Correlation of the in vitro antifungal drug susceptibility with the in vivo activity of fluconazole in a murine model of cerebral infection caused by Cryptococcus gattii.

Forty Cryptococcus gattii strains were submitted to antifungal susceptibility testing with fluconazole, itraconazole, amphotericin B and terbinafine. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranges were 0.5-64.0 for fluconazole, <0.015-0.25 for itraconazole, 0.015-0.5 for amphotericin B and 0.062-2.0 for terbinafine. A bioassay for the quantitation of fluconazole in murine brain tissue was developed. Swiss mice received daily injections of the antifungal, and their brains were withdrawn at different times over the 14-day study period. The drug concentrations varied from 12.98 to 44.60 µg/mL. This assay was used to evaluate the therapy with fluconazole in a model of infection caused by C. gattii. Swiss mice were infected intracranially and treated with fluconazole for 7, 10 or 14 days. The treatment reduced the fungal burden, but an increase in fungal growth was observed on day 14. The MIC for fluconazole against sequential isolates was 16 µg/mL, except for the isolates obtained from animals treated for 14 days (MIC = 64 µg/mL). The quantitation of cytokines revealed a predominance of IFN-γ and IL-12 in the non-treated group and elevation of IL-4 and IL-10 in the treated group. Our data revealed the possibility of acquired resistance during the antifungal drug therapy.

Histomorphometry and macroscopic intestinal lesions in broilers infected with Eimeria acervulina.

This study aimed at measuring intestinal villi and assessing the intestinal absorptive area in broilers infected with Eimeria acervulina under different treatments to control coccidiosis. The experiment was divided into two stages, carried out in successive housings, raised in the same environment (or aviary). In the first stage, on 25 May 2008, fifty 12-day-old birds were orally inoculated with 3 x 10(3) oocysts of E. acervulina. In the second stage, on July 2008, other 50 birds were allocated on litter contaminated by the feces of birds on the first housing (natural infection by oocysts present in the reused litter). The experiment was arranged in a complete randomized design with five treatments and three replicates of 10 chicks per treatment. Broiler chicks were housed at 1 day of age and autopsies were performed at 21 days of age. Three 2-cm-long segments of the duodenum were excised from each bird and fixed in 10% buffered formalin. A total of 30 slides were prepared for each treatment, totaling 150 evaluated histological sections using H&E staining. Villus morphology was carried out by the HL Image 97 software. The intestinal absorptive area was calculated and macroscopic lesions were classified according to standard lesion scores. Results showed that intestinal villus measurements and absorptive area are directly affected by E. acervulina and that there is direct and positive correlation between the macro and microscopic findings observed in intestinal coccidiosis. E. acervulina causes shortening of villi and reduction in the intestinal absorptive area, affecting broiler growth. The prevention method of litter fermentation during the interval between housings and oral administration of Diclazuril can reduce the severity of intestinal lesions by E. acervulina in broilers impairing oocyst virulence or viability.

Prevalence of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in dogs from different living conditions in Uberlândia, Brazil.

Infection rates with Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. were compared among dogs living under different conditions. Stool samples (n = 433) collected from dogs of different ages, gender, living conditions and origin were analyzed using three techniques, i.e., centrifugal flotation in zinc sulfate solution, centrifugal flotation in sucrose solution, and methylene blue gram safranin staining. Eighty-nine of the samples were from stay dogs living in shelters run by animal protection societies, 199 were from kennels and 122 from households. A total of 119 (29.0%) had G. duodenalis cysts and six (1.4%) were positive for Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts. Dogs from kennels were most frequently affected by G. duodenalis (49.7%) while those from shelters showed a higher prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. (2.2%). A significant difference (p < or = 0.05) was observed between immature dogs and adults only with respect to Giardia infection. There was no significant difference between the gender with regard to the presence of either protozoan.

Infection of dogs by experimental inoculation with human isolates of Giardia duodenalis: clinical and laboratory manifestations.

The susceptibility of dogs to experimental inoculation with trophozoites and cysts of human isolates of Giardia duodenalis and the clinical and laboratory profiles of infection of these animals were studied. Two groups (A and B), each comprising three dogs, were inoculated with G. duodenalis trophozoites and cysts, respectively. A third group of two dogs was not inoculated and remained as control. After inoculation feces were collected daily to determine the pre-patent period, by flotation in 33% zinc sulfate solution. Blood samples (5mL) were collected from animals at 15-day intervals during the 165 days of the experimental period and were used to carry out the hemogram and biochemical evaluation of the levels of total protein, albumin, alanine aminotransferase, gamma glutamyltransferase, urea and creatinine. A prepatent period was observed at 5-6 days post-inoculation (p.i.) in the inoculated dogs, with cysts eliminated for approximately 3 months. No alterations were seen in the clinical parameters evaluated. Anemia was observed at 15 p.i. in the inoculated dogs. The mean eosinophil count of inoculated groups was higher than that of the control (p< or =0.05) but none of the biochemical parameters analyzed presented significant differences. The results of this study show that G. duodenalis from human isolates is able to infect dogs with minimal systemic manifestations without producing clinical signs of giardiasis.

Helmintos e protozoários em fezes de javalis (Sus scrofa scrofa) criados em cativeiro / Helminths and protozoa in wild boars (Sus scrofa scrofa) feces raised in captivity

Faecal samples from 79 wild boars (Sus scrofa scrofa) were examined by sedimentation method, zinc sulfate flotation method, and centrifugal flotation in sugar solution for endoparasites research. The results showed that 97.5 por cento of the samples were positive for helminths and/or protozoa as follows: strongilides (70.9 por cento), Ascaris suum (46.9 por cento), Trichuris suis (29.1 por cento), Metastrongylus sp. (12.6 por cento), Strongyloides ransomi (3.8 por cento), Balantidium coli (38.0 por cento), Entamoeba spp. (15.2 por cento), Giardia spp. (1.3 por cento), Blastocystis sp. (12.6 por cento). The frequency of Entamoeba was higher in young animals. Coccidian oocysts were observed in 59.5 por cento samples and five species of Eimeria and one Isospora were recovered: Eimeria scabra (31.9 por cento), E. deblieck (31.9 por cento), E. perminuta (23.4 por cento), E. cerdonis (17.0 por cento), E. scrofae (12.8 por cento) and Isospora suis (12.8 por cento).

Aspectos da bovinocultura leiteira no Município de Ilhéus-BA / Characterization of dairy cattle production in Ilhéus -BA

The results show that the milk production activity in the county of Ilhéus, Bahia state, Brazil, lacks of technologies that could improve milk productivity. General information about the farms were obtained through a survey. Thirty-seven (43.5 percent) farms were smaller or equal to 50ha and 65 (76.5 percent) farms produced 50l of milk per day, characterizing these farmers as small producers. In 46 (54.1 percent) farms no information concerning costs, level of production, reproduction efficiency or sanity of the herds were found. In 29 (34.2 percent) farms the information was registered in portable computer database, six (7.1 percent) farms used structured index cards and four (4.7 percent) farms had desktop computers. Forty-one (48.2 percent) farms had roofed and paved milk facilities, three (3.5 percent) farms had not roofed but paved, in 31 (36.5 percent) farms the corrals were not roofed and unpaved, and 10 (11.8 percent) farms had no constructions.

Prevalência de tuberculose e brucelose bovina no município de Ilhéus / Prevalence of bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis in Ilhéus, Bahia - Brazil

Aiming to determining the prevalence of tuberculosis and brucellosis in Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil, 916 cows aged 24 months or above and allocated in 85 farms were tested. The compared cervical intradermic tuberculosis and serological buffered acidified antigen (BAA), slow tube serum agglutination (STSA) and 2-mercapto ethanol (2-ME) tests were used. The prevalence of tuberculosis and brucellosis was 2.8 and 1.9 percent, respectively. The distribution of positive farms (10.6 percent) is in agreement with the notion that these diseases are widespread in the country

[The phylogenesis of language. New approaches of old questions]. / A filogênese da linguagem: novas abordagens de antigas questões.

The philogenesis and the anthropogenesis of language are the primary elements for the anatomic and physiologic understanding about the mechanisms of human communication, as well as their clinical applicability. During the process of primates'evolution, significant changes in the animal's body, specially on the heads, has occurred since the arboricole life that influences the genesis of language. The adaptation of a semi-vertical body posture, the exploratory use of the hands and the improvement of vision at the expenses of olfaction have caused the enlargement of the cranium and the encephalon. Furthermore, as the primates went back to the floor, and from the development of the biped march in the Australopithecus, a progressive "fan-like" increase of the frontal, parietal and temporal regions took place allowing the simultaneous development of the neuroanatomical centers of language, facial expression and manual motor activity.