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Northeastern Brazil (northeastern + brazil)
Selected AbstractsMestizaje and Law Making in Indigenous Identity Formation in Northeastern Brazil: "After the Conflict Came the History"AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 4 2004JAN HOFFMAN FRENCH In this article, I explore issues of authenticity, legal discourse, and local requirements of belonging by considering the recent surge of indigenous recognitions in northeastern Brazil. I investigate how race and ethnicity are implicated in the recognition process in Brazil on the basis of an analysis of a successful struggle for indigenous identity and access to land by a group of mixed-race, visibly, African-descended rural workers. I propose that the debate over mestizaje (ethnoracial and cultural mixing) in the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America can be reconfigured and clarified by broadening it to include such Brazilian experiences. I argue that the interaction between two processes,law making and indigenous identity formation,is crucial to understanding how the notion of "mixed heritage" is both reinforced and disentangled. As such, this article is an illustration of the role of legal discourse in the constitution of indigenous identities and it introduces northeastern Brazil into the global discussion of law, indigenous rights, and claims to citizenship. [source] Group-specific component (GC) in curiaú and pacoval, two african-derived brazilian populationsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2001Silviene Fabiana De Oliveira The group-specific component (GC) system is of interest in anthropological genetic studies because the distribution of its subtypes distinguishes among major ethnic groups. The GC system was analyzed in Curiaú and Pacoval, two remnant Quilombo populations (African-derived populations) from the Brazilian Amazon. There was no significant statistical difference in allelic frequencies between the two populations or between them and three other African-derived Brazilian populations (Mimbó, Sítio Velho, and Gaucinha in Northeastern Brazil). These populations share similarities among themselves and with African populations (high frequencies of GC*1F and lower frequencies of GC*1S), which may reflect the influence of a high level of African contribution to their formation, but there is a clear difference between them and Europeans and South American Indians. It is suggested that the GC system is a useful marker for studying relationships between single populations and major ethnic groups, but does not discriminate between populations which share the same parental stock. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:718,720, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Effects of a herbal gel containing carvacrol and chalcones on alveolar bone resorption in rats on experimental periodontitisPHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue 4 2008Marco Antonio Botelho Abstract Carvacrol and dimeric chalcones are the respective bioactive components of Lippia sidoides and Myracrodruon urundeuva, popular medicinal plants of Northeastern Brazil with proven antimicrobial and antiinflammatory properties. Periodontal disease is associated with inflammation and microbiological proliferation, thus the study aimed to investigate the effect of a topical gel based on carvacrol and chalcones in the experimental periodontal disease (EPD) in rats. Animals were treated with carvacrol and/or chalcones gel, immediately after EPD induction, three times a day for 11 days. Appropriate controls were included in the study. Animals were weighed daily. They were killed on day 11, the mandibles dissected and alveolar bone loss was measured. The periodontium were examined at histopathology and the neutrophil influx into the gingiva was assayed using myeloperoxidase activity. The bacterial flora were assessed through culture of the gingival tissue. Alveolar bone loss was significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited by combined carvacrol and chalcones gel, compared with the vehicle and non-treated groups. The treatment with the combined gel reduced tissue lesion at histopathology, decreased myeloperoxidase activity in gingival tissue and inhibited the growth of oral microorganisms as well as the weight loss. Carvacrol and chalcones combination gel has a beneficial effect upon EPD in this model. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Dancing for Land: Law-Making and Cultural Performance in Northeastern BrazilPOLAR: POLITICAL AND LEGAL ANTHROPOLOGY REVIEW, Issue 1 2002Jan Hoffman French First page of article [source] Passive Restoration in Biodiversity Hotspots: Consequences for an Atlantic Rainforest Lizard TaxoceneBIOTROPICA, Issue 3 2010Agustín Camacho Guerrero ABSTRACT Long-term conservation in biodiversity hotspots depends on the recovery of communities in secondary forest fragments. In most cases, however, recovery strategies for these areas are based only on passive restoration. It is therefore necessary to determine the efficiency of such strategies. In this study, we assess the efficiency of passive restoration on a 567-ha 28-yr-old fragment of Atlantic Rainforest in Northeastern Brazil. We measured richness, composition, abundance and biomass of a lizard taxocene and also vegetation structure