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In this study, we evaluated the serum profile of sheep fed with banana residue hays dried using two methods. Thirty crossbred Santa Inês × Dorper, male, non-castrated sheep (average body weight= 26.5 kg) were distributed in a randomized block design with five treatments: control, two types of residues (banana pseudo stem and banana leaf hays), and two drying methods (sun and shade drying). After feeding the experimental diets for 20 days, the animals were fasted for 12 h before collecting venous blood (6 mL) for plasma and serum at 0, 3, and 6 h after feeding. Variance analysis was performed in subdivided plots, and the means were compared using Dunnett’s test at 5% probability. No differences were observed in the dry matter intake of animals fed with banana by-product hay; however, the in vitro dry matter digestibility was high for pseudo stem hay. The differences in the nutritional value of the hays were not sufficient to alter the serum biochemistry of the animals. No differences were observed in the total protein, serum albumin and globulins, albumin/globulin ratio, and plasma glucose among time points and treatments (5.83 g/dL, 3.43 g/dL, 2.40 g/dL, 1.82 g/dL, and 64.6 mg/dL). Urea and triglyceride levels were the highest (p<0.05) at 3 h after feeding (30.1 and 37.0 mg/dL, respectively) and creatinine at 0 h (0.94 mg/dL). Serum cholesterol levels were the lowest (p<0.05) at 3 h after feeding (38.5 mg/dL). No effect of treatment on these parameters was observed. Thus, sheep can be fed with pseudo stem or banana leaves dehydrated in the sun or shade without compromising blood parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus spp. can adhere and produce biofilm on different contact surfaces. Thus, the aim of this work was to compare the biofilm production by Staphylococcus spp. on stainless steel using two culture media, milk Ultra High Temperatura (UHT) and Brain Heart Infusion broth (BHI). The bacterial count of adhered cells on steel was performed two times (12 and 24 hours) for both media evaluated with incubation at 25 °C. The bacterial counts of adhered cells were analyzed using ANOVA and Duncan's test for average comparison (p < 0.05). The biofilm formation of two strains (wild type strain and type strain) were observed applying Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The bacterial counts were between 7 and 8 log CFU/cm2. Significant difference was found among the strains evaluated; however, no significant difference was described in times and culture media tested. It was showed by SEM that the wild type strain (S.a2) had considerable ability to biofilm production, which was expected due its results on bacterial counts. Thus, it can indicate milk offers appropriate conditions to biofilm formation of Staphylococcus spp. on stainless steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Studies of health geography are important in the planning and allocation of emergency health services. The geographical distribution of health facilities is an important factor in timely and quality access to emergency services; therefore, the present study analyzed the emergency health care network in Brazil, focusing the analysis at the roles of small hospitals (SHs). Study design Cross-sectional ecological study. Methods Data were collected from 9429 hospitals of which 3524 were SHs and 5905 were high-complexity centers (HCCs). For analytical purposes, we considered four specialties when examining the proxies of emergency care capability: adult, pediatrics, neonatal, and obstetric. We analyzed the spatial distribution of hospitals, identifying municipalities that rely exclusively on SHs and the distance of these cities from HCCs. Results More than 14 and 30 million people were at least 120 km away from HCCs with an adult intensive care unit (ICU) and pediatric ICU, respectively. For neonatal care distribution, 12% of the population was more than 120 km away from a health facility with a neonatal ICU. The maternities situation is different from other specialties, where 81% of the total Brazilian population was within 1 h or less from such health facilities. Conclusion Our results highlighted a polarization in distribution of Brazilian health care facilities. There is a concentration of hospitals in urban areas more developed and access gaps in rural areas and the Amazon region. Our results demonstrate that the distribution of emergency services in Brazil is not facilitating access to the population due to geographical barriers associated with great distances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary glands of cows and causes significant economic losses in dairy cattle. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the microorganisms most commonly isolated. Novel agents are required in agricultural industries to prevent the development of mastitis. The production of biofilm by Staph. aureus facilitates the adhesion of bacteria to solid surfaces and contributes to the transmission and maintenance of these bacteria. The effect of the essential oils of Syzygium aromaticum (clove; EOSA) and Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon; EOCZ) and their major components, eugenol and cinnamaldehyde, on Staph. aureus biofilm formation on different surfaces was investigated. The results showed a significant inhibition of biofilm production by EOSA on polystyrene and stainless steel surfaces (69.4 and 63.6%, respectively). However, its major component, eugenol, was less effective on polystyrene and stainless steel (52.8 and 19.6%, respectively). Both EOCZ and its major component, cinnamaldehyde, significantly reduced biofilm formation on polystyrene (74.7 and 69.6%, respectively) and on stainless steel surfaces (45.3 and 44.9%, respectively). These findings suggest that EOSA, EOCZ, and cinnamaldehyde may be considered for applications such as sanitization in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Batch and fixed bed experiments were carried out for the removal of Reactive Turquoise Blue Q-G125% (TB) dye from aqueous solution using cashew apple bagasse (CAB) as non-conventional adsorbent. CAB, a lignocellulosic material, used in this study contained 20.56% ± 2.19% cellulose, 10.17% ± 0.89% hemicellulose, and 35.26% ± 0.90% lignin and was characterized as nonporous material and its surface area cannot be determined by nitrogen adsorption at 77 K. Kinetic and equilibrium study were performed in batch systems, evaluating the effects of pH, contact time, initial concentration, adsorbent loading, and temperature on the adsorption. The pseudo-second-order model best described the adsorption kinetic data. The adsorption isotherms of TB onto CAB were well fitted by the Freundlich model. The maximum adsorption capacity of the biomass was 145.10 mg/g and high levels of dye removal (> 90%) at 60°C. According to thermodynamic results, the adsorption of TB onto CAB is a spontaneous endothermic process. Dynamic adsorption behavior was studied in fixed bed system. The highest bed adsorbed quantity of 32 mg/g with 100 mg/L TB initial concentration at 1 mL/min flow rate and 1.4 cm bed-height was obtained. The results showed that CAB is a promising adsorbent for the adsorption of the dye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mastitis is an important disease for the dairy industry worldwide, causing economic losses and reducing milk quality and production. Staphylococcus aureus is a worldwide agent of this intramammary infection, which also causes foodborne diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of methicillinsusceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) isolates in milk of mastitis cows in Brazil and to analyze the genetic lineages and the content of antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence factors among these isolates. Fifty-six MSSA isolates were recovered from 1,484 milk samples (positive for the California mastitis test) of 518 cows from 11 different farms in Brazil (representing 51% of total Staph. aureus obtained), and they were further characterized. Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from 3.7% of California mastitis test-positive tested milk samples and from 6.2% of tested mastitic cows. Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus isolates were characterized by spa typing, agr typing, and multilocus sequence typing, and resistance and virulence traits were investigated by PCR. Seven spa types were identified among MSSA (% of isolates): t127 (44.6), t605 (37.5), t002, t1784, t2066 (1.8), and 2 new ones: t10856 (10.7) and t10852 (1.8). Five distinct sequence types (ST) were detected (% of isolates): ST1 (46.4), ST126 (37.5), ST133 (10.7), ST5 (3.6), and a novel ST registered as ST2493 (1.8). Resistances were detected for streptomycin, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline. One strain contained the chloramphenicol resistance gene (fexA; included within transposon Tn558) and 3 strains contained the tetracycline resistance gene [tet(K)]. Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus strains were susceptible to most of the antibiotics studied and lacked the virulence genes of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (lukF/S-PV), toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (tst), exfoliative toxin A (eta), and exfoliative toxin B (etb), as well as the genes of the immune evasion cluster. Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus isolates were detected in a relatively low proportion of cows with mastitis (6.2%) and recovered isolates presented high diversity of genetic lineages, with CC1 and CC126 the predominant clonal complexes, and CC133 also being detected. Larger epidemiological studies with molecular characterization of isolates are required to deepen the knowledge on the circulating genetic lineages among the cow population with mastitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A radiochemical procedure for the determination of alpha-emitting isotopes of plutonium in powdered milk is proposed. The procedure involves sample dissolution (by HNO3 and HClO4), separation by ionic-exchange resin, electrodeposition and alpha-spectroscopy. In order to determine the chemical recovery, 242Pu was employed as a tracer. A reference material (Marine Sediment IAEA 135) was analyzed to validate such procedure, and to show its reliability. Afterwards, some powdered milk, produced for international trade, was analyzed and chemical recovery was found to be around 95%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphoric acid is generally obtained from an aqueous process starting with the reaction between phosphate rock and sulphuric acid. Due to their chemical similarity, uranium is usually associated with phosphate rock which during chemical processing is partitioned to phosphoric acid. Uranium determination in this matrix is a very important task because of its ingestion it could lead to radiological impact on the population. Therefore, a procedure was developed using an initial precipitation with calcium hydroxide and evaporation, followed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The procedure was applied to analyse fourteen uranium enriched phosphoric acid samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restricting periods of diet access to lactating dairy goats could influence level or efficiency of production and offer different management options. Therefore, 40 Alpine goats (12 and 28 of parity 1 and ≥2, respectively) with initial BW of 58.0 kg (SEM 1.50) and 14.2 d in milk (SEM 0.72) were offered a 40% forage diet (16.6% CP and 37.5% NDF; 20% alfalfa pellets, 10% cottonseed hulls, 10% coarsely ground grass hay, 12.9% wheat middlings, 12.9% rolled oats, 12.9% rolled corn, 11.0% soybean meal, 3.0% soybean oil, 5.0% molasses, and 2.3% other ingredients) free choice in Calan gate feeders for 12 wk. Feed access was continuous other than during morning and afternoon milking (Control), during the day for 8 h (Day) or night for 16 h (Night), or for 1 or 2 h after morning and afternoon milking (2Hour and 4Hour, respectively). Digestibilities were not influenced by treatment (e.g., OM: 73.1, 76.9, 77.1, 76.3, and 77.3% [SEM 1.81]), DMI was greater (P < 0.05) for Control than for most treatments (2.07, 2.23, 2.70, 2.33, and 2.01 kg/d [SEM 0.157]), and ADG was greater (P = 0.019) for Control than for the mean of restricted feeder access treatments (39, 11, 73, 24, and 21 g [SEM 17.7] for 2Hour, 4Hour, Control, Day, and Night, respectively). Milk yield was similar among treatments (2.60, 3.24, 3.05, 3.07, and 2.58 kg/d [SEM 0.375]), fat concentration tended (P = 0.089) to be lower for Control than for other treatments (3.88, 4.21, 3.41, 3.70, and 3.49% [SEM 0.208]), and milk energy yield was not affected by treatment (7.36, 9.53, 8.20, 8.56, and 6.91 MJ/d [SEM 1.071] for 2Hour, 4Hour, Control, Day, and Night, respectively). Intake of ME (22.69, 25.92, 31.25, 26.69, and 23.46 MJ/d [SEM 2.184]) and heat energy (13.34, 14.09, 17.51, 15.54, and 15.25 MJ/d [SEM 0.921]) were greater (P ≤ 0.011) for Control than for other treatments, resulting in milk energy that was 31.9, 37.6, 26.0, 31.4, and 30.0% of ME intake for 2Hour, 4Hour, Control, Day, and Night, respectively (SEM 3.08). In conclusion, continuous diet access may affect partitioning of nutrients between milk synthesis and tissue accretion differently than some restricted feeder access treatments, particularly 4Hour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antral follicle count (AFC) is an important tool in the selection of bovine females destined for biotechnology. However, little is known about AFC in prepubertal and pubertal heifers. Some challenges inherent to the physiology of young females must be considered to achieve efficient rates with different procedures, such as ovum pick-up and IVF. This paper covers some important topics about ovarian physiology related to the population of antral follicles and reproductive efficiency in young female cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Las biotécnicas reproductivas han colaborado mucho para el mejoramiento de los rodeos. El progreso genéti-co logrado por generación en la especie bovina es acelerado a medida que la eficiencia reproductiva aumentacon el uso de técnicas como la inseminación artificial (IA) y la producción in vitro de embriones (PIVE). Así,la selección de hembras con mejor fertilidad para ser incluidas en programas reproductivos ha sido cada vezmás cuidadosa y el recuento de folículos antrales (RFA) se ha convertido en una herramienta auxiliar en estaevaluación. Diversos trabajos vienen demostrando que el RFA está asociado a índices que reflejan fertilidad,teniendo la ventaja de ser un parámetro de alta repetibilidad a lo largo de la vida del animal. Sin embargo, sehan reportado datos controvertidos al considerar diferentes subespecies y biotécnicas. En general, las hembrasBos taurus con alto RFA son consideradas más fértiles, no obstante, estudios más recientes demostraron queal monitorear la vida reproductiva de estos animales por un período mayor, se observó un mejor desempeñopara aquellas de bajo RFA. De la misma manera, en Bos indicus, mientras que en la PIVE se evidencia unaventaja cuantitativa en la tasa de producción embrionaria para aquellas hembras que tienen alto RFA, fuedescripto por algunos grupos de investigación que en la IA, la mayor tasa de preñez fue alcanzada en hem-bras con bajo RFA. De esta forma, aún es necesario elucidar mejor diversas cuestiones que interfieren en eluso del RFA como un parámetro reproductivo a ser aplicado en el campo. Entre estos factores se destaca elefecto del escore corporal y de la ganancia de peso, fase gestacional, momento de la onda de crecimiento foli-cular en el desarrollo del ovocito incluido en los folículos, patrones de clasificación del RFA, además de aspec-tos epigenéticos y de la foliculogénesis de cada subespecie. En definitiva, a pesar de que el uso del RFA comouna herramienta auxiliar en la evaluación de la fertilidad en hembras puede ser importante, nuevos estudiosvienen demostrando que ese parámetro no es algo tan consolidado y establecido, por lo que es necesario con-siderar los diversos aspectos que pueden interferir en el RFA, así como en la eficiencia de los programas repro-ductivos en bovinos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Our objective was to determine the influence of the HealtheSteps™ lifestyle prescription program on physical activity and modifiable risk factors for chronic disease in individuals at risk.Methods: One hundred eighteen participants were recruited from 5 sites in Southwestern Ontario, Canada and randomized to either the intervention (HealtheSteps™ program, n = 59) or a wait-list control group (n = 59). The study comprised three phases: an Active Phase (0 to 6 months) consisted of bi-monthly in-person lifestyle coaching with access to a suite of eHealth technology supports (Heathesteps app, telephone coaching and a private HealtheSteps™ social network) followed by a Minimally-Supported Phase I (6 to 12 months), in which in-person coaching was removed, but participants still had access to the full suite of eHealth technology supports. In the final stage, Minimally-Supported Phase II (12 to 18 months), access to the eHealth technology supports was restricted to the HealtheSteps™ app. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 6, 12 and 18 months. The study primary outcome was the 6-month change in average number of steps per day. Secondary outcomes included: self-reported physical activity and sedentary time; self-reported eating habits; weight and body composition measures; blood pressure and health-related quality of life. Data from all participants were analyzed using an intent-to-treat approach. We applied mixed effects models for repeated measurements and adjusted for age, sex, and site in the statistical analyses.Results: Participants in HealtheSteps™ increased step counts (between-group [95% confidence interval]: 3132 [1969 to 4294], p < 0.001), decreased their sitting time (- 0.08 [- 0.16 to - 0.006], p = 0.03), and improved their overall healthful eating (- 1.5 [- 2.42 to - 0.58], p = 0.002) to a greater extent compared to control at 6 months. Furthermore, exploratory results showed that these individuals maintained these outcomes 12 months later, after a minimally-supported phase; and retained improvements in sedentary time and improved healthful eating after 18 months. No differences in self-reported physical activity, health-related quality of life, weight, waist circumference or blood pressure were observed between groups at 6 months.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that HealtheSteps™ is effective at increasing physical activity (i.e., step counts per day), decreasing weekday sitting time, and improving healthful eating in adults at increased risk for chronic disease after 6 months; however, we did not see change in other risk factors. Nonetheless, the maintenance of these behaviours with minimal support after 12 and even 18 months indicates the promise of HealtheSteps™ for long-term sustainability.Trial Registration: The trial was registered on April 6, 2015 with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT02413385 ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementation with exogenous enzyme of Aspergillus oryzae (primarily alpha amylase) in high-concentrate feedlot diets on blood and ruminal parameters of Nellore cattle. Ten Nellore bulls with rumen fistulae, initial body weight between 350 to 400 kg and age of 24 months were housed in individual pens. The experimental design was crossover, in which the animals were randomized between treatments 1: Control - absence of amylase and 2: Amylase -Aspergillus oryzae extract containing alpha amylase activity (Amaize®, Alltech, Inc.), 5 g/animal daily. There was an initial adjustment period (25 days) and a data-collection period (25 days); after, there was rest period (25 days), then the treatments were reversed and the adjustment and collection periods repeated. The diet was composed of: sugar cane bagasse (12% DM), corn (62% DM), citrus pulp (17% DM), soybean meal (4.7% DM), Optigen®, a controlled-relaease urea (1.1% DM) and mineral salt (3.2% DM). The parameters evaluated were plasma concentrations of insulin, glucose, and beta-hydroxybutyrate plus molar proportions of volatile fatty acids (VFA), pH and ammonia concentration in rumen fluid. The data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS (9.0), considering the effects of treatment, time and random animals, with P < 0.10 declared significant. As shown in Table 649, plasma insulin concentrations were reduced in animals receiving Amylase (16.9 vs 27.8 μIU/mL; P = 0.06), as well as acetate and acetate:propionate to the same animals, while the propionate was higher in animals receiving Amylase (18.8 vs 20.4 molar proportion; P = 0.03). In conclusion, exogenous amylase can reduce insulin levels in the animals' blood and also cause effect on ruminal parameters. Acknowledgments: Alltech and