The use of chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill.) as a source of resistant starch in the diet of the weaned piglet

tTwenty-four piglets, with a mean weight of 6.11 kg, were allocated to three experimentaldiets (8 piglets per diet). The starch content of the experimental diets was 39% consistingeither of 100% wheat starch (CD), 50% wheat starch and 50% chestnut starch (CN50) or 100%chestnut starch (CN100). The piglets received these diets for 35 days. Total tract apparentdigestibility (TTAD) was measured when piglets were aged 32–39 days and 46–53 days.Afterwards, the animals were sacrificed, their gastrointestinal compartments weighed, andthe contents of their caecum and colon collected. Diet did not influence the feed intakeor growth rate of the piglets, but had a significant effect on their feed conversion ratiowhich was 1.27, 1.30 and 1.37 for diets CD, CN50 and CN100, respectively (P=0.042). Pigletsreceiving the CN50 diet exhibited lower faecal scores compared to CD and CN100 groups( 2= 39.31, P<0.001). There was a trend (P=0.067) towards an increase in the TTAD of drymatter (DM) in the two chestnut-containing diets, but only when piglets were younger(32–39 days). The TTAD of crude protein (CP) was decreased (P<0.001) in CN100 group rel-ative to CD and CN50 groups, independently of age. Relative to the CD group, the coefficientof TTAD of NDF was increased by 0.18 units in the CN50 group and 0.25 units in the CN100group, when the piglets were aged 32–39 days. These differences were reduced to 0.09 and0.17 units, respectively, when the piglets were aged 46–53 days. There were tendencies(P<0.10) towards increases in the full and empty weights of the large intestine in CN100group. Moreover, diet had no significant effect on villus height and width. In the jejunum,crypt depth was reduced in CN100 group (P=0.006), while the villus height:crypt depth ratiowas increased with the CN50 and CN100 diets (P=0.018). Diet had no significant effect onDM and pH of the caecal or colonic contents. In the caecum, the concentration (mmol l−1) ofpropionic acid was 5.15, 9.43 and 14.7 (P=0.042) for diets CD, CN50 and CN100, respectively.The concentration (mmol l−1) of butyric acid was 3.50, 4.90 and 9.84 (P=0.025). Conversely,diet had no significant effect on the concentration of short chain fatty acids in the colon.In conclusion, chestnuts could be used as an alternative source of RS in the diet of weanedpiglets, although their feed conversion ratio (FCR) may be worsene

Biomedical data management and processing - a new framework

The integration of information from biomedical devices is of fundamental importance for effective medical diagnosis. In this sense, the present work aimed to develop a new framework able to manage and process biomedical data in real time. The major advantage of the proposed solution is the ability to add new medical devices and integrate their results with the existing ones. The devices tested include brainwave sensors, a baropodometric treadmill and a biomedical kit composed of a patient position sensor (accelerometer), glucometer, body temperature, blood pressure, pulse and oxygen in blood, airflow, galvanic skin response and electrocardiogram sensors. From the tests conducted, it can be concluded that the proposed framework is robust, accurate and fast, and can manage and process large volumes of data in real time. Customizable graphs can be built from the electroencephalogramsignals acquired during patient gait, which can be analyzed based on barographic image registration. Finally, it can be concluded that the framework is quite promising to be used to assist medical diagnosis and improve and accelerate the treatment of patients

Growth, feed intake, carcass characteristics, and meat fatty acid profile of lambs fed soybean oil partially replaced by fish oil blend