and availability of several microhabitat descriptors in 18 plots of this secondary forest. We then compared them with measures in 29 plots from two neighboring reference sites. Species richness, abundance, biomass and microhabitat descriptors availability inside the secondary fragment did not differ from reference sites. However, composition and vegetation structure showed small differences. Some forest specialist lizards, which should be a focus of conservation efforts in fragmented landscapes of the Atlantic Rainforest, were not found in the fragment and data indicate that this was not due to sampling or a lack of suitable habitat or microhabitat. In the presence of preserved source sites, passive restoration may be a cheap and effective way to recover lizard taxocenes of the Atlantic Rainforest. Some of the species may need to be re-introduced to accelerate the full recovery of original composition of lizard taxocenes in secondary Atlantic Rainforests. Abstract in Portuguese is available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/btp [source] Population ecology of cave armoured catfish, Ancistrus cryptophthalmus Reis 1987, from central Brazil (Siluriformes: Loricariidae)ECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH, Issue 2 2007E. Trajano Abstract,,, The population ecology of Ancistrus cryptophthalmus (Reis 1987) was studied by mark,recapture technique in caves from the São Domingos karst area, State of Goiás, northeastern Brazil. Total population sizes estimated for Angélica and Passa Três Caves were 20,000 and 1000 individuals, respectively. Densities around 1.0 individuals per m2 in Angélica, Bezerra and São Vicente I Streams, and 0.6 individuals per m2 in the smaller Passa Três Stream may be considered high for cavefish standards, as well as for epigean loricariids. As expected for benthic grazers, cave catfish are highly sedentary. The distribution of size classes did not differ among caves and within the same cave throughout the studied dry seasons; on the contrary, the condition factor decreased throughout this period probably because of the progressive depletion of organic matter available as food. Low proportions of mature individuals, low growth rates (average = 0.5 mm month,1) with cases of negative growth and high longevities (8,10 years) point to a precocial lifestyle, typical of troglobitic species. [source] Late-glacial and Holocene vegetation, climate and fire dynamics in the Serra dos Órgãos, Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern BrazilGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2010HERMANN BEHLING Abstract We present a high-resolution pollen and charcoal record of a 218 cm long sediment core from the Serra dos Órgãos, a subrange of the coastal Serra do Mar, located at 2130 m altitude in campos de altitude (high elevation grass- and shrubland) vegetation near Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil to reconstruct past vegetation, climate and fire dynamics. Based on seven AMS 14C ages, the record represents at least the last 10 450 14C yr bp (12 380 cal years bp), The uppermost region was naturally covered by campos de altitude throughout the recorded period. Diverse montane Atlantic rain forest (ARF) occurred close to the studied peat bog at the end of the Late-glacial period. There is evidence of small Araucaria angustifolia populations in the study area as late as the early Holocene, after which point the species apparently became locally extinct. Between 10 380 and 10 170 14C yr bp (12 310,11 810 cal yr bp), the extent of campos de altitude was markedly reduced as montane ARF shifted rapidly upward to higher elevations, reflecting a very wet and warm period (temperatures similar to or warmer than present day) at the end of the Younger Dryas (YD) chronozone. This is in opposition to the broadly documented YD cooling in the northern Hemisphere. Reduced cross-equatorial heat transport and movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone over northeastern Brazil may explain the YD warming. Markedly extended campos de altitude vegetation indicates dry climatic conditions until about 4910 14C yr bp (5640 cal yr bp). Later, wetter conditions are indicated by reduced high elevation grassland and the extension of ARF into higher elevation. Fire frequency was high during the early Holocene but decreased markedly after about 7020 14C yr bp (7850 cal yr bp). [source] The Pacific,South American modes and their downstream effectsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 10 2001Kingtse C. Mo Abstract There are two pervasive modes of atmospheric variability in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) that influence circulation and rainfall anomalies over South America. They appear as leading empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) of 500-hPa height or 200-hPa streamfunction anomalies and are found from intraseasonal to decadal time scales. Both patterns exhibit wave 3 hemispheric patterns in mid to high latitudes, and a well-defined wave train with large amplitude in the Pacific,South American (PSA) sector. Therefore, they are referred to as the PSA modes (PSA1 and PSA2). PSA1 is related to sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) over the central and eastern Pacific at decadal scales, and it is the response to El Niño,Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the