Effects of dietary urea levels on milk protein fractions of Holstein cows

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of substituting soybean meal for urea on milk protein fractions (casein, whey protein and non-protein nitrogen) of dairy cows in three dietary levels. Nine mid-lactation Holstein cows were used in a 3 x 3 Latin square arrangement, composed of 3 treatments, 3 periods of 21 days each, and 3 squares. The treatments consisted of three different diets fed to lactating cows, which were randomly assigned to three groups of three animals: (A) no urea inclusion, providing 100% of crude protein (CP), rumen undegradable protein (RUP) and rumen degradable protein (RDP) requirements, using soybean meal and sugarcane as roughage; (B) urea inclusion at 7.5 g/kg DM in partial substitution of soybean meal CP equivalent; (C) urea inclusion at 15 g/kg DM in partial substitution of soybean meal CP equivalent. Rations were isoenergetic and isonitrogenous-1 60 g/kg DM of crude protein and 6.40 MJ/kg DM of net energy for lactation. When the data were analyzed by simple polynomial regression, no differences were observed among treatments in relation to milk CP content, true protein, casein, whey protein, non-casein and non-protein nitrogen, or urea. The milk true protein:crude protein and casein:true protein ratios were not influenced by substituting soybean meal for urea in the diet. Based on the results it can be concluded that the addition of urea up to 15 g/kg of diet dry matter in substitution of soybean meal did not alter milk protein concentration casein, whey protein and its non-protein fractions, when fed to lactating dairy cows. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Central mechanisms involved in pilocarpine-induced pressor response

Pilocarpine (cholinergic muscarinic agonist) injected peripherally may act centrally to produce pressor responses; in the present study, using c-fos immunoreactive expression, we investigated the forebrain and brainstem areas activated by pressor doses of intravenous (i.v.) pilocarpine. In addition, the importance of vasopressin secretion and/or sympathetic activation and the effects of lesions in the anteroventral third ventricle (AV3V) region in awake rats were also investigated. In male Holtzman rats, pilocarpine (0.04 to 4 mu mol/kg b.w.) i.v. induced transitory hypotension followed by long lasting hypertension. Sympathetic blockade with prazosin (1 mg/kg b.w.) i.v. or AV3V lesions (1 day) almost abolished the pressor response to i. v. pilocarpine (2 mu mol/kg b.w.), whereas the vasopressin antagonist (10 mu g/kg b.w.) i.v. reduced the response to pilocarpine. Pilocarpine (2 and 4 mu mol/kg b.w.) i.v. increased the number of c-fos immunoreactive cells in the subfornical organ, paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus, organ vasculosum of the lamina terminalis, median preoptic nucleus, nucleus of the solitary tract and caudal and rostral ventrolateral medulla. These data suggest that i.v. pilocarpine activates specific forebrain and brainstem mechanisms increasing sympathetic activity and vasopressin secretion to induce pressor response. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Horses naturally infected by Trypanosoma vivax in southern Brazil

In this study, we reported the first outbreak of the infection by Trypanosoma vivax in horses in southern Brazil, a non-endemic region where bovines have only recently been found infected by this trypanosome species. We evaluated 12 horses from a farm in southern Brazil, where four horses displayed pale mucous membranes, fever, weight loss, and swelling of abdomen, prepuce, or vulva. The diagnosis of T vivax was confirmed in four horses by morphological parameters of trypomastigotes in blood smears and species-specific PCR. All T vivax-infected animals showed anemia, and most showed increased levels of beta-1, beta-2, and gamma globulins. Horses were treated with diminazene aceturate, but cure was not achieved, and the disease relapsed after therapy. These findings demonstrated that Brazilian T vivax isolates, which were already reported infecting cattle, buffaloes, goats, and sheep, can be highly pathogenic for horses, causing severe disease and even death of the animals due to the recurrence of the infection.

