Assessment of follicle density of leather from native brazilian goat breeds: quality criteria

The conservation in situ of zoogenetic resources requires the characterization of the production of local breeds. It is so far possible to evaluate and occasionally to improve the productive characters, making the breeding of those animals profitable for the producer. With this purpose a variety of works about the productive capacities of goat local breeds are being carried out in different countries, this contributing to avoid the biodiversity loss. The native goat breeds of Brazilian northeast highlight for their wildness, meat aptitude and skin usefulness. The final quality of the goat leather depends on a combination of factors that involve the whole process, from the livestock farmer to the leather transformation systems. The grain appearance of the leather characterizes the aesthetic-commercial value of the leather. A good appearance is given by a high and uniform follicle density. This work evaluates the superficial appearance of completed leathers of the breeds Moxotó and Canindé, highlighting the importance of the derived products of the local breeds, its contribution to the conservation of the genetic, cultural and socio-economic patrimony through differentiated products of high quality and the impact of the zoogenetic resources in the sustainable rural development of the semi-arid areas of Brazil.La conservación in situ de los recursos zoogenéticos requiere también la caracterización de la producción ligada a esas razas. Con ella se puede evaluar y en su caso mejorar los caracteres productivos, haciendo la cría de esas razas animales rentable para el ganadero. Con esta finalidad se vienen desarrollando diversos trabajos sobre las capacidades productivas de las razas locales caprinas en diversos países, contribuyendo así a evitar la pérdida de biodiversidad. Las razas caprinas nativas del nordeste brasileño destacan por su rusticidad, aptitud cárnica y el aprovechamiento de sus pieles. La calidad final del cuero de caprino depende de una combinación de factores que engloba desde el productor hasta el sistema de transformación. La apariencia de la superficie de la flor caracteriza el valor estético-comercial del cuero. La buena apariencia viene dada por la alta y uniforme densidad folicular. Este trabajo evalúa la apariencia superficial de cueros acabados de razas Moxotó y Canindé. Se pretende destacar la importancia de los productos derivados de las razas locales, su contribución a la conservación del patrimonio genético, cultural y socio-económico a través de productos diferenciados de alta calidad y el impacto de los recursos zoogenéticos en el desarrollo rural sostenible de las zonas semiáridas de Brasil

Phase Diversity For Speckle Reduction

B-mode ultrasound images are characterised by speckle artefact, which results from interference effects between returning echoes, and may make the interpretation of images difficult. Consequently, many methods have been developed to reduce this problematic feature. One widely used method, popular in both medical and non-destructive-testing applications, is a 1D method known as Split Spectrum Processing (SSP), or also as Frequency Diversity. Alhough this method was designed for speckle reduction applications, the final image experiences a resultant loss of resolution, impinging a trade-off between speckle reduction and resolution loss. In order to overcome this problem, we have developed a new method that is an extension of SSP to 2D data using directive filters, called Split Phase Processing (SPP). Instead of using ID narrow band-pass filters as in the SSP method, we use 2D directive filters to split the RF ultrasound image in a set of wide band images with different phases. The use of such filters substantially avoids the resolution loss usually associated with SSP for speckle reduction, because they effectively have the same bandwidth as the original image. It is concluded that the Split Phase Processing, as introduced here, provides a significant improvement over the conventional Split Spectrum Processing.5035414422Burckhardt, C.B., Speckle in ultrasound b-mode scans (1978) IEEE Trans. Sonics and Ultrasonics, 25 (1), pp. 1-6. , JanuaryChen, Y., Yin, R., Hynn, P., Broschat, S., Aggressive region growing for speckle reduction in ultrasound images (2003) Pattern Recognition Letters, 24 (4-5), pp. 677-691. , FebruaryGehlbach, S.M., (1983) Pulse Reflection Imaging and Acoustic Speckle, , Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford UniversityHealey, A.J., Leeman, S., Ferrari, L.A., Removing the ambiguity from single image speckle reduction techniques (1996) Acoustical Imaging, 22, pp. 145-150Li, P.C., Odonnell, M., Evaluational spatial compounding (1994) Ultrasonic Imaging, 16 (3), pp. 176-189Shankar, P.M., Newhouse, V.L., Speckle reduction with improved resolution in ultrasound images (1985) IEEE Trans. Sonics and Ultrasonics, 32 (4), pp. 537-543. , Jul

Leather: a contribution to sustainable goat production

Brazilian Northeast is a potentially good skin producer region due to its livestock farming activities which include more than 90% national goat cense. This exceptional situation with plenty raw material at hand, enables the development of familiar exploitations of goat skin tannery, thus recovering an activity linked to ancestral culture. Misevaluation of leather both by producers and industry, added to unstructured production and lack of research aimed to improve the quality of the final product could be key factors to the poor development of goat leather manufacture up to now in Northeast Brazil. Nevertheless, once transformed this product is reaching high values in international and Brazilian national markets, thus permitting it to became an important income source in the disfavoured Brazilian northeastern arid regions. If producers become aware of the value of their leather and if they are duly remunerated, industry will be offered better products and society will improve employment and performance. The main objective of the present paper is to contribute to point out the possibilities of leather production in the development of goat farming communities form disfavoured regions as a tool to improve the dignity and the quality of life of the producers. Moreover, the development of tannery in rural regions could help to the conservation of animal genetic resources (AGR) of local goat breeds thus contributing to sustainable development in arid or degraded regions.O Nordeste brasileiro, pela sua condição de região agropecuária, é potencialmente bom produtor de peles, superando 90% da população caprina nacional. Esta situação privilegiada, com a matéria-prima ao alcance da indústria coureira, pode permitir o desenvolvimento do curtume de peles de caprino de exploração familiar. Isto representaria a recuperação dessa atividade vinculada a uma cultura tradicional e a garantia de empregos numa região carente. A desvalorização da pele, como produto, pelo produtor e pela indústria, associada à desestruturação da produção, inexistência de cadeia produtiva e carência de pesquisa que contribua para obtenção de um produto de qualidade, são pontos críticos do freio no desenvolvimento da indústria de transformação da pele caprina. Porém, esta matéria-prima alcança alto valor no mercado internacional e nacional brasileiro, como produto transformado, sendo importante fonte de renda. Por isso, enquanto não houver consciência por parte do produtor e não houver remuneração justa da sua atividade, perde a indústria, pela oferta de matéria-prima de menor qualidade e, indiretamente, perde a sociedade, pela falta de geração de emprego e renda. O objetivo principal deste trabalho é contribuir para discussão das possibilidades sobre a produção do couro no desenvolvimento das comunidades caprinocultoras de zonas desfavoráveis do semi-árido nordestino, como ferramenta na melhoria da dignidade e qualidade de vida dos produtores. Além de tudo, o desenvolvimento do curtume em zonas rurais permitiria a conservação dos recursos genéticos animais de caprinos autóctones, contribuindo na direção da pesquisa para o desenvolvimento sustentável

Water intake in sheeps fed different levles of prickly pear (Opuntia Ficus Indica) in Brazil

En 45 ovinos machos Santa Inés (peso vivo medio de 27,50 ± 0, 48 kg) se evaluó el consumo de agua, al consumir raciones con niveles crecientes (0, 25, 50, 75, 100%) de nopal (Opuntia fícus indica Mill) en sustitución al maíz molido. El diseño fue en bloques al azar con nueve repeticiones. El consumo de materia seca respondió de modo cuadrático, perjudicando el peso final, que disminuyó, con el aumento del nopal en la dieta. Aumentó el consumo de materia natural disminuyendo el de agua, el consumo total de agua aumentó en el tratamiento con mayor cantidad de nopal. La relación de consumos: agua voluntaria/ materia seca, disminuyó al aumentar el nopal. El nopal constituye una reserva de agua para ovinos Santa Inés en condiciones semiáridas de Brasil.The water intake in 45 male (27.50 ± 0.48 kg of mena body weight) Santa Ines sheep fed with increasing levels (0, 25, 50, 75, 100% DM basis) of prickly pear (Opuntia ficus indica Mill) to replace corn was studied. A completely randomized block design with nine replications per treatment was used. Quadratic behavior was observed for the intake of dry matter, hitting the final weight, which decreased with increasing the cactus in the diet. There was an increase in the intake of natural material and a decrease in voluntary water intake; total water intake increased, and the ratio of intakes: water/dry matter, decreased in the treatment with larger cactus proportion. The pryckly pear constitues a water reservoir for Santa Inês sheep in Brazilian semiarid conditions

