Coping with suboptimal water temperature: modifications in blood parameters, body composition, and postingestive-driven diet selection in Nile tilapia fed two vegetable oil blends.

The world tilapia production faces seasonal variations. However, very few nutritional studies have addressed suboptimal temperature. We evaluated the effect of two temperatures (20 or 30 °C) and two vegetable oil blends (one rich in corn oil (COR) and one rich linseed oil (LIN)) on tilapia growth, body composition, and blood parameters using a 2×2 factorial design with the following treatments: COR-20; LIN-20; COR-30; LIN-30 (Trial 1). In addition, we also evaluated the effect of postingestive signals of dietary oils when the organoleptic properties of diets were isolated (Trial 2). In the Trial 1, 256 fish (15.36 ±â€¯0.14 g) were placed in 16 aquariums and submitted during 30 days to the 2×2 factorial designs: COR-20; LIN-20; COR-30; LIN-30. The temperatures were established in two independent water recirculation systems. In the Trial 2, 96 fish (34.02 ±â€¯0.79 g) were placed in 12 aquariums and subjected to the same experimental design of Trial 1, but to evaluate fish feeding behavior. They were allowed to select the encapsulated diets provided in different feeding halls to evaluate if diet preferences are influenced by postingestive signals. As the Trial 1 results show, diets had no significant effects on growth, dietary protein use, and body centesimal composition, but 30 °C induced the best performance and protein deposition (P < 0.05). LIN-20 showed lower very-low-density lipoprotein and cortisol, but higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and triglycerides (TG) than COR-20 (P < 0.05). COR-30 presented higher HDL, AST, ALT, TG, and cortisol than LIN-30. The fish fed COR showed lower C20:5n-3 (EPA) and higher n-6 than fish fed LIN (P < 0.05). The fish fed LIN had high n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid. ∑ polyunsaturated fatty acid was higher at 30 °C. Finally, the tilapia in Trial 2 showed clear diet intake regulation and preference for LIN (P < 0.05), regardless of temperature. In short, lipid sources had no influence on tilapia performance; however, temperature affects carcass lipid deposition as well as fatty acids profile. Notably, the preference for linseed oil can suggest nutritional metabolic issues, contributing to animal behavior knowledge.

Performance of turkey poults fed different doses of aflatoxins in the diet.

This work was conduced to determine the performance parameters of initial-phase turkey poults fed 7 different doses of aflatoxins in the diet. Three hundred thirty-six 1-d-old male turkey poults were used in this research. Turkeys were divided into 7 treatments according to aflatoxin doses (T1 = control; T2 = 20 ppb aflatoxins; T3 = 50 ppb; T4 = 100 ppb; T5 = 200 ppb; T6 = 500 ppb; T7 = 1,000 ppb). Birds were killed in 2 periods: half of them after 21 d of experiment and the remaining birds after 42 d of experiment. In both periods, the evaluated parameters were as follows: feed consumption, BW, relative weights of organs (liver, gizzard, heart, and bursa of Fabricius) and meat (breast and thighs), and clinical biochemistry parameters (total plasmatic proteins, albumin, uric acid, cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase). At 21 d of experiment, both feed consumption and BW were significantly affected by the aflatoxins present in the diet. Nevertheless, gizzard relative weight, total plasmatic proteins, and cholesterol levels were also affected. At the 42-d evaluation, besides feed consumption and BW, gizzard and liver relative weights and cholesterol levels were also affected by the presence of aflatoxins in the diet. Turkey poults are very sensitive to aflatoxin poisoning, because they are at least 3 to 6 times more sensitive to these contaminants than broilers.

Incidence of childhood accidents determined in a study based on home surveys.

