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This article defines the spatial configuration of the large pre-colonial site in the present-day city of Santarém on the lower Amazon, Brazil, demonstrating a settlement pattern consisting of two villages separated by a seasonal lake. The sites Aldeia (121 ha) and Porto (89 ha) form part of the largest archaeological complex found today in any urban area of Amazonia. The article describes the research methods employed, including augering, geophysical prospecting, and stratigraphic excavation, and presents the contexts of cultural occupation, as well as the chronology, which confirms the contemporaneity of these sites between a.d. 1200 and 1600. Both sites are habitational, while the Aldeia site appears to have been a ceremonial center with features for depositing shamanic artifacts. The article argues that although evidence has been found for a hierarchy of sites within the region, this does not imply political centralization but rather situates the Aldeia site as a place of ritual convergence, thus pointing to other ways of thinking about social complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceramic sherds from approximately 20 samples of lead-glazed tableware, recovered from diverse archaeological sites, including three repurposed storage pits transformed into dumpsters within the medieval city of Santarém (13th–14th century), underwent a meticulous examination. This investigation utilised techniques such as micro-Raman, ground-state diffuse reflectance absorption, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopies, in addition to X-ray diffraction and stereomicroscopy. A parallel study was conducted on contemporaneous European ceramics (glazed sherds) sourced from archaeological sites dating back to the 13th–15th centuries in Saintonge (France), Ardenne, Zomergem, and Bruges (Belgium), as well as Surrey–Hampshire, Kingston, and Cheam (England). The first premise for comparing the Santarem samples with European production locations was their frequent commercial relations with Portugal and the frequency of these productions being found in Portugal. The colour of the ceramic bodies is predominantly white or whitish, with a few exhibiting a vivid red hue. Analyses of the fabric, mineralogical, and elemental composition of the sherds suggest that the majority of Santarém’s glazed ceramics were locally or regionally produced, potentially derived from a Pliocene kaolin-rich sand formation. However, this conclusion is not supported by the absence of discovered lead glaze kilns or workshops in Santarém for the late Middle Ages.

Ceramic sherds from approximately 20 samples of lead-glazed tableware, recovered from diverse archaeological sites, including three repurposed storage pits transformed into dumpsters within the medieval city of Santarém (13th–14th century), underwent a meticulous examination. This investigation utilised techniques such as micro-Raman, ground-state diffuse reflectance absorption, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopies, in addition to X-ray diffraction and stereomicroscopy. A parallel study was conducted on contemporaneous European ceramics (glazed sherds) sourced from archaeological sites dating back to the 13th–15th centuries in Saintonge (France), Ardenne, Zomergem, and Bruges (Belgium), as well as Surrey–Hampshire, Kingston, and Cheam (England). The first premise for comparing the Santarem samples with European production locations was their frequent commercial relations with Portugal and the frequency of these productions being found in Portugal. The colour of the ceramic bodies is predominantly white or whitish, with a few exhibiting a vivid red hue. Analyses of the fabric, mineralogical, and elemental composition of the sherds suggest that the majority of Santarém's glazed ceramics were locally or regionally produced, potentially derived from a Pliocene kaolin-rich sand formation. However, this conclusion is not supported by the absence of discovered lead glaze kilns or workshops in Santarém for the late Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A partir do final da década de 1990, o cultivo da soja avançou do bioma cerrado para a Amazônia, impulsionado por investimentos governamentais e privados em infraestrutura, como o porto da Cargill em Santarém (2004) e a pavimentação da BR-163 no Pará. Nos municípios de Santarém, Belterra e Mojuí dos Campos, a área de cultivo de soja aumentou de 16 mil ha em 2004 para 75 mil ha em 2020, acompanhando melhorias na infraestrutura de transporte, um fator chave na expansão da soja. Este estudo objetiva caracterizar espacialmente as mudanças nas condições viárias e seu impacto no tempo de viagem das áreas de cultivo até o porto de Santarém entre 2004 e 2020, na região Oeste do Pará. O método incluiu a geração de uma superfície de atrito e a atribuição de velocidades diferenciadas para estimar o tempo de viagem, considerando uso do solo, condições e extensão das estradas e declividade. Os resultados mostraram um aumento significativo na extensão da rede de estradas, de 2.322 km para 5.114 km, e uma redução no tempo médio de viagem de 65 minutos no período seco e 92 minutos no período chuvoso. As maiores reduções no tempo de viagem ocorreram na porção sul da área de estudo, devido à abertura de novas vicinais conectadas à BR-163. No Planalto Santareno, onde houve maior expansão da soja, a redução no tempo de viagem foi menor, refletindo uma rede viária já consolidada em 2004.

Resumo A produção de objetos em palha de tucumã é histórica em comunidades às margens do rio Arapiuns, município de Santarém, Pará, e, em 2022, esse saber-fazer foi declarado patrimônio histórico, cultural e imaterial do município. Este artigo aborda mudanças na organização social e na produção artesanal dos trançados do Arapiuns, a partir da experiência da Associação de Artesãos e Artesãs das Comunidades de Nova Pedreira, Vista Alegre e Coroca (AARTA). Entrevistas semiestruturadas, conversas informais e análise de documentos indicaram que, a partir dos anos 2000, diversas instituições passaram a atuar na região, visando à geração de renda e à preservação cultural e ambiental. Essas instituições, juntamente com artesãs, possibilitaram o intercâmbio de saberes-fazeres, as variações na tipologia e no tingimento de peças, a organização formalizada das artesãs, além de mudanças nas formas de produção e comercialização do artesanato. A organização formal do grupo, a atuação da associação e o papel desempenhado por uma artesã específica consolidaram tais mudanças. Nesse processo, a AARTA materializou a valorização do artesanato pelas próprias artesãs e tem impulsionado a colocação dessa atividade em espaços que estimam os atributos de um artesanato tradicional, com melhores preços de venda, além de divulgar e permitir seu reconhecimento enquanto patrimônio municipal.

Confederados are descendants of U.S. southerners who emigrated to southern Brazil and the Amazon region after the Civil War, where slavery was still legal. The Brazilian government covered their transportation costs and provided subsides and land grants in exchange for developing “empty” land. Much of the material written about Confederados is by descendants where discussions of slavery, slave ownership (prior to emigration or in Brazil), or the “draw” to Brazil receives little or no mention. This article threads the troubled history of Confederados in Santarém, Pará, to a global context demanding a reckoning with systemic and institutionalized racism and police violence through protests, petitions, and demands of removal of symbols of slavery, racism, and oppression and of reparations. I examine the debates and tensions concerning collective and public memory about slavery, settler colonialism and the display of the Confederate flag.

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ABSTRACT Studies on provenance of minerals in Amazonian rivers focus mostly on suspended sediments, while processes that control bottom-sediment production and distribution are still little known. We determined the provenance of the bottom sediments of Green Lake, a micro-basin draining into the Tapajós River, in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. We used X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and, cathodoluminescence techniques to analyze clay, light and heavy minerals of 22 samples. The lake is L-shaped, with 5.5 m maximum depth, and predominance of mud over sand in the center. Quartz and feldspar were dominant in the light fraction, while zircon, tourmaline, kyanite, rutile, and staurolite were dominant in the heavy fraction. The clay fraction was dominated by kaolinite, with morphology and degree of crystallinity indicative of a detrital origin related to weathering. The Alter do Chão Formation (ACF) is suggested as the main source of sand sediments and heavy minerals, due to their mineralogical and percentage similarity. The provenance of kaolinite was mainly the ACF, with a minor contribution of the Amazon and Tapajós rivers. The primary origin of the heavy minerals in the ACF indicates the basement of the Amazonas Basin as source rock and this formation as a source of sediments for Green Lake through weathering and erosion processes under current tropical conditions. The presence of Aulacoseira granulata and Aulacoseira ambigua indicates the importance of current erosive processes on sediment production.

