Intoxicação por cobre em ovinos: revisão de literatura

O cobre (Cu) é um microelemento essencial aos mamíferos, entretanto, quando ingerido em altas quantidades, num período curto ou prolongado, pode provocar uma intoxicação severa. A habilidade de acumular Cu nos tecidos varia de acordo com as espécies e com as raças dentro da própria espécie, dentre as espécies acometidas, destacam-se a ovina, e em menor escala, canina, suína e bovina. A intoxicação aguda em ovinos é pouco frequente e pode ser decorrente da ingestão oral ou da administração parenteral de cobre. A intoxicação crônica é a principal forma de ocorrência desta enfermidade nesta espécie. A maioria dos ovinos acometidos é proveniente de manejo intensivo, os quais recebem dietas ricas em concentrados energéticos, e a ocorrência mais comum se dá quando estes animais ingerem misturas minerais destinadas a bovinos. A forma crônica caracteriza-se por três fases distintas: pré-hemolítica, hemolítica e pós-hemolítica. O resultado, tanto da forma crônica, como da aguda será a hemólise intravascular. O diagnóstico é realizado por meio do histórico, exame clínico e laboratorial e achados de necropsia. Entre os sinais clínicos destacam-se a icterícia e a hemoglobinúria. A terapia pode ser eficiente se for iniciada precocemente no decorrer do 1º ao 2º dia após o início da hemoglobinúria, sendo utilizado antídoto específico à base de tetratiomolibdato (TTM). O controle em rebanhos ovinos deve ser feito com rígidas medidas dietéticas, evitando-se oferecer rações concentradas em concomitância com sais minerais que contenham altos teores de cobre.

Resistência do Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus aos carrapaticidas: revisão de literatura

O carrapato Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus é o principal ectoparasito de bovinos e esta associado à transmissão de doenças, causando grandes prejuízos econômicos a indústria da pecuária no geral. O surgimento de populações de carrapatos R.(B) microplus resistentes aos carrapaticidas comerciais é um problema observado em muitas propriedades rurais no mundo, gerando um prejuízo de aproximadamente US$ 7 bilhões por ano. O uso correto dos princípios ativos carrapaticidas existentes e conhecimento das diversas formas de resistência do R. (B) microplus a estes princípios são de grande valia para prevenir ou então diagnosticar precocemente o aparecimento da resistência nas diversas populações deste ectoparasita.

Hiperparatireoidismo nutricional secundário em equinos e ruminantes: revisão de literatura

O hiperparatireoidismo nutricional secundário é um distúrbio metabólico que acomete principalmente equídeos, mas pode se manifestar em caprinos e suínos. A etiologia está relacionada a alterações nas concentrações séricas de cálcio e fósforo devido à ingestão desbalanceada na dieta, levando a hipersecreção do paratormônio e consequente hiperparatireoidismo, que se manifesta por osteodistrofia fibrosa. A apresentação clássica é o aumento de volume, em geral bilateral e simétrico, dos ossos do crânio, sendo que o diagnóstico baseia-se principalmente na presença desta alteração. Entretanto, outros ossos também podem ser acometidos. Testes bioquímicos podem contribuir para o diagnóstico ao revelarem concentrações séricas de cálcio ionizado abaixo dos valores de referência e teor sérico de fósforo orgânico acima do normal, além de aumento na atividade da enzima fosfatase alcalina. Exames radiográficos demonstram opacidade óssea diminuída. O tratamento consiste principalmente na correção do desequilíbrio cálcio:fósforo na dieta e a profilaxia é de extrema importância a fim de se evitar prejuízos econômicos.

Brazilian community health agents and qualitative primary healthcare information

The aim of this study was to explore female community health agents’ views about the value of recording qualitative information on contextual health issues they observe during home visits, data that are not officially required to be documented for the Brazilian System of Primary Healthcare Information. Background: The study was conducted in community primary healthcare centres located in the cities of Araçatuba and Coroados (state of São Paulo) and Rio de Janeiro (state of Rio de Janeiro), Brazil. Methods: The design was a qualitative, exploratory study. The purposeful sampling criteria were being female, with a minimum of three years of continuous service in the same location. Data collection with 62 participants was conducted via 11 focus groups (in 2007 and 2008). Audio files were transcribed and submitted to the method of thematic analysis. Four themes guided the analysis: working with qualitative information and undocumented observation; reflecting on qualitative information; integrating/analysing quantitative and qualitative information; and information-sharing with agents and family health teams. In 2010, 25 community health agents verified the final interpretation of the findings. Findings: Participants valued the recording of qualitative, contextual information to expand understanding of primary healthcare issues and as an indicator of clients’ improved health behaviour and health literacy. While participants initiated the recording of additional health information, they generally did not inform the family health team about these findings. They perceived that team members devalued this type of information by considering it a reflection of the clientele’s social conditions or problems beyond the scope of medical concerns. Documentation of qualitative evidence can account for the effectiveness of health education in two ways: by improving preventative care, and by amplifying the voices of underprivileged clients who live in poverty to ensure the most appropriate and best quality primary healthcare for them.

