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Toxoplasma gondii and Leishmania spp. are protozoan parasites that cause zoonosis, are distributed worldwide, and affect domestic and wild animals and humans. Cats are important in the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis because they are the only hosts that can excrete the environmentally resistant stage: the oocysts 1 .In 1999, visceral leishmaniasis in cats was fi rst recorded by Hervas et al. 2 in Spain. Since then, current cases represent a widespread distribution, and include reports from Italy 3 , Portugal 4 , the United States 5 . In Brazil, the fi rst occurrence of Leishmania infantum in a cat was recorded in 2004 by Savani et al 5 . Some authors consider this animal an accidental host, while others suggest that felids can act as potential peridomestic reservoirs 6 . However, the role of cats in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis remains to be clarifi ed.The present study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee (protocol 65/2007) of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry, São Paulo State University, following the Ethical Principles in Animal Experimentation. A total of 50 cats (Felis catus) that were domiciliated in the City of Campo Grande (20°26'34''S, 54°38'47''W) in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil were selected randomly without predilection for sex breed, or age. Blood samples were obtained to detect antibodies for T. gondii and Leishmania spp.The immunofl uorescence antibody test (IFAT) was performed, according to the method described by Camargo 7 , which used whole Leishmania major-like promastigote and the RH strain of T. gondii as the antigen for the diagnosis of leishmaniasis and toxoplasmosis, respectively. Modifi ed agglutination test (MAT) using the RH strain was performed, as described by Desmonts and Remington 8 . The cutoff T. gondii antibody titer for both tests was 16, and the corresponding value in IFAT for Leishmania spp. was 40.Two (4%) of the 50 animals presented titers of antibodies for T. gondii and Leishmania spp., which suggested coinfection by these two protozoa in the same animal. Cat #1 was a female of undefi ned breed, 2 years of age, and presented T. gondii antibody titers of 64 (based on IFAT) and 1,024 (based on MAT), and an antibody titer of 320 for Leishmania spp. Cat #2 was also a female of undefi ned breed, 3 years of age, and presented T. gondii titers of 16 (based on IFAT) and 1,024 (based on MAT), and a Leishmania spp. titer of 320 (Table 1). Neither cat presented clinical signs. Similar results were obtained by Cardia et al. 9 with specifi c anti-Toxoplasma immunoglobulin G (IgG) in 63 (16.3%) of 386 cats and IgG against Leishmania spp. in two serum samples with titers of 1:160 and 1:320, respectively. In a study conducted by Sobrinho et al. 10 in another Brazilian endemic area, 25.7% cats were coinfected with both agents. However, the authors did not observe a signifi cant association between these infections.In this study, the MAT and IFAT were used, based on the results for cats obtained by Macrì et al. 11 , with a concordance of 0.98 (i.e...

this study presents the oldest record of Acanthocephala parasite eggs in coprolites preliminary assigned to Crocodyliformes, recovered in the region of Santo Anastácio Municipality, Southwestern São Paulo State. For this, a paleoparasitological investigation was carried out on 53 mineralized coprolites (complete or fragmented), with round shape or cylindrical shape of rounded or pointed ends, 0.2 -3.9 cm in length x 0.1 -2.4 cm in diameter, 3.7 grams in weight, and absence of food remains. Individual samples of the surface and internal portions of each coprolite were extracted by electric drill, dissociated with Cloridic Acid 10% solution, washed with Distilled Water, and filtered in granulometric screen Mesh / Tyler 325. After laboratory processing, the sediments retained on the granulometric screen was studied with Glycerin under optical microscopy, and the presence of four Acanthocephala eggs could be observed in sample of only one of these ichnofossils. All specimens were well preserved and showed 72.5 -85 µm in length x 27.5 -50 µm in width, elliptical shape, three concentric and thick shells, and embryos in their interior. this study inaugurates investigations and knowledge about Paleoparasitology in Crocodyliformes coprolites from the Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous from the Paraná Basin.

Compararam-se a espectroscopia de ultra-som (US) e os métodos tradicionais (MT) utilizados para a determinação de características físico-químicas do leite e estimaram-se as correlações entre esses métodos e suas acurácias. As características densidade, extrato seco desengordurado (ESD), teor de proteínas e teor de gordura foram determinadas em 65 amostras de leite cru por ambos os métodos. As densidades médias determinadas pelo US e pelos MT não diferiram entre si (P=0,14), e a correlação encontrada entre os dois métodos para a determinação da densidade não foi significativa (P= 0,08). Os teores médios de ESD, proteína e gordura encontrados pelo US e pelos MT foram diferentes (P=0,04, P<0,0001 e P<0,0001, respectivamente), as correlações entre os dois métodos utilizados para a análise dessas características foram positivas e significativas (r=0,0109, r=0,0007, r= <0,0001, respectivamente) e as acurácias dos métodos para essas determinações foram de 0,160, 0,062 e 0,145, respectivamente. Foi determinada a equação de regressão linear, que associa o teor de gordura obtido no método de espectroscopia de ultra-som ao do método butirométrico, que apresentou coeficiente de determinação de 0,5936.

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A paleoparasitological investigation was carried out on Crocodyliformes coprolites discovered in the Municipality of Santo Anastácio, in the southwestern region of the State of São Paulo. Individual samples were extracted from the surface and internal portion of each coprolite which revealed the presence of thick-shelled parasite eggs in three of them. The morphological characteristics of the specimens, i.e., rounded or oval shape, thick-shelled with mammillated surface, as well as their size, suggest that these eggs belong to the superfamily Ascaridoidea, which are gastrointestinal parasite nematodes of vertebrates, popularly known as "roundworms". This is the first record of Ascaridoidea eggs discovered in Crocodyliformes hosts from the Upper Cretaceous of Brazil.