Transfer of bioactive compounds from pasture to meat in organic free-range chickens

Abstract The aim of this study was to analyze the transfer of bioactive compounds from the pasture to the body and meat of organic free-range chickens and to verify the effect of these compounds on the oxidative processes of the meat. Starting at 21 d of age, 100 male naked-neck birds were divided into two homogeneous groups: an indoor group (0.12 m2/bird) and an outdoor group (0.12 m2/bird indoor and 10 m2/bird of forage paddock). At slaughter (81 d of age), blood samples were collected, and the carcasses were stored for 24 h at 4°C (20 birds/group). The grass samples had higher values of carotenoids, tocopherols, and flavonoids respect to standard feed (based on dry matter comparison). The polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content was also greater in grass, especially the n-3 series (so named because its first double bond occurs after the third carbon atom counting from the methyl at the end of the molecule). The antioxidant profile of the grass improved the antioxidant status of the crop and gizzard contents in the outdoor chickens. The higher antioxidant intake resulted in a higher plasma concentration of antioxidants in outdoor birds; thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) and the antioxidant capacity of the plasma were also better in the outdoor than the indoor group. The meat of the outdoor birds had higher levels of antioxidants, mainly due to the higher amount of tocopherols and tocotrienols. Despite the higher antioxidant protection in the drumstick of the outdoor group, the TBARs value was greater, probably due to the kinetic activity of birds, the higher percentage of PUFAs, and the peroxidability index. In conclusion, grazing improved the nutritional value of the meat (PUFA n-3 and the ratio between n-6 and n-3 PUFA) with a minor negative effect on the oxidative stability. Suitable strategies to reduce such negative effects (e.g., reduction of kinetic activity in the last days of rearing) should be studied

The thermo-oxidative behavior of cotton coated with an intumescent flame retardant glycine-derived polyamidoamine: A multi-technique study

Linear polyamidoamines (PAAs) derived from the polyaddition of natural α-amino acids and N,N′-methylene bis(acrylamide) are intumescent flame retardants for cotton. Among them, the glycine-derived M-GLY extinguished the flame in horizontal flame spread tests at 4% by weight add-on. This paper reports on an extensive study aimed at understanding the molecular-level transformations of M-GLY-treated cotton upon heating in air at 300◦C, 350◦C and 420◦C. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) identified different thermal-oxidative decomposition stages and, coupled to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, allowed the volatile species released upon heating to be determined, revealing differences in the decomposition pattern of treated and untreated cotton. XPS analysis of the char residues of M-GLY-treated cotton revealed the formation of aromatic nanographitic char at lower temperature with respect to untreated cotton. Raman spectroscopy of the char residues provided indications on the degree of graphitization of treated and untreated cotton at the three reference temperatures. Solid state13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) provided information on the char structure as a function of the treatment temperature, clearly indicating that M-GLY favors the carbonization of cotton with the formation of more highly condensed aromatic structures

The successful introduction of an adapted form of the mini extra corporeal circulation used for cardiac surgery in an obese patient

Obese patients undergoing cardiac surgery have been shown to have a high risk of developing postoperative complications, specifically: increased length of hospital stay, readmission to intensive care unit, acute renal failure, deep sternal wound infections and new onset of atrial fibrillation

Pulse-Shape discrimination with the Counting Test Facility

Pulse shape discrimination (PSD) is one of the most distinctive features of liquid scintillators. Since the introduction of the scintillation techniques in the field of particle detection, many studies have been carried out to characterize intrinsic properties of the most common liquid scintillator mixtures in this respect. Several application methods and algorithms able to achieve optimum discrimination performances have been developed. However, the vast majority of these studies have been performed on samples of small dimensions. The Counting Test Facility, prototype of the solar neutrino experiment Borexino, as a 4 ton spherical scintillation detector immersed in 1000 tons of shielding water, represents a unique opportunity to extend the small-sample PSD studies to a large-volume setup. Specifically, in this work we consider two different liquid scintillation mixtures employed in CTF, illustrating for both the PSD characterization results obtained either with the processing of the scintillation waveform through the optimum Gatti's method, or via a more conventional approach based on the charge content of the scintillation tail. The outcomes of this study, while interesting per se, are also of paramount importance in view of the expected Borexino detector performances, where PSD will be an essential tool in the framework of the background rejection strategy needed to achieve the required sensitivity to the solar neutrino signals.Comment: 39 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. Meth.

Extra-small gold nanospheres decorated with a thiol-functionalized biodegradable and biocompatible linear polyamidoamine as nanovectors of anticancer molecules

Gold nanoparticles are elective candidate for cancer therapy. Current efforts are devoted to developing innovative methods for their synthesis. Besides, understanding their interaction with cells have become increasingly important for their clinical application. This work aims to describe a simple approach for the synthesis of extra-small gold nanoparticles for breast cancer therapy. In brief, a biocompatible and biodegradable polyamidoamine (named AGMA1-SH), bearing 20%, on a molar basis, thiol-functionalized repeat units, is employed to stabilize and coat extra-small gold nanospheres of different sizes (2.5, 3.5, and 5 nm in gold core), and to generate a nanoplatform for the link with Trastuzumab monoclonal antibody for HER2-positive breast cancer targeting. Dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet visible spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, circular dichroism, protein quantification assays are used for the characterization. The targeting properties of the nanosystems are explored to achieve enhanced and selective uptake of AGMA1-SH-gold nanoparticles by in vitro studies against HER-2 overexpressing cells, SKBR-3 and compared to HER-2 low expressing cells, MCF-7, and normal fibroblast cell line, NIH-3T3. In vitro physicochemical characterization demonstrates that gold nanoparticles modified with AGMA1-SH are more stable in aqueous solution than the unmodified ones. Additionally, the greater gold nanoparticles size (5-nm) is associated with a higher stability and conjugation efficiency with Trastuzumab, which retains its folding and anticancer activity after the conjugation. In particular, the larger Trastuzumab functionalized nanoparticles displays the highest efficacy (via the pro-apoptotic protein increase, anti-apoptotic components decrease, survival-proliferation pathways downregulation) and internalization (via the activation of the classical clathrin-mediated endocytosis) in HER-2 overexpressing SKBR-3 cells, without eliciting significant effects on the other cell lines. The use of biocompatible AGMA1-SH for producing covalently stabilized gold nanoparticles to achieve selective targeting, cytotoxicity and uptake is completely novel, offering an important advancement for developing new anticancer conjugated-gold nanoparticles

