BackgroundVector control remains the sole effective method to prevent dengue virus (DENV) transmission, although a vaccine for dengue has recently become available and testing of its efficacy and coverage is being performed in multiple places. Entomological surveillance is a key factor in alerting authorities to possible outbreaks, but until now natural DENV infection of mosquito populations has been scarcely used as an early warning system to monitor fluctuating prevalence of infected mosquitoes. The purpose of this study was to determine the burden of adult and larval/pupae of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus with DENV in urban areas in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.Methodology/Principal findingsImmature insect forms (larvae and pupae) were collected from April 2011 to March 2012, whereas the collection of adults was conducted along 3 years: May 2011 to April 2014. Total RNAs of the samples were extracted and the nested reverse transcriptase PCR assay for detecting and typing DENV was performed. Of the 1333 immature insects collected during the study period, 1186 (89%) were A. aegypti and 147 (11%) A. albopictus. DENV-4 was identified in pools of A. aegypti larvae. The rate of DENV infection in immature A. aegypti was expressed as MIR = 3.37. DENV wasnot detected in immature A. albopictus. A total of 1360 adult female mosquitoes of the Aedes genus were captured from May 2011 to April 2014. Of this total, 1293 were A. aegypti (95%) and 67 were A. albopictus (5%). From the 130 pools studied, 27 (20.7%) were positive for DENV. DENV-1 was identified in 2/27 (7.4%) pools; 1of A. albopictus and 1 of A. aegypti. DENV-2 was identified in only 1/27 (3.7%) A. aegypti pools. DENV-4 was the most prevalent, identified in 24/27 (88.8%) of the positive pools, with 19 being of A. aegypti and 5 of A. albopictus pools. The minimum infection rate for adults of the Aedes genus was 19.8, considering both A. aegypti and A. albopictus.Conclusions/SignificanceThis work represents the most complete study to date on the interaction between dengue viruses and Aedes mosquitoes in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, and raises important questions about a possible role of A. albopictus in the transmission of dengue virus in Brazil.

Abstractobjective To present results of virological surveillance and epidemiological aspects of dengue in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.methods A total of 1581 cases, reported from 2010 to 2012 at various health centres in the state, were analysed by viral isolation and/or RT-PCR for viral detection and typing. To identify whether different genotypes were circulating in the state during this period, sequencing of the complete E gene for DENV (1485 bp in length) was performed directly from patient serum samples.

RESUMO Caatinga sensu stricto é a vegetação típica do semiárido brasileiro, adaptada à forte sazonalidade das chuvas e às altas temperaturas. Possui alta riqueza de espécies e alto nível de diversidade beta. O objetivo do estudo foi documentar a flora e fitossociologia das plantas lenhosas e herbáceas de uma área de caatinga. Para isso, amostramos um hectare na Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Fazenda Almas (Estado da Paraíba). A área apresentou diversidade florística de 114 espécies (34 lenhosas/80 herbáceas), semelhante a outros estudos realizados nessa vegetação. O componente lenhoso apresentou densidade absoluta de 4822 ind.ha-1 e área basal de 38,851 m2.ha-1. Para plantas herbáceas foi registrada uma variação na densidade, percentual de cobertura do solo e riqueza de espécies entre as estações seca e chuvosa. Apesar da alta biodiversidade, a caatinga continua passando por extensos processos de degradação ambiental. O presente trabalho documentou a estrutura de um trecho conservado de caatinga que pode ser uma referência para futuros projetos de restauração.

The Furnariidae encompasses 293 species and has been recognized as an example of continental adaptive radiation. They inhabit biomes from deserts to humid forests at all strata and show morphological heterogeneity unparalleled among birds at any taxonomic level. Sclerurus is a uniform genus of cryptic, mainly dark brown furnariids, with short black tails which are found solitary on or near the ground inside humid forest. The aim of the present study was to describe and to compare the cranial osteology of all six Sclerurus species (S. scansor, S. mexicanus, S. guatemalensis, S. caudacutus, S. rufigularis, and S. albigularis) to identify osteological characters that are (1) unique to each species, (2) shared among species, and (3) that are exclusive to the genus when compared to other members of Furnariidae. For this, bone structures and measurements were done following standard methodologies. The results showed that Sclerurus differs from other Furnariidae in the following characteristics: a narrowed caudal portion of the nostril with a more rounded shape allowing upper’s jaw greater mobility, used when foraging on soft substrates; the development of the post-orbital process may be related to digging behavior, as the presence of a short parsphenoid rostrum projection, a reduced cerebellar prominence, and the tapered caudal portion of the nostrils. Among the species, the interorbital width is larger in S. caudacutus and S. rufigularis, than in the remaining species. The development of the post-orbital process may be related to the behavior of digging nests in earthen banks; the narrowing of the caudal portion of the nostril allows for the greater mobility of the superior maxilla, which is used by Sclerurus when foraging in soft substrates on forest grounds.