RILA, Porto Murtinho and its cultural heritage: perspectives for preservation

As part of the studies developed by the University Network of the Latin American Integration Route (UniRila), this proposal intends to contextualize the municipality of Porto Murtinho in the process of occupation of the interior of the South American continent, understanding the Latin American Integration Route (RILA) as the culminating event of the process of territorialization-deterritorialization-reterritorialization of the region. For this purpose, historical, economic, geographic and geological aspects are considered, without which the conditions of urbanization would not be fully understood and public policies would be deficient. Thus, it is intended to draw attention to the impact that the production and export of commodities has on the territory in question.

HISPANIC PLACE NAMES OF ARGENTINA: LINGUOHISTORICAL ASPECT

Введение. Являясь крупнейшей по площади испаноязычной страной в мире, Аргентина всегда играла важную роль в историческом, экономическом и культурном развитии южноамериканского континента. Топонимический корпус Аргентины на протяжении веков складывался из европейского (преимущественно испанского) и автохтонного пластов. Испаноязычные компоненты в топонимии этого латиноамериканского государства являются своеобразной картографической формой существования испанского языка, семиотическим маркером присутствия испанской культуры в данном уголке мира. Однако в настоящее время говорить о подробной изученности аргентинской географической номенклатуры не приходится. Цель – предпринять попытку комплексного лингвистического описания испаноязычной топонимии Аргентины и внести вклад в изучение историко-культурного облика страны. Материал и методы. Выводы основаны на полученных результатах лингвопрагматического анализа, проведенного с помощью современных электронных технических средств: в качестве материалов и инструментов были использованы карты страны, электронные системы GoogleMaps и GeoNames. Результаты и обсуждение. Автор группирует географические имена испанского происхождения, приводя множественные примеры, объясняя их этимологию и выявляя метонимические цепочки. Наряду с описанием испаноязычных антропотопонимов, религиозных аллюзий, зоо- и фитотопонимов, эмоционально окрашенных топоединиц и географических имен, содержащих числительные, отдельное место отводится военной топонимии, топонимам-тезкам и топонимам-дублетам. Помимо испаноязычных географических имен, определяется доля гибридной и коренной топонимии от общего числа географических названий региона. Гетерогенность форм географических названий здесь указывает на столкновение цивилизаций, неоднородность языковых контактов и богатство лексических ресурсов локальной топонимической системы. Выяснено, что испаноязычные топонимы составляют наибольший процент в сравнении с автохтонными топонимами и топонимами-гибридами региона. В результате исследования испаноязычный топонимический пласт был распределен по группам, самую многочисленную из которых составляют антропотопонимы. Заключение. Полученные структурированные и описанные данные исследования способствуют продвижению цифровых технологий в ономастических изысканиях и позволяют использовать продемонстрированные результаты в рамках курсов теории языка, топонимики, теории языковых контактов, мигрантологии, лингвострановедения, лексикологии, диалектологии, теории нормативности, а также в преподавании испанского языка. Introduction. As the world’s largest Spanish-speaking country by area, Argentina has always played an important role in the historical, economic and cultural development of the South American continent. Over the centuries, the toponymic corpus of Argentina consists of European (mainly Hispanic) and autochthonous strata. The Hispanic components in the toponymy of this South American state are a kind of cartographic form of the existence of the Spanish language, a semiotic marker of the presence of Spanish culture in this corner of the world. However, at present, there is no possibility to talk about a detailed study of the Argentine geographic nomenclature. The purpose of the article is to attempt a comprehensive linguistic description of the Hispanic toponymy of Argentina. Material and methods. The conclusions are based on the results of the linguopragmatic analysis carried out by traditional means and modern electronic systems: maps of the country, electronic systems GoogleMaps and GeoNames were used as materials and tools. Results and discussion. The author groups place names of Spanish origin, giving multiple examples, explaining their etymology and identifying metonymic chains. Along with the description of Hispanic anthropotoponyms, religious allusions, zoo- and phytotoponyms, emotionally colored topo-units and geographical names containing numerals, a separate place is given to military toponymy, shift names and doublet toponyms. In addition to Hispanic place names, the share of bilingual and indigenous place names in the total number of place names in the region is determined. The heterogeneity of the forms of geographical names here indicates the clash of civilizations, the heterogeneity of linguistic contacts and the richness of the lexical resources of the local toponymic system. It was found that Hispanic toponyms make up the largest percentage in comparison with autochthonous toponyms and bilingual toponyms of the country. As a result of the study, the Hispanic toponymic layer was divided into groups, the most numerous of which are anthropotoponyms. Conclusion. The resulting structured and described research data contribute to the advancement of digital technologies in onomastic research, and also allow the use of the demonstrated results in the framework of courses in language theory, toponymy, theory of language contacts, migrantology, linguistic studies, lexicology, dialectology, theory of normativity, as well as in teaching Spanish.

