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Ornithonyssus bursa hematophagous mite whose main host is wild and domestic birds, which can temporarily parasitize humans in the absence of the main host. Infestations occur when birds abandon nests or direct contact with infected birds. The specimens were collected in a house in the urban area, with the help of a paper towel and kept under low refrigeration for later identification. The mites were identified as O. bursa, considered an important poultry pest. The present report is the first case of hematophagous parasitism in humans in the region of Vale do Taquari, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a lot of discussions on environmental issues in cemeteries during the last decades. Older cemeteries, prior to 1820, were planned with no specific norms for place and establishment. Environmental aspects and impacts were not taken into account and, consequently, they became potential sources for environmental contamination. Current paper identifies the environmental impacts in a cemetery in a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data are important for the town since the study provides the current environmental situation of the only municipal cemetery. They may be of great help for decision taking on the environmental risks involved and may be used for fitting within the environmental norms. Methodology comprised bibliographic research on the issue and research-activity comprising four stages: historical analysis of documents on the municipal cemetery, mapping of the area, analysis on legislation and on environmental impacts. One of the issues consists in the impossibility of enlargement of the fixed area within the town's perimeter hailing from the 20s. It has also been verified that out of the 19 items in legal criteria, only one is wholly complied with, 5 items are partially complied with and 13 are contrary to current legislation. Attendance to environmental issues and the management of residues generated should be undertaken for a decrease in environmental, social and economical impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial structure of cities and regions is becoming more complex, and the socio-spatial interactions that occur in networks of cities seem to play an important role, influencing the economic potential of municipalities. This paper aims to present a methodology that allows analyzing the role of the regional spatial network configuration on the economic performance of the municipalities. The investigation is linked to urban morphology studies, using a systemic and quantitative approach from configurational studies. The network of cities in Rio Grande do Sul is taken as the empirical study. The spatial network model (graph) consists of municipalities (nodes) and highways (connections), allowing the calculation of accessibility and centrality measures. The results of these measures are then related to the economic attributes of the municipalities (GDP and GVA) through a statistical analysis of clusters. The empirical study revealed evidence that a good performance of the municipalities in the configurational network is associated with specific economic indicators: higher GDP, higher values of GVA for industry and services and lower values of agricultural GVA. The conclusions seek to discuss the potential and limitations of the proposed methodology to understand the regional spatial structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permanent deformation is associated with wheel track rutting (WTR) and is one of the main causes of defects in the pavements of Brazilian highways. Seeking to mitigate this situation, this paper presents a study about the permanent deformation of three typical subgrade soils of the Santa Maria region, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located in the southern region of Brazil. In addition to the physical, chemical, and mechanical characterization of the materials, this research presents results from repeated load triaxial tests to obtain the resilient modulus (RM) and the permanent deformation (PD) parameters. The Compound model of the resilient modulus, posteriorly cited on the Petrobras Asphalt Thematic Network Project, showed the best results. The permanent deformation tests were conducted using a frequency of 2 Hz and 150,000 load application cycles and posteriorly adjusted to the Guimarães Model, of which average statistical correlation was 0.91. However, the predominance of fine materials combined with low compaction energy resulted in high deformation rates and the occurrence of shakedown in domains: A (plastic shakedown), B (plastic creep) and C (incremental collapse). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we characterize pecopterids found in deposits of the Passa Dois Group (Upper Permian of the Paraná Basin) in a new outcrop, on the side of the BR-153 road, located at the municipality of Aceguá, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Pecopterids are common in the Permian paleophytogeogragic realms, signaling interglacial phases of the Late Paleozoic. Pecopteris are one of the floral elements of the Permian Glossopteris flora and become extinct in the Permo-Triassic boundary. Mudstone strata levels bearing phytofossils with different preservation qualities allowed the recognition of Pecopteris sp. and cf. Scolecopteris sp. floral elements. Taphonomic and depositional processes that conditioned the presercation of phytofossils are suggested accordingly the specimens described. Phytofossil specimen described support and highlight polymorphic nature of Gondwanan pecopterids. These new findings demonstrate potential for further paleobotanical studies in the upper portion of the Passa Dois Group and strength the notion of Permian strata for the Teresina Formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]