Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and bovine leukemia virus seroprevalence and associated risk factors in dairy herds in Minas Gerais state, Brazil / [Soroprevalência do Mycobacterium avium subespécie paratuberculosis e vírus da leucemia bovina e fatores de risco associados em rebanhos leiteiros de Minas Gerais, Brasil]

Mycobacterium avium subesp. paratuberculosis (MAP) e o vírus da leucemia bovina (BLV) são agentes que causam grandes perdas econômicas nos rebanhos. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a situação epidemiológica da paratuberculose bovina (PTB) e leucose enzoótica bovina (EBL) em rebanhos leiteiros de Lagoa Formosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Foram coletadas 236 amostras de sangue de vacas, as quais foram submetidas aos testes ELISA e imunodifusão em gel de ágar para detecção de anticorpos contra MAP e BLV. A soroprevalência de anticorpos contra MAP e BVL foi de 20% para os rebanhos e 6% para os animais e de 85% para os rebanhos e 50,42% para os animais, respectivamente. A presença dessas enfermidades deve servir como um alerta para os produtores e veterinários, para que concentrem maior atenção na implementação de medidas higiênico-sanitárias, incorporando elementos de vigilância com base nos riscos identificados no estudo.(AU)

Fermentation and aerobic stability of rehydrated corn grain silage treated with different doses of Lactobacillus buchneri or a combination of Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici.

We investigated the effects of different types and doses of inoculants for ensiling rehydrated corn grain. Shelled corn was finely ground and rehydrated to 35% moisture. Treatments were as follows: (1) control (no additives); (2) Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici (LPPA) at a theoretical application rate of 1 × 105 cfu/g; (3) LPPA at 5 × 105 cfu/g; (4) LPPA at 1 × 106 cfu/g; (5) Lactobacillus buchneri (LB) at 1 × 105 cfu/g; (6) LB at 5 × 105 cfu/g; and (7) LB at 1 × 106 cfu/g. We detected no effect of inoculant dose. Gas losses were greater in silages treated with LB compared with control and LPPA silages. Treating silages with LB reduced the concentrations of lactic acid and ethanol and increased silage pH and concentrations of acetic acid, propionic acid, and 1,2-propanediol. At silo opening, silages treated with LB had higher counts of lactic acid bacteria but lower yeast counts than the control silage. Aerobic stability was greater for silages treated with LB and lower for silages treated with LPPA compared with the control. The LB reduced dry matter (DM) losses during aerobic exposure, whereas LPPA increased them. Prolamin content was lower in silages treated with LB compared with the control, resulting in greater ruminal in situ DM degradability. Inoculating LB to a dose of 1 × 105 cfu/g increased aerobic stability and ruminal in situ DM degradability of rehydrated corn grain silage. The addition of LPPA did not alter the fermentation process and worsened the aerobic stability of rehydrated corn grain silage. Further studies are warranted to confirm these conclusions in other corn hybrids, inoculants, and their combinations.

Quantifying the accretion of hyperphosphorylated tau in the locus coeruleus and dorsal raphe nucleus: the pathological building blocks of early Alzheimer's disease.

AIMS: Hyperphosphorylated tau neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (ht-NCI) are the best protein correlate of clinical decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Qualitative evidence identifies ht-NCI accumulating in the isodendritic core before the entorhinal cortex. Here, we used unbiased stereology to quantify ht-NCI burden in the locus coeruleus (LC) and dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), aiming to characterize the impact of AD pathology in these nuclei with a focus on early stages. METHODS: We utilized unbiased stereology in a sample of 48 well-characterized subjects enriched for controls and early AD stages. ht-NCI counts were estimated in 60-µm-thick sections immunostained for p-tau throughout LC and DRN. Data were integrated with unbiased estimates of LC and DRN neuronal population for a subset of cases. RESULTS: In Braak stage 0, 7.9% and 2.6% of neurons in LC and DRN, respectively, harbour ht-NCIs. Although the number of ht-NCI+ neurons significantly increased by about 1.9× between Braak stages 0 to I in LC (P = 0.02), we failed to detect any significant difference between Braak stage I and II. Also, the number of ht-NCI+ neurons remained stable in DRN between all stages 0 and II. Finally, the differential susceptibility to tau inclusions among nuclear subdivisions was more notable in LC than in DRN. CONCLUSIONS: LC and DRN neurons exhibited ht-NCI during AD precortical stages. The ht-NCI increases along AD progression on both nuclei, but quantitative changes in LC precede DRN changes.

Residual feed intake and blood variables in young Nellore cattle.

This study was conducted to evaluate associations of performance traits, feed efficiency, and blood variables with residual feed intake (RFI) in growing Nellore cattle. A total of 118 growing Nellore animals, 62 males and 56 females, were used. A diet containing 2 Mcal/kg was offered ad libitum and individual DMI was measured over a period of 84 d. Animals were classified as low (≤0.128 kg/d; = 40), medium (-0.128 to 0.135 kg/d; = 42), or high RFI (>0.135 kg/d; = 36). Blood samples were collected at the beginning and at the end of the test for determination of plasma concentrations of different blood variables. Data were analyzed using a mixed model that included the random effect of facility the fixed effects of sex, RFI class, and linear effect of the covariate age within sex; and the interaction between RFI class and sex. Least squares means were compared using a -test. Animals of different RFI classes presented similar performance traits and different DMI. Low-RFI animals consumed, on average, 0.670 kg/d less DM than high-RFI animals. Among the blood variables analyzed, significant differences among RFI classes were observed for urea, IGF-1, and insulin. Plasma urea concentrations were lower (5.58 vs. 5.91 mmol/L) and insulin (4.45 vs. 3.70 µIU/mL) and IGF-1 (433 vs. 399 ng/mL) concentrations were higher in low-RFI animals when compared to high-RFI animals. Plasma concentrations of urea, IGF-1, and insulin can be used as indicators of feed utilization efficiency in Nellore cattle.

[Nutritional, psychological and social aspects of mothers of malnourished children]. / Aspectos nutricionais, psicológicos e sociais de mães de crianças desnutridas.

Mothers of malnourished children were evaluated by psychologist, nutritionist, social worker and pediatrician with the objective of verifying in which ways the psychological, social and nutritional aspects interact. All mothers were from the low socioeconomic level, with extremely low family incomes, lower school levels were predominant,with 57.6% up to 4 years of formal education; 27.3% of the mothers were single, 48.5% single with male partners, 18.2% married and 6% separated. Main personality traits found: immaturity, difficulties in relationships, low self-regard, feelings of insufficiency/inferiority, aggressiveness. The intellectual level was average or below average in 82.6%. Concerning food preparation,we observed that 80% were disorganized and showed poor hygiene, 64% did not show interest, 77% wasted foodstuffs, 61.9% were insecure in handling foods and 37% prepared foods with inadequate aspect and consistency. Results confirm that social aspects effectively are a risk factor for malnutrition in families from the low socioeconomic level. Other aspects are also very relevant, since certain characteristics of the mothers personality disturb her performance and determine external disorder and absence of interest during preparation of meals, an activity directly related to child care.