Comportamento ingestivo e respostas fisiológicas de novilhos submetidos a dietas com torta de amendoim / Intake behavior and physiological responses of steer fed with peanut cake diets

Objetivou-se avaliar a substituição do farelo de soja por torta de amendoim no concentrado da dieta de novilhos, por meio do comportamento ingestivo e respostas fisiológicas. Foram utilizados cinco novilhos, dispostos em um quadrado latino 5 x 5. As dietas foram compostas de feno de tifton, milho moído, farelo de soja e torta de amendoim, constituídas de zero (100 por centode farelo de soja), 25, 50, 75 e 100 por cento de substituição por torta de amendoim no concentrado. Os níveis de torta de amendoim não influenciaram (P>0,05) as eficiências de ingestão e ruminação da matéria seca e da fibra em detergente neutro. Em relação às atividades comportamentais, o único parâmetro em que se observou efeito da substituição foi o número de períodos de ócio no turno da manhã (P<0,05), no qual se constatou efeito linear crescente. A taxa de secreção salivar e a quebra de partículas foram semelhantes, pois não houve efeito (P>0,05) das dietas sobre as características de mastigação. Como não houve efeito (P>0,05) das dietas sobre as frequências respiratória, cardíaca e a temperatura retal, o calor endógeno produzido pela fermentação ruminal foi equivalente. A torta de amendoim, por conter aflatoxinas, quando fornecida em alta relação volumoso x concentrado, pode substituir o farelo de soja na dieta de novilhos, pois ocasiona comportamento ingestivo e respostas fisiológicas semelhantes...

This study aimed to evaluate the replacement of soybean meal with peanut cake in the concentrate of steer diets through intake behavior and physiological responses. Five steers, arranged in a 5 x 5 latin square design were used. The diets were composed of Tifton hay, ground corn, soybean meal and peanut cake, made from zero (100 percent soybean meal), 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent replacement for peanut cake in the concentrate. The levels of peanut cake did not influence (P>0.05) the intake and rumination efficiencies of dry matter and fiber in neutral detergent. Regarding the behavioral activities, the only parameter that observed a substitution effect was the number of idle periods in the morning shift (P<0.05) which had an increasing linear effect. The rate of salivary secretion and the particle breakdown were similar, because there was no effect (P>0.05) of the diets on the chewing characteristics. As there was no effect (P>0.05) of the diets on the respiratory rate, heart rate and rectal temperature, the endogenous heat produced by rumen fermentation was equivalent. The peanut cake, by containing aflatoxin, when provided in high roughage x concentrate rate, can replace soybean meal in the steers' diet because it causes similar intake behavior and physiological responses...

Inclusão de casca de pinhão-manso em dietas de ovinos: consumo voluntário e caracterização de quadro toxicológico / Fruit shell from jatropha curcas including in sheep diets: a nutritional assessment and toxicological characterization

The nutrients intake and histopathological occurrences were evaluated in sheep fed diets with increasing levels of inclusion (0%, 15%, 30%, and 45%) of Jatropha curcas dried and crushed fruit shell in substitution to Mombaça grass hay. Twenty castrated male sheep were kept in metabolic cages and fed diets ad libitum (5 to 10% scraps were allowed). At the end of the experiment, the animals were subjected to clinical examination and blood collection, followed by euthanasia and necropsy. The clinical and pathological disorders were characterized by digestive, lung, and heart alterations, with regressive changes affecting kidney and liver. Presence of fluid in the abdominal and pericardial cavities, intestine with little content or empty, reddish serosa, and hyperemic mucosa with streaks of blood were observed during necropsy; as well as edematous mesenteric lymph nodes; red, swollen, and firm lung (hepatization) with emphysema areas, suffusions in the serous of the rumen, and ulcers in the abomasum. Histopathological analysis revealed congestion and pulmonary edema, congestion and vacuolar degeneration of hepatocytes, edematous mesenteric lymph nodes, tubular degeneration, and the presence of calcium crystals in the kidney. Thus, the collected data reveals that J. curcas fruit shell is toxic when added at different levels in sheep diet.

Frequency of FMR1 premutation in individuals with ataxia and/or tremor and/or parkinsonism

A late onset neurological syndrome in carriers of premutation in FMR1 gene was recently described. The condition was named fragile-X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) and includes intentional tremor, cerebellar ataxia, parkinsonism, and cognitive deficit. We ascertained the contribution of FMR1 premutation to the phenotypes ataxia, tremor and/or parkinsonism. Sixty-six men over 45 years old presenting these symptoms, isolated or combined, were tested. Also, 74 normal men, randomly chosen in the population, formed the control group. In the patient group, no premutation carrier was found, which is in agreement with other observed frequencies reported elsewhere (0-5% variation). No significant differences were found when comparing gray zone allele frequencies among target and control groups. The FXTAS contribution in patients with phenotypic manifestations of FXTAS was 15/748 (2%). The presence of gray zone alleles is not correlated with FXTAS occurrence.

Determinação do sexo do feto através de uma nova técnica não invasiva baseada em PCR / Determination of fetal sex by a new PCR method non invasive

A determinação do sexo do feto é geralmente realizada pelo procedimento de ultra-som que ocorre no segundo trimestre da gestação, sendo que, quando realizado antes da 13ª semana, esse método se mostra muito incerto.Técnicas moleculares utilizando o PCR já foram descrita, e possuem maior sensibilidade na determinação do sexo. Dentre estas técnicas existentes, as invasivas consistem em amniocentese ou coleta de amostra de vilo coriônico, seguida de PCR para determinar osexo e que representam em aumento de risco na gravidez e as técnicas não invasivas que conseguem detectar o DNA fetal no sangue periférico materno. Foi desenvolvida em nosso laboratório uma técnica capaz de detectar o sexo fetal nas primeiras semanas de gestaçãocom alto índice de acerto. A técnica consistiu em desenhar iniciadores que anelassem em regiões repetitivas espalhadas no cromossomoY e “PCR Nested” para aumentar a acurácia do exame. Os resultados demonstraram que a técnica possui sensibilidade e especificidade de 100%. Além disso, a PCR foi capaz de detectar em uma diluição seriada de uma amostra de DNA genômico masculina, previamente quantificada, a presença do cromossomo Y em amostrascontendo apenas 100 femtogramas de DNA.

The determination of fetal sex is currently carried out by ultrasound that is usually performed in the second trimester. However, it is inaccurate before 13th week of gestation. Molecular techniques such as PCR already had been described and were successful of fetal gender. Among these techniques, there are invasive methods: chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis that are avoided because it is associated with a risk of fetal loss, and the non-invasive procedures that use of fetal DNA circulating in maternal blood. We report a new Nested PCR method with specific primers for repetitive sequences of the Y-chromossome. Our results indicated that sensitivity and specificity of the method were 100% and we can accurately detect Y-chromossome sequences in samples with only 100 femtograms of DNA template.

Aspectos da bovinocultura leiteira no Município de Ilhéus-BA / Characterization of dairy cattle production in Ilhéus -BA

The results show that the milk production activity in the county of Ilhéus, Bahia state, Brazil, lacks of technologies that could improve milk productivity. General information about the farms were obtained through a survey. Thirty-seven (43.5 percent) farms were smaller or equal to 50ha and 65 (76.5 percent) farms produced 50l of milk per day, characterizing these farmers as small producers. In 46 (54.1 percent) farms no information concerning costs, level of production, reproduction efficiency or sanity of the herds were found. In 29 (34.2 percent) farms the information was registered in portable computer database, six (7.1 percent) farms used structured index cards and four (4.7 percent) farms had desktop computers. Forty-one (48.2 percent) farms had roofed and paved milk facilities, three (3.5 percent) farms had not roofed but paved, in 31 (36.5 percent) farms the corrals were not roofed and unpaved, and 10 (11.8 percent) farms had no constructions.

Thyroid peroxidase activity is inhibited by amino acids

Normal in vitro thyroid peroxidase (TPO) iodide oxidation activity was completely inhibited by a hydrolyzed TPO preparation (0.15 mg/ml) or hydrolyzed bovine serum albumin (BSA, 0.2 mg/ml). A pancreatic hydrolysate of casein (trypticase peptone, 0.1 mg/ml) and some amino acids (cysteine, tryptophan and methionine, 50 µM each) also inhibited the TPO iodide oxidation reaction completely, whereas casamino acids (0.1 mg/ml), and tyrosine, phenylalanine and histidine (50 µM each) inhibited the TPO reaction by 54 per cent or less. A pancreatic digest of gelatin (0.1 mg/ml) or any other amino acid (50 µM) tested did not significantly decrease TPO activity. The amino acids that impair iodide oxidation also inhibit the TPO albumin iodination activity. The inhibitory amino acids contain side chains with either sulfur atoms (cysteine and methionine) or aromatic rings (tyrosine, tryptophan, histidine and phenylalanine). Among the amino acids tested, only cysteine affected the TPO guaiacol oxidation reaction, producing a transient inhibition at 25 or 50 µM. The iodide oxidation inhibitory activity of cysteine, methionine and tryptophan was reversed by increasing iodide concentrations from 12 to 18 mM, while no such effect was observed when the cofactor (H2O2) concentration was increased. The inhibitory substances might interfere with the enzyme activity by competing with its normal substrates for their binding sites, binding to the free substrates or reducing their oxidized form.