Prevalence of equine Piroplasmosis and its association with tick infestation in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Serum samples were collected from 582 horses from 40 stud farms in the State of Sao Paulo and tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations were evaluated on them. Serum samples were subjected to the complement fixation test (CFT) and a competitive inhibition ELISA (cELISA) for Babesia caballi and Theileria equi. Logistic regression analyses were performed to construct multivariate models that could explain the dependent variable (horses positive for B. caballi or T equi) as a function of the independent variables (presence or abundance of each one of the rick species found on the farms). A higher overall prevalence of B. caballi (54.1%) than of T equi (21.6%) was found by the two tests. The ticks Dermacentor nitens Neumann, 1897, Amblyomma cajennense (Fabricius, 1787) and Rbipicephalus (Boopbilus) microplus (Canestrini, 1887) were present on horses on 38 (95%), 20 (50%), and 4 (10%) farms, respectively. Infestations by D. nitens were statistically associated with B. caballi-positive horses on the farms by either the CFT or cELISA. Infestations by A. cajennense were statistically associated with T equi-positive horses on the farms by either CFT or cELISA.

Parasitic dynamics of gastrointestinal nematode infection in the periparturient period of beef cattle in the State of Para

The experiment was conducted to investigate the dynamics of infection by gastrointestinal nematodes during the periparturition period in cows. One hundred and six beef cows were divided into two groups: G I was formed by 42 cows of one and two parturitions, and G2 by 76 cows of three or more parturitions. From the 120 days pre partum until the 90 days post partum, feces were collected for faecal egg counts (EPG) while blood was collected to determine the packed cell volume and hemoglobin levels of each animal, with monthly intervals. In the same intervals the body condition scores (BCS) were evaluated. The mean values standard deviation of the EPG for Cl were equal to 19.4 +/- 42.9, and for G2 31.1 +/- 68.0. No significant differences were observed between Cl and G2 in relation to EPC; and hematological parameters, which remained within normal patterns for both groups. The two groups had higher counts of EPG in the post partum period than in the pre partum period, with averages of 32.5 +/- 55.5 and 51.5 +/- 84.8 for groups Cl and G2, respectively. A significant difference (p < 0.05) in the parameters was observed when comparing the pre and post partum within each group studied resulting in declining values of blood and body score and an increase in EPG in the post partum. The results suggest that the cows may be more susceptible to infection by nematodes from giving birth up to 90 days post partum. However, adult cows, when well-managed, are not an important factor in the epidemiology of gastrointestinal nematodes, even in the post partum period.

Hepatozoon canis infecting dogs in the State of Espirito Santo, southeastern Brazil

From May 2007 to March 2008, blood samples were collected from 92 healthy dogs living in 21 households (17 farms in rural area, and 4 homes in urban area) in 6 counties of the State of Espirito Santo, southeastern Brazil. In addition, ticks were collected from these dogs. A mean of 4.4 +/- 3.0 dogs (range: 1-12) were sampled per household; 78 and 14 dogs were from rural and urban areas, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) designed to amplify fragments of the 18S rDNA gene of Babesia spp or Hepatozoon spp revealed amplicons of the expected size in 20 (21.7%) dogs for Babesia, and 54 (58.7%) dogs for Hepatozoon. All Babesia-positive dogs were also Hepatozoon-positive. Among the 21 households, 15 (71.4%) from 3 counties had at least one PCR-positive dog, including 13 farms (rural area) and 2 homes (urban area). A total of 40 PCR products from the Hepatozoon-PCR, and 19 products from the Babesia-PCR were submitted to DNA sequencing. All generated sequences from Hepatozoon-PCR were identical to each other, and to corresponding 18S rDNA sequences of H. canis in GenBank. Surprisingly, all generated sequences from the Babesia PCR were also identical to corresponding 18S rDNA sequences of H. canis in GenBank. Dogs from 10 rural and 2 urban households were found infested by Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. Immature of Amblyomma cajennense ticks were found in dogs from only 4 rural households (also infested by R. sanguineus). All but one household with R. sanguineus-infested dogs had at least one Hepatozoon-infected dog. Statistical analysis showed that the presence of ticks (i.e. R. sanguineus) infesting dogs in the households was significantly (P < 0.05) associated with at least one PCR-positive dog. There was no significant association (P > 0.05) between PCR-positive dogs and urban or rural households. Canine hepatozoonosis caused by H. canis is a high frequent infection in Espirito Santo, Brazil, where it is possibly vectored by R. sanguineus. Since all infected dogs were found apparently healthy, the pathogenicity of H. canis for dogs in Espirito Santo is yet to be elucidated. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lower Bounds on the State Complexity of Geometric Goppa Codes

