Evaluation of antivenoms in the neutralization of hyperalgesia and edema induced by Bothrops jararaca and Bothrops asper snake venoms

Neutralization of hyperalgesia induced by Bothrops jararaca and B. asper venoms was studied in rats using bothropic antivenom produced at Instituto Butantan (AVIB, 1 ml neutralizes 5 mg B. jararaca venom) and polyvalent antivenom produced at Instituto Clodomiro Picado (AVCP, 1 ml neutralizes 2.5 mg B. aspar venom). The intraplantar injection of B. jararaca and B. asper venoms caused hyperalgesia, which peaked 1 and 2 h after injection, respectively. Both venoms also induced edema with a similar time course. When neutralization assays involving the independent injection of venom and antivenom were performed, the hyperalgesia induced by B. jararaca venom was neutralized only when bothropic antivenom was administered iv 15 min before venom injection, whereas edema was neutralized when antivenom was injected 15 min or immediately before venom injection. On the other hand, polyvalent antivenom did not interfere with hyperalgesia or edema induced by B. asper venom, even when administered prior to envenomation. The lack of neutralization of hyperalgesia and edema induced by B. asper venom is not attributable to the absence of neutralizing antibodies in the antivenom, since neutralization was achieved in assays involving preincubation of venom and antivenom. Cross-neutralization of AVCP or AVIB against B. jararaca and B. asper venoms, respectively, was also evaluated. Only bothropic antivenom partially neutralized hyperalgesia induced by B. asper venom in preincubation experiments. The present data suggest that hyperalgesia and edema induced by Bothrops venoms are poorly neutralized by commercial antivenoms even when antibodies are administered immediately after envenomation.Universidad de Costa Rica/[741-A1-027]/UCR/Costa RicaFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo/[98/00257-0]/FAPESP/BrasilFundação Butantan///BrasilUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP

Sistema fuzzy para predição do desempenho produtivo de frangos de corte de 1 a 21 dias de idade Fuzzy system to predict productive performance of broiler chicks from 1 to 21 days old

Um sistema de inferência fuzzy foi desenvolvido baseado em dados da literatura para predição do consumo de ração, ganho de peso e conversão alimentar de frangos de corte com idade variando de 1 a 21, dias submetidos a diferentes condições térmicas. O sistema fuzzy foi estruturado com base em três variáveis de entrada: idade das aves (semanas), temperatura (°C) e umidade relativa (%) ambientes, sendo que as variáveis de saída consideradas foram: ganho de peso, consumo de ração e conversão alimentar. A inferência foi realizada por meio do método de Mamdani, que consistiu na elaboração de 45 regras e a defuzzificação por meio do método do Centro de Gravidade. Com base nos resultados, ao se compararem os dados da literatura com os obtidos pelo sistema fuzzy proposto, verificou-se desempenho satisfatório na predição das variáveis respostas, com R² da ordem de 0,995; 0,998 e 0,976, respectivamente. O ganho de peso predito pela lógica fuzzy foi validado com dados experimentais de campo, no qual se obteve R² = 0,975, apresentando grande potencial de uso em sistemas de climatização automatizado.<br>A fuzzy inference system was developed based on literature data to predict feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion of broiler chicks from 1 to 21 day old submitted to different thermal conditions. The fuzzy system was structured based on three input variables: age of chick (weeks), ambient temperature (°C) and ambient relative humidity (%); and the output variables considered were: weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion. The inference was performed using the Mamdani's method, which consisted of the elaboration of 45 rules, and the defuzzification using the Center of Gravity method. Comparing literature data with the results obtained by the fuzzy system proposed, it is possible to conclude that the fuzzy system predicts satisfactorily the weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion, which R² were 0.995, 0.998, and 0.976, respectively. The weight gain predicted by the fuzzy system was validated by experimental field data, which obtained R² = 0.9753, presenting a considerable use potential in automatic acclimatization systems