Effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone at initiation of the 5-d timed artificial insemination (AI) program and timing of induction of ovulation relative to AI on ovarian dynamics and fertility of dairy heifers

Two experiments evaluated the effects of the first GnRH injection of the 5-d timed artificial insemination (AI) program on ovarian responses and pregnancy per AT (P/AI), and the effect of timing of the final GnRH to induce ovulation relative to AT on P/AI. In experiment 1, 605 Holstein heifers were synchronized for their second insemination and assigned randomly to receive GnRH on study d 0 (n = 298) or to remain as untreated controls (n = 307). Ovaries were scanned on study d 0 and 5. All heifers received a controlled internal drug-release (CIDR) insert containing progesterone on d 0, a single injection of PGF(2 alpha),, and removal of the CIDR on d 5, and GnRH concurrent with timed AT on d 8. Blood was analyzed for progesterone at AI. Pregnancy was diagnosed on d 32 and 60 after AI. Ovulation on study d 0 was greater for GnRH than control (35.4 vs. 10.6%). Presence of a new corpus luteum (CL) at PGF(2 alpha),, injection was greater for GnRH than for control (43.1 vs. 20.8%), although the proportion of heifers with a CL at PGF(2 alpha) did not differ between treatments and averaged 87.1%. Progesterone on the day of AT was greater for GaRH than control (0.50 +/- 0.07 vs. 0.28 +/- 0.07 ng/mL). The proportion of heifers at AI with progesterone <0.5 ng/mL was less for GURH than for control (73.8 vs. 88.2%). The proportion of heifers in estrus at AI did not differ between treatments and averaged 66.8%. Pregnancy per AI was not affected by treatment at d 32 or 60 (GnRH = 52.5 and 49.8% vs. control = 54.1 and 50.0%), and pregnancy loss averaged 6.0%. Responses to GnRH were not influenced by ovarian status on study d 0. In experiment 2, 1,295 heifers were synchronized for their first insemination and assigned randomly to receive a CIDR on d 0, PGF(2 alpha) and removal of the CIDR on d 5, and either GnRH 56 h after PGF(2 alpha) and AI 16 h later (OVS56, n = 644) or GnRH concurrent with AI 72 h after PGF(2 alpha) (COS72; n = 651). Estrus at AI was greater for COS72 than for OVS56 (61.4 vs. 47.5). Treatment did not affect P/AI on d 32 in heifers displaying signs of estrus at AI, but COS72 improved P/AI compared with OVS56 (55.0 vs. 47.6%) in those not in estrus at AI. Similarly, P/AI on d 60 did not differ between treatments for heifers displaying estrus, but COS72 improved P/AI compared with OVS56 (53.0 vs. 44.7%) in those not in estrus at AI. Administration of GnRH on the first day of the 5-d timed AI program resulted in low ovulation rate and no improvement in P/AI when heifers received a single PGF(2 alpha) injection 5 d later. Moreover, extending the proestrus by delaying the finAI GnRH from 56 to 72 h concurrent with AI benefited fertility of dairy heifers that did not display signs of estrus at insemination following the 5-d timed AI protocol.

Effects of equine chorionic gonadotropin and type of ovulatory stimulus in a timed-AI protocol on reproductive responses in dairy cows

