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The impact of agrochemicals on native Brazilian bees may be underestimated, since studies of non-target effects on bees have, by and large, concerned mostly the Apis mellifera L. Furthermore, bees may be exposed in the field to multiple agrochemicals through different routes, thus suggesting the necessity for more comprehensive toxicological experiments. Here, we assessed the lethal and sublethal toxicity of multiple agrochemicals (herbicide [glyphosate - Roundup ® ], fungicide [mancozeb], insecticide [thiamethoxam]) through distinct routes of exposure (contact or ingestion) to an endangered native Brazilian bee Melipona (Michmelia) capixaba Moure & Camargo, 1994 and to A. mellifera. Results indicate that none of the agrochemicals caused feeding repellency on the bees. Thiamethoxam caused high mortality of both species, regardless of the route of exposure or the dose used. In addition, thiametoxam altered the flight capacity of M. capixaba when exposed to the lowest dose via contact exposure. The field dose of glyphosate caused high mortality of both bee species after oral exposure as well as impaired the flight capacity of A. mellifera (ingestion exposure) and M. capixaba (contact exposure). The lower dose of glyphosate also impaired the flight of M. capixaba through either routes of exposure. Exposure of A. mellifera through contact and ingestion to both doses of mancozeb caused high mortality and significantly impaired flight capacity. Taken altogether, the results highlight the importance of testing the impact of multiple agrochemicals (i.e. not just insecticides) through different routes of exposure in order to understand more comprehensively the potential risks for Apis and non-Apis bees., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The environmental consequences associated with the Fundão tailings dam failure in Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil on 5 November 2015 are still being investigated. Bees are the main pollinators believed to be most affected by the accident because they occur throughout the area affected by the dam rupture and build their nests in the soil. In this study, we evaluated the richness of different bee species in areas affected and not affected by the accident and measured the concentration of different metals on the pollen basket, or corbicula, located on the hind legs of Apis mellifera. Diversity indices were similar and there was no statistical difference in the diversity of bees sampled when comparing the sites affected and not affected by the tailings mud, either before or after the dam rupture. It is possible that the similarity is due to nearby forests that may be serving as areas of refuge. The levels of Al, Cu, Cd, Hg, and Pb in A. mellifera suggest no change in the level of metals in pollen collected by the bees that can be attributed to the rupture of the dam. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:631-635. © 2020 SETAC., (© 2020 SETAC.)

Objectives  To evaluate the management of tibial fractures resulting in bone loss (traumatic or infection-related) and the complications occurring during treatment with external fixator and immediately after apparatus removal. Methods  Forty patients were selected from 2010 to 2017. The mean age of the patients was 33.02 years; 34 subjects were male and 6 were female. All patients had tibial bone regeneration, suffered trauma (mainly related to motorcycle accident) and were followed-up at an outpatient facility. Results  Proximal tibial bones of up to 17 cm in length and distal tibial bones of up to 14 cm in length were obtained. The largest trifocal transport had the same length as the regenerated bone tissues, which was 14.5 cm. Regarding complications, 29 (72.5%) patients had infections in the pin and wire paths. There were 9 (22.5%) cases of de novo fracture, 6 of which were managed with the implantation of a new circular fixator, and 2 cases of infection of the regenerated bone. On average, patients were subjected to 4.72 procedures (ranging from 2-12), had the fixator for 20.75 months (ranging from 7-55 months), and stayed at the hospital for 53.7 days (ranging from 5-183 days), mainly because of soft-tissue complications, intravenous antibacterial therapy, and even social issues. Two (5%) patients presented symptomatic gonarthrosis, and two other patients had symptomatic ankle arthritis. Three of the patients showed lower limb discrepancy of 3.0, 3.7, and 5.0 cm. Conclusion  Despite not being widely available, the Ilizarov method is useful for solving the majority of tibial bone losses, regardless of their etiology., Competing Interests: Conflito de Interesses Os autores declaram não haver conflito de interesses.

The species Melipona rufiventris Lepeletier, 1836 is a Brazilian native stingless bee that is part of a species complex known as the ' rufiventris group', making it difficult to distinguish between the different species. Populations in this group are facing a severe decline, leading to the risk of local extinction, and therefore, their conservation should be treated as a major concern. This study describes the first set of tri- and tetranucleotide microsatellite markers, using next-generation sequencing technology for use in the identification of genetic diversity and population structure in the ' rufiventris group'. A total of 16 microsatellite loci displayed polymorphism. Analysis of the whole data set (n = 50) detected 63 alleles in all loci , ranging from 2 to 7 with a mean of 3.9 alleles/locus. A genetic diversity analysis revealed high values for population differentiation estimates ( F ST = 0.252, R ST = 0.317, and D EST = 0.284) between the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Caatinga biomes. An additional evidence for genetic divergence among populations was also found in the ' rufiventris group'; these should be treated as separate conservation units or even as separate species. These microsatellite markers have demonstrated a strong potential for assessing population discrimination in this threatened stingless bee group.

Melipona quadrifasciata is a stingless bee widely found throughout the Brazilian territory, with two recognized subspecies, M. quadrifasciata anthidioides, that exhibits interrupted metasomal stripes, and M. quadrifasciata quadrifasciata, with continuous metasomal stripes. This study aimed to estimate the genetic variability of these subspecies. For this purpose, 127 colonies from 15 Brazilian localities were analyzed, using nine species-specific microsatellite primers. At these loci, the number of alleles ranged from three to 15 (mean: 7.2), and the observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranged from 0.03-0.21, while the expected heterozygosity (He) ranged from 0.23-0.47. The genetic distances among populations ranged from 0.03-0.45. The FST multilocus value (0.23) indicated that the populations sampled were structured, and the clustering analysis showed the formation of two subgroups and two more distant populations. The first group contained the subspecies M. quadrifasciata quadrifasciata, and the other, the subspecies M. quadrifasciata anthidioides and the two M. quadrifasciata populations with continuous metasomal stripes from northern Minas Gerais. These results confirmed that the yellow metasomal stripes alone are not a good means for correctly identifying the different subspecies of M. quadrifasciata.

Introduction: Ectopic hepatic tissue is due to an uncommon failure of embryological liver development that is rarely described in the world medical literature. The incidence of ectopic liver (EL) has been reported to be anywhere from 0.24% to 0.47% as diagnosed at laparotomy or laparoscopy. We describe a case of EL adherent to the gallbladder, removed at laparoscopic cholecystectomy., Presentation of Case: A 37-year-old female was admitted for elective cholecystectomy having had an episode of acute cholecystitis provoked by gallstones. During the procedure, a 30mm×10mm×5mm section of EL tissue attached to the anterior wall of the gallbladder was identified and removed by en-bloc excision during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Histological examination confirmed the absence of malignant degeneration of the hepatic tissue. The patient recovered well postoperatively and was discharged the day after the operation. She was well when seen six months later., Discussion: EL has been reported in several sites, such as the gallbladder, gastrohepatic ligament, adrenal glands, esophagus, and thoracic cavity. EL is often clinically silent and discovered incidentally during abdominal surgical procedures or autopsies. Because patients with ectopic liver may suffer complications such as torsion, peritoneal bleeding, fatty change, and evolution to cirrhosis or malignant degeneration to hepatocellular carcinoma, any ectopic liver tissue needs to be correctly identified and removed., Conclusion: Despite the rare occurrence of EL, it should be recognized and removed by the surgeon to prevent a higher risk of complications and malignant transformation., (Copyright © 2013 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Physicochemical analyses were carried out to evaluate 27 samples of honeys from three species of the Brazilian genus Melipona (M. capixaba, M. rufiventris and M. mondury) from Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais States. The parameters water activity (Aw), percentage of soluble solids (Brix %), pH, acidity (meq/Kg) and moisture (%) were evaluated. The honey characteristics obtained from these samples were very similar to the ones from other Melipona species. However, regarding the honey from Apis (honey bee), only the pH values were similar. The low pH value and the high acidity detected in Melipona honey are potential factors for increasing the honey shelf life because they do not provide favorable conditions for the microbial development. On the other hand, the high level of water activity favors the growth of microorganisms, especially yeast, which demands a more careful handled and storage. The observed differences between Melipona and Apis honey reinforce the need for specific quality settings for stingless bee honey.

The stingless bee Melipona capixaba Moure & Camargo is a species restricted to the Atlantic forest in the Domingos Martins, Conceição do Castelo, Venda Nova do Imigrante and Afonso Cláudio County, in the Espírito Santo State, Brazil. Despite its cological importance as pollinator few studies have examined the ecology and biology of this bee. This note relates a case of the M. capixaba workers carrying pollinarium attached to the scuttellum. The pollinaria were identified as belonging to the orchid subtribe Maxillariinae species possibly of the genus Maxillaria sensu lato or Xylobium.