Carcass and meat quality traits in Nellore and F1 Nellore-Araguaia crosses.

We evaluated and compared carcass traits and meat quality in Nellore cattle and F1 crosses between Nellore and Araguaia, where 17 individuals were from the Nellore group and 19 were ½ Nellore and ½ Araguaia crosses. All animals belonged to the same birth season and were raised in pasture systems under the same nutritional, environmental, and management conditions. When the animals reached slaughter weight, they were taken to an industrial slaughterhouse where food was not provided for 24 h (free access to water); they were then stunned, bled, the leather was removed, and they were eviscerated. The carcasses were weighed (hot weight), kept in chilled storage for approximately 24 h at 4°C, and weighed again to obtain the chilled carcass weight. Carcass yield, carcass length, carcass width, leg length, thigh perimeter, loin eye area (LEA), retail cuts, cooling loss, pH, fat depth, marbling rate, intramuscular fat, color, and shear force were analyzed and sensory analysis of the meat was conducted. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed for the following variables: slaughter weight, hot and chilled carcass weights, carcass and leg lengths, thigh perimeter, LEA, retail cuts, and lightness (L*), where the ½ Nellore ½ Araguaia individuals showed higher means for all of these traits, except leg length and L*. Therefore, crossbreeding between Nellore and Araguaia did not affect the meat's sensory characteristics, but contributed to an improvement in carcass traits, providing an alternative for farmers that aim for good meat quality, with a higher meat percentage.

Effect of the halothane genotype on intramuscular fat deposition in swine.

Intramuscular fat (IMF) content has been identified as an important factor in determining the quality of pork. Previous studies have suggested that IMF deposition may be associated with the presence of the halothane (HAL) gene. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the HAL gene on IMF deposition in crossbred pigs of commercial lines, which were killed at a slaughterhouse under official inspection. The genotype of the HAL gene was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. IMF was analyzed from longissimus dorsi samples. Among all animals analyzed, 42.36% were of the HalNN genotype and 57.64% were of the HalNn genotype. The average IMF content of all samples was 2.14%. Variation in IMF between genotypes was evaluated by analysis of variance. No significant difference in IMF deposition, which could be based on the presence of the halothane allele, was observed, at least in heterozygotes.

Influence of nanoencapsulation on the sensory properties of cosmetic formulations containing lipoic acid.

Sensory analysis has become a valuable tool in qualifying consumer perception regarding cosmetic products. This study aims to explore the application of discriminative and affective consumers sensory analysis in evaluating the influence of nanoencapsulation on the sensory properties and rheological characteristics of a cosmetic formulation containing lipoic acid. The nanocapsules were prepared by the pre-formed polymer precipitation method. Semisolid formulations were prepared using a silicone emulsion system, and these pseudoplastic fluids were characterized using rheological methods. The panellists (n = 88) analysed the formulations with and without nanoencapsulated lipoic acid as paired comparisons within the discriminative and affective sensory analysis. In these measurements, spreadability, stickiness, oiliness and sulphur odour were evaluated. The panellists had no previous training in conducting these measurements. It was shown that nanotechnology can change some sensory characteristics of the formulations. The spreadability, stickiness and oiliness are the attributes for which the panellists noted differences with statistical significance. The spreadability difference could be due to the results found in the rheological profiles and consistency indexes between formulations. In the discriminative analysis, the panellists could not detect any noticeable differences in the sulphur odour or residual properties between samples, attributes that would influence whether consumers adhered to the selected treatment. Considering affective analysis, the consumers communicated that the formulation containing the nanoencapsulated lipoic acid, which presented less consistency, was preferred based on the reduction in immediate stickiness and residual sulphur odour. The free lipoic acid formulation was preferred in terms of residual oiliness and spreadability.

Detection and quantification of mast cell, vascular endothelial growth factor, and microvessel density in human inflammatory periapical cysts and granulomas.

AIM: To identify and quantify mast cell (MC), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and microvessel density (MVD) in human periapical cysts and granulomas. METHODOLOGY: Archived samples of cysts (n = 40) and granulomas (n = 28) were sectioned and stained with toluidine blue. MCs were identified and counted. Immunohistochemical reactions were employed to evaluate the tissue expression of VEGF and vessels. MVD was estimated by determining the areas of tissue labelled with CD31 antibody. The data were analysed using the Mann-Whitney test (P < 0.05). RESULTS: MCs were observed in the peripheral regions of both lesion types, whilst VEGF and MVD were distributed in the stroma. The presence of MCs was higher in cysts than in granulomas (P < 0.05). VEGF and MVD expression were similar in these lesions. CONCLUSIONS: The highest number of MCs was observed in cysts. Moreover, the identification of VEGF and MVD was consistent with the immune mechanisms involved in the lesions.