Dr. Hector Barra,An Outstanding Latin American Neurochemist

Neurochemical Research -     

Chromosome studies: Latin American Compositae

Chromosome observations reported here from 98 collections representing 91 species from 58 genera of Compositae provide taxonomically useful information. First counts for 52 species, including first counts for eight genera (Alepidocline [n = 8], Damnxanthodium [n = 12], Dyscritothamnus [n = 20 in both species], Idiopappus [n = ca. 31–33], Oblivia [n = 16], Oteiza [n = 17 + 0–3 f], Rensonia [n = 17], and Viguethia [n = 19]), may prove to be especially interesting in relation to generic alignments of the species and tribal or subtribal alignments of the genera.     

Malaria-related anaemia: a Latin American perspective

Malaria is the most important parasitic disease worldwide, responsible for an estimated 225 million clinical cases each year. It mainly affects children, pregnant women and non-immune adults who frequently die victims of cerebral manifestations and anaemia. Although the contribution of the American continent to the global malaria burden is only around 1.2 million clinical cases annually, there are 170 million inhabitants living at risk of malaria transmission in this region. On the African continent, where Plasmodium falciparum is the most prevalent human malaria parasite, anaemia is responsible for about half of the malaria-related deaths. Conversely, in Latin America (LA), malaria-related anaemia appears to be uncommon, though there is a limited knowledge about its real prevalence. This may be partially explained by several factors, including that the overall malaria burden in LA is significantly lower than that of Africa, that Plasmodium vivax, the predominant Plasmodium species in the region, appears to display a different clinical spectrus and most likely because better health services in LA prevent the development of severe malaria cases. With the aim of contributing to the understanding of the real importance of malaria-related anaemia in LA, we discuss here a revision of the available literature on the subject and the usefulness of experimental animal models, including New World monkeys, particularly for the study of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of malaria.     

Latin American malacology. Freshwater mollusks from Argentina

A report and an updated list with comments on the species of freshwater molluscs of Argentina which covers an area of 2 777 815 km2 is presented. Distributions of Gastropoda and Bivalvia families, endemic, exotic, invasive as well as entities of sanitary importance are also studied and recommendations on their conservation are provided. Molluscs related to the Del Plata Basin have been thoroughly studied in comparison to others areas of the country. This fauna exhibits relatively the biggest specific richness and keeps its affinity with the fauna of other regions of the basin in areas of Paraguay and Brasil. The 4 500 records of molluscs considered in this paper arise from the study of the collections of Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires; Museo de La Plata, La Plata and Fundación "Miguel Lillo", Tucumán. These institutions keep very important collections of molluscs in southern South America. Field information has recently been obtained and localities cited by other authors are also included in the data base. Until today, 166 species have been described, 101 belonging to 10 families of Gastropoda and 65 to 7 of Bivalvia. Families with highest specific richness are Lithoglyphidae (22) and Sphaeriidae (25), respectively. The number of endemic species (those present only in Argentina) by family is: Gastropoda: Ampullariidae (1), Cochliopidae (10), Lithoglyphidae (11), Thiariidae (3), Chilinidae (11), Lymnaeidae (2) and Physidae (2?); Bivalvia: Hyriidae (1?); Etheriidae (1?) and Sphaeriidae (10). Families with a distribution that comprise almost the whole country are: the Sphaeriidae and the gastropods Cochliopidae, Chilinidae and Lymnaeidae. Families Erodonidae and Solecurtidae (Bivalvia) were registered in mixohaline environments from Buenos Aires province. Gastropod families Thiaridae and Glacidorbiidae show a very restricted distribution. The rest of the families are present mainly in the center and north of the country. Species of sanitary interest are the propagators of: schistosomiasis -Biomphalaria peregrina, B. straminea y B. tenagophila, Planorbidae-, fasciolasis -Lymnaea viatrix and L. columnella, Lymnaeidae- and dermatitis -Chilina gibbosa and C. fluminea, Chilinidae. Invasive species are: Corbicula fluminea (Corbiculidae) and Limnoperna fortunei (Mytilidae). The construction of new areas for the protection and conservation of the high risk endemic species of freshwater molluscs is a priority. It is necessary to give special attention to the species of the patagonic mountain range and of the mesopotamic area of the Del Plata Basin.     

Height, trade, and inequality in the Latin American periphery, 1950-2000.

Which variables determine whether a country chooses an open or protected market? It has been argued that economic downturn leads to a higher propensity for protectionism. We find for seven Latin American countries in the second half of the 20th century that declining GDP motivated the opening wave, especially during the 1980s. Moreover, inequality could play a role, either in favor of "opening", as Stolper-Samuelson models would predict, or in favor of closing, as recent empirical studies found that open periods were associated with higher inequality. Using anthropometric indicators, we find that inequality in general tended to motivate "closing", whereas inequality did not stimulate opening.