The objectives were to evaluate the effects of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) supplementation (with or without eCG) and type of ovulatory stimulus (GnRH or ECP) on ovarian follicular dynamics, luteal function, and pregnancies per AI (P/AI) in Holstein cows receiving timed artificial insemination (TAI). On Day 0, 742 cows in a total of 782 breedings, received 2 mg of estradiol benzoate (EB) and one intravaginal progesterone (P4) insert (CIDR). On Day 8, the CIDR was removed, and all cows were given PGF2 alpha and assigned to one of four treatments in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement: (1) CG: GnRH 48 h later; (2) CE: ECP; (3) EG: eCG + GnRH 48 It later; (4) EE: eCG + ECP. There were significant interactions for eCG x ovulatory stimulus and eCG x BCS. Cows in the CG group were less likely (28.9% vs. 33.8%; P < 0.05) to become pregnant compared with those in the EG group (odds ratio [OR] = 0.28). There were no differences in P/AI between CE and EE cows (30.9% vs. 29.1%; OR = 0.85; P = 0.56), respectively. Thinner cows not receiving eCG had lower P/AI than thinner cows receiving eCG (15.2% vs. 38.0%; OR = 0.20; P < 0.01). Treatment with eCG tended to increase serum progestesterone concentrations during the diestrus following synchronized ovulation (P < 0.10). However, the treatment used to induce ovulation did not affect CL volume or serum progesterone concentrations. In conclusion, both ECP and GnRH yielded comparable P/AI. However, eCG treatment at CIDR removal increased pregnancy rate in cows induced to ovulate with GnRH and in cows with lower BCS. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new presynchronization system (Double-Ovsynch) increases fertility at first postpartum timed AI in lactating dairy cows

This study evaluated a novel presynchronization method, using Ovsynch prior to the Ovsynch-timed AI protocol (Double-Ovsynch) compared to Presynch-Ovsynch. Lactating Holstein (n = 337) cows, were assigned to two treatment groups: (1) Presynch (n = 180), two injections of PGF 14 d apart, followed by the Ovsynch-timed AI protocol 12 d later; (2) Double-Ovsynch (n = 157), received GnRH, PGF 7 d later, and GnRH 3 d later, followed by the Ovsynch-timed AI protocol 7 d later. All cows received the same Ovsynch-timed AI protocol: GnRH (G1) at 68 +/- 3 DIM (mean +/- SEM), PGF 7 d later, GnRH (G2) 56 h after PGF, and AI 16 to 20 h later. Pregnancy was diagnosed 39-45 d after timed AI. Double-Ovsynch increased the pregnancies per AI (P/AI) compared to Presynch-Ovsynch (49.7% vs 41.7%, P = 0.03). Surprisingly, Double-Ovsynch increased P/AI only in primiparous (65.2% vs 45.2%; P = 0.02) and not multiparous (37.5% vs 39.3%) cows. In a subset of 87 cows, ovarian ultrasonography and progesterone (P4) measurements were performed at G1 and 7 d later. Double-Ovsynch decreased the percentage of cows with low P4 (<1 ng/mL) at G1 (9.4% vs 33.3%) and increased the percentage of cows with high P4 (>= 3 ng/mL) at PGF (78.1% vs 52.3%). Thus, presynchronization of cows with Double-Ovsynch increased fertility in primiparous cows compared to a standard Presynch protocol, perhaps due to induction of ovulation in non-cycling cows and improved synchronization of cycling cows. Future studies are needed, with a larger number of cows, to further test the hypothesis of higher fertility with Double-Ovsynch, and to elucidate the physiological mechanisms that underlie apparent changes in fertility with this protocol. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Inteligência artificial aplicada à Zootecnia

Os sistemas biológicos são surpreendentemente flexíveis pra processar informação proveniente do mundo real. Alguns organismos biológicos possuem uma unidade central de processamento denominada de cérebro. O cérebro humano consiste de 10(11) neurônios e realiza processamento inteligente de forma exata e subjetiva. A Inteligência Artificial (IA) tenta trazer para o mundo da computação digital a heurística dos sistemas biológicos de várias maneiras, mas, ainda resta muito para que isso seja concretizado. No entanto, algumas técnicas como Redes neurais artificiais e lógica fuzzy tem mostrado efetivas para resolver problemas complexos usando a heurística dos sistemas biológicos. Recentemente o numero de aplicação dos métodos da IA em sistemas zootécnicos tem aumentado significativamente. O objetivo deste artigo é explicar os princípios básicos da resolução de problemas usando heurística e demonstrar como a IA pode ser aplicada para construir um sistema especialista para resolver problemas na área de zootecnia.

