Clove and rosemary essential oils and encapsuled active principles (eugenol, thymol and vanillin blend) on meat quality of feedlot-finished heifers

Forty Nellore heifers were fed (73days) with different diets: with or without essential oils (clove and/or rosemary essential oil) and/or active principle blend (eugenol, thymol and vanillin). The pH, fat thickness, marbling, muscle area and water losses (thawing and drip) were evaluated 24h post mortem on the Longissimus thoracis, and the effects of aging (14days) was evaluated on the meat cooking losses, color, texture and lipid oxidation. Antioxidant activity was also evaluated. Treatments had no effect (P>0.05) on pH, fat thickness, marbling, muscle area, thawing and drip losses. However, treatments affected (P<0.05) cooking losses, color, texture and lipid oxidation. The diets with essential oil and the active principle blend reduced the lipid oxidation and reduced the color losses in relation to control diet. Aging affected (P<0.05) texture and lipid oxidation. The essential oil and active principles or its blend have potential use in animal feed aiming to maintain/improve meat quality during shelf-life

Characterization of food bars manufactured with agroindustrial by-products and waste Caracterização de barras alimentícias elaboradas com subprodutos e resíduos agroindustriais

Food bars are products obtained from the union of a number of components, standing out in the snack category due to their portability attribute with a focus on convenience and health. Utilization of by-products and agroindustrial food waste as ingredients in the making of food bars is highly important due to the utilization of leftovers of marked nutritional and functional value and decrease of the production cost. This work intended to evaluate the chemical and physicochemical aspects of food bars made with the by-products broken rice (BR) and pequi nut (PN), soybean extract residue (SER), and pineapple waste (PW). Distinct proportions of BR: SER respectively were used, amounting to five treatments: 1:0 (A); 3:1 (B); 1:1 (C); 1:3 (D) and 0:1(E) and fixed amounts of the other components. For the statistical analysis, variance analysis and the Tukey test were performed to 5% significance. The moisture, protein, lipid, ash, mineral, and dietary fiber contents were directly increased as the SER was increased and the amount of BR was decreased. However, the opposite was found with both carbohydrates and calories. The soluble solids, pH and water activity values presented increases with the increased soybean extract residue. All the treatments presented slightly acidic pH and water activity bellow 0.6, favoring microbiological safety. In the chemical score, treatment A presented lysine as the limiting aminoacid in relation to the Food and Agriculture Organization - FAO/WHO reference (1990). The food bars can be considered rich in dietary fiber and with considerable nutritional support. Treatments D and E proved better in the set of the variables studied for human consumption.<br>Barras alimentícias são produtos obtidos a partir da junção de vários componentes, destacando-se na categoria dos snacks em razão do atributo portabilidade com foco em conveniência e saúde. A utilização de subprodutos e de resíduos agroindustriais alimentícios como ingredientes na elaboração de barras alimentícias têm grande importância em decorrencia do aproveitamento de remanescentes de considerado valor nutricional e funcional e diminuição do custo de produção. No trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar aspectos químicos e físico-químicos de barras alimentícias elaboradas com subprodutos quirera de arroz (QR) e castanha de pequi (CP), resíduo de extrato de soja (RES) e resíduo de abacaxi (RA). Utilizaram-se proporções distintas de QA: RES totalizando cinco tratamentos: 1:0 (A); 3:1 (B); 1:1 (C); 1:3 (D) e 0:1(E) e quantidades fixas dos demais componentes. Para análise estatística foram realizadas análise de variância e teste de Tukey, a 5% de significância. Os teores de umidade, proteínas, lipídeos, cinzas, minerais e de fibra alimentar foram estritamente crescentes à medida que aumentava-se o RES e diminuía-se a quantidade de QA. Já, com carboidratos e calorias, observou-se o inverso. Os valores de sólidos solúveis, pH e atividade da água, apresentaram-se crescentes com o aumento de resíduo do extrato de soja. Todos os tratamentos apresentaram pH levemente ácido e atividade da água abaixo de 0,6, podendo favorecer a segurança microbiológica. No escore químico, o tratamento A apresentou a lisina como aminoácido limitante em relação à referência da FAO/WHO (1990). As barras alimentícias podem ser conideradas ricas em fibra alimentar e com considerável aporte nutricional. Os tratamentos D e E apresentaram-se melhores no conjunto das variáveis analisadas para o consumo humano

A serological study of cysticercosis in patients with HIV Estudo sorológico da cisticercose em pacientes com HIV

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) has attained the importance of one of the most common cause of focal brain lesions in patients infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Adequate data regarding the rate of this co-infection is lacking. Therefore, the present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of cysticercosis among HIV patients residing in Puducherry or its neighboring districts of Tamil Nadu State, India. A total of one hundred blood samples were collected from HIV seropositive cases visiting JIPMER hospital, Puducherry, between June 2007 and May 2008. Enzyme immunotransfer blot (EITB) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to demonstrate anti- T. solium larval stage antibodies and Co-agglutination (Co-A) test was used to detect T. solium larval stage antigens in sera. Two HIV seropositive cases were found positive for anti-T. solium larval stage antibody by EITB and four were positive by ELISA. Only one sample was positive by both EITB and ELISA. No serum sample was found positive for T. solium larval stage antigen by Co-A test. The overall seropositivity detected by all the methods was 5% in this study group. The accurate clinical diagnosis of NCC in HIV is difficult due to deranged immunological parameters in the HIV infected patients. The results of this study provides important data on the prevalence of cysticercosis in HIV positive patients in Puducherry and neighboring areas which was previously unknown. This study will also increase awareness among physicians and public health agencies about T. solium cysticercosis in the selected group.<br>Neurocisticercose (NCC) tem alcançado a importância de uma das mais comuns causas de lesões focais no cérebro em pacientes infectados pelo HIV (vírus da imunodeficiência adquirida). Dados adequados relativos à frequencia desta co-infecção estão faltando. Portanto, o presente estudo foi realizado para determinar a prevalência da cisticercose entre pacientes com HIV residindo em Puducherry ou distritos vizinhos do Estado de Tamil Nadu, India. Um total de cem amostras foram coletadas de casos soropositivos do Hospital JIPMER, Puducherry, entre junho de 2007 e maio de 2008. "Enzyme immunotransfer blot" (EITB) e ELISA foram utilizados para demonstrar anticorpos contra a fase larval do T. solium. Testes de co-aglutinação (Co-a) foram usados para demonstrar antígenos da fase larval do T. solium no soro. Dois casos HIV soropositivos foram positivos para anticorpos contra a fase larval do T. solium por EITB e quatro foram positivos por ELISA. Somente uma amostra foi positiva por ambos EITB e ELISA. Nenhuma amostra de soro foi positiva para antígeno da fase larval do T. solium pelo teste Co-a. A soropositividade total detectada por todos os métodos foi 5% neste grupo de estudo. O diagnóstico clínico exato de NCC em HIV é difícil devido aos desordenados parâmetros imunológicos nos pacientes infectados pelo HIV. Os resultados deste estudo fornecem dados importantes sobre a prevalência da cisticercose em pacientes HIV positivos em Puducherry e áreas vizinhas que eram previamente desconhecidos. Este estudo também aumentará a atenção dos médicos e agências de saúde pública sobre a cisticercose por T. solium em grupo selecionado

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora