Genetically Diverse Coronaviruses in Captive Bird Populations in a Brazilian Zoological Park

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

Salga seca e úmida de filés de pacu (piaractus mesopotamicus)

The goal of this study was to evaluate the process of salting and dry salting of fillets in pacu (P. mesopotamicus), from cultivation in cages. Fillet with skin were salted at a rate of 40% of salt in relation of the initial weight, for a period of 10 days. After processing, were evaluated for microbiological and centesimal composition of fillets subjected to salting and determining the concentration of sodium chloride (NaCl) and calculation of income. The centesimal composition were evaluated the protein, ether extract, moisture and ash of the raw material fresh and processed products by salting. The microbiological analysis included the determination of coliforms at 45 degrees C, Salmonella and Staphylococcus coagulase positive. The pacus subjected to umided and dry salting were within quality control standards established by the legislation. The content of umided, protein, lipids and chlorides showed differences (p< 0.05) between the processes of salt. However both forms can be used for the development of technological processes of low investment by encouraging new options for fish consumption.

Fatores de riscos associados à ocorrência de helmintos gastrintestinais em cabras leiteiras mantidas em sistema de pastejo

Infection due to the gastrointestinal nematodes can negatively interact with the productive performance of dairy goats, and in some cases can induce mortality in the flocks. The objective was to study the influence of season, parturition order, postpartum, lactation and breed standard on the population of helminths in dairy goats. 31 goats were used, with 15 Saanen and 16 F1 (1/2 Boer + 1/2 Saanen). of these, 13 were from the 1st lactation and 18 from the 2nd or more lactations. The highest fecal egg counts occurred during the summer and spring, with FEC in Saanen higher (p < 0.01) than in F1 animals (1/2 Boer + 1/2 Saanen). The animals with 1st lactation showed higher FEC (p < 0.004) than the animals in 2nd or more lactation. During the peripartum the largest FEC for both breeds standards were in the week of the birth (p < 0.05), followed by post-partum and pre-partum. In peripartum the Saanen goats showed higher FEC (p < 0.02) than the F1 and primiparous (p < 0.008) in relation to pluriparous. F1 animals are resistant to helminthes when compared to Saanen animals, demonstrating that crossing of resistant breeds with high production breeds is a viable alternative to increase productivity without compromising the parasitary stability of the herd. The peripartum period is a risk factor associated to the occurrence of gastrointestinal helminths, especially in Saanen goats from first lactation.

Avaliação da carga parasitária de helmintos e protozoários em bezerros manejados em sistema orgânico

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of helminths eggs and protozoan oocysts elimination in calves' feces kept in organic system production. The study was conducted from January 2008 to December 2009. Coproparasitological examinations were carried biweekly of 18 calves in pastures rotating system on Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA) Agrobiology. The egg counting average data had been submitted to the Kruskal Willis test and the larvae counting percentile values to the qui-square test. The average counting of eggs per gram of faces (EGF) varied of 250 the 800, characterizing low and moderate infection. Animals with inferior age the six months had presented superior results of EGF (P <.05) to the ones of between six and twelve months age. The biggest degrees of infection had been observed in the late spring and summer. In the fecal examinations was identified the following helminths: Haemonchus (73%), Trichostrongylus (24%) and Oesophagostomum (3%). The practical handling adopted in organic system production had been capable to keep the animals in moderate levels of infection, being indicated that it had helmintoses control in rotating system of pastures.

Parâmetros bioquímicos sanguíneos, balanço de nitrogênio e metabolizabilidade da energia bruta em suínos alimentados com dietas contendo diferentes balanços eletrolíticos

