Astyanax lineatus (Perugia, 1891) (Characiformes: Characidae): first record in the upper Paraná river basin, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Astyanax lineatus was previously known only from the Paraguay river basin and we report the first record from the Paraná river basin near the municipality of Sidrolândia, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. The species was found in Lajeado Stream, a tributary of the Anhanduí River, which belongs to the Pardo River sub-basin of the Paraná river basin

Trophic ecology of two piranha species, Pygocentrus nattereri and Serrasalmus marginatus (Characiformes, Characidae), in the floodplain of the Negro River, Pantanal

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate influence of hydrological variation, ontogeny and interspecific variation in the feeding activity and diet composition for P. nattereri and S. marginatus in floodplain of Negro River, South Pantanal. METHODS: The samples were taken with the use of gillnets and cast nets of different sizes, from October/2005 to August/2008. RESULTS: We sampled 748 specimens, 442 of P. nattereri and 306 of S. marginatus. We identified 31 items in the dry and 14 in the flood season for P. nattereri, and 29 items in the dry and eight in the flood season for S. marginatus. For both species, fish was the predominant food item in both seasons. The PERMANOVA results showed that the diet varied significantly between the two species (p<0.001), during ontogenetic development (p<0.001) and seasonally (p=0.024). The ancova results suggests that the intensity of food intake was higher in the dry season (p<0.001) for both species. The niche breadth varied only between studied species with S. marginatus presenting higher niche breadth than P. nattereri. CONCLUSION: Piranhas feed more during dry season, probably because in this period food is more varied and abundant, due to the concentration of fish in the main river channel. There were ontogenetic changes in the diet, with no feeding overlap between the two species, probably because of differences in preference for some items and differences in feeding behavior displayed during hunting attacks

Metazoan endoparasites of Pygocentrus nattereri (Characiformes: Serrasalminae) in the Negro River, Pantanal, Brazil

In the period of October 2007 to August 2008, 152 specimens ofPygocentrus nattereri were caught in the Negro River in the Nhecolândia region, central Pantanal wetland, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The specimens were necropsied and a total of 4,212 metazoan endoparasites were recovered, belonging to 10 taxons:Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus)inopinatus, Philometridae gen. sp.,Eustrongylides sp., Brevimulticaecum sp.,Contracaecum sp. (Nematoda), Echinorhynchus paranensis (Acanthocephala), Leiperia gracile,Sebekia oxycephala, Subtriquetra sp. 1 andSubtriquetra sp. 2 (Pentastomida). This is the first record of two parasite species from P. nattereri: E. paranensis and L. gracile

Projeto Logos –Educação Sexual em Escolas de Ensino Médio

This article is an analysis of university extension activities developed by students of Medicine, from the Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (UNIOESTE), during the year 2011. The project is titled LOGOS – Knowing to Prevent – and its main objective is to inform and settle possible doubts of young high school students in the region of Western Paraná on prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), unplanned early pregnancy, as well as addressing themes such as prejudice and sexuality. Such matters are dealt with dynamical activities. The realization of the activity is justified due to the high contingent of involuntary and early pregnancies and also to large amount of young people who become sexually active in Brazil and need information, because the early onset of sexual activity may be an aggravating factor for risk behavior for STD. During this year (2011) was reached an audience of 707 people. In each lecture was held an evaluation (using questionnaires) before and after the lectures, and were collected 83 pairs of questionnaires. Overall, the results of this assessment were positive, demonstrating acquisition of knowledge and belief in changing attitudes towards sexuality, indicating the relevance of the project for the dissemination of knowledge.Esse artigo é uma análise das atividades de extensão universitária desenvolvidas por alunos do Curso de Medicina da Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (UNIOESTE) durante o ano de 2011. O projeto se intitula Logos – conhecer para prevenir e tem como objetivo principal informar e dirimir possíveis dúvidas de jovens do Ensino Médio da região do Oeste do Estado do Paraná sobre prevenção de doenças sexualmente transmissíveis (DST), gravidez precoce não planejada, além de abordar temas como preconceito e sexualidade. Tais assuntos são abordados com realizações de dinâmicas. A realização da atividade justifica-se devido ao alto contingente de adolescentes grávidas involuntária e precocemente e também a grande quantidade de jovens que se tornam ativos sexualmente no Brasil e que necessitam de informação, pois o início precoce da vida sexual pode ser um agravante para o comportamento de risco frente a DST. Durante esse ano (2011) foi atingido um público de 707 pessoas. Em cada uma das apresentações realizou-se uma avaliação (através de questionários) antes e após a palestra, sendo coletados 83 pares de questionários. De modo geral, os resultados dessa avaliação foram positivos, demonstrando aquisição de conhecimento e crença na mudança de atitudes frente à sexualidade, evidenciando a relevância do projeto para a divulgação do conhecimento

