Os lagostins de água doce sulamericanos (Família Parastacidae) são representados por três gêneros: Parastacus Huxley, 1879, Samastacus Riek, 1971 and Virilastacus Hobbs, 1991. Esse grupo é distribuído no Sul do Brasil (Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina), Uruguai, Argentina e Chile. Os objetivos dessa tese foram revisar a taxonomia do gênero Parastacus e investigar a sua monofilia e relações filogenéticas entre suas espécies e entre os outros gêneros sulamericanos. Para esse propósito, várias coleções e museus ao redor do mundo foram analisados (Brasil, Argentina, Uruguai, Chile, Estados Unidos, Alemanha, Holanda, Inglaterra e França) em adição a coletas realizadas entre Março de 2013 a Setembro de 2016. Os espécimes foram analisados em estereomicroscópio e os desenhos foram preparados com auxílio de camara lucida. Para as análises genéticas, uma abordagem multigênica foi utilizada com dois marcadores mitocondriais (Cox1 e 16S) e um nuclear (28S). A análise filogenética foi realizada por Inferência Bayesiana e a distância genética p também foi calculada. Adicionalmente, o risco de extinção foi assessado para algumas espécies de acordo com o sub-critério B1 da IUCN que leva em consideração a estimativa da Área de Extenção de Ocorrência. Oito espécies foram redescritas: Parastacus brasiliensis (von Martens, 1869), P. defossus Faxon, 1898, P. laevigatus Buckup & Rossi, 1980, P. pilimanus (Von Martens, 1869), P. pugnax (Poepigg, 1835), P. promatensis Fontoura & Conter, 2008 e P. varicosus Faxon, 1898. Um novo gênero foi proposto para alocar a espécie P. nicoleti (Philippi, 1882) que também foi redescrita. Treze novas espécies foram descritas. Assim como, chaves de identificação, descrições, diagnoses, sinonímias e mapas de distribuição foram providos. As árvores filogenéticas resultantes corroboraram com a monofilia de Parastacus e do clado sulamericano, além de dar suporte para o estabelecimento de um novo gênero e novas espécies. Com essa tese, o aumento da riqueza específica para Parastacus é de mais de 150% e as novas informações sobre habitat e distribuição trarão suporte para futuros estudos de conservação e manejo. / South American freshwater crayfish (Family Parastacidae) are represented by three genera: Parastacus Huxley, 1879, Samastacus Riek, 1971 and Virilastacus Hobbs, 1991. This group is distributed in Southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina), Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. The goals of this thesis is to review the taxonomy of the genus Parastacus and to investigate the monophyly and phylogenetic relationships within Parastacus and among South American crayfish genera. For this purpose, several collections and museums around the world were analyzed (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, United States of America, Germany, Netherlands, England, and France) in addition to collectings carried out from March 2013 to September 2016. Specimens were analyzed under a stereomicroscope and drawings were prepared with the aid of a camara lucida. For genetic analysis, a multigenic approach was used with two mitochondrial (Cox1 and 16S) and one nuclear (28S) markers. Phylogenetic analysis were performed with Bayesian Inference and genetic p-distances were also calculated. In addition, the extinction risk was assessed according to the sub-criterion B1 of IUCN that estimates the Extent of Occurrence (EOO) for some species. Eight species are redescribed: Parastacus brasiliensis (von Martens, 1869), P. defossus Faxon, 1898, P. laevigatus Buckup & Rossi, 1980, P. pilimanus (Von Martens, 1869), P. pugnax (Poepigg, 1835), P. promatensis Fontoura & Conter, 2008 and P. varicosus Faxon, 1898. A new genus is proposed to encompass the species P. nicoleti (Philippi, 1882) and this species is also redescribed. In addition, 13 new species are described. Identification keys, descriptions, diagnoses, synonymies and distribution maps of the genera and species are provided. Phylogenetic trees corroborated the monophyly of Parastacus and the South American crayfish clade, and give support for the establishment of a new genus and new species. With this thesis, the increase in specific richness for Parastacus is more than 150% and new information about habitat and distribution will bring support for future conservation and management studies.

Os lagostins de água doce sulamericanos (Família Parastacidae) são representados por três gêneros: Parastacus Huxley, 1879, Samastacus Riek, 1971 and Virilastacus Hobbs, 1991. Esse grupo é distribuído no Sul do Brasil (Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina), Uruguai, Argentina e Chile. Os objetivos dessa tese foram revisar a taxonomia do gênero Parastacus e investigar a sua monofilia e relações filogenéticas entre suas espécies e entre os outros gêneros sulamericanos. Para esse propósito, várias coleções e museus ao redor do mundo foram analisados (Brasil, Argentina, Uruguai, Chile, Estados Unidos, Alemanha, Holanda, Inglaterra e França) em adição a coletas realizadas entre Março de 2013 a Setembro de 2016. Os espécimes foram analisados em estereomicroscópio e os desenhos foram preparados com auxílio de camara lucida. Para as análises genéticas, uma abordagem multigênica foi utilizada com dois marcadores mitocondriais (Cox1 e 16S) e um nuclear (28S). A análise filogenética foi realizada por Inferência Bayesiana e a distância genética p também foi calculada. Adicionalmente, o risco de extinção foi assessado para algumas espécies de acordo com o sub-critério B1 da IUCN que leva em consideração a estimativa da Área de Extenção de Ocorrência. Oito espécies foram redescritas: Parastacus brasiliensis (von Martens, 1869), P. defossus Faxon, 1898, P. laevigatus Buckup & Rossi, 1980, P. pilimanus (Von Martens, 1869), P. pugnax (Poepigg, 1835), P. promatensis Fontoura & Conter, 2008 e P. varicosus Faxon, 1898. Um novo gênero foi proposto para alocar a espécie P. nicoleti (Philippi, 1882) que também foi redescrita. Treze novas espécies foram descritas. Assim como, chaves de identificação, descrições, diagnoses, sinonímias e mapas de distribuição foram providos. As árvores filogenéticas resultantes corroboraram com a monofilia de Parastacus e do clado sulamericano, além de dar suporte para o estabelecimento de um novo gênero e novas espécies. Com essa tese, o aumento da riqueza específica para Parastacus é de mais de 150% e as novas informações sobre habitat e distribuição trarão suporte para futuros estudos de conservação e manejo. / South American freshwater crayfish (Family Parastacidae) are represented by three genera: Parastacus Huxley, 1879, Samastacus Riek, 1971 and Virilastacus Hobbs, 1991. This group is distributed in Southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina), Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. The goals of this thesis is to review the taxonomy of the genus Parastacus and to investigate the monophyly and phylogenetic relationships within Parastacus and among South American crayfish genera. For this purpose, several collections and museums around the world were analyzed (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, United States of America, Germany, Netherlands, England, and France) in addition to collectings carried out from March 2013 to September 2016. Specimens were analyzed under a stereomicroscope and drawings were prepared with the aid of a camara lucida. For genetic analysis, a multigenic approach was used with two mitochondrial (Cox1 and 16S) and one nuclear (28S) markers. Phylogenetic analysis were performed with Bayesian Inference and genetic p-distances were also calculated. In addition, the extinction risk was assessed according to the sub-criterion B1 of IUCN that estimates the Extent of Occurrence (EOO) for some species. Eight species are redescribed: Parastacus brasiliensis (von Martens, 1869), P. defossus Faxon, 1898, P. laevigatus Buckup & Rossi, 1980, P. pilimanus (Von Martens, 1869), P. pugnax (Poepigg, 1835), P. promatensis Fontoura & Conter, 2008 and P. varicosus Faxon, 1898. A new genus is proposed to encompass the species P. nicoleti (Philippi, 1882) and this species is also redescribed. In addition, 13 new species are described. Identification keys, descriptions, diagnoses, synonymies and distribution maps of the genera and species are provided. Phylogenetic trees corroborated the monophyly of Parastacus and the South American crayfish clade, and give support for the establishment of a new genus and new species. With this thesis, the increase in specific richness for Parastacus is more than 150% and new information about habitat and distribution will bring support for future conservation and management studies.

Abstract The activity of neurons is critically dependent upon the suite of voltage-dependent ion channels expressed in their membranes. In particular, voltage-gated K+ channels are extremely diverse in their function, contributing to the regulation of distinct aspects of neuronal activity by shaping the voltage responses. In this study the role of K+ channels in neural coding is investigated in Drosophila photoreceptors by using biophysical models with parameters derived from the electrophysiological experiments. Due to their biophysical properties, the Shaker channels attenuate the fast transients and amplify the slower signal components, enabling photoreceptors to use their voltage range more effectively. Slow delayed rectifier channels, shown to be encoded by the Shab gene, activate at high light intensities, thereby attenuating the light-induced depolarization and preventing response saturation. Activation of Shab channels also reduces the membrane time constant making it possible to encode faster events. Interactions between the voltage-gated K+ channels and the currents generated by the light induced conductance (LIC) were investigated during naturalistic stimulation in wild type and Shaker mutant photoreceptors. It is shown that in addition to eliminating the Shaker current, the mutation increased the Shab current and affected the current flowing through the LIC. Part of these changes could be attributed to direct feedback from the Shaker channels via the membrane potential. However, it is suggested that also other changes may occur in the LIC due to mutation in K+ channels, possibly during photoreceptor development. Comparison of the Shaker and Shab mutant photoreceptors with the wild type revealed that a concurrent decrease in the steady-state input resistance followed from deletion of the voltage-gated K+ channels. This allowed partial compensation of the compression and saturation caused by the loss of Shaker channels and it maintained the characteristics of the light-voltage relationship in Shab mutant photoreceptors. However, wild type properties were not fully restored in either mutant. Indeed, decreased input resistance results in reduced efficiency of neural processing, assessed by the metabolic cost of information. Results of this study demonstrate the importance of the voltage-gated K+ channels for neural coding precision and highlight the robustness of neuronal information processing gained through regulation of the electrical properties.

Neural oscillations, including rhythms in the beta1 band (12-20 Hz), are important in various cognitive functions. Often brain networks receive rhythmic input at frequencies different than their natural frequency, so understanding how neural networks process rhythmic input is important for understanding their function in the brain. In the current thesis we study a beta1 rhythm that appears in the parietal cortex, focusing on the way it interacts with other incoming rhythms, and the implications of this interaction for cognition. The main part of the thesis consists of two stand-alone chapters, both using as a basis a biophysical neural network model that has been previously proposed to model the parietal beta1 rhythm and validated with in vitro experiments. In the first chapter we use a reduced version of this model, in order to study its dynamics, applying both analytic and numerical methods from dynamical systems. We show that a cell can respond at the same time to two periodic stimuli of unrelated frequencies, firing in phase with one, but with a mean firing rate equal to the other, a consequence of general properties of the dynamics of the network. We next show numerically that the behavior of a different cell, which is modeled as a high-dimensional dynamical system, can be described in a surprisingly simple way, owing to a reset that occurs in the state space when the cell fires. The interaction of the two cells leads to novel combinations of properties for neural dynamics, such as mode-locking to an input without phase-locking to it. In the second chapter, we study the ability of the beta1 model to support memory functions, in particular working memory. Working memory is a highly distributed component of the brain's memory systems, partially based in the parietal cortex. We show numerically that the parietal beta1 rhythm can provide an anatomical substrate for an episodic buffer of working memory. Specifically, it can support flexible and updatable representations of sensory input which are sensitive to distractors, allow for a read-out mechanism, and can be modulated or terminated by executive input.

This essay is an analysis of Aldous Huxley’s novel Crome Yellow and how it can be read as exposing social hypocrisy and tracing social flaws through England’s religious history. The analysis uses narratology as a tool for exploring how the author can be perceived as offering a perspective on religious history that might have been controversial in his day. Crome Yellow is Huxley's first novel and is written in the tradition of Satirical literature which can be traced back to the seventeenth century and writers such as Jonathan Swift and Charles Dickens in the nineteenth century. As Crome Yellow also has autobiographical tendencies, it has been read as revolving around Huxley's own experiences and perspectives, revealing a vulnerability that none of his later novels seems to have done. Though Huxley was drawn to the religions of the East, the novel refers to the Christian religion, making a distinction between Catholicism and Protestantism. This distinction pertains directly to the characters and narrative structures in Crome Yellow and can be seen as a key in what Huxley might be conveying through the novel. The aim is to demonstrate how the novel can be read as the author’s tracing of his religious roots.

There have been many different studies performed in order to examine various properties of neurons. One of the most important properties of neurons is an ability to originate and propagate action potential. The action potential is a source of communication between different neural structures located in different anatomical regions. Many different studies use modeling to describe the action potential and its properties. These models mathematically describe physical properties of neurons and analyze and explain biological and electrochemical processes such as action potential initiation and propagation. Therefore, one of the most important functions of neurons is an ability to provide communication between different neural structures located in different anatomical regions. This is achieved by transmitting electrical signals from one part of the body to another. For example, neurons transmit signals from the brain to the motor neurons (efferent neurons) and from body tissues back to the brain (afferent neurons). This communication process is extremely important for a being to function properly. One of the most valuable studies in neuroscience was conducted by Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley. In their work, Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley used a giant squid axon to create a mathematical model which analyzes and explains the ionic mechanisms underlying the initiation and propagation of action potentials. They received the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for their valuable contribution to medical science. The Hodgkin and Huxley model is a mathematical model that describes how the action potential is initiated and how it propagates in a neuron. It is a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations that approximates the electrical characteristics of excitable cells such as neurons and cardiomyocytes. This work focuses on modeling the Hodgkin and Huxley model using MATLAB extension - Simulink. This tool provides a graphical editor, customizable block libraries, and solvers for modeling and simulating dynamic systems. Simulink model is used to describe the mechanisms and underlying processes involved in action potential initiation and propagation.

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No description available.

Neste trabalho as equações fenomenológicas (tetra-dimensionais) de Hodgkin-Huxley [5], para a membrana da fibra do neurônio, são estudadas mediante transformações não-lineares de variáveis. As transformações de variáveis visam estabelecer um processo controlado de redução de variáveis até chegar a um modelo bidimensional com o menor prejuízo quantitativo possível. O objetivo primordial é aprofundar o entendimento da aparente relação das equações de Hodgkin-Huxley com uma versão da equação de 2ª ordem de van der Pol, conhecida na literatura pelos nomes de equação de FitzHugh-Nagumo [83], equação de Nagumo [84] ou equação Bonhoeffer-van der Pol [7]. É proposta também uma nova formulação matemática para o modelo da corrente de potássio. Estas modificações possibilitam a elaboração de uma remodelagem do aspecto e funcionamento interno do circuito equivalente da membrana. Este circuito, além de facilitar as simplificações para comparar as novas equações em relação ao modelo tipo van der pol, apresenta também potencial teórico mais desenvolvido do que o circuito equivalente original de Hodgkin-Huxley, já que ao contrário deste os elementos do novo circuito podem ser mais facilmente reconhecidos e manipulados dentro da teoria usual de circuitos elétricos. Uma primeira conseqüência da concepção do novo circuito, aqui explorada, é a formulação do modelo da membrana na linguagem da mecânica analítica. / The phenomenological four-variable equations of Hodgkin and Huxley [5] for the neuron fiber membrane are studied by means of nonlinear transformations of variables . The purpose is gradually reduce the number of variables to a three and then to a two-dimensional model, with smallest possible deviations from the quantitative properties of the original model. The primary aim is to get better insights into the apparent connect ion between the Hodgkin-Huxley equations and a version of the second order equation of van der Pol, usually called FitzHugh-Nagumo equation [83], or Nagumo equation [84], or Bonhoeffer- van der Pol equation [7]. An alternative formulation for the potassium current is also proposed. The above modifications lead to an alternative circuit model for the nerve membrane. Such circuit helps the comparison with the van der Pol-type model. It exhibits also better theoretical appeal than the original circuit of Hodgkin and Huxley in the sense that the circuit elements are now properly defined in terms of usual electrical circuit theory. An application of the proposed equivalent circuit i s a description of the Hodgkin-Huxley membrane model according to the formalism of analytical mechanics.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T19:25:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rafael R Borges.pdf: 2438169 bytes, checksum: 7ddddb02731c3c29cfcf61b843e0f82d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-11 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / In this thesis, it was investigated the influence of synaptic plasticity in the dynamics of neuronal networks. Specifically, we analyzed the effect on creation and suppression of synchronization spikes in networks composed of neurons with excitatory and inhibitory synapses. The spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) changes the strength of existing synapses in the neuronal network. To simulate the dynamics of each neuron, we considered the Hodgkin and Huxley model (HH), that is able to provide the main features of the temporal evolution of the membrane potential of each cell. The Kuramoto order parameter was utilized as synchronization diagnostic. First of all, we have studied the dynamics spikes in neuronal networks on a global and random topology with excitatory synapses with plasticity (STDP). It was observed that the STDP improves synchronization in a sufficiently dense neuronal networks. However, this effect is maximized by the insertion of an external perturbation of moderate intensity. Further, the system behavior was analyzed using the combination of inhibitory and excitatory synapses, both with spike timing-dependent plasticity. Our results indicated that the network becomes desynchronized when the intensity of inhibitory synapses is increased. Nevertheless, for small intensities of these synapses there was an increase in the values of the order parameter when the system with STDP was perturbed. / Nesta tese foi investigada a influência dos modelos de plasticidade sináptica na dinâmica de redes neuronais. Especificamente, foi analisado o efeito da plasticidade na criação e supressão da sincronização ao de disparos em redes compostas por neurônios com sinapses excitatórias e inibitórias. O modelo de plasticidade sináptica dependente do tempo entre disparos (do inglês: Spike-timing-dependent plasticity: STDP), modifica a intensidade das sinapses existentes na rede neuronal. Para simular a dinâmica de cada neurônio foi utilizado o modelo de Hodgkin e Huxley (HH), que ´e capaz de fornecer as principais características da evolução ao temporal do potencial de membrana de cada célula. Como diagnóstico de sincronização foi utilizado o parâmetro de ordem de Kuramoto. Primeiramente foi investigada a dinâmica de disparos em redes neuronais com topologia global e aleatória com sinapses excitatórias com plasticidade (STDP). Observou-se que a STDP contribui para a sincronização ao do sistema em redes neuronais suficientemente densas. No entanto, este efeito é maximizado com a inserção de uma perturbação o externa de intensidade moderada. Na sequência, foi analisado o comportamento do sistema com a combinação de sinapses excitatórias e inibitórias, ambas com STDP. Os resultados indicaram que a rede torna-se não sincronizada com o aumento da intensidade das sinapses inibitórias. Entretanto, para pequenas intensidades destas sinapses, observou-se um acréscimo nos valores do parâmetro de ordem quando o sistema com STDP foi perturbado.