Análise de jatos de baixos níveis associados aum sistema convectivo de mesoescala na américa do sul: um estudo de caso

The Levei Low Jet (LLJ) observed in the Porto Alegre metropolitan region, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, was analyzed using 1989-2003 at 00:00 and 12:00 UTC upper-air observations. The LLJ classification criteria proposed by Bonner (1968) and modified by Whiteman et aI. (1997) were applied to determine the LLJ occurrence. Afterwards was selected a LLJ event, that was one of the most intense observed in the summer (01/27/2002 at 12:00 UTC), during the study period. ln this study were used as tools: atmospheric soundings, GOES-8 satellite images, and wind, temperature and specific humidity fields from GLOBAL, ETA and BRAMS models. Based on the numerical analysis was possible to verify that the three models overestimated the specific humidity and potential temperature values, at LLJ time occurrence. The wind speed was underestimated by the models. It was observed in the study region, at 12:00 UTC (LLJ detected hour in the Porto Alegre region), by three models, warm and wet air from north, generating conditions to Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) formation and intensification.

Screening of Trypanosoma cruzi glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme inhibitors

The inhibitory activity of crude extracts of Meliaceae and Rutaceae plants on glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gGAPDH) enzyme from Trypanosoma cruzi was evaluated at 100 μg/mL. Forty-six extracts were tested and fifteen of them showed significant inhibitory activity (IA % > 50). The majority of the assayed extracts of Meliaceae plants (Cedrela fissilis, Cipadessa fruticosa and Trichilia ramalhoi) showed high ability to inhibit the enzymatic activity. The fractionation of the hexane extract from branches of C. fruticosa led to the isolation of three flavonoids: flavone, 7-methoxyflavone and 3',4',5',5,7-pentamethoxyflavone. The two last compounds showed high ability to inhibit the gGAPDH activity. Therefore, the assayed Meliaceae species could be considered as a promising source of lead compounds against Chagas' disease.

Prevalence of inadequate nutrient intake in a group of adolescents using dietary reference intake- based methods

O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar a prevalência de ingestão inadequada de nutrientes em um grupo de adolescentes de São Bernardo do Campo-SP. Dados de consumo de energia e nutrientes foram obtidos por meio de recordatórios de 24 horas aplicados em 89 adolescentes. A prevalência de inadequação foi calculada utilizando o método EAR como ponto de corte, após ajuste pela variabilidade intrapessoal, utilizando o procedimento desenvolvido pela Iowa State University. As Referências de Ingestão Dietética (IDR) foram os valores de referência para ingestão. Para os nutrientes que não possuem EAR estabelecida, a distribuição do consumo foi comparada com a AI. As maiores prevalências de inadequação em ambos sexos foram observadas para o magnésio (99,3 por cento para o sexo masculino e 81,8 por cento para o feminino), zinco (44,0 por cento para o sexo masculino e 23,5 por cento para o feminino), vitamina C (57,2 por cento para o sexo masculino e 59,9 por cento para o feminino) e folato (34,8 por cento para o sexo feminino). A proporção de indivíduos com ingestão superior à AI foi insignificante (menor que 2,0 por cento) em ambos os sexos

Relationships of blood lead to calcium, iron, and vitamin C intakes in Brazilian pregnant women

Background & aims. This study aimed to determine the relationship between blood lead concentrations and calcium, iron and vitamin C dietary intakes of pregnant women. Methods. Included in the study were 55 women admitted to a hospital, for delivery, from June to August 2002. A food frequency questionnaire was applied to determine calcium, iron and vitamin C intakes, and a general questionnaire to obtain data on demographic-socioeconomic condition, obstetric history, smoking habit, and alcohol intake. Blood lead and haemoglobin were determined, respectively, by atomic absorption spectrometry and by the haemoglobinometer HemoCue®. Multiple linear regression models were used to determine the relationship between blood lead and calcium, iron and vitamin C intakes, and haemoglobin levels, controlling for confounders. Results. The final model of the regression analysis detected an inverse relationship between blood lead and age of the women (p=0.011), haemoglobin (p=0.001), vitamin C (p=0.012), and calcium intake (p<0.001) (R2=0.952). One hundred percent, 98.2% and 43.6% of the women were below the adequate intake (AI) for calcium, and below the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for iron, and vitamin C, respectively. Conclusion. Despite the small sample size, the results of this study suggest that maternal age, haemoglobin, vitamin C intake, and calcium intake may interfere with blood concentrations of lead

