Características do trato digestivo, metabolizabilidade e retenção de nutrientes em frangos de corte alimentados com complexo enzimático / Characteristics of the digestive tract, metabolizability and nutrient retention in broilers fed enzymatic complex

The objective was to evaluate the digestive tract characteristics, metabolizability and nutrient retention of broilers fed diets supplemented with enzyme complex (EC). To evaluate the characteristics of the digestive tract 600 female Cobb 500 birds were used, distributed in a completely randomized design, with 5 inclusion levels of the EC (0; 100, 200, 300 and 400 g/ton) and 6 replicates of 20 birds each. To evaluate the metabolizability and the retention of nutrients 200 female Cobb 500 birds at 15 days of age were used, distributed in a completely randomized design with 5 levels of supplementation of the EC and 4 replicates of 10 birds each. No significant effects (P>0.05) were observed for the supplementation of the EC in the intestinal pH, digestive organ weight, intestinal length and metabolizable coefficients of dry matter and crude protein. The metabolizable coefficient of ethereal extract was influenced in a quadratic decreasing form (P<0.01). The metabolizable coefficients of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) were influenced in a quadratic increase (P<0.01), resulting in increased Ca retention in 21.39% and P in 9.56%. Supplementation of the EC in broiler diets improves the metabolizability and retention of P and Ca, without affecting the other parameters evaluated.(AU)

Culturable bacterial diversity from a feed water of a reverse osmosis system, evaluation of biofilm formation and biocontrol using phages.

Biofilm formation on reverse osmosis (RO) systems represents a drawback in the application of this technology by different industries, including oil refineries. In RO systems the feed water maybe a source of microbial contamination and thus contributes for the formation of biofilm and consequent biofouling. In this study the planktonic culturable bacterial community was characterized from a feed water of a RO system and their capacities were evaluated to form biofilm in vitro. Bacterial motility and biofilm control were also analysed using phages. As results, diverse Protobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes were identified. Alphaproteobacteria was the predominant group and Brevundimonas, Pseudomonas and Mycobacterium the most abundant genera. Among the 30 isolates, 11 showed at least one type of motility and 11 were classified as good biofilm formers. Additionally, the influence of non-specific bacteriophage in the bacterial biofilms formed in vitro was investigated by action of phages enzymes or phage infection. The vB_AspP-UFV1 (Podoviridae) interfered in biofilm formation of most tested bacteria and may represent a good alternative in biofilm control. These findings provide important information about the bacterial community from the feed water of a RO system that may be used for the development of strategies for biofilm prevention and control in such systems.

Thermal evaporation furnace with improved configuration for growing nanostructured inorganic materials.

A tubular furnace specifically designed for growing nanostructured materials is presented in this work. The configuration allows an accurate control of evaporation temperature, substrate temperature, total pressure, oxygen partial pressure, volumetric flow and source-substrate distance, with the possibility of performing both downstream and upstream depositions. In order to illustrate the versatility of the equipment, the furnace was used for growing semiconducting oxide nanostructures under different deposition conditions. Highly crystalline indium oxide nanowires with different morphologies were synthesized by evaporating mixtures of indium oxide and graphite powders with different mass ratios at temperatures between 900 °C and 1050 °C. The nanostructured layers were deposited onto oxidized silicon substrates with patterned gold catalyst in the temperature range from 600 °C to 900 °C. Gas sensors based on these nanowires exhibited enhanced sensitivity towards oxygen, with good response and recovery times.

Visceral larva migrans syndrome complicated by liver abscess.

We describe a case of visceral larva migrans syndrome complicated by liver abscess, pericardial effusion and ascites. To our knowledge, these findings have not been reported previously. The structural and immunological alterations caused by visceral larva migrans are thought to lead to the development of visceral abscesses.