A retrospective survey of accidents during a 12-month period was carried out at Vila Lobato in the town of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil using home surveys involving 25% of residences in this area. Variables relating to the accidents and data concerning the children involved were analyzed, i.e. sex, age, type of accident, place of occurrence, time of day, time of year, which part of the body was involved and the person accompanying the victim of the accident. There were 260 accidents during the year, mainly involving the 1-5-year (41.1%) and 5-10-year (33.1%) age ranges. The most frequent accidents were falls (46.9%), contusions (26.5%) and cuts (11.9%). Most accidents occurred at home (65.7%), followed by in the street (25.4%) and at school (6.1%). More accidents occurred in the late afternoon (49.6%) and during the summer months and school holidays (38.1%) than at other times. The lower limbs were the sites most often involved (36.9%), followed by the upper limbs (32.3%) and the head (25.4%). Most children (75.7%) were accompanied when they suffered an accident. Slightly more boys (55.4%) than girls (44.6%) had accidents. Statistical analysis of the results by the chi 2 test showed significant differences for all variables studied with respect to the occurrence of accidents (p < 0.05), except gender. The authors discuss the need to expand the debate on accidents and for the application of knowledge to prevent them occurring.

Growth of exclusively breast-fed infants from a poor urban population.

The growth of two groups of infants were evaluated, one of them exclusively breast-fed (105 infants) and the other exclusively bottle-fed (61 infants), and compared with one another and with international standards (NCHS). All infants were evaluated by anthropometry at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 months of age. A fourth order polynomial was adopted for each infant and for each anthropometric measurement in order to estimate individual growth, and the 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles for weight and length were obtained. For the age of 6 months, the weights of breast-fed boys and girls were always statistically equal to or higher than those of infants fed cow's milk or those of NCHS standards. Breast-fed boys presented significantly longer length than bottle-fed boys but shorter than NCHS standards, and breast-fed girls presented significantly shorter length than both bottle-fed girls and than NCHS standards. The greater weight of exclusively breast-fed infants when compared to NCHS standards at six months of age, which differentiates the present study from several other ones carried out in developing countries, was probably due to the association of the beneficial effects of breast-feeding with those of pediatric follow-up.

Robotic automated clean-up for detection of fumonisins B1 and B2 in corn and corn-based feed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system with fluorescence detection and an automated on-line solid-phase extraction procedure for fumonisins B1 and B2 in corn and corn-based products is described. Different amounts of strong anion-exchange, C18 and end-capped C18 (C(18 ec)) silicas were tested for sample clean-up. Various HPLC parameters were analyzed. The best methodology was found to be extraction with acetonitrile-water and clean up on C(18 ec) disposable extraction cartridges. The system has the advantage of running in an unattended mode of operation and allows processing of 40 samples without system refuel, performing clean-up, o-phthaldialdehyde derivatization, injection and fumonisin detection by fluorescence detection linked to a computer integrator for automated data processing. Recoveries were performed with corn and corn-based feed samples (n=3) spiked with 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0 and 10 microg/g. Average recoveries for corn and corn-based feed were, respectively, 92.6 and 88.3% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 5.04 and 6.22%, for fumonisin B1 and 91.2 and 89.0% with RSDs of 5.84 and 7.88% for fumonisin B2. Detection limits (S/N=3) for corn and corn-based feed were approximately 0.03 microg/g for fumonisin B1 and 0.05 microg/g for fumonisin B2

Growth and hematological studies on Brazilian children of low socioeconomic level.

Anemia and undernutrition are common all over the world, especially in less developed countries. The relationship between low weight, short stature and iron deficiency should be better understood so that appropriate measures might be taken to prevent these problems. A total of 115 institutionalized children aged 12 to 72 months were studied in day-care institutions in the town of Pontal, Southeastern Brazil, during the second semester of 1999. Personal data, weight, height and hematological profile were obtained from all subjects. Food intake was evaluated in 20 children by a direct food-weighing method. The prevalence of low weight for age (2.6%), low weight for height (1.7%) and low height for age (4.3%) was considered low. Anemia was observed in 68.7% of the children. Diet was found to be adequate in terms of the major nutrients evaluated, but food iron supply was of low bioavailability. In conclusion, the population studied revealed a peculiar behavior i.e., the coexistence of fairly good anthropometric nutritional status along with iron-deficiency anemia. The prevention of this kind of malnutrition cannot be limited to an adequate calorie/protein supply but should also be based on the correction of the severe iron deficiency present in this low socioeconomic level preschool children in Brazil.

[Dog bite accidents in childhood]. / Acidentes de mordeduras de cães na infância.

The incidence of dog bites injuries among children aged 0 to 15 years seen at CSE D. Pedro I health center in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, in the period of 1993 to 1997, was studied. The results show that there is a need to develop and implement educational and preventive programs about the risks and severity of accidents occurred while in contact with dogs.

[Giant intracavitary thrombi secondary to a heparin-induced thrombocytopenia-thrombosis syndrome]. / Trombos gigantes intracavitarios secundarios a un "síndrome de trombocitopenia-trombosis inducido por heparina".

The secondary thrombocytopenia to heparin is not infrequently seen; nevertheless, the heparin-induced thrombocytopenia-thrombosis is much less frequent and associated to high mortality. We show one heparin induced thrombocytopenia-thrombosis syndrome with developed thrombi in the cardiac cavities. Its physiopathologic mechanism was reviewed, the importance of clinic suspicion in the presence of: thrombi in a rather unusual place, thrombi resistant to the common anticoagulant therapy, thrombosis repetition or thrombosis in a person with anticoagulant therapy by heparin. The complexity of its treatment, as well as the transesophageal echocardiography utility in diagnostics of thrombus on cardiac cavities, and its relationship with the reaction to the treatment, is discussed.

Comparison of four anthropometric methods of nutritional assessment and evaluation of the agreement between two reference populations.

A total of 841 children, aged 10 days to 5 years, seen at a primary health care centre in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, were studied in order to compare the methods of Gomez, Waterlow, Shakir, and Kanawati and McLaren and to determine the correlation between the Brazilian and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference populations, which are frequently used in Brazil. Anthropometric measurements (weight, height, arm circumference, and head circumference) were made and personal data were obtained in order to evaluate nutritional status according to the above methods. The two reference populations were compared by the method of Gomez. The NCHS and the Brazilian reference populations were concordant. Comparison of the methods of Gomez and Shakir showed a very mild agreement in the evaluation of nutritional status. Comparison of Waterlow 'wasting' with Kanawati & McLaren and with Gomez showed a mild agreement.

[Evaluation of the use of the 10th percentile of weight for age as a cut point for detection of children under nutritional risk] / Avaliação do uso do percentil 10 de peso para idade como ponto de corte para detecção de crianças sob risco nutricional.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of the 10th percentile of weight for age as a cut off point for detection of children under nutritional risk, especially for programs of alimentary supplementation. METHODS: 841 children with age between 10 days and 60 months were studied in a primary health care center located in the periphery of Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. It was a cross-sectional study that included age, sex, weight and height, later computing the z scores of weight for age, height for age and weight for height, on the basis of the data of the NCHS. Through 2x2 type tables, where the results in relation with the 10th percentile (above or below this cut off point) and other indices were compared (above or below - 2 z scores), the capacity of 10th percentile of weight for age to detect children with various anthropometric deficits was estimated. RESULTS: The false negative results were always very low, between 0 and 1%, in opposition to the false positive results, that varied from 76.3 to 90.5%. The values of sensitivity/specificity have been 100/85.9%; 93.3/83.8%; 82.9/85.7%, respectively for deficits of weight for age, weight for height and height for age. CONCLUSIONS: The 10th percentile of weight for age was found adequate for population screening of children with weight for the age and weight for the height deficits (high sensitivity), but these children must be better evaluated later on (too many false positive results). For height for age deficits, the 10th percentile resulted inadequate.

Comparative study of experimentally induced and post-mortem pink teeth.

Forty-eight pink teeth from eight male cadavers, all dying from unnatural causes were studied for the pink tooth phenomenon. Perfusion with whole and lysed blood, at different temperatures was carried out, followed by longitudinal sectioning for histological observation. Another 30 unblemished human teeth were used to reproduce the phenomenon in vitro to help clarify its pathogenesis.

[Chronic high levels of CK-MB]. / Elevação crônica da CK-MB.

We presented two cases of falsely elevated CK-MB due to the presence of a type 2 macro CK, showed by isoenzymes electrophoresis. The association of this CK-MB falsely elevated with some digestive diseases are frequent. Quantification of CK isoenzymes by electrophoresis could be indicated in those cases in which the clinical course or ECG changes do not correlate with the CK-MB values.

[Death in exercise test: immediate angiographic findings in 2 cases]. / Obito em prova de esforço: achados angiográficos imediatos em dois casos.

We present two cases of mortality during a stress test after which coronary arteriography was performed after the acute event. In both patients, left coronary arteries presented eccentric lesions with irregular bordes and intraluminal lucencies. We have discussed the probable pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in view of the angiographic findings. We concluded that the cracking of the plaque was an essential event in the pathogenesis of this picture.

[Clinical and angiographic study of intra-myocardial coronary bridges]. / Estudo clinico e angiografico de trajetos coronarios intra-miocardicos.

AIMS: Approach to the clinical profile of patients with intramyocardial coronary bridges. CONCEPT OF STUDY: Two years retrospective study on coronariangiography with a selection of patients, of our department, with myocardial bridges and no atherosclerotic lesions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Out of 1620 patients, 26 cases had a suspected ischemic cardiopathy defined on the grounds of clinical, electrocardiographic, ergometric and coronariangiographic criteria. RESULTS: From the 1620 cases, 26 (1.6%) presented intramyocardial coronary pathes. All situated on the left anterior descendant artery. 10 of these cases showed left ventricular hypertrophy, a change which is frequently associated with myocardial bridges. There was no correlation between the severity of systolic coronary constriction and clinical data. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of myocardial bridges in our group is different from other studies. The localization at the level of the left anterior descendant artery was the most frequent one. The findings in this study demonstrate a possible association between the intramyocardial coronary pathes and the left ventricular hypertrophy.

Utility and tolerance of stress testing in geriatric patients.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of stress testing in geriatric patients and to estimate the tolerance of these patients to exercise. DESIGN: A prospective study done in two populations with different ages. SETTING: Cardiologists and a stress testing laboratory. PATIENTS: Persons with ages above and under 65 years who were admitted in our center and submitted to stress testing and coronary angiography for suspicion of ischemic heart disease. PROCEDURES: All stress tests were performed on a Siemens Elama cicloergometer model 380-B adapted to a Hewlett Packard 1517 A ECG recorder. Our protocol started with an initial work load of 30 Watts with increments of other 30 Watts every three minutes. A 12 lead ECG was registered at rest, at maximum effort and in the recovery phase (approx. eight minutes after maximum effort). Three leads ECG's (V2, aVF, V5) were registered every three minutes. Stress finishing criteria were: symptom's limited, fatigue and maximum heart rate (220-age). Blood pressure was also controlled every three minutes during exercise and every two minutes during the recovery phase. Coronary angiographies were performed on a Siemens Cardoskop U (cine) using the Judkins technique. Left anterior oblique, right anterior oblique and postero anterior projections were used in all the procedures. RESULTS: Stress testing presents high sensitivity and low specificity in geriatric patients. A good tolerance to exercise was observed in this group of patients. CONCLUSIONS: A similar sensitivity was observed in the stress tests performed by patients with ages above and under 65 years. Sensitivity seems to be related to the severity of the coronary lesion. On the other hand stress testing presented a lower specificity in the geriatric patient. Finally, good tolerance to exercise was observed in patients older than 65 years.

[Aneurysm of interauricular septum associated with mesosytolic click]. / Aneurisma del septo interauricular asociado a chasquido mesosistólico.

An echocardiographic study was performed to a patient with symptoms of cardiac failure and midsystolic click confirmed by phonocardiography. The echocardiograms suggested an incipient dilated myocardiopathy and also atrial septal aneurysm. We report the relationship between midsystolic click and atrial septal aneurysm.

[Left ventricular diverticulum at the subaortic level]. / Divertículo ventricular esquerdo a nível subaórtico.

We report a case of a left ventricular diverticulum located immediately under the aortic valve ring. The patient presented both aortic insufficiency and stenosis, and was submitted to valve replacement surgery and closure of the diverticulum. The peculiarity of this case relies on its non atherosclerotic etiology, its unusual location and also because of the calcification of the diverticulum's wall.