ABSTRACT. The objective was to evaluate the performance, egg quality, thermoregulation, body morphology and behavior of different categories of laying poultry. Two treatments with two genetic groups were used, 50 birds of the Hisex Brown strain and 50 birds of the Black Avifran chicken breed with 55 weeks, distributed in a completely randomized design with 10 replicates and 5 birds in each experimental unit. The variables egg weight, weight and percentage of albumen, yolk and shell, marketable eggs, specific gravity, color b *, egg / poultry production day-1 were not different (p > 0.05) between the two groups. Feed conversion by egg mass and dozen eggs, yolk color, L color, diameter, height, shell color presented a difference (p < 0.05), being higher values for the Black Avifran breed. The Black Chicken Avifran had higher body temperature; however, its performance and the quality of its eggs did not change. Black Chicken Avifran presented higher values in relation to body morphology, and better results in relation to the animal performance, therefore, it was more efficient, since it obtained a lower consumption and production equal to the lineage Hisex Brown, when created in the Cage - Free system.

The aim of the present study was to analyse the changes in liver glycogen content in rats subjected to aquatic therapy post-disuse of the paw. 32 wistar adult female rats were equally divided: Control (C), kept in the cage for two weeks without interventions; Disuse (D) had the right paw immobilized with hip extension, knee and plantar flexion for two weeks; Aquatic Therapy (AT) underwent aquatic therapy with increments of 3 minutes daily for two weeks, totalizing 36 minutes of training; Disused Aquatic Therapy (DTA) was first subjected to immobilization for two weeks and 24 hours after withdrawal of immobilization aquatic therapy was started for two more weeks, in same protocols of D and AT groups. At the end of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed, and tissues were dissected, weighed and stored. The liver tissues were referred analysis of glycogen content. It was observed that the blood glucose levels of the AT group (104 mg/dL) were different from the C group (86 mg/dL; p = 0.0213). Regarding hepatic glycogen, the D (2.35mg±0.07) and AT (2.73mg±0.07) groups had hepatic glycogen reduction by 22% and 15%, relative to C (2.51mg±0.03); p <0.0001). The DTA group presented no differences when compared to the control, suggesting the normalization of the finding. Muscle disuse by two weeks promoted changes in glycogen levels, however, two weeks after disuse condition, the aquatic therapy were able to correct the energetic reserve in liver.

This first survey of the ant fauna in a children's hospital in the city of Palmas, state of Tocantins, compares species composition, abundance and infestation rate of ants between rainy and dry seasons, day and night periods, and among 15 hospital sectors. Forty-eight collections, being 12 diurnal and 12 nocturnal in each season using five attractive baits distributed per sector, maintained for 3h per sampling. A total of 34,309 ants were collected, distributed in 12 species: Acromyrmex sp., Brachymyrmex sp., Camponotus spp. (four morphospecies), Dorymyrmex sp., Tetramorium sp., Solenopsis globularia (Creighton), Solenopsis saevissima Smith, Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius) and Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille). The hospital presented an average building infestation rate (40.3%), when compared with hospitals from other Brazilian regions. In general, there was no difference in the species composition between seasons and the period of the day, although abundance of ants was higher at night. The dry season and the nocturnal period showed the highest infestation rate, mainly by T.melanocephalum and S.globularia. Gynecologic ward, lactation unit, preconception and pediatric ward access ramp showed higher infestation rate, although these varied between seasons. The significant infestation levels by the three species above, especially in sectors with restricted access such as lactation unit, laboratory, Intensive Care Unit e surgery center, indicate potential risks for contamination of patients by multi resistant pathogens possibly present in ants' bodies, as verified in others studies.