Physicochemical and microbiological meat quality, growth performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot-finished cull Santa Inês ewes and Moxotó goats

This study aimed at assessing the physicochemical and microbiological quality of feedlot-finished, culled Santa Inês ewes and Moxotó goats, and compares the intake, weight gain and carcass characteristics. Three Santa Inês ewes and Moxotó goats with similar ages were confined in double and/or individual pens and then euthanized after 40 days of confinement. The average intake, daily weight gain, hot carcass yield, cold carcass yield, weight loss by cooling and rib eye area (94.45%, 0.220 kg/day, 41.37%, 40.14%, 2.99%, 16.1 cm², respectively) of the Santa Inês ewes were higher than that of the Moxotó goats (84.01%; 0.06 kg/day; 41.55%; 39.81%; 4.12%; and 11.35 cm², respectively). The chevon (goat meat) showed higher protein levels (23.09 g/100 g), lower lipid levels (1.43 g/100 g) and higher red-color intensity (11.62), although it had lower tenderness (8.98 kgf shear strength). The superiority of the culled ewes was assessed relative to that of the culled goats, and the results showed that the Santa Inês sheep has better performance than the Moxotó goats. However, mutton and chevon derived from the culled animals are promising alternatives for small farmers because culled meats add value to the standard meat obtained from these animals, broaden sales alternatives and increase profitability.Key words: Performance parameters, physicochemical parameters, microbiological parameters, cull animals

Physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of Italian salami made of lamb and enriched with pequi (Caryocar brasiliense, Cambess)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the inclusion of different levels of pequi (Caryocar Brasiliense, Cambess) pulp in the processing of Italian salami made of lamb for the evaluation of their physicochemical and microbiological characteristics. Six formulations of Italian salamis were processed: no pequi pulp (control - treatment 1); 4% pequi pulp (treatment 2); 8% pequi pulp (treatment 3), 12% pequi pulp (Treatment 4), 16% pequi pulp (treatment 5) and 20% pequi pulp (treatment 6). During the maturation period, all Italian salamis made of lamb enriched with pequi presented similar behaviors; and acidity (pH) and water activity (aw) results showed stable end values. For protein, the Italian salami made of lamb without pequi pump presented a higher content. For one of the lowest contents of fat, treatment 3 showed the highest content of humidity. The contents of fat and ashes did not present any significant difference when comparing the Italian salami formulations. A color tending to dark, yellowish and reddish shades was observed in the Italian salamis made of lamb and enriched with pequi. All Italian salamis were microbiologically satisfactory, showing ideal sanitary conditions for consumption. Pequi is a typical fruit from the Brazilian cerrado region, with characteristic color, odor and flavor, and it is an option for inclusion in Italian salamis, but additional studies should be conducted to inspect the sensory acceptability of these products.Keywords: Cerrado fruit, fermented stuffed meat sausages, physicochemical parameters, microbiological parameters

Features of host cell invasion by different infective forms of Trypanosoma cruzi

Through its life cycle from the insect vector to mammalian hosts Trypanosoma cruzi has developed clever strategies to reach the intracellular milieu where it grows sheltered from the hosts' immune system. We have been interested in several aspects of in vitro interactions of different infective forms of the parasite with cultured mammalian cells. We have observed that not only the classically infective trypomastigotes but also amastigotes, originated from the extracellular differentiation of trypomastigotes, can infect cultured cells. Interestingly, the process of invasion of different parasite infective forms is remarkably distinct and also highly dependent on the host cell type.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)UNIFESPSciEL

Evaluation of the impact of strain correction on the orientation of cardiac diffusion tensors with in vivo and ex vivo porcine hearts

Purpose To evaluate the importance of strain-correcting stimulated echo acquisition mode echo-planar imaging cardiac diffusion tensor imaging. Methods Healthy pigs (n = 11) were successfully scanned with a 3D cine displacement-encoded imaging with stimulated echoes and a monopolar-stimulated echo-planar imaging diffusion tensor imaging sequence at 3 T during diastasis, peak systole, and strain sweet spots in a midventricular short-axis slice. The same diffusion tensor imaging sequence was repeated ex vivo after arresting the hearts in either a relaxed (KCl-induced) or contracted (BaCl2-induced) state. The displacement-encoded imaging with stimulated echoes data were used to strain-correct the in vivo cardiac diffusion tensor imaging in diastole and systole. The orientation of the primary (helix angles) and secondary (E2A) diffusion eigenvectors was compared with and without strain correction and to the strain-free ex vivo data. Results Strain correction reduces systolic E2A significantly when compared without strain correction and ex vivo (median absolute E2A = 34.3° versus E2A = 57.1° (P = 0.01), E2A = 60.5° (P = 0.006), respectively). The systolic distribution of E2A without strain correction is closer to the contracted ex vivo distribution than with strain correction, root mean square deviation of 0.027 versus 0.038. Conclusions The current strain-correction model amplifies the contribution of microscopic strain to diffusion resulting in an overcorrection of E2A. Results show that a new model that considers cellular rearrangement is required

