Bioecology and breeding performance of cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) in selected sites at Sharkia Governorate, Egypt / Bioecologia e desempenho reprodutivo da garça-boieira (Bubulcus ibis) em locais selecionados na província de Sharkia, Egito

Abstract Cattle egret Bubulcus ibis, feeds on insect pests in many agro-ecosystems. Thus, there is an urgent need to study the breeding chronology of cattle egret, in order to develop suitable protection programs for this beneficial bird to perform its role as abiological control agent in Egyptian agro-ecosystems. The study was conducted at Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, from December 2018 to December 2020; in different habitats (irrigation canals, drainage canals, garbage collection areas and Abbasa ponds). The mean clutch size ranged from 2-5 eggs/nest with an incubation period ranging between 21-25 days. The mean percentage of hatching success was 90.21%, while the total number of mortality eggs was 47 and the total egg hatching was 433. Also the total number of nests located nearby tree trunks were 73, while nests located in the core of the tree were 47 nests, and nests located at the peripherals were 15 nests.

Resumo A garça-vaqueira (Bubulcus ibis) alimenta-se de insetos-praga em muitos agroecossistemas. Assim, há uma necessidade urgente de estudar a cronologia reprodutiva da garça bovina, a fim de desenvolver programas de proteção adequados para que esta ave benéfica desempenhe seu papel como agente de controle biológico nos agroecossistemas egípcios. O estudo foi conduzido na província de Sharkia, no Egito, de dezembro de 2018 a dezembro de 2020; em diferentes habitats (canais de irrigação, canais de drenagem, áreas de coleta de lixo e lagoas Abbasa). O tamanho médio da ninhada variou de 2-5 ovos/ninho com um período de incubação variando entre 21-25 dias. A porcentagem média de sucesso de eclosão foi de 90,21%, enquanto o número total de ovos de mortalidade foi de 47 e o total de ovos eclodidos foi de 433. O número total de ninhos localizados próximos aos troncos das árvores foi de 73, enquanto os ninhos localizados no núcleo da árvore foram 47 ninhos, e 15 ninhos localizados nas periferias.

Biomechanics data of human supra-aortic trunks and abdominal visceral arteries harvested during autopsy.

The present dataset describes the biomechanical properties of the supra-aortic trunks (brachiocephalic trunk, left common carotid artery, and left subclavian artery) and some of the visceral branches of the abdominal aorta (celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery, and renal arteries). The specimens have been harvested from 27 adult donors during the autopsy procedure. The vessels were submitted to uniaxial biomechanical tensile tests, and values of failure stress, failure tension, and failure strain were obtained. As atherosclerosis could affect any of those vessels producing a significant reduction in their lumen, the data presented here could be of great interest to vascular surgeons, interventional cardiologists, and interventional neuroradiologists, who manipulate these arteries endovascularly. The observations gathered here are experimental evidence of the vessels' endurance against tearing and of their deformability. Therefore this data article could also help the medical industry dedicated to the production of endovascular devices. This dataset is related to the article entitled "Left Common Carotid Artery Biomechanical Properties in Individuals over 80 years: Women Have Stiffer Vessels" published in Annals of Vascular Surgery in August 2020 [1].

Effect of Structural Variation of Dead Trunks on Passalid (Coleoptera: Passalidae) Assemblages in Central Amazonian Campinaranas.

The present study investigated the occurrence of passalids in dead trunks with structural variations. Trunks were found in areas of white sand forests, locally known as Campinarana, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. The collections were extended from May to December 2009. The mean diameter of the trunks and their stage of decomposition were classified, and the species of Passalidae were classified according to the location of their galleries. We used multiple generalized models to investigate the relationship between abundance and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) to investigate the relationships between predictors and passalid composition. A total of 361 passalids belonging to 13 species were collected from 11 tree species, of which Aldina heterophylla represented the highest proportion of logs (55%). Only the diameter of the trunk was related to the abundance of species, with trunks of larger diameters presented more individuals. The passalid composition was correlated with the diameter and decomposition of the trunks of all species of trees and only with the diameter of the trunks of A. heterophylla. Most of the species collected in Campinaranas construct their galleries in two or more regions of the trunk. The region that supported a greater number of colonies was the sapwood, followed by the inner bark and the soil-stem interface. The general habit of passalids found may be advantageous, probably to compensate for the low dispersion and isolation in areas with low availability of resources, such as Campinaranas forests in the Amazon.