The aim of this study was to evaluate different dietary electrolyte balance (DEB) on the blood biochemical parameters, nitrogen balances and crude metabolizable energy of swine in the initial phase. Sixteen barrows were used, averaging 27.95 kg of initial weight, allotted individually in metabolic cages in a randomized blocks design with four treatments (DEB of 160, 208, 257 and 305 mEq/kg) and 4 replicates. The blood biochemical parameters analyzed were chloride, potassium, sodium and urea in blood. Urine pH was also evaluated, and the parameters evaluated in nitrogen (N) balance were N intake, fecal N, N excreted in urine, absorbed N, N retention, retained N/absorbed N and total excretion of N. The gross energy digestibility and metabolizibility coefficients were determined, and the respectives values of digestible and metabolizable energy. The values of urinary pH increased (P < 0.01) linearly with increasing levels of DEB, ranging from 6.90 to 8.03. The results for chloride, potassium and nitrogen balances of variables and gross energy were similar (P > 0.05) between the evaluated DEB. A linear increase (P < 0.01) was also observed for sodium concentrations in blood serum due to the increase of DEB, with values of 2.91, 3.03, 3.27 and 3.18 g/l, respectively for the different treatments. Urea levels in blood serum increased linearly (P < 0.01), with values of 26.21, 28.64, 34.32 and 32.89 mg/dl. It was concluded that increasing the dietary electrolyte balance, from 160 to 305 mEq/kg resulted in higher concentrations of urea and sodium in blood serum, and higher pH values in the urine of swine in the initial phase.

Prova de absorção de gordura em crianças.

To overcome the difficulties observed with fecal fat estimations, we studied fat absorption in 4 m to 12 years old children, assessing increments of serum triglycerides after administration of corn oil. Eighteen well-nourished children without gastrointestinal symptoms or parasites, 31 children with protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM), with or without protracted diarrhea and/or intestinal parasites and nine children with specific malabsorptive entities were studied. Serum triglycerides (TG) were measured before, 2 and 4 hours after the administration of 2 g/kg of corn oil per os. For control infants below 2 years no significant differences between the fasting level and those after 2 and 4 hours were observed. For children above this age significant absorption occurred by 2 hours but more intensively after 4 hours, an increment of TG above 35 mg% being considered normal. A good discrimination between TG increments of controls and malabsorptive children over 2 years was observed. In conclusion, the oral fat loading test, is applicable for children over 2 year of age. For infants below this age other schedules should be tested.

Implicações nutricionais no tratamento e recuperação de pacientes adultos com diarréia crônica.

The nutritional assessment by 24 hour-dietary recall, anthropometry and blood-components measurements was undertaken in 23 adult patients, 17 males and 6 females suffering of chronic diarrhea from pancreatitis (30%), inflammatory bowel disease (22%), short intestine syndrome (9%) and unknown diarrhea (35%). The nutritional assessment was done at the entry and repeated at the discharge of the hospitalization that averaged 35 days, during which the patients received specific medical treatment along with obstipating diets. The hospitalization resulted in overall improvement of the patients either clinically by reducing their defecation rate or nutritionally by increasing their protein-energy intake and the values of anthropometry and blood components (albumin, free-tryptophan and lymphocytes). When the patients where divided into two groups based on their fecal-fat output one could note the better nutritional response of the group showing steatorrhea than the non-steatorrhea group, with the serum albumin and the arm-muscle circumference being discriminatory between groups. However even in the better recovered patients the indicative values of a satisfactory nutritional status were not accomplished. Thus, these data suggest that besides the overall nutritional improvement seen in the studied chronic diarrhea patients the full-nutrition recovering would demand either or both a longer hospitalization and/or an early-aggressive nutritional support.

Influência da precipitação pluviométrica nas características físicas, química e higiênico-sanitária da água de trés mananciais de abastecimento público.

Aiming to know the influence of the pluviometric precipitation over the physical chemical and bacteriological characteristics of the water coming from three sources of public supply, and to verify the probable origin of faecal contamination, tests of total coliforms, faecal coliforms, faecal streptococci and mesophilic microorganisms, as well as the determination of pH, temperature and turbidity of 156 water samples were done. The samples were taken from a stream, a drain and an artesian well, located in the city of Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil. The results obtained showed that the occurrence of pluviometric precipitation determined a significant increase of the number of total coliforms in the water samples from the stream. The use of the ratio CF/EF, indicate the probable origin of the faecal contamination only in the samples of the water coming from the stream, which were defined as being of human origin. In relation to the physical-chemical composition it was noticed that the influence of the pluviometric precipitation over the turbidity appeared to be higher and significant in the samples of water of the stream.