Sub-telomere directed gene expression during initiation of invasive aspergillosis

Aspergillus fumigatus is a common mould whose spores are a component of the normal airborne flora. Immune dysfunction permits developmental growth of inhaled spores in the human lung causing aspergillosis, a significant threat to human health in the form of allergic, and life-threatening invasive infections. The success of A. fumigatus as a pathogen is unique among close phylogenetic relatives and is poorly characterised at the molecular level. Recent genome sequencing of several Aspergillus species provides an exceptional opportunity to analyse fungal virulence attributes within a genomic and evolutionary context. To identify genes preferentially expressed during adaptation to the mammalian host niche, we generated multiple gene expression profiles from minute samplings of A. fumigatus germlings during initiation of murine infection. They reveal a highly co-ordinated A. fumigatus gene expression programme, governing metabolic and physiological adaptation, which allows the organism to prosper within the mammalian niche. As functions of phylogenetic conservation and genetic locus, 28% and 30%, respectively, of the A. fumigatus subtelomeric and lineage-specific gene repertoires are induced relative to laboratory culture, and physically clustered genes including loci directing pseurotin, gliotoxin and siderophore biosyntheses are a prominent feature. Locationally biased A. fumigatus gene expression is not prompted by in vitro iron limitation, acid, alkaline, anaerobic or oxidative stress. However, subtelomeric gene expression is favoured following ex vivo neutrophil exposure and in comparative analyses of richly and poorly nourished laboratory cultured germlings. We found remarkable concordance between the A. fumigatus host-adaptation transcriptome and those resulting from in vitro iron depletion, alkaline shift, nitrogen starvation and loss of the methyltransferase LaeA. This first transcriptional snapshot of a fungal genome during initiation of mammalian infection provides the global perspective required to direct much-needed diagnostic and therapeutic strategies and reveals genome organisation and subtelomeric diversity as potential driving forces in the evolution of pathogenicity in the genus Aspergillus.

Relationship of autonomic imbalance and circadian disruption with obesity and type 2 diabetes in resistant hypertensive patients

Background: Hypertension, diabetes and obesity are not isolated findings, but a series of interacting interactive physiologic derangements. Taking into account genetic background and lifestyle behavior, AI (autonomic imbalance) could be a common root for RHTN (resistant hypertension) or RHTN plus type 2 diabetes (T2D) comorbidity development. Moreover, circadian disruption can lead to metabolic and vasomotor impairments such as obesity, insulin resistance and resistant hypertension. In order to better understand the triggered emergence of obesity and T2D comorbidity in resistant hypertension, we investigated the pattern of autonomic activity in the circadian rhythm in RHTN with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D), and its relationship with serum adiponectin concentration. Methods: Twenty five RHTN patients (15 non-T2D and 10 T2D, 15 males, 10 females; age range 34 to 70 years) were evaluated using the following parameters: BMI (body mass index), biochemical analysis, serum adiponectinemia, echocardiogram and ambulatory electrocardiograph heart rate variability (HRV) in time and frequency domains stratified into three periods: 24 hour, day time and night time. Results: Both groups demonstrated similar characteristics despite of the laboratory analysis concerning T2D like fasting glucose, HbA1c levels and hypertriglyceridemia. Both groups also revealed disruption of the circadian rhythm: inverted sympathetic and parasympathetic tones during day (parasympathetic > sympathetic tone) and night periods (sympathetic > parasympathetic tone). T2D group had increased BMI and serum triglyceride levels (mean 33.7 +/- 4.0 vs 26.6 +/- 3.7 kg/m(2) - p = 0.00; 254.8 +/- 226.4 vs 108.6 +/- 48.7 mg/dL - p = 0.04), lower levels of adiponectin (6729.7 +/- 3381.5 vs 10911.5 +/- 5554.0 ng/mL - p = 0.04) and greater autonomic imbalance evaluated by HRV parameters in time domain compared to non-T2D RHTN patients. Total patients had HRV correlated positively with serum adiponectin (r = 0.37 [95% CI - 0.04 - 1.00] p = 0.03), negatively with HbA1c levels (r = -0.58 [95% CI -1.00 - -0.3] p = 0.00) and also adiponectin correlated negatively with HbA1c levels (r = -0.40 [95% CI -1.00 - -0.07] p = 0.02). Conclusion: Type 2 diabetes comorbidity is associated with greater autonomic imbalance, lower adiponectin levels and greater BMI in RHTN patients. Similar circadian disruption was also found in both groups indicating the importance of lifestyle behavior in the genesis of RHTN.

