Betaine supplementation vs. exercise: effects on glucose, protein, urea and lipid plasma parameters from Alentejano pigs.

Swine, due to their physiologic and anatomical similarities to humans, are considered as good models for cholesterol metabolism studies. The Alentejano (AL) pig is a breed from the south of Portugal with a higher lipogenic activity than European breeds. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of betaine (a methyl donor and an osmoprotectant, with contradictory effects on backfat thickness) supplementation and of exercise in some plasma parameters of AL pigs. Weaned female and male AL pigs were castrated, allocated to individual pens and fed a commercial (C) diet offered at 85% of ad libitum. The pigs were slaughtered (~100 kg BW) in 3 groups: Group C (n=6), consuming the C diet; Group CB (n=8), consuming the C diet with betaine (1g/kg); and Group CE (n=5), consuming also the C diet, but with access to an exercise area. Fasting plasma concentrations of glucose, protein, urea, triacylglycerols, phospholipids, total and LDL- and HDL-cholesterol were determined. When compared to C and CE pigs, CB pigs presented higher concentrations (P<0.05) of triacylglycerols, phospholipids, cholesterol and lipoprotein cholesterol. As to CE pigs, they presented lower total cholesterol (P=0.08) and higher HDL-cholesterol and HDL:total cholesterol ratio (P<0.05) than C ones. These data suggest that betaine increases dyslipidemia. Furthermore, exercise had a beneficial effect on plasma cholesterol levels and on the cholesterol deposition in adipose tissues and muscles of CE pigs (lower than the ones observed in the subcutaneous fat and m. semimembranosus of C and CB pigs – preliminary data)

Effect of betaine on growth performance and carcass composition of Alentejano pig breed.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of fattening diets supplemented with betaine on growth performances and carcass characteristics of Alentejano pigs. Sixteen Alentejano pigs sexually neutralized, with a initial body weight (BW) of 36.3 kg, allocated to open-air individual pens (3m2), were divided into two experimental groups: Group C (n=8) consuming a commercial diet with 150 g/kg crude protein and 13.0 MJ digestible energy; and group CB (n=8) consuming the same diet supplemented with betaine (1g/kg). The diets were restrictively offered at 85% estimated ad libitum consumption. All pigs had free access to fresh water. Diet refusals were measured daily and pigs were weighed weekly. At 100 kg BW, pigs were submitted to a 24 h fasting period and killed. Carcass weight, backfat thickness and Longissimus muscle area were determined. The left side half carcass was submitted to commercial cuts according to the Portuguese norm and their weights recorded. No significant differences between treatments were detected in feed intake (297.3 vs. 286.5 kg), average daily gain (472 vs. 480g) and feed:gain (4.66 vs. 4.51). Hot carcass weight (82.2 vs. 83.6 kg), backfat thickness (5.0 vs. 5.3 cm), Longissimus muscle area (21.9 vs. 21.2 cm2) and weights of commercial cuts of the half carcass were also not significantly affected by betaine supplementation

The “montado”: determinant factor affecting the carcass characteristics and the quality of dry cured hams of Alentejano pig

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of the finishing system (under montanheira or with commercial feed) on carcass characteristics and dry cured-ham of Alentejano pigs. 24 pigs were fattening until 130 kg LW under montanheira and 24 pigs were fattening with commercial feed. Carcasses of pigs fattened under the montanheira system were slightly heavy (98,38 vs 96,13 kg), with significantly higher (P>0,01) dressing percentage (79,55% vs 78,11%), backfat thickness (6,09 vs 5,34 cm), percentage of fatty cuts (32,06% vs 30,44%) and weight (21,92 vs 19,77 kg) and percentage of adipose tissue (51,65% vs 47,71%). Percentage of lean cuts (50,03% vs 49,07%), bone cuts (19,53% vs 18,87%), weight (14,91 vs 13,77 kg) and percentage of lean (36,04% vs 32,54%), lean:bone (3,21 vs 3,01) and lean:fat (0,76 vs 0,63) ratios were significantly higher in pigs fed commercial feed. The content of ether extract in lean+fat was significantly higher (63,7% vs 60,41%), in pigs fattened under the montanheira system, while the content of crude protein (7,57% vs 8,41%) was significantly higher in pigs fed commercial feed. Energy retained was higher in pigs finished under montanheira (231,7 vs 217,0 Mcal). The dry cured hams from pigs fattened on acorns were more mono-unsaturated and less poly-unsaturated, especially on subcutaneous fat. It can be concluded that the fattening on pasture and acorns under the oak canopy is considered to be crucial for the quality of the raw material and meat products, as dry cured-ham

Utilização de óleo de girassol “Alto oleico” na alimentação de porcos Alentejanos: Efeitos sobre o crescimento e as características da carcaça.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo a utilização de óleo de girassol rico em ácido oleico na alimentação de suínos Alentejanos destinados à produção de carne para consumo em fresco. O ensaio foi realizado em condições de exploração

Utilização de óleo de girassol “Alto oleico” na alimentação de porcos Alentejanos: Efeitos sobre o crescimento e as características da carcaça.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo a utilização de óleo de girassol rico em ácido oleico na alimentação de suínos Alentejanos destinados à produção de carne para consumo em fresco. O ensaio foi realizado em condições de exploração

Desenvolvimento do tecido adiposo e muscular em suínos de raça Alentejana

To study the effects of slaughter weight on adipose and muscular tissues development of Alentejano hogs thirty animals were used. With an average live weight of 35 kg, pigs were allocated in individual pens at outdoor and fed a commercial diet (15% CP and 3100 Kcal ED/kg) offered at 85% Ad Libitum. Pigs were sequentially slaughtered in groups (n=5) with an average live weight of 40, 70,80, 90, 100 and 110 kg. After carcass chilling at 5º C for 24 h flare fat was weighed and subcutaneous backfat thickness and loin eye area were recorded at 10-11 ribs, last rib and 3-4 lombar vertebras. Flare fat increased significantly (P<0,01) with the increase of slaughter weight: 1,26, 2,08, 3,22, 3,36, 3,68 e 4,02 Kg, respectively at 40, 70, 80, 90, 100 e 110 Kg. Subcutaneous back fat thickness also increased strongly with the increase of slaughter weight: 1,56, 3,21, 4,12, 5,10, 5,41 and 5,38 cm, respectively at 40, 70, 80, 90, 100 e 110 Kg. Between 90 and 110 kg averages were similar. The area of Longissimus dorsi increased slightly (15,49 to 20,36 cm2) with the increase of slaughter weight. The results suggested that Alentejano pig breed have a limited genetic potential for lean gain and a high capacity for fat deposition

ZFITTER: a semi-analytical program for fermion pair production in e+e- annihilation, from version 6.21 to version 6.42

ZFITTER is a Fortran program for the calculation of fermion pair production and radiative corrections at high energy e+e- colliders; it is also suitable for other applications where electroweak radiative corrections appear. ZFITTER is based on a semi-analytical approach to the calculation of radiative corrections in the Standard Model. We present a summary of new features of the ZFITTER program version 6.42 compared to version 6.21. The most important additions are: (i) some higher-order QED corrections to fermion pair production, (ii) electroweak one-loop corrections to atomic parity violation, (iii) electroweak one-loop corrections to nu-e nu-e-bar production, (iv) electroweak two-loop corrections to the W boson mass and the effective weak mixing angle.Comment: 60 pages, latex, 3 table

Structure-antifouling activity relationship and molecular targets of bio-inspired(Thio)xanthones

The development of alternative ecological and effective antifouling technologies is still challenging. Synthesis of nature-inspired compounds has been exploited, given the potential to assure commercial supplies of potential ecofriendly antifouling agents. In this direction, the antifouling activity of a series of nineteen synthetic small molecules, with chemical similarities with natural products, were exploited in this work. Six (4, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 17) of the tested xanthones showed in vivo activity toward the settlement of Mytilus galloprovincialis larvae (EC50: 3.53–28.60 µM) and low toxicity to this macrofouling species (LC50 > 500 µM and LC50/EC50: 17.42–141.64), and two of them (7 and 10) showed no general marine ecotoxicity (<10% of Artemia salina mortality) after 48 h of exposure. Regarding the mechanism of action in mussel larvae, the best performance compounds 4 and 5 might be acting by the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity (in vitro and in silico studies), while 7 and 10 showed specific targets (proteomic studies) directly related with the mussel adhesive structure (byssal threads), given by the alterations in the expression of Mytilus collagen proteins (PreCols) and proximal thread proteins (TMPs). A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model was built with predictive capacity to enable speeding the design of new potential active compounds.This research was supported by national funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020 and under the project PTDC/AAG-TEC/0739/2014 (reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016793) supported through national funds provided by FCT and ERDF - European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE - Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (POFC) programme and RIDTI - Reforçar a Investigação, o Desenvolvimento Tecnológico e a Inovação (project 9471) and the project NASCEM PTDC/BTA-BTA/31422/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031422) also financed by FCT, COMPETE2020 and PORTUGAL2020

Non-perturbative effective field theory for two-leg antiferromagnetic spin ladders

We study the long wavelength limit of a spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic two-leg ladder, treating the interchain coupling in a non-perturbative way. We perform a mean field analysis and then include exactly the fluctuations. This allows for a discussion of the phase diagram of the system and provides an effective field theory for the low energy excitations. The coset fermionic Lagrangian obtained corresponds to a perturbed SU(4)_1/U(1) Conformal Field Theory (CFT). This effective theory is naturally embedded in a SU(2)_2 x Z_2 CFT, where perturbations are easily identified in terms of conformal operators in the two sectors. Crossed and zig-zag ladders are also discussed using the same approach.Comment: 14 pages LaTeX, 5 PostScript figures included using epsfig.sty; minor corrections and a few references adde