Sunflower meal in commercial layer diets formulated on total and digestible amino acids basis

An experiment was conduced to evaluate the inclusion of sunflower meal (SBM) in commercial layer diets formulated on total or digestible amino acids basis. One hundred forty-four 41-week-old Lohmann LSL layers were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design in a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement with three replications of six birds each. Treatments consisted of a combination of four SBM inclusion levels SBM(0%, 4%, 8%, and 12%) and feed formulation according two amino acid recommendations (total or digestible). The experimental period was divided into five periods of fourteen days. Performance parameters (egg production, feed intake, feed conversion, egg mass) were evaluated for each period. In the last two days of each period, three eggs per replication were collected to evaluate egg quality (Haugh units, specific gravity, egg weight, eggshell thickness, and eggshell percentage). Hens fed on total amino acid recommendation presented the highest values for egg weight. Diets formulated on digestible amino acids basis showed an improvement in eggshell percentage and egg specific gravity. SBM addition in commercial layer diets did not influence performance; however, increasing SBM dietary levels SBM improved eggshell quality.

Formulação de rações para poedeiras com base em aminoácidos totais e digestíveis utilizando diferentes estimativas da composição de aminoácidos em alimentos

Foram utilizadas poedeiras comerciais com 27 semanas de idade, distribuídas em delineamento inteiramente ao acaso, em esquema fatorial 3 x 3, com três repetições de seis aves por tratamento. Os fatores consistiram de três métodos de estimativa da composição de aminoácidos em ingredientes (tabelas brasileiras, equações de predição e fator para correção de aminoácido em função do teor de proteína do ingrediente) e três recomendações de aminoácidos, sendo duas de aminoácidos digestíveis e uma de aminoácidos totais. Os métodos de estimativa da composição de aminoácidos nos ingredientes afetaram apenas a conversão alimentar e a espessura de casca, que apresentaram os melhores resultados com a utilização das tabelas brasileiras. Embora as recomendações de aminoácidos tenham determinado diferenças em todos os parâmetros de desempenho, não afetaram a qualidade dos ovos. O desempenho das aves foi prejudicado pelos níveis de aminoácidos digestíveis, entretanto, ambas as recomendações promoveram desempenho semelhante e inferior ao de aminoácidos totais. O pior desempenho das aves alimentadas com as rações formuladas com aminoácidos digestíveis pode ser atribuído à deficiência em nitrogênio para a síntese de aminoácidos não-essenciais, visto que o nível protéico foi reduzido (12,5% PB), ou ainda à deficiência nos aminoácidos arginina, histidina, isoleucina, leucina e valina, cujos requerimentos mínimos não foram considerados na formulação das rações.

Exigências de triptofano e padrão de recuperação do desempenho de poedeiras comerciais após alimentação com rações deficientes em triptofano

Este experimento foi conduzido para avaliar as exigências de triptofano e o padrão de recuperação do desempenho de poedeiras alimentadas com rações deficientes em triptofano. Foram utilizadas 160 poedeiras comerciais da linhagem Hisex White distribuídas em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado com cinco níveis de triptofano nas dietas (0,13; 0,15; 0,17; 0,19 e 0,21%), com oito repetições de quatro aves. As poedeiras permaneceram por duas semanas em adaptação (51 a 52 semanas), por seis semanas para avaliação da exigência de triptofano (53 a 58 semanas) e por quatro semanas para determinação do padrão de recuperação do desempenho (59 a 62 semanas). A produção e a massa de ovos foram prejudicadas quando as poedeiras foram alimentadas com rações contendo 0,13% de triptofano, no entanto, o desempenho foi recuperado após uma semana de alimentação com ração contendo 0,21% desse aminoácido. A qualidade interna dos ovos não foi influenciada pelos níveis de triptofano estudados (ingestão de 137,1 a 228,0 mg triptofano/dia). As exigências de triptofano foram estabelecidas entre 161 e 188 mg/dia, dependendo da característica avaliada (produção ou massa de ovos) e do modelo de regressão aplicado (polinomial, exponencial ou segmentado).

Commercial laying hen diets formulated according to different recommendations of total and digestible amino acids

An experiment was conducted to evaluate different commercial laying hen diets formulated based on recommendations for total and digestible amino acids. One hundred and twenty Lohmann LSL commercial laying hens aged 25 weeks were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design involving five replications of six birds in four treatments. Diet formulation on a total amino acid basis followed the recommendations of NRC (1994) and Rostagno et al. (2000), whereas formulation on digestible amino acids basis was according to Rostagno et al. (2000) and Degussa (1997) recommendations. The experimental period was divided into five periods of fourteen days. Performance parameters (egg production, feed intake, feed conversion, egg mass) were evaluated for each period, and on the last two days of each period, three eggs per replication were collected to evaluate egg quality parameters (Haugh unit, egg specific gravity, egg weight, eggshell thickness and percentage). Means were compared by orthogonal contrasts. Results on feed intake, egg production, egg mass, feed conversion and egg specific gravity showed that total amino acid recommendations promoted better bird responses than digestible amino acid recommendations.

