Abstract The morphology of the foregut ossicles of representatives of four genera of Dilocarcinini were described to assess the usefulness of the ossicles as possible morphological characters in studies on the intrafamilial relationships of Trichodactylidae. Stomachs of specimens of Dilocarcinus pagei Stimpson, 1861, D. septemdentatus (Herbst, 1783), Moreirocarcinus emarginatus (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) and M. laevifrons (Moreira, 1901) were heated for 60 minutes in 10% KOH solution and then were stained with Alizarin Red 1% added into the KOH solution. The foregut ossicles of Dilocarcinini consists of 11 ossicles of the gastric mill, 10 of the lateral supporting cardiac region, 4 of the cardio-pyloric valve, 6 supporting the dorsal pyloric stomach, 9 supporting the ventral pylorus and bulb, 3 supporting the supra-ampullary region, 5 supporting the lateral pylorus region, totaling 48 ossicles and the following 34 are similar in shape, size and degree of calcification. The morphological differences between the majority of the ossicles were not very clear among the species, showing inconsistency intrageneric differences, however, species of different genera showed small similarities between them. There is a clear need for including more taxa in a comparative analysis, combined with external morphology and perhaps even molecular data to properly evaluate the phylogenetic relationships within Trichodactylidae and their systematic position within Brachyura.

ABSTRACT The morphology of stomach ossicles of decapod crustaceans provides valuable information on their phylogeny and biology. We herein described ten new ossicles in the foreguts of two trichodactylid crabs, Sylviocarcinus pictus (H. Milne-Edwards, 1853) and Valdivia serrata White, 1847, in addition to previously described 38 ossicles, which are also recognized and listed. Five specimens each of S. pictus and V. serrata were selected for morphological analysis of gastric ossicles. The stomachs were obtained after removing the carapace, and they were fixed in 10% formalin for 24 hours. After this procedure, the stomachs were immersed in a solution of 10% Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) and heated to 100 °C during 60 minutes for tissue maceration. At this point, the clean skeletons were colored by adding 1% Alizarin Red to the KOH solution in order to facilitate visualization of the internal structures such as the setae and ossicles. The ten new ossicles are: dorsomedial cardiac plate; dorsolateral cardiac plate; suprapectineal lateral ossicle; inferior cardiac valve; lateral mesopyloric ossicle; ampullary roof-medium portion ossicle; process of the ampullary roof-upper portion; lateral-inferior post-ampullary plate; pleuro-pyloric valve’s ossicle; and lateral pleuro-pyloric plate. Some ossicles are thin plates that together with the main ossicles assist in the structure and support of the stomach, which are similar in the two species studied herein. The current knowledge on gastric ossicles will be useful in establishing taxonomic characters, which can evaluate phylogenetic relationships among brachyuran crabs.

Resumo: As vitaminas são compostos orgânicos necessários em poucas quantidades no organismo, todavia indispensáveis para as funções metabólicas. Elas se inserem em inúmeras reações metabólicas, fisiológicas e imunes das células, necessárias para a manutenção da saúde animal, além de atuarem como imunoestimulante. Embora a dieta rica em folhagens verdes frescas forneça quantidades suficientes de vitaminas A, D e E a suplementação intensiva com alimentos conservados na forma de feno ou silagem pode reduzir em até 50 % dos teores destas vitaminas no alimento. Diante disso, a proposta do trabalho foi verificar se a administração parenteral de vitaminas A, D e E age como imunoestimulante em garrotes estabulados e alimentados exclusivamente com feno de tifton. Para tanto 14 bovinos foram divididos em dois grupos homogêneos, sendo o grupo S, suplementado com vitamina A, D e E em dose única de 30 mL por via intramuscular; e o grupo C, sem suplementação. Ambos os grupos foram alojados em baias parcialmente privadas de sol, e alimentados com feno por um período de três meses. A avaliação imune foi realizada por hemogramas e ensaio de função leucocitária (metabolismo oxidativo e fagocitose) nos momentos antes do tratamento, três e dez dias após os tratamentos. Tendo em vista que a suplementação com polivitamínicos A, D e E aumentou a porcentagem da atividade de células granulocítica e a intensidade da atividade de células mononucleares, além de intensificar o efeito antioxidante prolongando a sobrevida de hemácias e neutrófilos, conclui-se que esta suplementação promoveu efeito benéfico na resposta imune de bezerros da Raça Holandesa, apesar dos efeitos deletérios da alimentação exclusiva com feno e da privação parcial da incidência solar direta.