We reinterpret the state space dimension equations for geometric Goppa codes. An easy consequence is that if deg G less than or equal to n-2/2 or deg G greater than or equal to n-2/2 + 2g then the state complexity of C-L(D, G) is equal to the Wolf bound. For deg G is an element of [n-1/2, n-3/2 + 2g], we use Clifford's theorem to give a simple lower bound on the state complexity of C-L(D, G). We then derive two further lower bounds on the state space dimensions of C-L(D, G) in terms of the gonality sequence of F/F-q. (The gonality sequence is known for many of the function fields of interest for defining geometric Goppa codes.) One of the gonality bounds uses previous results on the generalised weight hierarchy of C-L(D, G) and one follows in a straightforward way from first principles; often they are equal. For Hermitian codes both gonality bounds are equal to the DLP lower bound on state space dimensions. We conclude by using these results to calculate the DLP lower bound on state complexity for Hermitian codes.

Antibodies against Bovine herpesvirus 1 in dairy herds in the state of Espirito Santo, Brasil

Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) causes major losses in worldwide livestock, affecting the respiratory and reproductive tracts of bovine. In the past decades, the number of cases in Brazil has been gradually increasing. Therefore, it is important to assess the distribution of infection in different regions of the country. In the state of Espírito Santo (ES) the BoHV 1 infection rate in dairy cattle herds is unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to detect neutralizing antibodies against BoHV-1 in serum samples from 1,161 non-vaccinated cows from 59 dairy cattle herds in 23 municipalities of the Metropolitan, North, Northwest and South macro-regions. The identification of seropositive cows was evaluated by the virus neutralization test. The results showed that of all serum samples evaluated 775 (66.75%) had neutralizing antibodies against BoHV-1. Moreover, all herds were found positive; however, the percentage of positive cows varied among regions; 49.06%, 62.15%, 67.21% and 80.04% for the Metropolitan, South, North and Northwest macro-regions, respectively. In this study, the results clearly indicate the dissemination of the viral agent in dairy cattle in the ES state, requiring the monitoring and control of diseases related to BoHV-1 infection.

Morphological and phytochemical characterization of Piper hispidinervum DC. and Piper aduncum L. populations in the state of Acre

Because of the increasing demand of the industry for the production of essential oils, studies highlight the genetic variability of Piper hispidinervum and P. aduncum species according to their patterns of spatial distribution, showing the Amazon region as the source of superior genetic material in the production of safrole and dillapiole. Thus, the objective this study was to characterize the morphology and the phytochemistry of Piper hispidinervum and P. aduncum populations in the Active Germplasm Bank of Embrapa Acre to generate subsidies for the genetic improvement of these species. The results showed that the average values for leaf width and length were 141.67 and 48.04 mm, and petioles length and diameter measurements were 2.83 and 1.78 mm for P. hispidinervum and 189.22; 67.74; 6.03 and 2.22 mm for P. aduncum respectively. The average height and canopy volume measurements were 2.39 m and 6.30 m3 and 2.70 m and 7.78 m3 respectively for each species. For P. hispidinervum, the population with higher performance indried yield and content of safrole was population 02, with 3.9%, and the population 04 showed 94.3% safrole content, both with genetic material from the region of Acrelândia and Plácido de Castro. To P. aduncum, the populations with better performance were 207, 208 and 209, forming a homogeneous group with dried yield average of 3.8% and dillapiol content of 84-85%. Such populations are indicated for selection in breeding program of these species due to better performance.

Network dynamics in scientific knowledge acquisition: an analysis in three public universities in the state of Bahia

This paper aims to cast some light on the dynamics of knowledge networks in developing countries by analyzing the scientific production of the largest university in the Northeast of Brazil and its influence on some of the remaining regional research institutions in the state of Bahia. Using a methodology test to be employed in a larger project, the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA) (Federal University of Bahia), the Universidade do Estado da Bahia (Uneb) (State of Bahia University) and the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (Uesc)'s (Santa Cruz State University) scientific productions are discussed in one of their most traditionally expressive sectors in academic production - namely, the field of chemistry, using social network analysis of co-authorship networks to investigate the existence of small world phenomena and the importance of these phenomena in research performance in these three universities. The results already obtained through this research bring to light data of considerable interest concerning the scientific production in unconsolidated research universities. It shows the important participation of the UFBA network in the composition of the other two public universities research networks, indicating a possible occurrence of small world phenomena in the UFBA and Uesc networks, as well as the importance of individual researchers in consolidating research networks in peripheral universities. The article also hints that the methodology employed appears to be adequate insofar as scientific production may be used as a proxy for scientific knowledge.