Forage structure and performance of sheep raised on massai grass during the dry season in response to wet season management / Estrutura do pasto e desempenho de ovinos em capim-massai na época seca em resposta ao manejo do período das águas

The objective of this study was to evaluate the canopy structure and performance of sheep raised on massai grass during the dry season in response to the management adopted during the wet season. The treatments consisted of two targets of light interception (90 and 95%) and two post-grazing heights (15 and 25 cm) in a 2 x 2 factorial scheme. Pastures were managed during the wet season, while continuous stocking was used during the dry season. The following pasture characteristics were evaluated: canopy height, forage mass, leaf blade, stem and dead matter mass, leaf blade:stem ratio, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and acid detergent lignin content, and dead matter of morphological components. Sixteen sheep with an initial body weight of 19 ± 4.7 kg were used and average daily gain, weight gain per hectare and stocking rate were evaluated. The interactions between sources of variation were not significant for any of the variables. Post-grazing heights modified total forage and dead matter mass in the dry season, with the highest values of 2912.5 and 1840.9 kg/ha of dry matter, respectively, being observed when the pastures were managed at 25 cm during the wet season. There was no effect of the management adopted during the wet season on the chemical composition of leaf blades during the dry season...(AU)

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a estrutura do dossel e o desempenho de ovinos durante a estação seca em resposta ao manejo adotado nas águas em pastos de capim-massai. Os tratamentos consistiram do arranjo fatorial 2 x 2, duas metas de interceptação de luz (90% e 95%) e duas alturas de pós-pastejo (15 e 25 cm). Os manejos foram realizados no período chuvoso enquanto que no período seco o pasto foi manejado sob lotação contínua. No pasto foi avaliada a altura do dossel, massa de forragem, massa de lâmina foliar, massa de colmo, massa de material morto, relação lâmina foliar:colmo, os teores de proteína bruta, fibra em detergente neutro, fibra em detergente ácido, lignina em detergente ácido dos componentes morfológicos. Foram utilizados 16 ovinos com peso corporal inicial de 19 ± 4,7 kg, e avaliado o ganho de peso médio diário, o ganho de peso por hectare e a taxa de lotação. As interações entre as fontes de variações não foram significativas para nenhuma das variáveis. As alturas de pós-pastejo modificaram as massas de forragem total e de material morto na época de seca, quando manejados nas águas a 25 cm foram observados os maiores valores de 2912,5 e 1840,9 kg/ha de matéria seca, respectivamente. Não houve efeito dos manejos adotados no período das águas na composição química das lâminas foliares no período seco...(AU)

Forage structure and performance of sheep raised on massai grass during the dry season in response to wet season management / Estrutura do pasto e desempenho de ovinos em capim-massai na época seca em resposta ao manejo do período das águas

The objective of this study was to evaluate the canopy structure and performance of sheep raised on massai grass during the dry season in response to the management adopted during the wet season. The treatments consisted of two targets of light interception (90 and 95%) and two post-grazing heights (15 and 25 cm) in a 2 x 2 factorial scheme. Pastures were managed during the wet season, while continuous stocking was used during the dry season. The following pasture characteristics were evaluated: canopy height, forage mass, leaf blade, stem and dead matter mass, leaf blade:stem ratio, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and acid detergent lignin content, and dead matter of morphological components. Sixteen sheep with an initial body weight of 19 ± 4.7 kg were used and average daily gain, weight gain per hectare and stocking rate were evaluated. The interactions between sources of variation were not significant for any of the variables. Post-grazing heights modified total forage and dead matter mass in the dry season, with the highest values of 2912.5 and 1840.9 kg/ha of dry matter, respectively, being observed when the pastures were managed at 25 cm during the wet season. There was no effect of the management adopted during the wet season on the chemical composition of leaf blades during the dry season...

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a estrutura do dossel e o desempenho de ovinos durante a estação seca em resposta ao manejo adotado nas águas em pastos de capim-massai. Os tratamentos consistiram do arranjo fatorial 2 x 2, duas metas de interceptação de luz (90% e 95%) e duas alturas de pós-pastejo (15 e 25 cm). Os manejos foram realizados no período chuvoso enquanto que no período seco o pasto foi manejado sob lotação contínua. No pasto foi avaliada a altura do dossel, massa de forragem, massa de lâmina foliar, massa de colmo, massa de material morto, relação lâmina foliar:colmo, os teores de proteína bruta, fibra em detergente neutro, fibra em detergente ácido, lignina em detergente ácido dos componentes morfológicos. Foram utilizados 16 ovinos com peso corporal inicial de 19 ± 4,7 kg, e avaliado o ganho de peso médio diário, o ganho de peso por hectare e a taxa de lotação. As interações entre as fontes de variações não foram significativas para nenhuma das variáveis. As alturas de pós-pastejo modificaram as massas de forragem total e de material morto na época de seca, quando manejados nas águas a 25 cm foram observados os maiores valores de 2912,5 e 1840,9 kg/ha de matéria seca, respectivamente. Não houve efeito dos manejos adotados no período das águas na composição química das lâminas foliares no período seco...

Physical localization of the retrotransposons Boudicca and Perere 03 in Schistosoma mansoni.

Schistosoma mansoni is 1 of the causative agents of schistosomiasis, an endemic disease in 76 countries of the world. The study of its genome, estimated to be 270 Mb, is very important to understanding schistosome biology, the mechanisms of drug resistance, and immune evasion. Repetitive elements constitute more than 40% of the S. mansoni genome and may play a role in the parasite evolution. The retrotransposons Boudicca, a long terminal repeat (LTR), and Perere 03, a non-LTR, are present in a high number in the S. mansoni genome and were localized with the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and primed in situ labeling (PRINS). Bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) clones containing the retrotransposons Boudicca and Perere 03 were selected by bioinformatic analysis and used as probes in FISH. Using metaphase chromosomes from sporocysts and the FISH and PRINS techniques, we were able to map these retrotransposons. Perere 03 was localized in the euchromatic regions of the short arm of chromosome 2 and Boudicca in the euchromatic regions of the short arm of chromosomes 2 and Z.

Cholinesterase activities determination in frozen blood samples: an improvement to the occupational monitoring in developing countries.

1. Studies were carried out on rural workers in Brazil to determine the decrease in the activity of plasma butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), erythrocyte cholinesterase (AChE) associated with exposure to organophosphorus pesticides (OP). The goal of this work is to help prevent injury to these workers. 2. In developing countries the distance between area of pesticide use and reference laboratories is a drawback for analytical techniques, since cholinesterase activity determinations require fresh blood samples. Field methodologies can be a useful alternative to laboratory tests, however they are not as sensitive as those found in laboratories. 3. The modification of Ellman's Method presented in this paper allows blood samples to be frozen and maintain enzymatic stability: 7 days for AChE and 3 days for BChE. The proposed method is also more sensitive than Ellman's Method Modified by Magnotti (EMMM). 4. The results suggest that the Ellman Method Modified by Oliveira-Silva (EMMOS) is valid for monitoring procedures. This method represents an important contribution to the process of monitoring OP exposures, since the evaluations no longer have to be conducted near the site of OP use.

Methyl parathion activation by a partially purified rat brain fraction.

Organophosphorus pesticides are one of the most commonly used insecticide classes. They act through a potent inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Many of them must undergo transformation into the corresponding oxon analogs to inhibit AChE. This study showed that a brain tissue subfraction transformed methyl parathion (O,O-dimethyl O-p-nitrophenyl phosphorothioate) in vitro. Methyl parathion activation was assayed by solvent extraction of the products followed by HPLC and GC-MS analyses and, indirectly, by the inhibition of AChE present in the incubation mixture. The lack of impairment of AChE after 2 h of incubation of the brain subfraction with methyl parathion and, alternatively, with NADPH, CO, SKF 525-A, piperonyl butoxide or nitrogen indicated that this brain subfraction transformed methyl parathion without the involvement of a mixed-function oxidative pathway. The results from HPLC analysis did not show a peak corresponding to methyl paraoxon (O,O-dimethyl O-p-nitrophenylphosphate), but showed the production of an unidentified peak which eluted nearby standard methyl parathion (retention times of 10.65 and 8.86 min, respectively). GC-MS analysis suggested that the unidentified product could be a methyl parathion isomer.

[Traumatic rectal injuries]. / Ferimentos traumáticos de reto.

The authors review the cases of traumatic rectal injuries admitted to the Emergency Service of the "Hospital das Clínicas", University of São Paulo Medical School, during the period of July 1981 to July 1988. Forty-five patients (62.5%) had their injuries due to gunshot, 14 (19.4%) due to foreign bodies on the rectum, 10 (13.8%) due to blunt trauma and 3 (4.1%) due to stab wounds. The intraperitoneal rectum was injured in 32 patients (44.4%) and extraperitoneal portion of the rectum in 40 patients (55.5%). On the intraperitoneal injuries the management adopted were simple suture (14 patients), associated with a colostomy (17 patients) and in one patient the Hartmann procedure was adopted. On the extraperitoneal wounds the management adopted were rectal repair (when feasible), colostomy, distal washout and drainage. The complications rate was 27.8%, and from them, the majority (70%) were related to infectious nature. Seven patients died (9.7%), four of them as a consequence of sepsis. The morbidity and mortality of the rectal injuries were closed related to infectious complications as a consequence of late diagnosis. For this reason, the authors consider that all efforts should be employed to establish the prompt diagnosis.

