RESUMO: A fasciolose tem sido diagnosticada em bovinos, caprinos, ovinos e equinos no sul e sudeste do Brasil, sendo que tratamentos alternativos mais eficazes são alvos de estudo. Umas das alternativas promissoras é o uso de extratos vegetais no controle dessa e outras enfermidades. O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar a análise fitoquímica dos extratos de Eugenia uniflora L., Harpagophytum procumbens, Psidium guajava L. e Stryphnodendron adstringens, além de avaliar a eficácia in vitro desses extratos na atividade ovicida em Fasciola hepatica. Os extratos vegetais foram obtidos e analisados para determinação fitoquímica. Ovos de F. hepatica foram coletados diretamente das vesículas biliares de animais diagnosticados como positivos para fasciolose no exame post mortem. Cem ovos foram incubados com três mililitros de cada extrato nas concentrações de 0,10%, 0,25% e 0,50%, de albendazol a 0,50% (controle positivo) e água de torneira (controle negativo). Para determinar a eficácia de cada extrato vegetal os ovos eclodidos foram contados, e a média utilizada para os cálculos de eficácia. A análise fitoquímica revelou a presença de compostos fenólicos, taninos e terpenos na maioria dos extratos. O extrato de E. uniflora L. apresentou eficácia de 100% na concentração de 0,10%, o de H. procumbens a 0,25% e os extratos de P. guajava L. e S. adstringens apresentaram 100% de eficácia em todas as concentrações testadas. Assim, sugere-se que a atividade ovicida em F. hepatica seja devido à presença desses compostos bioativos.

ABSTRACT: Fasciolosis has been diagnosed in cattle, goats, sheep and horses in southern and southeastern Brazil. Effective alternative treatments are the targets of study. One promising alternative is the use of plant extracts. The aim of this study was to perform phytochemical analysis of extracts of Eugenia uniflora L., Harpagophytum procumbens, Psidium guajava L. and Stryphnodendron adstringens, and to evaluate the in vitro efficacy of these extracts on ovicidal activity in Fasciola hepatica. Plant extracts were analyzed for phytochemical properties. F. hepatica eggs were collected directly from the gallbladders of animals diagnosed as positive for fasciolosis on post mortem examination. One hundred eggs were incubated with 3 ml of each extract at concentrations of 0.10%, 0.25% and 0.50%, albendazole 0.50% (positive control) or tap water (negative control). To determine anti larval efficacy of each plant extract, hatched eggs were counted and the averages were used. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of phenolic compounds, tannins and terpenes in most extracts. E. uniflora L. extract was 100% effective at 0.10%, H. procumbens was effective at 0.25% and P. guajava L. and S. adstringens extracts were 100% effective at all concentrations tested. Taken together, the data suggested that ovicidal activity in F. hepatica is due to the presence of these bioactive compounds.

RESUMO Esta pesquisa busca compreender a ação de fazendeiros e engenheiros na trajetória da Estrada de Ferro Araraquara, linha férrea que ligava a cidade de Araraquara à boca do sertão oeste de São Paulo no início do Século XX, São José do Rio Preto. A companhia, fundada em 1896 com capitais essencialmente locais em um período de dificuldades para os segmentos ligados ao complexo cafeeiro, teve uma curta e tumultuada vida como empresa privada, sendo objeto de interesses diversos em um ambiente de grande especulação econômica. Nesse contexto, destaca-se a atuação de um grupo de engenheiros que, tomando o controle acionário, promovem uma administração calamitosa, contraindo empréstimos de grande monta no país e no exterior, que culminou na falência e posterior encampação da companhia pelo Estado em 1919, num processo conturbado que envolveu grandes investidores do país e da Europa. A partir de fontes tais como os Relatórios de Exercícios da E. F. Araraquara e diversos jornais do período, o trabalho pretende compreender as vicissitudes da trajetória da ferrovia, a transformação no perfil dos acionistas, bem como as condições que permitiram a ação do grupo de engenheiros no controle e falência da companhia, processo permeado de estratégias e negociatas que elucidam os contornos da grande empresa de serviços públicos na Primeira República.

ABSTRACT This research aims at analyzing the action of farmers and engineers in the history of the Araraquara Railroad (Estrada de Ferro Araraquara), a railway that linked the city of Araraquara to the western backwoods of São Paulo in the early 20th century, São José do Rio Preto. The company, founded in 1896 with essentially local capital during a period of difficulties for the groups linked to the coffee production complex, had a short and tumultuous life as a private company, being object of diverse interests in an environment of great economic speculation. In that context, the actions of a group of engineers stand our; by taking over the control of shares, they promoted a calamitous administration, taking huge loans at home and abroad, which lead to bankruptcy and later expropriation of the company by the State in 1919, in a turbulent process involving large investors from Brazil and Europe. Based on sources such as the Relatórios de Exercícios (E. F. Araraquara Exercises Reports) and several newspapers of that time, this paper intends to understand the difficulties of the railway trajectory, the transformation in the profile of the shareholders, as well as the conditions that enabled the group of engineers to take control and lead the company to bankruptcy, a process permeated by strategies and negotiations that elucidate the contours of the large utility company in the First Republic.

