ABSTRACT With the aim to determine the prevalence and mean parasite intensity in Oncorhynchus mykiss, 120 specimens were analyzed between April and September 2018. The cavity analysis was done by visual inspection, scraping of mucus, and extraction of the branchial arches. In the evisceration process, the intestine, the liver, and the kidney were separated, while the musculature was analyzed using the “candling table” method. All the collected material was preserved in 10% buffered formaldehyde and sent to the Laboratory of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, of the Center for Agroveterinary Sciences (CAV) of the University of the State of Santa Catarina (UDESC) for making the slides and identifying the parasites. Parasites were detected only in the analysis of the scraping of body mucus. Only specimens of the genus Trichodina were identified, in 34 of the 120 fish analyzed, in two collections, resulting in a prevalence of 28.33%. In total, 144 specimens of Trichodina were observed. The overall mean intensity was of 4.24 parasites in each fish analyzed. Characteristic lesions of infection by protozoa were not identified. This is the first report of the occurrence of Trichodina spp. in O. mykiss bred in an intensive system in Brazil, with low rates of parasitic infection in the mountain region of Santa Catarina.

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a pharmacogenetic disease triggered by volatile anesthetics and succinylcholine. Deaths due to MH have been reported in Brazil. The first Malignant Hyperthermia Diagnostic and Research Center in Latin America was inaugurated in 1993 at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The center followed the diagnostic protocols of the North America MH Group, in which the contractures of biopsies from the vastus lateralis muscle are analyzed after exposure to caffeine and halothane (CHCT). CHCT was performed in individuals who survived, their relatives and those with signs/symptoms somewhat related to MH susceptibility (MHS). Here, we report data from 194 patients collected over 16 years. The Southeast (N = 110) and South (N = 71) represented the majority of patients. Median age was 25 (4-70) years, with similar numbers of males (104) and females (90). MHS was found in 90 patients and 104 patients were normal. Abnormal responses to both caffeine and halothane were observed in 59 patients and to caffeine or halothane in 20 and 11 patients, respectively. The contracture of biopsies from MHS exposed to caffeine and halothane was 1.027 ± 0.075 g (N = 285) and 4.021 ± 0.255 g (N = 226), respectively. MHS was found in patients with either low or high blood creatine kinase and also, with a low score on the clinical grading scale. Thus, these parameters cannot be used with certainty to predict MHS. We conclude that the CHCT protocol described by the North America MH Group contributed to identification of MHS in suspected individuals at an MH center in Brazil with 100% sensitivity and 65.7% specificity.

A assembléia de abelhas (Hymenoptera, Apidae) de uma área restrita de campos naturais do Parque Estadual de Vila Velha, Paraná e comparações com áreas de campos e cerrado. Foram realizadas coletas sistemáticas de abelhas em uma área restrita no Parque Estadual de Vila Velha, Paraná, no período de outubro de 2003 a setembro de 2004. Essa amostragem visou gerar subsídios para comparações entre áreas de campo dentro do Parque e com outras áreas de vegetação aberta brasileiras. A área de estudo possui cerca de quatro hectares e foi subdividida em quatro subáreas contínuas e com o mesmo perímetro. As abelhas em flores e em vôo foram capturadas com auxílio de rede entomológica. Foram coletados 1.459 espécimes pertencentes a 122 espécies de abelhas. Estas espécies estão distribuídas em 51 gêneros, 20 tribos e cinco subfamílias. As plantas visitadas correspondem a 93 espécies, pertencentes a 62 gêneros e 29 famílias. Neste estudo e em outro estudo realizado anteriormente em outra área do Parque foram coletadas 222 espécies sendo 74 espécies em comum as duas áreas e uma soma de 148 espécies restritas a uma ou outra área. Ainda, registros históricos de abelhas para Vila Velha elevam a riqueza conhecida para 261 espécies. O índice de similaridade de Morisita entre as áreas foi de 0,50 quando utilizadas as plantas como variáveis e 0,88 quando utilizados gêneros e espécies de abelhas, revelando uma notável heterogeneidade. Comparações entre as áreas do Parque Estadual de Vila Velha e áreas de campos e cerrado foram realizadas através do índice de similaridade e da análise de correspondência. Foram observados dois agrupamentos fortemente evidentes, referentes aos campos e ao cerrado. A análise de correspondência sugere que alguns gêneros podem ser relacionados a determinadas formações vegetais. Esse estudo indica que a fauna de abelhas de Vila Velha é composta principalmente por gêneros relacionados às áreas de campos, porém com presença de elementos de cerrado.

Systematic samplings of bees were conducted at a site in Vila Velha State Park, Paraná state, Brazil, from October 2003 to September 2004. This study aimed at gathering data to compare the bee fauna of grassland sites of Vila Velha with other Brazilian bee assemblages from areas covered with open plant formations. The study area has four hectares and was subdivided in four contiguous subareas of one hectare each for sampling purposes. Bees visiting flowers or in flight were captured with entomological nets. A total of 1.459 specimens, belonging to 122 bee species, 51 genera, 20 tribes and five subfamilies, were collected. The bees visited a total of 93 plant species belonging to 62 genera and 29 families. Summing the present assemblage with that from a previous study in another site at the Park resulted in a total of 222 bee species, 74 of which are species shared between the two sites and 148 were found at one of the sites only. Additional data from historic samplings at Vila Velha rise the known richness to 261 species. The Morisita similarity index between the areas is 0.50 when visited plants species are used as variables and 0.88 when using bee genera and species. The fauna of Vila Velha was compared to other bee assemblages from natural grasslands and cerrado areas using similarity indexes and correspondence analysis. Two groupings, one composed by grasslands sites and the other by cerrado sites, were recovered by the analyses. Also, the correspondence analysis indicates that some bee genera are associated to specific plant formations. Based on this study, the bee fauna of Vila Velha is composed mainly by genera related to grasslands with presence of some elements from the cerrado.

We describe the isolation of crotoxin, a presynaptic B-neurotoxin, as well as its subunits B (crotactine) and A (crotapotin) from lyophilized Crotalus durissus terrificus venom by a single-step preparative isoelectric focusing procedure. From 98 mg of dried venom protein 20.1 mg of crotactine and 13.1 mg of crotapotin were recovered in the first step of focalization and 4.2 mg in a second run. These values correspond to 35.7% of the total venom protein applied. Crotactine separated in the 9.3-7.0 pH range (tubes 1-6) and crotapotin in the 1.8-2.8 pH range (tubes 15-19) and both were homogeneous by SDS-PAGE and N-terminal amino acid analysis. Crotactine, a 12-kDa protein, presented hemolytic and phospholipase A2 activity. Thus, using isoelectric focusing we simultaneously purified both toxins in high yields. This method can be used as an alternative for the purification and characterization of proteins from other snake venoms under conditions in which biological activity is retained