Protease inclusion in plant- and animal-based broiler diets: Performance, digestibility and biometry of digestive organs

The addition of protease to broiler diets may complement the action of endogenous enzymes and improve protein digestibility. Here, the authors evaluated the effect of adding protease to broiler diets that contained animal-based meal on bird performance, digestibility, and biometry of digestive tract organs. Four treatments, which contained animal- or plant-based meals with or without supplementary protease were compared, namely basal vegetable feed (BVF), BVF + protease (BFP), basal vegetable feed + animal by-product meal (BFA), and BFA + protease. In the first experiment, 320 one-day-old Cobb 500® chicks were allocated to eight replicates with 10 birds per replicate. The experimental period was seven days, and nutrient metabolizability was evaluated. In the second experiment, 720 one-day-old Cobb 500® chicks were assigned to treatments in a similar manner, with six replicates and 30 birds per replicate, but the experimental period was 42 days. Significant differences (P <0.05) were observed between treatments for nutrient digestibility, weight gain, feed consumption, average final weight, food conversion, viability, and biometry of the pancreas. Treatments with animal-based meals had the highest digestibility. Birds fed these meals grew faster in the pre-starter phase and consumed less feed between 1 and 21 days. However, between 1 and 42 days old, broilers fed plant-based diets had better feed conversion, and the group that did not receive protease supplementation had a better liveability rate.Keywords: additive, exogenous enzyme, nutrition, organ biometry, poultr

A safety and feasibility study of cell therapy in dilated cardiomyopathy

The aim of this study was to determine if bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMC) transplantation is safe for moderate to severe idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). Clinical trials have shown that this procedure is safe and effective for ischemic patients, but little information is available regarding non-ischemic patients. Twenty-four patients with IDC, optimized therapy, age 46 ± 11.6 years, 17 males, NYHA classes II-IV, and left ventricular ejection fraction <35% were enrolled in the study. Clinical evaluation at baseline and 6 months after stem cell therapy to assess heart function included echocardiogram, magnetic resonance imaging, cardiopulmonary test, Minnesota Quality of Life Questionnaire, and NYHA classification. After cell transplantation 1 patient showed a transient increase in enzyme levels and 2 patients presented arrhythmias that were reversed within 72 h. Four patients died during follow-up, between 6 and 12 weeks after therapy. Clinical evaluation showed improvement in most patients as reflected by statistically significant decreases in Minnesota Quality of Life Questionnaire (63 ± 17.9 baseline vs 28.8 ± 16.75 at 6 months) and in class III-IV NYHA patients (18/24 baseline vs 2/20 at 6 months). Cardiopulmonary exercise tests demonstrated increased peak oxygen consumption (12.2 ± 2.4 at baseline vs 15.8 ± 7.1 mL·kg-1·min-1 at 6 months) and walked distance (377.2 ± 85.4 vs 444.1 ± 77.9 m at 6 months) in the 6-min walk test, which was not accompanied by increased left ventricular ejection fraction. Our findings indicate that BMMC therapy in IDC patients with severe ventricular dysfunction is feasible and that larger, randomized and placebo-controlled trials are warranted

Regiões homogêneas e tamanho de amostra para atributos do clima no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil Homogeneous regions and sample size for attributes of the climate in São Paulo State, Brazil

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram demarcar regiões homogêneas e estimar o número de anos de avaliações para as variáveis insolação, radiação solar global e radiação fotossinteticamente ativa para o Estado de São Paulo. Utilizaram-se dados da média mensal de insolação, radiação solar e radiação fotossinteticamente ativa de 18 locais do Estado de São Paulo. A homogeneidade das variâncias entre os meses do ano para os 18 locais (variabilidade temporal) e a homogeneidade das variâncias entre os locais em cada mês (variabilidade espacial) foram testadas pelo teste de homogeneidade de Bartlett. Estimou-se o tamanho de amostra para cada local durante o ano. Como resultados há variabilidade temporal e espacial para as estimativas de insolação, radiação solar e radiação fotossinteticamente ativa para os 18 municípios avaliados. Além disso, a variabilidade do tamanho de amostra para a insolação, radiação solar e radiação fotossinteticamente ativa depende do local e da época do ano no Estado de São Paulo.<br>The purpose of this study was to separate homogeneous regions and to estimate the numbers of years necessary to evaluate the variables: sunshine, global solar radiation and photossintetically active radiation in Sao Paulo State. Monthly data of sunshine, solar radiation and photossintetically active radiation for 18 places in Sao Paulo State were used in the analysis. The homogeneity of the variances among the months for the 18 places (seasonal variability) and the homogeneity of variances among places in each month (spatial variability) were tested by the test of homogeneity of Bartlett. In addition, the sample size for each place was calculated during the year. The results show the existence of seasonal and spatial variability in the estimates of sunshine, solar radiation and photossintetically active radiation for the 18 cities evaluated in Sao Paulo State. Moreover, the variability of the sample size for sunshine, solar radiation and photossintetically active radiation depend on the site and season of the year in Sao Paulo State

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was &amp;lt;1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified. © 2023, The Author(s)