Residual feed intake and its effect on carcass and meat characteristics of feedlot Zebu cattle.

the objective of this study was to evaluate the residual feed intake (RFI) and its relation with performance, carcass and meat characteristics of Zebu animals. A total of 40 Zebu steers with initial age of 18 months and initial live weight of 350 kg were confined in feedlot for 112 days. The average daily gain (ADG) and dry matter intake (DMI) were obtained every 14 days. Residual feed intake was determined by the difference between observed and predicted DMI, based on the metabolic weight and the ADG. Animals were classified into the RFI groups: high (>0.5 standard deviation of the mean - least efficient), medium (±0.5 standard deviation of the mean) and low (<0.5 standard deviation of the mean - most efficient). Daily cost with feeding and per kilogram of weight gain was determined. Characteristics of carcass (weight, yield, subcutaneous fat) meat (pH, shear force and color) were assessed. Animals with low RFI presented lower DMI. The variation in DMI between the low and the high RFI groups promoted difference in the daily cost with feeding and per kilogram of weight gain, with animals of low RFI presenting costs 5 and 9% lower, respectively. Carcass and meat characteristics differed over the RFI groups. The knowledge of the RFI of the animals enables a more efficient system, with reduction in the costs with feeding, without promoting alterations on the performance and carcass characteristics of the meat from Zebu animals

Design of Cationic Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Efficient siRNA Vectors for Lung Cancer Xenograft Eradication

Polo-Like Kinase (PLK1) has been identified as a potential target in cancer gene therapy via chemical or genetic inhibitory approaches. The biomedical applications of chemically functionalized carbon nanotubes (f-CNTs) in cancer therapy have been studied due to their ability to efficiently deliver siRNA intracellularly. In this study, we established the capacity of cationic MWNT-NH3+ to deliver the apoptotic siRNA against PLK1 (siPLK1) in Calu6 tumor xenografts by direct intratumoural injections. A direct comparison with cationic liposomes was made. This study validates the PLK1 gene as a potential target in cancer gene therapy including lung cancer, as demonstrated by the therapeutic efficacy of siPLK1:MWNT-NH3+ complexes and their ability to significantly improve animal survival. Biological analysis of the siPLK1:MWNT-NH3+ treated tumors by RT-PCR and Western blot, in addition to TUNEL staining confirmed the biological functionality of the siRNA intratumourally, suggesting that tumor eradication was due to PLK1 knockdown. Furthermore, by using a fluorescently labelled, non-coding siRNA sequence complexed with MWNT-NH3+, we established for the first time that the improved therapeutic efficacy observed in f-CNT-based siRNA delivery is directly proportional to the enhanced siRNA retention in the solid tumor and subsequent uptake by tumor cells after local administration in vivo

Reactivity, performance, color and tenderness of meat from Zebu cattle finished in feedlot.

The objective of this study was to study the animal reactivity and correlate it with performance and meat quality of cattle finished in feedlots. A total of 20 animals of the Tabapuã breed and 20 animals of the Nellore breed were confined for 112 days: 28 days of adaptation and 84 days of data collection. Performance was determined by the average daily weight gain (ADG) and average dry matter intake (DMI) estimated through the use of indicators. On the 1st, 42nd and 84th days of the experiment, two methods were used to measure the animal reactivity: animal reactivity in mobile cage and visual reactivity during handling. The characteristics of meat quality were evaluated by the color, shear force and pH24 after slaughter (pH24). Through the study of correlation, the degree and direction of linear association on animal reactivity, performance and meat quality were established. Regression equations were generated for the parameters evaluated according to the values of animal reactivity. Correlations between mobile cage and visual reactivity were 0.77, 0.56 and 0.45 in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd evaluations, respectively. There was no correlation between animal reactivity and DMI. The correlations between ADG, pH24, and color with animal reactivity were -0.31, 0.40, 0.47 and -0.34, and -0.33 for mobile cage, 0.74, 0.71 and -0.51, for visual reactivity, respectively. The parameters of meat quality varied according to the reactivity. Undesirable values of pH24, animal reactivity and color were found when mobile cage reactivity was higher than 780, 590 and 540, respectively. In general, animals that show greater reactivity tend to have lower daily weight gain and lower meat quality. The reactivity can be used in animal breeding programs, in order to improve performance and meat quality of Zebu cattle finished in feedlot

Mobile Consumer Behavior in Fashion m-Retail: An Eye Tracking Study to Understand Gender Differences

© 2020 ACM. With exponential adoption of mobile devices, consumers increasingly use them for shopping. There is a need to understand the gender differences in mobile consumer behavior. This study used mobile eye tracking technology and mixed-method approach to analyze and compare how male and female mobile fashion consumers browse and shop on smartphones. Mobile eye tracking glasses recorded fashion consumers' shopping experiences using smartphones for browsing and shopping on the actual fashion retailer's website. 14 participants successfully completed this study, half of them were males and half females. Two different data analysis approaches were employed, namely a novel framework of the shopping journey, and semantic gaze mapping with 31 Areas of Interest (AOI) representing the elements of the shopping journey. The results showed that male and female users exhibited significantly different behavior patterns, which have implications for mobile website design and fashion m-retail. The shopping journey map framework proves useful for further application in market research

Milk production and composition of cows fed diets with different contents of concentrate and lipids

Avaliaram-se a produ??o e a composi??o do leite de vacas da ra?a Holandesa alimentadas com diferentes propor??es de forragem e teores de lip?deos na dieta. Foram utilizadas oito vacas com 58?9 dias em lacta??o, com produ??o m?dia de 28?4kg/dia de leite, distribu?das em delineamento quadrado latino 4 x 4 duplo, em arranjo fatorial 2 x 2. Os tratamentos foram dietas com alta forragem e baixo n?vel de lip?deos, alta forragem e alto n?vel de lip?deos, baixa forragem e baixo n?vel de lip?deos e baixa forragem e alto n?vel de lip?deos. As produ??es de leite e leite corrigido para 3,5% de gordura n?o diferiu entre os tratamentos (P>0,05). A redu??o na propor??o de forragem reduziu a produ??o e a concentra??o de gordura no leite (P0.05). The reduction on forage ratio in the diet decreased milk fat percentage and production (P<0.05). The increase in lipid levels in the diets reduced total milk solids as well as milk urea nitrogen concentrations (P<0.05)

Burden of non-communicable disease studies in Europe: a systematic review of data sources and methodological choices

Background: Assessment of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) resulting from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) requires specific calculation methods and input data. The aims of this study were to (i) identify existing NCD burden of disease (BoD) activities in Europe; (ii) collate information on data sources for mortality and morbidity; and (iii) provide an overview of NCD-specific methods for calculating NCD DALYs. Methods: NCD BoD studies were systematically searched in international electronic literature databases and in grey literature. We included all BoD studies that used the DALY metric to quantify the health impact of one or more NCDs in countries belonging to the European Region. Results: A total of 163 BoD studies were retained: 96 (59%) were single-country or sub-national studies and 67 (41%) considered more than one country. Of the single-country studies, 29 (30%) consisted of secondary analyses using existing Global Burden of Disease (GBD) results. Mortality data were mainly derived (49%) from vital statistics. Morbidity data were frequently (40%) drawn from routine administrative and survey datasets, including disease registries and hospital discharge databases. The majority (60%) of national BoD studies reported mortality corrections. Multimorbidity adjustments were performed in 18% of national BoD studies. Conclusion: The number of national NCD BoD assessments across Europe increased over time, driven by an increase in BoD studies that consisted of secondary data analysis of GBD study findings. Ambiguity in reporting the use of NCD-specific BoD methods underlines the need for reporting guidelines of BoD studies to enhance the transparency of NCD BoD estimates across Europe

Angiogenic factors: role in esophageal cancer, a brief review

Esophageal cancer has an aggressive behavior with rapid tumor mass growth and frequently poor prognosis; it is known as one of the most fatal types of cancer worldwide. The identification of potential molecular markers that can predict the response to treatment and the prognosis of this cancer has been subject of a vast investigation in the recent years. Among several molecules, various angiogenic factors that are linked to the tumor development, growth, and invasion, such as VEGF, HGF, angiopoietin-2, IL-6, and TGF-B1, were investigated. In this paper, the authors sought to review the role of these angiogenic factors in prognosis and hypothesize how they can be used as a treatment target.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio