ABSTRACT The occurrences of glassy rocks containing long and curved phenocrysts in the Paraná volcanic province, South America, are here interpreted as paralavas. The large number of thin (0.1-0.5 m) dikes and sills of glassy volcanic rocks with hopper, hollow or curved, large crystals of clinopyroxene (up to 10 cm), plagioclase (up to 1 cm), magnetite and apatite are contained in the core of thick (>70 m) pahoehoe flows. They are strongly concentrated in the state of Paraná, coincident with the presence of the large number of dikes in the Ponta Grossa arch. These rocks were previously defined as pegmatites, although other names have also been used. A paralava is here interpreted as the product of melting of basaltic rocks following varied, successive processes of sill emplacement in high-kerogen bituminous shale and ascent of the resultant methane. As the gas reached the lower portion of the most recent lava flow of the volcanic pile, the methane reacted with the silicate and oxide minerals of the host volcanic rock (1,000 ºC) and thus elevated the local temperature to 1,600 ºC. The affected area of host rock remelted (possibly 75 wt.%) and injected buoyantly the central and upper portion of the core. This methane-related mechanism explains the evidence found in the paralavas from this volcanic province, one of the largest in the continents.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of supplemental zinc, vitamin A, and glutamine alone or in combination on growth, intestinal barrier function, stress and satiety-related hormones among Brazilian shantytown children with low median height-for-age z-scores. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in children aged two months to nine years from the urban shanty compound community of Fortaleza, Brazil. Demographic and anthropometric information was assessed. The random treatment groups available for testing (a total of 120 children) were as follows: (1) glutamine alone, n = 38; (2) glutamine plus vitamin A plus zinc, n = 37; and a placebo (zinc plus vitamin A vehicle) plus glycine (isonitrogenous to glutamine) control treatment, n = 38. Leptin, adiponectin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), and plasma levels of cortisol were measured with immune-enzymatic assays; urinary lactulose/mannitol and serum amino acids were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00133406. RESULTS: Glutamine treatment significantly improved weight-for-height z-scores compared to the placebo-glycine control treatment. Either glutamine alone or all nutrients combined prevented disruption of the intestinal barrier function, as measured by the percentage of lactulose urinary excretion and the lactulose:mannitol absorption ratio. Plasma leptin was negatively correlated with plasma glutamine (p = 0.002) and arginine (p = 0.001) levels at baseline. After glutamine treatment, leptin was correlated with weight-for-age (WAZ) and weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ) (p≤0.002) at a 4-month follow-up. In addition, glutamine and all combined nutrients (glutamine, vitamin A, and zinc) improved the intestinal barrier function in these children. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these findings reveal the benefits of glutamine alone or in combination with other gut-trophic nutrients in growing children via interactions with leptin.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate factors associated with thrombocytopenia in a large cohort of patients with leptospirosis in an endemic area. METHODS: This retrospective study included 374 consecutive patients with leptospirosis who were admitted to tertiary hospitals in Fortaleza, Brazil. All patients had a diagnosis of severe leptospirosis (Weil's disease). Acute kidney injury was defined according to the RIFLE criteria. Thrombocytopenia was defined as a platelet count <100,000/mm3. RESULTS: A total of 374 patients were included, with a mean age of 36.1±15.5 years, and 83.4% were male. Thrombocytopenia was present at the time of hospital admission in 200 cases (53.5%), and it developed during the hospital stay in 150 cases (40.3%). The patients with thrombocytopenia had higher frequencies of dehydration (53% vs. 35.3%, p = 0.001), epistaxis (5.7% vs. 0.8%, p = 0.033), hematemesis (13% vs. 4.6%, p = 0.006), myalgia (91.5% vs. 84.5%, p = 0.038), hematuria (54.8% vs. 37.6%, p = 0.011), metabolic acidosis (18% vs. 9.2%, p = 0.016) and hypoalbuminemia (17.8% vs. 7.5%, p = 0.005). The independent risk factors associated with thrombocytopenia during the hospital stay were lengthy disease (OR: 1.2, p = 0.001) and acute kidney injury (OR: 6.6, p = 0.004). Mortality was not associated with thrombocytopenia at admission (12.5% vs. 12.6%, p = 1.000) or during the hospital stay (12.6% vs. 11.3%, p = 0.748). CONCLUSIONS: Thrombocytopenia is a frequent complication in leptospirosis, and this condition was present in more than half of patients at the time of hospital admission. Lengthy disease and acute kidney injury are risk factors for thrombocytopenia. There was no significant association between thrombocytopenia and mortality.

Visceral leishmaniasis is an endemic disease caused by various species of Leishmania. We made a retrospective study of 57 consecutive patients with visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. Patients with visceral leishmaniasis were identified using the registries of the São José Infectious Diseases Hospital. The sample was divided into two groups: patients with serum creatinine (Scr) <1.3mg/dL and Scr > 1.3mg/dL. We compared these two groups for differences in clinical manifestations and laboratory features. Patients' mean age was 28 ± 18 years old; 74% were male. The main clinical symptoms and signs presented in the initial evaluation were: fever (97%), splenomegaly (96.4%), weight loss (95.5%), pallor (93.6%), cough (89.7%), hepatomegaly (87.2%), asthenia (83.3%), anorexia (82.9%) and vomiting (73.9%). Acute renal failure was found in 15 patients (26.3%) and eight of these patients had ARF before amphotericin B administration. The mean age was higher in the group with Scr > 1.3mg/dL. Death occurred in three cases; all deaths occurred with Scr > 1.3mg/dL. There were no significant differences in the frequencies of the clinical symptoms and signs between the two groups. The laboratory data and demographic characteristics were significantly worse in the Scr > 1.3mg/dL group. Renal dysfunction is an important feature of this disease; it is associated with important morbidity and can increase mortality.

Simple, rapid and precise amperometric methods for quantification of ascorbic acid (AA) are presented. Glassy carbon (GC), carbon paste (CP) and modified carbon paste (MCP) electrodes are used for this purpose. MCP electrodes are of CP with 10 % vanadate (V). All electrodes are inserted in a wall-jet device with an Ag/AgCl reference electrode and a platinum auxiliary electrode. This device is coupled to a flow injection analysis (FIA) set-up. Hydrodynamic and amperometric parameters are optimized unvaryingly. GC electrodes present slopes of 4.75 ´ 10(5) nA L mol-1 (± 6.4 %) under optimum conditions. CP and MCP electrodes show higher sensitivity, with slopes of 6.37 ´ 10(5) nA L mol-1 (± 6.6 %) and 7.32 ´ 10(5) nA L mol-1 (± 4.4 %). Linear responses range (1.0-2.0) ´ 10-6 to (0.8-1.0) ´ 10-5 mol L-1. Correlation coefficients were > 0.994 and about 48 samples are analysed per hour. Application of the proposed method to the analysis of soft drinks is presented.

Centrally stimulated sweat rate produced by graded exercise until exhaustion was compared to the local sweat rate induced by pilocarpine, often used as a sweating index for healthy individuals. Nine young male volunteers (22 ± 4 years) were studied in temperate environment in two situations: at rest and during progressive exercise with 25 W increases every 2 min until exhaustion, on a cycle ergometer. In both situations, sweating was induced on the right forearm with 5 ml 0.5% pilocarpine hydrochloride applied by iontophoresis (1.5 mA, 5 min), with left forearm used as control. Local sweat rate was measured for 15 min at rest. During exercise, whole-body sweat rate was calculated from the body weight variation. Local sweat rate was measured from the time when heart rate reached 150 bpm until exhaustion and was collected using absorbent filter paper. Pharmacologically induced local sweat rate at rest (0.4 ± 0.2 mg cm-2 min-1) and mean exercise-induced whole-body sweat rate (0.4 ± 0.1 mg cm-2 min-1) were the same (P > 0.05) but were about five times smaller than local exercise-induced sweat rate (control = 2.1 ± 1.4; pilocarpine = 2.7 ± 1.2 mg cm-2 min-1), indicating different sudorific mechanisms. Both exercise-induced whole-body sweat rate (P < 0.05) and local sweat rate (P < 0.05) on control forearm correlated positively with pilocarpine-induced local sweat rate at rest. Assuming that exercise-induced sweating was a result of integrated physiological mechanisms, we suggest that local and whole-body sweat rate measured during graded exercise could be a better sweating index than pilocarpine.

