Evaluation of phosphorus levels in bones and serum of buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) before and after supplementation with a selective mineral mixture

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação Amazônia de Amparo a Estudos e Pesquisas do Estado do Pará (FAPESPA), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) – Finance Code 001, Programa de Pós-graduação em Reprodução Animal na Amazônia (ReproAmazon), Instituto de Medicina Veterinária (IMV) and to Pró Reitora de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação of the Universidade Federal do Pará (PROPESP-UFPA), Programa de Apoio à Publicação Qualificada - edital PAPQ/2022Universidade Federal do Pará-Campus Castanhal. Instituto de Medicina Veterinária. Castanhal, PA, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará. Instituto de Estudos do Trópico Úmido. Xinguara, PA, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Pará-Campus Castanhal. Instituto de Medicina Veterinária. Castanhal, PA, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Pará-Campus Castanhal. Instituto de Medicina Veterinária. Castanhal, PA, Brazil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação e Insumos Estratégicos. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Toxicologia. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Instituto de Ciências Agrárias. Belém, PA, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Pará-Campus Castanhal. Instituto de Medicina Veterinária. Castanhal, PA, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Pará-Campus Castanhal. Instituto de Medicina Veterinária. Castanhal, PA, Brazil.This study aimed to evaluate phosphorus (P) concentration in serum and bone, the percentage of ash and the specific bone density of buffaloes on Ilha de Marajó before and after mineral supplementation. For this study, 14 crossbred buffaloes of Murrah and Mediterranean descent aged between 18 and 36 months were used. The average values of P before supplementation in serum and bone, the percentage of bone ash and the specific bone density were 5.68mg/dL±1.18, 16.53%±0.53, 59.95%±1.96 and 1.52g/cm3 ±0.32, respectively, which demonstrated P deficiency in animals raised on Ilha de Marajó. After supplementation with P for a period of seven months, the values were 6.61mg/dL±0.87, 16.90%±0.56 and 60.30%±0.95 and 1.71g/cm3 ±0.21, respectively. These results showed a significant increase in P concentration in blood serum, specific bone density and percentage of P in ash (P<0.05), but there was no significant increase in the percentage of ash. The average increase in P in the serum and ash did not reach normal levels in all animals; however, 28.6% of the animals had normal values of P in serum and 50% in the ash, and 64.3% had normal specific bone density values. The nonre-establishment, in some of the animals, of the variables of P serum and bone after supplementation for seven months may have occurred as a result of the low intake of the mineral mixture and by the low concentration of P in the Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu used for feeding animals during the experiment

Assessment of potato peel and agro-forestry biochars supplementation on in vitro ruminal fermentation

UIDB/50006/2020 UIDB/04033/2020 grant ref. PDE/BDE/114434/2016 DL 57/2016 -Norma transitória.Background. The awareness of environmental and socio-economic impacts caused by greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector leverages the adoption of strategies to counteract it. Feed supplements can play an important role in the reduction of the main greenhouse gas produced by ruminants-methane (CH4). In this context, this study aims to assess the effect of two biochar sources and inclusion levels on rumen fermentation parameters in vitro. Methods. Two sources of biochar (agro-forestry residues, AFB, and potato peel, PPB) were added at two levels (5 and 10%, dry matter (DM) basis) to two basal substrates (haylage and corn silage) and incubated 24-h with rumen inocula to assess the effects on CH4 production and main rumen fermentation parameters in vitro. Results. AFB and PPB were obtained at different carbonization conditions resulting in different apparent surface areas, ash content, pH at the point of zero charge (pHpzc), and elemental analysis. Relative to control (0% biochar), biochar supplementation kept unaffected total gas production and yield (mL and mL/g DM, pD0.140 and pD0.240, respectively) and fermentation pH (p D 0.666), increased CH4 production and yield (mL and mL/g DM, respectively, pD0.001) and ammonia-N (NH3-N, pD0.040), and decreased total volatile fatty acids (VFA) production (p < 0.001) and H2 generated and consumed (p ≤ 0.001). Biochar sources and inclusion levels had no negative effect on most of the fermentation parameters and efficiency. Acetic.propionic acid ratio (pD0.048) and H2 consumed (pD0.019) were lower with AFB inclusion when compared to PPB. Biochar inclusion at 10% reduced H2 consumed (p < 0.001) and tended to reduce total gas production (pD0.055). Total VFA production (pD0.019), acetic acid proportion (pD0.011) and H2 generated (pD0.048) were the lowest with AFB supplemented at 10%, no differences being observed among the other treatments. The basal substrate affected most fermentation parameters independently of biochar source and level used. Discussion. Biochar supplementation increased NH3-N content, iso-butyric, iso-valeric and valeric acid proportions, and decreased VFA production suggesting a reduced energy supply for microbial growth, higher proteolysis and deamination of substrate N, and a decrease of NH3-N incorporation into microbial protein. No interaction was found between substrate and biochar source or level on any of the parameters measured. Although AFB and PPB had different textural and compositional characteristics, their effects on the rumen fermentation parameters were similar, the only observed effects being due to AFB included at 10%. Biochar supplementation promoted CH4 production regardless of the source and inclusion level, suggesting that there may be other effects beyond biomass and temperature of production of biochar, highlighting the need to consider other characteristics to better identify the mechanism by which biochar may influence CH4 production.publishersversionpublishe

High sucrose consumption decouples intrinsic and synaptic excitability of AgRP neurons without altering body weight.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: As the obesity epidemic continues, the understanding of macronutrient influence on central nervous system function is critical for understanding diet-induced obesity and potential therapeutics, particularly in light of the increased sugar content in processed foods. Previous research showed mixed effects of sucrose feeding on body weight gain but has yet to reveal insight into the impact of sucrose on hypothalamic functioning. Here, we explore the impact of liquid sucrose feeding for 12 weeks on body weight, body composition, caloric intake, and hypothalamic AgRP neuronal function and synaptic plasticity. METHODS: Patch-clamp electrophysiology of hypothalamic AgRP neurons, metabolic phenotyping and food intake were performed on C57BL/6J mice. RESULTS: While mice given sugar-sweetened water do not gain significant weight, they do show subtle differences in body composition and caloric intake. When given sugar-sweetened water, mice show similar alterations to AgRP neuronal excitability as in high-fat diet obese models. Increased sugar consumption also primes mice for increased caloric intake and weight gain when given access to a HFD. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that elevated sucrose consumption increased activity of AgRP neurons and altered synaptic excitability. This may contribute to obesity in mice and humans with access to more palatable (HFD) diets

Intramyocardial Injection of Autologous Bone Marrow Cells as an Adjunctive Therapy to Incomplete Myocardial Revascularization - Safety Issues

OBJECTIVES: To determine the safety of intramyocardial injection of autologous bone marrow cells in patients undergoing surgical myocardial revascularization (CABG) for severe coronary artery disease. INTRODUCTION: There is little data available regarding the safety profile of autologous bone marrow cells injected during surgical myocardial revascularization. Potential risks include arrythmias, fibrosis in the injected sites and growth of non-cardiac tissues. METHODS: Ten patients (eight men) were enrolled; they were 59&plusmn;5 years old with limiting angina and were non-optimal candidates for complete CABG. Bone marrow cells (1.3&plusmn;0.3x10(8)) were obtained prior to surgery, and the lymphomonocytic fraction (CD34+=1.8&plusmn;0.3%) was separated by density gradient centrifugation. During surgery, bone marrow cells were injected in non-grafted areas of ischemic myocardium. During the first year after surgery, the patients underwent laboratory tests, cardiac imaging, and 24-hour ECG monitoring. RESULTS: Injected segments: inferior (n=7), anterior (n=2), septal (n=1), apical (n=1), and lateral (n=1) walls. Except for a transient elevation of C-reactive protein at one month post-surgery (P=0.01), laboratory tests results were within normal ranges; neither complex arrhythmias nor structural abnormalities were detected during follow-up. There was a reduction in functional class of angina from 3.6&plusmn;0.8 (baseline) to 1.2&plusmn;0.4 (one year) (P<0.0001). Also, patients had a significant decrease in the ischemic score assessed by magnetic resonance, not only globally from 0.65&plusmn;0.14 (baseline) to 0.17&plusmn;0.05 (one year) (P=0.002), but also in the injected areas from 1.11&plusmn;0.20 (baseline) to 0.34&plusmn;0.13 (one year) (P=0.0009). CONCLUSIONS: Intramyocardial injection of bone marrow cells combined with CABG appears to be safe. Theoretical concerns with arrhythmias and/or structural abnormalities after cell therapy were not confirmed in this safety trial

Visual encounters on line transect surveys under-detect carnivore species: Implications for assessing distribution and conservation status

We compared the distribution and occurrence of 15 carnivore species with data collected monthly over three years by trained native trackers using both sign surveys and an encounter-based, visual-distance method in a well-preserved region of southern Guyana (Amazon / Guiana Shield). We found that a rigorously applied sign-based method was sufficient to describe the status of most carnivore species populations, including rare species such as jaguar and bush dog. We also found that even when accumulation curves for direct visual encounter data reached an asymptote, customarily an indication that sufficient sampling has occurred to describe populations, animal occurrence and distribution were grossly underestimated relative to the results of sign data. While other researchers have also found that sign are better than encounters or camera traps for large felids, our results are important in documenting the failure of even intensive levels of effort to raise encounter rates sufficiently to enable statistical analysis, and in describing the relationship between encounter and sign data for an entire community of carnivores including felids, canids, procyonids, and mustelids. © Copyright: © 2019 Fragoso et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Técnicas de Extração de Informação para Avaliação da Qualidade de Páginas Web com o Uso de Ontologias

A qualidade dos conteúdos das páginas Web podem ser determinadas parcialmente através de indicadores como autoria do página, presença de referencias e de propriedade. Este artigo discute a aplicação de técnicas de extração de informação sobre a identificação de indicadores de qualidade, especificamente autoria. Ao contrário de outras técnicas de extração, as técnicas desenvolvidas neste trabalho não utilizam a estrutura da página como principal elemento de análise, voltando sua atenção para o conteúdo extraido. O objetivo final do trabalho é criar uma ferramenta que possibilita a avaliação da qualidade de sites de saúde. Com as entidades extraídas é populado uma ontologia onde estão definidos os critérios de qualidade para as páginas Web

Review: Heads or Tails? Toward a Clear Role of Biochar as a Feed Additive on Ruminant’s Methanogenesis

The use of biochar has been suggested as a promising strategy in bio-waste management and greenhouse gases mitigation. Additionally, its use, as a feed additive, in ruminants has been reported to have contrasting effects on enteric methane production. Hence, this chapter intends to overview the most relevant literature that exploited the use of biochar as a mitigation strategy for methane. This includes the reported effects of biochar on methane production and rumen fermentation observed in in vitro and in vivo assays, as well as manure’s methane emission. The information available about the biochar and the experimental conditions used in the different studies is still limited, which created additional challenges in identifying the biological mechanisms that potentially drive the contrasting results obtained. Nevertheless, it is clear from the current state-of-the-art that biochar may be a key player in the modulation of gut fermentation and in the reduction of greenhouse gases produced by ruminants that need to be consolidated by further research

A qualidade da escrita presente nos relatórios de laboratório de estudantes do Ensino Médio

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Digestible threonine levels in the starter diet of broilers derived from breeders of different ages

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of digestible threonine supplementation in the starter diet on the performance, intestinal parameters, and nutrient metabolism of broilers derived from breeders of different ages. In total, 480 one-day-old Cobb chicks, derived from 38-or 49-week-oldbreeders, were housed in experimental battery cages until 21 days of age and fed four different threonine levels (800, 900, 1,000, or 1,100 mg/kg) in the starter feed. A completely randomized experimental design in a 2x4 factorial arrangement (breeder age x threonine levels) was applied, totaling eight treatments with five replicates of 12 birds each. Broilers from older breeders fed 800 mg digestible threonine/kg of diet presented higher weight gain, with a positive linear effect. There was also an interaction between breeder age and threonine levels for the weight gain of 21-d-old broilers supplemented at maximum level of 1,003 mg Thr/kg diet during the starter phase. There was no effect of breeder age or threonine levels on nutrient metabolism during the period of 17-21 days. There was no influence of breeder age or threonine levels in the starter diet on intestinal morphometric measurements, absorption area, or percentage of goblet cells