FAPESP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the energy requirements of female and intact and castrated male Saanen goats. Animals were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 experiments designed to investigate the energy requirements for maintenance and gain. To determine the maintenance requirements, 85 goats were used (26 intact males, 30 castrated males, and 29 females) with an initial BW of 30.3 ± 0.87 kg. Thirty goats (8 intact males, 9 castrated males, and 13 females) were slaughtered to be used as the baseline group. The remaining goats were assigned in a split-plot design using a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement (3 sexes--intact males, castrated males, and females--and 3 DMI levels--ad libitum and restricted fed to 75 or 50% of the ad libitum intake). The NEg was obtained using 65 goats (20 intact males, 22 castrated males, and 23 females) fed ad libitum in a completely randomized design. Eight intact males, 9 castrated males, and 13 females were slaughtered at 30.5 ± 1.53 kg BW. Seventeen goats (6 intact males, 6 castrated males, and 5 females) were slaughtered at 38.1 ± 0.49 kg BW. The remaining goats were slaughtered at 44.0 ± 0.50 kg BW. The NEm did not differ between the sexes (P = 0.59; 258.5 kJ/kg0.75 BW), resulting in a ME for maintenance of 412.4 kJ/kg0.75 BW. The estimated energy use efficiency for maintenance was 0.627. During the growth phase, NEg differed between the sexes (P < 0.001); intact males, castrated males, and females showed an average NEg equal to 15.2, 18.6, and 22.7 MJ/kg of empty weight gain, respectively. The energy requirements for growth differed between the sexes. The difference was found to be due to distinct NEg and partial efficiency of ME utilization for growth in intact and castrated males and females during the late growth phase. This study may contribute to adjustments in feeding system energy recommendations regarding the NEm and NEg found for goats during the late growth phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a plant extract obtained from the leaves of coffee plants infected by Hemileia vastatrix ( NEFID), different formulations of phosphites and the combination of the extract and phosphites in controlling powdery mildew in eucalyptus mini-stumps, as well as to study the effects on the production of mini-cuttings and their rooting percentage. The experiments were conducted on two eucalyptus hybrids ('urocam' and 'urograndis') in a clonal garden and greenhouse. First, the NEFID plant extract and phosphites of copper, zinc, potassium and potassium/manganese were evaluated to determine their effectiveness in controlling powdery mildew and their toxic effect on the fungus' morphology. Subsequently, we analysed the direct fungitoxicity, curative efficiency and anti-sporulating action of the NEFID extract and various combinations of phosphites with or without the extract, and we also evaluated their effects on shoot production and rooting in eucalyptus mini-cuttings. The NEFID plant extract and phosphites of Cu, Zn and K/Mn were more effective than the fungicide pyraclostrobin + epoxiconazole in the control of powdery mildew. Potassium phosphite was not effective in controlling the pathogen. Among the tested mixtures, the combination of 50% NEFID plant extract and 50% copper phosphite was the most effective because it exhibited direct toxicity on powdery mildew, a high curative efficiency, anti-sporulating action and no adverse effects on the production of shoots or rooting in eucalyptus mini-cuttings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediment cores from Catingueiro, Barrinha and Rio das Pedras marginal lagoons of the Moji-Guaçu River basin were analyzed for rare earth elements (REEs), Fe, Ta and Th by instrumental neutron activation analysis ( k 0-INAA). Data indicated similarities between Catingueiro and Barrinha lagoons, while a distinct scenario was seen for Rio das Pedras likely due to changes of sedimentation rate in 1950's. By using Fe, Sc, Ta and Th as conservative elements, double normalization technique was performed in order to assess the distribution pattern of Ce, Eu, La, Sm and Tb for each core. In all cases, it was evident a depletion of lighter REE elements in the Rio das Pedras lagoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of radioactivity concentrations in excreta is an important tool for the monitoring of possible radionuclide intakes by occupationally exposed workers. For this purpose, a radiochemical procedure for the determination of alpha-emitting isotopes of uranium in excreta has been optimized. The main steps involved in this procedure are pre-concentration, dissolution of sample, separation by ion-exchange resin, electrodeposition and alpha-spectroscopy. 232U tracer is used to monitor chemical recoveries and correct the results to improve precision and accuracy. The quality control of radiochemical analysis in urine and faecal samples has been performed with participation in intercomparison exercises. The results obtained from these samples, with chemical recoveries (80-95%), are shown to be highly consistent. The method offers good prospects to be applied in routine monitoring programme of workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]