Economically sustainable shade design for feedlot cattle

Provision of shade reduces radiant heat load on feedlot cattle, thus reducing demand of water and energy for thermoregulation. While the positive effects of shade on animal welfare are widely known, the literature lacks data on the magnitude of its economic impacts. In this study, we propose the concept of novel shade design to prove that a correctly oriented and dimensioned roof structure, which optimizes shade to be displaced within the pens, motivates cattle to seek shade, protect them from short-wave solar radiation, and is resilient to counteract weather adverse conditions. The beneficial outcome is improvement in animal welfare and productive performance, as well as increments on financial return and sustainability. To attest these benefits, eight hundred B. indicus × Bos taurus bulls were randomly assigned in pens with or without shade from a galvanized steel-roof structure. Performance data (e.g., dry matter intake, body weight gain, feed efficiency and hot carcass weight) and heat stress indicators (e.g., subcutaneous temperature, body-surface temperature, respiratory rate and water intake) were assessed along the study period. The economic outcomes derived from shade implementation were determined using the net present value. Meteorological variables were also monitored every 1 min, and grouped in a thermal comfort index for feedlot cattle, the InComfort Index (InCI). The shade structure efficiently reduced radiant heat load on cattle in pens with shade. According to the classification of the InCI, during very hot days (InCI > 0.6; around noon with mean solar radiation above 800 W m−2 and mean air temperature above 33°C), greater proportion (80%) of animals in shaded pens were using shade. Under such circumstances, cattle in shade had water intake reduced by 3.4 L per animal, body temperature was lower by 5°C, subcutaneous temperature was lower by 1°C and respiration rate was lower by 10 breaths min−1 compared to animals in pens without shade (P = 0.0001). Although dry matter intake was similar (P = 0.6805), cattle in pens with shade had higher average daily gain reflected in a heavier hot carcass weight (8 kg animal−1; P = 0.0002). Considering an initial investment of $90 per animal to build a structure that lasts 15 years, the expected payback time is four finishing cycles (~110 days per cycle). In conclusion, this study confirms that the proposed novel shade design is economically profitable, improves performance, and enhances animal welfare

Laboratórios Remotos no Ensino de Engenharia

O presente capítulo contém uma seleção de artigos que foram apresentados na Sessão Dirigida: Laboratórios remotos no ensino da engenharia, realizada durante o XLIV Congresso Brasileiro de Educação em Engenharia (COBENGE), de 27 a 30 de setembro de 2016, em Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. Essa Sessão Dirigida propôs mostrar trabalhos que viessem a apresentar experiências baseadas em laboratórios remotos no ensino de engenharia, a fim de discutir e demonstrar as práticas ou técnicas propostas pelos grupos em diferentes realidades. Buscou, assim, expor pontos positivos e negativos para potenciais disseminações de projetos com semelhantes contextos. Portanto, o objetivo da Sessão Dirigida foi proporcionar um ambiente para discussão e reflexão referente à integração dos laboratórios remotos no ensino de engenharia. Os cinco artigos apresentados neste capítulo foram selecionados entre aqueles que receberam a qualificação a partir da apresentação oral na Sessão Dirigida ou como convidados. O primeiro, escrito por Thiago Schaedler Uhlmann e Luciano Antonio Mendes, da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUC-PR), é intitulado “Jogos remotos: perspectivas de aplicação conjunta de aprendizagem baseada em jogos e experimentação remota no ensino de engenharia”. Tem como objetivo geral identificar possibilidades acerca do emprego da Aprendizagem Baseada em Jogos, associada a recursos de experimentação remota, no ensino de engenharia. O segundo artigo selecionado foi escrito por Ana M. B. Pavani; Delberis A. Lima; Guilherme P Temporão; Vanessa A. P. Lima, vinculados à Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RIO). O documento, intitulado “Implantação de um laboratório remoto: um projeto de múltiplas facetas”, busca descrever a experiência de iniciar a implantação de um laboratório remoto nessa instituição, no âmbito do Projeto VISIR+. O terceiro artigo, “Projetos de experimentos remotos como estratégia for- mativa para estudantes de engenharia”, foi escrito por Eduardo Kojy Takahashi; Rubens Gedraite; Hermes Gustavo Fernandes Neri; Dayane Carvalho Cardoso e Rener Martins de Moura, da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU). Os autores buscam apresentar uma possibilidade metodológica de formação básica de estudantes de engenharia, a partir do desenvolvimento colaborativo de projetos envolvendo experimentação remota e com o engajamento de professores-pesquisadores, estudantes de engenharia e estudantes do ensino médio que apresentem um potencial para a carreira de engenharia. O quarto artigo, intitulado “Percepções acerca de experimentos remotos no contexto de um curso de especialização em Educação em Engenharia e Ciências Exatas”, foi escrito por Luciano Andreatta Carvalho da Costa, da Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul (UERGS). No documento, o autor busca apresentar as percepções dos estudantes de um curso de especialização em Educação em Engenharia e em Ciências Exatas na UERGS, no âmbito da utilização de laboratórios remotos, a partir de uma disciplina ministrada no curso que trata do tema dos experimentos online e seus impactos para a formação na área tecnológica. O quinto artigo, “Programa de cooperação interinstitucional para experimentação remota nos processos de ensino e de aprendizagem de engenharia”, é de autoria de Gabriela Rocha Roque (Faculdade SATC); Josiel Pereira e Simone Meister Sommer Bilessimo, da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). O documento descreve a uma iniciativa de cooperação entre duas instituições de ensino superior, a UFSC e a Faculdade SATC. Cooperação esta motivada pela integração de tecnologia no ensino de engenharia, através da utilização e do compartilhamento dos recursos de laboratórios de experimentação remota.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An extensive reef system at the Amazon River mouth

