Qualidade de silagem de cultivares de brachiaria brizantha ensilado com diferentes níveis de farelo de milheto / Silage quality of brachiaria brizantha cultivars ensiled with different levels of millet meal

The silage quality of Brachiaria brizantha cultivars ensiled with different levels of millet meal was evaluated. The experimental design was a completely randomized with three replications in a factorial 3 x 4, with three cultivars of Brachiaria brizantha: marandu, xaraés, and piatã and four levels of millet meal 0, 5, 10, and 15 percent. The addition of millet meal improved the quality of B. brizantha silage. The inclusion of the additive at 15 percent provided the best nutritional values. The piatã silage had the lowest contents of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and lignin and the highest content of total digestible nutrients, being a better quality silage as compared to those of xaraés and marandu grasses.

Avaliou-se a qualidade de silagem de cultivares de Brachiaria brizantha ensilados com diferentes níveis de farelo de milheto. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente ao acaso, com três repetições, em esquema fatorial 3 x 4, sendo, três cultivares de Brachiaria brizantha: marandu, xaraés e piatã e quatro níveis de farelo de milheto: 0, 5, 10 e 15 por cento. A adição de farelo de milheto melhorou a qualidade das silagens de cultivares de B. brizantha. A inclusão de 15 por cento do aditivo proporcionou os melhores valores nutritivos. A silagem de capim-piatã apresentou os menores teores de fibra em detergente neutro, de fibra em detergente ácido e de lignina, e o maior teor de nutrientes digestíveis totais, mostrando ser de melhor qualidade quando comparada com as silagens de capim-xaraés e capim-marandu.

Influence of abomasal carbohydrates on small intestinal sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter activity and abundance in steers.

Most animals adapt readily to increased supplies of carbohydrate in the intestinal lumen by increasing enzymes for degradation and increasing glucose transporter activity. However, the extent of upregulation of Na+-dependent glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) activity and content in response to increased delivery of carbohydrate to the small intestinal lumen of ruminants is unclear. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to determine the effect of glucose and starch hydrolysate on the activity and abundance of SGLT1 in the small intestine of steers. In a randomized complete block design, 40 crossbred beef steers (243+/-2 kg BW) were fed 0.163 Mcal of ME/(kg BW0.75(d; W), 0.215 Mcal of ME/(kg BW0.75 x d; 2M), or 0.163 Mcal ME/(kg BW0.75 x d) and infused for 35 d into the rumen (R) or abomasum (A) with 12.6 g/(kg BW0.75 x d) of starch hydrolysate (S) or into the abomasum with 14.4 g/(kg BW0.75 x d) of glucose (G). Steers were slaughtered, and brush-border membrane vesicles were prepared from the small intestinal samples obtained from five equidistant sites along the intestine. Maltase activity in vesicles and homogenates differed with intestinal sampling site (quadratic, P < 0.001). Steers on the AG treatment yielded a greater intestinal maltase activity (38 nmol glucose x mg protein(-1) x min(-1)) compared with the AS, RS, W, or 2M treatments (34, 26, 23, and 23 nmol glucose x mg protein(-1) x min(-1) respectively [SEM = 3; P = 0.02]). Sodium-dependent glucose uptake averaged 18.4+/-3.94 pmol glucose/(mg protein x s) and was not affected by treatment, but uptake decreased distally along the intestine (P < 0.001). There was no effect of treatment on SGLT1 protein abundance, but SGLT1 protein abundance increased linearly from the duodenum to the ileum (P = 0.05). The inverse relationship between glucose uptake and SGLT1 abundance suggests that the regulation of brush border Na+-dependent glucose transport capacity is complex, involving factors other than the presence of luminal carbohydrate.

Short and long-term morbidity of thoracoabdominal incision for nephrectomy: a comparison with the flank approach.

PURPOSE: A thoracoabdominal incision provides optimal exposure for radical nephrectomy, especially for large tumors. Intuitively it is perceived that the morbidity of a thoracoabdominal incision far exceeds that of a flank incision. We compare the morbidity of thoracoabdominal and flank incisions, which to our knowledge has not been reported previously. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire assessing postoperative pain, use of pain medications and return to activities was sent to the last 100 renal donors who underwent nephrectomy at our institution through the 11th rib (flank incision, group 1) and the last 100 patients who underwent radical nephrectomy through the 8th to 10th rib (thoracoabdominal incision, group 2). A total of 52 group 1 and 42 group 2 questionnaires were returned. Pain was assessed at 4 periods using a visual analog scale. RESULTS: Length of stay was the same in both groups. There were no differences between groups in terms of pain severity on postoperative day 1, on day of discharge home, 1 month postoperatively and at the time of study (p >0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in times following surgery when pain completely disappeared, when pain medications were discontinued, and when the patient returned to daily activities and work (p >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Morbidity was comparable for thoracoabdominal and flank incisions in terms of incisional pain, analgesic requirements after discharge home and return to normal activities.