Breeding objectives and selection criteria of a participatory community-based breeding programme of goats and sheep.

The absence of formal markets and the large variability of genetic groups and production systems of goats and sheep in developing countries hinder the implementation of traditional breeding programmes. Community-based breeding programmes (CBBP) for these species have been shown to be effective in these countries. In these programmes, the definition of the objectives and criteria of selection is done in a participatory way, which takes into account the desires and needs of the local farmers. We aimed to define the objectives and criteria of a CBBP for goats and sheep in the Inhamuns region, Ceará, Brazil, using a participatory rural appraisal (PRA). This methodology, which consist in an approach that aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of rural people in the planning and management of development projects and programmes, was performed in seven districts of two towns of the region (Tauá and Parambu). One hundred twenty-two farmer families participated in the survey. The PRA was able to provide important information, and its results showed that breeders of this region keep flocks of goats and sheep for social, economic and cultural benefits. In order of importance, the main objectives for goat farming were personal fulfilment (PERF), food source for family (FSF), income generation (INCG), savings (SAV) and cultural/family traditions (CULT), while for sheep farming were CULT, FSF, SAV, PERF and INCG. Disease resistance (RDI), adaptability (ADP), fertility (FERT), growth rate (GRA), host resistance of worms (HRW), body conformation (BC), temperament (TEM), longevity (LONG), body size (BSIZ), age at first kidding (AFK) and milk yield (MIY) were the main selection criteria that farmers use for goats. The most important selection criteria used for selecting sheep were ADP, RDI, HRW, GRA, FERT, LONG, BC, BS and age at first lambing. According to these objectives and criteria, the CBBP must consider the adaptation of the animals to the climate and management conditions of the region, the resistance to diseases and productive performance.

Hip fractures cluster in space: an epidemiological analysis in Portugal.

UNLABELLED: Using Portuguese hospital registers (2000-2002) we calculated age-standardized incidence rates of hip fractures. Spatial clusters of high incidence rates were found, with annual averages (per 100,000 inhabitants) varying from 154.4 to 572.2 and 77.3 to 231.5 for women and men, respectively. Geographic inequalities in the occurrence of hip fractures were also found. INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to identify spatial patterns in the incidence of hip fracture in Portugal during the period 2000 to 2002. METHODS: From the National Hospital Discharge Register, admissions of patients (50 years of age or more) with low-energy hip fracture were selected. Age-standardized incidence rates in relation to the municipality of the patients' place of residence were calculated. Empirical Bayes estimators were used to smooth the local risk and spatial statistics methods were used to identify spatial clusters. RESULTS: Of 25,634 hip fractures in individuals aged 50 years or more caused by low or moderate impact, 19,759 occurred in women (age, mean+/-SD, 80.6+/-8.6 years) and 5,875 in men (age 77.7+/-10.0 years). Incidence rates increased exponentially with age, being higher in women nation-wide (female to male ratio from 1.5 to 5.1). Significant geographic differences were found: the incidence rates (95% CI) varied from 154.4 (153.6-155.3) to 572.2 (569.5-575.0) in women and 77.3 (76.64-78.05) to 231.5 (229.9-233.0) in men per 100,000 inhabitants. Spatial autocorrelation values (Moran index) were 0.56 and 0.45 for women and men, respectively. CONCLUSION: Spatial clusters (p<0.0001) of high incidences were identified. Geographic differences in incidence rates were about threefold. Some regions had incidence rates as high as some north European countries. The geographic inequalities could be due to environmental or socioeconomic factors, but further investigation needs to be done to confirm this hypothesis.

[Intracranial tuberculomas developing during treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis: case report]. / Múltiplos tuberculomas intracerebrais na vigência de terapia específica para tuberculose pulmonar: a propósito de um caso.

