Molecular diversity of fungal and bacterial communities in the marine sponge Dragmacidon reticulatum

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

Molecular Identification and Characterization of Ileal and Cecal Fungus Communities in Broilers Given Probiotics, Specific Essential Oil Blends, and Under Mixed Eimeria Infection

Broiler digestive tract fungal communities have gained far less scrutiny than that given corresponding bacterial communities. Attention given poultry-associated fungi have focused primarily on feed-associated toxin-producers, yeast, and yeast products. The current project focused on the use of pyrosequencing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to identify and monitor broiler digestive fungal communities. Eight different treatments were included. Four controls were an Uninfected-Unmedicated Control, an Unmedicated-Infected Control, the antibiotic bacitracin methylene disalicylate plus the ionophore monensin as Positive Control, and the ionophore monensin alone as a Negative Control. Four treatments were two probiotics (BC-30 and Calsporin) and two specific essential oil blends (Crina Poultry Plus and Crina Poultry AF). All chickens except the Unmedicated-Uninfected Control were given, at 15 days of age, a standard oral Eimeria inoculum of sporulated oocysts. Ileal and cecal digesta were collected at pre-Eimeria infection at 14 days of age and at 7 days post-Eimeria infection at 22 days of age. Extracted cecal DNA was analyzed by pyrosequencing to examine the impact of diet supplements and Eimeria infection on individual constituents in the fungal community, while DGGE was used to compare more qualitative changes in ileal and cecal communities. Pyrosequencing identified three phyla, seven classes, eight orders, 13 families, 17 genera, and 23 fungal species. Ileal and cecal DGGE patterns showed fungal communities were clustered mainly into pre- and post-infection patterns. Post-infection Unmedicated-Uninfected patterns were clustered with pre-infection groups demonstrating a strong effect of Eimeria infection on digestive fungal populations. These combined techniques offered added versatility towards unraveling the effects of enteropathogen infection and performance enhancing feed additives on broiler digestive microflora.

Incidence of retromolar foramen in human mandibles: ethnic and clinical aspects

The retromolar foramen allows the passage of the neurovascular bundles that contribute to nutrition and innervation of the pulp and periodontium of the lower teeth. Knowledge of this anatomical variation may prevent complications in the anesthesia and surgical procedures in this area and serve as an anatomical landmark for ethnic identification. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the retromolar foramen in human mandibles of adult Brazilians and discuss the clinical and ethnic related to the presence of this foramen. Were evaluated 222 human mandibles, dry, adults, Brazilians, independent of gender. The evaluation was performed by two examiners who standardized search from a previous anatomical study. The mandibles were analyzed: the presence of the retromolar foramen (bilateral or unilateral), the presence of the foramen on right and left sides, and the number of foramens present on each side. It was found that 59 had at least one mandible retromolar foramens resulting in an incidence of 26.58%. The retromolar foramen was present unilaterally in 41 mandibles and 18 bilaterally, with incidences of 18.47% and 12.16% respectively. on the right side, the retromolar foramen was present in incidences of 16.22% and 18.92% respectively The analysis of the right side of the mandibles revealed that 47.46%, 21.21% and 3.03% had one, two and three foramens, respectively The left side showed 55.93%, 16.22% and 8.11% of the 222 mandibles with one, two and three retromolar foramens, respectively The incidence of retromolar foramen in the Brazilian population is significant and should be considered in the planning and execution of procedures in several areas of clinical practice dentistry in order to avoid complications. Moreover, it was found that the incidence of retromolar foramen contributes to differentiation of ethnic groups in the area of forensic anthropology.

Concordance between macroinvertebrate communities and the typological classification of white and clear-water streams in Western Brazilian Amazonia

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Recommended Guidelines for Submission, Trimming, Margin Evaluation, and Reporting of Tumor Biopsy Specimens in Veterinary Surgical Pathology

Neoplastic diseases are typically diagnosed by biopsy and histopathological evaluation. The pathology report is key in determining prognosis, therapeutic decisions, and overall case management and therefore requires diagnostic accuracy, completeness, and clarity. Successful management relies on collaboration between clinical veterinarians, oncologists, and pathologists. To date there has been no standardized approach or guideline for the submission, trimming, margin evaluation, or reporting of neoplastic biopsy specimens in veterinary medicine. To address this issue, a committee consisting of veterinary pathologists and oncologists was established under the auspices of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists Oncology Committee. These consensus guidelines were subsequently reviewed and endorsed by a large international group of veterinary pathologists. These recommended guidelines are not mandated but rather exist to help clinicians and veterinary pathologists optimally handle neoplastic biopsy samples. Many of these guidelines represent the collective experience of the committee members and consensus group when assessing neoplastic lesions from veterinary patients but have not met the rigors of definitive scientific study and investigation. These questions of technique, analysis, and evaluation should be put through formal scrutiny in rigorous clinical studies in the near future so that more definitive guidelines can be derived.

The role of spatial and temporal descriptors for neotropical tadpole communities in southern Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Habitat heterogeneity and use of physical and acoustic space in anuran communities in Southeastern Brazil

Habitat heterogeneity and use of physical and acoustic space in anuran communities in Southeastern Brazil. We intended to verify if structural and physiognomical characteristics of water bodies influence on the degree of overlap among calling sites of 23 anurans species, if anuran species use different calling sites in different water bodies, and if there is some relationship between the degree of advertisement call (based on seven call features) and calling site differentiation. Then, we determined calling sites (based in four variables) and recorded the advertisement call for anuran species that occurred in 10 water bodies of northwestern São Paulo State. We also determined the environmental heterogeneity (based in four environmental descriptors) for each water body. Males of most species used similar calling sites in each water body, probably because of the high uniformity of the environment, as a consequence of agricultural impacts on edge vegetation of the studied ponds. Most species (18 out of 19 species) called from different sites in the ponds where they occurred, which can be associated with differences in horizontal and vertical distribution of vegetation in the studied ponds. From the 19 species analyzed, only males of Pseudopaludicola aff. saltica called in sites with the same characteristics in different ponds. Advertisement call of Hylidae species was more similar to each other than were Leiuperidae and Leptodactylidae among themselves. The aquatic/terrestrial anurans (Bufonidae, Leiuperidae, Leptodactylidae and Microhylidae) occupied similar calling sites but presented quite distinct advertisement calls, while Hylidae species presented an inverse pattern: a high similarity on advertisement call features but used different calling sites, which indicates a niche complementarity between physical (calling site use) and acoustic (advertisement call) space use. © 2008 Departamento de Ciências Biológicas.

Biodiversity, distribution and abundance of shrimps Penaeoidea and Caridea communities in a region the vicinity of upwelling in Southeastern of Brazil

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