AbstractThe objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of partial replacement of soybean oil by fish oil on dry matter intake (DMI), growth, carcass characteristics, and meat fatty acid profile of feedlot lambs. Fifty Santa Ines male lambs with 17.1±2.8 of initial body weight (BW) were individually penned and used in a randomized complete block design with 10 blocks and 5 treatments. Dietary treatments, dry matter (DM) basis, consisted of: (1) control diet (CONT) with a 10:90 of forage to concentrate ratio, (2) control diet supplemented with 40g/kg of soybean oil (0FO), (3) control diet supplemented with 2.5g/kg of fish oil blend+37.5g/kg of soybean oil (25FO), (4) control diet supplemented with 5g/kg of fish oil blend+35g/kg of soybean oil (50FO), and (5) control diet supplemented with 7.5g/kg of fish oil blend+32.5g/kg of soybean oil (75FO). Diets were mixed once daily and fed ad libitum. At the end of the 84-day feeding trial, all animals were slaughtered for carcass characteristics evaluations and meat fat acid profile determination. Animals fed soybean oil had reduced DMI compared to control; however, the average daily gain (ADG), feed efficiency (FE) and final BW were not affected. The animals fed fish oil had similar DMI, ADG, FE and final BW to those receiving the control treatment. The DMI, ADG, FE and final BW were not affected by the increasing substitution of soybean oil for fish oil. Most carcass characteristics were not affected by treatments. The shrink after chilling was lower for the 50FO diet. Short, medium, and long-chain fatty acids were similar for all diets. Stearic acid concentration was higher for lambs fed the fat diets vs. control. However, stearic acid concentration decreased linearly when fish oil replaced soybean oil. Vaccenic acid concentration was higher for lambs fed fat diets vs. control. In addition, vaccenic acid increased linearly with fish oil inclusion. The conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) C18:2 cis-9, trans-11 showed higher concentration in meat of animals fed diets containing fish oil compared to control, but it was not affected by soybean oil inclusion. Feeding small amounts of fish oil blend plus soybean oil does not exert an additional effect on the concentration of CLA C18:2 cis-9, trans-11 in relation to the exclusive use of soybean oil. However, the mixture of 7.5g/kg DM of fish oil blend with 32.5g/kg DM of soybean oil is recommended, because it improves the lipid profile of the meat by increasing the concentration of vaccenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Additionally, supplementing 7.5g/kg DM of fish oil blend mixed with 32.5g/kg DM of soybean had no negative effect on the feed intake, ADG, FE and carcass characteristics of the lambs fed high concentrate diet

Efeito da densidade de plantação e da cultivar no crescimento da cerejeira sobre o porta-enxerto edabriz em quatro locais do norte e centro de Portugal

Foi avaliado o crescimento das cultivares de cerejeira Regina, Skeena e Sweetheart até ao final da 2ª folha, sob o efeito do portaenxerto Edabriz e quatro densidades de plantação. O ensaio foi implantado em Março de 2003, em quatro locais do Norte e Centro de Portugal, e compreende duas repetições em Caria, Vila Real e Alcongosta, e três em Carrazedo de Montenegro. A largura de entrelinhas é cerca de 5,0 metros, e as distâncias entre plantas na linha são 70, 140, 210 e 280 cm, a que correspondem densidades de 2600, 1300, 860 e 650 plantas/ha, respectivamente. Anualmente, foi registado o diâmetro do tronco de cada planta e calculada a sua área da secção do tronco (AST). No final da 2ª folha foram já significativas as diferenças de crescimento observadas, tanto ao nível do local como da densidade de plantação. As cerejeiras do ensaio de C. Montenegro cresceram mais 76, 36 e 9% do que as dos ensaios de Alcongosta, Vila Real e Caria, respectivamente, sendo o local responsável por 25% da variância total esperada. A densidade de plantação reteve já 3% da variância total, tendo as árvores deixadas a 70 cm na linha crescido menos 22% do que as mais afastadas. Por conseguinte, em Alcongosta e Vila Real as cultivares cresceram muito pouco neste porta-enxerto, pelo que em condições análogas é importante ajustar as dotações hídricas e nutricionais às necessidades específicas do porta-enxerto, de forma a melhor gerir o crescimento vegetativo e preparar as árvores para a sua função primordial: a produção

IRS2 silencing increases apoptosis and potentiates the effects of ruxolitinib in jak2v617f-positive myeloproliferative neoplasms

