Draft genome of the Leptospira interrogans strains, Acegua, RCA, Prea, and Capivara, obtained from wildlife maintenance hosts and infected domestic animals

In the present paper, we announce new draft genomes of four Leptospira interrogans strains named Acegua, RCA, Prea, and Capivara. These strains were isolated in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from cattle, dog, Brazilian guinea pig, and capybara, respectively.

Pictorial identification key for species of Sarcophagidae (Diptera) of potential forensic importance in southern Brazil

Pictorial identification key for species of Sarcophagidae (Diptera) of potential forensic importance in southern Brazil. Species of the subfamily Sarcophaginae are important to forensic entomology due to their necrophagous habits. This contribution presents a pictorial key for the identification of 22 Sarcophaginae species in 10 genera that are commonly found in southern Brazil. Photographs of the main structures used in species identification, mainly from the male terminalia, are provided.

A pictorial key and diagnosis of the Brazilian genera of Micropezidae (Diptera, Nerioidea)

A pictorial key and diagnosis of the Brazilian genera of Micropezidae (Diptera, Nerioidea). This paper provides the first pictorial key and diagnosis for the Brazilian genera of the Micropezidae, based on external morphological characters illustrated with photographs. The key includes 13 genera: Cardiacephala Macquart, Cliobata Enderlein, Grallipeza Rondani, Metasphen Frey, Micropeza Meigen, Parasphen Enderlein, Planipeza Marshall, Plocoscelus Enderlein, Poecilotylus Hennig, Ptilosphen Enderlein, Rainieria Rondani, Scipopus Enderlein and Taeniaptera Macquart. For each genus, the species known to occur in Brazil are listed and their distribution records, including new ones, are provided.

Community structures of soil animals and survival of land snails on an island of the Ogasawara Archipelago

On Chichijima, one of the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands located in the Western Pacific Ocean, land snails have declined, the suggested cause being predation pressure by an invasive flatworm (Platydemus manokwari). Soil fauna were investigated in areas where the snail survives, and where it has become extinct. Much of the fauna, dominated by introduced earthworms and ants, was undiminished, however, one undescribed but endemic carabid (Badister sp.), which selectively feeds on land snails, was absent in snail-extinct areas. The invasive flatworm P. manokwari has been reported to feed also on the carcasses of earthworms, as well as on live snails, and is therefore expected to occur in most parts of Chichijima Island. Among other groups, the density of isopods (also dominated by exotic species) was very low, in comparison with the reported ones 30 years ago. Community structure is currently reflected by dominance of earthworms and ants, decline of endemic isopods, and a high frequency of introduced or alien species.

Candidate SNPs for carcass and meat traits in Nelore animals and in their crosses with Bos taurus

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes IGF1 (AF_017143.1:g.198C>T), MSTN (AF_320998.1:g.433C>A), MYOD1 (NC_007313:g.1274A>G) and MYF5 (NC_007303:g.1911A>G) on carcass and meat traits in Nelore (Bos indicus) and Nelore x B. taurus. A total of 300 animals were genotyped and phenotyped for rib eye area (REA), backfat thickness (BT), intramuscular fat (IF), shear force (SF) and myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI). The effects of allele substitution for each SNP were estimated by regression of the evaluated phenotypes on the number of copies of a particular allele using the general linear model. The polymorphism at IGF1 was non-informative in Nelore animals. In crossbred animals, the IGF1 C allele was associated with greater REA. However, this relation was not significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. The A allele of the MSTN polymorphism was absent in Nelore cattle and was only found in two crossbred animals. The polymorphisms of MYOD1 and MYF5 were little informative in Nelore animals with G allele frequency of 0.097 and A allele frequency of 0.031, respectively. These markers show no association with the analyzed traits in the total sample of evaluated animals.

Color of smoked loin from animals fed with bioactive compounds added to forage

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of the breed and of the addition of bioactive substances to forage on the color of smoked pork loin. Two pig breeds (Polish Landrace and the crossbreed Polish Landrace x Duroc), three types of bioactive components (organic selenium; 2% of canola oil and 1% of flaxseed oil; and 2% of flaxseed oil and 1% of canola oil), and a control treatment were evaluated. Computer image analysis included the color assessment of muscle, fat, connective tissues, and smoked loin surface. For Polish Landrace, selenium supplementation caused higher values of red, green, and blue color components of the muscle tissue, which were lower for the crossbreed. However, there was no difference in the color components of loin fat tissue of the Polish Landrace breed due to selenium supplementation. In the case of oil supplementation, values of the color components of the muscle tissue for the Polish Landrace x Duroc crossbreed were also lower. The color components of muscle, fat, connective tissues, and smoked loin surface depend on the pig breed and on the bioactive compounds added to the forage.