Phylogenetic analysis of Trypanosoma vivax supports the separation of South American/West African from East African isolates and a new T-vivax-like genotype infecting a nyala antelope from Mozambique

In this study, we addressed the phylogenetic and taxonomic relationships of Trypanosoma vivax and related trypanosomes nested in the subgenus Duttonella through combined morphological and phylogeographical analyses. We previously demonstrated that the clade T. vivax harbours a homogeneous clade comprising West African/South American isolates and the heterogeneous East African isolates. Herein we characterized a trypanosome isolated from a nyala antelope (Tragelaphus angasi) wild-caught in Mozambique (East Africa) and diagnosed as T. vivax-like based on biological, morphological and molecular data. Phylogenetic relationships, phylogeographical patterns and estimates of genetic divergence were based on SSU and ITS rDNA sequences of T. vivax from Brazil and Venezuela (South America), Nigeria (West Africa), and from T. vivax-like trypanosomes from Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania (East Africa). Despite being well-supported within the T. vivax clade, the nyala trypanosome was highly divergent from all other T. vivax and T. vivax-like trypanosomes, even those from East Africa. Considering its host origin, morphological features, behaviour in experimentally infected goats, phylogenetic placement, and genetic divergence this isolate represents a new genotype of trypanosome closely phylogenetically related to T. vivax. This study corroborated the high complexity and the existence of distinct genotypes yet undescribed within the subgenus Duttonella.

Seguimento clinoceletrográfico de criançcas e adolescentes com crise epiléptica única não-provocada

Os fenômenos convulsivos despertaram o interesse de estudiosos e pensadores já na Antigüidade, quando aspectos mágicos e sobrenaturais eram a eles associados. No século XIX foram lançadas as bases dos conceitos atuais sobre a desestruturação funcional cerebral na epilepsia, e Berger, em 1929, marcou definitivamente a história com a descoberta dos ritmos cerebrais. Crise epiléptica e epilepsia não são sinônimos, já que o último termo refere-se a crises recorrentes espontâneas. Ela costuma iniciar na infância, daí a preocupação com o risco de repetição do primeiro episódio e com a decisão de instituir tratamento medicamentoso. Fatores prognósticos são apontados, mas não há consenso. No Brasil existem poucas pesquisas nesta linha, tanto de prevalência da epilepsia como de fatores envolvidos na recorrência de crises. Este estudo teve como objetivo geral avaliar aspectos clinicoeletrográficos capazes de auxiliar no prognóstico e no manejo da epilepsia da criança e do adolescente. Foram objetivos específicos determinar a incidência de crise epiléptica não provocada recorrente; identificar fatores remotos implicados na ocorrência de crise epiléptica; relacionar tipo de crise com achados eletrencefalográficos; relacionar tipo de crise, duração da crise, estado vigília/sono no momento da crise e achados eletrencefalográficos com possibilidade de recorrência; e identificar os fatores de risco para epilepsia. Foram acompanhados 109 pacientes com idades entre 1 mês e 16 anos, com primeira crise não-provocada, em média por 24 meses, a intervalos trimestrais, no Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA). Foram realizados eletrencefalogramas (EEG) após a primeira crise; depois, solicitados anualmente. Não foram incluídos casos com epilepsia ou síndrome epiléptica bem definida, ou que fizeram uso prévio de drogas antiepilépticas. A média de idade foi 6 anos, com predomínio da faixa etária de 6 a 12 anos. Setenta eram meninos e 39, meninas. Os indivíduos brancos eram 92, e os não-brancos, 17. O nível de escolaridade dos casos esteve de acordo com a distribuição da idade e, entre os responsáveis, predominaram 8 anos de escolaridade. Foi possível concluir que as crises únicas não-provocadas mais freqüentes foram generalizadas, e sem predomínio significativo do tipo de EEG. A incidência de crise não-provocada recorrente foi 51,4%. História de intercorrências pré-natais maternas aumentou em 2 vezes o risco de repetição de crises. Via de nascimento, escore de Apgar no 5º minuto, relação peso ao nascer/idade gestacional, intercorrências no período pós-natal imediato e desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor não tiveram influência na recorrência. História familiar de crises mostrou tendência à significância estatística para repetição dos episódios, com risco de 1,7. Não foi encontrada associação entre tipo de crise e achado eletrencefalográfico. A maioria das crises foi de curta duração (até 5 minutos), mas este dado não esteve relacionado com a recorrência. Estado de vigília teve efeito protetor na recorrência. Se a primeira crise foi parcial, o risco de repetição foi 1,62, com tendência à significância. Quando o primeiro EEG foi alterado, houve relação significativa com primeira crise tanto generalizada como parcial. O primeiro EEG com alterações paroxísticas focais apontou risco de repetição de 2,90. Quando as variáveis envolvidas na repetição de crises foram ajustadas pelo modelo de regressão de Cox, EEG alterado mostrou risco de 2,48, com riscos acumulados de 50%, 60%, 62% e 68%; com EEG normal, os riscos foram 26%, 32%, 34% e 36% em 6, 12, 18 e 24 meses respectivamente.

