Este estudo teve por objetivo identificar as espécies utilizadas como recurso alimentar e descrever os padrões locais de utilização de frutos de cactos como recurso alimentar por vespas sociais em uma área de Caatinga. Novecentos e oito indivíduos de nove espécies de vespas foram capturados visitando seis espécies de cactáceas. Cereus jamacaru DC. e Pilosocereus catingicola (Gurke) Byles & G.D foram as cactáceas mais utilizadas por vespas sociais, tanto em número de espécies quanto de indivíduos. Polybia paulista von Ihering, 1896, Polybia ignobilis (Haliday, 1836), Polistes versicolor (Olivier, 1791), Polistes simillimus Zikán, 1951, Polistes billardieri Fabricius, 1804, Polistes canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758), Polybia occidentalis (Olivier, 1791) e Polybia sericea (Olivier, 1705) apresentaram as maiores amplitudes de nicho trófico. As maiores sobreposições no nicho trófico foram observadas entre Mischocyttarus lanei Zikán, 1949 e Polistes simillimus Zikán, 1951 (0,83). Os altos níveis de sobreposição de nichos observados são explicados em função do comportamento generalista das vespas sociais, bem como da exploração intensiva de poucas espécies de cactáceas.

This study aims to identify food resource plants used by social wasp species in a Caatinga area, as well as describe the local patterns of cactus fruit resources used by wasps. Nine hundreds and eight foraging wasps, belonging to nine species, were captured while visiting six cactus species. Cereus jamacaru DC. and Pilosocereus catingicola (Gurke) Byles & G.D. were the most frequently visited plants. Several wasp species and a great number of individuals visited them. Polybia paulista von Ihering, 1896, Polybia ignobilis (Haliday, 1836), Polistes versicolor (Olivier, 1791), Polistes simillimus Zikán, 1951, Polistes billardieri Fabricius, 1804, Polistes canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758), Polybia occidentalis (Olivier, 1791) and Polybia sericea (Olivier, 1705) had the larger trophic niche breadth. The highest trophic niche overlap was between Mischocyttarus lanei Zikán, 1949 and Polistes simillimus Zikán, 1951 (0.83). The high niche overlap among social wasps seems to be resulting of the generalist behavior of the social wasp, as well as of the intensive exploration of few cactus species.

The carcinogenicity of bracken fern harvest from two regions of Paraná State to induce hematury in rats was studied. In order to do that, 33 Wistar rats were divided in three groups. Groups I and II received an aqueous extract of bracken fern from Londrina-PR or Ibaiti-PR, respectively, in drinking water for 60 days. Group III, control group, received regular plain water with no bracken fern. After 15 months, euthanasia was performed in all animals and samples were collected for histology examination. Histologic analysis revealed that two animals of Group II had ileal adenocarcinoma and soft tissue fibroma of leg.

A case of prenatal Babesia bovis infection in Brazil in a 17 year-old Holstein × Brown Swiss cow which aborted at approximately eight months of gestation is described and discussed. The newborn calf outlived for few minutes and then died. At necropsy, the thoracic and abdominal cavities were filled by a great volume of a transparent liquid and petechial hemorrhages in oral mucosa and epicardium were observed. Histopathologic examination stained by Haematoxylin-Eosin of lungs, spleen, liver, kidneys, brain and cerebellum revealed variable degrees of congestion and edema, particularly in the liver and brain. In the liver, inflammatory multi-nucleated cells were seen surrounding the portal area and a reasonable degeneration was noted. The brain also revealed endothelium reaction, multi-located hemorrhagic areas in blood vessels and neuronal degeneration. The diagnosis was based on necropsy and microscopic examination of brain that showed B. bovis in the capillary vessels in imprints by Giemsa.