ABSTRACT. The present study proposes a modification of the technique described by PURSER & MOIR (1959) for the quantitative evaluation ofrumen ciliate based on an adaptation described by DEHORITY (1984). The modifYing process includes: the replacement of two drops of brilliant green dye, for at least four hours, by three drops oflugol solution, for at least 15 minutes. It was made acomparative evaluation ofthese stainings. It was concluded that Jugol solution can replace the brilliant green dye showing the following advantages: staining time reduction and subsequent speeding of sample processing; evidence of skeletal plates of entodiniomorphs making its identification easier; improved observation of small ciliates and inconspicuous structures; improved total counting and generic identitication of the ciliates. KEY WORDS. Rumen ciliate, quantitative evaluation, lugol solution, technique Among the techniques found in the literature for the quantitative evaluation of rumen ciliates are the one mentioned by OGIMOTO & IMAI (1981) which uses a plankton counting slide, the Fuchs-Rosenthal and the Sedgewick-Rafter counting chamber. DEHORITY (1984) described an adaptation of the procedure proposed by PURSER & MOIR (1959), using the Sedgewick-Rafter counting chamber. In order to improve the observation of ciliates and reduce the time of sample processing, the present work proposes the replacement of the brilliant green dye used by DEHORITY (1984) by the lugol solution. It also presents a comparison between these procedures.
MATERIAL AND METHODSThirty samples of rumen contents were obtained from rumen-fistulate crossbred Holstein Friesian-Zebu cow. Each sample consisted of approximately 20 cm 3 of rumen content taken from the center of the rumen mass to which were added 20mI of rumen fluid obtained by aspiration. These 40 ml were fixed in an equal volume of 18.5% formalin and processed according to DEHORITY (1984). It involved the usage of I ml subsamp1es of the rumen content stained with two drops of brilliant green dye for at least four hours and subsequent dilution in 9 ml of 30% glycerol. The differential counting of the ciliates was performed twice using a Sedgewick-Rafter counting chamber with I ml of the diluted subsarnple. In another
A lectin was purified from the seaweed Gracilaria cornea by hydrophobic interaction chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B followed by affinity chromatography on immobilized mucin. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of G. cornea lectin (GCL) revealed a single protein band of approximately 60 kDa, whereas by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 its native molecular mass was 66 kDa. GCL exhibited a single isoeletric point of 4.3 and a 52.5% content of neutral sugars. Furthermore, the EDTA-treated lectin did not show any significant decrease in its ability to agglutinate trypsin-treated chicken erythrocytes. These data suggest that GCL is an acidic, monomeric glycoprotein that probably does not require divalent metal ions for its hemagglutinating activity. GCL hemagglutinating activity was not inhibited by any of the mono-, di-, and trisaccharides tested but was by the complex glycoproteins fetuin and porcine stomach mucin. Exposure of engorged females of the cattle tick (Boophilus microplus) to 0.1 mg mL(-1) GCL significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the female weight after the oviposition period, the egg mass weight, the hatching period, and the mean larvae survival time.
ABSTRACT. ClIARACTER IZATION OF TIIE CELULAR TYPES PRESENT lN TII E IIAEMOLYMPII OF LARVAE AND NIMPHS OF RHlPlCEI'IIALUS SAN(;UINEUS(LATREILLE) (IXODOIDEA, Ixo-DIDAE) lN DIFFERENT NUTRITIONAL STAGES. With lhe purpose of characterize morphologically lhe hemocytes of larvae and nymphs 01' Rhipicephalus sanguineus on ditTerent nutritional phases, it was obtained sal1lples ofhaemolYl1lph were obtained by sectioning the forel egs and collecting lhe drop there formed. A fter dried, the samples were fixed by methanol and stained by Giel1lsa. Microscopical observation resulled in lhe characlerization of five basic cellular lypes: prohemocyles, plasmatocytes, granulocytes, spherulocytes and oenocytoids. Moreover, undefined cell types, whose morphological patterns didn 't have correlation with the characleristics cited for hemocytes, were found in low frequency. The change in the relative cOl1lposition of the haemo-I imph was characterized by decrease of the number of granulocytes and greater variabilily of the cell types present in the hel1lolyl1lph as the tick evolved. This fact l11ay be linked to the alterations that lhese ce lls sutTer aI ong the development of the tick.
Spotted fever (SF) is a tick-borne rickettsial disease that in Brazil affects mainly the economically active population. The occupational risk attributed to veterinarians, biologists and animal handlers is due to exposure to disease vectors. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices relating to SF in a group of veterinary medicine students. A descriptive analysis was conducted among 173 students at a private higher education institution in the Brazilian Federal District. The participants were asked about their knowledge of SF, their attitudes when they found ticks on their body and practices relating to tick handling, treatment and prevention. The results showed that 84% of the respondents had heard about SF. Almost half of the respondents answered that SF is a tick-borne disease. Most respondents knew about prevention methods, and the main method cited was treatment of the animals with acaricides. Regarding attitudes towards SF, it was observed that most respondents removed ticks by hand. None of the respondents were using appropriate protective equipment when exposed to the vector. Although this population was well informed about SF and its preventive measures, this knowledge was not reflected in implementation of prevention practices.
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