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The parasitic Protozoa of seven species of freshwater fish (the cyprinids Notropis cornutus, Notropis heterolepis, Notemigonus crysoleucas, and Semotilus atromaculatus; the percid Perca flavescens; the centrarchid Lepomis gibbosus; and the salmonid Salvelinus fontinalis) are described from Lake Sasajewun and Lake Opeongo, Algonquin Park, Ontario. The parasites include 1 species of Hexamita, 6 species of Goussia, 2 species of Eimeria, 3 species of Octosporella, 30 species of Myxosporea, and 9 species of Ciliata. Fifteen new species are described: Goussia notropicum, Goussia notemigonica, Sphaerospora diminuta, Myxobolus heterolepis, Myxobolus lepomicus, Myxobolus paralintoni, Myxobolus gibbosus, Myxobolus wellerae, Myxobolus schuberti, Myxobolus pseudokoi, Myxobolus pellicdes, Thelohanellus oviformis, Myxobilatus semotilii, Trichodina opeongoensis, and Apiosoma triangularis. The relative distribution of the parasites and their prevalence in fish from the two lakes, and the global distribution of protozoan parasites of fish are discussed.

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Baicalin has been demonstrated to exert anticancer effects mainly through induction of tumor cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. However, the precise mechanisms underlying its anticancer role remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we investigated whether autophagy was involved in the anticancer activity of baicalin in the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line SMMC-7721 and the possible molecular mechanisms. Our data showed that the viability of SMMC-7721 cells was significantly inhibited by baicalin in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Alongside apoptosis, autophagy was also induced by baicalin dose- and time-dependently with the involvement of the autophagy-associated protein Beclin 1. Moreover, we demonstrated that cell death induced by baicalin was significantly inhibited by the apoptosis inhibitor z-DEVD-fmk or the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA, respectively. In addition, we found that CD147, a key molecule related both to apoptosis and autophagy, was markedly downregulated at the protein level in SMMC-7721 cells treated with baicalin. Collectively, this is the first study to suggest that baicalin induces autophagic cell death in SMMC-7721 cells, which involves the downregulation of CD147. Our study reveals a new mechanism for the anticancer effects of baicalin and puts forward a potential crucial role of CD147 in baicalin-induced cancer cell death.