Food Habits of Wild Silky Anteaters ( Cyclopes didactylus ) of São Luis do Maranhão, Brazil

None of the four extant anteater species is currently considered to be threatened with extinction (IUCN, 2007; Aguiar and Fonseca, 2008). However, the destruction and fragmentation of their habitat is advancing swiftly throughout their common distribution, and may already have caused local extinctions (Fonseca and Aguiar, 2004; Fallabrino and Castiñeira, 2006). Similarly, fragmentation may expose wild populations to new parasites and infectious diseases, while also increasing the risk of transmission between human and animal populations (Aguirre et al., 2002).Fil: Miranda, Flávia. No especifica;Fil: Veloso, Roberto. No especifica;Fil: Superina, Mariella. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Zara, Fernando José. No especifica

First record of the non-indigenous portunid crab Charybdis variegata from the western Atlantic coast

Biological invasions are a present and growing environmental problem because non-indigenous organisms may affect the structure and functioning of native communities. In the marine environment there are records of invasive species in almost all phyla, including crustaceans, and the portunid crabs of the genus Charybdis are among the most widespread invasive groups. We report the first record of Charybdis variegata (Fabricius, 1798) from the western Atlantic coast. This species was collected on an intertidal rocky shore near Santos Harbor, São Paulo state, Brazil. Of 311 portunid crabs sampled, 309 individuals belonged to the non-indigenous Charybdis hellerii (A. Milne Edwards, 1867), one was a native Cronius ruber (Lamarck, 1818), and one was identified as the non-indigenous Charybdis variegata. This individual was a juvenile female measuring 27.5 mm in carapace width. The taxonomic traits used for species identification, as well as a morphological comparison between C. hellerii and C. variegata are presented. The introduction route and establishment status of this species are also discussed.FAPESP - 2005/04707-5FAPESP - Biota - 2010/50188-8FAPESP - 2006/57007-3CNPq - FJZ 308215/2010-9CNPq - AT 301240/2006-0CNPq - TTW PiBIC 138732/2011-

Long-term monitoring of the non-native giant river prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879) in the Furnas mega reservoir (southeastern Brazil)

Abstract In this study, we report six records of the non-native giant river prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879) in the Furnas mega reservoir, state of Minas Gerais (Southeast Brazil), during continuous monitoring conducted from 2006 to 2023. All recorded specimens were males of the blue claw (BC) morphotype and possibly entered interior areas of the reservoir via accidental escapes. There was no occurrence of established populations in the region, nor any evidence of disease in the specimens obtained. However, continuous monitoring is recommended to record new escapes and determine the possibility of establishment of giant river prawn populations in the aquatic environment of the Furnas mega reservoir

Relação hospedeiro‑parasita durante infestação por Epistylis sp. (Ciliophora: Epistylididae) em peixes ciclídeos e pimelodídeos cultivados

The objective of this work was to describe the host‑Epistylis sp. relationship during infestation on farmed fish. Five Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and ten hybrid surubim catfish (Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum x P. corruscans), all diseased, were used for in vivo morphological analysis of sessile peritrichs by contrast microscopy. Fragments of infected tissues were subjected to histological processing and scanning electron microscopy. Epistylis sp. caused hemorrhagic ulcer disease, and cichlids were more prone to develop infestations throughout the body surface due to the attachment of the colonies to the scales, which did not occur with pimelodids. Multifocal granulomatous dermatitis was observed, associated with the hydropic degeneration of the epithelium and to ulcerative areas of necrosis. Microscopic examination showed the presence of bacterial microflora associated to Epistylis sp. peduncles. Therefore, this species can be considered a portal of entry for opportunistic bacteria.O objetivo deste trabalho foi descrever a relação hospedeiro‑Epistylis sp. durante infestação em peixes cultivados. Foram utilizados cinco tilápias‑do‑nilo (Oreochromis niloticus) e dez híbridos de surubim (Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum x P. corruscans), todos parasitados, para análise morfológica in vivo de peritríquios sésseis por microscopia de contraste de fase. Fragmentos de tecidos infectados foram processados para histologia e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Epistylis sp. causou doença ulcerativa hemorrágica, e os ciclídeos foram mais susceptíveis ao parasitismo na superfície do corpo em razão da fixação das colônias nas escamas, o que não ocorreu nos pimelodídeos. Foi observada ocorrência de dermatite granulomatosa multifocal, associada à degeneração hidrópica do epitélio e às áreas ulcerativas de necrose. O estudo microscópico mostrou a presença de bactérias associadas aos pedúnculos de Epistylis sp. Portanto, esta espécie pode ser considerada porta de entrada para bactérias oportunistas

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Analysis of shared heritability in common disorders of the brain

ience, this issue p. eaap8757 Structured Abstract INTRODUCTION Brain disorders may exhibit shared symptoms and substantial epidemiological comorbidity, inciting debate about their etiologic overlap. However, detailed study of phenotypes with different ages of onset, severity, and presentation poses a considerable challenge. Recently developed heritability methods allow us to accurately measure correlation of genome-wide common variant risk between two phenotypes from pools of different individuals and assess how connected they, or at least their genetic risks, are on the genomic level. We used genome-wide association data for 265,218 patients and 784,643 control participants, as well as 17 phenotypes from a total of 1,191,588 individuals, to quantify the degree of overlap for genetic risk factors of 25 common brain disorders. RATIONALE Over the past century, the classification of brain disorders has evolved to reflect the medical and scientific communities' assessments of the presumed root causes of clinical phenomena such as behavioral change, loss of motor function, or alterations of consciousness. Directly observable phenomena (such as the presence of emboli, protein tangles, or unusual electrical activity patterns) generally define and separate neurological disorders from psychiatric disorders. Understanding the genetic underpinnings and categorical distinctions for brain disorders and related phenotypes may inform the search for their biological mechanisms. RESULTS Common variant risk for psychiatric disorders was shown to correlate significantly, especially among attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), and schizophrenia. By contrast, neurological disorders appear more distinct from one another and from the psychiatric disorders, except for migraine, which was significantly correlated to ADHD, MDD, and Tourette syndrome. We demonstrate that, in the general population, the personality trait neuroticism is significantly correlated with almost every psychiatric disorder and migraine. We also identify significant genetic sharing between disorders and early life cognitive measures (e.g., years of education and college attainment) in the general population, demonstrating positive correlation with several psychiatric disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa and bipolar disorder) and negative correlation with several neurological phenotypes (e.g., Alzheimer's disease and ischemic stroke), even though the latter are considered to result from specific processes that occur later in life. Extensive simulations were also performed to inform how statistical power, diagnostic misclassification, and phenotypic heterogeneity influence genetic correlations. CONCLUSION The high degree of genetic correlation among many of the psychiatric disorders adds further evidence that their current clinical boundaries do not reflect distinct underlying pathogenic processes, at least on the genetic level. This suggests a deeply interconnected nature for psychiatric disorders, in contrast to neurological disorders, and underscores the need to refine psychiatric diagnostics. Genetically informed analyses may provide important "scaffolding" to support such restructuring of psychiatric nosology, which likely requires incorporating many levels of information. By contrast, we find limited evidence for widespread common genetic risk sharing among neurological disorders or across neurological and psychiatric disorders. We show that both psychiatric and neurological disorders have robust correlations with cognitive and personality measures. Further study is needed to evaluate whether overlapping genetic contributions to psychiatric pathology may influence treatment choices. Ultimately, such developments may pave the way toward reduced heterogeneity and improved diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders