Ribotyping and virulence markers of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strains isolated from animals in Brazil

Ribotyping and virulence markers has been used to investigate 68 Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strains of serogroups O:1a and O:3. The strains were isolated from clinical material obtained from healthy and sick animals in the Southern region of Brazil. Ribotypes were identified by double digestion of extracted DNA with the restriction endonucleases SmaI and PstI, separation by electrophoresis and hybridization with a digoxigenin-labeled cDNA probe. The presence of the chromosomal virulence marker genes inv, irp1, irp2, psn, ybtE, ybtP-ybtQ, and ybtX-ybtS, of the IS100 insertion sequence, and of the plasmid gene lcrF was detected by polymerase chain reaction. The strains were grouped into four distinct ribotypes, all of them comprising several strains. Ribotypes 1 and 4 presented distinct profiles, with 57.3% genetic similarity, ribotypes 2 and 3 presented 52.5% genetic similarity, and genetic similarity was 45% between these two groups (1/4 and 2/3). All strains possessed the inv, irp1, and irp2 genes. Additionally, strains of serogroup O:1a carried psn, ybtE, ybtP-ybtQ, ybtX-ybtS, and IS100. As expected lcrF was only detected in strains harboring the virulence plasmid. These data demonstrate the presence of Y. pseudotuberculosis strains harboring genotypic virulence markers in the livestock from Southern Brazil and that the dissemination of these bacteria may occur between herds.

Cancer risk assessment of ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages from Brazil with special consideration to the spirits cachaca and tiquira

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Prevalence and macro- and microscopic lesions produced by Gasterophilus nasalis (Diptera : Oestridae) in the Botucatu Region, SP, Brazil

The objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of Gasterophilus nasalis larvae in Botucatu, the central west region of São Paulo State, Brazil, and to describe the lesions caused by the parasite. The climate of Botucatu is warm and rainy during the months of December through March and cool and dry during the months of May through August. The prevalence of G. nasalis was 16.84%, and the period of peak infestation corresponded to the months of cold and dry weather. The lesions detected at the sites of larval attachment were examined macro- and microscopically. Erosions and ulcerations of the gastric mucosa and proximal duodenum were the major macroscopic lesions detected. Microscopically, the lesion spectrum ranged from mild inflammatory reactions to extensive necrosis and ulceration. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

The variability and predictors of quality of AIDS care services in Brazil

Background: Since establishing universal free access to antiretroviral therapy in 1996, the Brazilian Health System has increased the number of centers providing HIV/AIDS outpatient care from 33 to 540. There had been no formal monitoring of the quality of these services until a survey of 336 AIDS health centers across 7 Brazilian states was undertaken in 2002. Managers of the services were asked to assess their clinics according to parameters of service inputs and service delivery processes. This report analyzes the survey results and identifies predictors of the overall quality of service delivery.Methods: The survey involved completion of a multiple-choice questionnaire comprising 107 parameters of service inputs and processes of delivering care, with responses assessed according to their likely impact on service quality using a 3-point scale. K-means clustering was used to group these services according to their scored responses. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of high service quality.Results: The questionnaire was completed by 95.8% (322) of the managers of the sites surveyed. Most sites scored about 50% of the benchmark expectation. K-means clustering analysis identified four quality levels within which services could be grouped: 76 services (24%) were classed as level 1 (best), 53 (16%) as level 2 (medium), 113 (35%) as level 3 (poor), and 80 (25%) as level 4 (very poor). Parameters of service delivery processes were more important than those relating to service inputs for determining the quality classification. Predictors of quality services included larger care sites, specialization for HIV/AIDS, and location within large municipalities.Conclusion: The survey demonstrated highly variable levels of HIV/AIDS service quality across the sites. Many sites were found to have deficiencies in the processes of service delivery processes that could benefit from quality improvement initiatives. These findings could have implications for how HIV/AIDS services are planned in Brazil to achieve quality standards, such as for where service sites should be located, their size and staffing requirements. A set of service delivery indicators has been identified that could be used for routine monitoring of HIV/AIDS service delivery for HIV/AIDS in Brazil (and potentially in other similar settings).

Incidence and transplacental transmission of Neospora caninum in primiparous females from Bos indicus slaughtered in Presidente Pradente, São Paulo, Brazil

To produce an epidemiological map of neosporosis in Brazil and identify the types of transmission of this disease, the present study evaluated the occurrence of Neospora caninum in Nelore cattle (Bos indicus) in Presidente Prudent, west region of São Paulo state; its vertical transmission; and the early stage in which fetuses are infected. To achieve this, serum samples from 518 slaughtered pregnant heifers and their fetuses were tested by ELISA technique and fetal brain tissues subjected to PCR. One hundred and three heifers (19.88%) had antibodies to N. caninum, as well as 38 (36.8%) of fetuses from 4 months of gestation. The conventional PCR failed to detect N. caninum DNA. These findings show that neosporosis occurs in the area studied and that it may be transmitted the transplacental route, althought N. caninum had not detected in brain tissue from non-aborted fetuses. The use of nested PCR it would be applied to increase the sensitivy of test.

