Free-living Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in an Urban Area in Brazil - Biochemical and Hematological Parameters

Background: Capybaras have found favorable conditions for survival and reproduction in green urban environments. In recent years, the population of these large rodents has been increasingly abundant in several brazilian cities such as Uberlândia, a municipality of the southeastern region with a Cerrado biome. Capybaras are important in the Brazilian Spotted Fever epidemiological chain, by amplifying infection rates of the vector population. However, knowledge of this host´s physiology is scarce. Thus, the aim of this work was to describe hematological and biochemical parameters of free-living capybaras groups in urbanized areas in the city of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.Materials, Methods & Results: Capybaras were captured in 4 different locations of Uberlândia city, Minas Gerais state, including 1 Condominium (P1), 1 Private Market Garden (P2), 1 Private Club (P3) and 1 Municipal Park (P4). The animals were baited into an octagonal iron corral and chemically contained with anesthetic darts. After sedated, blood was collected from the femoral vein in tubes with and without EDTA. Biochemical evaluation, hematological analysis with differential leukocyte counts and search for Dirofilaria sp. were done. The blood count and biochemistry values obtained from animals of different ages, sex and sectors (P1, P2, P3 and P4) were submitted to the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, considering 95% significance. Values that had a normal distribution were subjected to ANOVA tests followed by Student's t-test. Values that did not follow normality were submitted to the Kruskal-Wallis test, to obtain a P-value, with a significance level of 95%. A total of 19 capybaras were captured: 4 in P1, 6 in P2, 4 in P3 and 5 in P4. From the 19 animals, 13 were females (68.42%) and 6 were males (31.57%), 12 adults (63.15%) and 7 juveniles (36.84%). Apart from occasional skin scars and moderate to intense Ambyomma spp. tick infestations, all captured animals were healthy on a broad examination. From 5 animals captured in P4, despite the use of anticoagulant, blood from 4 animals clotted fast. No microfilariae were found in the thick drop test in any of the 19 animals sampled, and in 2 adult female capybaras captured in P1, Kurloff cells were observed. Hematological and biochemical values presented no major differences when comparing sex and age. Nevertheless, differences in liver and kidney profile were observed between the capybara groups, including ALT, alkaline phosphorus, BUN and creatinine.Discussion: Blood from 4 animals clotted fast, despite the use of EDTA tubes. Blood clotting of samples with anticoagulant in this work could be associated with some physiological features inherent to capybaras. Many attempts were required to obtain enough blood from each individual due to the rapid hemostasis, what come in accordance with reports in literature. Kurloff cells were observed in 2 adult female capybaras captured in P1, which can be found in peripheral blood of female rodents during follicular phase of estrous cycle. Hematological and biochemical values differences in liver enzymes such as ALT and alkaline phosphorus, and kidney profile enzymes including BUN and creatinine could be associated to capture stress or dietetic variation between groups. Despite statistical relevant, the values were still in accordance with other works, although comparisons should be done with caution since various environments exert a diverse array of stimulus upon the animals such as parasitic, infective, stress, nutritional, social and undoubtedly blood parameters mirror them. In conclusion, this work contributes to the standardization of free-living capybaras' physiological parameters in urban areas.Keywords: capybaras, physiological parameters, enzymatic parameters, green urban environment, capture stress, fauna, biomes.

Diagnóstico de leptospirose bovina em duas propriedades rurais utilizando MAT, ELISA e PCR

