Mateus Matiuzzi da Costa

Bio: Mateus Matiuzzi da Costa is an academic researcher from Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco. The author has contributed to research in topics: Mastitis & Nile tilapia. The author has an hindex of 23, co-authored 204 publications receiving 1823 citations. Previous affiliations of Mateus Matiuzzi da Costa include Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco & Universidade Federal de Santa Maria.

Atividade antimicrobiana "in vitro" de extrato alcóolico de própolis

Abstract: Propolis is a natural resin collected and modified by honeybees Since ancient times it has been used as a chemotherapeutic agent The propolis antibacterial activity was evaluated through bacterial inoculation on BHI agar plates with 5% of alcoholic propolis extract (10(6) bacteria mL-1) One hundred and sixty one bacterial strains were evaluated, as Gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus sp, Streptococcus sp, Nocardia asteroides and Rhodococcus equi) as Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) The strain was considered sensible to the propolis extract when no bacterial growth was evident on the plate after 72 hours at 37oC The control test used agar plates with 5% of ethanol (M2) and 5% of saline solution Propolis extract demonstrated antibacterial activity on 677% of the tested strains; 926% of Gram-positive and 425% of Gram-negative strains presented sensitivity The propolis extract showed effective antibacterial activity against the majority of tested strains

Brown propolis extract in feed as a growth promoter of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus, Linnaeus 1758) fingerlings.

Abstract: This study assessed the use of increasing levels ofbrown propolis extract (BPE) as a growth promoterin Nile tilapia ¢ngerling feeds. In a complete rando-mizeddesign,75 Nile tilapia ¢ngerlings with 60 daysonaverageandweighing4.1 0.1gwereassignedto25 aquaria (60L) and subjected to 5 treatments in5 repetitions for 30 days. Propolis from SerradoAra-ripe, Cariri Region, South CearaŁ State ^ Brazil wasused to produce the BPE. The treatments involvedthe addition of BPE to feed samples (0.91, 1.83, 2.74and3.65gkg 1 ) and feed control (without BPE).The¢nal meanweightandthepercentage of weightgainvaried quadratically with the increase in BPE(Po0.01),withamaximumof2.22gkg 1 .Theotherevaluated parameters were not aiected by the treat-ments (P40.05).The level of best performance para-meters was 2.22gkg 1 , between the levels of 1.83and 2.74gBPEkg 1 feed inclusion.These results in-dicatethepotentialtousethebrownpropolis extractasagrowthpromoter toNiletilapia¢ngerlings.Keywords: aquaculture, feed additive, ¢sh nutri-tion,OreochromisniloticusIntroductionFishculturehasbeenthefocusofconsiderableatten-tion in Brazil due to its great potential all over thecountry, due to the appropriate climate, large avail-abilityof waterand the excellent nutritionalvalue of¢sh in general. The species most cultivated include¢shofexoticoriginsuchastheNiletilapia,Oreochro-misniloticus.Despitethelow rainfall inthe Semi-AridNortheast,this region has aneconomic potential for ¢shculture.Thepresenceofsomerivers,particularlytheSaoFran-cisco River and its dams, irrigation canals and lakes,presentssuitableconditionsfordevelopingsystemsfor¢shproduction.Theclimate,favourableforthecultureoftropical¢sh,andtheproximitytothesitesknownasproducers of raw materials and manufacturers of ¢shfeeds (West of Bahia State) are alsopositive factors forthedevelopmentof¢shcultureintheregion.Fromthesocialviewpoint,¢shculturemaybecomean important source of income for the local popula-tion, particularly thoselivingonriverbanks, throughboth large¢rmsandsmallproductionassociationsorlocal cooperatives. The culture of exotic ¢sh species,suchastheNiletilapia,isanimportantregionalalter-nativeasitsculturetechniqueisfullymastered.Fishdiseases causelosses in ¢shculture, thus hin-deringeconomicaldevelopment(Gram,Melchiorsen,Spanggard,Hubner&Nielsen1999).InBrazil,theoc-currence of pathologies in ¢shculture has increasedwith the intense growth (Costa 2003), especiallypathologies caused byAeromonasgenusbacteria.Growth promoters that result neither in bacterialresistance norleave residues in ¢sh £esh have driventhe research towards natural products. Investiga-tionsoftheantibioticpropertiesofpropolishavebeen

Identification of Pythium insidiosum by nested PCR in cutaneous lesions of Brazilian horses and rabbits.

Abstract: Pythium insidiosum is a fungus-like organism present in subtropical and tropical areas, such as Brazil, known to infect humans and various animal species. P. insidiosum is the etiological agent of pythiosis, an emerging and granulomatous disease characterized mainly by cutaneous and subcutaneous lesions in horses, the principal species affected. Accurate diagnosis of pythiosis and identification of its causal agent by microbiological and serological tests can be often difficult and inconclusive principally for horses and humans. The aim of this study was to evaluate the application of the previously described P. insidiosum-specific nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to directly detect P. insidiosum DNA in clinical and experimental lesions. Universal fungal primers (ITS1 and ITS4) were used during the first-round of PCR to amplify ITS1, 5.8s, and ITS2. A second-round of PCR was conducted with P. insidiosum-specific primers (PI1 and PI2) to amplify a variable region within this ITS1. In this study, a total of 21 equine clinical samples (kunkers) and 28 specimens from experimentally infected rabbits were analyzed by nested PCR. The first-round of PCR generated 800-base pair products, and the second-round produced 105-base pair amplicons for each P. insidiosum-specific sample; no amplicons were generated in negative control samples. Our results suggest that nested PCR is an important and efficient tool for diagnosis of both endemic (horse samples) and experimental (rabbit samples) pythiosis.

Caracterização epidemiológica, molecular e perfil de resistência aos antimicrobianos de Escherichia coli isoladas de criatórios suínos do sul do Brasil

Abstract: Colibacillosis is an enteric disease with a major impact to the swine industry and is caused by enterotoxigenic strains of Escherichia coli. Forty clinical isolates from pigs with diarrhea and 13 environmental isolates were analysed regarding their genotypic profile, genetic relationship and antibiotic resistance. The most prevalent gene was Stb, identified in 50% of the isolates from clinical cases, and Sta and Lt were detected in 35% of them. Among the adesine factors investigated, F18 was found in 27.5% of the E. coli strains. The ERIC-PCR technique used for epidemiological characterization of the isolates did not show the expected discriminatory power. However, the test allowed separation of the isolates in groups, but did not evidence groups related to virulence factors. In the susceptibility test, the highest values for resistance were to tetracycline, in 88.6%. The index of multiple resistance to antimicrobials varied from 0 to 0.69.

Resistance in the Environment

Abstract: Antibiotics, disinfectants and bacteria resistant to them have been detected in environmental compartments such as waste water, surface water, ground water, sediments and soils. Antibiotics are released into the environment after their use in medicine, veterinary medicine and their employment as growth promoters in animal husbandry, fish farming and other fields. There is increasing concern about the growing resistance of pathogenic bacteria in the environment, and their ecotoxic effects. Increasingly, antibiotic resistance is seen as an ecological problem. This includes both the ecology of resistance genes and that of the resistant bacteria themselves. Little is known about the effects of subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics and disinfectants on environmental bacteria, especially with respect to resistance. According to the present state of our knowledge, the impact on the frequency of resistance transfer by antibacterials present in the environment is questionable. The input of resistant bacteria into the environment seems to be an important source of resistance in the environment. The possible impact of resistant bacteria on the environment is not yet known. Further research into these issues is warranted.

Toxoplasmosis in humans and animals in Brazil: high prevalence, high burden of disease, and epidemiology.

Abstract: SUMMARY Infections by the protozoan parasiteToxoplasma gondiiarewidely prevalent in humans and animals in Brazil The burden of clinical toxoplasmosis in humans is considered to be very high The high prevalence and encouragement of the Brazilian Governmentprovidesauniqueopportunityforinternationalgroupstostudytheepidemiologyandcontroloftoxoplasmosis in Brazil Many early papers on toxoplasmosis in Brazil were published in Portuguese and often not available to scientists in English-speaking countries In the present paper we review prevalence, clinical spectrum, molecular epidemiology, and control of T gondii in humans and animals in Brazil This knowledge should be useful to biologists, public health workers, veterinarians, and physicians Brazil has a very high rate of T gondii infection in humans Up to 50% of elementary school children and 50–80% of women of child-bearing age have antibodies to T gondii The risks for uninfected women to acquire toxoplasmosis during pregnancy and fetal transmission are high because the environment is highly contaminated with oocysts The burden of toxoplasmosis in congenitally infected children is also very high From limited data on screening of infants for T gondii IgM at birth, 5–23 children are born infected per 10000 live births in Brazil Based on an estimate of 1 infected child per 1000 births, 2649 children with congenital toxoplasmosis are likely to be born annually in Brazil Most of these infected children are likely to develop symptoms or signs of clinical toxoplasmosis Among the congenitally infected childrenwhoseclinicaldataaredescribedinthisreview,severaldiedsoonafterbirth,35%hadneurologicaldiseaseincluding hydrocephalus, microcephaly and mental retardation, 80% had ocular lesions, and in one report 40% of children had hearing loss The severity of clinical toxoplasmosis in Brazilian children may be associated with the genetic characteristics of T gondii isolates prevailing in animals and humans in Brazil

Electrically conducting polymers cannoninvasively control the shapeandgrowth ofmammalian cells

Abstract: Electrically conducting polymers arenovel In thattheir surface pries induding charge density and wettability, canbereversibly changed with anapplied electrical potential. Suchproperties might render conducting polymers unique forbiological applications. However, themajority of research onconducting polymers hasbeencarried outunder nonbio lcondits. Wesyntheoptically transparent polypyrrole thinfinms andstudied theminenvironments suitable forprotein adsorption andmammalian cell culture. In viro studies demonstrated that extracellular matrix molecules, suchasfibronectin, adsorb efficiently ontopolypyrrole thin films andsupport cell attentunder serum-free conditions. Whenaortic endothelial cells werecultured onfibronectin- coated polypyrrole (oxidized) ineither chemicall defined medium orthepresence ofserum, cells spread normally and synthesized DNA.Incontrast, whenthepolymer wasswitched toits neutral state byapplying anelectrical potntil, bothcell extension andDNAsynthesis wereinhibited without affecting cell viability. Application ofasimilar electrical potential tocells cultured onindium tin oxide surfaces hadnoeffect oncell shape orfunction. Thesedatasuggest thatdectrially conducting polymers mayrepresent atype ofculture substrate which could provide anoninvasive meanstocontrol theshape andfunction ofadherent cells, independent ofanymediumalteration. Growth andfunction ofcultured cells iscommonly controlled byaddition ofmediumsupplements, including serum, de- fined growth factors, andsoluble hormones. However, in- teractions between cells andtheir culture substrate arealso critical forregulation oftheir growth andfunction. For example, mostmammalian cells areanchorage-dependent and, thus, mustattach andextend onasurface inorder to proliferate (1-5). Furthermore, thesamecells will remain quiescent anddifferentiate intheidentical growth factor- containing medium, ifcell spreading isprevented byaltering interactions between cells andsubstrate-adsorbed extracel-

Indicators of inflammation in the diagnosis of mastitis

Abstract: Mastitis affects the quality of milk and is a potential health risk for the other cows. In a well managed dairy herd, in addition to clinical mastitis, subclinical mastitis should be efficiently detected. Bacteriological sampling is not feasible as a routine test to identify subclinical mastitis, and indirect tests of mastitis are more suitable for selecting cows with intramammary infections for subsequent bacteriological sampling. Mastitis affects the composition of milk, and the degree of changes depends on the infecting agent and the inflammatory response. Indicators of inflammation in the milk which can be determined using rapid, reliable and easy routine techniques, can be used for the early detection of mastitis. The measuring of the somatic cell count in milk is the standard method, but the analysis technique is problematic for routine use in herds. The most promising parameters for monitoring subclinical mastitis are milk N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase activity, lactose, and electrical conductivity along with some other indicators such as optical and milk flow measurements, preferably with an inter-quarter evaluation included in the test. Acute phase proteins, haptoglobin and serum amyloid A, are also potential candidates for mastitis monitoring. New mastitis detection systems which can be adapted into on-line use are urgently needed, since dairy units are growing bigger and automatic milking systems are being taken into use.