The classical presentation of neurotuberculosis is meningitis. Intracranial tuberculomas are a rare manifestation of neurotuberculosis and are due to hematogenous dissemination of distant focuses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Around 1% of patients with central nervous system tuberculosis develop intracranial tuberculomas some weeks or months after the beginning of the specific treatment with tuberculostatic chemotherapy. The involution of the lesions is slow and does not mean drug resistance nor lack of adequate treatment. We describe the case, diagnosed and treated at the 25th Infirmary of Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Rio de Janeiro, of an immunocompetent male patient who developed meningitis and multiple intracranial tuberculomas during the specific treatment of miliary tuberculosis. The literature is revised and the diagnosis, treatment and possible immunological mechanisms are discussed.

Padronização do Elisa indireto e Western Blot para diagnóstico da artrite-encefalite caprina / Standardization of indirect Elisa and Western Blot for diagnosis of Caprine Arthritis-Encephalitis

A artrite-encefalite caprina (CAE) é diagnosticada rotineiramente pela técnica de imunodifusão em gel de agarose (IDGA), que é considerada pouco sensível. Objetivou-se com este estudo padronizar testes de Elisa-i e Western Blot (WB) para diagnóstico precoce de anticorpos em caprinos contra CAEV e comparar os resultados obtidos nesses testes com a prova de IDGA. Para a padronização dos testes Elisa-i e WB, utilizaram-se diferentes concentrações e diluições de antígeno, soros e conjugado. No Elisa-i, adotaram-se microplacas rígidas com 96 poços, sendo a combinação de concentração de 0,5µg/poço de antígeno e diluições de 1:100 de soro e 1:1500 de conjugado a que apresentou melhor resultado. No WB foram utilizadas membranas de nitrocelulose, definindo-se as diluições de 1:50 de soro e 1:15000 de conjugado. Para avaliar o desempenho das técnicas, 222 amostras de soro caprino foram testadas e os dados obtidos foram comparados com o IDGA. A sensibilidade e a especificidade do Elisa-i/IDGA, WB/IDGA e WB/Elisa-i foram de 70% e 91%, 100% e 72,6%, 84,6% e 76,5%, concomitantemente. O índice Kappa desses testes foi de 0,35, 0,2 e 0,36, respectivamente. As técnicas de Elisa-i e WB apresentaram-se mais sensíveis que a IDGA, podendo ser utilizadas como ferramentas para o diagnóstico precoce da CAE...

Caprine arthritis-encephalitis (CAE) is routinely diagnosed with the Agarose Gel Immunodiffusion (AGID) technique, which is considered to have low sensitivity. The objective of this study was to standardize testing i-Elisa and Western Blot for early detection of antibodies against CAEV in goats and compare the results obtained in these tests with proof of AGID. For standardization of i-Elisa and WB, different concentrations and dilutions of antigen, sera and conjugate were used. In the i-Elisa, rigid microplate with 96 wells was adopted, and the combination that showed the best result was a concentration of 0.5µg/ well of antigen and dilutions of the serum of 1:100 and conjugate of 1:1500. In the WB nitrocellulose membranes were used, and the dilutions of the serum were defined at 1:50 and conjugate at 1:15000. To evaluate the performance of the techniques, 222 goat serum samples were tested and the data were compared with the AGID. The sensitivity and specificity of Elisa-i/IDGA, WB/AGID and WB/Elisa-i were 70% and 91%, 100% and 72.6%, 84.6% and 76.5%, concomitantly. The Kappa index of these tests was 0.35, 0.2 and 0.36, respectively. The i-Elisa and WB techniques were more sensitive than the AGID and can be used as tools for early diagnosis of CAE...

Aldose reductase inhibitors from the fruits of Caesalpinia ferrea Mart.

Aldose reductase inhibitors were isolated from an extract of the dry fruits of Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. (Leguminosae). Compound 2 was identified as ellagic acid by comparison with a reference sample. The structure of compound 1 was elucidated as 2-(2,3,6-trihydroxy-4-carboxyphenyl) ellagic acid on the basis of spectral evidence, especially 2D-NMR data (HMQC, HMBC and NOESY). These two compounds inhibited aldose reductase in a non-competitive manner.