Este trabalho apresenta uma análise faunística das espécies frugívoras de Tephritoidea (Diptera), capturadas em três pomares de citros dos municípios de Anastácio e Terenos-MS, durante 25 meses. Armadilhas plásticas McPhail com proteína hidrolisada de milho a 5% foram penduradas em plantas de Citrus sinensis (L.) e C. reticulata (L.) a 1,70 m do nível do solo e espaçadas a 30 m. As espécies de Tephritidae capturadas foram: Anastrepha alveatoides Blanchard, A. bezzii Lima, A. castanea Norrbom, A. daciformis Bezzi, A. dissimilis Stone, A. distincta Greene, A. fraterculus (Wied.), A. grandis (Macquart), A. haywardi Blanchard, A. leptozona Hendel, A. macrura Hendel, A. montei Lima, A. obliqua (Macquart), A. pickeli Lima, A. punctata Hendel, A. rheediae Stone, A. serpentina (Wied.), A. sororcula Zucchi, A. striata Schiner, A. turpiniae Stone, A. undosa Stone, A. zenildae Zucchi; três espécies não-descritas - Anastrepha sp.1, Anastrepha sp.2, Anastrepha sp.3 e Ceratitis capitata (Wied.). Os Lonchaeidae capturados foram: Dasiops sp.; D. inedulis Steyskal, Lonchaea sp. e Neosilba spp. A mosca-do-mediterrâneo, C. capitata foi a espécie mais abundante e freqüente, sendo dominante nos pomares de ambos os municípios. No pomar do município de Anastácio, as espécies mais abundantes foram: Anastrepha daciformis, A. obliqua, A. pickeli, A. punctata, A. sororcula e A. fraterculus. Nos pomares de Terenos, A. dissimilis, A. punctata, A. sororcula, A. daciformis, A. striata e A. pickeli foram as espécies mais abundantes.

This paper presents a faunistic analysis of the frugivorous species of Tephritoidea (Diptera) captured in three citrus groves in the municipalities of Anastácio (Chácara Laranjal, 20º 31' 36'' S, 55º 50' 12'' W, 170 m) and Terenos (Chácara Suzuki, 20º 26' 12" S, 55º 04' 54'' W, 308m), MS, Brazil, during a 25 month period. McPhail traps with 5% hydrolyzed corn protein were hung in Citrus sinensis (L.) and C. reticulata (L.) trees, spaced 30 m apart. The Tephritidae species caught were: Anastrepha alveatoides Blanchard, A. bezzii Lima, A. castanea Norrbom, A. daciformis Bezzi, A. dissimilis Stone, A. distincta Greene, A. fraterculus (Wied.), A. grandis (Macquart), A. haywardi Blanchard, A. leptozona Hendel, A. macrura Hendel, A. montei Lima, A. obliqua (Macquart), A. pickeli Lima, A. punctata Hendel, A. rheediae Stone, A. serpentina (Wied.), A. sororcula Zucchi, A. striata Schiner, A. turpiniae Stone, A. undosa Stone, A. zenildae Zucchi, three undescribed species - Anastrepha sp.1, Anastrepha sp.2; Anastrepha sp.3 and Ceratitis capitata (Wied.). The frugivorous Lonchaeidae caught were: Dasiops sp.; D. inedulis Steyskal, Lonchaea sp. and Neosilba spp. The Mediterranean Fruit Fly, C. capitata, was the most abundant and frequent, being the dominant species in the groves of both municipalities. In the Citrus grove in Anastácio the most abundant species were: Anastrepha daciformis, A. obliqua, A. pickeli, A. punctata, A. sororcula and A. fraterculus. In the Citrus groves in Terenos, A. dissimilis, A. punctata, A. sororcula, A. daciformis, A. striata and A. pickeli were the most abundant species.

Este trabalho avaliou a captura de moscas frugívoras (Tephritidae e Lonchaeidae) com armadilhas plásticas McPhail, em dois pomares comerciais de citros, localizados nos municípios de Anastácio e Terenos, Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Os objetivos foram estudar a flutuação populacional dos adultos capturados nas armadilhas e verificar qual a relação entre as espécies amostradas nas armadilhas com os frutos danificados. As armadilhas foram distanciadas cerca de 30 m entre si sobre toda a área, penduradas a aproximadamente 1,70 m de altura, na copa das plantas de citros. Foram instaladas oito armadilhas (duas armadilhas/ha) no pomar em Anastácio e 21 armadilhas em Terenos (uma armadilha/ha). As armadilhas foram iscadas com a proteína hidrolizada de milho (5%) TephritidMR (atrativo alimentar). As avaliações foram feitas no período de 22 de março de 1994 a 23 de março de 1996. A mosca-do-mediterrâneo Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) e 25 espécies de Anastrepha foram capturadas em vários meses nas armadilhas, mas não infestaram laranjas. Neosilba sp. foi capturada ininterruptamente durante os 25 meses e foi encontrada, também, nos frutos danificados amostrados nos pomares. Isso sugere que Neosilba sp. pode ter importância econômica em citros. As espécies de moscas frugívoras predominantes foram Neosilba sp., C. capitata, Anastrepha punctata Hendel e A. sororcula Zucchi. Não houve correlação entre o número de adultos de moscas frugívoras capturadas nas armadilhas com o número de larvas e de adultos criados das laranjas infestadas colhidas nos pomares.

This paper evaluated the capture of frugivorous flies (Tephritidae and Lonchaeidae) with plastic McPhail traps, in two commercial citrus groves, located in the municipalities of Anastácio and Terenos, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The aim of this work was to determine the populational fluctuation of adult frugivorous flies, and to study its relationship with the damaged fruits in the groves. The traps were placed about 30 m apart over the entire area in both groves, hung up approximately 1.70 m high from soil, in the canopy of the citrus plants. Eight traps were installed (two traps/ha) at Anastácio and 21 traps in Terenos (one trap/ha). The traps were baited with the hydrolyzed corn protein (5%) TephritidTM (food bait). Evaluations were carried out from March 22, 1994 to March 23, 1996. Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) and 25 species of Anastrepha were caught during several months in both orange groves, but no fruit fly species were found infesting oranges. Neosilba sp. was caught from the traps during all the experiment and was also reared from the damaged oranges, thus suggesting that that fly can be a pest. The predominant species of frugivorous flies caught in the traps were: Neosilba sp., C. capitata, Anastrepha punctata Hendel and A. sororcula Zucchi. There was no correlation between adult frugivorous flies caught in the traps and the number of larvae and adult flies reared from the infested oranges collected in the groves.

Neste trabalho foram amostradas 35 espécies de frutos do cerrado em sete municípios do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul (janeiro de 1993 a março de 1997) para avaliar a infestação por moscas frugívoras. Ocorreram espécies de seis gêneros de Tephritoidea - Anastrepha Schiner, Ceratitis MacLeay (Tephritidae); Dasiops Rondani, Lonchaea Fallén, Neosilba McAlpine (Lonchaeidae) e Notogramma Loew (Otitidae), em 29 espécies de frutos. As moscas-das-frutas (Tephritidae) colonizaram 19 hospedeiros e foram representadas por 11 espécies: Anastrepha fraterculus (Wied.), A. grandis (Macquart), A. montei Lima, A. obliqua (Macquart), A. pickeli Lima, A. sororcula Zucchi, A. striata Schiner, A. turpiniae Stone, A. zenildae Zucchi, Anastrepha sp. n. e Ceratitis capitata (Wied.). De Lonchaeidae foram obtidos: Dasiops inedulis Steyskal, Dasiops spp., Lonchaea spp., Neosilba zadolicha McAlpine e Neosilba spp. As espécies de Neosilba foram as mais abundantes moscas frugívoras, ocorrendo em 22 hospedeiros. Notogramma foi o único gênero de Otitidae obtido. É discutida a associação entre moscas frugívoras e frutos hospedeiros.