Pharmacological modulation of mitochondrial calcium uniporter controls lung inflammation in cystic fibrosis

Mitochondria physically associate with the endoplasmic reticulum to coordinate interorganelle calcium transfer and regulate fundamental cellular processes, including inflammation. Deregulated endoplasmic reticulum–mitochondria cross-talk can occur in cystic fibrosis, contributing to hyperinflammation and disease progression. We demonstrate that Pseudomonasaeruginosainfection increases endoplasmic reticulum–mitochondria associations in cystic fibrosis bronchial cells by stabilizing VAPB-PTPIP51 (vesicle-associated membrane protein–associated protein B–protein tyrosine phosphatase interacting protein 51) tethers, affecting autophagy. Impaired autophagy induced mitochondrial unfolding protein response and NLRP3 inflammasome activation, contributing to hyperinflammation. The mechanism by which VAPB-PTPIP51 tethers regulate autophagy in cystic fibrosis involves calcium transfer via mitochondrial calcium uniporter. Mitochondrial calcium uniporter inhibition rectified autophagy and alleviated the inflammatory response in vitro and in vivo, resulting in a valid therapeutic strategy for cystic fibrosis pulmonary disease

The Central Temperature of the Sun can be Measured via the 7^7Be Solar Neutrino Line

A precise test of the theory of stellar evolution can be performed by measuring the difference in average energy between the neutrino line produced by ${\rm ^7Be}$ electron capture in the solar interior and the corresponding neutrino line produced in a terrestrial laboratory. The high temperatures in the center of the sun broaden the line asymmetrically, FWHM = 1.6~keV, and cause an average energy shift of 1.3~keV. The width of the $^7$Be neutrino line should be taken into account in calculations of vacuum neutrino oscillations.Comment: RevTeX file, 9 pages. For hardcopy with figure, send to [email protected]. Institute for Advanced Study number AST 93/4

Estimativas de parâmetros genéticos na seleção intrarrebanho de bovinos da raça Nelore no Acre.

O Brasil se destaca no mercado como o segundo maior exportador de carne e a qualidade genética de seu rebanho está entre os fatores que o levaram a isso. No Acre, a pecuária de corte representa grande parte da economia gerada pelo agronegócio, mesmo o rebanho apresentando índices produtivos dentro da média nacional. A adoção de ferramentas como a avaliação genética ainda é uma prática pouco comum entre os produtores, fazendo com que não se conheçam efetivamente as características de desempenho do rebanho a serem melhoradas. O objetivo do estudo foi estimar parâmetros genéticos de características produtivas, reprodutivas e morfológicas em uma propriedade que comercializa reprodutores Nelore. Os dados analisados são de animais pertencentes a uma fazenda localizada no estado do Acre que comercializa tourinhos para leilões. Foram estimados parâmetros para pesos ajustados na fase materna (P120), desmama (P240) e sobreano (P550) e perímetro escrotal ao sobreano (PE550). Os valores de correlação fenotípica foram de 0,54 entre P120 e P240 dias, 0,46 entre P120 e P550 dias e 0,72 entre P240 e P550 dias. Em relação ao P240 e PE550, o valor de correlação obtido foi de 0,21, enquanto entre P550 e PE550 foi de 0,44. A idade dos animais e PE550 apresentaram valores fenotipicamente correlacionados de 0,51. As estimativas de herdabilidade obtidas foram 0,50, 0,30 e 0,38 para P120, P240 e P550, respectivamente. Quanto ao PE, a estimativa de herdabilidade foi de 0,27.Editores técnicos: Rodrigo Souza Santos; Fabiano Marçal Estanislau

Avaliação intrarrebanho na agregação de valor de reprodutores Nelore em leilão no Acre.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a eficiência da avaliação intrarrebanho na distinção de categorias de desempenho e agregação de valor de reprodutores da raça Nelore. Foram utilizados dados de 1.954 produtos de um criatório do Acre. Foram realizadas quatro pesagens aos 120, 240, 365 e 550 dias, mensuração do perímetro escrotal aos 365 e 550 dias e avaliação da conformação frigorífica. Os tourinhos foram classificados nas categorias Premium, Elite, Superior e Bom. Observou-se efeito significativo para todas as características avaliadas, com médias crescentes da categoria Bom para a Premium. Para a variável conformação frigorífica, não foi observada significância estatística entre as categorias Premium, Elite e Superior, apesar das médias serem maiores nas categorias mais elevadas. Constatou-se que o índice adotado apresentou efeito significativo na valorização dos reprodutores. A categoria Premium apresentou preço médio de R$20.960,00 enquanto a categoria Bom de R$ 16.680,00 uma diferença média de R$ 4.280,00, demonstrando agregação de valor e o reconhecimento dos compradores nas categorias formadas. Conclui-se que o índice de seleção foi eficiente em discriminar grupos de tourinhos geneticamente superiores e na agregação de valor em leilão, podendo ser utilizado como ferramenta de apoio no processo seletivo intrarrebanho.Editores técnicos: Rodrigo Souza Santos; Fabiano Marçal Estanislau