In Santarém, as in several Portuguese historic urban centres, population decline and aging have compromised social cohesion and economic vitality, and parts of the Historic Centre have visibly deteriorated, resulting in risks to the public of crumbling façades. Sustainable development in urban areas must involve a reorientation of spatial planning policies to integrate older areas into wider urban and regional development frameworks, considering them as part of the wider territory. This paper proposes that the operationalisation of the recommendations of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach can provide robust evidence, co-produced with local communities, supporting sustainable urban planning policies, and that such an approach is wholly consistent with EU and national planning and conservation legislation. Through focusing on the values, meanings and significance of place, the processes shaping the HUL of an empirical test neighbourhood, the Mouraria in Santarém, are brought into focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sustainability in Debate / Sustentabilidade em Debate is the property of University of Brasilia, Center for Sustainable Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Durante los trabajos de campo, realizados en el área del restaurante del Jardim das Portas do Sol, se documentaron, por primera vez en Alcáçova de Santarém, niveles conservados del final de la Edad del Bronce, inmediatamente infrapuestos a los de la Edad del Hierro. Su excavación permitió recoger un conjunto de materiales cerámicos que incorpora varios fragmentos decorados por impresión e incisión, que pueden ser fácilmente relacionados con el universo cultural de Cogotas 1. Las decoraciones bruñidas con surcos en la superficie interna y con franjas al exterior son mucho menos frecuentes. El repertorio formal no difiere del conocido para el Bronce Final del centro y sur de la Península Ibérica. Los datos permiten proponer una cronologia del inicio del 1 milenio a.n.e. (siglo IX) para esta ocupación.

O presente artigo aborda a dinâmica socioambiental recente (2008/2014) dos sistemas sociais das comunidades ribeirinhas localizadas em um vasto território da fronteira aberta ao longo do Rio Arapiuns, no oeste do estado do Pará. Trata-se de um território densamente florestal que tem sido alvo, desde 2010, da política do governo do estado do Pará de fazer concessões de florestas públicas para a iniciativa privada, como parte da política florestal brasileira (Lei nº 11.284/2006). A pesquisa com as comunidades foi feita por meio da aplicação de questionários semiestruturados com a população dessas localidades. Como principais resultados, o estudo evidenciou que as dinâmicas socioambientais das comunidades ribeirinhas foram fortemente alteradas desde o início das atividades de concessão florestal na região.

Recent studies have shown that pre-Columbian societies in the Amazon undertook significant landscape modifications, including earthworks. Our fieldwork has revealed that pre-Columbian settlements in the Santarém Region, Lower Amazon, were not limited to the vicinities of permanent water courses, as formerly often assumed. Instead, numerous archaeological sites, dating from ca. a.d. 1300 up to the time of European colonization in the seventeenth century, have been found in an upland area known as the Belterra Plateau, south of the present-day city of Santarém. These upland sites have been found to be associated with particular features in the landscape: cavities or depressions, known locally as “Poços de Água”. LiDAR data shows that a pattern of non-randomly distributed depressions extends far into the densely forested Tapajós National Forest (Flona-Tapajós), allowing us to suggest that the expansion of inland settlement extended considerably farther to the south than what has previously been established through conventional archaeological fieldwork. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An ethnobotanical study was carried out for this study aimed at understanding the medicinal importance of malagueta / chili pepper (C. frutescens L.) in the daily life of the people of Cabeça D'Onça, an area in the Amazon River floodplain. The community of approximately 330 residents is situated in the municipality of Santarém, Pará State. In total, 116 people from 70 households were interviewed for this work. Information regarding the medicinal uses of these peppers was collected in semi-structured interviews and compiled in detail. In the second phase of the study, structured interviews were carried out in 40 households with 80 people (40 couples) to determine the most commonly-known uses of the peppers in the study area. Over 50% of those interviewed cited the use of the malagueta in curing certain illnesses reputed to be caused by contact with water from the Amazon River, including 'pano-branco', and 'impinge' (both diseases of the skin treated with the leaves) and rheumatism (treated with the fruit). A comparison of the data obtained in this study with published literature reveals strong indigenous influence in their medicinal use.

Este artículo explora las intervenciones bélicas de los anglonormandos durante la Tercera Cruzada en las costas portuguesas utilizando como referencia las crónicas de Ralph de Diceto y la Gesta regis Ricardi. También examina los motivos que llevaron a las múltiples intervenciones de las flotillas anglonormandas desde el punto de vista de la historiografía inglesa de las cruzadas en Oriente. Finalmente, explora la percepción contemporánea y las repercusiones de estas incursiones en la Península y la participación de cruzados nórdicos en las siguientes intervenciones en Iberia.

Assuming the existence of tick parasitism in humans in the State of Pará, an aggregate observational study was developed along a transversal line in three cities of the State, during two years. Interviews and examinations of 2,160 townspeople and tourists were carried out, without discrimination of ethnic, sex, age, or social status, and classified for effects analyzed for four bands of age, six types of activities in the society, and two sexes. Larvae, nymphs, and adults of ticks had been identified with cases of parasitism involving six species, of the genus Amblyomma, the genus Ixodes, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Anocentor nitens, and Ornithodorus talaje (the first case registered in Pará), infecting human beings. Adults and agricultural workers were most frequently attacked, followed by students. A. cajennense and R. sanguineus are the species most frequent in the parasitism affecting humans, and A. cajennense is the dominant species. The statistical prevalence was largest in Cachoeira do Arari, Ilha do Marajó. In Santarém the greatest average intensity of parasitism was for R. sanguineus, and in the other locations it wasfor A. cajennense. Agricultural workers faced the greatest risk from parasitism, and to place in practice elementary measures of prevention would reduce by 25% the number of cases.Com a hipótese de parasitismo por carrapatos em humanos no Estado do Pará, foi desenvolvido estudo observacional, agregado, transversal em três mesoregiões do Estado, durante dois anos. Foram entrevistados e examinados 2.160 munícipes, e turistas, sem discriminação étnica, de sexo, idade, e social, classificados para efeito de análises em quatro faixas de idade, seis tipos de atividades na sociedade, e dois sexos. Houve casos de parasitismo por larvas, ninfas, e adultos de carrapatos, envolvendo seis espécies do gênero Amblyomma, o gênero Ixodes, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Anocentor nitens e Ornithodorus talaje (primeiro registo para o Estado). Adultos e os trabalhadores rurais são os mais atacados, seguidos dos estudantes. A. cajennense e R. sanguineus são as espécies mais freqüentes no parasitismo de humano, e A. cajennense é a espécie dominante. A prevalência foi superior a 40% nos três municípios, e estatisticamente maior em Cachoeira do Arari, Ilha de Marajó. Em Santarém R. sanguineus teve a maior intensidade média de parasitismo, nos outros municípios foi por A. cajennense. Estar em atividade rural dobra o risco do parasitismo, e o esclarecimento da população, para colocar em prática medidas elementares de prevenção reduziria em 25% o número de casos.

OBJETIVO: Estudar associação entre excesso de peso e hábito de fumar. METODOLOGIA: Estudo transversal desenvolvido por telefone numa amostra probabilística de adultos (Santarém /PA), em 2007. Variável desfecho foi excesso de peso, explanatória hábito de fumar e de confusão idade, escolaridade, união conjugal, estado nutricional prévio, abuso de bebidas alcoólicas, atividade física no lazer e padrão alimentar. Associação entre excesso de peso e demais variáveis foi investigada pelo teste do qui-quadrado e regressão de Poisson para o cálculo das razões de prevalência de excesso de peso conforme hábito de fumar, considerando-se três níveis de hierarquia: características sociodemográficas, estado nutricional prévio e padrão comportamental. RESULTADOS: Verificou-se 40,6% de excesso de peso e 16,4% de fumantes. As variáveis associadas ao excesso de peso foram: maior idade, menor escolaridade, união conjugal estável, excesso de peso aos 20 anos e hábito de não consumo de refrigerante para ambos os sexos; não ativo no lazer para homens e hábito de fumar (atual e passado) para mulheres. As razões de prevalência de excesso de peso não apresentaram associação com hábito de fumar para homens, porém para mulheres houve tendência de maior prevalência de excesso de peso para fumantes atuais, chegando a 2,56 vezes mais do que para nunca fumantes e ex-fumantes. CONCLUSÃO: Este estudo constatou que a prevalência de excesso de peso foi maior para mulheres fumantes, comparativamente às ex-fumantes e nunca fumantes. Para os homens não se observou nenhuma associação entre excesso de peso e tabagismo.OBJECTIVE: To study the relationships between overweight and smoking habit. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was developed in a random sample (n = 944) of adults (> 18 years of age) from Santarem (state of Pará, northern Brazil) in 2007, through telephone interviews. The outcome variable was overweight and the explanatory variable, smoking habit. Confounding variables were: age, race, schooling, marital status, smoking habit, nutritional status at 20 years of age, alcohol abuse, leisure physical activity, and diet. The association between overweight and other variables was investigated by the chi-square test and Poisson regression in order to calculate crude and adjusted prevalence ratios, for overweight according to smoking habit. Three levels of hierarchy were considered: socio-demographic characteristics, nutritional status, and behavior. RESULTS: Data show 40.6% of overweight and 16.4% of smokers. Variables associated with overweight were: older age, low level of schooling, stable marital relationship, overweight at 20 years of age, and non-consumption of soft drinks for both sexes; no physical activity in leisure time for men and smoking habit (present and past) for women. Prevalence ratios of overweight were not associated with smoking habits for men, but for women there was a trend toward a higher prevalence of overweight for current smokers, reaching 2.56 times more than among never smokers and former smokers. CONCLUSION: This study showed a higher risk of overweight among women smokers, comparatively to former and never smokers. For men there was no association between overweight and smoking habit.

The Tapajós river is the main rivers of the Pará State and part of the Amazon basin is the largest world river basin, however, the population growth and development of agriculture in the region has generated the input of contaminants in this important river. The objective of this study was to evaluate the water quality of the Tapajós river in the presence of metals and physico-chemical parameters based on the CONAMA 357-05 resolution. Seven sampling stations were selected along the river in the surface, intermediate and bottom layers in low rainfall periods. The elements Ca, Mg, Al, Fe, Ba, Mn, Sr, Ti, Ag, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb and Zn were determined using the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), As was determined by ICP-AES with hydride generation, Hg was determined by cold vapor atomic absorption and the physico-chemical parameters were evaluated using various techniques. In almost all respects the elements Al and Fe are not presented in accordance with the values allowed by Brazilian legislation, with average values of 280.01 ± 294.69 ?g/L and 564.89 ± 326.5 ?g/L, respectively. There were excellent correlations between Ca and Mg, Ca and Sr, Mg and Sr, Mn and Ba, Sr and OD, Mg and OD. The Tapajós River showed high levels of Al and Fe that compromises the quality of this important river of the Amazon and can cause problems for the health of the population.

Este trabalho é uma análise preliminar da mortalidade infantil em áreas quilombolas do município de Santarém-Pará. Trata-se de uma Pesquisa Domiciliar Censitária realizada no período de março/abril de 2006, por meio de procedimentos de busca ativa de óbitos em menores de um ano de idade, com identificação de sub-registro na população das comunidades de terra firme e de várzea. Os níveis de mortalidade foram obtidos pela técnica indireta de estimação. Encontrou-se diferencial na mortalidade de menores de um ano de idade para os quilombos da área de terra firme e várzea, de 30,4 óbitos/por mil nascidos vivos e de 50,2 óbitos/por mil nascidos vivos, respectivamente. Os resultados evidenciam profundas desigualdades, na medida em que as taxas de mortalidade das comunidades quilombolas são maiores quando comparadas com as do país (27,0 óbitos/por mil nascidos vivos), da região Norte (26,2 óbitos/por mil nascidos vivos), e da população negra rural do estado do Pará (32,9 óbitos/por mil nascidos vivos). Observa-se que nenhuma das taxas de mortalidade dos quilombos alcançou níveis considerados satisfatórios quando comparadas com os parâmetros preconizados pelo Ministério da Saúde em 2005 (menos de 20 óbitos/por mil nascidos vivos). Constata-se que, enquanto a mortalidade infantil vem diminuindo no país como um todo, nos quilombos de Santarém, principalmente os da área de várzea, a probabilidade de uma criança quilombola morrer antes de completar o primeiro ano de vida é bastante elevada, superando a média nacional, regional e estadual e classificando-se como alta, conforme os critérios definidos pelo Ministério da Saúde.This paper is a preliminary analysis of the infant mortality rates in areas of quilombos (hiding places of runaway slaves) in the city of Santarém, state of Pará. It is a Domiciliary Census Research developed from March to April 2006, through procedures based on the active search of data related to deaths of children in their first year of life, including the identification of non-registered births in the populations of dry land and floodplain communities. The mortality levels were obtained through indirect estimation technique. A difference was found concerning the death of children under one year old regarding dry land and floodplain quilombo areas: 30.4 deaths / 1,000 live births and 50.2 deaths / 1,000 live births, respectively. The results of this study reveal an indisputable inequality, considering that mortality rates in these communities are much higher when compared to the country's total percentages (27 deaths / 1,000 live births). Moreover, none of the mortality rates in the quilombos has reached satisfactory levels when compared to the parameters established by the Ministry of Health in 2005 (less than 20 deaths / 1,000 live births). This paper shows that while infant mortality rates have been decreasing all over the country, in the quilombos, especially those of the floodplains, the probability that a child dies before her first birthday is high, surpassing the national, regional and state averages, and being classified as high according to the criteria established by the Ministry of Health.

A realidade de Santarém revela tanto na esfera dos processos urbano regionais como intraurbanos, que sua organização se liga a um complexo conjunto de relações que, de um lado, demonstram dinâmicas de modernização responsáveis pela definição de padrões de organização do espaço urbano diferenciados e, de outro, apontam para permanência de objetos espaciais e interações sociais ligadas a formas de organização do urbano mais tradicionais na Amazônia. Assim, falar de urbanização amazônica pressupõe entender uma forma de uso do tempo e do espaço se impondo às temporalidades e espacialidades outras construídas por contato/dependência com as dinâmicas do lugar. Buscamos com este trabalho acrescentar à discussão do urbano-regional amazônico as especificidades da urbanização de Santarém (PA), partindo de uma leitura sobre a rede urbana, para entender as funções de Santarém em termos regionais, considerando o papel que a mesma cumpre, enquanto uma cidade média, no desenvolvimento socioespacial do urbano em nível regional.

