Behavioral Changes Caused By Austrodiplostomum Spp. In Hoplias Malabaricus From The São Francisco River, Brazil.

Traira (Hoplias malabaricus) is a neotropical fish that is widely distributed in freshwater environments in South America. In the present study, we documented the occurrence of metacercariae of Austrodiplostomum spp. (Diplostomidae) in the eyes and cranial cavity of H. malabaricus and described parasite-induced behavioral changes in the host. The fish were collected from the upper São Francisco River, in the Serra da Canastra mountain range, Minas Gerais, transported alive to the laboratory, observed for 2 weeks, and subsequently examined for parasites. Of the 35 fish examined, 28 (80 %) had free metacercariae in the vitreous humor (mean intensity=95.4; mean abundance=76.3), and 24 (68.57 %) had free metacercariae in the cranial cavity, mainly concentrated below the floor of the brain, at the height of the ophthalmic lobe (mean intensity=12.91; mean abundance=8.85). Specimens of H. malabaricus with a high intensity of infection in the brain displayed changes in swimming behavior.

Estudo comparativo dos métodos de estimativa da idade óssea de Greulich & Pyle e Tanner & Whitehouse

The purpose of this study was to verify whether the Greulich & Pyle (GP), Greulich & Pyle Visual (GPV) and Tanner & Whitehouse (TW) methods for estimating skeletal age could be applied in the Brazilian population, and which of these three methods could be considered more reliable when compared with the chronological age of the individuals. This study was based on one hundred and sixty volunteers (80 females and 80 males) with ages between 6 years and 10 months and 14 years and 9 months. The results showed that for the GP method, the correlations with chronological age were 0.95 for males and 0.97 for females. For the GPV method, the correlations were 0.96 and 0.97, respectively and for TW, 0.96 and 0.97. The results showed that the Greulich & Pyle, Greulich & Pyle Visual and Tanner & Whitehouse methods presented high correlation values when compared with the chronological age of the individuals. Corrective factors were established to make these methods applicable to the Brazilian population.