Leptospirosis is a disease of great economic impact on livestock as well as being an important zoonosis that affects several animal species. Several serotypes can infect cattle, inducing or no clinical manifestations thus clinical diagnosis is inconclusive, requiring the help of laboratory tests to confirm the diagnosis. may or may not induce clinical manifestations clinical diagnosis is not conclusive, requiring support of laboratory tests to confirm the diagnosis. The Microagglutination test (MAT) is considered as standard by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) but has some limitations and their interpretation can be suggestive. Some tests in order to detect anti-Leptospira immunoglobulins are being developed in order to replace it or supplement it, as ELISA and PCR. They can act as allies in animal tracking, because they are more sensitive and specific tests, increasing the quality of the diagnostic procedure. The aim of this research is to evaluate the occurrence of infection in two properties, with and without history of leptospirosis with support of MAT, ELISA and PCR. For this were analyzed 48 cows, of these 20 (41.66%) were positive in MAT, with antibody titers equal or greater to 100, 12 urine samples were selected for PCR analysis are all considered negative to the test. To complement the results, three ELISAs, each employing different antigens to detect antibodies in cattle sera, these being: L.interrogans serovar Hardjo, L.interrogans serovar Hebdomadis and a pool with six serotypes have been developed. They presented as sensitivity, 90%, 70%, and 20% respectively, and a specificity of 67, 10%, 80, 26%, 89, 47%. Except the ELISA / pool, all have reached a good agreement with the standard test and good reproducibility. In conclusion, it is always important to relate two or more diagnostic tests, associated with the clinical diagnostic, to increase the effectiveness of the results.Mestre em Ciências VeterináriasA Leptospirose é uma doença, de grande impacto econômico sobre a pecuária, além de ser uma importante zoonose que acomete várias espécies animais. Diversos sorovares podem infectar os bovinos, induzindo ou não manifestações clínicas assim sendo o diagnóstico clínico não é conclusivo, sendo necessário o auxilio dos testes de laboratório para a confirmação do diagnóstico. A Soroaglutinação Microscópica em Campo Escuro (MAT) é considerada teste padrão pela Organização Mundial de Saúde Animal (OIE), porém apresenta algumas limitações e sua interpretação pode ser subjetiva. Outros testes de diagnóstico estão sendo desenvolvidos com o objetivo de substituí-lo ou complementá-lo, como o ELISA e o PCR. Os quais podem atuar como aliados no monitoramento dos animais, por se tratarem de testes mais sensíveis e específicos, aumentando a qualidade do procedimento diagnóstico. Objetivou-se com essa pesquisa avaliar a ocorrência da infecção em duas propriedades, com e sem histórico de leptospirose com auxílio do MAT, ELISA e PCR. Para isto foram analisados 48 bovinos voltados para produção de leite, sendo que destes, 20 (41,66%) eram reagentes no MAT apresentando títulos de anticorpos maiores ou iguais a 100, 12 amostras de urina, foram selecionadas para realização da PCR sendo todas consideradas negativas ao teste. Para complementar os resultados, três ELISAs, cada um empregando antígenos diferentes para detecção de anticorpos em soros de bovinos, sendo eles: L.interrogans sorovar Hardjo, L.interrogans sorovar Hebdomadis e um pool contendo seis sorovares foram desenvolvidos. Os quais obtiveram como sensibilidade 90%, 70%, 20% respectivamente e uma especificidade de 67,10%, 80,26%, 89,47%. Com exceção do ELISA/pool, todos alcançaram uma boa concordância com o teste padrão e uma boa reprodutibilidade. Conclui-se que é sempre importante correlacionar dois ou mais testes de diagnósticos, associado ao quadro clínico, para aumentar a eficácia dos resultados

Free-living Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in an Urban Area in Brazil - Biochemical and Hematological Parameters

Background: Capybaras have found favorable conditions for survival and reproduction in green urban environments. In recent years, the population of these large rodents has been increasingly abundant in several brazilian cities such as Uberlândia, a municipality of the southeastern region with a Cerrado biome. Capybaras are important in the Brazilian Spotted Fever epidemiological chain, by amplifying infection rates of the vector population. However, knowledge of this host´s physiology is scarce. Thus, the aim of this work was to describe hematological and biochemical parameters of free-living capybaras groups in urbanized areas in the city of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.Materials, Methods & Results: Capybaras were captured in 4 different locations of Uberlândia city, Minas Gerais state, including 1 Condominium (P1), 1 Private Market Garden (P2), 1 Private Club (P3) and 1 Municipal Park (P4). The animals were baited into an octagonal iron corral and chemically contained with anesthetic darts. After sedated, blood was collected from the femoral vein in tubes with and without EDTA. Biochemical evaluation, hematological analysis with differential leukocyte counts and search for Dirofilaria sp. were done. The blood count and biochemistry values obtained from animals of different ages, sex and sectors (P1, P2, P3 and P4) were submitted to the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, considering 95% significance. Values that had a normal distribution were subjected to ANOVA tests followed by Student's t-test. Values that did not follow normality were submitted to the Kruskal-Wallis test, to obtain a P-value, with a significance level of 95%. A total of 19 capybaras were captured: 4 in P1, 6 in P2, 4 in P3 and 5 in P4. From the 19 animals, 13 were females (68.42%) and 6 were males (31.57%), 12 adults (63.15%) and 7 juveniles (36.84%). Apart from occasional skin scars and moderate to intense Ambyomma spp. tick infestations, all captured animals were healthy on a broad examination. From 5 animals captured in P4, despite the use of anticoagulant, blood from 4 animals clotted fast. No microfilariae were found in the thick drop test in any of the 19 animals sampled, and in 2 adult female capybaras captured in P1, Kurloff cells were observed. Hematological and biochemical values presented no major differences when comparing sex and age. Nevertheless, differences in liver and kidney profile were observed between the capybara groups, including ALT, alkaline phosphorus, BUN and creatinine.Discussion: Blood from 4 animals clotted fast, despite the use of EDTA tubes. Blood clotting of samples with anticoagulant in this work could be associated with some physiological features inherent to capybaras. Many attempts were required to obtain enough blood from each individual due to the rapid hemostasis, what come in accordance with reports in literature. Kurloff cells were observed in 2 adult female capybaras captured in P1, which can be found in peripheral blood of female rodents during follicular phase of estrous cycle. Hematological and biochemical values differences in liver enzymes such as ALT and alkaline phosphorus, and kidney profile enzymes including BUN and creatinine could be associated to capture stress or dietetic variation between groups. Despite statistical relevant, the values were still in accordance with other works, although comparisons should be done with caution since various environments exert a diverse array of stimulus upon the animals such as parasitic, infective, stress, nutritional, social and undoubtedly blood parameters mirror them. In conclusion, this work contributes to the standardization of free-living capybaras' physiological parameters in urban areas.Keywords: capybaras, physiological parameters, enzymatic parameters, green urban environment, capture stress, fauna, biomes.

