Tarsomere and distal tibial glands: structure and potential roles in termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae, Termitidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnologico (CNPq)

Efeitos do óleo da semente de neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) nos ovócitos e glândulas salivares de carrapatos Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille, 1806) (Acari: Ixodidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Lymphoepithelial cyst in jugal mucosa

Mouth lymphoepithelial cyst is rare, with few cases reported in literature. The aim of this article is to describe a clinical case, focusing on clinical and diagnostic aspects, treatment and prognosis. The lesion was one year old and had developed as a fibrous nodule in the jugal mucosa of a 71-year-old leucoderma patient. Considering focal inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia, fibroma and mucocele as differential diagnosis, excisional biopsy was carried out. A cystic cavity limited by pseudostratified epithelium without projections into the conjunctive tissue, with lymphoid tissue within, was microscopically identified. Without postoperative adverse events, the one-year clinical followup confirmed the favorable prognosis of this kind of lesion.

Development of bovine abomasum in prenatal period

For this purpose, samples of Nelore fetus abomasum (Bos taurus indicus) were classified into five groups: 1 – fetuses with 9 to 15 weeks (8 to 21 cm) of gestation, 2 – fetuses with 16 to 22 weeks (23 to 37 cm), 3 – fetuses at 23 to 29 weeks (40 to 58 cm) 4 – fetuses with 30 to 36 weeks (61 to 77 cm) and 5 – fetuses with 37 to 43 weeks (79 to 88 cm). Histologic sections were stained with Hematoxylin and eosin, picrosirius and Mallory’s trichrome methods and examined under light microscopy. In fetus with 11 cm of length showed deep mucosa, wide folds and villi lined by single cylindrical epithelium, lamina propria, submucosa, muscular sublayers and serosa. Fetus with 13.5 cm, villi were evident and muscular layer of the mucosa was formed. At 16.5 cm, could be seen an increase in mucosa glands size and number. In fetus of 26 cm, showed gastric mucous glands at great number and ramifications. At 29 cm large folds, were observed. At 37 cm, showed glandular epithelium, muscular layer of the mucosa and muscular layer well development. Fetus with 42 cm, showed deep glands with corresponding mucous cells surrounding by thin lamina propria. It was concluded that the histomorphometric values of muscular layer and total abomasum wall were increased for all groups except for groups 4 and 5 which there was a decline of values, without presenting a significant difference and there was no continuous pattern of growth for other components of abomasum wall.

Histomorfometria do útero de gatas submetidas à ovariosalpingohisterectomia

Histomorphometric data were obtained from cats uterine horns: either nulliparous (n = 6), primiparous (n = 6), multiparous (n = 6) and treated with contraceptive (n = 6). The material was collected after surgery, fixed in paraformaldehyde and embedded in paraplast® resin to be sliced in a microtome. The obtained sections were stained with hematoxylin - eosin and measured under a light microscope: uterine wall total thickness (μm), endometrium total height, endometrial glands diameter and glandular epithelia height, total myometrium, internal and external myometrium and vascular layer thickness. It was concluded that: 1 - contraceptive use and number of pregnancies altered the uterine structure, 2 - one pregnancy does not appear to affect the uterine lining structures as occurs in multiparous cats, 3 – there was no variation on the evaluated structures between nulliparous and primiparous cats except for inner myometrium, 4 - the total myometrium hight and the endometrium hight showed similar variations except for the contraceptive treated cats group, 5 - the outer myometrium showed marked changes in the treated cats, 6 – the less marked morphological variations were for the endometrial glands diameter and glandular epithelium hight, 7 - the presence of dilated endometrial glands was found only in treated cats.

Influência das células mioepiteliais neoplásicas benignas de adenoma pleomórfico na produção de MMPs -1, -2, - 8, -9 e -13 por células epiteliais malignas e sua possível relação com o índice de invasão

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

Associação da geoprópolis à quimioterápicos: ação citotóxica e antiproliferativa sobre células HEp-2 e mecanismos envolvidos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Anatomy of extrafloral nectaries in Fabaceae from dry-seasonal forest in Brazil

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

Detecção imunoistoquímica de receptores de estrógeno e progesterona no endométrio de vacas Nelore (Bos taurus indicus) durante o anestro pós-parto

Twenty-four postpartum anestrous Nelore purebred cows were used in the study. Anestrous was determined based on the reproductive history which was confirmed in each cow based on plasma progesterone concentration and by transrectal ultrasonography. Endometrial biopsies were collected. The animals were separated into two groups according to maximum follicular diameter- Group 1: follicles <6mm (n=12) and Group 2: follicles >-6mm follicles (n=12). The immunohistochemistry technique was employed to evaluate the presence of estrogen and progesterone receptors in the uterine glandular epithelium and stroma. High counts of positive nuclei and high intensity of immunostain for estrogen and progesterone receptors in the glandular epithelium and stroma were observed in the two groups. However, the immunostain intensity of progesterone receptors in the glandular epithelium was higher in Group 2 compared to Group 1. When glandular epithelium and stroma were compared within each group, the relative number of estrogen receptors in the Group 1 was higher in the glandular epithelium compared to stroma and the immunostain intensity for the progesterone receptor in Group 2 was higher in the glandular epithelium compared to stroma. The results suggest that the mechanisms that control the expression of endomerial receptors in the anestrus are similar to the ones observed during the estrus cycle.

Produtividade e perfil químico de óleo essencial de acessos de Varronia curassavica Jacq. em diferentes horários de coleta e período sazonal

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação imunoistoquimica da cérvix de cadelas saudáveis e com o diagnóstico de piometra

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Scraping Behavior in Male White-tailed Deer as a Potential Means of Transmitting Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has become a concern for wildlife managers and hunters across the United States. High prevalence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in older male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) suggests that sex-specific social behavior may contribute to the spread of the disease among males. Scraping is a marking behavior performed by male white-tailed deer during the rut in which a pawed depression and associated over-hanging branch are marked with saliva, glandular secretions, urine, and feces. We placed 71 and 35 motion-activated cameras on scrapes in DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in western Nebraska and eastern Iowa from Oct. – Nov. 2005 and Sept. – Nov. 2006, respectively. We recorded 5009 encounters and 1830 direct interactions. We developed an ethogram of behaviors of interest at scrapes. We found that males interacted with scrapes more frequently than females (P < 0.001). Male interactions were more complex, with 69% consisting of ≥2 observed behaviors versus 25% and 13% for females and fawns. We identified individual male deer ≥2.5 years old and determined the minimum number of different scrapes individuals visited and the number of individuals that visit a single scrape. Individuals that appeared on camera ≥5 times visited a mean of 3.9 scrapes (range = 1-15) and traveled a mean minimum distance of 978 m between consecutive scrapes. A mean of 5.1 individuals visited a single scrape, and up to 43% of individuals returned to a scrape previously visited at least once. We modeled Risk Values based on frequency of occurrence, duration, and Threat Values of each behavior, for contacting and transmitting CWD prions at scrapes. Adult males had the highest total Risk Values for contacting CWD prions (114.1) and shedding prions (59.4). The “grasp-lick branch” behavior had the highest Risk Value for adult males for both contacting and transmitting prions. Our study reveals a sex specific social behavior in male white-tailed deer that has the potential to spread chronic wasting disease between adult males in the population.

Unusual anatomy of the ectoparasitic muricid Vitularia salebrosa (King and Broderip, 1832) (Neogastropoda: Muricidae) from the Pacific coast of Panama

The morphology and anatomy of Vitularia salebrosa, a muricid ectoparasitic on other mollusks, are investigated based on study of specimens from western Panama. Distinctive characters of this species include the small size of the buccal mass and radular apparatus, simplification of the odontophore muscles and diminished lateral teeth of the radula; all elongated, narrow proboscis; narrow digestive tract and a differentiable glandular region at the beginning of the posterior esophagus. These traits are consistent with adaptive specialization for an ectoparasitic life history.

A new genus and species of inseminating characid fish from the rio Xingu basin (Characiformes: Characidae)

Phallobrycon adenacanthus, is described as a new genus and species belonging to Clade A characids of Malabarba & Weitzman (2003). The new taxon is the only characid possessing two developed spines on unbranched portions of fifth, sixth and seventh anal-fin rays associated with intumescent glandular tissue on the anterior portion of the anal fin of sexually mature males. Other non-exclusive diagnostic features of the new genus (observed in male specimens) are: urogenital papilla modified into a copulatory organ, absence of pelvic-fin hooks and glandular tissue not organized into an organ. The presence of these features in members of Clade A and other characids is discussed in order to hypothesize the relationships of Phallobrycon.

Evolution of extrafloral nectaries: adaptive process and selective regime changes from forest to savanna

Much effort has been devoted to understanding the function of extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) for antplantherbivore interactions. However, the pattern of evolution of such structures throughout the history of plant lineages remains unexplored. In this study, we used empirical knowledge on plant defences mediated by ants as a theoretical framework to test specific hypotheses about the adaptive role of EFNs during plant evolution. Emphasis was given to different processes (neutral or adaptive) and factors (habitat change and trade-offs with new trichomes) that may have affected the evolution of antplant associations. We measured seven EFN quantitative traits in all 105 species included in a well-supported phylogeny of the tribe Bignonieae (Bignoniaceae) and collected field data on antEFN interactions in 32 species. We identified a positive association between ant visitation (a surrogate of ant guarding) and the abundance of EFNs in vegetative plant parts and rejected the hypothesis of phylogenetic conservatism of EFNs, with most traits presenting K-values < 1. Modelling the evolution of EFN traits using maximum likelihood approaches further suggested adaptive evolution, with static-optimum models showing a better fit than purely drift models. In addition, the abundance of EFNs was associated with habitat shifts (with a decrease in the abundance of EFNs from forest to savannas), and a potential trade-off was detected between the abundance of EFNs and estipitate glandular trichomes (i.e. trichomes with sticky secretion). These evolutionary associations suggest divergent selection between species as well as explains K-values < 1. Experimental studies with multiple lineages of forest and savanna taxa may improve our understanding of the role of nectaries in plants. Overall, our results suggest that the evolution of EFNs was likely associated with the adaptive process which probably played an important role in the diversification of this plant group.