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The recurrent V617F mutation in JAK2 (JAK2(V617F)) has emerged as the primary contributor to the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). However, the lack of complete response in most patients treated with the JAK1/2 inhibitor, ruxolitinib, indicates the need for identifying pathways that cooperate with JAK2. Activated JAK2 was found to be associated with the insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) in non-hematological cells. We identified JAK2/IRS2 binding in JAK2(V617F) HEL cells, but not in the JAK2(WT) U937 cell line. In HEL cells, IRS2 silencing decreased STAT5 phosphorylation, reduced cell viability and increased apoptosis; these effects were enhanced when IRS2 silencing was combined with ruxolitinib. In U937 cells, IRS2 silencing neither reduced cell viability nor induced apoptosis. IRS1/2 pharmacological inhibition in primary MPN samples reduced cell viability in JAK2(V617F)-positive but not JAK2(WT) specimens; combination with ruxolitinib had additive effects. IRS2 expression was significantly higher in CD34(+) cells from essential thrombocythemia patients compared to healthy donors, and in JAK2(V617F) MPN patients when compared to JAK2(WT). Our data indicate that IRS2 is a binding partner of JAK2(V617F) in MPN. IRS2 contributes to increased cell viability and reduced apoptosis in JAK2-mutated cells. Combined pharmacological inhibition of IRS2 and JAK2 may have a potential clinical application in MPN.The recurrent V617F mutation in JAK2 (JAK2V617F) has emerged as the primary contributor to the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). However, the lack of complete response in most patients treated with the JAK1/2 inhibitor, ruxolitinib, indi7669486959sem informaçãoConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)sem informaçã

Quantized conductance coincides with state instability and excess noise in tantalum oxide memristors

Tantalum oxide memristors can switch continuously from a low-conductance semiconducting to a high-conductance metallic state. At the boundary between these two regimes are quantized conductance states, which indicate the formation of a point contact within the oxide characterized by multistable conductance fluctuations and enlarged electronic noise. Here, we observe diverse conductance-dependent noise spectra, including a transition from 1/f 2 (activated transport) to 1/f (flicker noise) as a function of the frequency f, and a large peak in the noise amplitude at the conductance quantum GQ¼2e2/h, in contrast to suppressed noise at the conductance quantum observed in other systems. We model the stochastic behaviour near the point contact regime using Molecular Dynamics–Langevin simulations and understand the observed frequency-dependent noise behaviour in terms of thermally activated atomic-scale fluctuations that make and break a quantum conductance channel. These results provide insights into switching mechanisms and guidance to device operating ranges for different applications

Dynamics of tournaments: the soccer case

A random walk-like model is considered to discuss statistical aspects of tournaments. The model is applied to soccer leagues with emphasis on the scores. This competitive system was computationally simulated and the results are compared with empirical data from the English, the German and the Spanish leagues and showed a good agreement with them. The present approach enabled us to characterize a diffusion where the scores are not normally distributed, having a short and asymmetric tail extending towards more positive values. We argue that this non-Gaussian behavior is related with the difference between the teams and with the asymmetry of the scores system. In addition, we compared two tournament systems: the all-play-all and the elimination tournaments.Comment: To appear in EPJ

Retention of Two-Band Superconductivity in Highly Carbon-Doped MgB2

Tunneling data on MgB_{1.8}C_{0.2} show a reduction in the energy gap of the pi-bands by a factor of two from undoped MgB2 that is consistent with the Tc reduction, but inconsistent with the expectations of the dirty limit. Dirty-limit theory for undoped MgB2 predicts a single gap about three times larger than measured and a reduced Tc comparable to that measured. Our heavily-doped samples exhibit a uniform dispersion of C suggestive of significantly enhanced scattering, and we conclude that the retention of two-band superconductivity in these samples is caused by a selective suppression of interband scattering.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; added one figure, added one reference, minor changes to the text, manuscript accepted for publication as a Phys. Rev. B Rapid Communicatio