Optimization of incubation time of protein Tc85 in the construction of biosensor: Is the EIS a good tool?

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

Comparison of oxidation efficiency of disperse dyes by chemical and photoelectrocatalytic chlorination and removal of mutagenic activity

Degradation of Disperse Orange 1, Disperse Red 1 and Disperse Red 13 dyes has been performed using electrochemical oxidation on Pt electrode, chemical chlorination and photoelectrochemical oxidation on Ti/TiO(2) thin film electrodes in NaCl or Na(2)SO(4) medium. 100% discoloration was obtained for all tested methods after 1 h of treatment. Faster color removal was obtained by photoelectrocatalytic oxidation in 0.1 mol L(-1) NaCl pH 4.0 under UV light and an applied potential of +1.0V (vs SCE reference electrode), which indicates also values around 60% of TOC removal. The conventional chlorination method and electrochemical oxidation on Pt electrode resulted in negligible reduction of TOC removal. All dyes showed positive mutagenic activity in the Salmonella/microsome assay with the strain TA98 in the absence and presence of S9 (exogenous metabolic activation). Nevertheless, there is complete reduction of the mutagenic activity after 1 h of photoelectrocatalytic oxidation, suggesting that this process would be good option to remove disperse azo dyes from aqueous media. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modelling energy utilization for laying type Pullets

Three trials were carried out to determine energy metabolized (EM) requirement model for starting and growing pullets from different strains, at five ambient temperatures and different percentage feather coverage. In Trial I, metabolizable energy requirements for maintenance (MEm) and efficiency of energy utilization were estimated using 64 birds of two different strains, Hy-Line W36 (HLW36) and Hy-Line Semi-heavy (HLSH), from 9 to 13 weeks of age. The effects of ambient temperature (12, 18, 24, 30 and 36ºC) and percentage feather coverage (0, 50 and 100%) on MEm were assessed in the second trial, using 48 birds per temperature per strain (HLSH and HLW36) from 9 to 13 weeks of age. Trial III evaluated ME requirements for weight gain (MEg) using 1,200 birds from two light strains (HLW36 and Hisex Light, HL) and two semi-heavy strains (HLSH and Hisex Semi-heavy, HSH) reared until 18 weeks of age. According to the prediction models, MEm changed as a function of temperature and feather coverage, whereas MEg changed as a function of age and bird strain. Thus, two models were developed for birds aged 1 to 6 weeks, one model for the light strain and one for the semi-heavy strain. Energy requirements (ER) were different among strains from 7 to 12 weeks, and therefore 4 models were elaborated. From 13 to 18 weeks, one single model was produced for semi-heavy birds, since ER between semi-heavy strains were not different, whereas two different models were elaborated for the light layers. MEg of light birds was higher than MEg of semi-heavy birds, independent of age.

Efficiency of bioaugmentation in the removal of organic matter in aquaculture systems

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

Efficiency of aquatic macrophytes to treat Nile tilapia pond effluents

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

Composição corporal e puberdade de leitoas alimentadas com níveis alto e baixo de proteína na dieta

Com o objetivo de verificar alterarações na composição corporal, diferentes níveis protéicos (12 e 18% PB) foram utilizados na dieta de leitoas de reposição, dos 100 aos 221 dias de idade. Durante esse período foram avaliados o peso corporal, espessura de toucinho (ET), manifestação de estro, características do trato reprodutivo e o balanço nitrogenado. Para a determinação do balanço nitrogenado, as leitoas foram submetidas a dois ensaios de digestibilidade (aos 136 e aos 201 dias de idade). em ambos os ensaios, as leitoas alimentadas com 18% PB apresentaram maior ingestão, retenção e excreção de nitrogênio e maiores níveis de uréia plasmática e urinária (P<0,001). A eficiência da utilização de nitrogênio não foi influenciada pelo nível protéico da dieta (P>0,05). Houve redução de 48% na excreção de nitrogênio com a dieta menos protéica. Leitoas alimentadas com 12% PB apresentaram maior ganho de ET (7,4 mm) em comparação às alimentadas com 18% PB (4,5 mm), dos 100 aos 207 dias de idade (P<0,02). O peso corporal, peso do útero, comprimento dos cornos uterinos e número de corpos lúteos não foram afetados pelo nível de proteína na dieta. A taxa de detecção de estro, até 25 dias após a exposição das leitoas ao cachaço, foi semelhante para as fêmeas recebendo 12% (71%) e 18% PB (75%). Os níveis de proteína da dieta afetaram a composição corporal das fêmeas sem que o peso final, o desencadeamento da puberdade e características do trato reprodutivo fossem afetados, indicando que dietas de baixa proteína podem ser utilizadas como estratégia para aumentar a espessura de toucinho de leitoas de reposição.

Feed efficiency of Nellore cattle selected for postweaning weight

Foram comparados dois rebanhos Nelore, um selecionado para maior peso pós-desmame e outro controle, selecionado para a média de peso pós-desmame, para avaliar os efeitos de 29 anos de seleção sobre a eficiência alimentar. Sessenta machos Nelore com 205 kg e 267 dias de idade (41 selecionados e 19 controle), foram avaliados em baias individuais durante a prova de ganho de peso. O desempenho e o consumo de matéria seca foram utilizados para determinar as seguintes medidas de eficiência: conversão alimentar; consumo alimentar residual; ganho residual; eficiência parcial de crescimento; taxa de crescimento relativo; e taxa de Kleiber. Após o período experimental de 112 dias, os animais controle apresentaram menor peso vivo final em comparação aos selecionados, contudo, não diferiram quanto ao consumo de matéria seca (% do peso vivo), à área de olho-de-lombo e às espessuras de gordura subcutânea na altura da 12ª costela e na região da picanha. O consumo de matéria seca (kg/dia) e o ganho médio diário dos animais selecionados foram, respectivamente, 19,4 e 26,4% superiores aos dos controle. O maior ganho médio diário dos animais selecionados promoveu melhora significativa, em torno de 6%, na conversão alimentar; 70 g/dia no ganho residual; e de 17% na taxa de Kleiber. As demais medidas de eficiência (consumo alimentar residual, eficiência parcial de crescimento e taxa de crescimento relativo) não diferiram entre os rebanhos. Os 29 anos de seleção para peso pós-desmame não afetaram a eficiência alimentar de bovinos Nelore.

Net requirements of protein and energy for maintenance of wool and hair lambs in a tropical region

The objective of this work was to evaluate the total endogenous N losses, and protein and energy net requirements for maintenance in growing lambs. Thirty-four castrated lambs, 17 F1 Ideal X Ile de France wool and 17 Santa Inas hair lambs, averaging 20 +/- 0.14 kg BW, were used in the experiment. Five animals from each genotype were slaughtered at the beginning of the experiment and taken as controls. Diets (D) were composed of concentrate mix (C) and Cynodon sp. c.v. Tifton 85 hay (R), combined in three different ratios: D1 = 60C:40R; D2 = 40C:60R and D3 = 20C:80R. Animals of each group of three lambs, that showed BW of 20 kg at the beginning of the dietary regimen, were slaughtered when one of them reached 35 kg, what always happened to be the one fed with D1. Total endogenous N losses estimated for wool lambs were 250 mg N/kg BW0.75. For hair lambs, total endogenous N losses reached 324 mg N/kg BW0.75 . Hair lambs showed higher (P < 0.01) (29.9%) net requirements of protein for maintenance than wool lambs. In contrast, net energy (NE) requirement for maintenance was similar (P > 0.05) for both genotypes (74.27 kcal/kg BW0.75 per day), the average of the antilog of the two intercept values obtained from the estimated regression equations of heat production for zero metabolizable energy (ME) consumption. Further studies should be done to check if this trend is also true for metabolizable energy and protein in animals exhibiting BW gains in tropical region. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of tannin levels in sorghum silage and concentrate supplementation on apparent digestibility and methane emission in beef cattle

This study evaluated the effect of diets containing sorghum silages with higher (HT) and lower-tannin (LT) concentrations supplemented with concentrate or urea on intake, digestibility, ruminal digestibility, methane emission and rumen parameters in beef cattle. Four treatments were distributed according to a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement in a duplicate 4 x 4 Latin square: LT sorghum silage + urea, LT sorghum silage + concentrate, HT sorghum silage + urea, and HT sorghum silage + concentrate. Total digestibility of the organic matter was higher when concentrate was included in the diet (0.749 and 0.753 in the LT and HT treatments, respectively). It was observed lower ruminal apparent digested matter of neutral detergent fiber in HT diets. There was no effect of tannin levels on digestibility and methane emission. The supplementation with concentrate in the LT diet decreased gas losses as a function of gross energy intake in comparison to the supplementation of the diet with urea. These results suggest the potential of concentrate supplementation to minimize energy loss as methane emission by ruminants and increase the efficiency of energy utilization. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydrolyzed alpha-lactalbumin as a source of protein to the exercising

This work describes the effect of feeding enzymatically hydrolyzed a-lactalbumin on blood sugar, albumin and fatty acids, muscular and hepatic glycogen of rats subjected to physical exercise. Three normoenergetic/normoproteic diets, containing either casein (C), alpha-lactalbumin (L) or alpha-lactalbumin hydrolyzate (H) were fed to thirty male Wistar rats for five weeks. During this period, half of the rats swam for 1 hr daily (T category) while the other half remained sedentary (S category). At the end of training, all rats were required to swim to exhaustion. The results showed that those rats of the T-category consuming diet H reached exhaustion with significantly higher concentrations of serum glucose ([H] 56.0 and [L] 32.3 mg/100ml), serum albumin ([H] 3.8 and [L] 2.1 mg/dl) and muscle glycogen ([H] 2.1 and [L] 0.6 mg/g), while no differences were observed between diets regarding the time of arrival to exhaustion. Results from diets C and L differed minimally. It was concluded that feeding the hydrolyzed protein may result in nutritional advantage to the exercising rat. (C) 1998 Elsevier B.V.