Fuzzy Rings in D6-Branes and Magnetic Field Background

We use the Myers T-dual nonabelin Born-Infeld action to find some new nontrivial solutions for the branes in the background of D6-branes and Melvin magnetic tube field. In the D6-Branes background we can find both of the fuzzy sphere and fuzzy ring solutions, which are formed by the gravitational dielectric effect. We see that the fuzzy ring solution has less energy then that of the fuzzy sphere. Therefore the fuzzy sphere will decay to the fuzzy ring configuration. In the Melvin magnetic tube field background there does not exist fuzzy sphere while the fuzzy ring configuration may be formed by the magnetic dielectric effect. The new solution shows that $D_0$ propagating in the D6-branes and magnetic tube field background may expand into a rotating fuzzy ring. We also use the Dirac-Born-Infeld action to construct the ring configuration from the D-branes.Comment: Latex, 15 pages, detailed comments in section 2, typos correcte

Geometric Phase, Curvature, and Extrapotentials in Constrained Quantum Systems

We derive an effective Hamiltonian for a quantum system constrained to a submanifold (the constraint manifold) of configuration space (the ambient space) by an infinite restoring force. We pay special attention to how this Hamiltonian depends on quantities which are external to the constraint manifold, such as the external curvature of the constraint manifold, the (Riemannian) curvature of the ambient space, and the constraining potential. In particular, we find the remarkable fact that the twisting of the constraining potential appears as a gauge potential in the constrained Hamiltonian. This gauge potential is an example of geometric phase, closely related to that originally discussed by Berry. The constrained Hamiltonian also contains an effective potential depending on the external curvature of the constraint manifold, the curvature of the ambient space, and the twisting of the constraining potential. The general nature of our analysis allows applications to a wide variety of problems, such as rigid molecules, the evolution of molecular systems along reaction paths, and quantum strip waveguides.Comment: 27 pages with 1 figure, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Histology of the skin of the blanca serrana goat bred in different production systems

Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo caracterizar la piel de caprinos de raza Blanca Serrana Andaluza, criados en sistemas de producción intensivo y extensivo. Fueron sacrificados 31 animales de la raza Blanca Serrana Andaluza (16 en extensivo y 15 en intensivo) con 20 kg de peso vivo. Se encontraron diferencias significativas (p0,05) entre los dos sistemas de producción analizados. Las características de la piel de los chivos revelaron pieles de primera calida

H3K4me3 - dependent epigenetic memory regulates transcriptional reactivation in the oocyte

SELECTED ORAL COMMUNICATIONS, SESSION 52: EPIGENETIC PATTERN IN OOCYTE AND EMBRYO, Tuesday 16 June 2015. This article/study appears in: Abstract book of the 31st ESHRE Annual Meeting, Lisbon, Portugal, 14-17 June 2015.Study question: How does the oocyte regulate its transcriptional activity in light of its prolonged meiotic arrest? Summary answer: A histone methylation-mediated epigenetic memory programed by the demethylase KDM5 is required for the correct temporal reactivation of the oocyte's transcriptional activity. What is known already: During oogenesis oocytes transit from stages of transcriptional activity to those of transcriptional quiescence, and such transitions are believed to be essential for proper gamete formation. Although the temporal regulation of these transitions has been well documented across diverse organisms, the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes remain largely unknown.Funding by national/international organization(s) – Partly funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia