Nutrient digestibility, but not mineral absorption, is age-dependent in cats

Availability of nutrients is influenced by extremes of age, and a better characterization of this influence is necessary for appropriate development of foods and nutritional management throughout life stages of cats. This study investigated nutrient digestibility, mineral absorption, faeces and urine production in three groups of six young, mature and old cats fed two diets containing different energy densities. Apparent digestibility and mineral absorption were calculated by total collection method and values were tested with ANOVA and regression analysis. A quadratic relationship was detected between age and digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, acid-hydrolysed fat and starch in the low-energy diet. Starch digestibility showed the same response in the high-energy diet. Young adult cats had intermediate digestibility, mature cats the highest and old cats the lowest. Mineral absorption (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride) and urinary pH were not different among groups. These findings confirm previous studies that found low digestibility of nutrients in some old cats, and support evidence that this trend is even more important in less digestible dry foods. on the contrary, data suggest that mineral formulations do not need to be varied in diets for adult cats of different ages.

Effects of plant densities and management of purple nutsedge on sugarcane yield and effect of growth stages and main way of herbicides contact and absorption on the control of tubers

Field experiments carried out with Cyperus rotundus L. at low (58-246), medium (318773), and high (675-1198 shoots/m(2)) densities showed sugarcane yield reductions of 13.5, 29.3, and 45.2%, respectively in relation to the control. In the second field experiment, the integration of a mechanic method with two sequences of plowing and disking operations in the dry season, and complementary applications of trifloxysulfuron-sodium + ametrine and sulfentrazone (rainy season) was studied. Average of the chain connected to original shoot showed 92, 95, and 65% of reduction with trifloxysulfuron-sodium + ametrine and surfactant, at the application stages early, preflowering, and full flowering, respectively.

Multi-scale structural description of siloxane-PPO hybrid ionic conductors doped by sodium salts

Alkaline metal doped organic - inorganic hybrids have potential applications in the field of portable energy sources. Attractive sol - gel derived urea cross-linked polyether, siloxane - PPO ( poly( propylene oxide)) hybrids doped with sodium salts ( NaClO4 and NaBF4) were examined by multi-spectroscopic approach that includes complex impedance, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), Si-29 and Na-23 magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR/MAS), Na K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and Raman spectroscopies. The goals of this work were to determine which cation coordinating site of the host matrix ( ether oxygen atoms or carbonyl oxygen atoms) is active in each of the materials analyzed, its influence on the nanostructure of the samples and its relation with the thermal and electrical properties. The main conclusion derived from this study is that the NaBF4 salt has a much lower solubility in the hybrid matrix than the NaClO4 salt. Furthermore, the addition of a large amount of salt plays a major role in the hybrid nanostructure and electrical properties, modifying the PPO chain conformation, weakening or breaking the hydrogen bond of the polyether - urea associations and changing the polycondensation and aggregation processes involving the siloxane species.

Sodium titanate as basic catalyst in transesterification reactions

Sodium titanate was synthesized by the sol-gel method and characterized using X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry-mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and nitrogen physisorption. The non-calcined material was active as a catalyst in transesterification reactions and showed high stability. An appreciable loss of activity on the fourth reuse was accompanied by the appearance of a new species of oxygen and segregated sodium, identified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS spectrum showed that the basic nature of the framework oxygen was inferior to the original basicity, which explained the decline in catalytic activity. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The control of sodium chloride intake: Functional relationship between hypothalamic inhibitory areas and amygdaloid complex stimulating areas

Sodium chloride intake was studied in rats submitted to different neurosurgical procedures. Intake decreased in animals submitted to bilateral destruction of the basolateral amygdaloid complex, and increased after the same animals were submitted to destruction of the anterior lateral hypothalamus, a procedure which is known to cause increased intake in intact rats. In the reverse experiment, where the anterior lateral hypothalamus was destroyed before the basolateral amygdaloid complex, the effect of increased sodium chloride intake induced by destruction of the hypothalamus overcame the decreased expected upon destruction of the amygdaloid complex. These results permit us to conclude that the hypothalamic areas which inhibit sodium chloride intake predominate over the stimulating areas of the amygdaloid complex in the control of sodium chloride intake. © 1981 ANKHO International Inc.

Physico-chemical characterization and analytical development for sodium azumolene, a potential drug designed to fight malignant hyperthermia

Sodium azumolene is a drug designed to fight Malignant Hyperthermia (MH), which is characterized by genetic predisposition and triggered by the use of inhalational anesthetics. This drug is shown as a water-soluble analogue of dantrolene sodium, 30-folds more water soluble, which gives advantages for its emergency use. To our knowledge there is no analytical method for sodium zaumolene raw material or dosage form published so far. The objective of the present investigation was to develop and validate analytical methods to achieve sodium azumolene chemical identification and quantification. The sodium azumolene was characterized regarding its thermal behavior, by differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis; Visible, UV and infrared absorption. To accurately assess the sodium Azumolene content three different analytical methods (visible and UV spectrophotometry and high performance liquid chromatography) were developed and validated. All methods showed to be linear, accurate, precise and reliable. Azumolene has shown to be equipotent to dantrolene in the treatment and prevention of an MH crisis and the great advantage compared to dantrolene is better water solubility. This study has characterized the sodium azumolene and presents new analytical methods which have not been reported so far.