Extending lean manufacturing in supply chains: a successful case in Brazil

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a success story involving the extending of lean manufacturing practices between a focal firm and its supplier, both located in Brazil, thereby configuring a case of excellence. Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth case study was conducted involving two companies: Company A, focal, leader in its segment, located in Brazil; and Company B, Company A's supplier, also located in Brazil. Findings – Results indicate there are several mechanisms for extending lean manufacturing practices in the supply chain, such as workshops, training, and integrated teams. These mechanisms are shown and guidelines are also introduced for companies seeking to successfully extend lean manufacturing practices. Originality/value – An original use of define, measure, analyze, improve, control for structuring the extending of lean manufacturing practices to suppliers and, consequently, the importance of the lean six-sigma relationship in this context. Furthermore, the guidelines introduced serve as a benchmark for other companies interested in the topic.

Paraophioidina scolecoides n. sp., a New Aseptate Gregarine from Cultured Pacific White Shrimp Penaeus vannamei

The aseptate gregarine Paraophloidina scolecoides n. sp. (Eugregarinorida: Lecudinidae) heavily infected the midgut of cultured larval and postlarval specimens of Penaeus vannamei from a commercial 'seed-production' facility in Texas, USA. It is morphologically similar to P. korotneffi and P. vibiliae, but it can be distinguished from them and from other members of the genus by having gamonts associated exclusively by lateral syzygy. Shrimp acquired the infection at the facility; nauplii did not show any evidence of infection, but protozoea, mysis, and postlarval shrimp had a prevalence and intensity of infection ranging from 56 to 80 % and 10 to >50 parasites, respectively. Infected shrimp removed from the facility to aquaria at another location lost their gamont infection within 7 days When voided from the gut, the gregarine disintegrated in seawater. Results suggest that P. vannamei is an accidental host, although a survey of representative members of the invertebrate fauna from the environment associated with the facility failed to discover other hosts. No link was established between infection and either the broodstock or the water or detritus from the nursery or broodstock tanks.

Nebraska Panhandle Connects with German Institute on Agri Benchmark Project

In the Spring of 2009, the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center was contacted by a representative from the Institute of Farm Economics at the Johann Heinrich von Thunen Institute (vTI) in Braunschweig, Germany. In the initial meeting, a partnership was arranged to provide Western Nebraska irrigated economic data for the Agri Benchmark project operated by vTI, with the University of Nebraska receiving access to the worldwide data set that exists within the project. This relationship has grown over the past 18 months to include a number of other opportunities.

A two-layer approximation to the Brazil Current-Intermediate Western Boundary Current System between 20 degrees S and 28 degrees S

It has been shown that the vertical structure of the Brazil Current (BC)-Intermediate Western Boundary Current (IWBC) System is dominated by the first baroclinic mode at 22 degrees S-23 degrees S. In this work, we employed the Miami Isopycnic Coordinate Ocean Model to investigate whether the rich mesoscale activity of this current system, between 20 degrees S and 28 degrees S, is reproduced by a two-layer approximation of its vertical structure. The model results showed cyclonic and anticyclonic meanders propagating southwestward along the current axis, resembling the dynamical pattern of Rossby waves superposed on a mean flow. Analysis of the upper layer zonal velocity component, using a space-time diagram, revealed a dominant wavelength of about 450 km and phase velocity of about 0.20 ms(-1) southwestward. The results also showed that the eddy-like structures slowly grew in amplitude as they moved downstream. Despite the simplified design of the numerical experiments conducted here, these results compared favorably with observations and seem to indicate that weakly unstable long baroclinic waves are responsible for most of the variability observed in the BC-IWBC system. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feature-oriented regional modeling and simulations (FORMS) for the western South Atlantic: Southeastern Brazil region

