BackgroundThe evidence of several forms of arthritis has been well documented in the fossil record. However, for pre-Cenozoic vertebrates, especially regarding reptiles, this record is rather scarce. In this work we present a case report of spondarthritis found in a vertebral series that belonged to a carnivorous archosaurian reptile from the Lower Triassic (∼245 million years old) of the South African Karoo.Methodology/Principal FindingsNeutron tomography confirmed macroscopic data, revealing the ossification of the entire intervertebral disc space (both annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus), which supports the diagnosis of spondarthritis.Conclusions/SignificanceThe presence of spondarthritis in the new specimen represents by far the earliest evidence of any form of arthritis in the fossil record. The present find is nearly 100 million years older than the previous oldest report of this pathology, based on a Late Jurassic dinosaur. Spondarthritis may have indirectly contributed to the death of the animal under study.
A set of lesions are re-described and new pathological findings in foot bones of Panochthus sp. (Xenarthra, Cingulata) are presented. The material reexamined in fact presents enthesiophytes instead of osteoartrithis, as previously interpreted. Furthermore, Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition Disease (CPPD) was observed, a lesion absent in previous report. CPPD also was found in another set of foot bones and it was associated with a congenital fusion of two sesamoids. The material studied were collected in two natural tank deposits, one in Paraíba (material reexamined) and other in Rio Grande do Norte (new pathological findings) State.
O projeto Café Com Ciência BIO UVA foi criado com o objetivo de estabelecer um espaço permanente de discussão científica através da realização um ciclo de seminários, que pudesse contribuir para uma melhor formação acadêmica dos alunos do Curso de Biologia na Universidade Veiga de Almeida. Nesse contexto, dados do referido projeto, bem como do seu perfil em uma rede social são apresentados após seus dois primeiros de anos de realização. Entre 2017 e 2018 foram realizadas 44 palestras científicas, que receberam 1.541 participantes, representando uma média de 30±13 pessoas por palestra. Por sua vez, os dados do projeto relacionados ao seu perfil na rede social do Facebook® mostraram que, durante o período analisado, 534 pessoas “curtiram” a página, resultando em 541 seguidores, em sua maioria (66%) mulheres na faixa entre 18 e 24 anos de idade. A realização do projeto mostrou-se uma ferramenta educacional eficiente para ampliar significativamente os espaços para discussão cientifica no curso em questão.
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