto de respuestas emitidas por diferentes especies frente a un peligro real o potencial se conoce como Estado de Ansiedad. Este estado, de importancia evolutiva para las especies, aparece cuando se detecta un peligro o amenaza o ante la presencia de estímulos ambiguos, innatos o aprendidos, que indican una amenaza. Así, un determinado nivel de ansiedad es benéfico para los animales, siendo un recurso fundamental de protección contra peligros físicos y sociales. Los substratos neurales responsables por tales estados, corresponden a áreas cerebrales antiguas, preservadas en muchas especies y críticas para el control de las emociones que al sufrir alteraciones en su funcionamiento producen disturbios del comportamiento. Diversos modelos experimentales se han desarrollado para estudiar los componentes conductuales y sustratos neurales implicados en el estado de ansiedad y su utilización ya está suministrando herramientas para complementar la comprensión de diversas patologías y conocimiento del mundo de las emociones