Six new and one known species of Geomonhystera (Nematoda, Monhysteridae) from moss, an epiphytic plant and soil in México and Ecuador.

Six new species of Geomonhystera (Nematoda, Monhysterida: Monhysteridae) Andrássy, 1981, are described and illustrated, five from México and one from Ecuador. The new species have many features in common and in common with at least several other species of the genus. Consequently, those features individually are not very useful for species-level diagnosis. They include the cuticular striation which, under light microscopy, ranges from fine to apparently smooth; however, scanning electron micrographs reveal very fine cuticular striation on all the new species. All the new species have a few body setae scattered along the length of the body and the vulval lips of females are slightly protruding. As for other species of the genus, there is considerable overlap in the ranges of standard morphometric characters so a combination of standard and additional morphometrics, as well as qualitative characters, is necessary for species separation. Geomonhystera mexiquense sp. n., collected from moss on a rock and on the trunk of Quercus crassipes in Juchitepec, México State, México, has outer labial setae that are unsegmented and 44-67% of the head width, the cephalic setae are thin, unsegmented and 31-50% of the head width; the vulval lips protrude slightly. Geomonhystera michoacana sp. n., collected from moss on a rock in Tzararacua National Park, Uruapan, Michoacan State, México, has a very finely-striated cuticle which appears almost smooth and bears rare cervical and caudal setae; the tail is long, 15-17% of the body length, and the rectum also is long, 23-32 (27±2.0) µm. Geomonhystera longispiculata sp. n., collected from an epiphytic plant in the botanical garden of the Ecology Institute in Jalapa, Veracruz State, México, is distinguished from all the species of the genus by the long, slender spicules, 55-85 (75±3.0) µm. The cuticle has conspicuous fine striation and there are somatic setae scattered along the body. Geomonhystera ecuatoriana sp. n., collected from moss on the trunk of Scalesia pedunculata growing on the twin volcanoes of Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos, Ecuador, has fine cuticular striation and a few small body setae; the unsegmented outer labial setae are 42-54% of the head width and the cephalic setae are thin, unsegmented and 33-45% of the head width; the vulval lips protrude slightly and the vulva-anus distance is 37-48 µm or 2.1-2.5 times anal body diameter. Males of G. ecuatoriana have slightly arcuate spicules, 35 µm long. Geomonhystera galindoi sp. n., collected from moss on the trunk of Quercus peduncularis in San Pablo Ixzayo, Texcoco, México State, México, has fine cuticlar striation and a few fine body setae, the vulval lips are slightly protruding; the vulva-anus distance is 35-50 (41±0.9) µm, 1.5-2.2 (1.9±0.2) times anal body diameter. Males of G. galindoi are slightly ventrally curved with the posterior end strongly curved, giving the body a hook-shaped appearance. Geomonhystera chiautzingoensis sp. n., collected from moss on the trunk of Crataegus mexicana in Chiautzingo, Puebla State, México, has exceedingly fine striation of the cuticle and outer labial and cephalic setae that are less than 50% of the head width. Additionally, G. dubia Siddiqi Shahina, 2004 was sollected in soil samples around a plum tree (Prunus sp.) in the garden of Montecillo Campus, Colegio de Postgraduados, Texcoco, México State, México This species has a small body with fine cuticular striation and a few sparsely-distributed body setae; the outer labial and cephalic setae are unsegmented, 5-8 and 3-5 µm long, 56-80% and 33-50% of the head width, respectively; the vulval lips protrude slightly but are sometimes flush with the body contour.

Collateral branches of the aortic arch in the greater Rhea (Rhea americana americana Linnaeus, 1758) / Ramos colaterais do arco aórtico de emas (Rhea americana americana Linnaeus, 1758)