interannual band. The associated rainfall summer pattern shows rainfall deficits over northeastern Brazil and enhanced rainfall over southeastern South America similar to rainfall anomalies during ENSO. PSA2 is associated with the quasi-biennial component of ENSO, with a period of 22,28 months and the strongest connections occur during the austral spring. The associated rainfall pattern shows a dipole pattern with anomalies out of phase between the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) extending from central South America into the Atlantic and the subtropical plains centred at 35°S. These two modes are also apparent in tropical intraseasonal oscillations for both summer and winter. Eastward propagation of enhanced convection from the Indian Ocean through the western Pacific to the central Pacific is accompanied by a wave train that appears to originate in the convective regions. The positive PSA1 pattern is associated with enhanced convection over the Pacific from 150°E to the date line. The convection pattern associated with PSA2 is in quadrature with that of PSA1. Both PSA modes are influenced by the Madden Julian Oscillation and influence rainfall over South America. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Reproduction in Bagre marinus (Ariidae) off Pernambuco, northeastern BrazilJOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY, Issue 3 2006P. Pinheiro Summary Throughout 1997, the catches of artisanal gillnetters working off the coast of northeastern Brazil were sampled monthly for Bagre marinus (Mitchill 1815). Significantly more females (n = 207) than males (n = 82) were caught, although there was no significant difference in their size compositions (21,47 cm fork length, FL). All males sampled (21,40 cm FL) had developed gonads and were classified as sexually mature. According to macroscopic and microscopic examination of their reproductive tract, females were separated into four reproductive stages (immature, maturing, mature, and resting). Size at 50% sexual maturity for females was estimated to be 33 cm FL. A positive linear relationship was detected between the size of mature females and their fecundity (between 11 and 32 oocytes). Clear reproductive progress indicated a spawning period between March and May. We conclude that further fishery-independent data are required to determine patterns of male abundances and distributions. [source] AMINO ACID COMPOSITION OF SOME BRAZILIAN SEAWEED SPECIESJOURNAL OF FOOD BIOCHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2000MÁRCIO VIANA RAMOS Fourteen common seaweed species from northeastern Brazil were examined for protein content and amino acid composition. Protein content varied greatly among the species, ranging from 2.30% (dry weight basis) in Corallina offlcinalis to 25.60%, in Amansia multifida. The species Amansia multifida, Caulerpa sertularioides. Enantiocladia dupcrreyi, Solieria filiformis and Vidalia obtusiloba had protein levels comparable to those of many edible legume seeds, above 18%. They showed high levels of acidic amino acids and reasonable levels of essential amino acids, with methionine being the first limiting amino acid for most of the species. The exceptions were Sargassum vulgare that had a very high content of methionine and Caulerpa sertularioides in which lysine is the first limiting amino acid and methionine the second limiting one. All species are rich in phenylalanine/tyrosine and threonine, and six are very good sources of lysine. The potential use of these species as food and/or feed is discussed. [source] PRESERVATION OF "UMBU" (SPONDIAS TUBEROSA ARRUDA CÂMARA) PULP IN THE GREEN STAGE OF MATURATION BY COMBINED METHODSJOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION, Issue 3 2007ELIDA CONCEIÇÃO JORGE ABSTRACT "Umbu" (Spondias tuberosa Arruda Câmara) is a typical fruit from northeastern Brazil of considerable economic importance to this region, because several products are derived from it and commercialized, especially the pulp, which can be used as a raw material for preserves and juices. The objective of this research was to study the preservation of umbu in the green stage of maturation by combined methods, including heat treatment and the addition of preservatives and sucrose. The pulps were blanched, pasteurized and mixed with the preservatives and sucrose according to a complete factorial design with three variables (ratio pulp/sucrose, potassium sorbate and sodium metabisulfite), two levels and two repetitions. The products were filled into high-density polyethylene packages and exposed to a temperature of 40C for 120 days. Physicochemical, color and chemical (SO2) analyses showed that the concentrations of sodium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate used did not significantly alter product quality. The addition of sucrose significantly decreased the water activity and led to intense browning. The microbiological evaluations showed good product stability for 120 days. The overall results indicated that the heat treatment applied was effective if high levels of hygiene were maintained during the preparatory stages and the packaging materials were well sanitized. The combined preservation methods appear to be an economic way to preserve these high-acid pulps. [source] A Streamflow Forecasting Framework using Multiple