Exigências em treonina para frangos de corte de 22 a 42 dias de idade

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

Apparent digestibility of diets with different concentrations of lysine and energy in piglets with different body weights and post-weaning age

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

Interaction of shikimic acid with shikimate kinase (Retracted Article. See vol 334, pg 967, 2005)

The crystal structure of shikimate kinase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MtSK) complexed with MgADP and shikimic acid (shikimate) has been determined at 2.3 Angstrom resolution, clearly revealing the amino acid residues involved in shikimate binding. In MtSK, the Glu61 strictly conserved in SK forms a hydrogen bond and salt-bridge with Arg58 and assists in positioning the guanidinium group of Arg58 for shikimate binding. The carboxyl group of shikimate interacts with Arg58, Gly81, and Arg136, and hydroxyl groups with Asp34 and Gly80. The crystal structure of MtSK-MgADP-shikimate will provide crucial information for elucidation of the mechanism of SK-catalyzed reaction and for the development of a new generation of drugs against tuberculosis. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure of shikimate kinase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis reveals the binding of shikimic acid

Tuberculosis made a resurgence in the mid-1980s and now kills approximately 3 million people a year. The re-emergence of tuberculosis as a public health threat, the high susceptibility of HIV-infected persons and the proliferation of multi-drug-resistant strains have created a need to develop new drugs. Shikimate kinase and other enzymes in the shikimate pathway are attractive targets for development of non-toxic antimicrobial agents, herbicides and anti-parasitic drugs, because the pathway is essential in these species whereas it is absent from mammals. The crystal structure of shikimate kinase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MtSK) complexed with MgADP and shikimic acid ( shikimate) has been determined at 2.3 Angstrom resolution, clearly revealing the amino-acid residues involved in shikimate binding. This is the first three-dimensional structure of shikimate kinase complexed with shikimate. In MtSK, the Glu61 residue that is strictly conserved in shikimate kinases forms a hydrogen bond and salt bridge with Arg58 and assists in positioning the guanidinium group of Arg58 for shikimate binding. The carboxyl group of shikimate interacts with Arg58, Gly81 and Arg136 and the hydroxyl groups interact with Asp34 and Gly80. The crystal structure of MtSK-MgADP-shikimate will provide crucial information for the elucidation of the mechanism of the shikimate kinase-catalyzed reaction and for the development of a new generation of drugs against tuberculosis.

Photoacoustic spectroscopy of aromatic amino acids in proteins

This paper concerns the use of photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) to study the presence of aromatic amino acid in proteins. We examined the aromatic amino acids in six proteins with well-known structures using absorption spectra of near ultraviolet PAS over the wavelength range 240-320 nm. The fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical properties that govern the absorption of light and a subsequent release of heat to generate a transient pressure wave was used to test the concept of monitoring aromatic amino acids with this method. Second derivative spectroscopy in the ultraviolet region of proteins was also used to study the regions surrounding the aromatics and the percentage area in each band was related in order to determine the contribution in function of the respective molar extinction coefficients for each residue. Further investigation was conducted into the interaction between sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and bothropstoxin-I (BthTx-I), with the purpose of identifying the aromatics that participate in the interaction. The clear changes in the second derivative and curve-fitting procedures suggest that initial SDS binding to the tryptophan located in the dimer interface and above 10 SDS an increased intensity between 260 and 320 nm, demonstrating that the more widespread tyrosine and phenylalanine residues contribute to the SDS/BthTx-I interactions. These results demonstrate the potential of near UV-PAS for the investigation of membrane proteins/detergent complexes in which light scattering is significant.

The activity of amino acids produced by Paenibacillus macerans and from commercial sources against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne exigua

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Níveis de aminoácidos sulfurados totais para poedeiras semi-pesadas após a muda forçada

Cento e sessenta e duas poedeiras semipesadas anteriormente submetidas à muda forçada foram distribuídas em um delineamento inteiramente ao acaso, com três tratamentos e nove repetições de seis aves para cada. Os tratamentos consistiram no fornecimento de rações contendo 0,45, 0,60 e 0,75% de aminoácidos sulfurados totais (AAST) durante 30 dias após o término da muda forçada (fase de pós-muda). Após os 30 dias, cada um dos tratamentos adotados na fase de pós-muda foi desmembrado nos mesmos níveis de AAST, compondo, portanto, um delineamento inteiramente ao acaso em esquema fatorial 3x3 (3 níveis de AAST da fase pós-muda - 0,45; 0,60 e 0,75% x 3 níveis de AAST na fase de produção - 0,45; 0,60 e 0,75%), sendo os tratamentos nesta fase compostos de três repetições de seis aves cada. Na fase de pós-muda, o menor nível de AAST determinou menores valores para consumo de ração (P< 0,01), consumo de AAST (P< 0,01) e peso corporal (P< 0,01). Na fase de produção do segundo ciclo produtivo, o único parâmetro afetado (P<0,05) pelo nível de AAST utilizado na fase de pós-muda foi o peso do ovo, sendo o menor valor obtido com o nível de 0,45%. O nível de 0,45% de AAST utilizado na fase de produção não atendeu às exigências da aves, determinando pior desempenho produtivo (P<0,01). O nível de 0,60% de AAST foi suficiente para a fase de pós-muda e para o segundo ciclo de produção.

