In a study on vectors of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Mesquita, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, eleven species of sandflies were found: Lutzomyia longipalpis, L. fischeri, L. quinquefer, L. intermedia, L. whitmani, L. shannoni, L. cortelezzii, L. edwardsi, L. migonei, L. lanei and L. firmatoi. Lutzomyia intermedia was the predominant species. It was collected indoors but in much higher numbers outdoors, in the close vicinity of houses. In comparative captures it was found to feed more frequently on equines, and less frequently on man and dogs. Studies, using man and animals as baits, showed that blood-feeding started in the evening, and remained stable during the night, until early morning. June, August and October were the months of highest density.

In Vargem Grande, an endemic area of cutaneous leishmaniasis in State of Rio de Janeiro, where Lutzomyia intermedia had been found infected with Leishmania braziliensis, we performed a series of captures of sandflies to increase the knowledge on their behaviour. The following species were found among 8,671 sandflies collected: L. intermedia, L. migonei, L. longipalpis, L. lanei, L. fischeri, L. firmatoi, L. monticola, L. schreiberi, L. whitmani, L. pelloni, L. barrettoi e L. (Pi) sp. Inside houses and outdoors close to the houses, on human bait and in light traps, the predominant species was L. intermedia, followed by L. migonei, both being more numerous between 9 and 11 p.m. than from 6 to 8 p.m. In a plantation, L. migonei was predominant. In simultaneous captures on man and dog as baits, L. intermedia was more frequent on the former, L. migonei on the latter.

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To improve our knowledge on the breeding and behaviour of sandflies in captivity, we established closed colonies of Lutzomyia intermedia and Lutzomyia longipalpis. Data are here presented on the feeding preferences of larvae and adults and their influence on the development and survival of each species. Fish food is accepted by the larvae of both species; it is easily available, unexpensive and does not encourage the growth of fungi. The larvae of both species, in all stages accepted food of vegetal and mixed origin, but the 1st and 2nd stage larvae of L. intermedia preferred vegetal food, while the 3rd and 4th stage larvae of L. longipalpis showed a discreet preference for mixed food. Previous feeding on sugar was not necessary to induce a blood meal. Both species can feed on man, dog, hamster and bird, but better development was obtained when the females was fed on hamster. The female of L. longipalpis were more resistant to the absence of blood meal than those of L. intermedia, although 70% of both were able to survive on a sugar meal up to seven days.

Despite the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance among gonococci worldwide, limited reports are available from Brazilian locations. In the present study, 25 quinolone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (QRNG) strains isolated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were characterized by phenotypic and molecular methods, including analysis of mutations in the gyrA and parC genes. They represented 16.5% of the N. gonorrhoeae isolates obtained during a survey performed from 2006 to 2010. A trend for increasing resistance to ciprofloxacin was observed in the period investigated. The most prevalent pattern of mutation observed among QRNG isolates, Ser-91 to Phe and Asp-95 to Gly in gyrA and Ser-87 to Arg in parC, was detected in 40% of the isolates exhibiting MICs ranging from 4 to >32 g/ml. Gonorrhea is among the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) throughout the world. The causative agent, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, predominantly infects human urogenital tract, causing cervicitis, urethritis, and rectal infections. In 2003, the incidence of gonococcal infections in Brazil was estimated in 1,54 million of cases, being 657,139 cases in the Southeast region and more than 130,000 cases in Rio de Janeiro state (5). Recently, two studies conducted among men attending STD clinics (1) and among pregnant women (15) in six Brazilian cities revealed prevalences of infection by Neisseria gonorrhoeae of 18.4 and 1.5%, respectively.Since the emergence and increasing occurrence of plasmidmediated high-level or chromosomally mediated low-level resistance to penicillin and/or tetracycline, fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin or ofloxacin) or cephalosporins (ceftriaxone and cefixime) constitute the therapeutic regimen recommended by the World Health Organization for treatment of gonococcal infections worldwide (25).However, the emergence of quinolone-resistant N. gonorrhoeae (QRNG) isolates has generated significant concern in several countries (13,26,31). Mechanisms of quinolone resistance in N. gonorrhoeae isolates include point mutations at the "quinolone resistance-determining regions" (QRDRs) of the gyrA and parC genes which code for the enzymes DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV, respectively, that were the target of this drug, conferring high-level quinolone resistance (13).In Brazil, reports on the antimicrobial susceptibility of N. gonorrhoeae have been sporadically available, and only a few isolates with decreased susceptibility to ciprofloxacin were described (2, 11, 12). In 2007, we detected the occurrence of resistance to ciprofloxacin in 7.7% (4/52) of the N. gonorrhoeae isolates recovered from male urethral specimens or vaginal specimens in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (A. A. Uehara and S. E. L. Fracalanzza, unpublished data). Simultaneously, a resistance rate of 3.1% was found in strains isolated from patients attending the STD Service of the University of São Paulo teaching hospital, in São Paulo, Brazil (3).The aim of the present study was to characterize ciprofloxacin-resistant N. gonorrhoeae isolates recovered in Rio de Janeiro,...

Trophic structure is among the most fundamental characteristics of an ecosystem since it is a useful way to determine the main energy flow at the ecosystem level. In the Magellan Strait, the local spatial heterogeneity at the shallow-waters ecosystems may have a great variety of potential food sources; however, knowledge about their biological communities and their structure is still unclear. We examined the trophic structure of shallow-water-mixed bottom communities at two sites in the sub-Antarctic Magellan Strait based on carbon (d 13 C) and nitrogen (d 15 N) stable isotope ratios. The benthic communities were composed of 46 species from 20 major taxa at Bahía Laredo (BL) and 55 species from 18 major taxa at Punta Santa Ana (PSA). Benthic macroalgae and organic matter associated with sediment are the major primary food sources at both sites. Although both sites are quite similar in their food sources and in their vertical trophic structure (Cthree trophic levels), the food web structure varied distinctly. Functionally, predators and grazers dominated both communities, but top predators were shorebirds, carnivore anemones and predatory nemerteans at BL, and sea stars, shorebirds, crabs and fishes at PSA. The distinct differences in the trophic structure at BL and PSA highlight the important variability of d 15 N at the base of the benthic food web, the role of local environmental conditions and community dynamics in structuring shallow-water communities.

The development of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis in experimentally infected Lutzomyia intermedia, showed colonization of the hindgut from 48 h after the infective blood-meal, and the migration of flagellates to the foregut, with a massive infection of the cardia at the 5th day post infection. Up to 10 days following the infective blood-meal, very few parasites were seen in the pharynx and cibarium. The role of L. intermedia as a vector of cutaneous leishmaniasis is discussed according to the established criteria.

The in-house PCR methods here compared showed to be rapid, sensitive, highly specific, and cheaper than commercial methods. The in-house PCR methods could be easily adopted by public laboratories of developing countries for diagnostic purposes. The best results were achieved using primers targeting the genes nspA, ply, and P6 which were able to detect the lowest DNA concentrations for each specific target.