Use of ridge regression for the prediction of early growth performance in crossbred calves

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Avaliação do contato pneu-solo em três modelos de pneus agrícolas

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effects of subcutaneous methadone, morphine, buprenorphine or saline on thermal and pressure thresholds in cats

This study compared pressure and thermal thresholds after administration of three opioids in eight cats. Pressure stimulation was performed via a bracelet taped around the forearm. Three ball-bearings were advanced against the forearm by inflation of a modified blood pressure bladder. Pressure in the cuff was recorded at the end point (leg shake and head turn). Thermal threshold was tested as previously reported using a heated probe held against the thorax [Dixon et al. (2002) Research in Veterinary Science, 72, 205]. After baseline recordings, each cat received subcutaneous methadone 0.2 mg/kg, morphine 0.2 mg/kg, buprenorphine 0.02 mg/kg or saline 0.3 mL in a four period cross-over study. Measurements were made at 15, 30, 45 min and 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h after the injection. Data were analysed by ANOVA (P < 0.05). There were no significant changes in thresholds after saline. Thermal threshold increased at 45 min after buprenorphine (maximum 2.8 +/- 3 degrees C), 1-3 h after methadone (maximum 3.4 +/- 1.9 degrees C) and 45 min to 1 h (maximum 3.4 +/- 2 degrees C) after morphine. Pressure threshold increased 30-45 min (maximum 238 +/- 206 mmHg) after buprenorphine, 45-60 min after methadone (maximum 255 +/- 232 mmHg) and 45-60 min and 3-6 h (maximum 255 +/- 232 mmHg) after morphine. Morphine provided the best analgesia, and methadone appears a promising alternative. Buprenorphines limited effect was probably related to the subcutaneous route of administration. Previously, buprenorphine has produced much greater effects when given by other routes.

Efeitos da pressão limite (25 cmH2O) e mínima de "selo" do balonete de tubos traqueais sobre a mucosa traqueal do cão

JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: As lesões da mucosa traqueal em contato com o balonete do tubo traqueal são proporcionais à pressão exercida pelo balonete e ao tempo de exposição. O objetivo foi estudar as eventuais lesões da mucosa do segmento traqueal em contato com o balonete do tubo traqueal insuflado com volume de ar suficiente para se obter pressão de "selo" ou com a pressão limite de 25 cmH2O, abaixo da pressão crítica de 30 cm de água para produção de lesão da mucosa traqueal. MÉTODO: Dezesseis cães foram submetidos à anestesia venosa e ventilação artificial. Os cães foram distribuídos aleatoriamente em dois grupos de acordo com a pressão no balonete do tubo traqueal (Portex Blue-Line, Inglaterra): Gselo (n = 8) balonete com pressão mínima de "selo" para impedir vazamento de ar durante a respiração artificial; G25 (n = 8) balonete insuflado até obtenção da pressão de 25 cmH2O. A medida da pressão do balonete foi realizada por meio de manômetro digital no início (controle) e após 60, 120 e 180 minutos. Após o sacrifício dos cães, foram feitas biópsias nas áreas da mucosa traqueal adjacentes ao balonete e ao tubo traqueal para análise à microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV). RESULTADOS: A pressão média do balonete em G25 manteve-se entre 24,8 e 25 cmH2O e em Gselo entre 11,9 e 12,5 cmH2O durante o experimento. As alterações à MEV foram pequenas e não significantemente diferentes nos grupos (p > 0,30), mas ocorreram lesões mais intensas nas áreas de contato da mucosa traqueal com o balonete do tubo traqueal, nos dois grupos, em relação às áreas da mucosa adjacentes ou não ao tubo traqueal (p < 0,05). CONCLUSÕES: No cão, nas condições experimentais empregadas, a insuflação do balonete de tubo traqueal em volume de ar suficiente para determinar pressão limite de 25 cmH2O ou de "selo" para impedir vazamento de ar determina lesões mínimas da mucosa traqueal em contato com o balonete e sem diferença significante entre elas.

Effects of buprenorphine, carprofen and saline on thermal and mechanical nociceptive thresholds in cats

To evaluate a prototype pressure stimulus device for use in the cat and to compare with a known thermal threshold device.Eight healthy adult cats weighing between 3.0 and 4.9 kg.Pressure stimulation was given via a plastic bracelet taped around the forearm. Three 2.4 mm diameter ball bearings, in a 10-mm triangle, were advanced against the craniolateral surface of the antebrachium by manual inflation of a modified blood pressure bladder. Pressure in the cuff was recorded at the end point (leg shake and head turn). Thermal threshold was also tested. Stimuli were stopped if they reached 55 degrees C or 450 mmHg without response. After four pressure and thermal threshold baselines, each cat received SC buprenorphine 0.01 mg kg(-1), carprofen 4 mg kg(-1) or saline 0.3 mL in a three period cross-over study with a 1-week interval. The investigator was blinded to the treatment. Measurements were made at 0.25. 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 24 hours after injection. Data were analyzed by using ANOVA.There were no significant changes in thermal or pressure threshold after administration of saline or carprofen, but thermal threshold increased from 60 minutes until 8 hours after administration of buprenorphine (p < 0.05). The maximum increase in threshold from baseline (Delta T-max) was 3.5 +/- 3.1 degrees C at 2 hours. Pressure threshold increased 2 hours after administration of buprenorphine (p < 0.05) when the increase in threshold above baseline (Delta P-max) was 162 +/- 189 mmHg.This pressure device resulted in thresholds that were affected by analgesic treatment in a similar manner but to a lesser degree than the thermal method. Pressure stimulation may be a useful additional method for analgesic studies in cats.

