RCAAP Repository

Abstract Allometric growth of chelae dimensions was analyzed to assess the average size at the onset of morphometric maturity (ASOMM) and sexual dimorphism regarding the pair of chelae in the Aegla castro. Both adult males and females are heterochelous with the most robust chela occurring predominantly on the left side. Both chelae are larger in males than they are in females of similar size, thus characterizing these structures as sexually dimorphic traits. The ASOMM estimated for males and females were 10.91 and 10.03 mm of carapace length (CL), respectively. The increase in variability of chelae dimensions in post-pubertal males led to the recognition of two morphotypes (I and II). Temporal variation in the proportions of morphotype II males in relation to females showing late ovarian development was synchronous, making the sexually functional nature of these males evident. The average size at the onset of functional maturity (ASOFM) estimated for males (based on the transition from morphotype I to morphotype II) and females (based on the detection of late ovarian development or eggs) were 17.12 and 12.59 mm of CL, respectively. Ovigerous females were sampled from April through August 2007, characterizing a marked seasonal reproductive period lasting for 5 months.

OBJECTIVE: To assess safety, feasibility, and the results of early exercise testing in patients with chest pain admitted to the emergency room of the chest pain unit, in whom acute myocardial infarction and high-risk unstable angina had been ruled out. METHODS: A study including 1060 consecutive patients with chest pain admitted to the emergency room of the chest pain unit was carried out. Of them, 677 (64%) patients were eligible for exercise testing, but only 268 (40%) underwent the test. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients studied was 51.7±12.1 years, and 188 (70%) were males. Twenty-eight (10%) patients had a previous history of coronary artery disease, 244 (91%) had a normal or unspecific electrocardiogram, and 150 (56%) underwent exercise testing within a 12-hour interval. The results of the exercise test in the latter group were as follows: 34 (13%) were positive, 191 (71%) were negative, and 43 (16%) were inconclusive. In the group of patients with a positive exercise test, 21 (62%) underwent coronary angiography, 11 underwent angioplasty, and 2 underwent myocardial revascularization. In a univariate analysis, type A/B chest pain (definitely/probably anginal) (p<0.0001), previous coronary artery disease (p<0.0001), and route 2 (patients at higher risk) correlated with a positive or inconclusive test (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: In patients with chest pain and in whom acute myocardial infarction and high-risk unstable angina had been ruled out, the exercise test proved to be feasible, safe, and well tolerated.

Abstract The aim of this study was to characterize the pattern of gastropod shell occupation in the field and selection of shell size and type under laboratory conditions by the hermit crab Pagurus criniticornis (Dana, 1852), inhabiting the infralittoral area of Anchieta Island, São Paulo, Brazil. Hermit crabs were obtained monthly during 1999 by SCUBA diving. For experiments under laboratory conditions, samplings were performed in 2002. The hermit crabs occupied 16 species of gastropods shells. Cerithium atratum (Born, 1778) was the most occupied shell (89.31%), followed by Morula nodulosa (4.73%) (Adams, 1845). No difference was observed in the pattern of occupation between males and females. The equations that best demonstrated the relationship between hermit crabs and their shells were those that involved Shell Wet Weight (SWW) and Shell Internal Volume (SIV). The laboratory experiments were in accordance to the pattern of occupation observed in the field; the mean value of SAI (Shell Adequacy Index) recorded to the population studied was 1.13 with a trend to increase this value in the last size classes. The results obtained corroborate with the hypothesis of the occupation process of shells governed not only by availability of shells, but also by its architecture. In addition, the shell stock in the area is one another important condition related to the exhibited pattern of shell occupation by P. criniticornis, and allows the stable coexistence among the island assemblage. The pattern of occupation observed promotes a high reproductive profile for the population studied, maximizing the populational growth.

OBJECTIVE: To assess survival of patients undergoing cerebral cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers and to identify prognostic factors for short-term survival. METHODS: Prospective study with patients undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers. RESULTS: The study included 150 patients. Spontaneous circulation was re-established in 88 (58%) patients, and 42 (28%) were discharged from the hospital. The necessary number of patients treated to save 1 life in 12 months was 3.4. The presence of ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia (VF/VT) as the initial rhythm, shorter times of cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers and cardiopulmonary arrest, and greater values of mean blood pressure (BP) prior to cardiopulmonary arrest were independent variables for re-establishment of spontaneous circulation and hospital discharge. The odds ratios for hospital discharge were as follows: 6.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.7-13.6), when the initial rhythm was VF/VT; 9.4 (95% CI = 4.1-21.3), when the time of cerebral cardiopulmonary resuscitation was < 15 min; 9.2 (95% CI = 3.9-21.3), when the time of cardiopulmonary arrest was < 20 min; and 5.7 (95% CI = 2.4-13.7), when BP was > 70 mmHg. CONCLUSION: The presence of VF/VT as the initial rhythm, shorter times of cerebral cardiopulmonary resuscitation and of cardiopulmonary arrest, and a greater value of BP prior to cardiopulmonary arrest were independent variables of better prognosis.

Abstract Prof. Dr. Michael Türkay, curator of Crustacea in the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, unexpectedly passed away on 9th September 2015 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The Brazilian Crustacean Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Carcinologia ˗ SBC, in Portuguese), taking into account Michael's outstanding contribution to carcinology, his strong interest in New World decapods (Neotropical freshwater crabs in particular), and his ties with Brazilian colleagues, decided to honor his memory and legacy with a special series of publications in Nauplius, the Society's scientific journal. In the present opening article to the SBC tribute, his contributions to the study of New World decapods, particularly freshwater ones, are reviewed, and some reminiscences of the scientific partnership and friendship with the author are presented.

We report a rare case of anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary trunk in a 45-year-old woman. The approach and technique used for selective catheterization of an anomalous left coronary artery arising from the pulmonary trunk are described. Six years after diagnosis, echocardiography showed left ventricular disfunction, and surgical treatment was indicated again. The origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary trunk was closed, and the postoperative period was uneventful, with recovery of left ventricular function and disappearance of ischemic features on stress myocardial perfusion imaging with 99m Tc-sestamibi, performed 4 weeks after surgery.

Abstract Three species of the porcellanid genus Enosteoides Johnson, 1970, including a new species, are reported from the Central Philippines on the basis of material mainly collected by the PANGLAO Marine Biodiversity Project 2004. Enosteoides lobatus Osawa, 2009 and E. palauensis (Nakasone and Miyake, 1968) are new to the Philippine crustacean fauna. Enosteoides turkayi n. sp. is most closely allied to E. melissa (Miyake, 1942) and E. philippinensis Dolorosa and Werding, 2014 in the shape and structure of the rostrum and chelipeds and the comparatively slender second to fourth pereopods. However, the new species is distinguished from E. melissa and E. philippinensis by the third thoracic sternite without an anteriorly produced median lobe and the carpi and propodi of the second to fourth pereopods being bright red for the most part.

A case of left atrial myxoma is reported in a 14-year-old female patient with recurrent episodes of syncope. The patient was immediately referred to the cardiologist after an inconclusive neurological investigation. Syncope is a symptom thoroughly described as being associated with heart myxomas, but its specific association with adolescence is extremely rare. The authors discuss the clinical manifestations of the disease, emphasizing the diagnostic difficulties on the basis of the unspecific symptoms. As part of the analysis a Brazilian literature review was carried out. Also, the authors experience in the surgical treatment of the heart tumors is briefly presented.

Abstract Dendrocephalus riograndensis n. sp., a new species of fairy shrimp, is described from a single temporary pool in Santa Vitória do Palmar, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Males are readily separated from all other DendrocephalusDaday, 1908species by the form of the frontal appendage and the form of the first thoracopods. This new species is most similar to Dendrocephalus goiasensis Rabet & Thiéry, 1996 and could be confused with this species. This new species appears to be endemic to Rio Grande do Sul.

Abstract We examined how the sampling technique can affect the evaluation of Minuca vocator (Herbst, 1804) population structure. We used two sampling procedures: catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) and quadrat technique (QT). Body size, size-frequency distribution, population density, juvenile recruitment rates, proportion of ovigerous females and sex ratio were compared between the sampling procedures. QT allowed us to estimate and compare crab and burrow densities. CPUE sampled both adult crabs and the largest crabs more frequently, whereas QT recorded a greater proportion of smaller crabs. CPUE underestimated the size of M. vocator populations, while density estimates obtained with QT were accurate. The proportion of juveniles was higher with QT than with CPUE, suggesting that recruitment rates estimated by QT were more suitable. The sampling effort provided by CPUE was more efficient for obtaining ovigerous-dependent information than QT. Both sampling techniques showed a predominance of males in all three M. vocator populations. The population density estimation based on burrows overestimated the natural density of M. vocator in all mangroves. Our results suggest that neither CPUE nor QT individually were accurate sampling techniques, but together provided reliable assessments of fiddler crab populations.