Dentistry in Brazil: Its History and Current Trends

The objectives of this article are to provide a short history of dentistry and dental education in Brazil and to analyze the nature of its development to date. The databases consulted are those provided by the Brazilian Federal Council of Dentistry, Brazilian Ministry of Health, Brazilian Ministry of Education, National Institute of Studies and Educational Research Anisio Teixeira, and Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Formal dental education in Brazil started in the late nineteenth century with the creation of courses annexed to existing schools of medicine in Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. Today, there are 191 institutions of higher education nationwide granting degrees in dentistry (137 private [71.7 percent] and fifty-four public [28.3 percent]), with a total of 17,157 student positions offered annually. These schools graduate around 10,000 professionals per year-one of the highest rates in the world. Both the distribution of schools of dentistry and of dentists varies among the regions of the country, with the greatest concentrations in major metropolitan centers with high population density, resulting in limited coverage in the more deprived regions. A review of epidemiological data for oral health and distribution of dentists in Brazil indicates that there is a lack of systematic planning for the allocation of the dental workforce and a lack of consideration of regional needs in the development of dental training programs in Brazil today.

Host specificity of sheep and cattle nematodes in São Paulo state, Brazil

The trial was carried out to investigate parasite host specificity and to analyse the dynamics of infection with nematodes parasitizing sheep and catt:le raised together or separately in São Paulo state, Brazil, and, also to clarify doubts about the systematics of species of the genus Haemonchus on the basis of cytological and morphological studies. Ten steers and 32 ewes were randomly assigned to three paddocks (P), as follows: P1, 5 steers; P2, 5 steers and 16 ewes; and P3, 16 ewes. The animals remained on these paddocks in continuous grazing throughout the trial (1-yr period). Faecal exams and larvae counting on pasture were performed fortnightly. Once a month two tracer lambs were placed in each paddock, while two tracer calves were also placed, but only in the eighth month of the trial. All these animals were slaughtered for worm identification and counting. At the end of the trial, one steer and one ewe from P2, which showed high faecal egg counts, were also slaughtered for the same purpose. Nematodes identified cytogenetically as H. placei presented spicule hooks longer than those identified as H. contortus. The following distribution of parasites in cattle and sheep was observed: Bunostomum phlebotomum, H. similis, Mammomonogamus laryngeus strongly adapted to cattle, H. placei and Cooperia punctata more adapted to cattle than to sheep, Trichostrongylus axel and C. spatulata apparently more adapted to cattle, T. colubriformis strongly adapted to sheep, H. contortus more adapted to sheep than to cattle and C. curticei apparently more adapted to sheep. Cross-infection was shown to occur involving some species, however, with time the animals apparently eliminate the species that are not well adapted to them. Therefore, grazing management systems using cattle and sheep appear to be promising for worm control in southeastern Brazil. (C) 1997 Elsevier B.V. B.V.

Detection of porcine circovirus genotypes 2a and 2b in aborted foetuses from infected swine herds in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Hemoparasites of the genus Trypanosoma (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) and hemogregarines in Anurans of the São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul States - Brazil

Os animais silvestres estão expostos a inúmeros patógenos,dentre eles estão os hemoparasitas. Podem-se destacar espécies do gênero Trypanosoma e do grupo das hemogregarinas,que ocorrem com freqüência parasitando anuros (rãs, pererecas e sapos). Normalmente, a descrição destes hemoparasitas é feita através da morfologia dos estágios observados nosangue periférico do hospedeiro e as pesquisas sobre o ciclobiológico desses hemoparasitas são escassas. Os objetivos dopresente estudo foram avaliar a presença de hemogregarinas eTrypanosoma spp. em anuros capturados nos Estados de São Paulo e Mato Grosso do Sul e fazer a caracterização morfológica e morfométrica dos seus hemoparasitas. As espécies deanuros examinadas foram: Dendropsophus nanus, D. minutus, Leptodactylus chaquensis, L. podicipinus, L. labyrinthicus, L. fuscus, Bufo granulosus, B. schneideri, Phyllomedusahypocondrialis, Trachicephalus venulosus, Scinax fuscovarius e Hypsiboas albopunctatus. Dos 40 animais estudados, foramencontrados quatro (10%) positivos para hemogregarinas e oito(20%) positivos para Trypanosoma spp. Foram observadosgamontes de hemogregarinas com morfologia variável e, alémdas formas intraeritrocíticas, também foram observados gamontes fora das hemácias. As formas de Trypanosoma encontradas eram muito polimórficas, conforme é descrito na literatura, sendo na sua maioria, larga e oval.

Composição e abundância da ictiofauna de duas lagunas costeiras da América do Sul Austral: lagoa do Peixe (31ºS; 51ºW), Brasil e laguna Mar Chiquita (37ºS; 57ºW), Argentina

This article describes and compares the shallow water fish-fauna from two coastal lagoons (Peixe Lagoon, in Brazil, and Mar Chiquita Lagoon, in Argentina). Peixe Lagoon was sampled between 2000 and 2001 using a 9 m beach seine net (12 mm bar mesh in the wings and 5 mm in the centre 3 m section) totalizing 125 samples, which yielded 33,848 individuals and 32 species. Mar Chiquita Lagoon was sampled from 1995 to 1998 using a 21) m beach seine net (12 mm bar mesh) totalizing 232 samples resulting in 31,097 individuals of 28 species. A total of 47 species were observed in both lagoons and 13 were shared. The "marine-estuarine-related" species were similar and dominate the fish assemblages in both lagoons. The remaining species were similar to the species collected along the southern Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina estuaries. The number of species observed in Peixe Lagoon (S = 32) was higher than in Mar Chiquita Lagoon (S = 28) and is probably associated with a strong latitudinal gradient of species richness increasing from north to south. Considering that the Peixe Lagoon and Mar Chiquita Lagoon are isolated by the large estuaries of Patos Lagoon and Prata River, the composition of the species with low abundance and occasional occurrence were different for each local studied. These results expand the knowledge for the fauna of both sites and help conservation and management from both lagoons.

Postural control and automaticity in dyslexic children: The relationship between visual information and body sway

Difficulty with literacy acquisition is only one of the symptoms of developmental dyslexia. Dyslexic children also show poor motor coordination and postural control. Those problems could be associated with automaticity, i.e., difficulty in performing a task without dispending a fair amount of conscious efforts. If this is the case, dyslexic children would show difficulties in using "unperceived" sensory cues to control body sway. Therefore, the aim of the study was to examine postural control performance and the coupling between visual information and body sway in dyslexic children. Ten dyslexic children and 10 non-dyslexic children stood upright inside a moving room that remained stationary or oscillated back and forward at frequencies of 0.2 or 0.5 Hz. Body sway magnitude and the relationship between the room's movement and body sway were examined. The results indicated that dyslexic children oscillated more than non-dyslexic children in both stationary and oscillating conditions. Visual manipulation induced body sway in all children but the coupling between visual information and body sway was weaker and more variable in dyslexic children. Based upon these results, we can suggest that dyslexic children use visual information to postural control with the same underlying processes as non-dyslexic children; however, dyslexic children show poorer performance and more variability while relating visual information and motor action even in a task that does not require an active cognitive and conscious motor involvement, which may be a further evidence of automaticity problem. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Floristic relationships among inland swamp forests of Southeastern and Central-Western Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fish community alterations due to pollution and damming in Tiete and Paranapanema rivers (Brazil)

The Tiete River crosses the metropolitan region of São Paulo (Brazil) and receives a large amount of pollution, in contrast to Paranapanema River which runs in a less populated area. In the inferior portions of the basins of these rivers, a series of reservoirs has been built for hydroelectric energy generation which improve the water quality due to the decantation of suspended soils and aeration in the water spills.Twenty-nine sampling sites were established along the two rivers and in each sampling site, two groups of eight gillnets were used with standardized sizes in two seasons: winter (dry season: June-September 1994) and summer (rainy season: December-March 1995). The fishes were measured and weighed.Twenty-five parameters related. to the water were recorded. PCA and cluster analysis helped to identify two groups of sampling sites. The first one corresponds to the rainy season samples, while the second corresponds to the dry season samples, so evidencing strong seasonal environmental variation. However, the dry season group is still divided into polluted and non-polluted sites, showing that during drought there are larger effects of pollutant concentration due to the decreased flow.A total of 415 kg of fish were caught, corresponding to 8324 individuals belonging to 64 different species, in 22 families and four orders of Teleostei. The largest catches occurred in the middle Tiete River. The catches in the reservoirs of the Tiete River, during the rainy season are superior to those of the dry season. on the other hand, sampling sites located in running water presented an inverse pattern with the largest catches in the dry-season. In river Paranapanema, catches are lower than in the Tiete River, except in Rosana Reservoir during the rainy season. Fish diversity was shown to be a good-indicator of environmental stress. In Tiete River an expressive fall in species richness was detected in the polluted stretches, with dominance of one or two species. In the intermediary stretches, the presence of rapids increases the amount of dissolved oxygen, allowing the development of the most abundant and diverse fish community of the river. Fish communities in the reservoirs of the inferior stretch of Tiete River are more diverse. on the other hand, the damming of the superior reaches of Paranapanema River provoked a decrease in diversity. 0 the whole, types of local fish communities detected, showing different compositions and specific abundances, revealed different ecological situations. A discriminant analysis revealed that the parameters of the water influencing the fish community were: dissolved oxygen, conductivity, nitrogen (nitrate, ammoniacal and albuminoid), phosphate, alkalinity, hardness and iron. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

Occurrence of Hymenoptera on Sus scrofa carcasses during summer and winter seasons in southeastern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Levels of persistent organic pollutants and residual pattern of DDTs in small cetaceans from the coast of São Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)