Genetic parameters for growth, reproductive and maternal traits in a multibreed meat sheep population

The genetic parameters for growth, reproductive and maternal traits in a multibreed meat sheep population were estimated by applying the Average Information Restricted Maximum Likelihood method to an animal model. Data from a flock supported by the Programa de Melhoramento Genético de Caprinos e Ovinos de Corte (GENECOC) were used. The traits studied included birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), slaughter weight (SW), yearling weight (YW), weight gain from birth to weaning (GBW), weight gain from weaning to slaughter (GWS), weight gain from weaning to yearling (GWY), age at first lambing (AFL), lambing interval (LI), gestation length (GL), lambing date (LD - number of days between the start of breeding season and lambing), litter weight at birth (LWB) and litter weight at weaning (LWW). The direct heritabilities were 0.35, 0.81, 0.65, 0.49, 0.20, 0.15 and 0.39 for BW, WW, SW, YW, GBW, GWS and GWY, respectively, and 0.04, 0.06, 0.10, 0.05, 0.15 and 0.11 for AFL, LI, GL, LD, LWB and LWW, respectively. Positive genetic correlations were observed among body weights. In contrast, there was a negative genetic correlation between GBW and GWS (-0.49) and GBW and GWY (-0.56). Positive genetic correlations were observed between AFL and LI, LI and GL, and LWB and LWW. These results indicate a strong maternal influence in this herd and the presence of sufficient genetic variation to allow mass selection for growth traits. Additive effects were of little importance for reproductive traits, and other strategies are necessary to improve the performance of these animals

Environmental and Genetic Preconditioning for Long-Term Anoxia Responses Requires AMPK in Caenorhabditis elegans

Article on environmental and genetic preconditioning for long-term anoxia responses requires AMPK in Caenorhabditis elegans

Cortical mapping with navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation in low-grade glioma surgery

Wellingson S Paiva1, Erich T Fonoff1, Marco A Marcolin2, Hector N Cabrera1, Manoel J Teixeira11Division of Functional Neurosurgery, Hospital das Clinicas, 2TMS Laboratory of the Psychiatry Institute, Hospital das Clinicas, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, BrazilAbstract: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a promising method for both investigation and therapeutic treatment of psychiatric and neurologic disorders and, more recently, for brain mapping. This study describes the application of navigated TMS for motor cortex mapping in patients with a brain tumor located close to the precentral gyrus.Materials and methods: In this prospective study, six patients with low-grade gliomas in or near the precentral gyrus underwent TMS, and their motor responses were correlated to locations in the cortex around the lesion, generating a functional map overlaid on three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain. To determine the accuracy of this new method, we compared TMS mapping with the gold standard mapping with direct cortical electrical stimulation in surgery. The same navigation system and TMS-generated map were used during the surgical resection procedure.Results: The motor cortex could be clearly mapped using both methods. The locations corresponding to the hand and forearm, found during intraoperative mapping, showed a close spatial relationship to the homotopic areas identified by TMS mapping. The mean distance between TMS and direct cortical electrical stimulation (DES) was 4.16 ± 1.02 mm (range: 2.56–5.27 mm).Conclusion: Preoperative mapping of the motor cortex with navigated TMS prior to brain tumor resection is a useful presurgical planning tool with good accuracy.Keywords: transcranial magnetic stimulation, cortical mapping, brain tumor, motor corte

Adições crescentes de ácido fítico à dieta não interferiram na digestibilidade da caseína e no ganho de peso em ratos Increasing quantities of phytic acid in the diet did not affect casein digestibility and weight gain in rats

O crescente consumo de alimentos de origem vegetal, sejam como fontes protéicas com baixo teor de gordura ou como fontes de fibras, tem acrescido à dieta humana o ácido fítico. Devido à sua carga altamente negativa, o ácido fítico tem sido visto como componente de ação antinutricional capaz de quelar minerais bivalentes, proteínas e amido, podendo comprometer a biodisponibilidade destes nutrientes. No presente estudo investigou-se a influência da adição de ácido fítico à dieta de caseína, em concentrações iguais ou até oito vezes superiores àquelas encontradas no feijão-comum Phaseolus vulgaris, cultivar IAC-Carioca (14,7mg de ácido fítico/g feijão cru), durante período experimental de dez dias, sobre os índices nutricionais Ganho de Peso, Quociente de Eficiência da Dieta, Quociente de Eficiência Protéica Líquida, Digestibilidade Aparente e Digestibilidade Verdadeira. Trinta e seis ratos machos SPF da linhagem Wistar, recém-desmamados, divididos em grupos experimentais com seis ratos cada, foram alimentados com dieta purificada AIN-93G isenta de ácido fítico (Controle) e dietas teste AIN-93G acrescidas de 218, 436, 872 e 1744mg de ácido fítico/kg de dieta (Tratamentos). Os ganhos de peso (g) e os índices de qualidade dietética e protéica não apresentaram diferença estatística (p>0,05), e os valores médios entre os grupos foram: Ganho de Peso: 59,5 &plusmn; 5,0g; Quociente de Eficiência da Dieta: 0,39 &plusmn; 0,01; Quociente de Eficiência Protéica Líquida: 3,64 &plusmn; 0,12; Digestibilidade Aparente: 92,7 &plusmn; 1,1% e Digestibilidade Verdadeira: 94,4 &plusmn; 0,9%. Os resultados demonstraram que nas condições experimentais utilizadas, o ácido fítico não foi capaz de alterar o valor nutritivo da caseína.<br>The recent increasing consumption of vegetal origin foods, in order to obtain protein or fiber sources with low fat, has led to the presence of various amounts of phytic acid in the diet. The phytic acid has a strong negative charge and is capable of interacting with divalent minerals, protein and starch, reducing their bioavailability. In the present study, increasing quantities of phytic acid were added to the purified diet AIN-93G, more specifically 0 (Control), 218, 436, 872 and 1744 mg/kg of diet, which correspond (except the control diet) to the concentration of 14.7mg of phytic of acid/g of raw bean, found in the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris, cultivar. IAC-Carioca), representing a one to eightfold increase, respectively. Thirty-six weaning Wistar rats were fed, during an experimental period of ten days, the purified diet AIN-93G without phytic acid (Control) and the experimental diets containing the cited amounts of phytic acid per kg of diet (six rats per group). The Weight Gain, the Diet Efficiency Ratio and the Protein Quality Indexes Net Protein Ratio, Apparent Digestibility and True Digestibility were determined and showed no statistical difference (p>0.05). The mean values among the groups were: Weight Gain: 59.5 &plusmn; 5.0g; Diet Efficiency Ratio: 0.39 &plusmn; 0.01; Net Protein Ratio: 3.64 &plusmn;0.12; Apparent Digestibility: 92.7 &plusmn;1.1% and True Digestibility: 94.4 &plusmn;0.9%. Thus, the results showed that phytic acid did not affect the nutritive value of casein