Natural Infection by Leishmania infantum in domestic cats (Felis catus) in a municipality of moderate transmission in the Brazilian semi-arid region.

The main clinical, anatomopathological, and molecular aspects of the infection by Leishmania infantum are described in two cats with multicentric cutaneous, nodular, and ulcerated lesions. The animals were submitted to a clinical examination, followed by serological, molecular and parasitological exams, with culture and isolation of the parasite, and subsequent isoenzymatic characterization. The animals were euthanized and necropsied.

Injectable bone substitute based on chitosan with polyethylene glycol polymeric solution and biphasic calcium phosphate microspheres.

We described a method to produce an injectable bone substitute consisting of a solid and liquid phase, this solid was formed using the coacervation method consisting of a mixture of Hydroxyapatite (HAp) and beta-Tricalcium Phosphate (β-TCP) which the sodium alginate - precursor - was removed during sinterization. The biphasic calcium phosphate microspheres had varying size distributions depending on the flow rate and these microspheres were mixed with a polymeric solution, chitosan and polyethylene glycol, and depending on the ratio of these phases, the injectability results varied. Nonetheless, the force required for complete removal will not disrupt the accuracy of injection into the bone defect while the biomaterial exhibited no cytotoxicity with promising results from in vivo using tibia bone defect in rabbits at 30 and 60 days whereas bone repair was more intense and accentuated with the usage of the biomaterial, and was gradually absorbed during the evaluated periods.