Abstract: Vitamins are organic compounds which are required in small quantities in the body, however essential for the metabolic functions. They participate in numerous metabolic reactions, physiological and immune cells, needed to maintain animal health, as well as act as immunostimulants. Although the diet rich in fresh green foliage provides sufficient amounts of vitamin A, D and E, intensive supplementation with food stored in the form of hay or silage can reduce up to 50% of the levels of these vitamins in food. Given this, the proposal of this study was to verify how the parenteral administration of vitamins ADE acts as immunostimulant in steers fed exclusively with hay of tifton. For that, 14 cattle were divided into two homogeneous groups: Group S, supplemented with vitamin A, D e E given in a single intramuscular dose of 30mL, and Group C without supplementation. Both groups were housed in private stalls and fed with hay for a period of three months. Immune evaluation was performed by blood count and testing of leukocyte function (oxidative metabolism and phagocytosis) in the moments before treatment, three and ten days after the treatments. Considering that supplementation with vitamin A, D e E increased the percentage of granulocytic cell activity and the intensity of the activity of mononuclear cells, as well as intensified the antioxidant effect prolonging the survival of red blood cells and neutrophils, it can be concluded that this treatment had a beneficial effect on the immune response of Holstein calves, despite the damaging effects of exclusive feeding hay, and the partially deprivation of solar incidence.

Resumo: A citologia é um importante exame complementar utilizado para a detecção de alterações no perfil celular do trato respiratório e auxílio no diagnóstico de doenças. No entanto, como os primeiros meses de vida compõem o período de adaptação à vida extrauterina resultando em possíveis alterações das populações celulares, é essencial a padronização das características comuns aos animais sadios, possibilitando a identificação e análise de qualquer mudança no quadro esperado. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi caracterizar o perfil celular por citologia do lavado broncoalveolar obtido semanalmente por broncoscopia de dez bezerros durante os três primeiros meses de vida. A análise estatística foi realizada utilizando-se o software Minitab® 15.0, empregando-se o teste T pareado para as amostras paramétricas e Mann-Whitney para as amostras não paramétricas, considerando nivel de significância P≤0,05. Os resultados obtidos apontaram que o perfil celular do lavado broncoalveolar de bezerros hígidos durante os primeiros 90 dias de vida apresentou predomínio de macrófagos, com média geral de 63,17%, seguido de 33,69% de neutrófilos. Porém observou-se diminuição significativa na porcentagem de macrófagos (P=0,04) e aumento de neutrófilos (P=0,05) ao longo dos momentos, comprovada pela forte correlação negativa entre as porcentagens de macrófagos e neutrófilos ao longo dos momentos. Não houve diferença entre as porcentagens de células gigantes, células epiteliais, linfócitos, eosinófilos e basófilos durante o experimento. Apesar dos resultados serem influenciados por fatores ambientais e de manejo, os resultados dessa pesquisa fornecem subsídios para a identificação de alterações críticas que descaracterizem o perfil celular de bezerros acometidos por doenças respiratórias.

Abstract: Cytology is an important supplementary test used for the detection of changes in the mobile profile of the respiratory tract and aid in the diagnosis of diseases. However, as the first few months of life make up the period of adjustment to extrauterine life resulting in possible changes in cellular populations, it is essential to the standardization of the characteristics common to healthy animals, enabling the identification and analysis of any change in the expected frame. The objective of this research was to characterize the cellular profile by cytology of bronchoalveolar lavage obtained weekly for bronchoscopy of ten calves during the first three months of life. Statistical analysis was performed using the Minitab® 15.0 software, using the paired T test for parametric samples, and Mann-Whitney for nonparametric samples, considering significance level as P≤0,05. The results obtained showed that the profile of bronchoalveolar lavage of healthy calves during the first 90 days of life showed a predominance of macrophages, with medium average of 63.17%, followed by 33.69% neutrophils. However it was observed significant decrease in percentage of macrophages (P=0.04) and increased neutrophils (P=0,05) over the times, proven by the strong negative correlation between percentages of macrophages and neutrophils along the times. There was no difference between the percentages of giant cells, epithelial cells, lymphocytes, eosinophils and basophils during the experiment. Although the results are influenced by environmental factors and management, the results of this research provide subsidies for the identification of critical changes in cell profile of calves affected by respiratory diseases.