Carcass and cut yields and meat qualitative traits of broilers fed diets containing probiotics and prebiotics

This study evaluated the use of different probiotics, prebiotics and symbiotics on the quality of carcasses and meat of broiler chickens. One hundred and eight day-old Cobb male broilers were used (n=108) in a completely randomized design according to a 3x3 factorial, with 3 probiotics in the diet (no probiotics, probiotics 1, probiotics 2) and 3 prebiotics in the diet (no prebiotics, prebiotics 1, prebiotics 2). There were nine treatments with 4 replicates and 3 birds per replicate. The results showed that the carcass and cut yields, color (L* - lightness, a* - redness, and b* - yellowness), pH, cooking losses, shearing force and sensory analysis were not affected by the use of different growth promoters at 42 days of age. It was concluded that growth promoters supplemented to the diet did not affect the studied quantitative and qualitative parameters of the carcass and breast meat of broiler chickens.

Performance, carcass yield, and qualitative characteristics of breast and leg muscles of broilers fed diets supplemented with vitamin E at different ages

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

Qualitative-feed-restricted heavy swine: meat quality and morpho-histochemical characteristics of muscle fibers

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

Qualitative feed restriction for heavy swines: effect on digestibility and weight of organs of digestive tract, and environmental impact of feces

Foram utilizados 50 suínos machos castrados para avaliar o efeito da restrição alimentar qualitativa sobre a digestibilidade dos componentes dietéticos, os órgãos do trato digestório, a composição e a produção fecal. Foram utilizadas cinco dietas experimentais, com níveis de restrição qualitativa de 0, 5, 10, 15 e 20%. Houve redução linear (P<0,001) para todos os coeficientes de digestibilidade, com exceção da fibra em detergente ácido, que apresentou resposta quadrática (P<0,05). Os teores de sólidos totais (P<0,01) e voláteis (P<0,05), e minerais totais (P<0,001) nas fezes aumentaram com os níveis de restrição alimentar, enquanto os níveis de K (P<0,05), Cu (P<0,01) e de N, P, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe e Zn (P<0,001), apresentaram resposta quadrática. A excreção diária de fezes, sólidos totais e voláteis, minerais totais, N, P, K, Mn e Cu (P<0,001), Ca, Na, Mg e Fe (P<0,05) apresentaram aumento em função do nível da restrição alimentar qualitativa. A restrição qualitativa pode ser alternativa para destinação de resíduos da agroindústria, conferindo boas propriedades às fezes suínas, no que diz respeito à utilização para adubação de culturas.

Qualitative characteristics of meat from confined crossbred heifers fed with lipid sources

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

Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the non-carcass components and the meat of lambs fed sunflower seeds and vitamin E

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the weight and percentage of the non-carcass components and the mineral content (macro minerals and trace minerals), crude protein, ether extract, moisture and vitamin E of the heart, liver, tongue, lungs, reticulum, kidneys and meat from the longissimus dorsi of lambs in feedlot finishing. Thirty-two non-castrated Ile de France male lambs, fed diets containing sunflower seeds and vitamin E from 15 to 32 kg of body weight were allotted in a completely randomized design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. The weight of the gastrointestinal tract was higher in the lambs fed diets containing vitamin E (10%). No difference was observed in the liver as to the mineral matter, crude protein, ether extract, moisture (2.01; 20.03; 2.39 and 74.78 g/100 g, respectively), the macro minerals and trace minerals, except iron. In the tongue, lungs, reticulum, kidneys and meat there was no in fluence of diets in the studied variables. The liver and the meat presented different values of crude protein (20.01 and 18.34 g/100 g, respectively), and the heart (1.03 mg/100 g) showed a higher content of vitamin E. High contents of manganese, zinc and copper were observed in the liver. The evaluated non-carcass components were nutritionally equal to the sheep meat, once, in addition to their high yield in relation to the body weight at slaughter, the non-carcass components are sources of nutrients.

Denoising swallowing sound to improve the evaluator's qualitative analysis

Swallowing dynamics involves the coordination and interaction of several muscles and nerves which allow correct food transport from mouth to stomach without laryngotracheal penetration or aspiration. Clinical swallowing assessment depends on the evaluator's knowledge of anatomic structures and of neurophysiological processes involved in swallowing. Any alteration in those steps is denominated oropharyngeal dysphagia, which may have many causes, such as neurological or mechanical disorders. Videofluoroscopy of swallowing is presently considered to be the best exam to objectively assess the dynamics of swallowing, but the exam needs to be conducted under certain restrictions, due to patient's exposure to radiation, which limits periodical repetition for monitoring swallowing therapy. Another method, called cervical auscultation, is a promising new diagnostic tool for the assessment of swallowing disorders. The potential to diagnose dysphagia in a noninvasive manner by assessing the sounds of swallowing is a highly attractive option for the dysphagia clinician. Even so, the captured sound has an amount of noise, which can hamper the evaluator's decision. In that way, the present paper proposes the use of a filter to improve the quality of audible sound and facilitate the perception of examination. The wavelet denoising approach is used to decompose the noisy signal. The signal to noise ratio was evaluated to demonstrate the quantitative results of the proposed methodology. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Qualitative and quantitative characterization of aluminium alloys after corrosion testing

The 2024 and 7050 aluminium alloys used as aircraft components were subjected to laboratory corrosion tests in sodium chloride solution, Light-microscope examinations make it possible to characterise morphological aspects of the localised corrosion. Image analysis was used to determine both depth and width of pits over corroded surfaces. It has been concluded that the annealing could reduce the pit growth in both alloys, by means of grains recrystallization or recovery. The 2024 alloy also tends to present an exfoliation mechanism, mainly throughout non-recrystallized and recrystallized grain boundaries, increasing the width and sustaining the depth of pit cavities during exposition to saline atmosphere. SEM and EDS analysis reveal the morphology and elemental distribution of the corrosion products formed after immersion corrosion test. Some of these products were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis. For 2024, Al(OH)(3), MS(OH)(2) and Cu2O were found. AI(OH)(3) and Cu2O were also found in 7050 samples.

3-D reconstruction by extended depth-of-field in failure analysis - Case study I: Qualitative fractographic investigation of fractured bolts in a partial valve

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

Comparison between qualitative and semiquantitative catheter-tip cultures: laboratory diagnosis of catheter-related infection in newborns

Este estudo prospectivo avaliou os métodos semiquantitativo e qualitativo de cultura de cateter para o diagnóstico de infecção relacionada a cateter (IRC) em recém-nascidos (RN). Foram incluídas pontas de cateteres provenientes de recém-nascidos internados na Unidade Neonatal do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, UNESP. Foram utilizadas as técnicas semiquantitativa e qualitativa de cultura de cateter. Para o diagnóstico de IRC, os microrganismos isolados das culturas de cateteres e de hemoculturas periféricas foram identificados e submetidos ao teste de sensibilidade a antimicrobianos. O padrão ouro correspondeu ao diagnóstico de certeza de IRC, com o isolamento do mesmo microrganismo (espécie e perfil de sensibilidade a antimicrobianos) isolado em hemocultura periférica. Foram estudados 85 cateteres provenientes de 63 RN. A cultura semiquantitativa, embora tenha apresentado menor sensibilidade (90%), apresentou uma maior especificidade (71%) em comparação à sensibilidade de 100% e especificidade de 60% encontradas na cultura qualitativa. Através da identificação dos microrganismos obtidos nas culturas de cateteres, observou-se uma predominância de espécies de Estafilococos coagulase-negativa (ECN). A espécie Staphylococcus epidermidis foi a prevalente (77,5%) nos cateteres com culturas semiquantitativas positivas. Dos 11 episódios de IRC diagnosticados, 8 (72,7%) foram associados a espécies de ECN, dos quais 6 eram da espécie S. epidermidis. Também foram detectados dois casos de IRC por S. aureus e um caso por Candida parapsilosis. O método de cultura semiquantitativo cateter apresentou vantagens para o diagnóstico de IRC em RN quando comparado com o método qualitativo tradicional.

Teaching the Rational Use of Medicines to medical students: a qualitative research

Background: Prescribing is a complex and challenging task that must be part of a logical deductive process based on accurate and objective information and not an automated action, without critical thinking or a response to commercial pressure. The objectives of this study were 1) develop and implement a discipline based on the WHO's Guide to Good Prescribing; 2) evaluate the course acceptance by students; 3) assess the impact that the Rational Use of Medicines (RUM) knowledge had on the students habits of prescribing medication in the University Hospital.Methods: In 2003, the RUM principal, based in the WHO's Guide to Good Prescribing, was included in the official curriculum of the Botucatu School of Medicine, Brazil, to be taught over a total of 24 hours to students in the 4th year. We analyzed the students' feedback forms about content and teaching methodology filled out immediately after the end of the discipline from 2003 to 2010. In 2010, the use of RUM by past students in their medical practice was assessed through a qualitative approach by a questionnaire with closed-ended rank scaling questions distributed at random and a single semistructured interview for content analysis.Results: The discipline teaches future prescribers to use a logical deductive process, based on accurate and objective information, to adopt strict criteria (efficacy, safety, convenience and cost) on selecting drugs and to write a complete prescription. At the end of it, most students considered the discipline very good due to the opportunity to reflect on different actions involved in the prescribing process and liked the teaching methodology. However, former students report that although they are aware of the RUM concepts they cannot regularly use this knowledge in their daily practice because they are not stimulated or even allowed to do so by neither older residents nor senior medical staff.Conclusions: This discipline is useful to teach RUM to medical students who become aware of the importance of this subject, but the assimilation of the RUM principles in the institution seems to be a long-term process which requires the involvement of a greater number of the academic members.

A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of reports of clinical trials published in six Brazilian dental journals indexed in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO)

Introduction: Open access publishing is becoming increasingly popular within the biomedical sciences. SciELO, the Scientific Electronic Library Online, is a digital library covering a selected collection of Brazilian scientific journals many of which provide open access to full-text articles. This library includes a number of dental journals some of which may include reports of clinical trials in English, Portuguese and/or Spanish. Thus, SciELO could play an important role as a source of evidence for dental healthcare interventions especially if it yields a sizeable number of high quality reports. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify reports of clinical trials by handsearching of dental journals that are accessible through SciELO, and to assess the overall quality of these reports. Material and methods: Electronic versions of six Brazilian dental Journals indexed in SciELO were handsearched at www.scielo.br in September 2008. Reports of clinical trials were identified and classified as controlled clinical trials (CCTs - prospective, experimental studies comparing 2 or more healthcare interventions in human beings) or randomized controlled trials (RCTs - a random allocation method is clearly reported), according to Cochrane eligibility criteria. Criteria to assess methodological quality included: method of randomization, concealment of treatment allocation, blinded outcome assessment, handling of withdrawals and losses and whether an intention-to-treat analysis had been carried out. Results: The search retrieved 33 CCTs and 43 RCTs. A majority of the reports provided no description of either the method of randomization (75.3%) or concealment of the allocation sequence (84.2%). Participants and outcome assessors were reported as blinded in only 31.2% of the reports. Withdrawals and losses were only clearly described in 6.5% of the reports and none mentioned an intention-to-treat analysis or any similar procedure. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that a substantial number of reports of trials and systematic reviews are available in the dental journals listed in SciELO, and that these could provide valuable evidence for clinical decision making. However, it is clear that the quality of a number of these reports is of some concern and that improvement in the conduct and reporting of these trials could be achieved if authors adhered to internationally accepted guidelines, e. g. the CONSORT statement.

Birds and bats diverge in the qualitative and quantitative components of seed dispersal of a pioneer tree

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Preliminary qualitative analysis on mtDNA in Astyanax fasciatus populations Cuvier, 1819 (Teleostei; Characidae) indicate population distinctiveness

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

Qualitative and quantitative tear film abnormalities in dogs

Anormalidades do filme lacrimal de cães podem ser classificadas quanto ao seu aspecto quantitativo, qualitativo ou ambos, sendo comumente observada na prática cotidiana. Intercorrências na produção de um ou mais componentes do filme lacrimal ensejam distúrbios oculares em graus variados, denominados ceratoconjuntivite seca. Diversas são as causas da ceratoconjuntivite seca em cães, mas a maioria dos casos é de caráter idiopático, estando associada à participação de linfócitos T. O diagnóstico em medicina veterinária é firmado com base nos valores obtidos pelo teste da lacrimal de Schirmer. O presente artigo objetiva revisar os aspectos relacionados à etiopatogenia e ao diagnóstico da ceratoconjuntivite seca em cães, assim como discutir novas modalidades terapêuticas para a doença.