Aspirin Treatment of Mice Infected with Trypanosoma cruzi and Implications for the Pathogenesis of Chagas Disease

Chagas disease, caused by infection with Trypanosoma cruzi, is an important cause of cardiovascular disease. It is increasingly clear that parasite-derived prostaglandins potently modulate host response and disease progression. Here, we report that treatment of experimental T. cruzi infection (Brazil strain) beginning 5 days post infection (dpi) with aspirin (ASA) increased mortality (2-fold) and parasitemia (12-fold). However, there were no differences regarding histopathology or cardiac structure or function. Delayed treatment with ASA (20 mg/kg) beginning 60 dpi did not increase parasitemia or mortality but improved ejection fraction. ASA treatment diminished the profile of parasite-and host-derived circulating prostaglandins in infected mice. To distinguish the effects of ASA on the parasite and host bio-synthetic pathways we infected cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) null mice with the Brazil-strain of T. cruzi. Infected COX-1 null mice displayed a reduction in circulating levels of thromboxane (TX)A(2) and prostaglandin (PG)F(2 alpha). Parasitemia was increased in COX-1 null mice compared with parasitemia and mortality in ASA-treated infected mice indicating the effects of ASA on mortality potentially had little to do with inhibition of prostaglandin metabolism. Expression of SOCS-2 was enhanced, and TRAF6 and TNF alpha reduced, in the spleens of infected ASA-treated mice. Ablation of the initial innate response to infection may cause the increased mortality in ASA-treated mice as the host likely succumbs more quickly without the initiation of the ""cytokine storm'' during acute infection. We conclude that ASA, through both COX inhibition and other ""off-target'' effects, modulates the progression of acute and chronic Chagas disease. Thus, eicosanoids present during acute infection may act as immunomodulators aiding the transition to and maintenance of the chronic phase of the disease. A deeper understanding of the mechanism of ASA action may provide clues to the differences between host response in the acute and chronic T. cruzi infection.

Single-nucleotide polymorphism, linkage disequilibrium and geographic structure in the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax: prospects for genome-wide association studies

Background: The ideal malaria parasite populations for initial mapping of genomic regions contributing to phenotypes such as drug resistance and virulence, through genome-wide association studies, are those with high genetic diversity, allowing for numerous informative markers, and rare meiotic recombination, allowing for strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) between markers and phenotype-determining loci. However, levels of genetic diversity and LD in field populations of the major human malaria parasite P. vivax remain little characterized. Results: We examined single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and LD patterns across a 100-kb chromosome segment of P. vivax in 238 field isolates from areas of low to moderate malaria endemicity in South America and Asia, where LD tends to be more extensive than in holoendemic populations, and in two monkey-adapted strains (Salvador-I, from El Salvador, and Belem, from Brazil). We found varying levels of SNP diversity and LD across populations, with the highest diversity and strongest LD in the area of lowest malaria transmission. We found several clusters of contiguous markers with rare meiotic recombination and characterized a relatively conserved haplotype structure among populations, suggesting the existence of recombination hotspots in the genome region analyzed. Both silent and nonsynonymous SNPs revealed substantial between-population differentiation, which accounted for similar to 40% of the overall genetic diversity observed. Although parasites clustered according to their continental origin, we found evidence for substructure within the Brazilian population of P. vivax. We also explored between-population differentiation patterns revealed by loci putatively affected by natural selection and found marked geographic variation in frequencies of nucleotide substitutions at the pvmdr-1 locus, putatively associated with drug resistance. Conclusion: These findings support the feasibility of genome-wide association studies in carefully selected populations of P. vivax, using relatively low densities of markers, but underscore the risk of false positives caused by population structure at both local and regional levels.

