VITRIFICATION OF BOVINE IVP EMBRYOS: AGE OF EMBRYOS AND EXPOSURE TIME TO CRYOPROTECTANT INFLUENCE VIABILITY

Avaliou-se diferentes tempos de exposição e concentrações de crioprotetores na vitrificação de embriões bovinos PIV. No primeiro experimento, foram utilizados blastocistos do dia 7 (Bx-D7). No tratamento 1 (T1), 82 embriões foram expostos por 1 min. à solução de equilíbrio (SE1 = 10% EG + 10% dimetilsulfóxido (DMSO), seguido da exposição por 20 segundos à solução de vitrificação (SV1 = 20% EG + 20% DMSO). No Tratamento 2 (T2) 84 embriões foram expostos por 3 minutos à SE2 (8,25% EG + 8,25% DMSO), seguido de 45 segundos na SV2 (16,5% EG + 16,5% DMSO). No segundo experimento adotou-se os mesmos procedimentos do primeiro, porém com Bx D8. A remoção dos crioprotetores foi executado em duas etapas de cinco minutos, em 0,3 e 0,15M de sacarose. Os embriões foram incubados por 72 horas, avaliando-se as taxas de re-expansão e eclosão (12 e 72 horas, respectivamente). No primeiro experimento, a taxa de re-expansão no T1 (91,6%) foi superior a do T2 (82,0%) (p0,05). No segundo experimento, as taxas de re-expansão não diferiram entre T1 e T2 (65,8 e 68,7% respectivamente), porém a taxa de eclosão do T1 (51,7%) foi superior a do T2 (33,2%) (

Height-based equations as screening tools for elevated blood pressure in the SAYCARE study

This study evaluated the accuracy of four height-based equations: blood pressure to height ratio (BPHR), modified BPHR (MBPHR), new modified BPHR (NMBPHR), and height-based equations (HBE) for screening elevated BP in children and adolescents in the SAYCARE study. We measured height and BP of 829 children and adolescents from seven South American cities. Receiving operating curves were used to assess formula performance to diagnose elevated BP in comparison to the 2017 clinical guideline. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) were calculated for the four screening formulas. The diagnostic agreement was evaluated with the kappa coefficient. The HBE equation showed the maximum sensitivity (100%) in children, both for boys and girls, and showed the best performance results, with a very high NPV (>99%) and high PPV (>60%) except for female children (53.8%). In adolescents, the highest sensitivity (100%) was achieved with the NMBPHR for both sexes. Kappa coefficients indicated that HBE had the highest agreement with the gold standard diagnostic method (between 0.70 and 0.75), except for female children (0.57). Simplified methods are friendlier than the percentile gold standard tables. The HBE equation showed better performance than the other formulas in this Latin American pediatric population

EXAME REPRODUTIVO EM GATO-DO-MATO-PEQUENO (Leopardus tigrinus Schreber, 1775)

A better understanding of the reproductive physiology of Neotropical small felids is necessary to get a more consistent reproductive performance aiming to increase the number of individuals that reproduce in the captive population and to develop and use assisted reproduction techniques. Andrologic examinations (n=32) were performed in three series of captive small catamounts (Leopardus tigrinus, n=11), at Itaipu Binacional Wildlife Breeding Center, at Foz do Iguassu PR Brazil. Animals were kept in enriched enclosures and were fed with bovine meat, whole chicken, rats, supplemented with minerals and vitamins. The anesthetic protocol used was xilazine (0.9 mg/kg, IM) combined with tiletamine/zolazepan (6.7 mg/kg, IM). The electroejaculation protocol used was described by Howard (1986) and consisted in 8 series of 10 stimulus, with intensity varying from 2 to 5 volts. Urine contamination was detected in 10 semen samples (31.2%), being possible to discard these and make good use of the other ones. Values are depicted as mean ± SEM. The characteristics of the semen were: volume 0.13 ± 0.20 ml; motility 73.44 ± 3.71%; status 3.48 ± 0.11; pH 7.58 ± 0.07. Spermatic concentration was 436.41 ± 95.8 x 106 cells/ml, with 55.86 ± 3.34 % morphologically normal spermatozoids. Results demonstrated that the used protocol was efficient in all animals submitted to semen collection and that teratospermia is high in this species.O objetivo desta pesquisa foi obter melhor compreensão da fisiologia reprodutiva dos pequenos felídeos neotropicais, necessária para um desempenho reprodutivo mais consistente em cativeiro e aumentar o número de indivíduos que se reproduzem na população cativa. Foram realizadas três séries de exames reprodutivos (n=32) em 11 gatos-do-mato-pequeno (Leopardus tigrinus), mantidos em cativeiro no Criadouro de Animais Silvestres da Itaipu Binacional, em Foz do Iguaçu PR. Os animais estavam alojados em recintos ambientados e eram alimentados com carne bovina, frango, pintainhos, ratos e suplemento mineral/vitamínico. O protocolo anestésico utilizado foi a associação de cloridrato de xilazina e cloridrato de tiletamina/zolazepan nas doses médias de 0,95 mg/Kg e 6,7 mg/kg, respectivamente. Os animais foram submetidos à colheita de sêmen pelo método de eletroejaculação conforme protocolo descrito por HOWARD (1986) com 8 séries de 10 estímulos, variando a intensidade de 2 a 5 Volts. Houve contaminação por urina em 10 colheitas (31,2%), sendo possível desprezar as alíquotas contaminadas, com aproveitamento do restante da amostra. O volume médio obtido foi de 0,13 ± 0,20 ml, com motilidade média de 73,44 ± 3,71 % e vigor de 3,48 ± 0,11 . O pH médio foi 7,58 ± 0,07. A concentração espermática foi de 436,41 ± 95,8 x 106 espermatozóides/ml, sendo que a porcentagem média de espermatozóides morfologicamente normais foi de 55,86 ± 3,34 %. Os valores obtidos nesta amostragem são compatíveis com os descritos por outros autores, contribuindo assim, na formação de um banco de dados de características reprodutivas, para felídeos desta espécie mantidos em cativeiro

Reliability and validity of body weight and body image perception in children and adolescents from the South American Youth/Child Cardiovascular and Environmental (SAYCARE) Study

Objective: To assess the reliability and validity of body weight (BW) and body image (BI) perception reported by parents (in children) and by adolescents in a South American population. Design: Cross-sectional study. BW perception was evaluated by the question, "Do you think you/your child are/is: severely wasted, wasted, normal weight, overweight, obese?" BI perception was evaluated using the Gardner scale. To evaluate reliability, BW and BI perceptions were reported twice, two weeks apart. To evaluate validity, the BW and BI perceptions were compared with WHO BMI Z-scores. Kappa and Kendall's tau-c coefficients were obtained. Setting: Public and private schools and high schools from six countries of South America (Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil). Participants: Children aged 3-10 years (n 635) and adolescents aged 11-17 years (n 400). Results: Reliability of BW perception was fair in children's parents (k=0·337) and substantial in adolescents (k=0·709). Validity of BW perception was slight in children's parents (k=0·176) and fair in adolescents (k=0·268). When evaluating BI, most children were perceived by parents as having lower weight. Reliability of BI perception was slight in children's parents (k=0·124) and moderate in adolescents (k=0·599). Validity of BI perception was poor in children's parents (k=-0·018) and slight in adolescents (k=0·023). Conclusions: Reliability of BW and BI perceptions was higher in adolescents than in children's parents. Validity of BW perception was good among the parents of the children and adolescents with underweight and normal weight