The multi-scale synoptic circulation system in the southeastern Brazil (SEBRA) region is presented using a feature-oriented approach. Prevalent synoptic circulation structures, or ""features,"" are identified from previous observational studies. These features include the southward-flowing Brazil Current (BC), the eddies off Cabo Sao Tome (CST - 22 degrees S) and off Cabo Frio (CF - 23 degrees S), and the upwelling region off CF and CST. Their synoptic water-mass (T-S) structures are characterized and parameterized to develop temperature-salinity (T-S) feature models. Following [Gangopadhyay, A., Robinson, A.R., Haley, PJ., Leslie, W.J., Lozano, C.j., Bisagni, J., Yu, Z., 2003. Feature-oriented regional modeling and simulation (forms) in the gulf of maine and georges bank. Cont. Shelf Res. 23 (3-4), 317-353] methodology, a synoptic initialization scheme for feature-oriented regional modeling and simulation (FORMS) of the circulation in this region is then developed. First, the temperature and salinity feature-model profiles are placed on a regional circulation template and objectively analyzed with available background climatology in the deep region. These initialization fields are then used for dynamical simulations via the Princeton Ocean Model (POM). A few first applications of this methodology are presented in this paper. These include the BC meandering, the BC-eddy interaction and the meander-eddy-upwelling system (MEUS) simulations. Preliminary validation results include realistic wave-growth and eddy formation and sustained upwelling. Our future plan includes the application of these feature models with satellite, in-situ data and advanced data-assimilation schemes for nowcasting and forecasting the SEBRA region. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Height variability from the MIROC - IPCC model for the 20th century compared to that of the TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter

Planetary waves are key to large-scale dynamical adjustment in the global ocean as they transfer energy from the east to the west side of oceanic basins; they connect the forcing in the ocean interior with the variability at its boundaries: and they change the local heat content, thus coupling oceanic, atmospheric, and biological processes. Planetary waves, mostly of the first baroclinic mode, are observed as distinctive patterns in global time series of sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) and heat storage. The goal of this study is to compare and validate large-scale SSHA signals from coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC) with TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite altimeter observations. The last decade of the models` time series is selected for comparison with the altimeter data. The wave patterns are separated from the meso- and large-scale SSHA signals by digital filters calibrated to select the same spectral bands in both model and altimeter data. The band-wise comparison allows for an assessment of the model skill to simulate the dynamical components of the observed wave field. Comparisons regarding both the seasonal cycle and the Rossby wave Held differ significantly among basins. When carried within the same basin, differences can occur between equal latitudes in opposite hemispheres. Furthermore, at some latitudes the MIROC reproduces biannual, annual and semiannual planetary waves with phase speeds and average amplitudes similar to those observed by the altimeter, but with significant differences in phase. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Orobothriurus (Scorpiones: Bothriuridae) phylogeny, Andean biogeography, and the relative importance of genitalic and somatic characters

The genus Orobothriurus Maury, 1976 (Bothriuridae Simon, 1880) displays an Andean pattern of distribution, most of its species occurring at high altitudes (over 2000-2500 m to a maximum altitude record of 4910 m) from central Peru to Argentina. The recent discovery of several new species and the uncertain phylogenetic position of Orobothriurus lourencoi Ojanguren Affilastro, 2003, required a reanalysis of Orobothriurus phylogeny. Thirty bothriurid taxa, including all species of Orobothriurus and Pachakutej Ochoa, 2004, were scored for 65 morphological characters and analysed with parsimony under equal and implied weighting. The resulting topology justifies the establishment of a new genus, Rumikiru Ojanguren Affilastro et al., in press, for O. lourencoi and a closely related, new species, Rumikiru atacama Ojanguren Affilastro et al., in press. It also offers new insights about the phylogeny and biogeography of Orobothriurus and related genera. Characters from the male genitalia (i.e. hemispermatophore), comprising approximately 26% of the morphological matrix, were found to be less homoplastic than those from somatic morphology, contradicting suggestions that genitalia are uninformative or potentially misleading in phylogenetic studies.

Unraveling the structure of squids' spermatophores: a combined approach based on Doryteuthis plei (Blainville, 1823) (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae)

Marian, J.E.A.R. and Domaneschi, O. 2012. Unraveling the structure of squids spermatophores: a combined approach based on Doryteuthis plei (Blainville, 1823) (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae). Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 93: 281307. Male coleoid cephalopods produce elaborate spermatophores, which function autonomously outside the male body during copulation, undergoing a complicated process of evagination. In order to contribute to the understanding of this unique structure, this study investigated the morphology of the spermatophore of Doryteuthis plei applying several microscopy techniques. A hitherto unreported, much more complex structural arrangement was revealed for the loliginid spermatophore, the most striking findings being: (1) the complex, layered structure of the middle membrane, which bears an additional, chemically distinct segment surrounding part of the cement body; (2) the presence of a space between the inner tunic and middle membrane filled with a fine reticulated material; (3) the presence of stellate particles not only embedded in the spiral filament, but also closely applied to the inner membrane at the level of the cement body; (4) the presence of a pre-oral chamber in the cap region; and (5) the complex organization of the cement body, formed by two distinct layers encompassing contents of different chemical and textural properties. Careful literature reassessment suggests several of these features are common to loliginids, and to some extent to other squids. Their possible functional implications are discussed in light of our knowledge of the spermatophoric reaction mechanics.

Low liquid-solid ratio (LSR) hot water pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse

Low liquid-solid ratio (LSR) can be used to obtain high-content xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS) spend liquor by hot water pretreatment. Developing a technology based on low LSR results in more efficient water usage in the system and thus in lower capital and operating costs. Xylans from xylan rich agro-industrial waste are abundant hemicellulosic polymers with enormous potential for industrial applications. Currently, freeze-dried xylo-oligosaccharides are used as bio-based polymers and hydrolysates containing high xylose contents are converted to several chemical products. In this study, sugarcane bagasse was treated with water at low LSRs and mild temperatures in order to assess the effects of varying the pretreatment conditions on the xylo-oligosaccharide and xylose concentrations, and use a central composite experimental design to optimize the process parameters. The pretreatments were performed in the ranges temperature: 143.3-176.7 degrees C, time: 20-70 min and LSR: 1 : 1 to 11 : 1 (g g(-1)). The maximum concentrations of xylose and xylan were 13.76 and 36.18 g L-1 (equivalent to 48.29 g L-1 of xylan), respectively, which were achieved by treating bagasse at 170 degrees C for 60 min, with LSR of 3 g g(-1). The amount of xylan removed under these conditions was almost 57%. The soluble xylan consisted mainly of xylo-oligosaccharides (74 wt% of the identified compound in the spent liquor).

Comparative neurocranial morphology of angelsharks from the south-western Atlantic Ocean (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii, Squatinidae): implications for taxonomy and phylogeny

Neurocrania of three species of angelsharks from the south-western Atlantic Ocean, occurring off south-eastern and southern Brazil, are described. A detailed morphological description is provided of the neurocranium of Squatina guggenheim and compared with S. argentina and S. occulta. Despite being generally conservative, the neurocranium of Squatina presents significant differences among these species which aid in their identification, which is otherwise problematical. The main distinctions were found in rostral projections, anterior fontanellae, supraorbital crests, upper and lower postorbital processes, otic capsules, suborbital crests, and pterotic processes. Squatina guggenheim and S. occulta share more neurocranial characters when compared to S. argentina. No basal angle was found, but we confirm the presence of a very much reduced and barely noticeable basioccipital fovea in Squatina; systematic implications within elasmobranchs of these and other features are discussed.

The dual pathway in action: decoupling parallel routes for CO2 production during the oscillatory electro-oxidation of methanol

As in the case of most small organic molecules, the electro-oxidation of methanol to CO2 is believed to proceed through a so-called dual pathway mechanism. The direct pathway proceeds via reactive intermediates such as formaldehyde or formic acid, whereas the indirect pathway occurs in parallel, and proceeds via the formation of adsorbed carbon monoxide (COad). Despite the extensive literature on the electro-oxidation of methanol, no study to date distinguished the production of CO2 from direct and indirect pathways. Working under, far-from-equilibrium, oscillatory conditions, we were able to decouple, for the first time, the direct and indirect pathways that lead to CO2 during the oscillatory electro-oxidation of methanol on platinum. The CO2 production was followed by differential electrochemical mass spectrometry and the individual contributions of parallel pathways were identified by a combination of experiments and numerical simulations. We believe that our report opens some perspectives, particularly as a methodology to be used to identify the role played by surface modifiers in the relative weight of both pathways-a key issue to the effective development of catalysts for low temperature fuel cells.