[Treatment of cicatricial stenosis of the proximal common hepatic duct. Study of 11 cases]. / Tratamento das estenoses cicatriciais da porção proximal do ducto hepático comum. Estudo de 11 casos.

Eleven patients with cicatricial stenosis in the junction area of hepatic ducts were evaluated. In all patients the injury occurred during cholescystectomy and no operative cholangiography was performed. In 3 patients the injury was recognized during the initial cholecistectomy. Ten patients had been operated on at least one time to correct the injury in other Services. Four cases had duct or peritoneal drainage. There was an attempt of reanastomosis in two cases. Five patients had a bilio-digestive anastomosis performed in variable occasions. Two patients were reoperated 5 times, one patient 3 times. The others were submitted to one or 2 reoperations. There were a period of 1 to 72 months between the injury and last reoperation. Jaundice was the most common presenting manifestation since it appeared in all patient except one. Five patients had biliary cirrhosis. Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy was carried out in all cases after enlarging the biliar stoma by longitudinal section on the left hepatic duct and performing a termino-terminal anastomosis. The 10 or 12 caliber Kehr drain used was taken out after the control cholangiography, carried around the second postoperative week. Concerning the long term results, one patient died of recurrent cholangitis six months after the 6th reoperation and one patient 14 months after the 4th reoperation of liver failure. Both had biliary cirrhosis. Two patients, remained assymptomatic for 60 months and 3 patients for 24, 37 and 56 months. The importance of preventing this severe complication is stressed by the authors. Patients with such lesions need be referred to specialized centers where well trained surgeons are available. The technique herein presented seems us to be a good option.

[Emergencies in peptic gastroduodenal ulcers]. / Urgências na ulcera péptica gástrica e duodenal.

The authors present an objective review of the main emergencies regarding peptic ulcer disease, gastric and duodenal. The complications, perforation, bleeding and pyloric stenosis, are dealt with in detail, regarding diagnosis and best therapeutic orientation, either clinical or surgical.

[Prevention of infection in closure surgery in colostomies. Double-blind study with tinidazole]. / Profilaxia das infecções na cirurgia de fechamento de colostomia. Estudo duplo-cego com tinidazol.

A comparative double-blind study of tinidazole vs placebo was conducted in order to assess the prophylaxis of post-surgical abdominal infections in 40 patients undergoing closure colostomy surgery. During three days the patients were kept on a low residue diet, and underwent a colon mechanical cleansing. About 10 to 12 hours prior to surgery the patients were given placebo or tinidazole in tablets of identical appearance; the dose of tinidazole was of 2 g (4 tablets) in a single oral dose. Evaluation performed after surgery showed that in the tinidazole group occurred two surgical mild infections (10%), while in placebo group occurred nine infections (45%)--four of them severe and one very severe, showing a significative difference between the two groups (p less than 0.05). In placebo group 21 bacteria were isolated, 3 of them were anaerobic; only two aerobic species were identified in the tinidazole group (p less than 0.001). No adverse reactions were reported in both groups. The authors concluded that in this study, tinidazole showed a prophylactic effect on post-surgical abdominal infections in patients who underwent closure colostomy surgery.

[Cystic dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts (Caroli's disease)]. / Dilatação cística das vias biliares intrahepáticas (moléstia de Caroli).

Congenital cystic dilatation of the intrahepatic biliary ducts, known as Caroli's disease, is rarely recognized in general surgical practice and often overlooked. Until now little more than a hundred cases have been described although modern diagnostic procedures disclose more frequently new ones. Three patients with this anomaly have been treated by the authors during the past years and the different aspects concerning diagnosis and treatment are discussed and compared with existing information. In all three patients colic pain in the upper abdomen was the first symptom reported in the first years of life. In one patient jaundice and fever were associated with the abdominal pain and cholangitis developed a secondary biliary cirrhosis. Somatic underdevelopment, consequence of the cirrhosis in this child was observed. In two patients an intrahepatic hepaticojejunostomy was performed and a left hepatectomy in the third. In the two older children intrahepatic gallstones were found; in the younger one no stones were found inside the dilated ducts.

[Cystic dilatation of the common bile duct in adults. Report of 4 cases]. / Dilatações císticas do colédoco em adulto. Relato de quatro casos.

The authors report four cases of patients who presented congenital choledochal cysts. They discuss the incidence, classification, pathophysiology, diagnosis, clinical presentation and current treatment based in their own experiences and in a review of the literature on the subject.