Large rivers create major gaps in reef distribution along tropical shelves. The Amazon River represents 20% of the global riverine discharge to the ocean, generating up to a 1.3 x 10(6)-km(2) plume, and extensive muddy bottoms in the equatorial margin of South America. As a result, a wide area of the tropical North Atlantic is heavily affected in terms of salinity, pH, light penetration, and sedimentation. Such unfavorable conditions were thought to imprint a major gap in Western Atlantic reefs. We present an extensive carbonate system off the Amazon mouth, underneath the river plume. Significant carbonate sedimentation occurred during lowstand sea level, and still occurs in the outer shelf, resulting in complex hard-bottom topography. A permanent near-bottom wedge of ocean water, together with the seasonal nature of the plume's eastward retroflection, conditions the existence of this extensive (similar to 9500 km(2)) hard-bottom mosaic. The Amazon reefs transition from accretive to erosional structures and encompass extensive rhodolith beds. Carbonate structures function as a connectivity corridor for wide depth-ranging reef-associated species, being heavily colonized by large sponges and other structure-forming filter feeders that dwell under low light and high levels of particulates. The oxycline between the plume and subplume is associated with chemoautotrophic and anaerobic microbial metabolisms. The system described here provides several insights about the responses of tropical reefs to suboptimal and marginal reef-building conditions, which are accelerating worldwide due to global changes.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)Coordenadoria de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)Fundacao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERS)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)BrasoilMCTIBrazilian NavyU.S. NSFGordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF)Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro UFRJ, Inst Biol, BR-21941599 Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, COPPE, Inst Alberto Luiz Coimbra Posgrad & Pesquisa Engn, Lab Sistemas Avancados Gestao Prod, BR-21941972 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilInst Pesquisas Jardim Bot Rio de Janeiro, BR-22460030 Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Inst Oceanog, BR-05508120 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Espirito Santo, Dept Oceanog, BR-29199970 Vitoria, ES, BrazilUniv Estadual Norte Fluminense, Lab Ciencias Ambientais, Ctr Biociencias & Biotecnol, BR-28013602 Campos Dos Goytacazes, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Fluminense, Inst Geociencias, BR-24210346 Niteroi, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Fluminense, Inst Biol, BR-24210130 Niteroi, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Museo Nacl, BR-20940040 Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilFed Univ Para, Inst Estudos Costeiros, BR-68600000 Braganca, PA, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Mar, BR-11070100 Santos, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Pernambuco, Dept Oceanog, BR-50670901 Recife, PE, BrazilUniv Georgia, Dept Marine Sci, Athens, GA 30602 USAUniv Fed Paraiba, BR-58297000 Rio Tinto, PB, BrazilUniv Estadual Santa Cruz, Dept Ciencias Biol, BR-45650000 Ilheus, BA, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Mar, BR-11070100 Santos, SP, BrazilU.S. NSF: OCE-0934095GBMF: 2293GBMF: 2928Web of Scienc

Muscle protein metabolism in neonatal alloxan-administered rats: effects of continuous and intermittent swimming training