The greater rhea (Rhea americana americana) is a bird of the Rheidae family, and is known as a ratite for being a flightless bird. This animal has great reproductive and productive potential, according to the products and by-products that it can provide such as meat, leather, feathers and fat which are very popular in the world market. Given its economic importance and lack of information in the literature on its morphology, especially in regard to its cardiovascular apparatus, this study aimed to describe the collateral arteries of the aortic arch, in order to establish the origin and distribution of arteries and thus contribute information to the biology of the species. The bodies of 20 young and adult rheas of both sexes which had died from natural causes and were being stored in a freezer at CEMAS / UFERSA were used. The study was approved by CEUA /UFERSA (Opinion No. 09/2015, process No. 23091.004968 / 2015-23). The animals were thawed and had the cannulated thoracic aorta artery and the vascular system perfused with Neoprene 450 latex colored with yellow pigment. Subsequently, the animals were fixed in 3.7% aqueous solution of formaldehyde, and after 72 hours dissections were carried out, images were obtained and schematic drawings were prepared. The right and left brachiocephalic trunks emerged from the aortic arch in 100% of the specimens from the right brachiocephalic trunk origined a common trunk the thyroid arteries, syringotracheal trunk, vertebral artery, superficial lateral cervical artery, basecervical artery, and ascending esophageal artery. The left brachiocephalic trunk collaterally stemmed in the left common carotid artery, which in turn led to the left internal carotid and a common trunk which stemmed the thyroid arteries, the syringotracheal trunk, vertebral artery, superficial lateral cervical artery, basecervical artery and descending esophageal artery. At the end of its trajectory, the right and left brachiocephalic trunks give rise to the right and left subclavian arteries, which in turn, stem the sternoclavicular, axillary, and intercostal arteries, pectoral trunk, cranial pectoral arteries, pectoral caudal artery and collateral branches of the pectoral trunk. Based on the results, it was concluded that the aortic arch in rheas issued right and left brachycephalic trunks.

A ema (Rhea americana americana) é uma ave da família Rheidae e por isto denominada de ratita, por não apresentar aptidões para o voo. Este animal tem grande potencial reprodutivo e produtivo, em função dos produtos e subprodutos que podem fornecer como carne, couro, penas e gordura muito procurados no mercado mundial. Dada a sua importância econômica e pela falta de informação na literatura sobre sua morfologia, principalmente no que diz respeito ao seu aparelho cardiovascular, objetivou-se descrever os ramos colaterais do arco aórtico, de modo a estabelecer a origem e distribuição destas artérias e, assim, contribuir com informações para a biologia da espécie. Foram utilizadas 20 emas jovens e adultas de ambos os sexos, oriundas do CEMAS/UFERSA, as quais vieram a óbito por causas naturais e que se encontravam armazenadas em freezer. A experimentação foi aprovada pela CEUA/UFERSA (Parecer n° 09/2015, processo n° 23091.004968/2015-23). Os animais foram descongelados e tiveram a artéria aorta torácica canulada e o sistema vascular perfundido com látex Neoprene 450 corado com pigmento amarelo. Posteriormente, os animais foram fixados em solução aquosa de formaldeído a 3,7% e após 72 horas realizaram-se as dissecações e obtenção de imagens fotográficas e elaboração de desenhos esquemáticos. Em 100% dos espécimes, emergiram a partir do arco aórtico os troncos braquiocefálicos direito e esquerdo. O tronco braquiocefálico direito emitiu colateralmente a partir de um tronco comum as artérias tireoide, tronco siringotraqueal, vertebral, cervical superficial lateral, basecervical e esofageana ascendente. Já o tronco braquiocefálico esquerdo emitiu colateralmente a artéria carótida comum esquerda, que por sua vez, originou a carótida interna esquerda e um tronco comum que emitiu as artérias tireoide, tronco siringotraqueal, vertebral, cervical superficial lateral, basecervical e esofageana descendente. No final de seu percurso, os troncos braquiocefálicos direito e esquerdo, originaram as artérias subclávias direita e esquerda, que por sua vez, emitiram as artérias esternoclaviculares, axilar, intercostal, tronco peitoral, peitorais craniais e peitoral caudal e ramos colaterais do tronco peitoral. Com base nos resultados, concluiu-se que, em emas, o arco aórtico emitiu os troncos braquicefálicos direito e esquerdo.

A Study on the Variations in the Formation of the Trunks of Brachial Plexus / Estudio sobre las Variaciones en la Formación de los Troncos del Plexo Braquial

Brachial plexus shows several variations in its formation and branching pattern. Variations in the formation of the trunks are very rare. We studied 44 dissected specimens specifically for variations in the formation of the trunks of the brachial plexus. 5 cadavers (11.3 percent) showed variations in the formation of the trunks. All the variations were unilateral. In one cadaver (2.27 percent), the middle trunk was formed by union of C7 and C8 roots and lower trunk was formed by T1 root. Upper and middle trunks were fused with each other in one specimen (2.27 percent). In 3 specimen (6.81 percent), the C5 root pierced scalenus anterior before joining C6 to form the upper trunk. Knowledge of its variations is of importance to orthopedic surgeons, neurologists and anesthesiologists.

