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Premise: The Lower Cretaceous Crato Konservat‐Lagerstätte (CKL) preserves a rich flora that includes early angiosperms from northern Gondwana. From this area, the recently described fossil genus Santaniella was interpreted as a ranunculid (presumably Ranunculaceae). However, based on our examination of an additional specimen and a new phylogenetic analysis, we offer an alternative interpretation. Methods: The new fossil was collected from an active quarry for paving stones in the state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil. We assessed support for alternative phylogenetic hypotheses using a combined analysis of morphological data and DNA sequence data using Bayesian inference. We used a consensus network to visualize the posterior distribution of trees, and we used RoguePlot to illustrate the support for alternative positions on a scaffold tree. Results: The new material includes a flower‐like structure not present in the original material and also includes follicles preserved at early stages of development. The flower‐like structure is a compact terminal cluster of elliptical sterile laminar organs surrounding internal filamentous structures that occur on flexuous axes. Phylogenetic analyses did not support the fossil placement among eudicots. Instead, Santaniella appears to belong in the magnoliid clade. Conclusions: The presence of seeds in a marginal‐linear placentation and enclosed in a follicle supports the fossil as an angiosperm. However, even though most characters are clearly recognizable, its combination of characters does not provide strong support for a close relationship to any extant order of flowering plants. Its position in the magnoliid clade is intriguing and, based on plicate carpels, it is definitely a mesangiosperm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plague, caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, has several foci scattered throughout a large area from the Brazilian territory that ranges from the Northeastern State of Ceará to the Southeastern State of Minas Gerais and another separated area at the State of Rio de Janeiro. This review gathers data from plague control and surveillance programs on the occurrence and geographic distribution of rodent hosts and flea vectors in the Brazilian plague areas during the period of from 1952 to 2019. Furthermore, we discuss how the interaction between Y. pestis and some rodent host species may play a role in the disease dynamics. The absence of human cases nowadays in Brazil does not mean that it was eradicated. The dynamics of plague in Brazil and in other countries where it was introduced during the 3rd pandemic are quite alike, alternating epidemics with decades of quiescence. Hence, it remains an important epidemic disease of global concern. The existence of a large animal reservoir and competent vectors demonstrate a need for continuous surveillance to prevent new outbreaks of this disease in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates how the 20th‐century atmospheric reanalyses (ERA‐20C and NOAA‐20CR) reproduce the known impacts of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the tropical North Atlantic (TNA) atmospheric circulation from the boreal winter to spring and the consequences on northeastern Brazil (NEB) precipitation during its rainy season (boreal spring). For the period 1979–2010, comparisons of atmospheric patterns associated with ENSO events are made through the use of anomaly composites of variables provided by ERA‐20C, NOAA‐20CR and satellite‐era reanalyses (ERA‐Interim and NCEP‐Reanalysis 2). We also evaluate the ability of the reanalyses to reproduce the interannual variability of precipitation during the boreal spring over Ceará state (located in NEB) by statistically comparing them with Funceme rain‐gauge and Global Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC) datasets. As the main result, both 20th‐century reanalyses capture the major features in the tropical Pacific representing the climatic system during ENSO years as well as its impacts on the tropical Atlantic, in agreement with previous studies. However, some differences are noted, such as (a) NOAA‐20CR differs from the other reanalyses since it indicates stronger (weaker) near‐surface (upper levels) wind anomalies over the central‐western equatorial Pacific in both El Niño and La Niña composites; (b) over the tropical Atlantic, all reanalyses indicate the existence of an omega anomalies dipole between 10°N and 10°S for both ENSO phases although a weaker signal is seen in NOAA‐20CR; (c) NOAA‐20CR underestimates the intensity of the precipitation anomalies over the NEB during El Niño and La Niña years, and this is associated with the weaker vertical velocity anomalies. These results indicate that ERA‐20C is the most appropriate 20th‐century reanalysis to study the long‐term interannual variability in the tropical Atlantic associated with ENSO and its impacts on precipitation in northeastern Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the Damage Assessment Reports from the Civil Defence, the current study investigates the relationship between the damage caused by natural disasters and local development at the municipality level in Ceará state, Brazil. The results show that a better urban and water supply infrastructure, a lower population density, and a higher proportion of own revenues relative to total revenues are associated with smaller disaster damage. However, economic development in terms of GDP per capita exhibits a convex relationship with the impact of natural disasters across municipalities, reflecting the potential decreasing returns of preventive investments due to the highly hazardous environment that involves municipalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The giant grasshopper Tropidacris collaris (Stoll, 1813) (Orthoptera: Romaleidae) is a Neotropical species that causes economic damage to diverse and unrelated crops. We report herein the occurrence of this grasshopper in orchards of dwarf cashew Anacardium occidentale L. (Anacardiaceae) located in the state of Ceará, one of the main cashew-producing areas of Brazil. Nymphs and adults were observed feeding on cashew leaves during June and July 2016, causing partial or total defoliation of some plants. This report updates the feeding plants of T. collaris and its distribution in Brazil and serves as an early warning of possible future attacks by the pest on cashew orchards in the northeastern region of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gondim, Rubens S., Marco A.H. de Castro, Aline de H.N. Maia, Sílvio R.M. Evangelista, and Sérgio C. de F. Fuck, Jr., 2012. Climate Change Impacts on Irrigation Water Needs in the Jaguaribe River Basin. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(2): 355-365. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00620.x Abstract: Climate change is conceptually referred to as a modification to the average of climate variables and their natural variability, due to both natural and anthropogenic driving forces, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change potentially impacts rainfall, temperature, and air humidity, which have relationship with plant evapotranspiration and consequently to irrigation water needs (IWN). The purpose of this research is to assess climate change impacts on irrigation water demand, based on climatic impacts stemming from future greenhouse gas emission scenarios. The study area includes eight municipalities in the Jaguaribe River Basin, located in the Ceará State of semiarid northeast Brazil. The FAO Penman-Monteith method is used for the calculation of a reference evapotranspiration with limited climatic data. IWN projections are calculated using bias-corrected climate projections for monthly rainfall and surface temperature derived from the United Kingdom's Hadley Centre Regional Climate Model simulations. The increase in the average IWN is projected to be 7.9 and 9.1% over the period 2025-2055 for the A2 and B2 scenarios, respectively with respect to 1961-1990 baseline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on a group of Brazilian teachers who learned to incorporate writing in the curriculum. Number of teachers of grades one to eight in Ceara, Brazil; Social problems in the country; Reasons of children for leaving school; Importance of a collegial support system.