Ultrastructure of the Spermatozoa of the Domestic Duck (Anas platyrhynchos sp.)

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

INFLUENCE of THE EVAPORATOR POSITION IN STATIC DOMESTIC REFRIGERATORS

The temperature and velocity distributions of the air inside the cabinet of domestic refrigerators affect the quality of food products. If the consumer knows the location of warm and cold zones in the refrigerator, the products can be placed in the right zone. In addition, the knowledge of the thickness of thermal and hydrodynamic boundary layers near the evaporator and the other walls is also important. If the product is too close to the evaporator wall, freezing can occur, and if it is too close to warm walls, the products can be deteriorated. The aim of the present work is to develop a steady state computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for domestic refrigerators working on natural convection regime. The Finite Volume Methodology is chosen as numerical procedure for discretizing the governing equations. The SIMPLE-Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure-Linked Equations algorithm applied to a staggered mesh was used for solving the pressure-velocity coupling problem. The Power-Law scheme is employed as interpolation function for the convective-diffusive terms, and the TDMA-Tri-Diagonal Matrix Algorithm is used to solve the systems of algebraic equations. The model is applied to a commercial static refrigerator, where the cabinet is considered an empty three-dimensional rectangular cavity with one drawer at the bottom of the cabinet, but without shelves. In order to analyze the velocity and temperature fields of the air flow inside the cabinet the evaporator temperature, Te, was varied from -20 degrees C to 0 degrees C, and nine different evaporator positions are evaluated for evaporator temperature of -15 degrees C. The cooling capacity of the evaporator for the steady state regime is also computed for each case. One can conclude that the vertical positioning of the evaporator inside the cabinet plays an important role on the temperature distribution inside the cabinet.

The first report of Hepatozoon sp (Apicomplexa : Hepatozoidae) in neotropical felids from Brazil

In order to investigate the occurrence of Hepatozoon infection in Neotropical felids from Brazil, blood from the jugular or cephalic vein was taken from 29 non-domestic felids including ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), little spotted cat (Leopardus tigrinus), margay (Leopardus wiedii), and jaguarondi (Puma yagouaroundi) from the Northeast region of Brazil. Hepatozoon infection was confirmed by light microscopy and molecular techniques. The results showed five naturally infected felids. Partial sequences of the 18S rRNA gene of the Hepatozoon sp. from these felids were further analyzed. Sequences revealed that the isolates found are closely related to Hepatozoon sp. from domestic cats in Spain. Hepatozoon species from Neotropical felids were identified molecularly and characterized for the first time. This is also the first report of Hepatozoon infection in a little spotted cat. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Histology and morphometry of the testes of adult domestic cats (Felis catus)

Testicles of 30 mongrel cats were analyzed histologically and morphometrically, divided into three groups: G1 (1-2 years old), G2 (over 2 and up to 4 years old) and G3 (over 4 and up to 6 years old). After orchiectomy and histopathology, the morphometric parameters studied were: thickness of the tunica albuginea (72 mu m) and seminiferous epithelium (77.19 mu m), perimeter (53.81; 90.57 mu m), (54.80; 101.07 mu m); area (174.23; 494.55 mu m(2)), (176.68; 629.70 mu m(2)); maximum diameter (14.94; 28.02 mu m), (14.76; 31.66 mu m); minimum diameter (13.25; 21.92 mu m), (13.30; 24.52 mu m); and shape factor (index for regularity of the format) (1.36; 1.36), (1.39; 1.35) of the nucleus and cytoplasm of spermatogonia and Leydig cells, respectively. The results can be used for comparative studies and contribute knowledge concerning the height of the seminiferous epithelium, thickness of the tunica albuginea and size of spermatogonia and Leydig cells.

Use of specular microscopy to determine corneal endothelial cell morphology and morphometry in enucleated cat eyes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of age on endothelial morphology and morphometry in cats. The corneal endothelium was studied using a contact specular microscope. A total of 18 cats (Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758) were evaluated in this study. The subjects were divided into three groups of six cats each in function of age: G1 (1 to 3 months old), G2 (5 to 12 months old), and G3 (24 to 40 months old). The examination presented data as endothelial cell density (ECD), average cell area, corneal thickness, polymegathism, and pleomorphism. Results revealed ECD decrease in corneas of normal cats with age, as well as a corresponding increase in endothelial cell area and pleomorphism. The present work suggests that the endothelial parameters evaluated change with advancing age.

In2O3 microcrystals obtained from rapid calcination in domestic microwave oven

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

BaMoO(4) powders processed in domestic microwave-hydrothermal: Synthesis, characterization and photoluminescence at room temperature

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) associated with domestic dogs in Franca region, São Paulo, Brazil

Ticks on 140 domestic dogs from both urban and rural areas of Franca region in São Paulo state were identified with 102 dogs from urban areas and 38 from rural areas. Of urban dogs, 27.5% were infested exclusively by Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. Of the rural dogs, 36.8% were infested with the following tick species: R. sanguineus, Boophilus microplus, Amblyomma ovale and A. cajennense. Mixed infestations included a dog hosting A. cajennense and A. ovale and another with B. microplus and R. sanguineus. The most intense infestations were detected on urban dogs. Hemolymph tests of these ticks performed to detect rickettsial or Borrelia bacteria yielded negative results.

