Electrocution in a Sloth (Choloepus didactylus) - Clinical and Surgical Approach

Background: High voltage electric shock causes serious injury to the body, which can lead to a fatal condition. Sloths are commonly the target of this type of accident and factors such as the degree of tissue impairment and late medical care can contribute to the death of the animal or the indication of euthanasia. In this way, the present This study aims to describe the treatment strategies in Choloepus didactylus victim of high voltage electrocution. Case: A female sloth weighing 6.15 kg was treated at the Wild Animals Sector of the Veterinary Hospital (SAS-HV) of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) victim of high voltage electric shock with burn on the right side, stomatitis, glossitis, lesions extensive and bullous lesions in the thoracic and pelvic limbs, in addition to an open fracture in the radioulnar joint of the left limb with signs of necrosis. After patient stabilization (fluid therapy, antibiotic therapy, pain control, cleaning and wound dressing), the patient was admitted to the hospital. The main treatment strategies adopted were surgery, drug therapy, food and occupational therapy. The day after the patient's arrival, the amputation of the left thoracic limb was performed. On the third day of hospitalization, the right thoracic and pelvic limbs were also amputated, and on the tenth day, debridement of the right lateral face was performed. As for drug therapy, the following drugs were used postoperatively: ceftriaxone (40 mg/kg, BID, for 47 days), dexamethasone (0.5 mg/kg, BID, for 4 days), silymarin (15 mg/kg, BID, for 30 days), morphine (0.4 mg/kg, BID, for 14 days; 0.8 mg/kg, SID, for 22 days) and dressing wounds on the lateral face and surgical stumps with ointment based on of collagenase with chloramphenicol. In food management, the animal had good acceptance of a mixture of fruits, vegetables and animal protein in a pasty presentation. The treatment by occupational therapy included basic care such as exercising, sunbathing, and desensitizing the surgical stumps (massage therapy). In conclusion, after five months, the therapeutic protocol implemented resulted in the clinical improvement of the animal, as it allowed the complete healing of the lesions on the face and surgical stumps. In addition, the care taken with the surgical stumps allowed the animal to use them as support for its locomotion. Discussion: Amputation and debridement surgeries were effective in treating electrocuted patients and should be considered when tissue is compromised, which justifies the surgical protocol adopted in this study. They were based on reports in humans, since in wild animals, although many are victims of this type of trauma, little is known about the appropriate therapeutic approach for each species. Surgical interventions associated with the antibiotic ceftriaxone were efficient for controlling the infection, since this antibiotic has a broad spectrum of activity, being used mainly in skin and soft tissue and/or bone infections, which justified its use in that patient. As for nutritional therapy, supplementation with animal protein may have contributed to the clinical improvement of the animal, since they are excellent components for tissue recovery in patients who suffered losses from burns caused by electric shocks. Stump desensitization is indicated as a treatment for neuropathic pain in amputees, and in the present study, it was essential for the animal to use the limb for locomotion. The exercises in a grassy area associated with sunbathing added as a stimulus to the patient's movement. Keywords: two-toed sloth, amputation, nutrition, rehabilitation. Título: Eletrocussão em Preguiça-real (Choloepus didactylus) - abordagem clínica e cirúrgica Descritores: preguiça-de-dois-dedos, amputação, nutrição, reabilitação

Occurrence of eggs and oocysts of gastrointestinal parasites in passerine birds kept in captivity in Para State, Brazil Ocorrência de ovos e oocistos de parasitos gastrointestinais em aves Passeriformes mantidas em cativeiro no estado do Pará, Brasil

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to detect helminth eggs and protozoan oocysts in samples of feces from birds of the orde

Immunogenicity of PvCyRPA, PvCelTOS and Pvs25 chimeric recombinant protein of Plasmodium vivax in murine model

In the Americas, P. vivax is the predominant causative species of malaria, a debilitating and economically significant disease. Due to the complexity of the malaria parasite life cycle, a vaccine formulation with multiple antigens expressed in various parasite stages may represent an effective approach. Based on this, we previously designed and constructed a chimeric recombinant protein, PvRMC-1, composed by PvCyRPA, PvCelTOS, and Pvs25 epitopes. This chimeric protein was strongly recognized by naturally acquired antibodies from exposed population in the Brazilian Amazon. However, there was no investigation about the induced immune response of PvRMC-1. Therefore, in this work, we evaluated the immunogenicity of this chimeric antigen formulated in three distinct adjuvants: Stimune, AddaVax or Aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3) in BALB/c mice. Our results suggested that the chimeric protein PvRMC-1 were capable to generate humoral and cellular responses across all three formulations. Antibodies recognized full-length PvRMC-1 and linear B-cell epitopes from PvCyRPA, PvCelTOS, and Pvs25 individually. Moreover, mice’s splenocytes were activated, producing IFN-γ in response to PvCelTOS and PvCyRPA peptide epitopes, affirming T-cell epitopes in the antigen. While aluminum hydroxide showed notable cellular response, Stimune and Addavax induced a more comprehensive immune response, encompassing both cellular and humoral components. Thus, our findings indicate that PvRMC-1 would be a promising multistage vaccine candidate that could advance to further preclinical studies