The contribution of working forests to tropical conservation and development depends upon the maintenance of ecological integrity under ongoing land use. Assessment of ecological integrity requires an understanding of the structure, composition, and function and major drivers that govern their variability. Working forests in tropical river floodplains provide many goods and services, yet the data on the ecological processes that sustain these services is scant. In flooded forests of riverside Amazonian communities, we established 46 0.1-ha plots varying in flood duration, use by cattle and water buffalo, and time since agricultural abandonment (30-90 yr). We monitored three aspects of ecological integrity (stand structure, species composition, and dynamics of trees and seedlings) to evaluate the impacts of different trajectories of livestock activity (alleviation, stasis, and intensification) over nine years. Negative effects of livestock intensification were solely evident in the forest understory, and plots alleviated from past heavy disturbance increased in seedling density but had higher abundance of thorny species than plots maintaining low activity. Stand structure, dynamics, and tree species composition were strongly influenced by the natural pulse of seasonal floods, such that the defining characteristics of integrity were dependent upon flood duration (3-200 d). Forests with prolonged floods ≥140 d had not only lower species richness but also lower rates of recruitment and species turnover relative to forests with short floods <70 d. Overall, the combined effects of livestock intensification and prolonged flooding hindered forest regeneration, but overall forest integrity was largely related to the hydrological regime and age. Given this disjunction between factors mediating canopy and understory integrity, we present a subset of metrics for regeneration and recruitment to distinguish forest condition by livestock trajectory. Although our study design includes confounded factors that preclude a definitive assessment of the major drivers of ecological change, we provide much-needed data on the regrowth of a critical but poorly studied ecosystem. In addition to its emphasis on the dynamics of tropical wetland forests undergoing anthropogenic and environmental change, our case study is an important example for how to assess of ecological integrity in working forests of tropical ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of the mercurial exposure of residents of Santarém and Oriximiná showed a differential mercurial impregnation between men and women. At the level of both cities, the mean hair mercury concentrations were 1.5 ± 0.5 (90th and 95th percentiles: 2.8 and 4.3) and 2.52 ± 0.09 μg g Hg/g (90th and 95th percentiles: 4.7 and 8.1) for women and men, respectively. The mercurial contamination appeared significantly closely linked to the daily amount of consumed fish. Carnivore species pescada branca ( Plagioscion squamosissimus) and apapá ( Pellona castelnaeana) and non-carnivore species pacú ( Mylossoma duriventre) and aracú ( Schizodon fasciatus) were consumed by 22, 19, 55 and 25 % of people, respectively, and the mean mercury concentrations within fish flesh were 1.44 ± 0.11, 1.66 ± 0.19, 0.48 ± 0.09 and 0.49 ± 0.06 μg/g dry weight, respectively. Men aged above 35 were significantly more contaminated than those below. The mean hair concentrations of men were 5.20 ± 1.25 and 1.50 ± 0.22 μg/g, for those aged above 35 and below, respectively. The probability for women of childbearing age from both cities to present a hair mercury concentration above 1 μg Hg/g (corresponding to the US Environmental Protection Agency reference dose) was equal to 0.30 (95 % confidence interval of 0.24-0.36). The probability of hair mercury concentration to be above the lowest observable adverse effect level (LOAEL) (0.3 μg Hg/g) was equal to 0.79 (95 % confidence interval: 0.73-0.86). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crossing the data collected during a archaeological intervention in the numbers 5 to 8, Rua Cinco de Outubro, in Santarém with some written sources, we present a proposal around the medieval urban landscape of the city during the centuries prior to their integration in the christian orbit and in the moments immediately following to the conquest of 1147. In this preliminary approach we intend to enable the relevance of using the increasing volume of information from the archaeological activity as a fundamental source to clarify some doubts and test current and new hypotheses related with the evolution of the cadastre in the medieval city

Este artículo es un estudio descriptivo de los aspectos epidemiológicos de 94 accidentes con escorpiones que ingresaron en el Hospital Municipal de Santarém, Pará, Brasil, en el 2008. Los resultados mostraron que la zona más afectada del Municipio con escorpionismo era rural con 80,85% de los casos, los pacientes de sexo masculino mostraron el mayor número de víctimas con 72,34%. Consta de alrededor del 42% de las bajas que presenta el grupo de 20 a 39 años fueron los más afectados con la picadura de estos animales. Las extremidades inferiores con 58,51% de los casos fue la región anatómica del cuerpo más favorable para los ataques de los escorpiones. Los resultados coinciden con presentados en otras regiones de Brasil, puede ser útil en las políticas de prevención de accidentes causados por este grupo de animales.