Neotropical freshwater fisheries : A dataset of occurrence and abundance of freshwater fishes in the Neotropics

The Neotropical region hosts 4225 freshwater fish species, ranking first among the world's most diverse regions for freshwater fishes. Our NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set is the first to produce a large-scale Neotropical freshwater fish inventory, covering the entire Neotropical region from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north to the southern limits in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. We compiled 185,787 distribution records, with unique georeferenced coordinates, for the 4225 species, represented by occurrence and abundance data. The number of species for the most numerous orders are as follows: Characiformes (1289), Siluriformes (1384), Cichliformes (354), Cyprinodontiformes (245), and Gymnotiformes (135). The most recorded species was the characid Astyanax fasciatus (4696 records). We registered 116,802 distribution records for native species, compared to 1802 distribution records for nonnative species. The main aim of the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set was to make these occurrence and abundance data accessible for international researchers to develop ecological and macroecological studies, from local to regional scales, with focal fish species, families, or orders. We anticipate that the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set will be valuable for studies on a wide range of ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, fishery pressure, the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation, and the impacts of species invasion and climate change. There are no copyright restrictions on the data, and please cite this data paper when using the data in publications

30-Day Morbidity and Mortality of Bariatric Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Multinational Cohort Study of 7704 Patients from 42 Countries.

BACKGROUND There are data on the safety of cancer surgery and the efficacy of preventive strategies on the prevention of postoperative symptomatic COVID-19 in these patients. But there is little such data for any elective surgery. The main objectives of this study were to examine the safety of bariatric surgery (BS) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to determine the efficacy of perioperative COVID-19 protective strategies on postoperative symptomatic COVID-19 rates. METHODS We conducted an international cohort study to determine all-cause and COVID-19-specific 30-day morbidity and mortality of BS performed between 01/05/2020 and 31/10/2020. RESULTS Four hundred ninety-nine surgeons from 185 centres in 42 countries provided data on 7704 patients. Elective primary BS (n = 7084) was associated with a 30-day morbidity of 6.76% (n = 479) and a 30-day mortality of 0.14% (n = 10). Emergency BS, revisional BS, insulin-treated type 2 diabetes, and untreated obstructive sleep apnoea were associated with increased complications on multivariable analysis. Forty-three patients developed symptomatic COVID-19 postoperatively, with a higher risk in non-whites. Preoperative self-isolation, preoperative testing for SARS-CoV-2, and surgery in institutions not concurrently treating COVID-19 patients did not reduce the incidence of postoperative COVID-19. Postoperative symptomatic COVID-19 was more likely if the surgery was performed during a COVID-19 peak in that country. CONCLUSIONS BS can be performed safely during the COVID-19 pandemic with appropriate perioperative protocols. There was no relationship between preoperative testing for COVID-19 and self-isolation with symptomatic postoperative COVID-19. The risk of postoperative COVID-19 risk was greater in non-whites or if BS was performed during a local peak

Safety of Bariatric Surgery in ≥ 65-Year-Old Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background Age &gt;= 65 years is regarded as a relative contraindication for bariatric surgery. Advanced age is also a recognised risk factor for adverse outcomes with Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) which continues to wreak havoc on global populations. This study aimed to assess the safety of bariatric surgery (BS) in this particular age group during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with the younger cohort.Methods We conducted a prospective international study of patients who underwent BS between 1/05/2020 and 31/10/2020. Patients were divided into two groups - patients &gt;= 65-years-old (Group I) and patients &lt; 65-years-old (Group II). The two groups were compared for 30-day morbidity and mortality.Results There were 149 patients in Group 1 and 6923 patients in Group II. The mean age, preoperative weight, and BMI were 67.6 +/- 2.5 years, 119.5 +/- 24.5 kg, and 43 +/- 7 in Group I and 39.8 +/- 11.3 years, 117.7 +/- 20.4 kg, and 43.7 +/- 7 in Group II, respectively. Approximately, 95% of patients in Group 1 had at least one co-morbidity compared to 68% of patients in Group 2 (p = &lt; 0.001). The 30-day morbidity was significantly higher in Group I ( 11.4%) compared to Group II (6.6%) (p = 0.022). However, the 30-day mortality and COVID-19 infection rates were not significantly different between the two groups.Conclusions Bariatric surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a higher complication rate in those &gt;= 65 years of age compared to those &lt; 65 years old. However, the mortality and postoperative COVID-19 infection rates are not significantly different between the two groups