Chemical composition, in vitro dry matter digestibility and Gas production of four browse species and their combinations used as feed for small ruminants

Browse species as complete feed for ruminants is uncommon. This may be due to low dry matter (DM) and high condensed tannins (CT) contents limiting its potential to influence weight gain. Drying however improves DM content and reduces CT levels and its astringency. The objective of this study was to determine chemical composition, in vitro parameters and to evaluate the potential benefits of feeding small ruminants on dried browse leaves and their combinations. The browse species were Albizzia lebbek, Gliricidia sepium, Moringa oleifera and Millettia thoningii. Rumen fluid was obtained from two fistulated forest type wethers for the in vitro evaluation. The DM, crude protein (CP), ash, CT, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), cellulose and lignin were 866-916 g/kg, 101-303 g/kg DM, 74.7-200 g/kg DM, 0.9-1.3 g/kg DM, 202-552 g/kg DM, 205-520 g/kg DM, 94-381 g/kg DM and 105-192 g/kg DM respectively. The organic matter digestibility (OMD), in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), in vitro gas production (IVGP), metabolisable energy (ME) and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) of the four browse species and their combinations recorded were 314.9-721.6 g/kg DM, 515.4-721 ml/g DM, 139-602 ml/g DM, 314.6-1406.9 ml/g DM and 3.1-14.4 ml/g DM respectively. There were positive associative effects shown by the combined browse leaves between IVDMD and IVGP. The regression analyses revealed that relationships between IVGP and CP and IVDMD and CT and all relationships between OMD, SCFA, ME and IVGP were significant (p<0.05). All the browse species and their combinations had IVDMD values of more than 500 g/kg DM and low gas production. The high CP and ash contents, low CTs, low to moderate fibre components, moderate to high IVDMD and low IVGP of the four browse species and their combinations make them potentially valuable as feed resources for small ruminant production

On the influence of thermal hysteresis on the performance of thermomagnetic motors

FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQAlthough thermal hysteresis might be a problem in the magnetocaloric refrigeration, the same is not necessarily true for thermomagnetic motor applications. This work presents a comparison of the magnetocaloric properties of materials with first order magnetic transition (having large or narrow thermal hysteresis) to those with second order magnetic transition, assessing the application of these materials in thermomagnetic motors through a thermodynamic approach. Results show that the larger the thermal hysteresis, the higher the specific work produced in a thermal cycle. This allows operation at higher temperature differences with high efficiency relative to Carnot efficiency, when compared with systems using narrow hysteresis and second order transition materials.1222415FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQ2015/26799-0Sem informaçã

Zero-mode analysis of quantum statistical physics

We present a unified formulation for quantum statistical physics based on the representation of the density matrix as a functional integral. We identify the stochastic variable of the effective statistical theory that we derive as a boundary configuration and a zero mode relevant to the discussion of infrared physics. We illustrate our formulation by computing the partition function of an interacting one-dimensional quantum mechanical system at finite temperature from the path-integral representation for the density matrix. The method of calculation provides an alternative to the usual sum over periodic trajectories: it sums over paths with coincident endpoints, and includes non-vanishing boundary terms. An appropriately modified expansion into Matsubara modes provides a natural separation of the zero-mode physics. This feature may be useful in the treatment of infrared divergences that plague the perturbative approach in thermal field theory.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Particle motion and gravitational lensing in the metric of a dilaton black hole in a de Sitter universe

We consider the metric exterior to a charged dilaton black hole in a de Sitter universe. We study the motion of a test particle in this metric. Conserved quantities are identified and the Hamilton-Jacobi method is employed for the solutions of the equations of motion. At large distances from the black hole the Hubble expansion of the universe modifies the effective potential such that bound orbits could exist up to an upper limit of the angular momentum per mass for the orbiting test particle. We then study the phenomenon of strong field gravitational lensing by these black holes by extending the standard formalism of strong lensing to the non-asymptotically flat dilaton-de Sitter metric. Expressions for the various lensing quantities are obtained in terms of the metric coefficients.Comment: 8 pages, RevTex, 1 eps figures; discussion improved; typos corrected; references adde

Simultaneous nitrification and phosphate removal by bioaugmented aerobic granules treating a fluoroorganic compound

Funding Information: This work was financed by FCT under the project AGeNT – PTDC/BTA-BTA/31264/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031264). The authors would like to thank the scientific collaboration of CBQF under the FCT project UIDB/ 50016/2020. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The AuthorsThe presence of toxic compounds in wastewater can cause problems for organic matter and nutrient removal. In this study, the long-term effect of a model xenobiotic, 2-fluorophenol (2-FP), on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and phosphate accumulating organisms (PAO) in aerobic granular sludge was investigated. Phosphate (P) and ammonium (N) removal efficiencies were high (>93%) and, after bioaugmentation with 2-FP degrading strain FP1, 2-FP was completely degraded. Neither N nor P removal were affected by 50 mg L1 of 2-FP in the feed stream. Changes in the aerobic granule bacterial communities were followed. Numerical analysis of the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles showed low diversity for the ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) gene with an even distribution of species. PAOs, including denitrifying PAO (dPAO), and AOB were present in the 2-FP degrading granules, although dPAO population decreased throughout the 444 days reactor operation. The results demonstrated that the aerobic granules bioaugmented with FP1 strain successfully removed N, P and 2-FP simultaneously.publishersversionpublishe

Stress-induced anhedonia is associated with hypertrophy of medium spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens

There is accumulating evidence that the nucleus accumbens (NAc) has an important role in the pathophysiology of depression. As the NAc is a key component in the neural circuitry of reward, it has been hypothesized that anhedonia, a core symptom of depression, might be related to dysfunction of this brain region. Neuronal morphology and expression of plasticity-related molecules were examined in the NAc of rats displaying anhedonic behavior (measured in the sucrose-consumption test) in response to chronic mild stress. To demonstrate the relevance of our measurements to depression, we tested whether the observed changes were sensitive to reversal with antidepressants (imipramine and fluoxetine). Data show that animals displaying anhedonic behavior display an hypertrophy of medium spiny neurons in the NAc and, in parallel, have increased expression of the genes encoding for brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neural cell adhesion molecule and synaptic protein synapsin 1. Importantly, the reversal of stress-induced anhedonia by antidepressants is linked to a restoration of gene-expression patterns and dendritic morphology in the NAc. Using an animal model of depression, we show that stress induces anhedonic behavior that is associated with specific changes in the neuronal morphology and in the gene-expression profile of the NAc that are effectively reversed after treatment with antidepressants.The present work was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Technology (FCT), project PTDC/SAU-NEU/105180/2008. FM and PL are recipients of postdoctoral fellowships and MM is recipient of a doctoral fellowship, all from FCT, Portugal

Plant arrangement in soybean crops with indeterminate growth in brazilian Cerrado.

Abstract: The suitability of the spatial arrangement of soybean is a tool capable of promoting better use of the agricultural environment, allowing the crop to express its yield potential. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate different implementation systems with and without an increase in the plant population of soybean with indeterminate growth habit variety cultivated in the Brazilian Cerrado. The experiments were performed in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons in Rio Verde, Goias state. The experimental design was randomized blocks with four replication in a 4x2 factorial scheme. The treatments presents four implementation systems (traditional, reduced, double rows and crossed) associated with two populations of BMX Potência RR® (recommended and increased by 33%) with presented indeterminate growth habit. The results indicate that the reduced system has an adoption potential for soybean with indeterminate growth habit. The increase in the plant population in the 2013/2014 season, increased 20% of soybean yield in relation to the recommended population, proving to be a promising technique since it considerate the costs involved

Evaluation of the pharmacotherapeutic profile of HIV/AIDS bearers

In this work was evaluated the pharmacotherapeutic profile of HIV/AIDS bearers registered in the Service of Specialized Attendance located in Campina Grande–PB, Brazil. The research was of the type traverse, documental, descriptive and analytical and was realized in the period of August to October 2010. Were appraised the patient records of 188 people being 66 % males and 34% females. The most part (36 %) just studied the education fundamental level and presented age group between 40-49 years old. Antiretrovirals more prescribed were nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). Schemes no recommended by the Ministry of Health also were evidenced. The Negative Results associated to the use of medicine was registered in the three supra-categories. It is necessary a larger integration of the multidisciplinary team of prescribers (physicians and dentists) and pharmacists in the evaluation of the pharmacotherapy to guarantee the reduction of the morbidity and the presence of opportunists infections, guaranteeing so a better surviving for the seropositive patients.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

A despistagem do VIH/sida: saúde pública e motivações dos utentes do teste rápido no Nordeste de Portugal

The article examines the adherence of citizens to the quick test for HIV in the Counseling and Early Detection of HIV/AIDS Center (CAD), in the city of Bragança (Northeast Portugal). Specifically, it seeks to examine the role of a fast diagnosis in the fight against AIDS within the Portuguese public health system, to understand the circumstances underlying the demand for the service and to interpret the perceptions and practices of CAD users. In terms of methodology, it was a case study based on ethnographic inquiry, linking direct observation, informal conversations and interviews, which was associated with extensive documental and statistic research. The results obtained allow us to state that the quick test gave a very positive contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS infection, facilitating citizen access to knowledge of their serological status almost instantly and improving their follow-up by health technicians. The so-called “dissipation of uncertainty”, following sexual risk behavior, is the main reason that leads users to perform a quick test.O artigo analisa a adesão dos cidadãos ao teste rápido de despistagem do VIH no Centro de Aconselhamento e Deteção Precoce do VIH/sida (CAD) da cidade de Bragança (Nordeste de Portugal). Em concreto, procura-se examinar o papel do diagnóstico rápido na luta contra a infeção pelo VIH/sida no quadro do sistema público de saúde português, compreender as circunstâncias subjacentes à procura do serviço e interpretar as percepções e práticas dos utentes do CAD objecto desta pesquisa. Em termos metodológicos, tratou-se de um estudo de caso assente em inquirição etnográfica, articulando observação direta, diálogos informais e entrevistas, a que se associou uma extensa pesquisa documental e estatística. Os resultados apurados permitem afirmar que o teste rápido proporcionou um contributo muito positivo para a luta contra a infeção pelo VIH/sida, facilitando o acesso dos cidadãos ao conhecimento praticamente imediato do seu estado serológico e melhorando o seguimento destes por parte dos técnicos de saúde. A chamada “dissipação da incerteza”, na sequência de uma situação de risco, é o principal motivo que leva os utentes a realizar o teste rápido