Scrotal collections: pictorial essay correlating sonographic with magnetic resonance imaging findings

The present study is aimed at describing scrotal collections observed at ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging. The authors describe the main features of hydrocele, hematocele and pyocele, as well as the most common causes, clinical manifestations and associated diseases, with a brief review of the embryology and anatomy of the scrotum. Collections are frequently found in the evaluation of the scrotum, which is often performed on an emergency basis, and in most cases can be differentiated by means of imaging studies. With the consolidation of magnetic resonance imaging as the method of choice complementary with ultrasonography, the authors also describe magnetic resonance imaging findings of scrotal collections as well as the situations where such method is indicated.

High-resolution computed tomography and histopathological findings in hypersensitivity pneumonitis: a pictorial essay

Abstract Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is a diffuse interstitial and granulomatous lung disease caused by the inhalation of any one of a number of antigens. The objective of this study was to illustrate the spectrum of abnormalities in high-resolution computed tomography and histopathological findings related to hypersensitivity pneumonitis. We retrospectively evaluated patients who had been diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis (on the basis of clinical-radiological or clinical-radiological-pathological correlations) and had undergone lung biopsy. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is clinically divided into acute, subacute, and chronic forms; high-resolution computed tomography findings correlate with the time of exposure; and the two occasionally overlap. In the subacute form, centrilobular micronodules, ground-glass opacities, and air trapping are characteristic high-resolution computed tomography findings, whereas histopathology shows lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrates, bronchiolitis, variable degrees of organizing pneumonia, and giant cells. In the chronic form, high-resolution computed tomography shows traction bronchiectasis, honeycombing, and lung fibrosis, the last also being seen in the biopsy sample. A definitive diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis can be made only through a multidisciplinary approach, by correlating clinical findings, exposure history, high-resolution computed tomography findings, and lung biopsy findings.

Histological changes caused by experimental Riedeliella graciliflora (Leg. Papilionoideae) poisoning in cattle and laboratory animals

Tissues from cattle, mice, rats and guinea pigs experimentally intoxicated by Riedeliella graciliflora were studied histologically. Cattle lymph nodes, spleen, Peyer patches and peribronchial lymphoid tissues had diffuse necrosis of lymphocytes, mainly in the germinal centers of the follicles. This lesion was less severe in laboratory animals. All species had severe enteritis with infiltration of the lamina propria by mononuclear cells. Some cells in this infiltrate were necrotic. Degeneration and necrosis of the epithelial cells, mainly in the tip of the villi, and detachment of the epithelial lining from the lamina propria were also observed. In the liver the trabecular structure was disrupted and the hepatocytes had some degree of individual necrosis and degeneration. A tubular nephrosis was observed in the kidneys. Liver, lung, kidney, intestine and lymph nodes had different degrees of congestion. Those lesions are similar than those caused by Polygala klotzschii, a plant that contains 5-metoxi-podophyllotoxin.

Myocardial stereology in captive Callithrix kuhlii (Callitrichidae, Primates): healthy animals versus animals affected by wasting marmoset syndrome (WMS)

This study comprised 12 hearts of Wied´s black-tufted-ear marmoset, Callithrix kuhlii (Coimbra-Filho 1985), 6 with Wasting Marmoset Syndrome (WMS) and 6 non-affected. Biometry was performed after death. After necropsy, the hearts were weighed, dissected, fixed in 10% formalin solution (pH 7.2), and processed for optical microscopy at 5µm sections stained with Haematoxylin-Eosin. Quantitative analysis was performed by stereological techniques. The statistical differences between the biometrical and stereological parameters were assessed by the Mann-Whitney test. The morphometric results showed that WMS causes a significant reduction in body and cardiac weights, and also in the volume density of vessels in those animals. Further studies are necessary to understand some of the results shown here.

Interference of age and repetition of the same noxious stimulus on hyperalgesia

Pain in animals has been recognized for less than one century. Several authors confirm that animals are capable to process, register and modulate nociceptive stimuli in a very similar way to human kind and there are several evidences registering the impact of pain sensation over vital systems interfering on disease outcome. Nevertheless, despite some evidences that animals, as human beings, can store information from past painful experiences less is known about how this so called pain memory works. The aims of this study were: to evaluate if the response to a painful stimuli differs during different stages of life and if repetition of a same acute stimuli in the same animal interferes with expression of hyperalgesia. Thus, 60 rats were selected and arranged in 3 equal groups: 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months of age. All animals were injected 5% formalin solution in the plantar face of hind paw under volatile general anesthesia. Von Frey filaments were applied at 1h, 24h and 48h after sensitization. Injection was repeated twice with a 30-day interval, each time in a different hind paw. Results showed that younger rats express lower hyperalgesia thresholds in the first stimulation compared to elder animals and that repetition of same stimulus diminishes hyperalgesia thresholds when it begins during infant period and augments hyperalgesia thresholds when it begins during elder ages.

Identification of new flagellin-encoding fliC genes in Escherichia coli isolated from domestic animals using RFLP-PCR and sequencing methods

Identification of Escherichia coli requires knowledge regarding the prevalent serotypes and virulence factors profiles allows the classification in pathogenic/non-pathogenic. However, some of these bacteria do not express flagellar antigen invitro. In this case the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP-PCR) and sequencing of the fliC may be suitable for the identification of antigens by replacing the traditional serology. We studied 17 samples of E. coli isolated from animals and presenting antigen H nontypeable (HNT). The H antigens were characterized by PCR-RFLP and sequencing of fliC gene. Three new flagellin genes were identified, for which specific antisera were obtained. The PCR-RFLP was shown to be faster than the serotyping H antigen in E. coli, provided information on some characteristics of these antigens and indicated the presence of new genes fliC.

Evaluation of a model for induction of periodontal disease in dogs

There are several methods for inducing periodontal disease in animal models, being the bone defect one of the most reported. This study aimed to evaluate this model, through clinical, radiographic, tomographic and histological analyzes, thus providing standardized data for future regenerative works. Twelve dogs were subjected to the induction protocol. In a first surgical procedure, a mucoperiosteal flap was made on the buccal aspect of the right third and fourth premolars and a defect was produced exposing the furcation and mesial and distal roots, with dimensions: 5mm coronoapical, 5mm mesiodistal, and 3mm buccolingual. Periodontal ligament and cementum were curetted and the defect was filled with molding polyester, which was removed after 21 days on new surgical procedure. Clinical and radiographic examinations were performed after the two surgeries and before the collection of parts for dental tomography and histological analysis. All animals showed grade II furcation exposure in both teeth. Clinical attachment level increased after induction. Defect size did not change for coronoapical and buccolingual measurements, while mesiodistal size was significantly higher than at the time of defect production. Radiographic analysis showed decreased radiopacity and discontinuity of lamina dura in every tooth in the furcation area. The horizontal progression of the disease was evident in micro-computed tomography and defect content in the histological analysis. Therefore, it is concluded that this method promotes the induction of periodontal disease in dogs in a standardized way, thus being a good model for future work.

Fifty years in the blink of an eye: a retrospective study of ocular and periocular lesions in domestic animals

A survey was undertaken aiming to obtain an overview of ocular and periocular lesions diagnosed in domestic mammals over a period of 50 years in a veterinary pathology diagnostic laboratory in the Central Region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In this lab, 33,075 histophatological exams had been performed over the period surveyed, of which 540 (1.6%) concerned ocular and periocular lesions. For various reasons ninety specimens were excluded from the study and the remaining 450 consisted of samples from dogs (53.5%), cattle (28.2%), cats (11.1%), horses (5.1%) sheep (1.3%), rabbits (0.4%), and pig (0.2%). The eyelids were the most prevalent (248/450) site of lesions in each of the species studied, followed by third eyelid (73/450), and conjunctiva (27/450). In dogs (241 samples) lesions in sebaceous glands (including Meibomian glands) were the most common findings (75/241), followed by melanocytic tumors (52/241) and nonspecific conjunctivitis (13/241). Squamous cell neoplasms, both benign and malignant, were relatively common. In cattle, anatomical sites affected by ocular and periocular lesions, in decreasing order of frequency, were eyelid, cornea and third eyelid. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) alone accounted for 80.3% of all diagnoses, while all neoplastic lesions made up for 85.0% of the lesions diagnosed in cattle. Neoplasia accounted for most of the lesions diagnosed in cats (39/50 cases); all of these were malignant, and SCC, hemangiosarcoma and fibrosarcoma were the most common types diagnosed. In horses, 19 out of 23 submissions were neoplasms and most were sarcoid (8/23) and SCC (8/23). There were six submissions from sheep with unpigmented skin, all of which represented SCC of the eyelids (5) and third eyelid (1).