Angioarchitecture of the coronary arteries in Mazama gouazoubira (G. Fischer, 1814)

Mazama gouazoubira is a widely distributed deer in the South American continent. However, studies on its anatomical characteristics are still scarce. The objective of this study was to elucidate the coronary circulation of M. gouazoubira. With this aim, after collecting cadavers on highways, twenty-four hearts injected with latex and preserved in formaldehyde at 10% were dissected. The dissections revealed that all specimens presented left coronary dominance, characterized by the origin of the subsinuous interventricular branch from the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery. The number of ventricular branches originated from branches of the left coronary artery was approximately five times higher than that of the right coronary artery. The occurrence of myocardial bridges was registered in 91.7% of the individuals, with bridges predominating over the paraconal interventricular branch. The mean length of the paraconal interventricular sulcus was significantly higher in males (p = 0.02). The number of atrial branches and ventricular branches, length of myocardial bridges and length of subsinuous interventricular sulcus did not vary significantly between sex. Left coronary dominance and high frequency of myocardial bridges in M. gouazoubira are preponderant anatomical traits also present in different species of Ruminantia suborder. Coronary dominance studies in other South American deer species may confirm the correlation of this trait with the evolutionary history of these animals.

Rayleigh wave group velocity maps at periods of 10-150s beneath South America

Summary Based on new data from permanent and temporary networks, we present fundamental mode Rayleigh wave group velocity maps at periods of 10-150 s related to the lithosphere beneath South America. We analyse waveform data from 1043 earthquakes, from 2002 to 2019, which were recorded by 282 stations. To isolate fundamental mode Rayleigh waves, a phase-matched filter is applied, and the measurements of group velocity are obtained from multiple filter analysis techniques. Thus, we obtain 17838 paths, covering most of the South American continent, which reach their maximum at the period of 30 s and decrease for both shorter and longer periods. We calculate average dispersion curves and probability density distribution of all measured curves to check the consistency of our dataset. Then, regionalised group velocity maps are obtained by iteratively combining the fast marching method and the subspace inversion method. The resolution of our models is assessed by checkerboard tests, which show that the synthetic group velocities are well recovered, despite some amplitude and smearing effects in some portions of the model, probably owing to regularisation and uneven raypath coverage. Compared to previous group velocity studies for South America, our models present better resolution, mainly for shorter periods. Our maps of 10 and 20 s, for example, show an excellent correlation with the sedimentary thickness (CRUST1.0) and topography density (UNB$\_$TopoDens). Regions of exposed basement and high-density are related to fast group velocities, while sedimentary basins and low-densities are observed as areas of slow group velocities. We identify small-scale fast group velocity heterogeneities that may be linked to the Rio Apa and Rio Tebicuary cratons as well as to the geochronological provinces of the Amazonian Craton. The most striking feature of our map at 40 s is a fast group velocity structure with the same NE trend of the Transbrasiliano lineament, a Neoproterozoic megashear fault that crosses a large part of the South American continent. Our long-period maps sample lithospheric depths, revealing that cratonic areas of South America, such as the Amazonian and São Francisco cratons, correlate well with fast group velocities. Another interesting feature is the presence of a strong group velocity gradient between the Paraná and Chaco-Paraná basins, which nearly coincides with the location of the Western Paraná Suture, a continental-scale gravity discontinuity. From our group velocity maps, we estimate 1D S-velocity depth profiles at ten locations in South America: Chaco-Tarija Basin, Borborema Province (BP), Amazonian Craton, Paraná Basin, Tocantins Province, Acre Basin (AcB), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, Mantiqueira Province (MP), Parnaába Basin, and São Francisco Craton. Most of our inverted S-velocity profiles show good agreement with the SL2013sv model at lithospheric depths, except the BP, AcB, and MP profiles. Particularly for the BP, a low shear-wave velocity, from about 75 to 150 km depth, is a feature that is not present in the SL2013sv model and was probably resolved in our model because of our denser raypath coverage. This decreased S-velocity may be due to a lithospheric thinning beneath the BP, as already pointed out by previous studies.

New transitional fossil from late Jurassic of Chile sheds light on the origin of modern crocodiles

We describe the basal mesoeucrocodylian Burkesuchus mallingrandensis nov. gen. et sp., from the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) Toqui Formation of southern Chile. The new taxon constitutes one of the few records of non-pelagic Jurassic crocodyliforms for the entire South American continent. Burkesuchus was found on the same levels that yielded titanosauriform and diplodocoid sauropods and the herbivore theropod Chilesaurus diegosuarezi, thus expanding the taxonomic composition of currently poorly known Jurassic reptilian faunas from Patagonia. Burkesuchus was a small-sized crocodyliform (estimated length 70 cm), with a cranium that is dorsoventrally depressed and transversely wide posteriorly and distinguished by a posteroventrally flexed wing-like squamosal. A well-defined longitudinal groove runs along the lateral edge of the postorbital and squamosal, indicative of a anteroposteriorly extensive upper earlid. Phylogenetic analysis supports Burkesuchus as a basal member of Mesoeucrocodylia. This new discovery expands the meagre record of non-pelagic representatives of this clade for the Jurassic Period, and together with Batrachomimus, from Upper Jurassic beds of Brazil, supports the idea that South America represented a cradle for the evolution of derived crocodyliforms during the Late Jurassic.

