Environmental enrichment in finishing pigs: does it promote any changes in bone biomechanics?

The resistance of pigs' bone structure was evaluated for the first time, reared with and without environmental enrichment (EE) in the finishing phase using techniques in bone biomechanics; 432 swine from the Hampshire breed, being males and females, with initial body weight between 22 and 27 kg and final body weight between 110 and 125 kg were evaluated for 112 days. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with 6 treatments, distributed in a 2 × 3 factorial scheme (sex × conditions in creation), with 12 repetitions/treatment, totaling 72 pens. The treatments were as follows: branched chain for males (T1), sisal branched string for males (T2), males without EE (T3), branched chain for females (T4), sisal branched string for females (T5), and females without EE (T6). At the end of the experimental period, all animals were slaughtered in an industrial slaughterhouse, having their femur bones collected for bone biomechanics analysis. There was no effect (P > 0.05) of the interaction (enrichment × sex) and individual factors for bone weight. There was a tendency (P = 0.08) of the interaction for flexion force, being higher in males enriched with branched ropes and chains. For breaking stress, there was an interaction effect (P = 0.04), being the females without EE the ones showing the lowest breaking stress, favoring bone fragility. The use of branched ropes and chains strengthens the bone structure in swine in the termination phase (110-125 kg BW - 183-190 days in age), being an important strategy used to meet the animal welfare requirements.

Evaluation of environmental enrichment on thermophysical responses, carcass traits, and meat quality of finishing pigs.

Environmental enrichment consists of a way to provide better living conditions for animals, but its influence on physical integrity, thermoregulatory responses, and quality of pork meat is not known. The objective of this study was to evaluate the thermoregulatory responses, lesion score, lameness, carcass traits, and meat quality of pigs with and without access to environmental enrichment (EE) in the finishing phase. A total of 432 pigs of the Hampshire lineage, males and females, with average initial and final weights between 22-27 kg and 110-125 kg respectively were evaluated. The experimental design used was in randomized blocks, with 6 treatments, distributed in a 2×3 factorial scheme (sex × environmental enrichment), with 12 repetitions per treatment, totaling 72 stalls. The treatments were branched chain for males (T1), branched sisal rope for males (T2), males without EE (T3), branched chain for females (T4), branched sisal rope for females (T5), and females without EE (T6). Weekly, two assessments of physiological data were performed, in loco, in the morning and afternoon. Lesions on the tail, ear, body, and lameness were evaluated on the 1st, 16th, 37th, 51st, 79th, 93rd, and 112th days. On the 112th day, 72 animals were slaughtered for carcass traits and meat quality analyses. Statistical analysis was performed using generalized and mixed linear models. There was no effect (p>0.05) of the interaction of the studied factors (environmental enrichment × sex × period) on the head, back, leg, and average temperature. However, there was an effect of the period factor (p<0.01), with higher temperatures in the afternoon compared to the morning. For tail injury, there was no association between injury degree and gender (p=0.56) and between injury degree and enrichment (p=0.99), and there was no interaction effect (p=0.15). For ear injury, there was no association between the degree of ear injury and gender (p=0.72), as well as for the degree of ear injury and enrichment (p=0.99) and interaction (p=0.47). There was a higher occurrence of categories 2, 3, and 4 for lesions on the body in males (p=0.0257), regardless of the EE. Water retention, carcass yield, cut yield, marbling pattern, pH, and color showed no effect for sex, enrichment, and interaction between the two factors (p>0.05). The use of environmental enrichment with sisal ropes and branched chains does not change the thermophysical responses, carcass traits, and meat quality of finishing pig.

The performance of the MODY calculator in a non-Caucasian, mixed-race population diagnosed with diabetes mellitus before 35 years of age.

BACKGROUND: A maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) calculator has been described and validated for use in European Caucasians. This study evaluated its performance in Brazilians diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM) before 35 years of age. METHODS: The electronic records of 391 individuals were reviewed in 2020 at the diabetes clinic of a quaternary hospital in São Paulo were analyzed: 231 with type 1 DM (T1DM), 46 with type 2 (T2DM) and 114 with MODY. The MODY calculator was applied to the three groups. A receiver operating characteristic curve was calculated to obtain cut-off points for this population. RESULTS: The principal differences between the MODY and the T1DM and T2DM groups were body mass index, a positive family history of diabetes and mean HbA1c level. Age at diagnosis in the MODY group was only significantly different compared to the T2DM group. Specificity and sensitivity were good for the cut-off points of 40%, 50% and 60%, with the accuracy of the model for any of these cut-off points being > 95%. CONCLUSION: The capacity of the calculator to identify Brazilian patients with MODY was good. Values ≥ 60% proved useful for selecting candidates for MODY genetic testing, with good sensitivity and specificity.

Optimization of headspace solid phase micro-extraction of volatile compounds from papaya fruit assisted by GC-olfactometry.

Optimization of the extraction conditions to investigate the volatile composition of papaya fruit involving headspace solid phase micro-extraction was carried out using multivariate strategies such as factorial design and response surface methodology. The performance of different combinations of time for reaching the equilibrium in the headspace and time for maximum extraction of volatiles was evaluated by GC-olfactometry of the extract (intensity of papaya characteristic aroma), number of peaks and total area in the chromatogram. Thirty-two compounds were identified by GC-MS under the optimized extraction conditions, the majority of which were aldehydes, both in number of compounds and area. Major compounds were δ-octalactone, ß-citral, benzaldehyde, heptanal, benzyl isothiocyanate, isoamyl acetate, γ-octalactone, (E)-linalool oxide and benzyl alcohol. Seven aldehydes and two other compounds are reported for the first time in papaya's volatile profile.