Exigência de metionina + cistina para frangos de corte na fase de crescimento e acabamento

Com o objetivo de determinar as exigências de metionina+cistina, foram utilizados 1440 e 1080 frangos de corte da marca comercial Hubbard, 50% de cada sexo, para as fases de crescimento e acabamento, respectivamente. Seis níveis de suplementação de DL-metionina (0,0; 0,06, 0,12; 0,18; 0,24; e 0,30%) foram adicionados às rações basais deficientes em metionina+cistina. Foram avaliados, aos 22-42 e 43-56 dias, ganho de peso, consumo de ração, conversão alimentar, rendimento e composição química da carcaça, gordura abdominal e concentração plasmática de ácido úrico. Com base nas análises estatística e nos parâmetros estudados durante a fase de crescimento (22 a 42 dias de idade), sugere-se utilizar 0,896 e 0,856% de metionina+cistina total para machos e fêmeas, respectivamente. Para a fase de acabamento (43 a 56 dias de idade), com base nas análises estatísticas e nos parâmetros estudados, sugere-se utilizar 0,764 e 0,740% de metionina+cistina total para machos e fêmeas, respectivamente.

Aspartic acid racemization dating of Holocene brachiopods and bivalves from the southern Brazilian shelf, South Atlantic

The extent of racemization of aspartic acid (Asp) has been used to estimate the ages of 9 shells of the epifaunal calcitic brachiopod Bouchardia rosea and 9 shells of the infaunal aragonitic bivalve Semele casali. Both taxa were collected concurrently from the same sites at depths of 10 m and 30 m off the coast of Brazil. Asp D/L values show an excellent correlation with radiocarbon age at both sites and for both taxa (r(Site)(2) (9) (B. rosea) = 0.97 r(Site)(2) (1) (B.) (rosea) = 0.997, r(Site)(2) (9) (S.) (casali) = 0.9998, r(2) (Site) (1) (S.casali) = 0.93). The Asp ratios plotted against reservoir-corrected AMS radiocarbon ages over the time span of multiple millennia can thus be used to develop reliable and precise geochronologies not only for aragonitic mollusks (widely used for dating previously), but also for calcitic brachiopods. At each collection site, Bouchardia specimens display consistently higher D/L values than specimens of Semele. Thermal differences between sites are also notable and in agreement with theoretical expectations, as extents of racemization for both taxa are greater at the warmer, shallower site than at the cooler, deeper one. In late Holocene marine settings, concurrent time series of aragonitic and calcitic shells can be assembled using Asp racemization dating, and parallel multi-centennial to multi-millennial records can be developed simultaneously for multiple biomineral systems. (c) 2006 University of Washington. All rights reserved.

Powder X-ray characterization of djenkolic acid

X-ray powder diffraction data for the orthorhombic natural amino acid djenkolic acid, C7H14N2O4S2, is described in this paper. The orthorhombic cell parameters are: a = 8.12 Angstrom, b = 12.16 Angstrom, and c = 5.38 Angstrom . (C) 2001 International Centre for Diffraction Data.

Association of free amino acids with caries experience and mutans streptococci levels in whole saliva of children with early childhood caries

Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify the free amino acid content in whole saliva of children with (CE) and without early childhood caries (CF) (ECC), correlating these findings with caries experience and mutans streptococci (MS) levels in saliva.Design: Seventy-eight healthy children, both genders, 6-71 months age, were selected to participate in the study. Following examination for dmft scores calculation, unstimulated whole saliva was collected from all 78 participants, stored at -80 degrees C, and used for amino acid analysis, on a Biochem 20 plus amino acid analyzer. Stimulated whole saliva was collected from 52 children, transported, diluted and plated on MSB agar medium for detection of MS in cfu/mL.Results: Forty different free amino acids were identified in whole saliva, with great variation in their concentration. A statistically significant relation was found between caries experience and the presence of free proline and glycine. While proline (p = 0.0182) was more frequently absent in the CF group, the absence of glycine (p = 0.0397) was more often observed in the CE group. In the presence of higher levels of MS, free glycine reduced the risk of experiencing dental caries (p = 0.0419). Conversely, the presence of proline was found to increase the risk of experiencing the disease (p = 0.0492).Conclusions: The presence of free proline and absence of free glycine in children with ECC, highly contaminated with MS, increased the chances of experiencing dental caries in the present population. Further studies are needed to better understand this phenomenon. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.