Biofilm Production of Leptospira spp. Strains

Background: Leptospirosis is a zoonosis that affects many species of mammals and occurs endemically in Brazil. The biofilm matrix provides structure and protection to the biofilm cells working as a physical barrier to antibiotic agents, which are attached or consumed by the matrix components. However, this attribute varies according to the matrix, antimicrobial agent and biofilm age. Leptospira may change morphologically according to environmental conditions, including cell aggregation and biofilm formation. Leptospira can colonize the ducts of kidney from hosts for a long time, forming a biofilm, which is believed to be an important factor for their maintenance in animals and in the environment. Thus, the objective of this research was to determine the biofilm formation capacity of four strains of Leptospira interrogans.Materials, Methods & Results: The strains were typified by WHO/FAO/OIE and National Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Leptospirosis (Kit Biomedical Research, Amsterdam, Netherlands). Leptospira interrogans strains, two isolated from cattle and two isolated from dogs were biofilms tested for adhesion on polystyrene plates, extracellular matrix composition and confocal microscopy. In the plating adhesion test, the suspension was inoculated into 96-well sterile polystyrene microplates with flat bottom at a ratio of 1:200 in EMJH medium, followed by 24 h incubation at 28°C, with medium renewal after 12 h. After this period the wells were washed three times with sterile PBS and following incubation; the plates were dried in the oven at 60°C for 30 min and added 200 μL of 1% violet crystal for five min. Subsequently, the plates were washed with distilled water, after complete removal, 200 μL of acetic acid 33% was added and the readings were performed at 570 nm in the ELISA reader. The proteins and polysaccharides were quantified in a scraped pooled sample diluted in 0.85% sterile saline solution to achieve an optimal amount for testing used reagents of the BCA kit. The polysaccharide content was determined by adding into a tube, an aliquot of 0.5 mL from the pooled sample, 0.5 mL of phenol and then immediately 2.5 mL of sulfuric acid. The solution was homogenized and left to react for 15 min at room temperature. The reading was performed at 490 nm in ELISA reader. The strains were compared regarding polysaccharides and protein matrices using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test. At confocal microscopy the strains were incubated with the tested polypropylene material for 24 h. The materials were washed with sterile phosphate buffer and stained with propidium iodide. The reading was performed using a Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope (Zeiss 710) with laser excitation (488 nm) and 580-680 nm emission filters for propidium iodide (red marking). All strains displayed strong adherence on microplate and the amount of polysaccharides in biofilm was not statistically different among the studied strains, but the amount of protein was significantly different in strain 4 (P > 0.5). The confocal microscopy showed the adherence of the Leptospira spp. strains to polypropylene material after washing.Discussion: Biofilm production plays an important role in the maintenance of a chronic infection by Leptospira interrogans with renal colonization. The exopolysaccharide (EPS) has various functions, such as checking insolubility in water; giving the three-dimensional conformation of the biofilm; protecting cells from physical (mechanical action, irradiation and temperature variations), chemical

Soroepidemiologia da leptospirose em rebanho bovino leiteiro no municíio de Ipameri, estado de Goiás, Brasil

Leptospirosis is a disease with worldwide distribution and with risk to human health. In addition, it affects farm animals, and consequently, causes economic losses to farmers. Therefore, understanding the epidemiological profile of the disease in each geographical region is essential. This study was conducted in the rural properties of the municipality of Ipameri, state of Goiás, Brazil, where leptospirosis has not been reported in dairy farming. The objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in dairy cattle, identify the serovars present, and correlate these results with factors that could favor the appearance of the disease. For this purpose, 285 blood samples were collected from dairy cows and microscopic agglutination tests were conducted to identify the 15 serovars of Leptospira interrogans. A structured questionnaire was applied during the visits to the properties to assess the factors associated with leptospirosis. The prevalence was found to be 18.9%, and the serovars present in the region included Hardjo, Wolffi, Canicola, Hebdomadis, Australis, and Icterohaemorrhagiae. The variables associated with leptospirosis were the presence of reproductive changes in the herd, presence of rodents, increased daily production of milk, hired labor, and lower level of education of the producers.A leptospirose é uma doença de distribuição mundial, que oferece riscos à saúde humana e acomete os animais de produção, gerando perdas econômicas ao produtor rural, sendo importante conhecer o perfil epidemiológico da doença em cada região. Esse estudo foi realizado em propriedades rurais do município de Ipameri, estado de Goiás, onde não existia nenhum relato sobre a leptospirose na pecuária leiteira. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi determinar a soroprevalência de leptospirose nos bovinos leiteiros, os soravares presentes e correlacionar os resultados com variáveis que podem favorecer o aparecimento da doença. Para isso foram coletadas 285 amostras de sangue de vacas em lactação e realizado o teste diagnóstico de soroaglutinação microscópica em campo escuro (SAM) contra 15 sorovares de Leptospira interrogans. Aplicou-se um questionário estruturado durante a visita para avaliar os fatores associados à ocorrência da leptospirose. A prevalência encontrada foi de 18,9%, e os sorovares encontrados foram Hardjo, Wolffi, Canicola, Hebdomadis, Australis e Icterohaemorrhagiae. As características das propriedades associadas à presença da leptospirose foram a presença de alterações reprodutivas, presença de roedores, maior produção diária de leite, mão de obra assalariada, grau de escolaridade inferior do produtor

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data

Núcleos de Ensino da Unesp: artigos 2008

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq