Suplementação proteica de vacas leiteiras mantidas em pastagem de Tifton 85 durante o período de seca / Protein supplementation of dairy cows grazing Tifton 85 during the dry season

Concentrados com alta proteína bruta e minerais e com menor concentração de energia poderiam ser utilizados em menores quantidades no balanceamento de dietas com volumosos tropicais. Assim, objetivou-se avaliar o consumo de matéria seca, a resposta produtiva e econômica de vacas da raça Girolando mantidas em pastagem de Tifton 85 durante o período de seca, as quais receberam diferentes concentrações de suplementação proteica. Foram utilizadas 12 vacas da raça Girolando em lactação, com produção de leite média inicial de 18,00±1,615kg/dia. Os animais foram distribuídos em três quadrados latinos (4x4), constituídos de quatro tratamentos e quatro períodos experimentais, com duração de 15 dias cada. Os tratamentos consistiram de uma dieta controle, apenas sal mineral e três níveis de suplementação proteica com 40; 50 e 60% de proteína bruta (PB) sendo fornecidas nas quantidades de 2,5kg/animal/dia. Observou-se que os fornecimentos de suplementos proteicos proporcionaram um efeito substitutivo da forragem em relação à suplementação mineral. O uso de suplementação concentrada com teor de 40% de proteína bruta foi mais eficiente em termos produtivos, econômicos e de produção de proteína bruta no leite.(AU)

Concentrates with high crude protein and minerals and lower energy concentration could be used in smaller quantities in balancing diets with tropical bulk. The objective of this study was to evaluate the dry matter intake, the productive and economical response of Girolando cows kept in Tifton 85 pasture during dry season receiving different concentrations of protein supplementation. Twelve lactating Girolando cows with initial mean milk yield of 18.00±1.615kg/day were used. The animals were distributed in three Latin squares (4x4), consisting of four treatments and four experimental periods, each lasting 15 days. The treatments were composed of control diet with only mineral salt, and three levels of protein supplementation with 40, 50, and 60% crude protein (CP) being supplied in the amounts of 2.5kg/animal/day. It was found that the protein supplement supplies provided a substitutive effect of forage relative to mineral supplementation. The use of concentrated supplementation with 40% crude protein content was more efficient in terms of production, production of crude protein in milk and economically.(AU)

Circumscribing campo rupestre - megadiverse Brazilian rocky montane savanas.

Currently campo rupestre (CR) is a name accepted and used internationally by botanists, zoologists, and other naturalists, usually applied to a very specific ecosystem, despite the lack of a consensual published circumscription. We present a tentative geographic circumscription of the term, combining data on climate, geology, geomorphology, soil, flora, fauna and vegetation. The circumscription of campo rupestre proposed herein is based on the following premises: (1) the classification of vegetation is not an exact science, and it is difficult to attain a high degree of consensus to the circumscription of vegetation names; (2) despite this, vegetation classification is useful for conservation and management. It is thus desirable to circumscribe vegetation types with the greatest attainable precision; (3) there is a need to preserve all montane and rocky vegetation types, regardless of classification, biome, etc; (4) the CRs are formed by a complex mosaic of vegetation types including rock-dwelling, psammophilous, aquatic, epiphytic, and penumbral plant communities. Campos rupestres stricto sensu are a Neotropical, azonal vegetation complex endemic to Brazil, forming a mosaic of rocky mountaintop "archipelagos" inserted within a matrix of zonal vegetation, mainly in the Cerrado and Caatinga provinces of the Brazilian Shield (southeastern, northeastern and central-western regions), occurring mainly above 900 m asl. up to altitudes exceeding 2000 m, having measured annual precipitation between 800 and 1500 mm, and an arid season of two to five months.

Emerging epidemic of fatal human self-poisoning with a washing powder in Southern Sri Lanka: a prospective observational study.

INTRODUCTION: Self-poisoning is a public health problem in Sri Lanka. A new laundry detergent consisting of a sachet each of 1.2 g of potassium permanganate and 12.5 g of oxalic acid has become a popular agent among the youth for self-poisoning. METHOD: Prospective clinical data and major outcomes were recorded in all patients admitted to a referring and a referral hospital. Serial biochemistry was performed in 20 patients. Postmortem examinations were performed in some patients. RESULTS: There were 115 patients. The majority developed symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract within the first 24 h. There were 18 deaths. Ingestion of oxalic acid was associated with a case fatality ratio of 25.4% (95% CI = 14-39), while ingestion of both potassium permanganate and oxalic acid was associated with a case fatality ratio of 9.8% (95% CI = 3.2-21). Ingestion of more than one sachet was associated with a significantly higher risk of death (risk ratio = 13.26, 95% CI = 3.2-54, p < 0.05). Majority of the deaths occurred within an hour since ingestion. Postmortem examinations revealed mucosal ulceration in the majority of deaths. DISCUSSION: This case series brings to light an emerging epidemic of fatal self-poisoning in Sri Lanka from a compound that is not regulated. As deaths occur soon after ingestion, medical management of these patients is bound to be difficult. CONCLUSION: This case series highlights a fatal mode of self-poisoning that could be controlled through regulation of the manufacture and sale of the product.

Behavior and progesterone levels in Callithrix jacchus females.

In callitrichids, and especially in the Callithrix and Saguinus genera, reproductive suppression maintains the breeding exclusivity of dominant females. It has been suggested that dominance may be inferred from agonistic behavior of females. The purpose of this study was to assess the adequacy of behaviors as indicators of hormonal status in Callithrix jacchus females. Two pairs of twin females were observed for affiliative, agonistic and sexual behaviors for 20 weeks, in four stages of increasingly potential competition for one male. During the same period, blood samples were taken regularly for progesterone determination by ELISA. The two pairs differed markedly as to behaviors and hormonal status: pair 1 showed a well established behavioral dominance and only one ovulating female from the beginning of the observation period; pair 2 showed competition for dominance until the last stage of observation, when one of the females started ovulating. Correlations between behaviors and progesterone levels showed differences between subordinate and dominant females mostly in pair 2. Although limited in number of animals studied, these results suggest that there is a relationship between behavior and hormones in female marmosets, but this relationship may be useful in the identification of the physiological status of females only in groups where the dominance is not well established.

Behavior and progesterone levels in Callithrix jacchus females

In callitrichids, and especially in the Callithrix and Saguinus genera, reproductive suppression maintains the breeding exclusivity of dominant females. It has been suggested that dominance may be inferred from agonistic behavior of females. The purpose of this study was to assess the adequacy of behaviors as indicators of hormonal status in Callithrix jacchus females. Two paires of twin females were observed for affiliative, agonistic and sexual behaviors for 20 weeks, in four stages of increasingly potential competition for one male. During the same period, blood samples were taken regularly for progesterone determination by ELISA. The two pairs differed markedly as to behaviors and hormonal status: pair 1 showed a well established behavioral dominance and only one ovulating female from the beginning of the observation period; pair 2 showed competition for dominance until the last stage of observation, when one of the females started ovulating. Correlations between behaviors and progesterone levels showed differences between subordinate and dominant females mostly in pair 2. Although limited in number of animals studied, these results suggest that there is a relationship between behavior and hormones in female marmosets, but this relationship may be useful in the identification of the physiological status of females only in groups where the dominance is not well estblished