Clove oil as anaesthetic for juveniles of matrinxã Brycon cephalus (Gunther, 1869) Óleo de cravo como anestésico para juvenis de matrinxã Brycon cephalus (Gunther, 1869)

Many chemicals have been used as anaesthetics in fish farms and fish biology laboratories to keep the fish immobilized during handling procedures and to prevent accidents and animal stress. In Brazil, tricaine methane sulfonate (MS 222), quinaldine sulfate, benzocaine, and phenoxyethanol are the most common fish anaesthetics used to prevent fish stress during handling, but many side effects such as body and gill irritations, corneal damage and general risks of intoxication have been reported. Clove oil is a natural product proposed as an alternative fish anaesthetic by many researchers and it has been used in many countries with great economic advantages and no apparent toxic properties. In this work, we assessed the suitability of clove oil to anaesthetize matrinxã. Sixty-three juveniles of matrinxã were exposed to seven anaesthetic batches of clove oil (pharmaceutical grade) namely 18, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 mg/L. The times to reach total loss of equilibrium and to recover the upright position were measured. Clove oil concentration about 40 mg/L was enough to anaesthetize the fish in approximately one minute and the recovery time was independent in regard to anaesthetic concentration.<br>Diversos produtos químicos têm sido empregados como anestésicos para peixes nas estações de piscicultura e laboratórios de biologia de peixes para a devida imobilização dos organismos, afim de se prevenir acidentes e ferimentos na superfície do corpo dos próprios peixes, que podem ficar susceptíveis a patógenos e taxas altas de mortalidade. A tricaina metano sulfonato (MS 222), a quinaldina, a benzocaina e o phenoxyethanol têm sido amplamente utilizados no Brasil, mas alguns efeitos colaterais são observados como perda de muco, irritação nas brânquias e olhos, e também alguns incômodos aos trabalhadores como a necessidade do uso de luvas. Dessa forma, o óleo de cravo é proposto como um anestésico alternativo por ser um produto natural de custo acessível e sem riscos aparentes de intoxicações. No presente trabalho estudamos a possibilidade do uso do óleo de cravo como anestésico para juvenis de matrinxã, utilizando-se 63 peixes, expondo-os a banhos anestésicos nas concentrações de 18, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 e 60 mg/L, de forma que foram mensurados os tempos necessários para que os peixes atingissem a perda total de equilíbrio e a incapacidade de retornar a posição normal de nado. A concentração de 40 mg/L foi suficiente para anestesiar juvenis de matrinxã em aproximadamente 1 minuto, sendo a recuperação independente da concentração do anestésico

Psychometric properties of vision-related quality of life questionnaires: a systematic review.

The increased attention for quality of life (QOL) as an outcome measure has led to the development of numerous questionnaires to assess this construct in the field of ophthalmology. This article presents a systematic review on QOL questionnaires for people with vision impairments. We systematically searched and selected the literature. Furthermore, a rating list with descriptive aspects (e.g. target population) and psychometric aspects (e.g. reproducibility) was developed. The 31 questionnaires that were included in the review were rated on the basis of criteria stated in this rating list. The questionnaires were mostly targeted at cataract patients or visually impaired persons in general. Only a few of the questionnaires demonstrated sufficient psychometric quality. A recent development is the (re-)evaluation of questionnaires with Rasch analysis. This is one of the most important issues to which future research in this field should be directed