Soroprevalência de Rickettsias do grupo da Febre Maculosa em cães residentes em Unidade de Conservação do Rio de Janeiro / Soroprevalence of Rickettsias from the Maculosa Fever group in dogs living in the Rio de Janeiro Conservation Unit

O monitoramento de doenças infecciosas, parasitárias e zoonóticas é fundamental para a saúde coletiva e até mesmo ecossistêmica, principalmente em Unidades de Conservação, como o Parque Estadual da Serra da Tiririca-RJ (PESET). Rickettsias do Grupo da Febre Maculosa estão associadas a artrópodes hematófagos e podem causar uma doença potencialmente letal em humanos. Nesse contexto, ações de monitoramento em prol do diagnóstico de áreas de risco são de extrema importância. O PESET está localizado nos Municípios de Niterói e Maricá e abriga rica diversidade biológica, além de remanescentes de comunidades humanas de origens diversas. A maioria dos moradores possui animais domésticos, principalmente cães, o que permite uma interação entre eles, a fauna e o homem, contribuindo para a transmissão de patógenos de importância na saúde pública. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar o inquérito sorológico de Rickettsias do Grupo de Febre Maculosa utilizando a reação de imunofluorescência indireta, a fim de contribuir como ferramenta de monitoramento da Febre Maculosa e auxiliar em futuras medidas de prevenção e controle. Como resultado, encontramos em 146 cães uma prevalência de 23% de reatividade para R. rickettsii e 47% de reatividade para R. parkeri, com título máximo de 1: 512 para ambos os antígenos. O presente trabalho demonstrou que tanto R. rickettsii quanto R. parkeri circulam na área estudada, alertando para a importância dos caninos como sentinelas de ambos os antígenos e servindo como alerta para futuros casos humanos

Intraperitoneal but Not Intravenous Cryopreserved Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Home to the Inflamed Colon and Ameliorate Experimental Colitis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) were shown to have immunomodulatory activity and have been applied for treating immune-mediated disorders. We compared the homing and therapeutic action of cryopreserved subcutaneous adipose tissue (AT-MSCs) and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) in rats with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis. METHODS: After colonoscopic detection of inflammation AT-MSCs or BM-MSCs were injected intraperitoneally. Colonoscopic and histologic scores were obtained. Density of collagen fibres and apoptotic rates were evaluated. Cytokine levels were measured in supernatants of colon explants. For cell migration studies MSCs and skin fibroblasts were labelled with Tc-99m or CM-DiI and injected intraperitonealy or intravenously. RESULTS: Intraperitoneal injection of AT-MSCs or BM-MSCs reduced the endoscopic and histopathologic severity of colitis, the collagen deposition, and the epithelial apoptosis. Levels of TNF-α and interleukin-1β decreased, while VEGF and TGF-β did not change following cell-therapy. Scintigraphy showed that MSCs migrated towards the inflamed colon and the uptake increased from 0.5 to 24 h. Tc-99m-MSCs injected intravenously distributed into various organs, but not the colon. Cm-DiI-positive MSCs were detected throughout the colon wall 72 h after inoculation, predominantly in the submucosa and muscular layer of inflamed areas. CONCLUSIONS: Intraperitoneally injected cryopreserved MSCs home to and engraft into the inflamed colon and ameliorate TNBS-colitis

Neuromyelitis Optica With Onset in Childhood and Adolescence

BACKGROUND: Neuromyelitis optica with onset before the age of 18 years is a relatively rare, yet potentially devastating condition. the objective of the present study was to contribute to the study of early-onset neuromyelitis optica with a case series. PATIENTS: Data were collected from medical records of Brazilian neurologists caring for patients with neuromyelitis optica occurring in childhood and adolescence. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients with neuromyelitis optica occurring before the age of 18 years and fulfilling the diagnostic criteria were identified. the average age at disease onset was 13 years and the patients had had an average disease duration of 6 years. the expanded disability scale score at the latest consultation was, on average, 4.7, and one patient had died from the disease. the 29 patients had had an average 4.5 relapses during the disease, accounting for 0.75 relapses per year, irrespective of the medication used. All patients were using one or more of the following medications: azathioprine, prednisone, immunoglobulin, and glatiramer acetate. CONCLUSIONS: Neuromyelitis optica with onset in childhood and adolescence is a poorly understood condition that is often disabling and difficult to manage.Univ Metropolitana Santos, Santos, BrazilHosp Restauracao, Recife, PE, BrazilUniv Fed Estado São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilSanta Casa Vitoria, Fac Ciencias Saude, Vitoria, BrazilUniv Fed Goias, Goiania, Go, BrazilUniv Fed Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Macae, BrazilHosp Beneficencia Portuguesa, São Paulo, BrazilHosp Paulistano, São Paulo, BrazilHosp Sirio Libanes, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Estado São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data