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed to examine the effects of intermittent and continuous swimming training on muscle protein metabolism in neonatal alloxan-administered rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Wistar rats were used and divided into six groups: sedentary alloxan (SA), sedentary control (SC), continuous trained alloxan (CA), intermittent trained alloxan (IA), continuous trained control (CC) and intermittent trained control (IC). Alloxan (250 mg/kg body weight) was injected into newborn rats at 6 days of age. The continuous training protocol consisted of 12 weeks of swimming training in individual cylinder tanks while supporting a load that was 5% of body weight; uninterrupted swimming for 1 h/day, five days a week. The intermittent training protocol consisted of 12 weeks of swimming training in individual cylinder tanks while supporting a load that was 15% of body weight; 30 s of activity interrupted by 30 s of rest for a total of 20 min/day, five days a week.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At 28 days, the alloxan animals displayed higher glycemia after glucose overload than the control animals. No differences in insulinemia among the groups were detected. At 120 days, no differences in serum albumin and total protein among the groups were observed. Compared to the other groups, DNA concentrations were higher in the alloxan animals that were subjected to continuous training, whereas the DNA/protein ratio was higher in the alloxan animals that were subjected to intermittent training.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It was concluded that continuous and intermittent training sessions were effective in altering muscle growth by hyperplasia and hypertrophy, respectively, in alloxan-administered animals.</p

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

A transcriptomic analysis of gene expression in the venom gland of the snake Bothrops alternatus (urutu)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genus <it>Bothrops </it>is widespread throughout Central and South America and is the principal cause of snakebite in these regions. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies have examined the venom composition of several species in this genus, but many others remain to be studied. In this work, we used a transcriptomic approach to examine the venom gland genes of <it>Bothrops alternatus</it>, a clinically important species found in southeastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, northern Argentina and eastern Paraguay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A cDNA library of 5,350 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was produced and assembled into 838 contigs and 4512 singletons. BLAST searches of relevant databases showed 30% hits and 70% no-hits, with toxin-related transcripts accounting for 23% and 78% of the total transcripts and hits, respectively. Gene ontology analysis identified non-toxin genes related to general metabolism, transcription and translation, processing and sorting, (polypeptide) degradation, structural functions and cell regulation. The major groups of toxin transcripts identified were metalloproteinases (81%), bradykinin-potentiating peptides/C-type natriuretic peptides (8.8%), phospholipases A₂(5.6%), serine proteinases (1.9%) and C-type lectins (1.5%). Metalloproteinases were almost exclusively type PIII proteins, with few type PII and no type PI proteins. Phospholipases A₂were essentially acidic; no basic PLA₂were detected. Minor toxin transcripts were related to L-amino acid oxidase, cysteine-rich secretory proteins, dipeptidylpeptidase IV, hyaluronidase, three-finger toxins and ohanin. Two non-toxic proteins, thioredoxin and double-specificity phosphatase Dusp6, showed high sequence identity to similar proteins from other snakes. In addition to the above features, single-nucleotide polymorphisms, microsatellites, transposable elements and inverted repeats that could contribute to toxin diversity were observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Bothrops alternatus </it>venom gland contains the major toxin classes described for other <it>Bothrops </it>venoms based on trancriptomic and proteomic studies. The predominance of type PIII metalloproteinases agrees with the well-known hemorrhagic activity of this venom, whereas the lower content of serine proteases and C-type lectins could contribute to less marked coagulopathy following envenoming by this species. The lack of basic PLA₂agrees with the lower myotoxicity of this venom compared to other <it>Bothrops </it>species with these toxins. Together, these results contribute to our understanding of the physiopathology of envenoming by this species.</p

Gender Differences in COVID-19 Among Liver Transplant Recipients: Results from a Multicenter Brazilian Cohort

Introduction: Existing literature presents varying perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on liver transplant recipients.However, no research has specifically investigated the role of gender differences in the manifestation of COVID-19 among liver transplant recipients. This study aims to examine the effects of COVID-19 on liver transplant recipients, with a focus on gender differences in disease presentation and progression. Methods: Conducted as a multicenter historical cohort study, this research collected patient records through an online questionnaire. Assessing COVID-related mortality was the main objective. Additionally, demographic, clinical, and laboratory data pertaining to disease presentation and progression werecollected. Results: The study included a total of 283 patients, of whom 76 were female and 206 were male. The median follow-up period for males was 99 days (IQR 38-283), while for females, it was 126 days (IQR 44-291). A higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease was observed in males (p=0.002). Females frequently experienced a loss of smell (p=0.021), whereas males commonly exhibited fever (p=0.031). Levels of ALT and gamma-glutamyl transferase were significantly elevated in males (p=0.008 and 0.004, respectively). Although there was a trend towards increased mortality in males, it did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: This study is the first attempt to investigate gender differences in COVID-19 among liver transplant recipients. Our findings highlight the need for a comprehensive and personalised approach to treating this patient population and underscore the importance of further elucidating the disease presentation in these individuals