Thiamin Requirement of Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

Juvenile Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, were fed to apparent satiation twice daily with purified diets containing 0, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, and 16.0 mg/kg and 0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 16.0, and 32.0 mg/kg of thiamin in separate 14- and 8-wk trials (Experiments 1 and 2, respectively). Fish fed the diet devoid of thiamin developed neurological disorders, anorexia, reduced growth, and feed efficiency and increased mortality (Experiment 2 only) within 4-6 and 8-10 wk for Experiments 2 and 1, respectively. Low red blood cell count (RBC) and hematocrit (Ht) were observed in fish fed the thiamin-deficient diet. Serum pyruvate was elevated in fish fed the thiamin unsupplemented diet. Serum lactate was not affected by dietary thiamin levels. Whole body protein was unaffected by dietary levels of thiamin. Body moisture and ash increased whereas body lipid decreased in fish fed the thiamin unsupplemented diets. None of these abnormalities were observed in fish fed the thiamin-supplemented diets. Using the response curves determined by PROC NLMIXED to estimate dietary thiamin levels required for various response variables, a dietary thiamin level of 3.5 mg/kg diet was adequate for optimum growth, feed intake and efficiency, survival, prevention of neurological symptoms, and maintaining normal levels of RBC, Ht, serum pyruvate, and proximate body composition. © 2011.

Effects of acute normovolemic anemia on hemodynamic parameters and acid-base balance in dogs

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hemodynamic and acid-base status of dogs subjected to acute normovolemic anemia. The dogs (n = 10) were evaluated 15 minutes and 24 hours after induction of anemia (hematocrit below 18) with blood withdrawal and simultaneously replacement of same volume of Ringer's lactate solution and hydroxyethyl starch-based solution in a 2:1 ratio. The cardiac output was measured by Doppler echocardiography and blood pressure by oscillometric device, and posteriorly hemodynamic parameters were calculated. The anemic groups had increase in cardiac index (P <.05) (3.82 ± 1.05 to 5.86 ± 1.49 and 5.81 ± 1.63 L/min m) and decreases (P <.05) in the indices of total peripheral resistance (6797.81 ± 3060.22 to 3220.14 ± 1275.02 and 3887.74 ± 1394.89 dinaseg/cm 5× m2) and oxygen delivery (7942.84 ± 3344.00 to 4021.68 ± 1627.00 and 4430.82 ± 1402.61 mL/min× m 2), respectively. There were no significant changes in pH, but PaO2 and SaO2 values were increased, and PaCO2 reduced in anemic dogs (P <.05). Therefore, acute normovolemic anemia can create significant hemodynamic changes and despite some hemogasometric changes, there were no changes in the acid-base status in dogs. Copyright © 2011 Tatiana Champion et al.

Hemoparasite and hematological parameters in Nile tilapia

The accelerated growth of finfish aquaculture has resulted in a series of health problems, including blood disorders by hemoparasites; there are scarce studies about these agents and their impact in actual intensive farming. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify the hemoparasites present in monocytes and erythrocytes in the blood of tilapia and their correlation with the hematological profile. Blood samples were collected from caudal vessels of 15 cage-reared Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), with 70 ± 10 g weight on average, from Itambaracá Municipality, Parana State, Brazil. The total red blood cells, mean corpuscular volume, hematocrit, total and differential white blood cells counts, and the number of thrombocytes were determined in blood smears stained with May-Grünwald-Giemsa-Wright and Quick Panoptic. The results showed the presence of pleomorphic cytoplasmic inclusions with corrugated appearance and basophilic staining, mainly in monocytes, suggesting Anaplasmataceae parasitemia and inclusions with the same morphological characteristics in erythrocytes of one Nile tilapia. The hematological analysis showed no significant difference (P < 0.05) between infected and not infected fish, and therefore, there was no correlation between parasitemia and hematological profile. These observations allow us to infer that the intracytoplasmic inclusions in monocytes and erythrocytes are compatible with the family Anaplasmataceae. There was no correlation between the blood profile and low level of parasitemia. © 2012 Springer-Verlag London.

Relationship between incubation temperature and egg size with heart hypoplasy in broiler chicks at hatching

It was analyzed if the effects of continuous incubation temperature deviations during the second half on the development of body, organs and hematological respiratory and energetic parameters differ between male and female from 30- and 60-week-old breeder eggs. From day 13, Cobb eggs were exposed to 36°C, 37.5°C, or 39°C. At 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h after this change in the temperature and at hatch, red cells count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, plasma glucose level and body, liver and heart weights were evaluated. Independent of incubation temperature, sexes and breeder ages, mean corpuscular volume decreased and the other variables increased during late incubation. In 30-week-old breeder eggs, body weights and erythrocytic parameters were not influenced by temperature but liver and heart weights decreased increasing incubation temperature and glucose level increased at 36 and 39°C. In 60-week-old breeder eggs, males were heavier at hatching with incubation at 36°C and females had smaller body weights with incubation at 39°C. In both sexes, liver weight decreased and glucose concentration was higher at 36 and 39°C and heart weights and erythrocytes parameters were not influenced by temperature. Independent of breeder age, hatchability was lower at 39°C. The data show that high temperature from day 13 of incubation reduced more intensively the hatching success and caused cardiac hypoplasia in chicks from 30-week-old breeder eggs only, revealing for the first time that the susceptibility for ascites syndrome, by reduced heart development at hatching, is associated to a relationship between incubation temperature and egg size. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2012.

Blood parameters of chicks from eggs injected with ascorbic acid and subjected to thermal stress

This study was aimed to verify if chicks from eggs injected with ascorbic acid and subjected to thermal stress would have higher immunity than chicks from incubation at thermoneutrality without injection of ascorbic acid. The parameters evaluated were temperature on oxygen saturation in hemoglobin, glucose, number of erythrocytes, hematocrit rate and number of hemoglobins of newly hatched male chicks, hatched from eggs injected with ascorbic acid (AA) and subjected to thermal stress during incubation. The experimental design was completely randomized in factorial scheme 5 (application levels of ascorbic acid) x 2 (incubation temperatures). The data were subjected to analysis of variance using the General Linear Model procedure (GLM) of SAS ®. For the parameters (number of erythrocytes, rate of hematrocit and values of hemoglobin), there was significant interaction (p <0.05) between treatments in egg and incubation temperatures. Analyzing the interactions for these parameters, it was observed that the application of 0% ascorbic acid in egg minimized the effect of heat stress when compared with treatment without injection. The application of ascorbic acid levels in eggs incubated under heat stress failed to maximize the immunity of newly hatched chicks. It is assumed that the increased liquid in the amniotic fluid, in those embryos injected with water, favored the lower heat conductance for these embryos, thus helping in their development in relation to immunity. Considering that hemoglobin is related to the transport of gases, these data suggest that increasing the concentration of AA solution inoculated may influence the respiratory rates of eggs.

Glicerina bruta na dieta de bovinos de corte confinados: Efeito sobre o hemograma

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hemogram in cattle fed crude glycerin. 30 Nellore steers, were used for blood sampling, which were done each 28 days. The animals were confined for 103 days and were fed with five diets containing 0, 7.5, 15, 22.5 and 30% crude glycerin based on dry matter, formulated in a forage:concentrate ratio of 30:70. Corn silage was used as forage and the concentrate was composed by corn grain, soybean hulls, sunflower meal, glycerin, limestone, dicalcium phosphate and salt. The experimental design was a randomized block with five treatments. Orthogonal contrasts were used to determine the linear, quadratic, cubic effects and gliceryn treatments × the control one. There was no treatment effect (P>0,05) on blood concentrations of erythrocytes, hematocrit, basophils, eosinophils, band neutrophils and lymphocytes, but were linearly effect on the concentrations of platelets, hemoglobin and monocytes (P=0.009, P=0.001 and P=0.043, respectivelly), and cubic effect on the concentrations of total leukocytes and segmented neutrophils (P=0.008 and P=0.004, respectivelly). Diets for beef cattle, with forage:concentrate ratio of 30:70 added with crude glycerin promote changes in the erytrhogram and leucogram of these animals.

Aerocistite aguda induzida por tioglicolato, lipolisacarídeo e Aeromona hydrophila inativada em Piaractus mesopotamicus: Efeitos hematológicos

The effects of swim bladder injection with thioglycolate, Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and heat-inactivated Aeromonas hydrophila were assessed on hematological responses in pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus (Characidae). A quantitative assessment was done on erythrocytes, thrombocytes e leucocytes at 6, 24, and 48 h pos-injection of the inflammatory agents and compared with fish injected with saline solution (control). Fish injected with inactivated A. hydrophila showed a reduction of erythrocytes and hemoglobin, whereas the hematocrit increased 6 h pos-injection. The results show that thioglycolate and LPS also induced a reduction on hemoglobin and an increase on the hematocrit. The thrombocytes count decreased 6 h post A. hydrophila injection, whereas increased 48 hours post LPS injection. The leukocytes count increased after 6 h post A. hydrophila injection, while the lymphocytes and PAS-positive granular leukocytes (PAS-LG) count decreased after 24 h post injection. In fish injected with thioglycolate or with LPS showed an increase in the LG-PAS counts when compared to A. hydrophila or control groups. The monocytes count was not affected by the different inflammatory agents.

Association of IGF1 and KDM5A polymorphisms with performance, fatness and carcass traits in chickens

Two functional and positional candidate genes were selected in a region of chicken chromosome 1 (GGA1), based on their biological roles, and also where several quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been mapped and associated with performance, fatness and carcass traits in chickens. The insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) gene has been associated with several physiological functions related to growth. The lysine (K)-specific demethylase 5A (KDM5A) gene participates in the epigenetic regulation of genes involved with the cell cycle. Our objective was to find associations of selected single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these genes with performance, fatness and carcass traits in 165 F2 chickens from a resource population. In the IGF1 gene, 17 SNPs were detected, and in the KDM5A gene, nine SNPs were detected. IGF1 SNP c. 47673G > A was associated with body weight and haematocrit percentage, and also with feed intake and percentages of abdominal fat and gizzard genotype × sex interactions. KDM5A SNP c. 34208C > T genotype × sex interaction affected body weight, feed intake, percentages of abdominal fat (p = 0. 0001), carcass, gizzard and haematocrit. A strong association of the diplotype × sex interaction (p < 0. 0001) with abdominal fat was observed, and also associations with body weight, feed intake, percentages of carcass, drums and thighs, gizzard and haematocrit. Our findings suggest that the KDM5A gene might play an important role in the abdominal fat deposition in chickens. The IGF1 and KDM5A genes are strong candidates to explain the QTL mapped in this region of GGA1. © 2012 Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan.

Oxidative stress, superoxide production, and apoptosis of neutrophils in dogs with chronic kidney disease

Oxidative stress is a key component in the immunosuppression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and neutrophil function may be impaired by oxidative stress. To test the hypothesis that in uremic dogs with CKD, oxidative stress is increased and neutrophils become less viable and functional, 18 adult dogs with CKD were compared with 15 healthy adult dogs. Blood count and urinalysis were done, and the serum biochemical profile and plasma lipid peroxidation (measurement of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) were determined with the use of commercial reagents. Plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was measured with a spectrophotometer and commercial reagents, superoxide production with a hydroethidine probe, and the viability and apoptosis of neutrophils with capillary flow cytometry and the annexin V-PE system. The plasma concentrations of cholesterol (P = 0.0415), creatinine (P < 0.0001), and urea (P < 0.0001) were significantly greater in the uremic dogs than in the control dogs. The hematocrit (P = 0.0004), urine specific gravity (P = 0.015), and plasma lipid peroxidation (P < 0.0001) were significantly lower in the dogs that were in late stages of CKD than in the control group. Compared with those isolated from the control group, neutrophils isolated from the CKD group showed a higher rate of spontaneous (0.10 ± 0.05 versus 0.49 ± 0.09; P = 0.0033; median ± standard error of mean) and camptothecin-induced (18.53 ± 4.06 versus 44.67 ± 4.85; P = 0.0066) apoptosis and lower levels of superoxide production in the presence (1278.8 ± 372.8 versus 75.65 ± 86.6; P = 0.0022) and absence (135.29 ± 51.74 versus 41.29 ± 8.38; P = 0.0138) of phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate stimulation. Thus, oxidative stress and acceleration of apoptosis occurs in dogs with CKD, the apoptosis diminishing the number of viable neutrophils and neutrophil superoxide production.

Supplementation with protected fat to manage gastro-intestinal nematode infections in Santa Ines sheep

This experiment aimed to determine the influence of supplementation with protected fat on nematode infections in periparturient sheep or sheep in their final stage of pregnancy. Fifty Santa Ines ewes received 200 g of concentrate/animal/day, mineral salt and water and were grouped according to their weight, hematocrit and the number of eggs per gram of feces (EPG). Two diets were used: a control treatment and a treatment consisting of supplementation with 30 g/animal/day of protected fat in the concentrate. Three monthly evaluations were performed over a total of 84 days of testing. The variables analyzed were weight, body condition, EPG and coprocultures; blood tests were performed for the determination of packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentration and total plasma protein, and leukograms and eosinophil counts were performed. For weight and hemoglobin concentrations, interactions were observed between diet and collection date (P<0.05); body condition, total plasma protein, packed cell volume and total leukocytes did not differ statistically among treatments (P> 0. 05) but did differ by collection day (P <0.05). The EPG and eosinophil counts did not differ statistically by either diet or collection date (P>0.05). The genus Haemonchus was predominant, followed by the genera Cooperia, Trichostrongylus and Oesophagostomum. The protected fat did not decrease EPG and did not improve the blood parameters of infected sheep.

Influence of seasonality and pollution on the hematological parameters of the estuarine fish Centropomus parallelus

This study investigated the hematological parameters of the tropical estuarine fish Centropomus parallelus and their use as a non-destructive biomarker for aquatic pollution. Individuals were collected, in summer and winter, at two estuaries, Cananéia (CAN) and São Vicente (SVE), and blood was extracted by caudal puncture. The evaluated parameters were hematocrit (Ht), red blood cells (RBC), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), and the leukocyte (WBC) and thrombocyte counts. Fishes from CAN showed higher values of absolute number of thrombocytes in the summer. The fishes from SVE presented lower values of Ht and MCV in winter. Comparing the hematological parameters of fishes from these two sites, Ht, MCV, WBC and RBC were higher in fishes from SVE in the summer, whereas during the winter, Ht and thrombocytes were higher in animals from SVE. The results allow attributing the changes in the blood of fishes to seasonality and the presence of contaminants.

Effect of physical training on metabolic and bone profile in weaning rats

Introduction: The practice of moderate-intensity exercise can reduce the risk of infections and improve metabolic aspects of the person. Objective: To investigate the effects of aerobic physical training on endocrine and metabolic aspects, bone and immune systems. Methods: Twenty Wistar rats were divided in two groups: sedentary (SG) and trained group (TG). Training program consisted in swimming, 6 weeks, supporting a workload corresponding to 5% of body weight. At the end of the experiment, were performed counting total and differential leukocyte count and hematocrit. After training period, were analyzed glucose, total protein, triglycerides, cholesterol, liver and muscle samples for the determination of the levels of glycogen, and determination of the tibia length and bone area. All dependent variables were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a significance level of P < 0.05 was used for all comparisons. Results: Hematocrit (%) analyzed showed a significant difference, with higher values ffor TG (54.63 ± 1.41) than for the SG (49.5 ± 1.65). The total leukocyte count was not significantly different, as there was no difference in the differential count. Total cholesterol showed significant decrease in TG (TG = 68.27 ± 13.71 mg/dL; SG = 94.44 ± 28.09), the total protein levels also showed significant reduction (TG = 7.3 ± 0.40 g/dL; SG = 7.74 ± 0.36 g/dL) glucose levels and triglyceride showed no significant differences. The bone length showed significant difference (TG = 40±0.14 mm; SG = 42.10 ± 0.12mm). Tibial area showed a lower value for TG (1.53 ± 0.12cm2) than for SG (1.67 ± 0.18cm2); however, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: It can be concluded that aerobic exercise training is able to produce some unique physiological changes in young rats. There is also the need to prescribe exercises that meet the particular maturational stage of development.