Resumo A coccidiose bovina é uma doença de grande importância em rebanhos ao redor do mundo. A desordem afeta principalmente bezerros jovens, e E. bovis e E. zuernii consideradas as espécies mais patogênicas deste gênero, causando grave enterite em animais infectados. No entanto, casos de E. alabamensis foram descritos em bezerros mantidos a pasto. No presente estudo, a prevalência de Eimeria spp. foi avaliada em bezerros de gado leiteiro da região norte do estado do Paraná, Brasil. Quatrocentos bezerros foram amostrados e testados para a presença de oocistos de coccídios. Os positivos foram re-examinados e os oocistos analisados morfologicamente para identificação da espécie. Todas as fazendas estavam contaminadas e 205 (51,25%) animais apresentaram oocistos de Eimeria spp. Destes, 146 (71,22%) animais estava co-infectados por duas ou mais espécies de coccídio. Dez espécies de Eimeria foram identificadas: E. bovis (30,25% de amostras positivas), E. alabamensis (26,75%), E. zuernii (22,00%), E. ellipsoidalis (18,50%), E. auburnensis (13,75%), E. canadensis (8,10%), E. cylindrica (8,00%), E. subspherica (5,00%), E. bukidnonensis (3,00%) e E. brasiliensis (0,75%). Este estudo demonstra a alta prevalência de Eimeria spp. na região norte do estado do Paraná, Brasil, e a detecção, pela primeira vez, de E. alabamensis.

Abstract Bovine coccidiosis is a disease of major importance in cattle herds across the world. The disorder mainly affects young calves, and E. bovis and E. zuernii are considered the most pathogenic species of the genus, however, E. alabamensis have been described in grazing calves. In this study, the prevalence of Eimeria spp. was evaluated in calves on dairy farms in the northern region of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Four hundred calves on 44 dairy farms were tested for the presence of coccidian oocysts. The positives were re-examined and the oocysts were morphometrically analyzed for species identification. All the farms were contaminated and 205 animals (51.25%) presented Eimeria spp. oocysts. Among these, 146 animals (71.22%) were co-infected by two or more species of coccidia. Ten species of Eimeria were identified: E. bovis (in 30.25% of the positive samples), E. alabamensis (26.75%), E. zuernii (22.00%), E. ellipsoidalis (18.50%), E. auburnensis (13.75%), E. canadensis (8.00%), E. cylindrica (7.25%), E. subspherica (5.00%), E. bukidnonensis (3.00%) and E. brasiliensis (0.75%). This study demonstrates the high prevalence of Eimeria spp. in the northern region of Paraná, Brazil, and detection for the first time in our region the pathogenic species E. alabamensis.

Background: eosinophilic esophagitis is an esophageal disorder characterized by esophageal and/or upper gastrointestinal tract symptoms, and by dense esophageal eosinophilia associated with a normal gastric and duodenal mucosa. Prevalently reported in children, eosinophilic esophagitis has recently been reported with increased frequency also in adults. Aims: the purpose of this study was to report our experience with eosinophilic esophagitis in Italy, since there are only very few series of such patients in our country. Patients and methods: we retrospectively reviewed the histological data of consecutive patients with a diagnosis of esophagitis or reflux disease in the period September 2004-September 2008. Eosinophils were counted where they appeared most numerous in the biopsy, with a cutoff > 15 eosinophils in more than one high-power field as diagnostic of eosinophilic esophagitis. Patients were excluded if gastric or duodenal biopsies showed a prominent eosinophilic infiltrate. Results: twenty two patients (14 adults, 8 children, age range 2-59 years) were identified according to the above criteria. The average eosinophil count was 86/ high-power field (range 31-150), associated with other pathologic features (eosinophilic microabscesses eosinophil degranulation, basal zone hyperplasia, papillary elongation). The main clinical complaints were dysphagia, food impaction, and heartburn, and endoscopic findings consisted of mucosal thickening and inelasticity, longitudinal shearing, rings, and white specks, without difference between adults and children for both clinical and endoscopic variables. Conclusions: eosinophilic esophagitis is not rare in Italy, and displays clinical, endoscopic, and pathologic features similar to those described in other countries.

The effects of popping and extrusion processes on some of the hydration properties of Amarantus cruentus, which had already been degermed and dehulled, are discussed. Response surface methodology was used to analyse the effect of process variables (temperature and moisture) on hydration properties, evaluated by water solubility (S) and by amylographic retrogradation (R) . Results show that precooked flours obtained by popping have a very high suspension consistency with low or intermediate S, while those obtained by extrusion have very high S but a much lower suspension consistency. The high S values for extruded samples are even higher than those for extruded waxy types of cereals. The effects of the variables on each response depend on each case. S increases as temperature (T) and moisture (M) increase in both processes, although in extrusion, a maximum value was observed at 200 ºC and about 15% M. On the other hand, an inverse variable effect is observed for R; a minimum value is observed with extruded samples at about 14% M and for the whole T range, while a typical saddle-shaped surface is obtained for popped samples, with maximum values found at about 14 % and 18 % M for the two extreme T values, the highest and lowest, respectively. Another interesting effect is that the S-R pair values corresponding to popped samples do not fit the correlation between S and R, normally found with extruded samples. We can conclude that with the application of both processes it is possible to obtain precooked flours that have a wide range of hydration properties.