DNA extraction from hair shafts of wild Brazilian felids and canids.

Wild felids and canids are usually the main predators in the food chains where they dwell and are almost invisible to behavior and ecology researchers. Due to their grooming behavior, they tend to swallow shed hair, which shows up in the feces. DNA found in hair shafts can be used in molecular studies that can unravel, for instance, genetic variability, reproductive mode and family structure, and in some species, it is even possible to estimate migration and dispersion rates in given populations. First, however, DNA must be extracted from hair. We extracted successfully and dependably hair shaft DNA from eight wild Brazilian felids, ocelot, margay, oncilla, Geoffroy's cat, pampas cat, jaguarundi, puma, and jaguar, as well as the domestic cat and from three wild Brazilian canids, maned wolf, crab-eating fox, and hoary fox, as well as the domestic dog. Hair samples came mostly from feces collected at the São Paulo Zoo and were also gathered from non-sedated pet or from recently dead wild animals and were also collected from museum specimens. Fractions of hair samples were stained before DNA extraction, while most samples were not. Our extraction protocol is based on a feather DNA extraction technique, based in the phenol:chloroform:isoamyl alcohol general method, with proteinase K as digestive enzyme.

Diet of Eared Doves (Zenaida auriculata, Aves, Columbidae) in a sugar-cane colony in South-eastern Brazil

Farmers in the Paranapanema Valley (Sä¯áPaulo, Brazil) have reported problems with flocks of Eared Doves (Zenaida auriculata) eating sprouting soybeans. In this region these birds breed colonially in sugar-cane, and eat four crop seeds, using 70 percent of the dry weight, in the following order of importance: maize, wheat, rice, and soybeans. Three weeds (Euphorbia heterophylla, Brachiaria plantaginea, and Commelina benghalensis) were important. This information suggests that the doves adapted particularly well to the landscape created by the agricultural practices in the region, exploiting many available foods

Diet of eared doves (Zenaida auriculata, Aves, Columbidae) in a sugar-cane colony in South-eastern Brazil.

Farmers in the Paranapanema Valley (São Paulo, Brazil) have reported problems with flocks of Eared Doves (Zenaida auriculata) eating sprouting soybeans. In this region these birds breed colonially in sugar-cane, and eat four crop seeds, using 70% of the dry weight, in the following order of importance: maize, wheat, rice, and soybeans. Three weeds (Euphorbia heterophylla, Brachiaria plantaginea, and Commelina benghalensis) were important. This information suggests that the doves adapted particularly well to the landscape created by the agricultural practices in the region, exploiting many available foods.

Consultative total parenteral nutrition teams: the effect on the incidence of total parenteral nutrition-related complications.

A two part, prospective study was undertaken to establish the existing frequency of total parenteral nutrition-(TPN) related mechanical, metabolic, and septic complications in an institution with a consultative TPN team (group A) and to determine if increasing the involvement of the TPN team in patient monitoring and verifying adherence to TPN infection control guidelines would reduce the incidence of these complications (group B). The initial 28 consecutive patients were managed entirely by their primary physicians with the role of the TPN team limited to consultative activities while the next 29 patients receiving TPN were managed jointly by their primary physicians and the TPN team. Analysis of the results show group B to have a significant reduction in metabolic complications, decreased incidence of mechanical abnormalities, and approximately equal incidences of documented sepsis. However, when compared to the results of an institution in which the TPN team has complete control of TPN therapy, even the group B patients had a relatively excessive number of TPN-related complications especially in the categories of mechanical and metabolic abnormalities. Thus, consultative TPN teams do not necessarily ensure optimum TPN therapy and institutions using this approach to provide nutrition parenterally must be prepared to establish the incidence of TPN-related complications and to expand the involvement of the TPN team as required to control the frequency of these anomalies.