Canine Distemper Virus in a Crab-eating Fox (Cerdocyon thous) in Brazil: Case Report and Phylogenetic Analyses

Although canine distemper is enzootic worldwide and has a wide host range, there are no reports of canine distemper virus there are no reports of canine distemper virus provide information on virus phylogeny and histopathologic lesions. The objective of this study is report and describe canine distemper in a crab-eating fox (C. thous), with a focus oil the phylogeny of the virus strain and the histopathologic lesions in the animal.

Crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), a South American canid, as a definitive host for Hammondia heydorni

Hammondia heydorni is a cyst forming coccidia closely related to other apicomplexans, such as Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum and Hammondia hammondi with a two-host life cycle. Dogs and other canids as red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and coyotes (Canis latrans) may serve as definitive hosts for H. heydorni. Sporulated oocysts are infective for cattle, sheep and goats, which may serve as intermediate hosts. Herein, we describe the ability of crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), a wild carnivore that is commonly found from northern Argentina to northern South America, to serve as definitive host of H. heydorni. The whole masseter muscle and brain from two 2-year-old bovines were collected, minced and pooled together for the fox infection. The bovine pooled tissues were equally administered to four foxes, in two consecutive days. Two foxes shed subspherical unsporulated oocysts measuring 10-15 mu m, after 8 and 9 days post-infection, respectively. One of the foxes eliminated oocysts for 5 days, while the other fox shed oocysts for 9 days. A DNA sample of oocysts detected at each day of oocyst elimination was tested by two PCRs, one of them carried out employing primers directed to the common toxoplasmatiid 18S and 5.8S ribosomal RNA coding genes (PCR-ITS1) and the other based on heat-shock protein 70 kDa coding gene (PCR-HSP70). These samples were also submitted to a N. caninum specific nested-PCR protocol based on a N. caninum specific gene (Nc5-nPCR). All of them were positive by PCR-ITS1 and PCR-HSP70 but negative by Nc5-nPCR. The PCR-ITS1 and PCR-HSP70 nucleotide sequences amplified from the oocysts shed by the foxes revealed 100% identity with homologous sequences of H. heydorni. In conclusion, it is clear that H. heydorni also uses the crab-eating fox as a definitive host. The crab-eating fox is usually reported to live in close contact with livestock in several regions of Brazil. Therefore, it is reasonable to infer that such carnivores may play an important role in the sylvatic and domestic cycles of H. heydorni infection. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interactive Brazilian program to prevent eating disorders behaviors: A pilot study

During a four month scholarly leave in United States of America, researchers designed a culturally appropriate prevention program for eating disorders (ED) for Brazilian adolescent girls. The program ""Se Liga na Nutricao"" was modeled on other effective programs identified in a research literature review and was carried out over eleven interactive sessions. It was positively received by the adolescents who suggested that it be part of school curricula. The girls reported that it helped them to develop critical thinking skills with regards to sociocultural norms about body image, food and eating practices. (Eating Weight Disord. 15: e270-e274, 2010). (C)2010, Editrice Kurtis

Psychometric evaluation of the Disordered Eating Attitude Scale (DEAS). English version

Eating attitudes are defined as beliefs, thoughts, feelings, behaviors and relationship with food They could influence people`s food choices and their health status Objective This study aimed to adapt from Portuguese to English the Disordered Eating Attitude Scale (DEAS) and evaluate its validity and reliability. The original scale in Portuguese was translated and adapted into English and was applied to female university students of University of Minnesota USA (n = 224). Internal consistency was determined (Cronbach`s Alpha). Convergent validity was assessed by correlations between Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26) and Restrain Scale (RS). Reliability was evaluated applying twice the scale to a sub-sample (n = 30). The scale was back translated into Portuguese and compared with the original version and discrepancies were not found. The internal consistency was .76 The DEAS total score was significantly associated with EAT-26 (r = 0.65) and RS (r = 0 69) scores The correlation between test-retest was r = 09 The English version of DEAS showed appropriate internal consistency, convergent validity and test-retest reliability and will be useful to assess eating attitudes in different population groups in English spoken countries. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDITY OF THE DISORDERED EATING ATTITUDE SCALE (DEAS)

The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Disordered Eating Attitude Scale to measure disordered eating attitudes, defined as abnormal beliefs, thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and relationship regarding food. Exploratory factor analysis was performed and internal consistency assessed in a sample of female university students (N=196). Convergent validity was acceptable based on statistically significant correlations with the Eating Attitude Test-26 and Restraint Scale. Known-groups validity was determined by comparing the student sample`s mean scores against scores of an eating disorder group (N=51). The Disordered Eating Attitude Scale comprises 25 questions and five subscales explaining 54.3% of total variance. The total scores differentiated student, bulimia, and anorexia groups. The scale should prove useful for evaluating eating attitudes in various population groups and eating disordered patients.

Perception of eating practices and stages of change among Brazilian adolescents

Objective. To evaluate the perception of eating practices and the stages of change among adolescents. Methods. Cross-sectional study involving a representative sample of 390 adolescents from 11 public schools in the city of Piracicaba, Brazil, in 2004. Food consumption was identified by a food frequency questionnaire and the perception of eating practices evaluation was conducted by comparing food consumption and individual classification of healthy aspects of the diet. The participants were classified within stages of change by means of a specific algorithm. A reclassification within new stages of change was proposed to identify adolescents with similar characteristics regarding food consumption and perception. Results. Low consumption of fruit and vegetables and high consumption of sweets and fats were identified. More than 44% of the adolescents had a mistaken perception of their diet. A significant relationship between the stages of change and food consumption was observed. The reclassification among stages of change, through including the pseudo-maintenance and non-reflective action stages was necessary, considering the high proportion of adolescents who erroneously classified their diets as healthy. Conclusion. Classification of the adolescents into stages of change, together with consumption and perception data, enabled identification of groups at risk, in accordance with their inadequate dietary habits and non-recognition of such habits. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Body image dissatisfaction and eating symptoms in mothers of adolescents with eating disorders

The purpose of the present study was to assess body dissatisfaction and eating symptoms in mothers of eating disorder (ED) female patients and to compare results with those of a control group. The case group consisted of 35 mothers of female adolescents (aged between 10 and 17 yrs) diagnosed with ED who attended the Interdisciplinary Project for Care, Teaching and Research on Eating Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence (PROTAD) at Clinicas Hospital Institute of Psychiatry of the Universidade de Sao Paulo Medical School. Demographic and socioeconomic data were collected. Eating symptoms were assessed using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and body image was assessed by the Body Image Questionnaire (BSQ) and Stunkard Figure Rating Scale (FRS). The case group was compared to a control group consisting of 35 mothers of female adolescents (between 10 and 17 years) who attended a private school in the city of Sao Paulo, southeastern Brazil. With regard to EAT, BSQ and FRS scores, we found no statistically significant differences between the two groups. However, we found a positive correlation between BMI and BSQ scores in the control group (but not in the case group) and a positive correlation between EAT and FRS scores in the case group (but not in the control group). It appears to be advantageous to assess body image by combining more than one scale to evaluate additional components of the construct. (Eating Weight Disord. 15: e219-e225, 2010). (C)2010, Editrice Kurtis

The indirect amygdala-dorsal striatum pathway mediates conditioned freezing: Insights on emotional memory networks

The dorsal striatum (DS) is involved in various forms of learning and memory such as procedural learning, habit learning, reward-association and emotional learning. We have previously reported that bilateral DS lesions disrupt tone fear conditioning (TFC), but not contextual fear conditioning (CFC) [Ferreira TL, Moreira KM, Ikeda DC, Bueno OFA, Oliveira MGM (2003) Effects of dorsal striatum lesions in tone fear conditioning and contextual fear conditioning. Brain Res 987:17-24]. To further elucidate the participation of DS in emotional learning, in the present study, we investigated the effects of bilateral pretest (postraining) electrolytic DS lesions on TFC. Given the well-acknowledged role of the amygdala in emotional learning, we also examined a possible cooperation between DS and the amygdala in TFC, by using asymmetrical electrolytic lesions, consisting of a unilateral lesion of the central amygdaloid nucleus (CeA) combined to a contralateral DS lesion. The results show that pre-test bilateral DS lesions disrupt TFC responses, suggesting that DS plays a role in the expression of TFC. More importantly, rats with asymmetrical pre-training lesions were impaired in TFC, but not in CFC tasks. This result was confirmed with muscimol asymmetrical microinjections in DS and CeA, which reversibly inactivate these structures. On the other hand, similar pretest lesions as well as unilateral electrolytic lesions of CeA and DS in the same hemisphere did not affect TFC. Possible anatomical substrates underlying the observed effects are proposed. Overall, the present results underscore that other routes, aside from the well-established CeA projections to the periaqueductal gray, may contribute to the acquisition/consolidation of the freezing response associated to a TFC task. It is suggested that CeA may presumably influence DS processing via a synaptic relay on dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra compacta and retrorubral nucleus. The present observations are also in line with other studies showing that TFC and CFC responses are mediated by different anatomical networks. (C) 2008 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evidence for the thalamic targets of the medial hypothalamic defensive system mediating emotional memory to predatory threats

Previous studies from our laboratory have documented that the medial hypothalamic defensive system is critically involved in processing actual and contextual predatory threats, and that the dorsal premammillary nucleus (PMd) represents the hypothalamic site most responsive to predatory threats. Anatomical findings suggest that the PMd is in a position to modulate memory processing through a projecting branch to specific thalamic nuclei, i.e., the nucleus reuniens (RE) and the ventral part of the anteromedial nucleus (AMv). In the present study, we investigated the role of these thalamic targets in both unconditioned (i.e., fear responses to predatory threat) and conditioned (i.e., contextual responses to predator-related cues) defensive behaviors. During cat exposure, all experimental groups exhibited intense defensive responses with the animals spending most of the time in the home cage displaying freezing behavior. However, during exposure to the environment previously associated with a cat, the animals with combined RE + AMv lesions, and to a lesser degree, animals with single AMv unilateral lesions, but not animals with single RE lesions, presented a reduction of contextual conditioned defensive responses. Overall, the present results provide clear evidence suggesting that the PMd`s main thalamic targets (i.e., the nucleus reuniens and the AMv) seem to be critically involved in the emotional memory processing related to predator cues. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.