Ação do diclofenaco de sódio, após a interrupção da peritonite estercorácea, no cólon de ratos. Estudo da resistência mecânica e do colágeno tecidual.

The objective of the present study was to investigate changes in colon wall in rats with fecal peritonitis (Per) associated with sodium diclofenac (SD) by studying breaking strength and tissue collagen concentration. The rats were divided into the following experimental groups: GROUP 1-SD: 60 animals injected intramuscularly with sodium diclofenac at the dose of 2 mg/kg body weight; GROUP 2-Per: 60 animals injected intraperitoneally with a suspension of human feces. Peritonitis was interrupted after six hours of evolution; GROUP 3-Per+SD: 60 animals injected intraperitoneally with a suspension of human feces and receiving SD according to the schedule used for Groups 1 and 2; CONTROL GROUP: 12 animals injected intramuscularly with physiological saline. The animals of Group 1, 2 and 3 were successively sacrificed 2, 4, 7, 14 and 21 days after interruption of peritonitis an/or the beginning of treatment. Under conditions of the experimental model and of the methods used, we conclude that sodium diclofenac, peritonitis and the peritonitis-sodium diclofenac association decrease the breaking strength and the concentration of tissue collagen in the colon segment.

CONDICOES BACTERIOLOGICAS DE LEITE CRU E DE LEITE PASTEURIZADO NA REGIAO DE ARARAQUARA, SP, BRASIL

Milk can be an important spreading vehicle of pathogenic agents mainly for young children who are an important group of milk consumers. 135 milk samples (77 of raw milk and 58 of pasteurized milk) were analysed in order to verify the number of heterotrophic bacteria, of Staphylococcus aureus and of total coliforms, as well as to determine presence of Salmonella, Shigella, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC). The results were negative for Salmonella, Shigella and EIEC. EPEC serotypes 0:28, 0:111 and 0:55 were isolated in 4 of raw milk samples. The heterotrophic bacteria was found in counts over 30.000 UFC/mL in 91%, 25% and 68,75% respectively of raw milk, milk grade B and grade C. Counts over 30.000 coliforms/mL were found in 70,13%, 6,25% and 6,24% of the raw milk, B and C, respectively. 32,40% of the raw milk had counts of S. aureus over 3.000 UFC/mL.

Food and feeding habits of the neotropical river otter Lontra longicaudis (Carnivora, Mustelidae)

A study of the feeding habits of the neotropical river otter, Lontra longicaudis, based on focal analysis was carried out from July 1986 to July 1987. The study was conducted at a dam in the 'Duas Bocas' Biological Reserve near the town of Cariacica, Espirito Santo State, Brazil. This reserve spreads over an area of 2 910 ha, the surface being mainly covered by the Atlantic Rain Forest. In order to identify the fish and other animal remains found in otter fecal samples, these were compared to the homologous structures of identical species living in the dam. The results of 288 samples were expressed in numbers and frequency of occurrence. Fishes were the most important food item, being present in 281 samples (97.2 %). A species of the genus Geophagus was frequently found in spraints, eaten during all months studied and present in 88.9 % of the samples. Astyanax, Pimelodella, Hoplias, Leporinus, Rhamdia, Tilapia and two other unidentified genera were found less frequently. In decreasing order of occurrence, crustaceans, amphibia, mammals, insects and birds were also encountered. Seasonal variation was verified in the scats between the dry and rainy seasons, with a higher frequency of food items occurring in the latter. In agreement with other species of otters, fishes also are the most commonly ingested prey. Two characteristics of fishes, greater abundance and easier capture, make them the major prey of otters, implying that otters are opportunistic predators eating whatever is more available.

Aditivos na ensilagem do capim-elefante. III. Valor nutritivo e consumo voluntário e digestibilidade aparente em ovinos

The intake, the apparent digestibility and the nutritive value of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) silages prepared with the addition of 0, 8, 16 and 24% of ground ear corn with husks, wheat bran and saccharin, dry weight of additive/wet weight of green chop upon the silage were evaluated. A randomized block design with three replications, in a factorial arrangement (3 additives x 4 levels) was used. As experimental silos, 200-liter plastic vessels were used. Sheep weighing approximately 50 kg, kept in individual cages, receiving water and mineral mixture ad libitum, were used to measure the intake and apparent digestibility of silages. There was a ten-day period of adaptation to the experiment conditions. The voluntary intake of the silages was determined by the mean of the intake observed in the last three days of a ten-day period. The fecal collection period lasted for seven days. In this period the animals were fed 80% of the observed intake obtained in the previous phase. The dry matter intake increased as the levels of the additives in the silages were increased. The digestibility of the wall cell components decreased as the rates of the additives in the ensilage process increased. The silages prepared with wheat bran or ground ear corn with husks showed higher nutritive value than the ones with saccharin.

Intestinal colonization of a human subject by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium

Objective: To study the ability of two strains of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium to colonize the human intestine. Methods: A single human subject ingested separately two strains of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium isolated from a pig and a chicken. The feces were cultured on selective medium. Prior to ingestion no vancomycin-resistant cocci were present in the feces. Ingestion of 10 4-10 5 CFU resulted in either no colonization or isolation only after enrichment. Ingestion of 10 7 CFU of one strain resulted in colonization for a period of nearly 3 weeks, with fecal counts at times in excess of 10 6 CFU/g. Ingestion of similar numbers of the other strain and reingestion of the first strain resulted in excretion in the feces for much shorter periods. When the fecal count of the ingested strains was greater than 10 4-10 5 CFU/g, the strains were isolated from swabs taken from perianal skin. Conclusions: Vancomycin-resistant E. faecium strains from pigs and poultry a re able to colonize the human gut and the perianal skin.

Determination of the geometrical diarylpropenamine isomers in feces by high-performance liquid chromatography

Diarylpropenamine derivatives are a class of compounds which have been evaluated as potential drug candidates. Here a specific and reproducible HPLC method for the determination of cis- and trans-isomers of the unsubstituted derivative, 3-(4'-bromo-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl)-3-(4-X-phenyl-N,N-dimethyl-2-propen-1-amine (I, where X=H) in feces is described. The analyte I and internal standard, nitro derivative (II, where X=NO2), were isolated from the basified biological matrix using a liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate followed by a solid-phase procedure performed on a silica cartridge. The organic phase was evaporated to dryness, the residue was reconstituted in mobile phase and injected into the HPLC system. The analytes were eluted with ethyl acetate-hexane-triethylamine (59:40:1) in HPLC column (silica) and detected by UV spectrophotometry at 272 nm. Linearity, precision and accuracy data for feces standards after extraction were acceptable. The method has been applied to analyses of feces samples from rats dosed with I, in which it could be anticipated that fecal excretion is quantitatively the major route for I elimination. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.

A kinetic model of phosphorus metabolism in growing goats

The effect of increasing phosphorus (P) intake on P utilization was investigated in balance experiments using 12 Saanen goats, 4 to 5 mo of age and weighing 20 to 30 kg. The goats were given similar diets with various concentrations of P, and 32P was injected to trace the movement of P in the body. A P metabolism model with four pools was developed to compute P exchanges in the system. The results showed that P absorption, bone resorption, and excretion of urinary P and endogenous and fecal P all play a part in the homeostatic control of P. Endogenous fecal output was positively correlated to P intake (P < .01). Bone resorption of P was not influenced by intake of P, and P recycling from tissues to the blood pool was lesser for low P intake. Endogenous P loss occurred even in animals fed an inadequate P diet, resulting in a negative P balance. The extrapolated minimum endogenous loss in feces was .067 g of P/d. The minimum P intake for maintenance in Saanen goats was calculated to be .61 g of P/ d or .055 g of P/(kg.75·d) at 25 kg BW. Model outputs indicate greater P flow from the blood pool to the gut and vice versa as P intake increased. Intake of P did not significantly affect P flow from bone and soft tissue to blood. The kinetic model and regressions could be used to estimate P requirement and the fate of P in goats and could also be extrapolated to both sheep and cattle.