Effects of meperidine or saline on thermal, mechanical and electrical nociceptive thresholds in cats

Objective To measure cutaneous electrical nociceptive thresholds in relation to known thermal and mechanical stimulation for nociceptive threshold detection in cats.Study design Prospective, blinded, randomized cross-over study with 1-week washout interval.Animals Eight adult cats [bodyweight 5.1 +/- 1.8 kg (mean + SD)].Methods Mechanical nociceptive thresholds were tested using a step-wise manual inflation of a modified blood pressure bladder attached to the cat's thoracic limb. Thermal nociceptive thresholds were measured by increasing the temperature of a probe placed on the thorax. The electrical nociceptive threshold was tested using an escalating current from a constant current generator passed between electrodes placed on the thoracic region. A positive response (threshold) was recorded when cats displayed any or all of the following behaviors: leg shake, head turn, avoidance, or vocalization. Four baseline readings were performed before intramuscular injection of meperidine (5 mg kg(-1)) or an equal volume of saline. Threshold recordings with each modality were made at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 minutes post-injection. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and paired t-tests (significance at p < 0.05).Results There were no significant changes in thermal, mechanical, or electrical thresholds after saline. Thermal thresholds increased at 15-60 minutes (p < 0.01) and mechanical threshold increased at 30 and 45 minutes after meperidine (p < 0.05). Maximum thermal threshold was +4.1 +/- 0.3 degrees C above baseline at 15 minutes while maximum mechanical threshold was 296 +/- 265 mmHg above baseline at 30 minutes after meperidine. Electrical thresholds following meperidine were not significantly different than baseline (p > 0.05). Thermal and electrical thresholds after meperidine were significantly higher than saline at 30 and 45 minutes (p < 0.05), and at 120 minutes (p < 0.05), respectively. Mechanical thresholds were significantly higher than saline treatment at 30 minutes (p <= 0.05).Conclusion and clinical relevance Electrical stimulation did not detect meperidine analgesia whereas both thermal and mechanical thresholds changed after meperidine administration in cats.

Right atrial stretch alters fore- and hind-brain expression of c-fos and inhibits the rapid onset of salt appetite

The inflation of an intravascular balloon positioned at the superior vena cava and right atrial junction (SVC-RAJ) reduces sodium or water intake induced by various experimental procedures (e.g. sodium depletion; hypovolaemia). In the present study we investigated if the stretch induced by a balloon at this site inhibits a rapid onset salt appetite, and if this procedure modifies the pattern of immunohistochemical labelling for Fos protein (Fos-ir) in the brain. Male Sprague-Dawley rats with SVC-RAJ balloons received a combined treatment of furosemide (Furo; 10 mg (kg bw)(-1)) plus a low dose of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril (Cap; 5 mg (kg bw)(-1)). Balloon inflation greatly decreased the intake of 0.3 M NaCl for as long as the balloon was inflated. Balloon inflation over a 3 h period following Furo-Cap treatment decreased Fos-ir in the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis and the subfornical organ and increased Fos-ir in the lateral parabrachial nucleus and caudal ventrolateral medulla. The effect of balloon inflation was specific for sodium intake because it did not affect the drinking of diluted sweetened condensed milk. Balloon inflation and deflation also did not acutely change mean arterial pressure. These results suggest that activity in forebrain circumventricular organs and in hindbrain putative body fluid/cardiovascular regulatory regions is affected by loading low pressure mechanoreceptors at the SVC-RAJ, a manipulation that also attenuates salt appetite.

Pulmonary receptors in reptiles: discharge patterns of receptor populations in snakes versus turtles

This study examines the effects of lung inflation/deflation with and without CO2 on the entire population of pulmonary receptors in the vagus nerve in two species of snakes and two species of turtles. We asked the question, how does the response of the entire mixed population of pulmonary stretch receptors (PSR) and intrapulmonary chemoreceptors (IPC) in species possessing both differ from that in species with only PSR? This was studied under conditions of artificial ventilation with the secondary goal of extending observations on the presence/absence of IPC to a further three species. Our results indirectly illustrate the presence of IPC in the Burmese python and South American rattlesnake but not the side necked turtle, adding support to the hypothesis that IPC first arose in diapsid reptiles. In both species of snake, CO2-sensitive discharge (presumably from IPC) predominated almost to the exclusion of CO2-insensitive discharge (presumably arising from PSR) while the opposite was true for both species of turtle. The data suggest that for animals breathing air under conditions of normal metabolism there is little to distinguish between the discharge profiles of the total population of receptors arising from the lungs in the different groups. Interestingly, however, under conditions of elevated environmental CO2 most volume-related feedback from the lungs is abolished in the two species of snakes, while under conditions of elevated metabolic CO2, it is estimated that volume feedback from the lungs would be enhanced in these same species.