Frequência de arraçoamento para alevinos de carpa comum

The best frequency of feeding for development of common carp fingerlings Cyprinus carpio was determined. Four hundred fish (4.88 ± 1.41 g and 6.72 ± 0.70 cm) were used, distributed in 20 tanks of 250 L each in completely randomized design with four treatments and five replicates. The four feeding strategies adopted were: providing feed once (T1), twice (T2), three (T3) and four times daily (T4) at the same amount being fractionated as described. At the end of 45 days of experiment were carried out measurements of the final weight (FW), final length (FL), weight gain (WG), feed conversion (FC), specific growth rate (SGR) and survivor (SR). It was evaluated the chemical composition of fish carcass: moisture (MT), crude protein (CP), lipids (LP) and ash (AS) and hematological analyzes performed such as erythrocyte (ER), hemoglobin (HG) and hematocrit (HT). There were significant statistical differences (P<0.01) for FW, FL, WG and SGR. For FC and SR there were no statistical differences (P>0.01). For the chemical composition the moisture, lipids and ash showed significant statistical differences (P>0.01), except only for protein (P>0.01) The hematological composition was not influenced by the feed frequency, it was not observed significant statistical difference (P>0.01) of erythrocytes, hemoglobin and hematocrit among dietary treatments. For common carp fingerlings, the provision of ration four times daily provided better final weight, final length, weight gain and specific growth rate without causing changes in the composition and hematological parameters of the fish.

Resistance of beef cattle of two genetic groups to ectoparasites and gastrointestinal nematodes in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

The resistance to infestations by ectoparasites and infections by gastrointestinal nematodes was studied in 45 animals (males and females) of two genetic groups: purebred Nelore (NI, n=28) and Three-Cross (1/2 Angus+1/4 Canchim+1/4 Nelore - TC, n=17). The animals were monitored for 24months, during which they were left to graze in tropical pastures without receiving treatment for parasites. Each month the animals were examined for infestations by external parasites, to count the numbers of cattle ticks Rhipicephalus microplus with diameter greater than 4.5mm present on the left side, horn flies (Haematobia irritans) present in the lumbar region and botfly larvae (Dermatobia hominis) present on the entire body. The H. irritans counts were performed with the aid of digital photographs. At the time of examination, fecal samples were collected to count the eggs per gram (EPG) and to perform coprocultures, and peripheral blood samples were drawn to determine the packed cell volume (PCV) and to count the eosinophils. For statistical analysis, the count data were transformed into log10 (n+1), where n is the number of parasites. For PCV, significant effects (P<0.05) were found for collection month (CO), genetic group (GG) and gender (SX), with means and respective standard errors of 41.5±0.65% for the NI animals, 39.3±0.83% for the TC, 41.5±0.72% for the females and 39.3±0.77% for the males. Regarding the eosinophil counts, only the effect of sex was significant (P<0.01), with means and respective standard errors of 926.0±46.2/μL, for males and 1088.0±43.8/μL of blood, for females. The NI animals presented lower mean counts for all the external parasites compared to the TC animals (P<0.01). For ticks, the transformed means followed by standard errors for the NI and TC animals were 0.06±0.01 and 0.34±0.02, while for horn flies these were 0.92±0.05 and 1.36±0.06 and for botfly larvae they were 0.05±0.03 and 0.45±0.05, respectively. The average EPG values were only influenced by CO (P<0.01). The coprocultures revealed the presence of the following endoparasites: Haemonchus spp., Cooperia spp., Oesophagostomum spp. and Trichostrongylus spp., the last in smaller proportion. There were no significant differences between the genetic groups for the endoparasite loads, except for Cooperia spp., which were present in greater number (P<0.05) in the NI group. The results obtained in this experiment confirm previous findings of greater susceptibility of the Nelore breed to Cooperia spp. and high resistance to ectoparasites. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Avaliação dos indicadores nutricionais e da composição corporal em hepatopatas crônicos e a relação com a etiologia e gravidade da doença

Pós-graduação em Bases Gerais da Cirurgia - FMB