Thirty-five fruit species were sampled in seven municipalities located in the cerrado of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (January 1993 to March 1997) in a study to evaluate the infestation by frugivorous flies. Species of six genera of Tephritoidea were reared from 29 host fruits: Anastrepha Schiner, Ceratitis MacLeay (Tephritidae); Dasiops Rondani, Lonchaea Fallén, Neosilba McAlpine, (Lonchaeidae) and Notogramma Loew (Otitidae). Fruit flies (Tephritidae) were found in 19 host fruits and were represented by 11 species: Anastrepha fraterculus (Wied.), A. grandis (Macquart), A. montei Lima, A. obliqua (Macquart), A. pickeli Lima, A. sororcula Zucchi, A. striata Schiner, A. turpiniae Stone, A. zenildae Zucchi, Anastrepha n. sp. and Ceratitis capitata (Wied.). From Lonchaeidae were reared: Dasiops inedulis Steyskal, Dasiops spp., Lonchaea spp., Neosilba zadolicha McAlpine and Neosilba spp. The species of Neosilba were the most abundant, occourring in 22 host fruits. Notogramma was the only genus of Otitidae obtained. The association between frugivorous flies and the fruit species is discussed.

O objetivo do trabalho foi testar a hipótese de que a cigarrinha Dalbulus maidis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) serve como reservatório natural dos molicutes (Spiroplasma kunkelii e fitoplasma) que infetam o milho (Zea mays) no Mato Grosso do Sul, após períodos prolongados de pousio. Nas safras 1997/98 e 1998/99, avaliou-se a infetividade natural de migrantes desse inseto vetor em plantios de primavera (novembro/dezembro) da região de Anastácio (MS), onde não se cultiva o milho na entressafra (abril a setembro), em duas situações distintas: (A) áreas onde o milho era plantado anualmente a partir de outubro, e (B) áreas onde o milho não era cultivado há vários anos. Cigarrinhas foram coletadas no campo e confinadas em plântulas sadias de milho, em casa de vegetação, para a inoculação dos patógenos. Após 50-60 dias, as plantas-teste foram avaliadas quanto a sintomas diagnósticos de S. kunkelii e por PCR para detecção de fitoplasma. Através dos bionsaios de transmissão, detectou-se S. kunkelii e fitoplasma em 2 a 20% e 1 a 4% dos indivíduos coletados, respectivamente. O aparecimento de adultos infetivos logo após a germinação da cultura, inclusive nas áreas onde o milho não era cultivado há vários anos, sugere que os molicutes foram transportados na entressafra por indivíduos migratórios de D. maidis.

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that Dalbulus maidis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) serves as a natural source of mollicutes (Spiroplasma kunkelii and phytoplasma) that infect maize (Zea mays) following overseason in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil. The natural infectivity of D. maidis migrants was evaluated in spring plantings of 1997 and 1998 in the region of Anastácio (MS), where maize is not cultivated from April to September. Live leafhoppers were sampled in areas where: (A) maize was planted annually in the spring (October/December), and (B) maize had not been cultivated for several years. In a greenhouse, the leafhoppers were confined to healthy maize seedlings for pathogen inoculation. Two months later, the test plants were rated for diagnostic symptoms of S. kunkelii and tested by PCR for phytoplasma infection. Based on the transmission bioassays, S. kunkelii and phytoplasma were detected in 2 to 20% and 1 to 4% of the collected individuals, respectively. The appearance of infective adults soon after maize germination, even in the areas where maize had not been cultivated for several years, suggests that the mollicutes were transported in the overseason by migratory individuals of D. maidis.