Exotic species of freshwater decapod crustaceans in the state of São Paulo, Brazil: records and possible causes of their introduction

Based on recent surveys of the freshwater decapod fauna, distributional data of five exotic species of freshwater decapod crustaceans for the hydrographic basins of the state of São Paulo are presented, as part of a large initiative for a comprehensive survey of the state's biodiversity (BIOTA-FAPESP Program). These species are the North American crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard) (Cambaridae), the crab Dilocarcinus pagei Stimpson (Trichodactylidae) from the Amazon and Paraguay/lower Parana River Basins, and the palaemonid shrimps Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man), from the Indo-Pacific region, Macrobrachium amazonicum (Heller) and Macrobrachium jelskii (Miers), both from the Orinoco, Amazon and the Paraguay/lower Parana River Basins. Possible modes by which their introduction might have occurred are commented upon and potential consequences are discussed.

ANTS AS POTENTIAL VECTORS OF PATHOGENS IN HOSPITALS IN THE STATE OF SAO-PAULO, BRAZIL

Baiting studies performed in large, medium and small hospitals in Brazil revealed the presence of 14 ant species, with up to nine recorded in one hospital. Dominant species were exotic ants, and in the large hospital, Tapinoma melanocephalum was the most prevalent. Ants were not uniformly spread through the hospitals, but tended to be found in the more critical areas, particularly in nursery, intensive care, obstetrics, neurology and dermatology units. Bacteriological studies using specific media for bacteria associated with intra-hospital infections indicated the potential for the mechanical vectoring of species of Staphylococcus, Serratia, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Enterobacter, Candida and Enterococcus by ants. Although T. melanocephalum did not have the highest rate of association with these bacteria, its ubiquitous occurrences resulted in the highest overall potential as a vector of these bacteria. Because of a large number of ant species occurring in Brazilian hospitals, ants pose a potential problem to the spread of diseases in hospitals. Because of the number of associated ant species in hospitals, the control of this potential problem is much more difficult than in registered temperate areas.

Distribution of the orchid species in the coastal plains of the fazenda beach, municipality of ubatuba, state of sao-paulo, brazil

A floristic survey for the family Orchidaceae was undertaken in a coastal forest area of ca. 8 km2 in the Picinguaba Development Center of the Serra do Mar State Park, in the municipality of Ubatuba, Brazil. The sampling used all tracks and roads of the area, up to the altitude of 50 m.s.m. and resulted in 77 species distributed in 45 genera. The spacial distribution of the species was plotted in maps of the nine physiognomical units identified for the area, based on 1:8.000 and 1:25.000 aerial photographs, and field observations. The results are shown in 1:10.000 topographic charts. Ninety percent of the species occur in at least 3 physiognomical units while 60% only occurred in a single unit, what indicates that the orchids can be used to characterize the vegetation even in large scales.

Clinical pathological data and analyses of mineral elements of cattle affected by epizootic botulism in the State of São Paulo

In order to study laboratorial aspects of beef cow mortality, a syndrome popularly known as ''doenca da vaca caida'', examens were made of blood, cerebrospinal fluid, serum, bone and liver samples from 32 naturally affected 4 to 9 year old cows, 27 belonging to the Nellore breed and 5 were crossbred Nellore, all originating from farms located in municipalities near Botucatu, State of São Paulo. Laboratory determinations were analysed by descriptive statistics and included hematological values, total plasma protein, plasma fibrinogen, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and concentration measurements of serum calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, total protein, albumin, globulin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, gama-glutamyltransferase and creatine kinase activities, included bone ash percentage and concentrations of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, and also hepatic levels of copper, zinc, iron, manganese and cobalt. In addition, mouse bioassays and complement micro-fixation tests were performed to detect botulinum toxins in liver samples. The results indicated leukocytosis (13,3+/-3,9 x10(3)/mm(3)) with neutrophilia (8,9+/-3,2 x10(3)/mm(3)), hypocalcemia (7,8+/-1,7mg/dl), hypophosphatemia (3,6+/-1,6mg/dl), hypoalbuminemia (2,9+/-0,9g/dl), increased creatine kinase activity (691,0+/-829,7 UI/1), and reduced ash percentage (60,3+/-1,9%) and low phosphorus (17,2+/-0,4%) in bone. The other values were ail within normal limits. The diagnosis of botulism, involving type C and D toxins, was confirmed as the cause of the mortality in the region of study, what is strongly consistent with the other laboratorial findings.

First record of petrified Permian pecopterids from the Parana Basin, Brazil (Corumbatai Formation, Passa Dois Group, northeastern State of São Paulo): Morphology, anatomy and paleoecological implications

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

Phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) found in soil and litter from Atibaia, State of São Paulo, Brazil, with description of two new species

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

Description of a new species of Pseudopaludicola Miranda-Ribeiro, 1926 from the state of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil (Anura, Leiuperidae)

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

Surveillance Programme for Healthcare Associated Infections in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Implementation and the first three years' results

Governmental programmes should be developed to collect and analyse data on healthcare associated infections (HAIs). This study describes the healthcare setting and both the implementation and preliminary results of the Programme for Surveillance of Healthcare Associated Infections in the State of São Paulo (PSHAISP), Brazil, from 2004 to 2006. Characterisation of the healthcare settings was carried out using a national database. The PSHAISP was implemented using components for acute care hospitals (ACH) or long term care facilities (LTCF). The components for surveillance in ACHs were surgical unit, intensive care unit and high risk nursery. The infections included in the surveillance were surgical site infection in clean surgery, pneumonia, urinary tract infection and device-associated bloodstream infections. Regarding the LTCF component, pneumonia, scabies and gastroenteritis in all inpatients were reported. In the first year of the programme there were 457 participating healthcare settings, representing 51.1% of the hospitals registered in the national database. Data obtained in this study are the initial results and have already been used for education in both surveillance and the prevention of HAI. The results of the PSHAISP show that it is feasible to collect data from a large number of hospitals. This will assist the State of São Paulo in assessing the impact of interventions and in resource allocation. (C) 2010 The Hospital Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ceramic raw materials from the State of Maranhao, Brazil. Part 1: chemical and mineralogical characterization and technological properties of clays from Sao Luis, Rosario, Pinheiro and Mirinzal

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in dairy calves from the state of So Paulo, Brazil

Cryptosporidiosis is a common protozoan disease observed in a wide range of vertebrate hosts, including ruminants. Cattle can be a potential reservoir of Cryptosporidium spp., leading to environmental contamination with oocysts of zoonotic species. The molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. isolated from cattle from the state of So Paulo, Brazil, was accomplished using nested polymerase chain reaction for amplification of fragments of the 18S rRNA gene and the glycoprotein GP60 gene, following sequencing of amplified fragments. Positivity for Cryptosporidium was found in 10.7% (21/196) of the samples. Four species of Cryptosporidium were identified: C. andersoni, C. bovis, C. parvum subtype IIaA15G2R1, and C. ryanae. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of infection by C. ryanae and C. parvum IIaA15G2R1 in cattle from Brazil.

FIRST RECORD of AN EPIBIONT PROTOZOAN EPISTYLIS SP (CILIOPHORA, PERITRICHIA) ATTACHED TO AMPLEXIBRANCHIUS BRYCONIS THATCHER & PAREDES, 1985 (COPEPODA, ERGASILIDAE) FROM PEIXE'S RIVER, STATE of São Paulo, BRAZIL

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

Genetic population data of 12 STR loci of the PowerPlex (R) Y system in the state of São Paulo population (Southeast of Brazil)

Allele frequency distributions and population data for 12 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs) included in the PowerPlex (R) Y Systems (Promega) were obtained for a sample of 200 healthy unrelated males living in S (a) over tildeo Paulo State (Southeast of Brazil). A total of 192 haplotypes were identified, of which 184 were unique and 8 were found in 2 individuals. The average gene diversity of the 12 Y-STR was 0.6746 and the haplotype diversity was 0.9996. Pairwise analysis confirmed that our population is more similar with the Italy, North Portugal and Spain, being more distant of the Japan. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.