A influência do líder de projetos na transmissão da cultura em uma organização em rede

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal analisar a forma como os líderes de uma organização que alavanca suas atividades com uma estrutura em rede, transmitem a cultura da empresa central junto às empresas periféricas. Pretende-se investigar também se os líderes mudaram o seu papel em função da mudança da arquitetura organizacional no período considerado por alguns autores como pós-moderno. Como o tema cultura é amplo e complexo, optou-se por enfocar aspectos como a transmissão da missão e objetivos organizacionais, além do estilo de gestão predominante e sua influência no gerenciamento de projetos entre os protagonistas dessas diferentes organizações. Utilizou-se, para tanto, uma base teórico-empírica que buscou definir o conceito de cultura através do estudo do universo simbólico; a questão da liderança e sua relação com estruturas e fontes de poder e controle nas organizações; cultura e liderança no contexto brasileiro; e, por último, o conceito de organizações em rede, explorando também os aspectos de gestão, poder e controle esperado nesse tipo de arquitetura organizacional. Esta pesquisa constitui-se num estudo de caso realizado em uma instituição sem fins lucrativos, que desenvolve projetos sociais com foco em educação. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório, descritivo e explicativo. O método utilizado para a presente pesquisa foi o método qualitativo. Muitos estudos sobre cultura organizacional privilegiam o enfoque qualitativo de pesquisa, uma vez que um grande número de observações não é passível de quantificação. Utilizou-se a técnica de observação participante e de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, além da análise documental, o que possibilitou uma investigação que envolveu a combinação de descrição com interpretação do conteúdo trazido pelos respondentes em relação aos fenômenos observados. Os dados obtidos e a análise realizada frente à fundamentação teórica, indicam que o líder em uma organização em rede transmite a cultura organizacional com o mesmo discurso dominante das organizações com estruturas tradicionais. Acredita-se que este trabalho despertará interesse da comunidade acadêmica, uma vez que os aspectos culturais são normalmente pesquisados dentro da organização e aqui se ressalta a importância de se analisar o contexto no qual a organização está inserida e o papel que o líder assume na gestão das atividades realizadas por terceiros. Estaria o gestor brasileiro disposto a abrir mão do poder e controle que a posição hierárquica lhe confere para trabalhar em uma relação de igualdade com representantes de outras organizações?

Entry strategies into biosimilars: assessment of entry modes into the field of biosimilars from the perspective of pharmaceuticals, generics and biologics companies

Indústria farmacêutica de hoje está em transição. Como grandes blockbuster drogas estão perdendo ou estão prestes a perder a proteção de patente, e as grandes empresas farmacêuticas não estão substituindo os produtos com novas drogas químicas inovadoras, a indústria busca novas áreas de crescimento. Uma dessas áreas é o mercado de biossimilares, que está sendo inseridos por produtos farmacêuticos, genéricos e empresas de produtos biológicos. Mesmo que o grande potencial de mercado será acordado por volta de 2020, quando importantes blockbusters biológicos perder a proteção de patente, as empresas precisam decidir logo se querem participar ou não devido a elevadas barreiras à entrada técnicos, bem como de desenvolvimento de longo prazos. Como todas as empresas vêm de diferentes origens, compreendem capacidades diferentes e têm diferentes incentivos de entrada, a questão que surge é se esses fatos estão relacionados com as suas estratégias de entrada correspondentes. A tese utiliza estudos de caso de cada segmento da indústria farmacêutica - produtos farmacêuticos, biológicos e genéricos - e examina através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, por isso que os participantes do estudo de caso entrevistados explicitamente escolhido sua estratégia de entrada. Os dados de entrevistas será então ligada a quadros estratégicos da revisão da literatura e irá ser utilizado para uma comparação global e análise. O estudo revelou que o fundo do participante do mercado que influenciam a sua estratégia de entrada. Os principais pontos de influência derivam tanto as barreiras à entrada, bem como os incentivos de entrada. A tese não é possível determinar o sucesso futuro do modo de entrada analisados no novo mercado.