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Caracterização morfológica, molecular e filogenética de Borrelia theileri em Rhipicephalus microplus

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2019-02-15T16:35:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 alexandro_guterres_etal_IOC_2018.pdf: 1220000 bytes, checksum: a43f569f8a5c7178e23189d66a2be27e (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2019-02-15T16:41:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 alexandro_guterres_etal_IOC_2018.pdf: 1220000 bytes, checksum: a43f569f8a5c7178e23189d66a2be27e (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2019-02-15T16:41:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 alexandro_guterres_etal_IOC_2018.pdf: 1220000 bytes, checksum: a43f569f8a5c7178e23189d66a2be27e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Veterinárias. Seropédica, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Veterinárias. Seropédica, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Veterinárias. Seropédica, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Hantaviroses e Rickettsioses. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Veterinárias. Seropédica, RJ, Brasil.O estudo teve como objetivo realizar a caracterização morfológica, molecular e filogenética de Borrelia theileri obtida de Rhipicephalus microplus naturalmente infectado em bovino no estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Um total de 50 fêmeas de R. microplus ingurgitadas foram analisadas para espiroquetas por meio de esfregaço de hemolinfa. Ovos macerados e carrapatos, assim como sangue de bovinos infectados por esses carrapatos, foram analisados os genes glpQ, flaB e hpt por PCR. Os produtos de PCR foram purificados e sequenciados para análise e construção de uma árvore filogenética. Apenas 2% (1/50) dos carrapatos geraram um resultado positivo tanto pelo esfregaço como pela PCR. As formas espirais (n = 50) apresentaram (média ± DP) comprimento médio de 19,17 ± 4,12, diâmetro de 0,2935 ± 0,0469 e número de voltas de 8,44 ± 2,59. Os alinhamentos das sequências dos três genes avaliados exibiram 98% de similaridade aos isolados de B. theileri, ocorrendo em um clado altamente relacionado à linhagem de B. theileri KAT. As amostras de maceração de ovos foram positivas para os três genes avaliados, enquanto o sangue bovino foi negativo pela PCR. Esta é a mais completa caracterização de B. theileri nas Américas, apresentando dados morfológicos, moleculares e filogenéticos, incluindo a transmissão transovarial da espiroqueta no carrapato hospedeiro.This study aimed to perform a morphological, molecular and phylogenetic characterization of Borrelia theileri obtained from infected Rhipicephalus microplus in Brazil. Fifty engorged R. microplus females from cattle in the municipality of Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, were analyzed for spirochetes by hemolymph smear. Macerated eggs and positive ticks, as well as blood from the bovine infested by these ticks, were analyzed the glpQ, flaB and hpt genes by PCR. The PCR products were purified and sequenced for analysis and construction of a phylogenetic tree. Only 2% (1/50) of the ticks generated a positive result by both smear and PCR. The spiral forms (n = 50) had (media ± SD) a mean length of 19.17 ± 4.12 µm, diameter of 0.2935 ± 0.0469 and number of turns 8.44 ± 2.59. Sequence alignments of the three evaluated genes exhibited 98% similarity to B. theileri isolates, occurring in a clade highly related to B. theileri strain KAT. Egg maceration samples were positive for the three evaluated genes, whereas bovine blood was negative by PCR. This is the most detailed characterization of B. theileri in the Americas to-date, presenting morphological, molecular and phylogenetic data, including the transovarial transmission of the spirochete in the host tick

Morphological, molecular and phylogenetic characterization of Borrelia theileri in Rhipicephalus microplus

Abstract This study aimed to perform a morphological, molecular and phylogenetic characterization of Borrelia theileri obtained from infected Rhipicephalus microplus in Brazil. Fifty engorged R. microplus females from cattle in the municipality of Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, were analyzed for spirochetes by hemolymph smear. Macerated eggs and positive ticks, as well as blood from the bovine infested by these ticks, were analyzed the glpQ, flaB and hpt genes by PCR. The PCR products were purified and sequenced for analysis and construction of a phylogenetic tree. Only 2% (1/50) of the ticks generated a positive result by both smear and PCR. The spiral forms (n = 50) had (media ± SD) a mean length of 19.17 ± 4.12 µm, diameter of 0.2935 ± 0.0469 and number of turns 8.44 ± 2.59. Sequence alignments of the three evaluated genes exhibited 98% similarity to B. theileri isolates, occurring in a clade highly related to B. theileri strain KAT. Egg maceration samples were positive for the three evaluated genes, whereas bovine blood was negative by PCR. This is the most detailed characterization of B. theileri in the Americas to-date, presenting morphological, molecular and phylogenetic data, including the transovarial transmission of the spirochete in the host tick