Areas of natural occurrence of melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811(Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the state of Bahia, Brazil.

The bee Melipona scutellaris is considered the reared meliponine species with the largest distribution in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, with records from the state of Rio Grande do Norte down to the state of Bahia. Considering the importance of this species in the generation of income for family agriculture and in the preservation of areas with natural vegetation, this study aimed at providing knowledge on the distribution of natural colonies of M. scutellaris in the state of Bahia. Literature information, interviews with stinglessbee beekeepers, and expeditions were conducted to confirm the natural occurrence of the species. A total of 102 municipalities showed records for M. scutellaris, whose occurrence was observed in areas ranging from sea level up to 1,200-meter height. The occurrence of this species in the state of Bahia is considered to be restricted to municipalities on the coastal area and the Chapada Diamantina with its rainforests. Geographic coordinates, elevation, climate and vegetation data were obtained, which allowed a map to be prepared for the area of occurrence in order to support conservation and management policies for the species

Poor youths and ‘pacification’:dilemmas between discourse and practice from the perspective of young people about policing in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas

This article explores the social representations of youngsters from favelas in Rio de Janeiro on police practices in the context of the implementation of ‘Pacifying Police Units’. Drawing from fieldwork, participant observation and interviews, the authors analyse the narratives and practices which influence relations between young people and the police in the Complexo do Alemão area of the city. The interviewees expressed a demand for further public security and social services. Young people noted some progress in police practices, although these changes appear to be unstable. The permanence of violent practices and prejudice by the police was verified in youngsters’ narratives. Any change in this scenario should be based on the replacement of the war logic of ‘pacification’ for another logic, that of participation.2030-01-0

Moisture transport by Atlantic tropical cyclones onto the North American continent

Tropical Cyclones (TCs) are an important source of freshwater for the North American continent. Many studies have tried to estimate this contribution by identifying TC-induced precipitation events, but few have explicitly diagnosed the moisture fluxes across continental boundaries. We design a set of attribution schemes to isolate the column-integrated moisture fluxes that are directly associated with TCs and to quantify the flux onto the North American Continent due to TCs. Averaged over the 2004–2012 hurricane seasons and integrated over the western, southern and eastern coasts of North America, the seven schemes attribute 7 to 18 % (mean 14 %) of total net onshore flux to Atlantic TCs. A reduced contribution of 10 % (range 9 to 11 %) was found for the 1980–2003 period, though only two schemes could be applied to this earlier period. Over the whole 1980–2012 period, a further 8 % (range 6 to 9 % from two schemes) was attributed to East Pacific TCs, resulting in a total TC contribution of 19 % (range 17 to 22 %) to the ocean-to-land moisture transport onto the North American continent between May and November. Analysis of the attribution uncertainties suggests that incorporating details of individual TC size and shape adds limited value to a fixed radius approach and TC positional errors in the ERA-Interim reanalysis do not affect the results significantly, but biases in peak wind speeds and TC sizes may lead to underestimates of moisture transport. The interannual variability does not appear to be strongly related to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation phenomenon

Light MSSM Higgs boson mass to three-loop accuracy

The light CP even Higgs boson mass, Mh, is calculated to three-loop accuracy within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The result is expressed in terms of DRbar parameters and implemented in the computer program H3m. The calculation is based on the proper approximations and their combination in various regions of the parameter space. The three-loop effects to Mh are typically of the order of a few hundred MeV and opposite in sign to the two-loop corrections. The remaining theory uncertainty due to higher order perturbative corrections is estimated to be less than 1 GeV.Comment: 39 pages, 13 figures. v2: minor changes, typos fixe

Health needs and masculinities: primary health care services for men

Estudam-se relações entre masculinidades e cuidado em saúde, abordando o reconhecimento de necessidades por homens usuários de atenção primária e respostas dos serviços. É parte de pesquisa realizada em quatro estados brasileiros, com oito serviços amostrados por conveniência. Triangulou-se observação etnográfica com entrevistas semi-estruturadas com 182 usuários de 15 a 65 anos e com 72 profissionais. A análise temática dos registros etnográficos e das entrevistas foi baseada nos referenciais de gênero e em estudos do trabalho em saúde. Os resultados apontam como a medicalização das necessidades de saúde marca usuários, profissionais e serviços, ocultando questões vinculadas à masculinidade. Permitem caracterizar a atenção primária como voltada para as mulheres, reproduzindo no funcionamento dos serviços e nos desempenhos profissionais as desigualdades de gênero, em que para as mulheres há a disciplina do cuidado e para os homens, impropriedades para assistir e cuidar.This study deals with the relations between masculinities and health care, approaching the recognition of health needs among male users of primary health care and the responses by the services. The study is part of a larger research project in four Brazilian States, with a convenience sample of eight health services. Ethnographic observation was compared with semi-structured interviews with 182 health care users from 15 to 65 years of age and 72 health professionals. Thematic analysis of the ethnographic records and interviews was based on gender references and studies on health work. The findings show how medicalization of health needs affects users, professionals, and services, disguising issues related to masculinity. Primary care focuses mainly on women, thereby reproducing gender inequalities in health services operations and professional performance, with women receiving disciplined care and men receiving insufficient attention and care

Neutralising antibodies for West Nile virus in horses from Brazilian Pantanal

Despite evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) activity in Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina, this virus has not been reported in most South American countries. In February 2009, we commenced an investigation for WNV in mosquitoes, horses and caimans from the Pantanal, Central-West Brazil. The sera of 168 horses and 30 caimans were initially tested using a flaviviruses-specific epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (blocking ELISA) for the detection of flavivirus-reactive antibodies. The seropositive samples were further tested using a plaque-reduction neutralisation test (PRNT90) for WNV and its most closely-related flaviviruses that circulate in Brazil to confirm the detection of specific virus-neutralising antibodies. Of the 93 (55.4%) blocking ELISA-seropositive horse serum samples, five (3%) were seropositive for WNV, nine (5.4%) were seropositive for St. Louis encephalitis virus, 18 (10.7%) were seropositive for Ilheus virus, three (1.8%) were seropositive for Cacipacore virus and none were seropositive for Rocio virus using PRNT90, with a criteria of > four-fold antibody titre difference. All caimans were negative for flaviviruses-specific antibodies using the blocking ELISA. No virus genome was detected from caiman blood or mosquito samples. The present study is the first report of confirmed serological evidence of WNV activity in Brazil

Nimodipine-refractory reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome treated effectively with verapamil

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is characterized by recurrent thunderclap headache and reversible multifocal vasoconstrictions of the cerebral arteries. There are no treatment guidelines despite its potential for precarious outcomes. A 52-year-old woman with recurrent episodes of severe headache was diagnosed with RCVS and treated with oral nimodipine, which has been widely used for RCVS. However, her vessel status worsened despite treatment for several days and only improved after administration of intra-arterial (IA) and per os (PO) verapamil, which has been used to reverse vasoconstrictions in variant angina. Based on this case and literatures, we propose an alternative strategy using verapamil. The presence of a vascular reaction after an IA verapamil challenge during initial digital subtraction angiography can diagnose RCVS while also serving as an emergent treatment. Based on the response to IA verapamil, PO verapamil can be prescribed if there are no contraindications or side effects

Recurrent hotspot mutations in HRAS Q61 and PI3K-AKT pathway genes as drivers of breast adenomyoepitheliomas

Adenomyoepithelioma of the breast is a rare tumor characterized by epithelial-myoepithelial differentiation, of which a subset will progress to invasive or metastatic cancer. We sought to define the genomic landscape of adenomyoepitheliomas. Massively parallel sequencing revealed highly recurrent somatic mutations in HRAS and PI3K-AKT pathway-related genes. Strikingly, HRAS mutations were restricted to estrogen receptor (ER)-negative tumors, all affected codon 61, and all but one co-occurred with PIK3CA or PIK3R1 mutations. To interrogate the functional significance of HRAS Q61 mutations in adenomyoepithelial differentiation, we expressed HRASQ61R alone or in combination with PIK3CAH1047R in non-transformed ER-negative breast epithelial cells. HRASQ61R induced characteristic phenotypes of adenomyoepitheliomas such as the expression of myoepithelial markers and loss of e-cadherin, hyperactivation of AKT signaling, and transformative properties that were arrested by combination therapy with AKT and MEK inhibitors. Our results indicate that breast adenomyoepitheliomas often manifest a unique transformation program featuring HRAS activation

Proteome Regulation during Olea europaea Fruit Development

Widespread in the Mediterranean basin, Olea europaea trees are gaining worldwide popularity for the nutritional and cancer-protective properties of the oil, mechanically extracted from ripe fruits. Fruit development is a physiological process with remarkable impact on the modulation of the biosynthesis of compounds affecting the quality of the drupes as well as the final composition of the olive oil. Proteomics offers the possibility to dig deeper into the major changes during fruit development, including the important phase of ripening, and to classify temporal patterns of protein accumulation occurring during these complex physiological processes.In this work, we started monitoring the proteome variations associated with olive fruit development by using comparative proteomics coupled to mass spectrometry. Proteins extracted from drupes at three different developmental stages were separated on 2-DE and subjected to image analysis. 247 protein spots were revealed as differentially accumulated. Proteins were identified from a total of 121 spots and discussed in relation to olive drupe metabolic changes occurring during fruit development. In order to evaluate if changes observed at the protein level were consistent with changes of mRNAs, proteomic data produced in the present work were compared with transcriptomic data elaborated during previous studies.This study identifies a number of proteins responsible for quality traits of cv. Coratina, with particular regard to proteins associated to the metabolism of fatty acids, phenolic and aroma compounds. Proteins involved in fruit photosynthesis have been also identified and their pivotal contribution in oleogenesis has been discussed. To date, this study represents the first characterization of the olive fruit proteome during development, providing new insights into fruit metabolism and oil accumulation process