Case Report: Acute Kidney Failure due to Massive Envenomation of a Two-Year-Old Child Caused by Killer Bee Stings

A hybrid species of Brazilian bee has proliferated on the South American continent since 1956. We describe a “killer bee” swarm attack on a 2-year-old girl in French Guiana. The patient weighed 10 kg, and approximately hundreds of bees’ stingers were removed, that is, 10 stings/kg. Our patient survived without long-term sequelae. The management of her condition required admission into intensive care for renal failure due to acute tubular necrosis and severe rhabdomyolysis. We emphasize the importance of early medical intervention, clinical surveillance, and biological monitoring at the hospital to prevent a toxic chain reaction that could prove fatal within 72 hours.

Composition and Nature of Heterochromatin in the Electrical Fish (Knifefishes) Gymnotus (Gymnotiformes: Gymnotidae)

Fishes of the genus Gymnotus have been suggested as a good model for biogeographic studies in the South American continent. In relation to heterochromatin, species of this genus have blocks preferably distributed in the centromeric region. The content of these regions has been shown to be variable, with description of transposable elements, pseudogenes of 5S rDNA and satellite sequences. In G. carapo Clade, although geographically separated, species with 2n = 54 chromosomes share the distribution of many 5S rDNA sites, a unique case within the genus. Here, repetitive DNA sequences from G. sylvius (2n = 40) and G. paraguensis (2n = 54) were isolated and mapped to understand their constitution. The chromosome mapping by FISH showed an exclusive association in the centromeres of all chromosomes. However, the cross-FISH did not show positive signs of interspecific hybridization, indicating high levels of heterochromatic sequence specificity. In addition, COI-1 sequences were analyzed in some species of Gymnotus, which revealed a close relationship between species of clade 2n = 54, which have multiple 5S rDNA sites. Possibly, the insertion of retroelements or pseudogenization and dispersion of this sequence occurred before the geographic dispersion of the ancestor of this clade from the Amazon region to the hydrographic systems of Paraná-Paraguay, a synapomorphy for the group.

The preserved plume conduits of the Caribbean Large Igneous Plateau and their relation with the Galápagos hotspot back to 90 Ma

<p>Remnants of the Caribbean Large Igneous Plateau (C-LIP) are found as thickened zones of oceanic crust in the Caribbean Sea, that formed during strong pulses of magmatic activity around 90 Ma. Previous studies have proposed the Galápagos hotspot as the origin of the thermal anomaly responsible for the development of this igneous province. Particularly, geochemical signature relates accreted C-LIP fragments along northern South America with the well-known hotspot material.</p><p>In this research, we use 3D lithospheric-scale structural and density models of the Caribbean region, in which up-to-date geophysical datasets (i.e.: tomographic data, Moho depths, sedimentary thickness, and bathymetry) have been integrated. Based on the gravity residuals (modelled minus observed EIGEN6C-4 dataset), we reconstruct density heterogeneities both in the crust and the uppermost oceanic mantle (< 50km).</p><p>Our results suggest the presence of two positive mantle density anomalies in the Colombian and the Venezuelan basins, interpreted as the preserved plume material which migrated together with the Proto-Caribbean plate from the east Pacific. Such bodies have never been identified before, but a positive density trend is also observed in the mantle tomography, at least down to 75 km depth.</p><p>Using recently published regional plate kinematic models and absolute reference frames, we test the hypothesis of the C-LIP origin in the Galápagos hotspot. However, misfits of up to ~3000 km between the present hotspot location and the mantle anomalies, reconstructed back to 90 Ma, is observed, as other authors reported in the past.</p><p>Therefore, we discuss possible sources of error responsible for this offset and pose two possible interpretations: 1. The Galápagos hotspot migrated (~1200-3000 km) westward while the Proto-Caribbean moved to the northeast, or 2. The C-LIP was formed by a different plume, which – if considered fixed - would be nowadays located below the South American continent.</p>

Understanding the Adaptive Evolutionary Histories of South American Ancient and Present-Day Populations via Genomics

The South American continent is remarkably diverse in its ecological zones, spanning the Amazon rainforest, the high-altitude Andes, and Tierra del Fuego. Yet the original human populations of the continent successfully inhabited all these zones, well before the buffering effects of modern technology. Therefore, it is likely that the various cultures were successful, in part, due to positive natural selection that allowed them to successfully establish populations for thousands of years. Detecting positive selection in these populations is still in its infancy, as the ongoing effects of European contact have decimated many of these populations and introduced gene flow from outside of the continent. In this review, we explore hypotheses of possible human biological adaptation, methods to identify positive selection, the utilization of ancient DNA, and the integration of modern genomes through the identification of genomic tracts that reflect the ancestry of the first populations of the Americas.