Climate and Hydrological Models,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 4 2009Paul J. Block Abstract:, Water resources planning and management efficacy is subject to capturing inherent uncertainties stemming from climatic and hydrological inputs and models. Streamflow forecasts, critical in reservoir operation and water allocation decision making, fundamentally contain uncertainties arising from assumed initial conditions, model structure, and modeled processes. Accounting for these propagating uncertainties remains a formidable challenge. Recent enhancements in climate forecasting skill and hydrological modeling serve as an impetus for further pursuing models and model combinations capable of delivering improved streamflow forecasts. However, little consideration has been given to methodologies that include coupling both multiple climate and multiple hydrological models, increasing the pool of streamflow forecast ensemble members and accounting for cumulative sources of uncertainty. The framework presented here proposes integration and offline coupling of global climate models (GCMs), multiple regional climate models, and numerous water balance models to improve streamflow forecasting through generation of ensemble forecasts. For demonstration purposes, the framework is imposed on the Jaguaribe basin in northeastern Brazil for a hindcast of 1974-1996 monthly streamflow. The ECHAM 4.5 and the NCEP/MRF9 GCMs and regional models, including dynamical and statistical models, are integrated with the ABCD and Soil Moisture Accounting Procedure water balance models. Precipitation hindcasts from the GCMs are downscaled via the regional models and fed into the water balance models, producing streamflow hindcasts. Multi-model ensemble combination techniques include pooling, linear regression weighting, and a kernel density estimator to evaluate streamflow hindcasts; the latter technique exhibits superior skill compared with any single coupled model ensemble hindcast. [source] An appraisal of the Serra da Cangalha impact structure using the Euler deconvolution methodMETEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 8 2005A. Adekunle ADEPELUMI The efficacy of the method has been evaluated using the aeromagnetic data obtained over the Serra da Cangalha impact crater, northeastern Brazil. The analyses of the data have provided characteristic Euler deconvolution signatures and structural indices associated with impact craters. Also, through the interpretation of the computed Euler solutions, our understanding of the structural features present around the impact structure has been enhanced. The Euler solutions obtained indicate shallow magnetic sources that are interpreted as possibly post-impact faults and a circular structure. The depth of these magnetic sources varies between 0.8 and 2.5 km, while the Precambrian basement depth was found at ,1.5 km. This is in good agreement with the estimates of the Precambrian basement depth of about 1.1 km, calculated using aeromagnetic data. The reliability of the depth solutions obtained through the implementation of the Euler method was confirmed through the use of the existing information available in the area and the result of previous studies. We find that the Euler depth solutions obtained in this study are consistent with the results obtained using other methods. [source] Description of a new species of Paratubana Young from northeastern Brazil with taxonomic and distributional notes on the genus (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Cicadellinae)MITTEILUNGEN AUS DEM MUSEUM FUER NATURKUNDE IN BERLIN-DEUTSCHE ENTOMOLOGISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT, Issue 2 2003T. T. Mauro Abstract Paratubana albomaculata, a new species from NE. Brazil (Alagoas State), is described and illustrated. The new species is closely related to P. vittifacies (Signoret) (BE. Brazil) and P. webbi Cavichioli (NE. Brazil), from both of which it can be distinguished mainly by the male genital characteristics. Taxonomic notes comparing the new taxon with the other six known species of the South American genus Paratubana Young are given. A key to males of the seven species is included. Data on the known distribution of these species, including a map, are also provided. The genus Paratubana is newly recorded from Alagoas State. [source] Mestizaje and Law Making in Indigenous Identity Formation in Northeastern Brazil: "After the Conflict Came the History"AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 4 2004JAN HOFFMAN FRENCH In this article, I explore issues of authenticity, legal discourse, and local requirements of belonging by considering the recent surge of indigenous recognitions in northeastern Brazil. I investigate how race and ethnicity are implicated in the recognition process in Brazil on the basis of an analysis of a successful struggle for indigenous identity and access to land by a group of mixed-race, visibly, African-descended rural workers. I propose that the debate over mestizaje (ethnoracial and cultural mixing) in the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America can be reconfigured and clarified by broadening it to include such Brazilian experiences. I argue that the interaction between two processes,law making and indigenous identity formation,is crucial to understanding how the notion of "mixed