Zootherapy goes to town: the use of animal-based remedies in urban areas of NE and N Brazil

This paper examines the therapeutic possibilities offered by animal-based remedies in five Brazilian cities. Information was obtained through semi-structured questionnaires applied to 79 traders of medicinal animals at Sao Luis, Teresina, Joao Pessoa and Campina Grande (Northeastern) and Belem (Northern) Brazil. We recorded the use of 97 animal species as medicines, whose products were recommended for the treatment of 82 illnesses. The most frequently quoted treatments concerned the respiratory system (58 species; 407 use-citations), the osteomuscular system and conjunctive tissue (46 species; 384 use-citations), and the circulatory system (34 species; 124 use-citations). Mammals (27 species), followed by reptiles (24) and fishes (16) represented the bulk of medicinal species. In relation to users, 53% of the interviewees informed that zootherapeuticals resources were sought after by people from all social classes, while 47% stated that low income people were the main buyers. The notable use and commercialization of medicinal animals to alleviate and cure health problems and ailments in cities highlights the resilience of that resource in the folk medicine. Most remedies quoted by interviewees depend on wild-caught animals, including some species under official protection. Among other aspects, the harvesting of threatened species confers zootherapy a role in the discussions about biodiversity conservation in Brazil. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

Physicochemical features of rivers and lakes in pantanal wetland

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Reproductive patterns of Aratus pisonii (Decapoda: Grapsidae) from an estuarine area of São Paulo Northern Coast, Brazil

This paper describes the frequency of occurrence and reproductive patterns of the tree mangrove crab Aratus pisonii. Monthly samples were taken from January 1993 to June 1994 in an estuarine mangrove from Ubatuba region, Brazil. A total of 1 078 animals, 489 males and 589 females (131 ovigerous females) were collected. Carapace width ranged from 4.2 to 25.9 mm. A summer reproductive peak followed by a recruitment juvenile pulse was verified. Females were more abundant than males in the intermediate size classes. The sex-ratio in several months was biased towards females, suggesting a poligynous population and migration of females to mangrove fringes at the time of incubation and spawning.

Birds at Eucalyptus and other flowers in Southern Brazil: A review

In southern Brazil, I recorded 14 species of hummingbirds, one woodpecker, three Psittacidae, four Tyrannidae, one mockingbird, and 31 tanagers and relatives at eucalyptus flowers. Others have registered 3 different hummingbirds, another parrotlet, four more tyrannids, a peppershrike, a thrush, and 5 tanagers and related birds, for a total of 69 species. However, commercial plantations rarely flower, so use is local or undependable. Understory Phaethorninae are not recorded at eucalyptus, rarely at other tall and hence multiflowered trees. Bromelias and other flowers are noted in various studies, which add 89 species of flower feeders, including 14 Psittacidae, 17 Trochilidae, and 37 tanagers and relatives. Isolated low flowers and epiphytes are mostly visited by hummingbirds (some by Coereba), but some tall trees (Chorisia) also. As two times as many tanager species visit flowers as hummingbirds, researchers will have to get up early and patiently study treetop and nonpatchy habitats. However, tree plantations can attract artificially, like feeders. Bunch-flowering extrafloral nectar (Mabea, Combretum) is preferred by wandering mixed-flock treetop or edge tanagers and relatives, which often crawl over bunched flowers like parrots or woodpeckers (or marsupials and other mammals) rather than hover at separate flowers like nonflocking Trochilidae or peck from nearby like Nectariniidae and Coereba. Clamberers and petal-pullers, even nectar robbers, can cause evolution of umbels and other bunched flowers, for the bird, mammal or insect receives pollen from nearby flowers. Psittacidae, saltators and others mostly eat flowers, but can pollinate if they touch nearby flowers. Multiflowered trees can also attract hawks, causing waves of tanagers, parrots and others that move on to pollinate trees via fear and nectarivory. Certain groups, notably thrushes and tyrannids, seem to use nectar little, the latter often catching insects.

Birds of Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil: Do humans add or subtract species?

In uplands and lowlands of Santa Teresa, central Espírito Santo State, Brazil, 405 bird species were confirmed by field, museum, and literature studies. Of these, 16 seem to have disappeared, while 67 other species seem to have been lost from the lowlands (where no large biological reserves exist). Due to a suggestion that human areas add species to beta-diversity, we verified that up to 79 species now present have perhaps invaded with human activity (and 10 others are likely to invade), a total similar to that for lost species. However, lost species are often rare and invading species often widespread, resulting in exchange of Picassos for Coca-Cola bottles. Furthermore, gains exceed losses only when large biological reserves are present, as in the uplands (Nova Lombardia, Santa Lucia Reserves, each with over 250 species). Small or irregular reserves usually lose well over half their species, and these are only partly replaced by the invaders, resulting in net losses of up to half the local avifaunas. If one lists only 31 probable invaders, rather than a possible 79, things are even worse; net losses occur even in the entire township and near reserves, reaching over 200 species around lowland private reserves. Future productive development of human areas can eliminate or maltreat many invading species, too. While approving taxes on improductive use of land, as it leaves other areas free, we suggest that many current local uses, such as for coffee, are luxury production and could, be taxed.

Birds of a eucalyptus woodlot in interior São Paulo.

Some 255 birds were recorded between 1982-2001 in and near a 2314-ha Horto of old eucalyptus plantations with native understory and a lake, near Rio Claro, in central São Paulo, Brazil. This is close to the 263 recorded in and around a ten-times smaller nearby 230-ha woodlot of semideciduous forest. Different species were 44, for a total of 307 in both areas. One hundred and fifty nonvagrant forest and border species were recorded in 1982-86, a number close to the 152 in the small native woodlot. With dry years and logging of plots in 1985-93, 21 of the 150 species were lost, 42 species decreased in numbers, 49 were stable, 19 increased (15 being border species), and 5 entered (one of dry forest and 4 of borders), so 129 species remained in 1996-2001 compared to 133 in the native woodlot. Open-area birds were 33, versus 50 in better-checked grassy swales in sugar cane near the natural woodlot, for a total of 53. Several species, like some border ones, did not enter the open but isolated and mowed interior lake area, or took years to do so. Water and marsh birds were 46 versus 40 in smaller creeks and ponds near the natural woodlot (total, 55) but many were migrants or infrequent visitors using distant areas, and perhaps should be counted as 0.1-0.9 local species rather than 1 species. Use of this more accurate method would reduce waterbird totals by 14 species in the Horto and by 11 around the native woodlot. I also recommend longer censusing at the edges in large woodlots or many edge species will be recorded only in small fragments of habitat. Several species increased and others decreased with occasional cat-tail and water-lily cleanups at the lake. A forested corridor between the Horto and natural woodlot is recommended, with old eucalyptus left to provide flowers for hummingbirds.

Biosynthesis of chondroitinase and hyaluronidase by different strains of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

The biosynthesis of chondroitinase and hyaluronidase by different isolates of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis was investigated in 20 strains isolated from patients (17 strains), a penguin (Pygocelis adeliae, one strain), an armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus, one strain) and the environment (dog food, one strain). All the P. brasiliensis isolates studied had the ability to produce chondroitinase and hyaluronidase, although differences in colony morphology and enzyme production were detected among them. These results suggest that further investigations should be carried out in the clinical field in order to clarify the potential role of P. brasiliensis enzyme production in the pathogenesis of paracoccidioidomycosis.

Is the prevalence of asthma and related symptoms among Brazilian children related to socioeconomic status?

Objective. To evaluate the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and the prevalence of asthma and related symptoms among Brazilian children. Methods. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) written questionnaire was applied to 23,457 six- to seven- year-old schoolchildren (SC) and 58,144 thirteen- to fourteen-year-old adolescents (AD) from 20 Brazilian cities. SES was evaluated by infant mortality index, poverty index, and average nominal income for people older than 10 years of age. Results. Current asthma ranged from 16.5% to 31.2% among SC and from 11.8% to 30.5% among AD and severe asthma from 2.9% to 8.5% (SC) and 2.6% to 9.1% (AD). Higher values were observed in Brazilian-Northern, -Northeastern and -Southeastern centers. No significant association between SES and prevalence of asthma and related symptoms was observed. Conclusions. In Brazil, the prevalence of asthma and related symptoms is quite variable and independent of SES. Copyright © 2008 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.

Determination of calcium and magnesium in hydroethanolic extracts of propolis by atomic absorption flame spectrophotometry

Propolis is a natural product collected by honeybees and has a large range of pharmacological activity, including antimicrobial, antitumoral, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Its use as a popular medicine is increasing all over the world, creating a need for quality control of the commercial products. In this study the levels of calcium and magnesium in commercial hydroalcoholic propolis extracts from varies states of Brazil were determined by atomic absorption flame spectrophotometry and different values were obtained for northern and southern states. This study can be extended to the analysis of metals that are harmful to health. The results showed that the calibration curves were linear over a wide concentration range (0.5-4.0 μg.mL -1 for calcium and 0.05-0.4 μg.mL -1 for magnesium) with good correlation coefficients (0.999 and 0.988, respectively). Good analytical recovery (94%) was obtained. The proposed method showed adequate precision and relative standard deviation lower than 2 %. The method is accurate and precise as well as having advantages such as simplicity and speed.

Influence of enclosure size on growth of breast and leg muscle fibers in domestic fowl

This experiment evaluated the growth of breast and leg muscle fibers of domestic fowl raised in two enclosure sizes (SE: Small Enclosure, 1.125 m2/10 birds; LE: Large Enclosure, 5.25 m2/10 birds). In breast muscles, the number of fibers per area decreased over time and higher values were observed in broilers housed in SE compared to LE. The fiber size increased with age and was greater in LE than SE at 56 days of age, suggesting greater hypertrophic growth of fibers in breast muscle for broilers maintained in LE. In leg muscles, the muscle cross-sectional area was greater for broilers raised in LE than SE at 56 days of age and decreased from 42 to 56 days of age in broilers raised in SE, suggesting leg muscle atrophy in these birds. The Fast Glycolytic (FG), Fast Oxidative-Glycolytic (FOG) and Slow Oxidative (SO) fibers grew until 42 days of age in both enclosure sizes. The area of FOG fibers was greater in broilers raised in LE than those in SE at 28 and 56 days of age; in LE-raised broilers, the SO area was greater at 28, 42 and 56 days of age, suggesting that the muscles of broilers housed in LE are more oxidative. The BW gain was greater for broilers raised in LE than SE, whereas BW, feed intake and feed conversion were not influenced by enclosure size. Thus, the enclosure space affected hypertrophic growth and metabolic characteristics of breast and leg muscle fibers. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2012.

Substitution of corn and soybean oil by cassava meal and African palm tree oil in diets of laying hens

Fourty-two White Leghorns laying hens, from the commercial Cuban hybrid L-33, were used for eight weeks during the laying peak (36 to 43 weeks of age), to assess the substitution of corn by cassava root meal (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and the crude soybean oil by crude oil of African palm tree (Elaeis guineensis J.) in the diets of laying hens. Analysis of variance was conducted, according to simple classification design, with three treatments and 14 repetitions (a cage with a hen). The treatments consisted of three diets (1- corn meal + soybean oil; 2- 25 % cassava meal + African palm tree oil; 3- 53 % cassava meal + African palm tree oil), with 15.71 % CP; 3.83 % Ca and 0.36 % P available. The viability was of 100 % in all treatments. No differences were found for laying (92.21, 92.09 and 91.59 %), which surpassed the potential of this hybrid during the laying peak (90 %), conversion (118g feedstuff/egg in the three treatments), egg mass produced (3066, 3114 and 3071 g/bird) and mass conversion (1.99, 1.95 y 1.98 feed consumed/egg mass). The pigmentation of the egg yolk was reduced as the level of cassava meal increased in the diets (6, 4 and 3 at Roche's scale), as well as the cost of the feed consumed in 56 d per hen (2.56, 2.15 and 1.83 USD/bird). The possibility of substituting, totally, corn meal by that of cassava and soybean oil by that of the African palm tree in the diets of laying hens during the laying peak was determined, with positive economic effect and without damaging the productive performance of birds.

Sanitary quality of the public groundwater supply for the municipality of Belém in northern Brazil

Neste estudo, a qualidade da água foi verificada no manancial de abastecimento Água Preta, do município de Belém (PA). Houve seis amostragens em seis pontos de coleta e a concentração de coliformes foi verificada através da Técnica de Fermentação em Tubos Múltiplos para a determinação do NMP. Os isolados de Escherichia coli obtidos foram submetidos ao teste de sensibilidade aos seguintes antimicrobianos: cefoxitina, ampicilina, imipenem, gentamicina e amicacina. Além disso, foi investigado genes codificadores de fatores de virulência relacionados às variedades diarreiogênicas de E. coli. Não houve ocorrência de genes relacionados à patogenicidade, e as concentrações de coliformes termotolerantes apresentaram-se dentro dos padrões para mananciais de superfície usados para fins de abastecimento público. Contudo, as maiores concentrações de coliformes totais e termotolerantes foram observadas no ponto de coleta próximo à captação no rio Guamá e na área de maior adensamento populacional no entorno do lago. O teste de suscetibilidade dos isolados E. coli indicou uma alta porcentagem de resistência a ampicilina, a presença de seis perfis fenotípicos e a ocorrência de multiresistência. Assim, os resultados reforçam a necessidade do monitoramento sistemático deste manancial, visando a implementação de políticas de preservação e proteção dos mananciais utilizados para fins de abastecimento público, assim como a prevenção de doenças veiculadas pela água.

The expression of ABH and Lewis antigens in Brazilian semi-isolated Black communities

The expression of the ABH and Lewis blood groups was determined in blood and saliva samples from two semi-isolated Black communities of Northern Brazil: Cametá and Alcântara. The distributions of ABO blood group phenotypes and the ABH secretor status frequencies showed no significant differences between these populations. In contrast, there was a difference regarding the frequency of the red blood cell Le(a-b-) phenotypes, associated with erythrocyte/saliva discordance, as confirmed by the observation that individuals with Le(a-b-) red cells have the Lewis antigen in their saliva, resulting in a nongenuine Le(a-b-) phenotype, whose frequency was higher in Alcântara.

EFFECTS OF EMERGENCY IN BIOSTIMULANT SEEDLING OF PASSION FRUIT ROXINHO OF KENYA

The increase in market demand for fresh fruits along with the high price of passion fruit juice in domestic and international markets has increased the interest in fruit, especially the purple passion fruit in the center south of the country seeking to export. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of plant growth regulator on the emergence and development of seedlings of passion 'Roxinho of Kenya' when propagated sexually. The treatments consisted of concentrations of commercial product Stimulate (R): control (no biostimulant); 6; 12; 18; 24 and 30 mL. kg(-1) of seed. It were evaluated the percentage of seedling emergence, number of leaves, aerial part dry weight, stem and root (g), root length (mm), diameter and stem length (mm), leaf area and chlorophyll 'a' and 'b'. The application of bio-stimulant in doses of 6 and 12 mL. kg(-1) promotes increased percentage of seedling emergence of Passiflora edulis Sims in a shorter time. The use of it also promotes the development of seedlings, with better results for the dose of 12 and 24 mL. kg(-1) treated seeds.

Relationship between race and clinical characteristics, extent of disease, and response to chemotherapy in patients with low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia

Objective. To evaluate the potential effects of race on clinical characteristics, extent of disease, and response to chemotherapy in women with postmolar low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN).Methods. This non-concurrent cohort study was undertaken including patients with FIGO-defined postmolar low-risk GTN treated with comparable doses and schedules of chemotherapy at the New England Trophoblastic Disease Center (NETDC) between 1973 and 2012. Racial groups investigated included whites, African American and Asians. Information on patient characteristics and response to chemotherapy (need for second line chemotherapy, reason for changing to an alternative chemotherapy, number of cycles/regimens, need for combination chemotherapy, and time to hCG remission) was obtained.Results. Of 316 women, 274 (86.7%) were white, 19 (6%) African American, and 23 (7.3%) Asian. African Americans were significantly younger than white and Asian women (p = 0.008). Disease presentation, and extent of disease, including antecedent molar histology, median time to persistence, median hCG level at persistence, rate of D&C at persistence, presence of metastatic disease, and FIGO stage and risk score were similar among races. Need for second line chemotherapy (p = 0.023), and median number of regimens (p = 0.035) were greater in Asian women than in other races.Conclusions. Low-risk GTN was more aggressive in Asian women, who were significantly more likely to need second line chemotherapy and a higher number of chemotherapy regimens to achieve complete remission than women of African American and Asian descent. Further studies involving racial differences related to clinical, biological and environmental characteristics are needed. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.