Bounds on direct couplings of superheavy metastable particles to the inflaton field from ultra high energy cosmic ray events

Top-down models for the origin of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECR's) propose that these events are the decay products of relic superheavy metastable particles, usually called X particles. These particles can be produced in the reheating period following the inflationary epoch of the early Universe. We obtain constraints on some parameters such as the lifetime and direct couplings of the X-particle to the inflaton field from the requirement that they are responsible for the observed UHECR flux.

Formation of wakes by chiral conducting cosmic strings

Chiral cosmic strings are naturally produced at the end of D-term inflation and they present very interesting cosmological consequences. In this work, we investigate the formation and evolution of wakes by a chiral string. We show that, for cold dark matter, the mechanism of forming wakes by a chiral string is similar to the mechanism by an ordinary string.

De Sitter Special Relativity: Effects on cosmology

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Desempenho operacional de trator com e sem o acionamento da tração dianteira auxiliar

Entre os fatores que podem influenciar o desempenho de tração do trator agrícola, destacam-se a pressão de inflação e a carga sobre o rodado motriz. Neste trabalho, o objetivo foi avaliar, em situação de campo, a influência dos fatores inflação (sob quatro níveis) e carga sobre o rodado motriz (sob quatro níveis), combinados com e sem o uso da tração dianteira auxiliar. O experimento, totalizando 32 tratamentos com três repetições, foi distribuído em blocos ao acaso. O trator estudado foi submetido a uma força de tração constante na barra de tração, imposta por outro trator. Os resultados evidenciaram a influência significativa da lastragem nos parâmetros patinagem e coeficiente de tração, que aumentaram com a redução da carga sobre o rodado. A pressão de inflação influiu significativamente nos parâmetros patinagem, velocidade de deslocamento e potência na barra, sem no entanto apresentar tendência de comportamento. O uso da tração dianteira auxiliar mostrou vantagens significativas em relação aos mesmos parâmetros anteriores. A interação dos fatores pressão de inflação e carga sobre o rodado mostrou que determinadas combinações de pressão foram mais favoráveis para o desenvolvimento de maior velocidade e menor patinagem. As características relacionadas ao desempenho do motor (consumo horário e rotação do motor) não foram afetadas por nenhum dos fatores e/ou suas interações.

Determinação da circunferência de rolamento de pneus agrícolas utilizando dois métodos: manual e eletrônico

A circunferência de rolamento dinâmica dos pneus agrícolas é uma medida importante para o estudo do desempenho de tratores agrícolas. Neste trabalho, compararam-se dois métodos de determinação da circunferência de rolamento dinâmica - um manual e um eletrônico (com instrumentação das rodas de tração) - sob duas velocidades de deslocamento e cinco combinações de pressão de inflação nos pneus dianteiros e traseiros. O método manual forneceu valores estatisticamente superiores aos do eletrônico, com diferença absoluta máxima de 0,24%. A pressão de inflação influenciou significativamente os valores medidos, enquanto a velocidade de deslocamento, para os valores do ensaio (3,0 e 6,0 km.h-1), não apresentou influência significativa.

The effect of intracuff alkalinized 2% lidocaine on emergence coughing, sore throat, and hoarseness in smokers

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Condições e relações de trabalho no serviço público: o caso do governo Lula

Cet article a l'objectif de détailler les diverses initiatives du gouvernement Lula (2003-2010) par rapport à la mise en forme d'une politique de ressources humaines et, de cette façon, vérifier s'il y a eu une amélioration des conditions et relations de travail dans le secteur public brésilien. À partir des années 1990, et dans le sens contraire de la grande croissance de l'emploi public dans les six décennies précédentes, l'adhésion des gouvernements brésiliens aux principes du « Consensus de Washington » souligne le fonctionnalisme comme point fondamental dans l'agenda des réformes nécessaires à la reprise de la croissance économique. Ces gouvernements là se sont penchés sur le traitement de l'emploi public comme étant un problème fiscal et ont agi pour restreindre sa dimension. Simultanément, les conditions et relations de travail se sont présentées plus fragilisées (rendues évidentes par l'absence de réajustement de salaire; la croissance de formes variables de rémunération ; l'élargissement du cadre de travailleurs temporaires et externes, e avec l'attitude autoritaire devant la représentation syndicale). Avec une recherche documentaire et bibliographique, on pourra remarquer que la restructuration de nombreuses carrières, la reprise des concours, la création de la « Réunion Nationale de Négotiation Permanente », la réforme de la sécurité sociale et les réajustements selectifs des rémunérations manifestent l'ambiguïté comme une marque fondamentale des politiques de ressources humaines. Cela parce que, au même temps, les progrès des conditions de travail du serviteur public ont toujours été accompagnés par l'entretien d'une partie de l'agenda conservatrice des années 1990, surtout par rapport à la reproduction de limites fiscaux rigoureux.