RESUMEN
Industrialization has greatly changed human lifestyle; work and leisure activities have been moved indoors, and artificial light has been used to illuminate the night. As cyclic environmental cues such as light and feeding become weak and/or irregular, endogenous circadian systems are increasingly being disrupted. These disruptions are associated with metabolic dysfunction, possibly contributing to increased rates of overweight and obesity worldwide. Here, we aimed to investigate how activity-rest rhythms, patterns of light exposure, and levels of urbanization may be associated with body mass index (BMI) in a sample of rural and urban Quilombola communities in southern Brazil. These are characterized as remaining social groups who resisted the slavery regime that prevailed in Brazil. Quilombola communities were classified into five groups according to their stage of urbanization: from rural areas with no access to electricity to highly urbanized communities. We collected anthropometric data to calculate BMI, which was categorized as follows: from ≥ 18.5 kg/m2 to < 25 kg/m2 = normal weight; from ≥ 25 kg/m2 to < 30 kg/m2 = overweight; and ≥ 30 kg/m2 = obese. Subjects were asked about their sleep routines and light exposure on workdays and work-free days using the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (N = 244 included). In addition, we analyzed actimetry data from 121 participants with seven consecutive days of recordings. Living in more urbanized areas and higher intradaily variability (IV) of activity-rest rhythms were associated with an increased risk of belonging to the overweight or obese group, when controlling for age and sex. These findings are consistent with preclinical data and point to potential strategies in obesity prevention and promotion of healthy metabolic profiles.
RESUMEN
A new species of Charinus is described and illustrated from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Charinus ruschiisp. n. is found in Santa Lúcia reserve, Espírito Santo state, and is sympatric with Charinus brasilianus and Charinus montanus. The new species can be easily distinguished from the other species of the genus by the combination of the following characters: number of spines on the pedipalp tarsus, size and shape of the female genitalia, shape of the sternum and number of teeth in the cheliceral claw. The behavioral repertory is also described for this species based on five hours of qualitative and 24 hours of quantitative observations in order to define the behavioral categories. Five behavioral categories were detected and 21 behavioral acts. The most conspicuous category was Immobility, followed by Antenniform leg movement, Environmental exploration, Self-grooming, and Feeding. It was also found that juveniles spend longer time inside the shelter, even during peaks of adult activity, which could be related to a survival strategy.