EL plexo braquial muestra algunas variaciones en su formación y patrón de ramificación. Las variaciones en la formación de los troncos son muy raras. Se disecaron 44 especímenes para observar las eventuales variaciones en la formación de los troncos del plexo braquial. Cinco cadáveres (11,3 por ciento) mostraron variaciones en la formación de los troncos. Todas las variaciones fueron unilaterales. En un cadáver (2,27 por ciento), el tronco medio se formó por la unión de las raíces C7 y C8 y, parte inferior del tronco, estaba formado por la raíz de T1. En un caso (2,27 por ciento) los troncos superior y medio se fusionaron entre sí. En 3 muestras (6,81 por ciento), la raíz de C5 cruzó el músculo escaleno anterior antes de unirse a C6 para formar la parte superior del tronco. El conocimiento de estas variaciones es importante para los cirujanos ortopédicos, los neurólogos y anestesiólogos.

Avaliação clínico-epidemiológica em pacientes multibacilares em uma unidade de referência de hansenologia da amazônia / Clinical and epidemiologycal evaluation of multibacillary patients from a reference center for leprosy in the brazilian amazon

O mycobacterium leprae (bacilo de hansen) possui propriedades imunogênicas especiais, responsáveis pelo alto poder incapacitante da hanseníase. Objetivou-se estudar o perfil clínico-epidemiológico de pacientes hansenianos multibacilares, de acordo com a classificação de madri, correlacionar o índice baciloscópico com o número de troncos afetados pela neurite franca no início e término do tratamento, correlacionar o grau de incapacidade com a forma clínica, à entrada e à saída desses pacientes. Selecionaram-se 158 prontuários de pacientes diagnosticados com hanseníase multibacilar, avaliados pelo exame baciloscópico e neurológico. O estudo foi realizado no centro de referência em dermatologia sanitária dr. Marcelo cândia, em marituba, pará, brasil. Desses pacientes, 52% estavam na faixa etária de 15 a 54 anos, 80,4% eram do sexo masculino, 80% tiveram alta por cura e 84% eram casos novos. A forma clínica predominante foi a dimorfa, com 68% dos casos. A forma virchowiana (mhv) apresentou maior número de pacientes com grau de incapacidade ii. A presença de incapacidade grau zero foi estatisticamente significante na forma dimorfa (mhd), que possui aproximadamente 2,69 vezes maior probabilidade de evoluir para neurite que a mhv. Os nervos periféricos mais afetados foram: o tibial posterior, o ulnar, o fibular e o mediano. Conclui-se que a forma virchowiana tem maior potencial de produção de incapacidades tipo ii, enquanto que os portadores de mhd evoluem mais vezes para neurite; e que não há diferença no acometimento de troncos nervosos em relação ao índice baciloscópico.

Mycobacterium leprae (hansen's baccillus) displays special immunogenic properties responsible by the high incapacitating power of leprae. The aims of this study were to determine the clinical-epidemic profile of multibacillar leprosum patients according to madri's classification, correlate the baciloscopic index with the amount of nerve trunks affected by the classic neuritis prior and post-treatment, and correlate the inability degree of this patient with the clinical form at entrance and outcome. Medical records from 158 selected subjects with multibacilar leprosy from the center of reference in sanitary dermatology dr. Marcelo cândia, in marituba, pará, brazil were accessed to evaluate the baciloscopic and neurological exam. . Fifth two percent of the patients were in the range of 15 to 54 years, 80.4% Were male, 80% reach outcome for cure, and 84% were new cases. The predominant clinical form was dimorfa, comprising 68% of the cases. The virchowian form (mhv) was present in the majority of subjects with degree ii of incapacity, the presence of degree zero of incapacity was statistically significant in the dimorfa form (mhd), whose subjects displayed around 2.69 Fold more chance of evolving with neuritis symptoms than mhv. The most affected peripheric nerves at the moment and during the diagnosis were: tibia posterior, ulnar, fibula, and the median nerve. In conclusion, mhv is at greater potential to develop degree ii of incapacity, whereas mhd barriers more frequently evolve to neuritis, and there is no difference among the nervous trunks affected in regard to the bacterious index.