Abstract The morphology of the first zoeal stage of the decorator crab Macrocoeloma subparallelum (Stimpson, 1860) from Cuba is described and compared with the available descriptions for the genus. Among Macrocoeloma Miers, 1879 species, the first zoea of M. subparallelum can be differentiated only by the number of aesthetascs and setae of the antennule (4 and 2, respectively). Recently, Macrocoeloma has been placed as an incertae sedis genus in Majoidea, closely allied to other Epialtidae and Pisinae members. The distinct spine in the distal segment of the endopod of the first maxilliped in the zoeal stages of Macrocoeloma is similar to what we observe in other Epialtidae genera, a character that supports the recent phylogenetic findings.

Abstract Cladoceran males are not very frequent in natural populations, since they are only produced in stress situations. Thus, only a few species have had the male morphology described. Nevertheless, whenever data concerning the morphology of males is available, they are used as a tool to resolve taxonomic problems. In this study, the morphology of Coronatella paulinae Sousa, Elmoor-Loureiro and Santos, 2015 (Cladocera: Chydoridae) was described and compared to other species within the genus. Coronatella paulinae shares the diagnostic morphological traits typically attributed to the genus: (1) gonopores opening ventrally, subapically to the postabdominal claw; (2) marginal setulae arranged in groups on the postanal margin; (3) Inner Distal Lobe (IDL) armed with three setae, of which one is the male seta. The absence of lateral aesthetascs on male antennules might also be an important diagnostic character for the genus, since they are present in other Aloninae groups. Coronatella paulinae males present a unique combination of morphological traits on the postabdomen, which distinguish them from other Coronatella Dybowsky and Grochowski, 1894 species, such as a marked postanal angle and an almost straight basal spine, longer than the mid-length of the postabdominal claw.

Abstract In the present paper, a new species of Achaeus Leach, 1817, is described from Easter Island and dedicated to the memory of Michael Türkay. This record represents the first inachid spider crab and the sixth endemic brachyuran to be described from the island. It can be differentiated from congeners by its relatively short carapace, with the postorbital region not elongated, the arrangement and number of tubercles on the dorsal carapace surface, prominent hepatic lobe, presence of a large anterodistal lobe on the ocular peduncle, as well as structures of the third maxilliped and ambulatory legs.

ABSTRACT Larvae of stomatopods (mantis shrimps) are generally categorized into four larval types: antizoea, pseudozoea (both representing early larval stages), alima and erichthus (the latter two representing later larval stages). These categories, however, do not reflect the existing morphological diversity of stomatopod larvae, which is largely unstudied. We describe here four previously unknown larval types with extreme morphologies. All specimens were found in the collections of the Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen and were collected during the Danish Dana Expedition round the world 1928-30. These new larval types all represent erichthus-type larvae, especially differing in their shield morphologies. The shield morphology ranges from almost spherical to rather disc-like, with sometimes extremely elongated spines, but only a general systematic assignment of the larvae was possible. Further investigations of these larvae are crucial to understand their life habits and ecological impact, especially as stomatopod and other crustacean larvae might have a much more important position in the marine ecosystems than their corresponding adults.

ABSTRACT The morphology of the first zoeal stage of Domecia acanthophora (Desbonne, in Desbonne & Schramm, 1867) was described from laboratory-hatched material obtained from ovigerous females collected at Vitória Island on the southeastern Brazilian coast. We compared the larval morphology (zoea I) of fourteen species of the superfamily Trapezioidea, which Domecia glabra Alcock, 1899 is the only congeneric representative of the species described in this study. The morphological characteristics of the first zoea that distinguish D. acanthophora from D. glabra are: three aesthetascs on the exopod antennule; three pairs of lateral spines on carapace; bilobed basial endite of maxilla, with four plumodenticulate setae on each lobe; and telson furcae distally spinulated. It also provides information that may enhance some phylogenetic hypotheses within Trapezioidea crabs.

ABSTRACT We investigated the infestation by Octolasmis lowei Darwin, 1851 in branchial chambers of the portunid Achelous spinimanus (Latreille, 1819), Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818), Callinectes danae Smith, 1869, and Callinectes ornatus Ordway, 1863. We evaluated how infestation is related to host maturity, molt stage, carapace width and sex. The infestation probability increases with host carapace width, and infested crabs were more likely to be adults in intermolt stage. Infestation prevalence did not differ between sexes, except for C. ornatus, in which females had higher infestation than males. Infestation intensity was higher for males than females in A. cribrarius and A. spinimanus, while C. ornatus showed an opposite pattern. Association of O. lowei with portunid seems to be tightly related to the biological traits of its host. Some of these traits, such as host size, maturity and molt stage, are likely to affect infestation in a similar way for all host species, while the effect of other traits, such as sex identity, seems to vary among hosts. We suggest a deeper understanding of the factors driving host use by generalist epibionts such as O. lowei depends on investigating their occurrence on a variety of potential hosts, as well as performing manipulative studies to evaluate the factors driving host preferences by this epibiont.

Abstract The spatio-temporal distribution of juveniles of the pink shrimps Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis (Latreille, 1817) and Farfantepenaeus paulensis (Pérez-Farfante, 1967) in the Ubatuba region (SP) was investigated. Sampling was performed in the bays of Ubatumirim (UBM), Ubatuba (UBA) and Mar Virado (MV). A total of 2,018 F. brasiliensis and F. paulensis were collected. The largest catch of juveniles of both species occurred in UBA (N = 867), followed by UBM (N = 729) and MV (N= 422). The bottom sediment in MV had the highest silt and clay content, which explains the negative correlation of the substrate with the abundance of both species. Temperature was positively correlated with the abundance of both species. Juveniles were highly abundant in shallower areas in the summer of 1998. The high rainfall in this El Niño period may have lowered the salinity in estuarine waters and led the shrimps to move to coastal areas in search of higher salinities such as in bays. With this unusually early reduction in salinity, individuals migrated to the bay before the closed season began and thus became more exposed to fishing. We confirmed that monitoring environmental variations, especially in El Niño years, is essential for understanding the distribution patterns of juveniles of both species.

Abstract Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862) is the third most common species caught by fishing boats in the state of São Paulo, Brazil and production of this shrimp in the Cananéia region located on the southern coast of this state ranks second in the nation. The aim of this study was to investigate the temporal variation of the total biomass and size of X. kroyeri and analyze this variation against environmental factors in order to suggest some information about the best periods to fish this species. Samples were caught monthly from four sampling stations in Cananéia between July 2012 and June 2014 using a fishing boat equipped with otter-trawl nets. Temperature and salinity were monitored using a multiparameter probe, and sediment samples were also taken using a Van Veen-type gripper for particle size analysis. The shrimp were weighed, quantified, and carapace length was measured (mm). In general, the highest total biomass values were recorded when the fishery was closed in the southeast and south regions, and the highest catch of smaller individuals was also observed during this period. In contrast, in November 2013 the fishing is permitted and high biomass composed of large individuals was observed. The monthly biomass showed a positive relationship with sediment texture, because this species prefers very fine sediments to burrow as a defense against predators.

Abstract A new species of the freshwater crab genus Sundathelphusa Bott, 1969 is described from the Indonesian island of Lombok. Sundathelphusa tuerkayi, new species, appears to be most closely related to Sundathelphusa aruana (Roux, 1911), which is known for certain only from the Aru Islands, but differs from it and all other congeners by a unique combination of morphological characters. The new crab hosts a small ectosymbiotic temnocephalid flatworm, possibly belonging to the genus Temnosewellia Damborenea and Cannon, 2001 (Platyhelminthes: Temnocephalida).

Abstract This study aimed to characterize the population dynamics of Hyalella bonariensis Bond-Buckup, Araujo & Santos, 2008 from headwater spring in a rural area of state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Four samples were collected in August (winter) and October (spring) of 2012 and January (summer) and April (autumn) of 2013. Ovigerous females and precopula pairs were separated from other individual in the field. A total of 5,266 specimens were sampled, being 1,878 males, 2,073 females (including 240 ovigerous females) and 1,315 juveniles. The frequency distribution of size classes (measured as cephalothorax length, CL) was polymodal and bimodal in males and females, respectively. Males reach larger size than females. Sexual maturity of males and females was estimated at 0.40 and 0.38 mm for CL, respectively. Total sex ratio favored females, and these were more frequent in intermediate size classes, while males were more frequent in larger size classes. Ovigerous females and couples were found in four seasons, but both were more abundant in winter. Juveniles were also found in all seasons, being more frequent in winter and spring. These results showed that this H. bonariensis population has similar dynamics to other species of Hyalella Smith, 1874 from Brazil, but present variations when compared to other freshwater amphipods.