Cloprostenol administration in the first week postpartum reduces expression of oxytocin receptors in the endometrium in Holstein-Zebu cows

ABSTRACT The present study investigated the hormonal profile and expression of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α), oxytocin and estrogen receptors in uterine tissues of postpartum cows treated with cloprostenol. Twenty Holstein-Zebu crossbred cows were treated with saline solution (treatment CONT) or cloprostenol (treatment CLO), both administered two and five days postpartum. Blood samples were collected on days two, seven, 14, 21 and 28 postpartum for progesterone, PGF2α metabolite (PGFM) and estradiol determination, and endometrial biopsy was performed in order to quantify the expression of oxytocin receptor (OXTR), prostaglandin F receptor (PTGFR) and estrogen receptor 1 (ERS1) genes. In the CLO treatment, expression of OXTR was reduced (P0.05) between treatments was found for PTGFR and ERS1 expression. Estrogen concentrations increased progressively until day 14 (P<0.05) and the highest OXTR expression and lowest PTGFR expression were observed on day 14 (P<0.05) in both treatments. Serum PGFM concentrations were high throughout the experiment. In conclusion, cloprostenol administration at days two and five of postpartum seems to reduce OXTR expression in the endometrium in crossbred cows

Distribuição e incerteza da acidez de um latossolo vermelho-amarelo húmico sob cultivo de café Distribution and uncertainty of acidity of an oxisol under coffee cultivation

Com o desenvolvimento da agricultura, a utilização de novas alternativas na avaliação das propriedades que influenciam o rendimento das plantas tornou-se indispensável para melhor manejar o sistema agrícola. O objetivo deste trabalho foi utilizar uma ponderação por meio da modelagem fuzzy para estudar, com base em atributos químicos do solo, a propagação de incertezas da acidez de um Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo húmico cultivado com café arábica. As amostragens de solo foram realizadas na profundidade de 0-20 cm, em uma malha totalizando 50 pontos. Os atributos avaliados foram: pH em H2O, acidez trocável (Al3+), acidez potencial (H + Al) e saturação por Al (m). Os dados foram analisados pela estatística descritiva e pela geoestatística. Utilizou-se um sistema de classificação fuzzy e os atributos descritos para inferir sobre a acidez do solo. A lógica fuzzy, pelo algoritmo utilizado, teve um bom desempenho na caracterização e no mapeamento das incertezas da acidez do solo em questão.<br>With the development of agriculture, the use of new tools for the evaluation of the properties related to plant yields have become essential to improve the management of agricultural systems. The purpose of this study was to use a fuzzy model to investigate, based on soil chemical properties, the propagation of uncertainty of the acidity of a humic Red-Yellow Latosol (Oxisol) under Arabic coffee plantation. The soil was sampled at a depth of 0 - 0.2 m, in a grid, totaling 50 sampling points. The following attributes were determined: pH in H2O, exchangeable acidity (Al3+), potential acidity (H + Al) and Al saturation (m). The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and geostatistics. A fuzzy classification system was used based on the attributes described to infer on the soil acidity. Fuzzy logic, with the algorithm used, was efficient to characterize and map the uncertainties of acidity of the soil under study

Produtividade, qualidade dos frutos e estado nutricional do tomateiro tipo longa vida conduzido com um cacho, em cultivo hidropônico, em função das fontes de nutrientes Productivity, fruit quality and nutritional status of single truss long shelf life tomato, cultivated in hydroponic system, with different nutrient sources

Avaliou-se a produtividade, qualidade dos frutos e estado nutricional do tomateiro longa vida, conduzido com um cacho e cultivado em soluções nutritivas preparadas com diferentes conjuntos de fontes de nutrientes. O experimento foi conduzido de 04/05/99 a 13/09/99 em casa de vegetação da UFV. Foram avaliados dois conjuntos de fontes de nutrientes para compor as soluções de crescimento vegetativo e dois para as soluções de frutificação. As combinações desses conjuntos deram origem a quatro tratamentos que foram dispostos no delineamento de blocos ao acaso com oito repetições. As mudas de tomate, híbrido Carmen, com 36 dias de idade foram colocadas em vasos de 8,6 L, com espaçamento de 0,35 x 0,70 m. Foi feita análise foliar para determinar o estado nutricional da planta. Avaliou-se também a partição dos nutrientes Ca, Mg e K no fruto. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias dos tratamentos, comparadas pelo teste de Tukey a 5% de probabilidade. Para as características avaliadas não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os tratamentos. A produção média de frutos por planta foi de 920 g, com ciclo de 96 dias, o que corresponderia no espaçamento adotado à produtividade média de 142 t ha-1 ano-1. A concentração de N, P, K, Ca, Mg e S, nas folhas foram, respectivamente, 3,18; 1,25; 5,11; 4,50; 0,88; e 1,79 dag kg-1, e as concentrações de Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn e B foram, respectivamente, 209; 96; 10; 665; e 209 mg kg-1. No fruto o Ca e K apresentaram maior concentração na região proximal ao pedúnculo, ao contrário do Mg, que nessa porção apresentou menor concentração.<br>There were evaluated the yield, fruit quality and nutritional status of single truss and long shelf life tomato, cultivated in nutritive solutions prepared with different nutrient sources. The experiment was carried out from 04/05/99 to 13/09/99 in a greenhouse of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil. Two groups of nutrient sources were tested to prepare the solutions for vegetative growth and two groups for the frutification solutions. The combinations of those groups gave rise to four treatments, disposed in the randomized blocks design with eight repetitions. Seedlings of the F1 hybrid Carmen 36-day old were placed in 8,6 L vases, spaced 0.35 x 0.70 m. The yield, fruit quality and nutritional status of the plants were evaluated, as well as the partition of Ca, Mg and K in the fruit. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were discriminated using Tukey at 5% of probability. There were no significant differences among treatments. The average yield per plant was of 920 g, with an average plant cycle of 96 days, corresponding to a yield of 142 t ha-1 year-1. The concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S in leaves were, respectively, 3.18; 1.25; 5.11; 4.50; 0.88; and 1.79 dag kg-1, and concentrations of Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn and B were, respectively, 209; 96; 10; 665; and 209 mg kg-1. In the fruit, Ca and K were presented in larger concentration in the proximal area, unlike Mg, that was present only in lower concentration in that portion

ABC-SPH risk score for in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients : development, external validation and comparison with other available scores

The majority of available scores to assess mortality risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the emergency department have high risk of bias. Therefore, this cohort aimed to develop and validate a score at hospital admission for predicting in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients and to compare this score with other existing ones. Consecutive patients (≥ 18 years) with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the participating hospitals were included. Logistic regression analysis was performed to develop a prediction model for in-hospital mortality, based on the 3978 patients admitted between March-July, 2020. The model was validated in the 1054 patients admitted during August-September, as well as in an external cohort of 474 Spanish patients. Median (25-75th percentile) age of the model-derivation cohort was 60 (48-72) years, and in-hospital mortality was 20.3%. The validation cohorts had similar age distribution and in-hospital mortality. Seven significant variables were included in the risk score: age, blood urea nitrogen, number of comorbidities, C-reactive protein, SpO/FiO ratio, platelet count, and heart rate. The model had high discriminatory value (AUROC 0.844, 95% CI 0.829-0.859), which was confirmed in the Brazilian (0.859 [95% CI 0.833-0.885]) and Spanish (0.894 [95% CI 0.870-0.919]) validation cohorts, and displayed better discrimination ability than other existing scores. It is implemented in a freely available online risk calculator (https://abc2sph.com/). An easy-to-use rapid scoring system based on characteristics of COVID-19 patients commonly available at hospital presentation was designed and validated for early stratification of in-hospital mortality risk of patients with COVID-19