Neuronal Assembly Detection and Cell Membership Specification by Principal Component Analysis

LOPES-DOS-SANTOS, V. , CONDE-OCAZIONEZ, S. ; NICOLELIS, M. A. L. , RIBEIRO, S. T. , TORT, A. B. L. . Neuronal assembly detection and cell membership specification by principal component analysis. Plos One, v. 6, p. e20996, 2011.

Ketamine alters oscillatory coupling in the hoppocampus

Recent studies show that higher order oscillatory interactions such as cross-frequency coupling are important for brain functions that are impaired in schizophrenia, including perception, attention and memory. Here we investigated the dynamics of oscillatory coupling in the hippocampus of awake rats upon NMDA receptor blockade by ketamine, a pharmacological model of schizophrenia. Ketamine (25, 50 and 75 mg/kg i.p.) increased gamma and high-frequency oscillations (HFO) in all depths of the CA1-dentate axis, while theta power changes depended on anatomical location and were independent of a transient increase of delta oscillations. Phase coherence of gamma and HFO increased across hippocampal layers. Phase-amplitude coupling between theta and fast oscillations was markedly altered in a dose-dependent manner: ketamine increased hippocampal theta-HFO coupling at all doses, while theta-gamma coupling increased at the lowest dose and was disrupted at the highest dose. Our results demonstrate that ketamine alters network interactions that underlie cognitively relevant theta-gamma coupling.

Local Field Potentials in the Gustatory Cortex Carry Taste Information

It has been recently shownthat localfield potentials (LFPs)fromthe auditory and visual cortices carry information about sensory stimuli, but whether this is a universal property of sensory cortices remains to be determined. Moreover, little is known about the temporal dynamics of sensory information contained in LFPs following stimulus onset. Here we investigated the time course of the amount of stimulus information in LFPs and spikes from the gustatory cortex of awake rats subjected to tastants and water delivery on the tongue. We found that the phase and amplitude of multiple LFP frequencies carry information about stimuli, which have specific time courses after stimulus delivery. The information carried by LFP phase and amplitude was independent within frequency bands, since the joint information exhibited neither synergy nor redundancy. Tastant information in LFPs was also independent and had a different time course from the information carried by spikes. These findings support the hypothesis that the brain uses different frequency channels to dynamically code for multiple features of a stimulus.

O uso do móbile marketing como estratégia de fidelização de clientes :um estudo e empresas do setor de comércio e serviços em natal-RN

This study aims to understand the effects of the mobile marketing use as a relationships tool for companies that operate locally, because of the lack of information about this new marketing tool, as well as the scarcity of studies in this area. This is an exploratory and qualitatively study, based on primary sources, raised through books, articles in the marketing area and the telecommunications industry organs as well as secondary sources. With the purpose to look into the issue, a semi-structured interview is made with the companies managers of the sectors of trade and services in Natal-RN. The advances in technology allow an important discussion focused on the marketing in the new communication technologies scenario. It appears that the mobile marketing adoption and use by local companies is already a reality and companies are awake to changes and technological innovations accessible, especially the mobile telephony as well as convergence with other media. There is, however, that the use of technologies offered by mobile marketing is still limited to the sending of text messages (SMS), despite the numerous possibilities of it use. Moreover, the results obtained with mobile marketing use show that companies can identify them, but there is no effective monitoring in quantity and financial terms. Only affect sales growth and support for progress in loyalty with customers. It shows up that the mentality of not measuring the results still in the plan of changes and technological innovations. The data allow saying that the mobile marketing is a reality, however has not yet signed as a tool for carrying out campaigns and marketing tool for loyalty of customers, despite presenting a wide range of possibilities to streamline and make more effective the marketing businesses process

