Pseudechis australis Venomics: Adaptation for a Defense against Microbial Pathogens and Recruitment of Body Transferrin

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

Estimation of (co)variance components and genetic parameters for weights of red-winged tinamou using random regression models

Com este trabalho objetivou-se determinar parâmetros genéticos para peso corporal de perdizes em cativeiro. Foram utilizados modelos de regressão aleatória na análise dos dados considerando os efeitos genéticos aditivos diretos (AD) e de ambiente permanente de animal (AP) como aleatórios. As variâncias residuais foram modeladas utilizando-se funções de variância de ordem 5. A curva média da população foi ajustada por polinômios ortogonais de Legendre de ordem 6. Os efeitos genéticos aditivos diretos e de ambiente permanente de animal foram modelados utilizando-se polinômios de Legendre de segunda a nona ordem. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos pelos modelos de ordem 6 de ajuste para os efeitos genéticos aditivos diretos e de ordem 3 para os de ambiente permanente pelo Critério de Informação de Akaike e ordem 3 para ambos os efeitos pelos Critério de Informação Bayesiano de Schwartz e Teste de Razão de Verossimilhança. As herdabilidades estimadas variaram de 0,02 a 0,57. O primeiro autovalor respondeu por 94 e 90% da variação decorrente de efeitos aditivos diretos e de ambiente permanente, respectivamente. A seleção de perdizes para peso corporal é mais efetiva a partir de 112 dias de idade.

Glycosaminoglycans in components of the rabbit eye: synthesis and characterization

Purpose. To trace the eye components involved in proteoglycan synthesis and to characterize the sulfated glycosaminoglycans which are associated to these macromolecules.Methods. Sodium [S-35]-sulfate was injected intravitreally and the rabbits were killed at different time intervals after the injection. The glycosaminoglycans of choroid, ciliary body, cornea, iris, lens capsule, retina and sclera were extracted and processed for estimations of their specific activities, and for electrophoresis plus autoradiography with or without previous treatment with specific enzymes. In addition, methacrylate sections of the eyes were analysed by autoradiography.Results. The peak of specific activities of the glycosaminoglycans of all eye components occurred at 2 days after the intravitreal injection of [S-35]-sulfate. The autoradiography of the agarose gels revealed three types of glycosaminoglycans, namely, heparan-, chondroitin- and dermatan sulfate, only in the retina. The other eye components contained heparan sulfate and either chondroitin or dermatan sulfate. Tissue autoradiography together with the biochemical techniques contributed to unravel the origin of the glycosaminoglycans in the eye components.Conclusions. The results of the present investigation have shown that heparan sulfate, contrasting to chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate, is synthesized in all eye components studied and that the glycosaminoglycan composition differs according to the tissue of origin.

Stability regions around the components of the triple system 2001 SN263

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Dynamics of the interaction between body fluid and Ti cp: the influence of surface functionalization in the first stages of osseointegration

INTRODUCTION: Regenerative therapies using biomaterials require accurate information on interactions between the implanted material and the human body. To improve the process of bone regeneration it is necessary to obtain a better understanding of the influence of the surfaces on the early stages of osseointegration. This work aims to investigate the dynamic interaction between simulated body fluid (SBF) and titanium surfaces (Ti cp) immediately after their first contact. METHODS: Ti cp samples were passed through physicochemical treatments after immersion in acid solution, alkaline solution and solutions containing TiO2 and Ca2+, to obtain three different surfaces. These were characterized by electron microscopy and free energy estimates. The evaluation of the interaction with SBF was performed by measuring the dynamic contact angles after contacting the surfaces. RESULTS: The effects of SBF wettability were more significant on surfaces according to high energy estimates. A comparative analysis of the three types of surfaces showed that fluid spreading was greater in samples with greater polar components, indicating that the surface nature influences interactions in the early stages of osseointegration. CONCLUSION: The results indicate the influence of polar interactions in the dynamic wettability of the SBF. It is possible that these interactions can also influence cellular viability on surfaces. Based on these results, new experiments are being designed to improve the presented methodology as a tool for the evaluation of biomaterials without the need for in vivo experiments.

Disentangling the Phylogenetic and Ecological Components of Spider Phenotypic Variation

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

Contact parameters in two dimensions for general three-body systems

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

Allometric growth of non-carcass components in crossed lambs

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

Performance, carcass characteristics and non-carcass components of Texel × Santa Inês lambs fed fat sources and monensin

Performance, carcass, non-carcass and commercial cuts and components of Texel × Santa Inês crossbred lambs, managed in confinement and fed diets based on soybean oil, soybeans and a conventional diet, with or without the use of monensin (78 ppm dry matter basis) were evaluated. Thirty-six Texel × Santa Inês lambs (18 males and 18 females) were managed in intensive systems. Animals were slaughtered after 87 days of confinement, and performance, carcass characteristics, weight and percentages of carcass and non-carcass components were evaluated. The animals fed the control diet had heavier carcass and parts than animals fed soybean, while the oil diet did not differ from the controls in most parameters. The animals fed soybean showed lower intake kg dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and metabolizable energy (ME) compared with animals fed the control diet, increased ether extract (EE) intake in kg, % body weight (BW) and metabolic weight (MW) and did not differ from the soybean oil diet. Animals receiving monensin had lower DM intake, OM, CP, EE, NDF, gross energy (GE) regardless of the expression, % kg BW, or % PM, than the animals that did not receive the additive. Males produced better and had heavier cuts than the females; the latter deposited subcutaneous fat earlier. Animals that received oil or soybean showed greater body weight and small intestine percentage. Soybean oil intake did not improve performance, carcass weights or parts of Santa Ines × Texel lambs in confinement. Soybeans at 15% dry matter reduced energy intake and lamb performance. The use of monensin at 78 ppm on a dry matter basis is not recommended for lambs in confinement, especially if associated with oil or soybeans that may harm animal performance.

Body condition score of Nellore beef cows: a heritable measure to improve the selection of reproductive and maternal traits

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Phenotypic, genetic and environmental parameters for traits related to femur bone integrity and body weight at 42 days of age in a broiler population

Intense selection among broilers, especially for performance and carcass traits, currently favors locomotion problems and bone resistance. Conducting studies relating to development and growth of bone tissue in broilers is necessary to minimize losses. Thus, genetic parameters were estimated for a broiler population's phenotypic traits such as BW at 42 d of age (BW42), chilled femur weight (CFW) and its yield (CFY), and femur measurements: calcium, DM, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc content; breaking strength; rigidity; length; and thickness. Variance components were estimated through multitrait analyses using the restricted maximum likelihood method. The model included a fixed group effect (sex and hatch) and additive and residual genetic random effects. The heritability estimates we obtained ranged from 0.10 ± 0.05 to 0.50 ± 0.08 for chilled femur yield and BW42, respectively, and indicated that the traits can respond to the selection process, except for CFY, which presented low-magnitude heritability coefficients. Genetic correlation estimates between breaking strength, rigidity, and traits related to mineral content indicated that selection that aims to improve the breaking strength resistance of the femur is highly correlated with mineral content. Given the genetic correlation estimates between BW42 and minerals, it is suggested that in this population, selection for BW42 can be performed with greater intensity without affecting femoral integrity.