Abstract: Many tropical floodplain species show enhanced germination after submergence in annual flood waters. In this study, we tested seed germination response to time in water (ranging 2–84d) among Amazonian floodplain species. To test seed response to short-term saturation, seeds from ten flood-tolerant woody species were air-dried or placed in water (i.e., saturated) for 45h before germination. Germination rates varied across species, achieving 50% germination in 12–58d among saturated seeds and 2–84d among air-dry seeds. Short-term saturation enhanced germination of the five shade-tolerant species by 14–100%. Three light-demanding species (Pseudobombax, Cordia, and Vitex) increased germination by 3–48% following air-drying. Cecropia and Laetia had poor germination in germination chambers (<20%), but Cecropia doubled germination rates in sunlit shade houses. Long-term saturation (removing seeds at 2-week intervals over 12 weeks) of four species showed that prolonged submergence enhanced germination only among Crataeva. The wind-dispersed Pseudobombax was intolerant of submergence >14d, while water-and fish-dispersed Crataeva seeds increased germination rates with submergence time, peaking at 6 weeks and maintaining >80% germination for up to 12 weeks. None of the ten flood-tolerant species required prolonged submergence for germination. Short-term saturation was sufficient to stimulate germination for most species, while prolonged submergence enhanced germination for one species, Crataeva. While species differed in seed physiology and seed size, they grouped into successional guilds of light-demanding species with dry-tolerant seeds and shade-tolerant species with recalcitrant seeds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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In recent decades, widespread and uncontrolled use of mercury (Hg) in artisanal small-scale gold mining has released thousands of tons of mercury-contaminated waste in the Amazon biome, endangering the largest tropical rainforest worldwide. In this study, we assessed and compared blood Hg levels in individuals living in urban and riverine areas in the lower Tapajós basin and examined the association between Hg exposure and specific biochemical parameters. In total, 462 adults from eight riverine communities and one urban area were assessed. Overall, 75.6% of the participants exhibited Hg concentrations exceeding the safe limit (10 µg/L). Hg exposure was higher in the riverine population (90%) than in urban areas (57.1%). Mean Hg levels were 21.8 ± 30.9 µg/L and 50.6 µg/L in urban and riverine residents, respectively. The mean Hg level was higher in those aged 41-60 years in both urban and riparian areas, with riparian residents exhibiting a mean double that of urban residents. The highest glucose and hepatic biomarker levels were detected in the urban area, whereas the highest levels of renal biomarker occurred in the riverine population. Our results indicate that Hg contamination remains a persistent challenge for the urban population of Santarém, a major city in the Brazilian Amazon.

The associative leader Manuel Ginestal Machado defended in an interview published in the newspaper of Santarém, the March 20, 1958, that "everyone has the right to culture". This statement was a wider project, pivoted between the decades of 30and 50, in the city of Santarém, by members of a privileged social group who have worked on cultural diffusion among the most disadvantaged of the town, at the same time that wished to contribute to the construction of the identity of the Ribatejo region. Mostly linked to associations, these men have defined a broad cultural coordination project which is the subject of this case study thesis performs and in which also dealt with the story of the importance of cultural and recreational associations in the dynamics of the city. As units of observation significant cases were studied, such as the Organization of Cultural coordination group in the post World War II, the Foundation of the Cultural Circle Scalabitano and attempting to build the "Palau de la Música". Also studied the role developed by women, especially in the communities, in a controlled and controlling society. The interests of the vast and heterogeneous working class of the city also deserved a specific study from the analysis of the work done by the Sociedade Recreativa Operária. Cultural relationship established chains around town with the Ribatejo region, Lisbon and beyond borders through the schedule established with the delegation of Santarém from the Alliance Française, also were the subject of study. This thesis is intended as a contribution to broadening the knowledge of the history of culture in a country town, during the decades of 30 to 50 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work studies 647 potter's stamps in samian ware found in the area of the roman ciuitates of Scallabis, Olisipo e Eburobrittium, the largest sample of the western part of the Atlantic coast of Hispania. The significance of the potter's stamps for the history of the three towns and its ancient territories was explored in their cultural and economic aspects. The sample provided data which allowed to conclude for the redistributive role played by the three harbours of the towns, and to define the moment of introduction of this cultural habit and the periods of more intense consummation of samian, connected to the regional economic cycles. These showed an early pattern, explained by the presence of italics, and displayed moments of more intense acquisition: in late Augustan and early Tiberian period, a depression and stagnation with Tiberius, a new positive phase with Nero and the first half of Vespasian rule, and, from the Flavian times on, a depression, especially from late Trajan rule on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]