Nutritive value and fermentation quality of palisadegrass and stylo mixed silages.

The nutritive value and fermentation quality of palisadegrass (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraes) and stylo (Stylosanthes capitata × S. macrocephala cv. Campo Grande) mixed silages were evaluated. The experiment was analyzed in a factorial scheme (5 × 2) in a completely randomized design using increasing levels of stylo (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% on a fresh matter basis) on palisadegrass silages, with and without microbial inoculants (MI). With the increased ratio of stylo in mixed silages, dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and lignin content increased in silages. The presence of MI promoted lower DM content, and higher neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein, ADF and lignin content. The acid detergent insoluble nitrogen content and the lactic acid bacteria populations were not affected by treatments. The in vitroDM digestibility was affected by the interaction of levels of the stylo and MI. The pH, NH3 -N/total nitrogen and butyric acid concentrations decreased with increasing levels of stylo. Better nutritive value and quality of fermentation was found in the silage containing higher proportions of this stylo mixed with palisadegrass. The microbial inoculant evaluated did not alter the nutritive value or quality of the fermentation of the silages in this experiment.

Copper, nickel and zinc accumulations in lettuce grown in soil amended with contaminated cattle manure vermicompost after sequential cultivations.

The Cu, Ni and Zn accumulations in leaves and roots of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L) grown in soil amended with natural and contaminated cattle manure vermicompost were evaluated. The vermicompost residues containing relatively high metal concentrations used in this work were obtained from a previous experiment, in which vermicompost was applied to removing metals from electroplating wastes. Sequential lettuce cultivations were conducted in pots containing the residual substrates from the first cultivation by adding metal-enriched vermicompost residues. In general, the Cu, Ni and Zn concentrations in leaves and roots of lettuce plants grown in vermicompost enriched with these metals were higher than in the treatment using the natural vermicompost. The metal concentrations in leaves from treatments with natural vermicompost were below the critical concentrations of toxicity to plants. However, the metal concentrations in leaves of the third cultivation in which metal-enriched vermicompost was applied were greater than the upper limit that causes plant toxicity, but no visual damage was observed in the plants. Treatment with Zn-enriched vermicompost resulted in toxicity symptoms, but plant damage did not result in the death of the plant. The chemical fractionation of Cu, Ni and Zn in residues from lettuce cultivation was evaluated by using a sequential extraction procedure and metal concentrations were increased in the different chemical fractions according to the increase of vermicompost dose.

Treatment of wastewater from coffee bean processing in anaerobic fixed bed reactors with different support materials: performance and kinetic modeling.

An evaluation was performed of three upflow anaerobic fixed bed reactors for the treatment of wastewater from coffee bean processing (WCP). The supports used were: blast furnace cinders, polyurethane foam and crushed stone with porosities of 53, 95 and 48%, respectively. The testing of these 139.5 L reactors consisted of increasing the COD of the influent (978; 2401 and 4545 mg L(-1)), while maintaining the retention time of 1.3 days. For the maximum COD applied, the reactor filled with foam presented removals of 80% (non-filtered samples) and 83% (filtered samples). The greater performance of the reactor filled with foam is attributed to its porosity, which promoted greater collection of biomass. From the results, it could be concluded that the reactors presented satisfactory performance, especially when using the foam as a support. Furthermore, the modified Stover-Kincannon and second order for multicomponent substrate degradation models were successfully used to develop a model of the experimental data.

Effect of zinc and its form of supply on production and quality of coffee beans.

BACKGROUND: In Brazil, the usual forms of zinc (Zn) supply to coffee plants have limitations that compromise the element availability to the plant. This study proposes to test an alternative approach to supplying the nutrient to Coffea arabica L. using trunk implanted zinc tablets. Additionally, the effect of Zn on the production and quality of coffee beans was also evaluated. RESULTS: The highest total coffee bean production was recorded in plants implanted with Zn tablets (TA), while the lowest was recorded in the control treatment, without zinc supply (WZn), reaching a bianual production of 188.2 and 130.1 60-kg bags of processed beans per hectare, respectively. In the treatments where Zn were applied as tablet implantation or as foliage spraying (SZn); the bean size was larger, while the grain electrical conductivity and potassium leaching were lower compared with WZn. CONCLUSION: Zn supply via tablet implantation into tree trunks provides yield and quality similar to those obtained by foliage spraying. Independent of the form of supply, Zn positively influences the production and quality of coffee beans.

Metabolic responses to high glycemic index and low glycemic index meals: a controlled crossover clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: The consumption of low glycemic index (LGI) foods before exercise results in slower and more stable glycemic increases. Besides maintaining an adequate supply of energy during exercise, this response may favor an increase in fat oxidation in the postprandial period before the exercise compared to high glycemic index (HGI) foods. The majority of the studies that evaluated the effect of foods differing in glycemic index on substrate oxidation during the postprandial period before the exercise are acute studies in which a single meal is consumed right before the exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of consuming two daily HGI or LGI meals for five consecutive days on substrate oxidation before the exercise and in the concentrations of glucose, insulin and free fatty acids before and during a high intensity exercise. METHODS: Fifteen male cyclists, aged 24.4 ± 3.8 years, with body mass index of 21.9 ± 1.4 kg.m⁻² and a V(O2 max) of 70.0 ± 5.3 mL.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹, participated in this crossover study. All test meals were consumed in the laboratory. On days 1 and 5, substrate oxidation (30 minutes before and 90 minutes after breakfast (HGI or LGI)) and diet-induced thermogenesis (90 minutes postprandial) were assessed before the exercise. The levels of glucose, insulin, and free fatty acids were determined during 2 h after breakfast on these same days. Ninety minutes after breakfast, subjects completed a 30 min cycloergometric exercise at 85 to 95% of their maximum heart rate, during which lactate concentrations were assessed. RESULTS: The consumption of HGI meals resulted in higher areas under the glycemic and insulinemic curves in the postprandial period. However, glycemia did not differ by study treatment during exercise. There were no differences in free fatty acids in the postprandial period or in lactate levels during exercise. LGI meals resulted in lower fat oxidation and higher carbohydrate oxidation than the HGI meal in the postprandial period. CONCLUSIONS: The results do not support a differential glycemia according to glycemic index during exercise. The ingestion of LGI foods did not lead to higher fat oxidation relative to the ingestion of HGI foods.

Polymorphism in the PPARgamma2 and beta2-adrenergic genes and diet lipid effects on body composition, energy expenditure and eating behavior of obese women.

In order to evaluate the effect of polymorphism in the PPARgamma2 and beta2-adrenergic genes and diet lipids on body composition, energy expenditure and eating behavior of obese women, 60 subjects were submitted to anthropometric, biochemical, dietary, molecular, basal and postprandial metabolism (indirect calorimetry) and eating behavior (visual analog scale) evaluation. Fat and saturated fatty acid (SFA) high diet was used to assess postprandial metabolism. The frequency of Pro12Pro/Gln27Gln, Pro12Pro/Gln27Glu, Pro12Pro/Glu27Glu and Pro12Ala/Gln27Glu genotypes was 35.71%, 30.37%, 23.21% and 10.71%, respectively. These values were not significant (p>0.05) for the dietary, anthropometric, biochemical and metabolic parameters. The Pro12Ala/Gln27Glu group was found to present greater energy used in postprandial period (EUPP). The presence of the PPARgamma2 gene variant, independent of beta2-adrenergic gene polymorphism, resulted in fat oxidation increase. Also, this group presented higher satiety, compared to the Pro12Pro/Gln27Gln group. The presence of the variant alleles in the PPARgamma2 gene suggests benefits in food intake control.

[In vitro predatory activity of fungi Arthrobotrys robusta, Duddingtonia flagrans and Monacrosporium thaumasium on infective larvae of Ancylostoma spp. of dogs]. / Atividade predatória in vitro dos fungos Arthrobotrys robusta, Duddingtonia flagrans e Monacrosporium thaumasium sobre larvas infectantes de Ancylostoma spp. de cães.

The predatory capacity of isolates of nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys robust (I31), Duddingtonia flagrans (CG768) and Monacrosporium thaumasium (NF34A) on infective larvae of Ancylostoma spp. was evaluated in laboratorial conditions in experimental assay in medium water-agar 2% (WA 2%). There was significant reduction (p <0.05) of 89.89%, 97.75% and 88.76% in the average of infective larvae of Ancylostoma spp. recovered of medium WA 2% from the treatments with isolated CG768, I31 and NF34A, respectively. The isolated I31 was the most effective in the capture of the infective larvae. The results show that these fungi can be used in the environmental control of the free-living stages of Ancylostoma spp. of dogs.