Novel Isolates for Biological Detoxification of Lignocellulosic Hydrolysate

In this paper, two new strians, Issatchenkia occidentalis (Lj-3, CCTCC M 2006097) and Issatchenkia orienalis (S-7, CCTCC M 2006098), isolated from different environments on solid media, were used in the detoxification process of the hemicellulosic hydrolysate of sugarcane bagasse. High-pressure liquid chromatography elution curve of UV-absorption compounds represented by acetic acid, furfural, and guaiacol (toxic compounds found in the hemicellulosic hydrolysate) showed that several chromatographic peaks were evidently diminished for the case of detoxified hydrolysate with isolate strains compared to the high peaks resulted for no detoxified hydrolysate. It was clear that these inhibitors were degraded by the two new isolates during their cultivation process. Fermentation results for the biodetoxified hydrolysate showed an increase in xylitol productivity (Q (p)) by 1.97 and 1.95 times (2.03 and 2.01 g l(-1) h(-1)) and in xylitol yield (Y (p)) by 1.72 and 1.65 times (0.93 and 0.89 g xylitol per gram xylose) for hydrolysate treated with S-7 and Lj-3, respectively, in comparison with no detoxified hydrolysate (1.03 g l(-1) h(-1) and 0.54 g xylitol per gram xylose). This present work demonstrated the importance of Issatchenkia yeast in providing an effective biological detoxification approach to remove inhibitors and improve hydrolysate fermentability, leading to a high xylitol productivity and yield.

MODELLING AND CONTROL OF ERSW PROCESSES BY NEURONAL NETWORK

A study on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for the modelling and subsequent control of an electric resistance spot welding process (ERSW) is presented. The ERSW process is characterized by the coupling of thermal, electrical, mechanical, and metallurgical phenomena. For this reason, early attempts to model it using computational methods established as the methods of finite differences, finite element, and finite volumes, ask for simplifications that lead the model obtained far from reality or very costly in terms of computational costs, to be used in a real-time control system. In this sense, the authors have developed an ERSW controller that uses fuzzy logic to adjust the energy transferred to the weld nugget. The proposed control strategies differ in the speed with which it reaches convergence. Moreover, their application for a quality control of spot weld through artificial neural networks (ANN) is discussed.

The-2518 bp promoter polymorphism at CCL2/MCP1 influences susceptibility to mucosal but not localized cutaneous leishmaniasis in Brazil

Mucosal leishmaniasis (ML) follows localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania braziliensis. Proinflammatory responses mediate CL self-healing but are exaggerated in ML Proinflammatory monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1; encoded by CCL2) is associated with CL We explore its role in CL/ML through analysis of the regulatory CCL2 -2518 bp promoter polymorphism in CL/ML population samples and families from Brazil. Genotype frequencies were compared among ML/CL cases and control groups using logistic regression and the family-based association test (FBAT). MCP-1 was measured in plasma and macrophages. The GG recessive genotype at CCL2 -2518 bp was more common in patients with ML (N = 67) than in neighborhood control (NC; N = 60) subjects (OR 1.78; 95% Cl 1.01-3.14; P = 0.045), than in NC combined with leishmanin skin-test positive (N = 60) controls (OR 4.40; 95% CI 1.42-13.65; P = 0.010), and than in controls combined with CL (N = 60) patients (OR 2.78; 95% CI 1.13-6.85; P = 0.045). No associations were observed for CL compared to any groups. FBAT (91 ML and 223 CL cases in families) confirmed recessive association of ML with allele G (Z = 2.679; P = 0.007). Higher levels of MCP-1 occurred in plasma (P = 0.03) and macrophages (P < 0.0001) from GG compared to AA individuals. These results suggest that high MCP-1 increases risk of ML (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.