Real-time PCR assay targeting the actin gene for the detection of Cryptosporidium parvum in calf fecal samples

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

Fiber fermentability effects on energy and macronutrient digestibility, fecal traits, postprandial metabolite responses, and colon histology of overweight cats

Considering the different potential benefits of divergent fiber ingredients, the effect of 3 fiber sources on energy and macronutrient digestibility, fermentation product formation, postprandial metabolite responses, and colon histology of overweight cats (Felis catus) fed kibble diets was compared. Twenty-four healthy adult cats were assigned in a complete randomized block design to 2 groups of 12 animals, and 3 animals from each group were fed 1 of 4 of the following kibble diets: control (CO; 11.5% dietary fiber), beet pulp (BP; 26% dietary fiber), wheat bran (WB; 24% dietary fiber), and sugarcane fiber (SF; 28% dietary fiber). Digestibility was measured by the total collection of feces. After 16 d of diet adaptation and an overnight period without food, blood glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride postprandial responses were evaluated for 16 h after continued exposure to food. on d 20, colon biopsies of the cats were collected under general anesthesia. Fiber addition reduced food energy and nutrient digestibility. of all the fiber sources, SF had the least dietary fiber digestibility (P < 0.05), causing the largest reduction of dietary energy digestibility (P < 0.05). The greater fermentability of BP resulted in reduced fecal DM and pH, greater fecal production [g/(cat x d); as-is], and greater fecal concentration of acetate, propionate, and lactate (P < 0.05). For most fecal variables, WB was intermediate between BP and SF, and SF was similar to the control diet except for an increased fecal DM and firmer feces production for the SF diet (P < 0.05). Postprandial evaluations indicated reduced mean glucose concentration and area under the glucose curve in cats fed the SF diet (P < 0.05). Colon mucosa thickness, crypt area, lamina propria area, goblet cell area, crypt mean size, and crypt in bifurcation did not vary among the diets. According to the fiber solubility and fermentation rates, fiber sources can induce different physiological responses in cats, reduce energy digestibility, and favor glucose metabolism (SF), or improve gut health (BP).

Fecal Sterols in Estuarine Sediments as Markers of Sewage Contamination in the Cubatao Area, São Paulo, Brazil

Sterol biomarkers serve as an alternative method for detecting sewage pollution. Sterols were extracted from samples of surface sediment collected in Cubato (the Vila dos Pescadores and Vila Esperan double dagger a communities) and quantified using GC-MS after Soxhlet extraction, cleanup, and derivatization. Fecal contamination was evaluated based on the concentration of coprostanol and the ratio of the selected sterols. The most abundant sterol was cholestanol, followed by coprostanol. The concentrations of coprostanol in surface sediments ranged from a minimum of 4.21 mu g g(-1) dry sediment (Vila dos Pescadores station) to a maximum of 8.32 mu g g(-1) dry sediment (Vila Esperan double dagger a station). A coprostanol concentration of about 10 mu g g(-1) was found, indicating areas of high sewage contamination. Coprostanol levels at sewage stations were higher than in other Brazilian coastal areas, which may be attributed to the fraction of the population without sanitation services.

Escherichia coli phylogenetic group determination and its application in the identification of the major animal source of fecal contamination

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

Efeito da lavagem peritoneal com bupivacaína na sobrevida de ratos com peritonite fecal

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Based on the knowledge of the anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial actions of local anesthetics (LA), the objective of this study was to determine the effects of peritoneal lavage with bupivacaine on survival of mice with fecal peritonitis. METHODS: Forty-eight Wistar mice, weighing between 300 and 330 g (311.45 ± 9.67 g), undergoing laparotomy 6 hours after induction of peritonitis were randomly divided in 4 groups: 1 - Control, without treatment (n = 12); 2 - Drying of the abdominal cavity (n = 12); 3 - Lavage with 3 mL NS and posterior drying of the abdominal cavity (n = 12); and 4 - Lavage with 8 mg.kg -1 (± 0.5 mL) of 0.5% bupivacaine added to 2.5 mL of NS followed by drying out of the abdominal cavity (n = 12). Animals that died underwent necropsy and the time of death was recorded. Surviving animals were killed on the 11 th postoperative day and underwent necropsy. RESULTS: Group 1 presented a 100% mortality rate in 52 hours, 100% mortality rate in Group 2 in 126 hours, and Group 3 presented a 50% mortality rate in 50 hours. Animals in Group 4 survived. Survival on the 11 th day was greater in groups 3 and 4 than in Groups 1 and 2 (p < 0.001) and greater in Group 4 than in Group 3 (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Peritoneal lavage with a solution of bupivacaine diluted in NS was effective in preventing death for 11 days in 100% of animals with fecal peritonitis. © Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia, 2008.

Diferentes procedimentos na determinação de indicadores internos para estimativa de produção fecal e fluxo duodenal de matéria seca em bovinos

Times of in situ incubation (144 and 288h) for determination of internal markers IADF and INDF and the effects of differents procedures (wash or not the nylon bag every 72h incubation) was evaluated in samples of diet, duodenal digesta and cattle feces. The duodenal flow dry matter and fecal production utilizing the internal markers to compare with the external marker chromium oxide there was estimated. The animals were fed with sorgum silage, concentrate or urea. In this experiment, a latin square design was used, in a factorial scheme (two times of incubation × two processing nylon bag). No was observed effect of the incubation time or processing in the internal markers INDF and IADF concentration and the in situ incubation after 144h is adequate to reproduce the indigestible markers fraction in samples. For fecal production estimation, the external marker chromium oxide presented similar result (1.26 kg day-1) as the total fecal collection (1.49 kg day-1). Both the internal markers overestimate the duodenal flow dry matter when compared with the external marker chromium oxide.

Diversidade de microrganismos indicadores utilizados na avaliação da contaminação fecal de areias de praias recreacionais marinhas: Estado atual do conhecimento e perspectivas

Although the quality of sea recreational waters is already monitored by programs implanted in some Brazilian states, including the State São Paulo, little attention has been given to beach sands, which have been disregarded from the point of view of public health. However, this panorama is changing in recent years due to an increasing number of cases of mycoses and bacterial infections affecting people who frequent beaches and use sands as recreation places. This has caused greater concerns with the contamination of this environment, also measurable by the increase of the number of scientific works on sediments and recreational beach sands microbiota. Currently one knows that in general these sediments contain more microorganisms than the water and are therefore potential sources of contamination of human beings by pathogenic microorganisms. The results of works carried through in some countries are worrying, and have demonstrated the necessity of establishing standards and limits so that monitoring programs of the microbiological quality of beach sands are implanted. Such concern is especially high in Brazil, a country of a tropical climate where thousands of beaches, used for recreation, extend for almost eight thousand kilometers of the coast. In the context of Baixada Santista, studies carried through have shown that in certain situations beach sands can contain more microorganisms than waters and may be a risk to the health of users.

Importância do modelo animal para testar hipóteses sobre a fisiopatologia do binômio diabetes e incontinência urinária feminina

Aims: To discuss the importance of studying animal models to test hypotheses about the mechanisms of urinary continence and pathophysiology of diabetes and urinary incontinence. Source of Data: A literature review was conducted in PubMed and SciELO. The key words used were diabetes, urinary incontinence, urethra, human and rats. Summary of Findings: There is a strong relation between the genesis of urinary incontinence and diabetes mellitus. Due to the similarity of normal distribution of skeletal muscle and urethra anatomy between humans and rats, these animal models have been used in current research about these disorders. Conclusions: The use of rats as an animal model is suitable for experimental studies that test hypotheses about the mechanisms of continence and pathophysiology of the binomial diabetes mellitus and urinary incontinence, thus enabling solutions of great value in clinical practice.

Amplifiability of mitochondrial, microsatellite and amelogenin DNA loci from fecal samples of red brocket deer Mazama americana (Cetartiodactyla, Cervidae)

We tried to amplify mitochondrial, microsatellite and amelogenin loci in DNA from fecal samples of a wild Mazama americana population. Fifty-two deer fecal samples were collected from a 600-ha seasonal semideciduous forest fragment in a subtropical region of Brazil (21°20′, 47°17′W), with the help of a detection dog; then, stored in ethanol and georeferenced. Among these samples 16 were classified as fresh and 36 as non-fresh. DNA was extracted using the QIAamp® DNA Stool Mini Kit. Mitochondrial loci were amplified in 49 of the 52 samples. Five microsatellite loci were amplified by PCR; success in amplification varied according to locus size and sample age. Successful amplifications were achieved in 10/16 of the fresh and in 13/36 of the non-fresh samples; a negative correlation (R = -0.82) was found between successful amplification and locus size. Amplification of the amelogenin locus was successful in 22 of the 52 samples. The difficulty of amplifying nuclear loci in DNA samples extractedfrom feces collected in the field was evident. Some methodological improvements, including collecting fresh samples, selecting primers for shorter loci and quantifying the extracted DNA by real-time PCR, are suggested to increase amplification success in future studies. © FUNPEC-RP.

Fecal progestins during pregnancy and postpartum periods of captive red brocket deer (Mazama americana)

This study aimed to validate the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for fecal progestin quantification of the species Mazama americana, define its excretion profile during periods of gestation and postpartum and determine the gestation period and resumption of postpartum ovarian activity in this species in captivity Fecal samples were collected twice a week during gestation and every day in the postpartum period, and analyzed using EIA The mean concentrations (±SEM) of fecal progestins during gestation were 2180.0 ± 299.1 ng/g in early pregnancy (week 1-11), 3271.4 ± 406.9 ng/g in middle pregnancy (week 12-22) and 5592.0 ± 1125.8 ng/g in late pregnancy (week 23-32) The gestation period determined for the species was 220.9 ± 1.2 days The concentration of progestins reached its peak prior to parturition and returned to baseline levels in 4 ± 0.31 days after parturition In the postpartum period, the mean concentrations of fecal progestins were 1564.2 ± 182.6 ng/g in the interval between parturition and resumption of ovarian activity, 469.8 ± 24.5 ng/g in the inter-luteal phase and 2401.7 ± 318.5 ng/g during the luteal phase, such that the postpartum period and the luteal phase differed from the inter-luteal phase Fecal progestin profiling permitted the detection of ovulation 26.9 ± 3.4 days after parturition in all the hinds studied and estimation of the mean duration of the estrous cycle, 21.3 ± 1.1 days Analysis established that concentrations of progestins above 3038.76 ng/g diagnosed pregnancy, a value determined from the week 12 of gestation Moreover, the quantification of fecal progestins by EIA proved to be an important tool for noninvasive endocrine monitoring and to obtain reproductive data on the species M americana in captivity © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Prevalência de incontinência urinária e disfunção muscular do assoalho pélvico em primíparas dois anos após parto cesárea: Estudo transversal

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: There is uncertainty in the literature regarding the theory that obstetric events and pelvic floor injuries give rise to lower risk of subsequent urinary incontinence among women delivering via cesarean section than among women delivering vaginally. The objective of this study was to assess the two-year postpartum prevalence of urinary incontinence and pelvic floor muscle dysfunction and the factors responsible for them. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study, conducted in a public university. METHODS: 220 women who had undergone elective cesarean section or vaginal childbirth two years earlier were selected. Their urinary incontinence symptoms were investigated, and their pelvic floor muscle dysfunction was assessed using digital palpation and a perineometer. RESULTS: The two-year urinary incontinence prevalences following vaginal childbirth and cesarean section were 17% and 18.9%, respectively. The only risk factor for pelvic floor muscle dysfunction was weight gain during pregnancy. Body mass index less than 25 kg/m2 and normal pelvic floor muscle function protected against urinary incontinence. Gestational urinary incontinence increased the risk of two-year postpartum urinary incontinence. CONCLUSION: Gestational urinary incontinence was a crucial precursor of postpartum urinary incontinence. Weight gain during pregnancy increased the subsequent risk of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, and elective cesarean section did not prevent urinary incontinence.

Entre o sofrimento e a esperança: A reabilitação da incontinência urinária como componente interveniente

This is a qualitative study seeking to understand Brazilian women's experience of urinary incontinence (UI) and design a representative theoretical model for the experience. Theoretical saturation occurred after analysis of the 18th non-directive interview in accordance with Grounded Theory. Two phenomena emerged: living with the challenges of UI and experiencing the hope and disappointment of rehabilitation from UI. Upon re-alignment of the components, the core category emerged, namely: between suffering and hope - rehabilitation from urinary incontinence as an intervening component. From the analysis in light of symbolic interactionism, pregnancy and vaginal birth were observed to be symbols of women's vulnerability to the suffering from living with the moral and physio-psychosocial challenges of UI. It is also inferred that the lack of consideration of the Unified Health System (SUS) in investing in the process of rehabilitation from UI may be having a negative effect on the incentive programs for promoting vaginal birth. Most of all, it reveals the ongoing suffering of women with UI, most of whom do not have access to rehabilitation due to the lack of programs geared to the real needs of these users of the Unified Health System.

Associação entre os distúrbios huperglicêmicos e a ocorrência de incontinência urinária e a sua influência na qualidade de voda dirante a gestação

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Dinâmica temporal da poluição fecal nas águas do Córrego Rico, manancial de abastecimento da cidade de Jaboticabal-SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)