Determinação da digestibilidade da matéria seca e da proteína bruta do fubá de milho e do farelo de soja para tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), utilizando-se técnicas com uso de indicadores internos e externos Determination of the digestibility of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) food nutrients by the techniques with internal and external indicators

Foram realizados dois experimentos com o objetivo de comparar técnicas de digestibilidade de nutrientes de alimentos para peixes, com o uso dos indicadores externos (óxido crômico e carbonato de bário) e internos (cinza insolúvel em ácido, cinza insolúvel em detergente ácido, fibra bruta e fibra detergente ácido) e com a técnica de determinação direta. Tambaquis com 100 g receberam, no primeiro experimento, fubá de milho e, no segundo, farelo de soja. O óxido crômico e o carbonato de bário são indicadores externos efetivos para estimar os coeficientes de digestibilidade dos alimentos para tambaquis. A fibra bruta e a fibra detergente ácido apresentaram baixa recuperação e não estimaram de forma consistente os coeficientes de digestibilidade dos alimentos para tambaquis, subestimando-os. A cinza insolúvel em ácido e a cinza insolúvel em detergente ácido apresentaram alta porcentagem de recuperação e estimaram de forma consistente os coeficientes de digestibilidade dos alimentos para tambaquis, quando presentes no alimento em teores acima de 3,8% e 3,1%, respectivamente. A técnica de determinação direta foi eficiente para estimar os coeficientes de digestibilidade dos alimentos para tambaquis.<br>Two experiments were carried out aiming to compare techniques of digestibility of fish food nutrients, by using external indicators (chromic oxide and barium carbonate), internal indicators (HCl-insoluble ash, acid detergent insoluble ash, crude fiber and acid detergent fiber) and the direct determination technique. Corn meal was used in the first experiment and soybean meal was used in the second one; both used 100 g tambaquis. Chromic oxide and barium carbonate are effective external indicators for estimating the digestibility coefficients of feedstuffs fed to tambaquis. Crude fiber and the acid detergent fiber present a low recovery and do not estimate accurately the digestibility coefficients of feedstuffs for tambaquis and also underestimate them. The insoluble ash in acid and the insoluble ash in detergent acid showed high recovery percentage and accurately estimated the digestibility coefficients of feedstuffs fed to tambaquis, when showed contents higher than 3.8 and 3.1, respectively. The direct determination technique was efficient to estimate the digestibility coefficients of the food given to the tambaquis

Natalizumab plus interferon beta-1a for relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Item does not contain fulltextBACKGROUND: Interferon beta is used to modify the course of relapsing multiple sclerosis. Despite interferon beta therapy, many patients have relapses. Natalizumab, an alpha4 integrin antagonist, appeared to be safe and effective alone and when added to interferon beta-1a in preliminary studies. METHODS: We randomly assigned 1171 patients who, despite interferon beta-1a therapy, had had at least one relapse during the 12-month period before randomization to receive continued interferon beta-1a in combination with 300 mg of natalizumab (589 patients) or placebo (582 patients) intravenously every 4 weeks for up to 116 weeks. The primary end points were the rate of clinical relapse at 1 year and the cumulative probability of disability progression sustained for 12 weeks, as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale, at 2 years. RESULTS: Combination therapy resulted in a 24 percent reduction in the relative risk of sustained disability progression (hazard ratio, 0.76; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.61 to 0.96; P=0.02). Kaplan-Meier estimates of the cumulative probability of progression at two years were 23 percent with combination therapy and 29 percent with interferon beta-1a alone. Combination therapy was associated with a lower annualized rate of relapse over a two-year period than was interferon beta-1a alone (0.34 vs. 0.75, P<0.001) and with fewer new or enlarging lesions on T(2)-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (0.9 vs. 5.4, P<0.001). Adverse events associated with combination therapy were anxiety, pharyngitis, sinus congestion, and peripheral edema. Two cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, one of which was fatal, were diagnosed in natalizumab-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: Natalizumab added to interferon beta-1a was significantly more effective than interferon beta-1a alone in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis. Additional research is needed to elucidate the benefits and risks of this combination treatment. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00030966.)