A novel in situ passive heating method for evaluating whole-tree responses to daytime warming in remote environments

Background Many significant ecosystems, including important non-forest woody ecosystems such as the Cerrado (Brazilian savannah), are under threat from climate change, yet our understanding of how increasing temperatures will impact native vegetation remains limited. Temperature manipulation experiments are important tools for investigating such impacts, but are often constrained by access to power supply and limited to low-stature species, juvenile individuals, or heating of target organs, perhaps not fully revealing how entire or mature individuals and ecosystems will react to higher temperatures. Results We present a novel, modified open top chamber design for in situ passive heating of whole individuals up to 2.5 m tall (but easily expandable) in remote field environments with strong solar irradiance. We built multiple whole-tree heating structures (WTHSs) in an area of Cerrado around native woody species Davilla elliptica and Erythroxylum suberosum to test the design and its effects on air temperature and humidity, while also studying the physiological responses of E. suberosum to short-term heating. The WTHSs raised internal air temperature by approximately 2.5 °C above ambient during the daytime. This increased to 3.4 °C between 09:00 and 17:00 local time when thermal impact was greatest, and during which time mean internal temperatures corresponded closely with maximum ambient temperatures. Heating was consistent over time and across WTHSs of variable size and shape, and they had minimal effect on humidity. E. suberosum showed no detectable response of photosynthesis or respiration to short-term experimental heating, but some indication of acclimation to natural temperature changes. Conclusions Our WTHSs produced a consistent and reproducible level of daytime heating in line with mid-range climate predictions for the Cerrado biome by the end of the century. The whole-tree in situ passive heating design is flexible, low-cost, simple to build using commonly available materials, and minimises negative impacts associated with passive chambers. It could be employed to investigate the high temperature responses of many understudied species in a range of complex non-forest environments with sufficient solar irradiance, providing new and important insights into the possible impacts of our changing climate

Human Echinococcosis Mortality in the United States, 1990–2007

Human echinococcosis is a parasitic disease that affects an estimated 2–3 million people and results in an annual monetary loss of over $750,000,000 worldwide. It results in the development of life threatening tissue cysts, primarily in the liver and lung, following accidental ingestion of eggs in infected dog, fox or wild canine feces. Echinococcus parasites have a complex, two-host lifecycle (such as in dogs and sheep) in which humans are an aberrant, dead-end host. The vast majority of cases of human echinococcosis occur outside of the United States (US); however, cases within the US do occur. In this study, the authors examined death certificate data of US residents from 1990–2007 in which echinococcosis was listed as one of the diagnoses at death. The analysis demonstrated 41 echinococcosis-related deaths over the 18-year study period with foreign-born persons accounting for the majority of the deaths. This study helps quantify echinococcosis deaths among US residents and adds further support to the importance of funding echinococcosis prevention research

Cellular responses of Candida albicans to phagocytosis and the extracellular activities of neutrophils are critical to counteract carbohydrate starvation, oxidative and nitrosative stress

Acknowledgments We thank Alexander Johnson (yhb1D/D), Karl Kuchler (sodD/D mutants), Janet Quinn (hog1D/D, hog1/cap1D/D, trx1D/D) and Peter Staib (ssu1D/D) for providing mutant strains. We acknowledge helpful discussions with our colleagues from the Microbial Pathogenicity Mechanisms Department, Fungal Septomics and the Microbial Biochemistry and Physiology Research Group at the Hans Kno¨ll Institute (HKI), specially Ilse D. Jacobsen, Duncan Wilson, Sascha Brunke, Lydia Kasper, Franziska Gerwien, Sea´na Duggan, Katrin Haupt, Kerstin Hu¨nniger, and Matthias Brock, as well as from our partners in the FINSysB Network. Author Contributions Conceived and designed the experiments: PM HW IMB AJPB OK BH. Performed the experiments: PM CD HW. Analyzed the data: PM HW IMB AJPB OK BH. Wrote the paper: PM HW OK AJPB BH.Peer reviewedPublisher PD