Desempenho de novilhos Sindi em pastagem de capim buffel suplementados com diferentes fontes de proteína, no Sertão de Pernambuco.

O trabalho foi realizado durante período seco, na Estação Experimental da Caatinga da Embrapa Semi-Árido, em Petrolina-PE e objetivou avaliar o desempenho de garrotes da raça Sindi, tendo como base da alimentação o pasto diferido de capim buffel e recebendo suplementação protéica. Dezesseis animais com idade e peso médio iniciais de 18,4 meses e 164 kg, respectivamente, no início do experimento, foram distribuídos em quatro tratamentos recebendo ração balanceadas para apresentarem 20% de proteína bruta (PB). Os tratamentos foram: 1) caroço de algodão (CA), 2) farelo de soja e milho triturado (FSM), 3) palma forrgeira e a uréia + sulfato de amônia (PU) e 4) raspa de mandioca (RM), sendo ofertado 1 kg/cabeça dia com base na matéria seca. Cada período experimental teve duração de 28 dias, sendoiniciado em novembro e indo até o final de janeiro. Houve diferença estatística entre os tratamentos (P<0,05) tanto para ganho de peso total como para ganho médio diário, em que os animais que receberam caroço de algodão ou a mistura milho e farelo de soja tiveram melhor desempenho que aqueles suplementados com raspa de mandioca ou palma forrageira. Os animais tiveram um ganho total de peso no período que variou de 40,5 kg para PU a 66,2 kg para CA. O ganho médio diário foi de 789, 713, 491 e 482 g/dia, respectivamente para CA, FSM, RM e PU. Os suplementos que tinham uréia na composição, limitaram o consumo e ocasionaram para um menor desempenho dos animais

Mechanism of filopodia initiation by reorganization of a dendritic network

Afilopodium protrudes by elongation of bundled actin filaments in its core. However, the mechanism of filopodia initiation remains unknown. Using live-cell imaging with GFP-tagged proteins and correlative electron microscopy, we performed a kinetic-structural analysis of filopodial initiation in B16F1 melanoma cells. Filopodial bundles arose not by a specific nucleation event, but by reorganization of the lamellipodial dendritic network analogous to fusion of established filopodia but occurring at the level of individual filaments. Subsets of independently nucleated lamellipodial filaments elongated and gradually associated with each other at their barbed ends, leading to formation of cone-shaped structures that we term Λ-precursors. An early marker of initiation was the gradual coalescence of GFP-vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (GFP-VASP) fluorescence at the leading edge into discrete foci. The GFP-VASP foci were associated with Λ-precursors, whereas Arp2/3 was not. Subsequent recruitment of fascin to the clustered barbed ends of Λ-precursors initiated filament bundling and completed formation of the nascent filopodium. We propose a convergent elongation model of filopodia initiation, stipulating that filaments within the lamellipodial dendritic network acquire privileged status by binding a set of molecules (including VASP) to their barbed ends, which protect them from capping and mediate association of barbed ends with each other

Qualidade das silagens de maniçoba "Manihot pseudoglaziovii" e pornunça "Manihot spp" sob diferentes épocas de abertura dos silos.

Avaliou-se silagens de maniçoba "Manihot pseudoglaziovii" e pornunça "Manihot spp", produzidas em tubos de PVC com 7, 14, 28 e 56 dias de fermenta~ção, determinando-se os valores de matéria seca (MS), proteína bruta (PB), fibra em detergente neutro (FDN), fibra em detergente ácido (FDA), extrato etéreo (EE), carboidratos não estruturais (CNE), o pH e digestibilidade "in vitro" da matéria seca (DIVMS). Houve diferenças significativas (P<0,05) entre os parâmetros avaliados para as espécies forrageiras utilizadas, exceto para MS e EE. A silagem de pornunça apresentou maiores valores de PB, FDN, FDA e pH em relação a maniçoba, entretanto, a DIVMS e o teor de CNE foram maiores para a silagem de maniçoba. Os valores de pH encontrados demonstraram a qualidade das silagens estudadas. Apesar dos baixos teores de DIVMS e de MS baixos, ambas podem ser utilizadas na alimentação animal

Orientational Order of the Lamellipodial Actin Network as Demonstrated in Living Motile Cells

Lamellipodia of crawling cells represent both the motor for cell advance and the primary building site for the actin cytoskeleton. The organization of actin in the lamellipodium reflects actin dynamics and is of critical importance for the mechanism of cell motility. In previous structural studies, the lamellipodial actin network was analyzed primarily by electron microscopy (EM). An understanding of lamellipodial organization would benefit significantly if the EM data were complemented and put into a kinetic context by establishing correspondence with structural features observable at the light microscopic level in living cells. Here, we use an enhanced phase contrast microscopy technique to visualize an apparent long-range diagonal actin meshwork in the advancing lamellipodia of living cells. Visualization of this meshwork permitted a correlative light and electron microscopic approach that validated the underlying organization of lamellipodia. The linear features in the light microscopic meshwork corresponded to regions of greater actin filament density. Orientation of features was analyzed quantitatively and compared with the orientation of actin filaments at the EM level. We infer that the light microscopic meshwork reflects the orientational order of actin filaments which, in turn, is related to their branching angle

Targeting genomic receptors in voided urine for confirmation of benign prostatic hyperplasia

Abstract Objectives The objective of this study is to validate a hypothesis that a non‐invasive optical imaging assay targeting genomic VPAC receptors on malignant cells shed in voided urine will represent either benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or prostatic cancer (PCa). Risk for BPH in men 50–70 years old is 50–70% and PCa is 17%. BPH and PCa can coexist in 20% of men with BPH. Most commonly practiced methods to diagnose BPH do not distinguish BPH from PCa. Patients (or Materials) and Methods Males with BPH (N = 97, 60.8 ± 6.3 years, prostate‐specific antigen 0.7 ± 0.4 ng/mL) and without oncologic disease (N = 35, 63.4 ± 5.8 years, prostate‐specific antigen < 1.5 ng/mL) signed informed consent form and provided voided urine. Urine was cytocentrifuged, cells collected on glass slide, fixed, treated with VPAC specific fluorophore TP4303 (Kd 3.1 × 10−8M), washed, incubated with DAPI and observed using a fluorescence microscope. Cells with no VPAC did not fluoresce (BPH) and those with VPAC had red‐orange fluorescence (PCa). Real‐time polymerase chain reaction analyses for VPAC and NKX3.1 assay for cell origin were performed. Results Eighty‐seven subjects were negative for VPAC expression. Positive VPAC expression was noted in 10 subjects. Patient chart review for clinical data on these 10 VPAC positive subjects showed five had nephrolithiasis, three had renal cysts, one had prostatitis and one was being treated with finasteride. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction analysis‐VPAC expressions for 7 normal and 12 BPH subjects were 1.31 ± 1.26 and 0.94 ± 0.89, respectively (P = 0.46). NKX3.1 showed cells of prostate origin for finasteride‐treated patient. Specificity for VPAC urine assay for excluding prostate cancer in this BPH cohort was 88.5%, positive predictive value 0.00% and negative predictive value 100%. Conclusion VPAC assay may contribute extensively for BPH diagnosis and warrant continued investigation