Shape-based features for cat ganglion retinal cells classification

This article presents a quantitative and objective approach to cat ganglion cell characterization and classification. The combination of several biologically relevant features such as diameter, eccentricity, fractal dimension, influence histogram, influence area, convex hull area, and convex hull diameter are derived from geometrical transforms and then processed by three different clustering methods (Ward's hierarchical scheme, K-means and genetic algorithm), whose results are then combined by a voting strategy. These experiments indicate the superiority of some features and also suggest some possible biological implications.

Ultrastructural characteristics of spermiogenesis in the domestic duck (Anas platyrhynchos)

In this present study was observed that the spermatids underwent morphological differentiation and modifications, which primarily comprised nuclear elongation, during the process of spermiogenesis in the domestic duck. The acrosome was formed and the flagellum developed concomitantly with nuclear modifications. Thus, various modifications could be observed during this process, especially changes in the distribution of cytoplasmic organelles. Long cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum present in the spermatid cytoplasm dissociated into vesicles and the distal centriole initiated the development of the flagellum in the cellular portion opposite to the acrosome. The ultrastructure of the spermatids of the domestic duck did not show the characteristic development of pre-acrosomal granules, but the acrosomal granule could be directly visualized in this species. © 2005 Blackwell Verlag.

Genetic diversity in wild (Sus scrofa scrofa) and domestic (Sus scrofa domestica) pigs and their hybrids based on polymorphism of a fragment of the D-loop region in the mitochondrial DNA

We examined the variation in mitochondrial DNA by sequencing the D-loop region in wild and domestic (large-white breed) pigs, in hybrids between domestic and wild pigs, and in Monteiro pigs. A D-loop fragment of approximately 330 bp was amplified by PCR. Sequencing of DNA amplicons identified haplotypes previously described as European and Asian types. Monteiro pigs and wild pigs had European haplotypes and domestic pigs had both European and Asian haplotypes. ©FUNPEC-RP.

Estudo anatômico e distribuição das papilas valadas no gato doméstico

The tongue of domestic animals varies in size and shape and according to these animals feeding habits, there are different degrees of tongue surface specialization. At the dorsal surface of the tongue lingual papillae can be observed, such as the vallate papillae, related to taste perception. With the help of a magnifying glass, differences in the number, size and distribution of vallate papillae were studied. Fifty five tongues of adult domestic cats from both sexes (38 females and 17 males) were analyzed. The samples were fixed in 10% buffered formalin. The vallate papillae were found to be symmetrically distributed on 21 tongues (38.18%). However, it was observed that in some of the tongues the number of vallate papillae varied when one side of the tongue was compared to its contralateral side. The vallate papillae showed different shapes: elongated (42.58%), oval (31.61%), round (25.48%) and pear shaped (0.33%). The vallate papillae were classified into 10 different categories: symmetrical I (2 right and 2 left), II (3:3), III (4:4) and asymmetrical IV (3:2), V (4:2), VI (2:3), VII (4:3), VIII (5:3), IX (3:4) and X (4:5). Measurements of length and width were made with averages of 0.84 ± 0.23 mm and 0.55 ± 0.18 mm, respectively, besides the calculation of the total area of these papillae per tongue, that showed average of 2,74 ± 0,31 mm 2 in males and 1,94 ± 0,14 mm 2 in females However, upon examining the lingual papillae of the cat tongues, specimens demonstrating 7, 8 or 9 vallate papillae, arranged in pairs (4:3, 5:3, 3:4 and 4:5) by category, were observed in this study but not cited in the literature.

Ramificação e distribuição dos nervos frênicos no músculo diafragma do gato doméstico

The ramification and the distribution of the phrenic nerves right and left had been studied in 30 muscles diaphragms of unknown breed adult domestic cats, 7 males and 23 females, and were fixed in 10% buffered formalin solution. After fixation and dissection, it was observed that the phrenic nerves ramified for the respective carnous parts of the muscle diaphragm, pars lumbalis, costalis and sternalis, and had finished in higher frequency in dorsolateral trunk and ventral branch (63.33%). We observed the following arrangements: dorsal, ventral and lateral branches (25.0%); dorsal branch and ventrolateral trunk (6.66%); dorsolateral and ventrolateral trunks (3.33%); dorsolateral trunk, lateral and ventral branches (1.66%). The phrenic nerves had distributed symmetrically in 11 samples (36.66%), only showing the termination in dorsolateral trunk and ventral branch. The dorsal branches supplied pars lumbalis (73.33% to right and 56.66% to the left) and pars costalis (13.33% to right and 10.0% to the left). The right dorsal branch supplied the crus mediale dexter of the right pillar (100.0%) and the left dorsal branch supplied the crus mediale sinister of the right pillar and the left pillar (100.0%). The lateral branches supply pars lumbalis (23.33% to right and 33.33% to the left), pars costalis (96.66% to right and 100.0% to the left) and pars sternalis (3.33% only to the right). The ventral branches supplied the ventral region of pars costalis (46.66 % to right and 43.33% to the left) and pars sternalis (96.66% to right and 100.0% to the left). Four female animals (13.33%) had shown fibers crossing proceeding from the left ventral branch for right antimere had been that in one of these samples (3.33%) occurred connection between the left ventral branch and the right.

Macroeconomic stability and investment allocation of domestic pension funds in emerging economies: the case of Chile

Includes bibliography