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The genus Inga Mill. belongs to the mimosoid clade (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae) that includes 131 species in Brazil. It is the most important genus of Fabaceae. In this sense, this study aimed to perform a bibliometric analysis on Inga from Santa Catarina state. A survey of the published literature was conducted using the electronic databases of the Web of Science, Scopus and SciELO with the accepted names of Inga species and its synonyms. Papers were distributed in four subject categories: C1 (Ecological), C2 (morphology, anatomy, taxonomy, histology, physiology and genetics), C3 (production and use) and C4 (biochemical and nutritional properties). We registered 232 papers for 13 species of Inga. C1 was the most studied subject category, mainly in topics such as nutrient supply, shade and nitrogen fixing capacity. We also noticed that the subjects diversified over the years, with registered papers in all categories. Inga edulis, I. vera and I. marginata were the most registered species in our survey. Our results showed an increase in the number of articles on Inga over time, especially in the last 13 years. However, some important gaps need to be addressed, such as the relatively small number and/or lack of studies conducted for some species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: An outbreak of the COVID-19 was appended in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. Lots of related papers were published in the world since then. Objective: This study aimed to identify and analyze the characteristics of COVID-19 publications in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) published by Latin Americans in 2020. Methods: Documents including searching keywords in their title, abstract, or author keywords from SCIEXPANDED were assessed. The analyzed aspects covered characteristics of document types, languages, Web of Science categories, and journals. Publication performances of countries and institutions were evaluated by six publication indicators and two citation indicators. Results: A lower percentage of articles and a higher percentage of Spanish language were found. Web of Science category of general and internal medicine published the most articles. The Clinics was the most popular journal. The Cadernos de Saude Publica and Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira published the most publications and reviews, respectively. Brazil took a leading position in the six publication indicators. The University of São Paulo in Brazil was the most productive institution. Based on the number of citations from the Web of Science Core Collection since publication to the end of 2020, 10 most frequently cited publications were presented. In addition, the analysis of words in publication titles, author keywords, and KeyWords Plus was performed to find the main research focuses. Conclusions: In 2020, a total of 3 056 COVID-19 documents in SCI-EXPANDED were published by Latin Americans mainly in the Web of Science categories of 'general and internal medicine' and 'public, environmental and occupational health'. More letters and editorial materials and fewer articles were published in the first year of its outbreak. A higher percentage of Spanish and Portuguese publications was found. Brazil dominated the six publication indicators. The University of São Paulo in Brazil ranked top in all the six publication indicators while the Technological University of Pereira in Colombia had a higher impact for their first- and corresponding-author publications. Health and infection were the main research focuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Coffee is a highly mycotrophic plant, its interaction with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi has been studied among different tropical countries. The majority of the published works indicates that coffee is benefited from the mycorrhizal association, where the AMF confers protection against pathogens and diseases, increases water absorption, as well as it increases the adaptation of the plant at transplant from nurseries to the main plantation. Objective: A review was made where we summarized and analyze the research reports of AMF with coffee from at least the past 10 years, focused on AMF global species distribution, nutritional benefits of the association and interaction with pathogens. Methods: We retrieved available bibliographic data from coffee producer countries in public databases. We considered published works from 2000 to 2019, nevertheless, we included classic papers on the topic, outside that period, mainly the ones performed in Brazil since 1986. We organized the number of reported species per country, we look for synonyms, grouped them by family, genera and species. The reports that only reported genera or where ambiguous were used as reference but not considered for the final analysis. We summarized the reports of the benefits of the AMF interaction in coffee, as well as pathogen tolerance. Results: The collected data shows that there are more than 100 AMF species associated with coffee, which represents more than a third part of the total of reported species worldwide. We found that Colombia has the highest richness, but it also has the highest number of published reports. Conclusions: This information shows the benefits of the incorporation of AMF to coffee plantation programs, because these fungi are a key element in coffee plant nutrition, nevertheless, the coffee variety should be considered when introducing AMF, as not all associations has been efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present recent changes in the macroeconomic policy framework in Brazil and its effects on social policy, particularly with regard to poverty reduction. From 2003 onwards, a new pattern of economic growth prevails, reducing poverty and inequality on the grounds of domestic market expansion and low income groups consumption. This paper also outlines the remaining challenges for achieving social equity and inclusion, highlighting a major issue in the pending agenda: a progressive tax reform in order to leverage the financing of universal social policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial heterogeneity hypothesis has been invoked to explain the increase in species diversity from the poles to the tropics: the tropics may be more diverse because they contain more habitats and microhabitats. In this paper, the spatial heterogeneity hypothesis prediction was tested by evaluating the variation in richness of two guilds of insect herbivores (gall-formers and free-feeders) associated with Baccharis dracunculifolia (Asteraceae) along a latitudinal variation in Brazil. The seventeen populations of B. dracunculifolia selected for insect herbivores sampling were within structurally similar habitats, along the N-S distributional limit of the host plant, near the Brazilian sea coast. Thirty shrubs were surveyed in each host plant population. A total of 8 201 galls and 864 free-feeding insect herbivores belonging to 28 families and 88 species were sampled. The majority of the insects found on B. dracunculifolia were restricted to a specific site rather than having a geographic distribution mirroring that of the host plant. Species richness of free-feeding insects was not affected by latitudinal variation corroborating the spatial heterogeneity hypothesis. Species richness of gall-forming insects was positively correlated with latitude, probably because galling insect associated with Baccharris genus radiated in Southern Brazil. Other diversity indices and evenness estimated for both gall-forming and free feeding insect herbivores, did not change with latitude, suggesting a general structure for different assemblages of herbivores associated with the host plant B. dracunculifolia. Thus it is probable that, insect fauna sample in each site resulted of large scale events, as speciation, migration and coevolution, while at local level, the population of these insects is regulated by ecological forces which operate in the system. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (3): 1419-1432. Epub 2011 September 01. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being one of the most well-known cichlid fish of importance to artisanal and sport fishing, and among the largest fishes in the Neotropics, data on digestive tract anatomy of peacock basses (Cichla spp.) are largely lacking, especially for non-native populations. In this paper, we describe for the first time the digestive tract morphology of Cichla kelberi, a voracious piscivore that was introduced in the 1950s into an oligotrophic and physically low-complex impoundment in Brazil. Peacock basses were collected between 1994 and 2002 in Lajes Reservoir, through gillnets (25 to 55mm mesh; 20-50x2m), seines (10x2.5m; 8.0mm mesh), cast nets and angling. All the fishes were kept on ice in the field and then transferred to the laboratory, where they were identified, measured, weighed and dissected for digestive tract analyses. The index of Relative importance-IRI was calculated for diet characterization while linear and non-linear regressions were performed to assess growth patterns of four morphological characters related to feeding (e.g. mouth width, mouth height, stomach length and intestine length) and the number of gill rakers during the C. kelberi ontogeny. Most digestive tract structures were directly related to the piscivorous diet of C. kelberi, indicating that peacock bass is a diurnal, bathypelagic and gape-size limited predator that feeds largely on shallow-water prey species within the littoral zone. Mouth width and height grew allometrically (b>1) with the size of peacock bass, broadening the size range in which prey can be eaten, but especially for predators smaller than ~400mm of total length. Differently, stomach and intestine lengths increased isometrically (b=1), which could constrain prey consumption for adult C. kelberi, especially those at advanced stages of gonadal maturation. The presence of longer-drawn, sharp and furcated gill rakers in C. kelberi may be related to increased prey retention in the resource-limited Lajes Reservoir, but further studies are necessary whether such features are randomly triggered by genetic or phenotypic anomalies, or effectively bring ecological advantages to the predator. In addition to contribute to improve the current biological knowledge on peacock basses, our results can be also useful to further comparisons on whether those morphological features related to feeding will change with transitions on prey consumption by C. kelberi and/or with the particular conditions of the invaded ecosystem. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (3): 1245-1255. Epub 2011 September 01. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mangrove oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae is important fishery resource along the entire Brasilian coast with excellent potential for marine culture. The purpose of this paper was to examine the reproductive characteristics of the oyster of the Maraú river estuary in Camamu Bay, Bahia, Brasil. The samples were collected monthly, from September 2006 to August 2007, at two points (I and II) in Camamu Bay. At each site 20 oysters were collected for histological analysis, fixed in Davidson's solution, embedded in paraffin, dehydrated in an ethanol series, sectioned (7µm thick) and stained with Harris hematoxylin and Eosin (HE). Additionally, 30 oysters were sampled, at each point, for a condition index analysis. The water temperature ranged from 23.5°C to 30°C and the salinity from 15 to 25 ups at Point I (Maraú) and from 25 to 35 at Point II (Tanque Island). The oyster's height ranged from 30 to 92mm at Point I and from 27 to 102mm at Point II, with an average of 49.0mm±9.1 (n=230) and 49.9mm±9.9 (n=237), respectively. Among the sampled oysters at Point I, 59.1% were females, 31.3% males, 1.3% hermaphrodites and 8.2% of the oysters of undetermined sex. At Point II, 66.2% were females, 30.4% males, 0.8% hermaphrodites and 2.5% (n=237) of undetermined sex. The gonadic stage analysis indicated that the reproduction period of the C. rhizophorae in the Maraú Peninsula was continuous all year, without any regressive phase. The condition index (R) ranged from 8.0% to 17.7%. The peak periods of R coincided with the expressive oyster's percentage in the maturation and liberation gametic stages. The results of these findings will contribute information for the oyster spat collection and to the process installation of the oyster culture in Camamu Bay. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (1): 137-149. Epub 2011 March 01. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes and analyzes the deliberative skills of people participating in the Council of the Participatory Budget (COP), the main deliberation council for the participatory democracy in Porto Alegre. Through the ethnographic observation, we are able to describe agents acting in the assembly. Then, we establish a dialogue between the internal and external events of what Marc Abélès called "lieu du politique". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]