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The use of digital images could be a faster and cheaper alternative technique to assess BW, HCW, and body composition of beef cattle. The objective of this study was to develop equations to predict body and carcass weight and body fat content of young bulls using digital images obtained through a Microsoft Kinect device. Thirty-five bulls with an initial BW of 383 (±5.38) kg (20 Black Angus, 390 [±7.48] kg initial BW, and 15 Nellore, 377 [±8.66] kg initial BW) were used. The Kinect sensor, installed on the top of a cattle chute, was used to take infrared light–based depth videos, recorded before the slaughter. For each animal, a quality control was made, running and pausing the video at the moment that the animal was standing with its body and head in line. One framöe from recorded videos was selected and used to analyze the following body measurements: chest width, thorax width, abdomen width, body length, dorsal height, and dorsal area. From these body measurements, 23 indexes were generated and tested as potential predictors. The BW and HCW were assessed with a digital scale, whereas empty body fat (EBF) was estimated through ground samples of all tissues. To better understand the relationship among the measurements, the correlations between final BW (488 [±10.4] kg), HCW (287 [±12.5] kg), EBF (14 [±0.610] % empty BW) content, body measurements (taken through digital images), and developed indexes were evaluated. The REG procedure was used to develop the regressions, and the important independent variables were identified using the options STEPWISE and Mallow’s Cp in the SELECTION statement. Chest width was the trait most related to weights and the correlations between this measurement and BW and HCW were above 0.85. The analysis of linear regressions between observed and predicted values showed that all models pass through the origin and have a slope of unity (null hypothesis [H0]: a = 0 and b = 1; P ≥ 0.993). The models to estimate BW and HCW of Angus and Nellore presented R² between 0.69 and 0.84 (P < 0.001), whereas R² from equations to estimate the EBF were lower (R² = 0.43–0.45; P ≤ 0.006). Index I5 [(chest width)2 × body length], related to the animal volume, was significant in all models created to estimate BW and HCW, and it explained more than 70% of the variation. This study indicates that digital images taken through a Microsoft Kinect system have the potential to be used as a tool to estimate body and carcass weight of beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfated polysaccharides (fucans and fucoidans) from brown algae show several biological activities, including anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory activities. We have extracted a sulfated heterofucan from the brown seaweed Lobophora variegata by proteolytic digestion, followed by acetone fractionation, molecular sieving, and ion-exchange chromatography. Chemical analyses and 13C-NMR and IR spectroscopy showed that this fucoidan is composed of fucose, galactose, and sulfate at molar ratios of 1:3:2. We compared the anticoagulant activity of L. variegata fucoidan with those of a commercial sulfated polysaccharide (also named fucoidan) from Fucus vesiculosus and heparin. The experimental inflammation models utilized in this work revealed that fucoidan from L. variegata inhibits leukocyte migration to the inflammation site. Ear swelling caused by croton oil was also inhibited when sulfated polysaccharides from F. vesiculosus and L. variegata were used. The precise mechanism of different action between homo-and heterofucans is not clear; nevertheless, the polysaccharides studied here may have therapeutic potential in inflammatory disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania chagasi is endemic to northeast Brazil. A positive delayed-type hypersensitivity skin test response (DTH+) is a marker for acquired resistance to disease, clusters in families and may be genetically controlled. Twenty-three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in the cytokine 5q23.3–q31.1 region IRF1-IL5-IL13-IL4-IL9-LECT2-TGFBI in 102 families (323 DTH+; 190 DTH−; 123 VL individuals) from a VL endemic region in northeast Brazil. Data from 20 SNPs were analyzed for association with DTH+/− status and VL using family-based, stepwise conditional logistic regression analysis. Independent associations were observed between the DTH+ phenotype and markers in separate linkage disequilibrium blocks in LECT2 (OR 2.25; P=0.005; 95% CI=1.28–3.97) and TGFBI (OR 1.94; P=0.003; 95% CI=1.24–3.03). VL child/parent trios gave no evidence of association, but the DTH− phenotype was associated with SNP rs2070874 at IL4 (OR 3.14; P=0.006; 95% CI=1.38–7.14), and SNP rs30740 between LECT2 and TGFBI (OR 3.00; P=0.042; 95% CI=1.04–8.65). These results indicate several genes in the immune response gene cluster at 5q23.3–q31.1 influence outcomes of L. chagasi infection in this region of Brazil.Genes and Immunity (2007) 8, 539–551; doi:10.1038/sj.gene.6364422; published online 23 August 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]