Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats from Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

A toxoplasmose é uma zoonose de distribuição mundial, causada pelo protozoário Toxoplasma gondii que infecta os vertebrados de sangue quente. Este estudo objetiva estabelecer a prevalência de anticorpos anti-Toxoplasma gondii e o estudo de associação em uma população de gatos domésticos atendidos em uma clínica veterinária exclusiva de gatos localizada em Curitiba, estado do Paraná, Brasil. As amostras de soro foram obtidas e processadas pela reação de imunofluorescência indireta IgG. Títulos de anticorpos foram encontrados em 46/282 (16,3%) das amostras analisadas, com título de 16 em oito gatos, 64 em 23, 256 em 14 e 1024 em um gato. Diferenças estatísticas não foram encontradas no estudo de associação entre idade, gênero e região da cidade (p > 0,05). Nenhuma diferença significativa foi encontrada para qualquer variável, quando comparando a soropositividade com a ocorrência do possível fator de risco. A soroprevalência foi relativamente menor quando comparada a outras regiões brasileiras, provavelmente por serem gatos de proprietários, que tinham hábito domiciliado e alimentação restrita baseada em alimentos industrializados, com acesso restrito a rua e sem acesso a caça. em conclusão, a baixa soroprevalência de toxoplasmose felina pode estar relacionada a gatos com proprietários devido aos cuidados alimentares e acesso restrito à rua, e também pode estar associada à baixa exposição ambiental local

First Autochthonous Case of Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis in the Center of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

Background: Leishmaniasis is one of the most important vector-borne diseases of humans. This parasitic disease can be caused by many species of Leishmania. In humans, different species of the parasite are associated with different forms of the disease, cutaneous and visceral. Among domesticated animals, dogs are the most important species in the epidemiology of this disease. Leishmania chagasi, an important zoonosis, is well established as the agent of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. The disease is endemic in north, northeast, midwest and southeast, and is transmitted to mammals by hematophagous insects such as the Lutzomyia longipalpis. In 2008, our research group has diagnosed a case of canine leishmaniasis in the municipality of Uruguaiana and subsequently there were several cases in the city and the neighbor municipality of Sao Borja. Most Brazilian states are endemic for leishmaniasis, with the exception of Rio Grande do Sul. In southern Brazil, the reports of humans and dogs infected by Leishmania spp. are the source of endemic area in the country. Therefore, the aim of this study is register the first clinical case of canine visceral leishmaniasis in the municipality of Santa Maria, RS.Case: In october 2010, a veterinary clinic of Santa Maria received a canine, female, Doberman, with two years of age. The animal had severe skin lesions on the head and limbs, pale mucous membranes, and enlarged lymph nodes. According to the owner, the animal showed progressive weight loss and anorexia for more than five days. During the clinical examination the blood was collected for hemogram and cytology of lymph nodes was performed by puncture aspiration with a fine needle. In the erythrogram, it was observed a decrease in the total number of erythrocytes (2.8 x 10(6)/mu L), hematocrit (21%), hemoglobin (6.8 g/dL) and platelets (98 x 10(3)/mu L). In the leucogram, any alteration was observed. The cytology of lymph nodes showed amastigotes forms, suggestive of the Leishmania spp. Based on this finding; we performed the blood collection for PCR, to confirm parasitism and to determine the species of Leishmania. At the molecular test was used PCR-specific for L. chagasi, and the result was positive.Discussion: This is the first autochthonous clinical case in the central region of the RS, non-endemic area for leishmaniasis. In serological studies of visceral leishmaniasis it was diagnosed in five asymptomatic dogs in the municipalities of Santa Maria, Julio de Castilhos and Itaara, however not confirmed by molecular analysis. In the municipalities of Cruz Alta and Uruguaiana cases of L. chagasi have been reported in dogs which previously resided in Leishmania sp. endemic areas. The municipality of Sao Borja had the first record of L. longipalpis in the RS during the leishmaniasis outbreak in 2008-2009. In the central region of the RS vector has not been found, but because in this first autochthonous case dog in Santa Maria believe that the parasite is present and/or doing other insect transmission of leishmaniasis. Clinical signs associated with hematologic and coagulation disorders observed in the canine are commonly described in symptomatic dogs in endemic regions. This case of autochthonous leishmaniasis reinforces the idea of the vector presence in Santa Maria, center of the RS. We believe that canine leishmaniasis is an emerging disease in the southern region of Brazil.

Smoking and Periodontal Disease: Clinical Evidence for an Association

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

Length-weight relationships for 20 species collected in the Jurumirim reservoir (Paranapanema Basin, Brazil)

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

Reproductive output of Uca vocator (Herbst, 1804) (Brachyura, Ocypodidae) from three subtropical mangroves in Brazil

Crab fecundity is widely known to vary proportionally to female size, but the female's nutritional state also has an important effect on egg production. This study evaluates intraspecific variability of reproductive output by monthly sampling Uca vocator populations from the Itapanhau, Indaia, and Itamambuca mangroves on the southeastern coast of Brazil. The presence of ovigerous crabs, their carapace width (CW) and their number of eggs were recorded. Additionally, the productivity of the mangroves and the content of organic matter of the sediments were analysed in order to estimate food availability in each locality. Size-specific fecundity relationships were obtained for each population and compared among the three populations. Ovigerous females from Itamambuca are the largest and their fecundities are also the highest among the populations studied. These results probably are associated with the favourable environmental conditions in Itamambuca, as this is a young mangrove with a high productivity level.

Phylogenetic relationships of Pseudis and Lysapsus (Anura, Hylidae, Hylinae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences

The previous uncertain placement of Lysapsus and Pseudis within the neobatrachians was recently resolved by molecular and morphological studies, which supported them as members of the Hylinae subfamily. Their inter- and intrageneric relationships, however, have long been under debate and no studies shed light on these questions. Aiming to elucidate such questions, this paper used 3.2 kb comprising the mitochondrial genes 12S, tRNA valine, 16S and cytochrome b, and the nuclear exon 1 coding for rhodopsin, to all representatives of both genera (except to two subspecies of Pseudis paradoxa). The results identified three major clades: the clade 1 was composed by Lysapsus species and subspecies; clade 2 included the subspecies of the Pseudis paradoxa (Pseudis paradoxa paradoxa, P. paradoxa platensis and P. paradoxa occidentalis), P. fusca, P. bolbodactyla and P. tocantins, and clade 3 was composed by Pseudis southern Brazil species (Pseudis cardosoi and P. minuta). As closely related taxa we found Pseudis minuta + P. cardosoi; P. tocantins + P. fusca, and the subspecies within each genus. Evidence that Pseudis is not monophyletic with respect to Lysapsus was found and we suggest Lysapsus to be a junior synonym of Pseudis. Based on pair-wise comparison among gene sequences, we also suggest that the subspecies of Pseudis paradoxa and Lysapsus limellum must be considered as full species. (c) the Willi Hennig Society 2007.

Osteology and Intraspecific Variation of Leptodactylus podicipinus (Anura: Leptodactylidae), with Comments on the Relationship between Osteology and Reproductive Modes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Ecological aspects of helminth fauna of Magellanic penguins, Spheniscus magellanicus (aves: Spheniscidae), from the Northern Coast of the State of São Paulo, Brazil

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

Distribution and morphometrics of Natalus stramineus from South America (Chiroptera, Natalidae)

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

Prurido do traje de banho: relato de seis casos no Sul do Brasil

O prurido do traje de banho ou seabather s eruption é uma dermatite intensamente pruriginosa que ocorre pelo contato com larvas plânulas do cnidário cifozoário Linuche unguiculata, especialmente sob os trajes de banhistas. As larvas disparam seus nematocistos a partir de cnidócitos ou células urticantes de defesa na pele da vítima, causando uma típica erupção pápulo-eritemato-pruriginosa. Os primeiros cinco casos descritos no Brasil foram publicados em 2001, no litoral Sudeste (Ubatuba, SP), obtendo-se associação com larvas de Linuche unguiculata, uma vez que a ocorrência e o ciclo de vida do cnidário já haviam sido estudados no Canal de São Sebastião, SP. Os autores relatam os seis casos na região Sul do Brasil (Estado de Santa Catarina), enfatizando os aspectos clínicos e a pesquisa para identificação do agente na água do mar local.

CRANIOMETRIC VARIATION AND SUBSPECIFIC DIFFERENTIATION IN THRICHOMYS APEREOIDES IN NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL (RODENTIA, ECHIMYIDAE)

Thrichomys apereoides is an echimyid rodent which ranges in distribution from northeastern and central Brazil into Paraguay. Five subspecies are recognized, although each form is not well characterized and diagnosis is based primarily in pelage color variation. In this study we employed procedures from multivariate statistics to assess the systematic status of subspecies described from northeastern Brazil. The results of the craniometric analysis cannot be reconciled with the subspecies currently recognized for northeastern Brazil. Populations assigned to T. a. laurentius and T. a. inermis form a continuum of variation in cranial size, although they differ in cranial shape from a population from the locality of Bodoco in the state of Pernambuco. The implications of these findings for the systematics of T. apereoides are discussed.

3 CHAMAEZA ANTTHRUSHES IN EASTERN BRAZIL (FORMICARIIDAE)

There are three, not two, sibling antthrushes of the genus Chamaeza (Formicariidae) in eastern Brazil. One is the short-tailed, large, pale-billed, lower montane C. campanisona, with a spotted throat, dark forehead, and a long song ending in several grunts. The second is the long-tailed, small, dark-billed, montane and southern C. ruficauda, with barred undertail coverts and a short upscale song. The third is medium-tailed, small, dark-billed, midmontane, with a long upscale song like that of midmontane so-called ruficauda in Colombia and Venezuela. This northern group is like the third Brazilian species in proportions but not in coloration, so is considered to be the separate species C. turdia. The third Brazilian bird is probably C. meruloides Vigors 1825, based on an 1826 color plate; type specimens were sold at auction and have disappeared. It has a reddish crown and olive-brown back as in C. campanisona but reddish forehead and tail as in C. ruficauda; the throat is unspotted but the rest of the underparts are as in C. campanisona. C. meruloides and C. turdina form a vocally similar superspecies.

Evidence of Chlamydophila psittaci infection in captive Amazon parrots in Brazil

The prevalence of Chlamydophila psittaci (formerly Chlamydia psittaci) infection was assessed in 95 apparently healthy, captive Amazon parrots from three breeder collections in southeastern and west-central Brazil. Cloacal swabs from 95 birds were tested for chlamydial antigen, which was detected by direct immunofluorescence (DIF), and serum samples from 44 of these birds were tested for antibodies to C. psittaci using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The prevalences of active infection as detected by DIF were 16.7%, 22.2%, and 56.1%, and seroprevalences were 100%, 87.5%, and 60% in flocks A, B, and C, respectively. We can therefore infer that C. psittaci may be widespread in captive parrot populations in Brazil.

A comparative floristic analysis of a cerrado area in Botucatu, State of São Paulo (Brazil)

Based on the results of a phytosociological survey in a ''cerrado'' area located within the municipality of Botucatu, state of São Paulo Brazil, a comparative analysis of the 58 sampled tree species' is here presented using the data of other available floristics works for the ''cerrados in the same state. With a binary matrix of presence/absence of shared common species with the studied plot, a clustering analysis was performed thus obtaining a dendrogram which groups northern and southern areas with the same vegetation in the state of São Paulo previously treated as floristicaly differentiated. These results are discussed under the assumption that Isolated areas of ''cerrados'' are to be taken as targets for immediate conservation.

Larval stages of Pyromaia tuberculata (Lockington, 1877) (Decapoda, Majidae, Inachinae) reared in the laboratory

The larval development of Pyromaia tuberculata (Lockington, 1877) is described from specimens reared in the laboratory. Larvae were obtained from ovigerous females collected by trawl in Ubatuba, São Paulo state, Brazil. Rearing was carried out at 24 +/- 1 degrees C in 35 parts per thousand S. The larvae pass through two zoeal stages before moulting to the megalopa. A comparison is made with previously studied majid species occurring in the southern and southeastern regions of Brazil.