Energy and protein requirements for maintenance and growth of Boer crossbred kids

Meat production by goats has become an important livestock enterprise in several parts of the world. Nonetheless, energy and protein requirements of meat goats have not been defined thoroughly. The objective of this study was to determine the energy and protein requirements for maintenance and growth of 34 3/4 Boer x 1/4 Saanen crossbred, intact male kids (20.5 +/- 0.24 kg of initial BW). The baseline group was 7 randomly selected kids, averaging 21.2 +/- 0.36 kg of BW. An intermediate group consisted of 6 randomly selected kids, fed for ad libitum intake, that were slaughtered when they reached an average BW of 28.2 +/- 0.39 kg. The remaining kids (n = 21) were allocated randomly on d 0 to 3 levels of DMI (treatments were ad libitum or restricted to 70 or 40% of the ad libitum intake) within 7 slaughter groups. A slaughter group contained 1 kid from each treatment, and kids were slaughtered when the ad libitum treatment kid reached 35 kg of BW. Individual body components (head plus feet, hide, internal organs plus blood, and carcass) were weighed, ground, mixed, and subsampled for chemical analyses. Initial body composition was determined using equations developed from the composition of the baseline kids. The calculated daily maintenance requirement for NE was 77.3 +/- 1.05 kcal/kg(0.75) of empty BW (EBW) or 67.4 +/- 1.04 kcal/kg(0.75) of shrunk BW. The daily ME requirement for maintenance (118.1 kcal/g(0.75) of EBW or 103.0 kcal/kg(0.75) of shrunk BW) was calculated by iteration, assuming that the heat produced was equal to the ME intake at maintenance. The partial efficiency of use of ME for NE below maintenance was 0.65. A value of 2.44 +/- 0.4 g of net protein/kg(0.75) of EBW for daily maintenance was determined. Net energy requirements for growth ranged from 2.55 to 3.0 Mcal/kg of EBW gain at 20 and 35 kg of BW, and net protein requirements for growth ranged from 178.8 to 185.2 g/kg of EBW gain. These results suggest that NE and net protein requirements for growing meat goats exceed the requirements previously published for dairy goats. Moreover, results from this study suggest that the N requirement for maintenance for growing goats is greater than the established recommendations.

Maintenance requirements for methionine and cysteine, and threonine for poultry

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

Compliance with supportive periodontal therapy and its relation to the bleeding index

THIS IS A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY of 418 patients who received active periodontal treatment between the years of 1984 and 1990. The patients were instructed to return for supportive periodontal treatment (SPT) at 3 to 6-month intervals. The objective of this study was to evaluate patient compliance with periodic recall visits, and to study the relationship of bleeding upon probing in those who returned regularly. The patients were divided into 3 groups: patients who returned periodically for supportive treatment, patients who interrupted the proposed maintenance treatment, and patients who never returned after active periodontal treatment. Analysis was made for each group to correlate the degree of compliance with gender, disease classification, and type of treatment received. To analyze bleeding upon probing, 2 groups of patients were selected: a test group with 39 patients who had attended at least 10 recall visits and participated in the study for more than 40 months, and a control group of 21 patients who interrupted the SPT for at least 12 months. The results showed that 26% of the treated patients returned for SPT and, of those, 40% returned irregularly. There was a statistical significant difference in compliance in relation to disease classification and the type of treatment received, but no correlation was found between compliance and gender. There was a statistically significant difference in compliance between the test group and the control group in relation to the variation of the bleeding index.

X̄ chart with variable sample size and sampling intervals

Recent theoretical studies have shown that the X̄ chart with variable sampling intervals (VSI) and the X̄ chart with variable sample size (VSS) are quicker than the traditional X̄ chart in detecting shifts in the process. This article considers the X̄ chart with variable sample size and sampling intervals (VSSI). It is assumed that the amount of time the process remains in control has exponential distribution. The properties of the VSSI X̄ chart are obtained using Markov chains. The VSSI X̄ chart is even quicker than the VSI or VSS X̄ charts in detecting moderate shifts in the process.

Joint X̄ and R Charts with Variable Sample Sizes and Sampling Intervals

Recent studies have shown that the X̄ chart with variable sampling intervals (VSI) and/or with variable sample sizes (VSS) detects process shifts faster than the traditional X̄ chart. This article extends these studies for processes that are monitored by both the X̄ and R charts. A Markov chain model is used to determine the properties of the joint X and R charts with variable sample sizes and sampling intervals (VSSI). The VSSI scheme improves the joint X̄ and R control chart performance in terms of the speed with which shifts in the process mean and/or variance are detected.

Temporal polyethism in workers of Ectatomma edentatum (Formicidae: Ponerinae)

In the present study, adult ants emerged from five nests kept under laboratory conditions were individually monitored in order to determine their longevity and observe their individual behavior in relation to age (temporal polyethism). Our results showed that most of the tasks related to colony maintenance were executed during the three first age intervals (comprising from 1 to 150 days of age), namely brood care, followed by grooming activities (self and allogrooming), nest maintenance activities (such as floor and nest inspection), and social related activities (antennating and food exchange among adults). Foraging activities were performed by ants in the higher age intervals.

Comparison of hemodynamic, clinicopathologic, and gastrointestinal motility effects and recovery characteristics of anesthesia with isoflurane and halothane in horses undergoing arthroscopic surgery

Objective - To compare hemodynamic, clinicopathologic, and gastrointestinal motility effects and recovery characteristics of halothane and isoflurane in horses undergoing arthroscopic surgery. Animals - 8 healthy adult horses. Procedure - Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane or halothane (crossover study). At 6 intervals during anesthesia and surgery, cardiopulmonary variables and related derived values were recorded. Recovery from anesthesia was assessed; gastrointestinal tract motility was subjectively monitored for 72 hours after anesthesia. Horses were administered chromium, and fecal chromium concentration was used to assess intestinal transit time. Venous blood samples were collected for clinicopathologic analyses before and 2, 24, and 48 hours after anesthesia. Results - Compared with halothane-anesthetized horses, cardiac index, oxygen delivery, and heart rate were higher and systemic vascular resistance was lower in isoflurane-anesthetized horses. Mean arterial blood pressure and the dobutamine dose required to maintain blood pressure were similar for both treatments. Duration and quality of recovery from anesthesia did not differ between treatments, although the recovery periods were somewhat shorter with isoflurane. After isoflurane anesthesia, gastrointestinal motility normalized earlier and intestinal transit time of chromium was shorter than that detected after halothane anesthesia. Compared with isoflurane, halothane was associated with increases in serum aspartate transaminase and glutamate dehydrogenase activities, but there were no other important differences in clinicopathologic variables between treatments. Conclusions and clinical relevance - Compared with halothane, isoflurane appears to be associated with better hemodynamic stability during anesthesia, less hepatic and muscle damage, and more rapid return of normal intestinal motility after anesthesia in horses undergoing arthroscopic procedures.

Maintenance of a reducer by vibration and wear particles analysis

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to provide information on wear debris on oil and vibration analysis as predictive maintenance techniques in reducer. Design/methodology/approach - The estate of a reducer is verified by analyzing the vibration and oil conditions of a test rig under well-designed conditions utilizing some predictive variables. Findings - According to the vibration and oil analysis it is found out what it was happening into the reducer without disassembling it. Practical implications - This paper demonstrates the use of oil debris analysis and vibration analysis as a technique that enhances preventive maintenance practices. The paper helps practitioners to utilize these techniques more effectively. Originality/value - This paper gives information about two predictive maintenance techniques with a test rig. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Germinação de sementes de pinho-cuiabano sob deficiência hídrica com diferentes agentes osmóticos

The species Schizolobium amazonicum (Huber ex Ducke) commonly known as pinho-cuiabano or paricá, is one of the trees in Amazonian area used for plantings in degraded areas, reforestations and agroforestry systems. The present work evaluated the germinative behaviour of seeds of Schizolobium amazonicum in relation to the hydric stress, defining their levels of tolerance to those limitations in the environment. The seeds were collected from 30 trees in Alta Floresta-MT and submitted the dormancy treatment by submersion into water at 100°C for 1 minute; followed by treatment with fungicide Ridomil and Cercobin 0,25% each, then being left to germinate in a BOD camera at 30°C under a photoperiod of 12 hours. For evaluating the effect of different water potentials in the germinative process, polyethylene glicol (PEG 6000) was used and the salts NaCI and CaCl 2 used to simulate saline stress. The seeds were put to soak in potentials of 0 (control); -0.1 ; -0.2; -0.3; -0.4 and -0.5MPa. For each treatment 5 repetitions of 20 seeds were used in gerbox, placed between filter paper moistened with 20 mL of PEG, NaCI and CaCl 2 solutions. The solutions were changed at intervals of 24 hours for maintenance of the potential. The evaluations of percentages and germination speed were carry out daily for 8 days, being considered germinated the seeds that presented a 2mm root extension or longer. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and averages compared by the Tukey test at 5% probability. It was concluded that osmotic potentials between -0.4 and -0.5MPa inhibited the germination of seeds of Schizolobium amazonicum completely. The osmotic stress caused by CaCl 2, and PEG injured the germination more than did the stress caused by NaCl.

The energetic cost of maintenance in ruminants: From classical to new concepts and prediction systems

The cost of maintenance makes up a large part of total energy costs in ruminants. Metabolizable energy (ME) requirement for maintenance (MEm) is the daily ME intake that exactly balances heat energy (HE). The net energy requirement for maintenance (NEm) is estimated subtracting MEm from the HE produced by the processing of the diet. Men cannot be directly measured experimentally and is estimated by measuring basal metabolism in fasted animals or by regression measuring the recovered energy in fed animals. MEm and NEm usually, but not always, are expressed in terms of BW0.75. However, this scaling factor is substantially empirical and its exponent is often inadequate, especially for growing animals. MEm estimated by different feeding systems (AFRC, CNCPS, CSIRO, INRA, NRC) were compared by using dairy cattle data. The comparison showed that these systems differ in the approaches used to estimate MEm and for its quantification. The CSIRO system estimated the highest MEm, mostly because it includes a correction factor to increase ME as the feeding level increases. Relative to CSIRO estimates, those of NRC, INRA, CNCPS, and AFRC were on average 0.92, 0.86, 0.84, and 0.78, respectively. MEm is affected by the previous nutritional history of the animals. This phenomenon is best predicted by dynamic models, of which several have been published in the last decades. They are based either on energy flows or on nutrient flows. Some of the different approaches used were described and discussed.