heritage" is both reinforced and disentangled. As such, this article is an illustration of the role of legal discourse in the constitution of indigenous identities and it introduces northeastern Brazil into the global discussion of law, indigenous rights, and claims to citizenship. [source] Morality in the religious marketplace: Evangelical Christianity, Candomblé, and the struggle for moral distinction in BrazilAMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST, Issue 2 2010STEPHEN SELKA ABSTRACT Most of the research on the growth of evangelical Christianity in Latin America and elsewhere has focused on the distinctive products that evangelicals bring to the "religious marketplace" and on other competitive advantages that evangelical churches have over their religious rivals. Alternatively, on the basis of research among evangelical Christians and practitioners of African-derived Candomblé in northeastern Brazil, I examine the role of discourses about morality in encounters between two religions that, although often openly hostile to one another, draw adherents from similar socioeconomic circumstances. I argue that competing religious discourses play a central role in struggles for moral distinction in communities that are relatively homogeneous in terms of their social compositions. [Brazil, religion, Candomblé, Christianity, morality] [source] "Zuzu" strikes again,Morphological affinities of the early holocene human skeleton from Toca dos Coqueiros, Piaui, BrazilAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Mark Hubbe Abstract The Serra da Capivara National Park in northeastern Brazil is one of the richest archaeological regions in South America. Nonetheless, so far only two paleoindian skeletons have been exhumed from the local rockshelters. The oldest one (9870 ± 50 BP; CAL 11060 ± 50), uncovered in Toca dos Coqueiros and known as "Zuzu," represents a rare opportunity to explore the biological relationships of paleoindian groups living in northeastern Brazil. As previously demonstrated, South and Central America Paleoindians present skull morphology distinct from the one found nowadays in Amerindians and similar to Australo-Melanesians. Here we test the hypothesis that Zuzu shows higher morphological affinity with Paleoindians. However, Zuzu is a controversial skeleton since previous osteological assessments have disagreed on several aspects, especially regarding its sex. Thus, we compared Zuzu to males and females independently. Morphological affinities were assessed through clustering of principal components considering 18 worldwide populations and through principal components analysis of the individual dispersion of five key regions for America's settlement. The results obtained do not allow us to refute the hypothesis, expanding the known geographical dispersion of the Paleoindian morphology into northeast Brazil. To contribute to the discussion regarding Zuzu's sex, a new estimation is presented based on visual inspection of cranial and post-cranial markers, complemented by a discriminant analysis of its morphology in relation to the paleoindian sample. The results favor a male classification and are consistent with the mortuary offerings found in the burial, yet do not agree with a molecular determination. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Spatial Distribution Patterns of Jumping Spiders Associated with Terrestrial BromeliadsBIOTROPICA, Issue 4 2004Gustavo Q. Romero ABSTRACT The jumping spiders Eustiromastix native, Psecas sumptuosus, and Uspachus sp. n. (Salticidae) live on terrestrial bro-meliads in areas with different phytophysiognomies in southeastern and northeastern Brazil. To understand these spider,plant interactions, we investigated if (1) these spiders were associated specifically with bromeliads, (2) the spiders utilized particular bromeliad species, and (3) plant size and density of bromeliads affected spider distribution. The jumping spiders were not found outside bromeliads, indicating a strict spider,plant association. Eustiromastix and Uspachus occupied bromeliads in open areas, whereas Psecas was found on forest bromeliads. Eustiromastix occurred at a higher frequency on larger bromeliads and in patches with higher bromeliad density. This is one of the few studies to demonstrate specific relationships between jumping spiders and a particular plant type. RESUMO As aranhas saltadoras Eustiromastix native, Psecas sumptuosus e Uspachus sp. n. (Salticidae) vivem sobre bromélias terrestres em áreas com diferentes fitofisionomias no sudeste e nordeste do Brasil. Para compreender estas interaçóes aranha-planta, nós investigamos se (1) estas aranhas estavam associadas especificamente a bromélias, (2) as aranhas utilizam espécies particulares de bromélias e (3) tamanho e densidade das bromélias afetam a distribuiçáo das aranhas. As aranhas saltadoras não foram encontradas fora das bromélias, indicando uma associaçáo estrita entre aranha e planta. Eustiromastix e Uspachus ocuparam bromelias em areas abertas enquanto Psecas foi encontrada em bromélias de floresta. Eustiromastix ocorreu em maior freqüéncia sobre bromélias maiores e em manchas com maior densidade de bromélias. Este estudo é um dos poucos a demonstrar relaço,es especificas entre aranhas saltadoras e um tipo particular de planta. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||