Favela não é o lugar, são as pessoas . Desconstruindo a relação entre lugar e violência no Sarney e no Japão, Natal/RN

The city is the privileged place construction of social and political life, and the gathering of social groups. Meeting place, the diversity and possibilities. But the urban universe which cities belong is not a homogeneous whole. There are spaces demarcated and valued ideologically creating antithetical images about places that are now recognized as violent or dangerous. Peripheral urban situations of unprivileged add to theprejudices to the origin of place within the neighborlyallotments José Sarney and Novo Horizonte (Japan Slum) / Natal-RN, which are reproduced in narratives of everyday life. Spatial divisions are exploited, mixed and repeated to maintain social distances through rites of separations and dichotomies such as neighborhood/joint housing, allotment/slum and the people of the high place/the people of the down place. Social categories such as buraco(hole) and cabras (goats) are evoked to interpret the world of violence and places regarded as dangerous. The prominence of hypermasculinity and perception of children and adolescents living on the outer elements are brought up to the interpretation of images evoked in interviews with residents and their neighbors

Influência da alimentação sobre os níveis de retinol do leite caprino

The caprine milk is a product of high biological value and high digestibility. Due to these characteristics it is quite used by newly born children that are not breastfed or that are intolerant to the bovine milk. The vitamin deficiency is a public health problem in underdeveloped areas as the Northeast of Brazil and where areas the caprine ones adapt very well. The present study was led to analyze the influence of the feeding in the vitamin levels in the caprine milk. The animals used were the races Saanen and Murciana, divided in three groups. The first group with 38 animals of race Saanen and the second with 30 animals of race Murciana were, fed with concentrated and voluminous. A third group with 20 animals of the race Saanen was fed exclusively with voluminous. The four group was added with 10. 000 UI of retinol palmitato, administered directly, like capsule, in the mouth of animal. Parallel it was verified the level of retinol of milk in the beginning and final of the sucked, in the goats of the second group (race Murciana n =30). The retinol of caprine milk was determined through the system of liquid cromatografia of high efficiency (HPLC). The retinol levels in the studied groups were respectively: first (38. 5 ± 12. 7 μg/100ml), second (40. 5 ± 9. 7 μg/100ml); third, with 20 animals of race Saanen fed exclusively with voluminous (23. 1 ± 6. 7 μg/100ml) and in the group a, suplementation with 10. 000 UI of retinol palmitato (43,7 ± 18,8 μg/100ml) before, and (61,9 ± 26,9 μg/100ml) after the supplementation. It was not found significant difference between the averages from animals of the first and second group, that were fed with the same concentrate diet and voluminous, showing that the retinol levels in the milk of these two races are equivalent. Already in the animals of the first and third group that they were fed with different diets, in those which diet was just voluminous, a drastic reduction was verified in the retinol levels. In relation to the retinol of the milk in different moments from the same sucked, it was observed in the beginning of the breast-feeding (22. 6 ± 9. 8 μg/100ml) and at the end of the sucked (49. 6 ± 14. 7μg/100ml), being the difference between the averages, statistically significant (p < 0,0001). Already in the animals that were supplemented, a significant increase was observed in the retinol concentration, being obtained a medium response of 41,85%

Ocorrência da infecção por Toxoplasma gondii e avaliação da imunização em caprinos do sertão do cabugi, Rio Grande do Norte

Toxoplasmosis is one zoonosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii protozoan. Goats, amongst the production animals, are one of the species most susceptible to this parasite, being one them main involved agents in ovine and goat abortions, determining great economic losses and implications for public health, since the presence it parasite in the products of goat origin, consist in one of the main sources of infection for the man. In this study 244 blood samples in 8 farms situated in 4 cities from the Sertão do Cabugi region, Rio Grande do Norte State, northeast of Brazil and, tested by ELISA assay. The results had shown a prevalence of 47.13% for anti- T. gondii antibodies and a significant association between positivity and variable evaluated as age, locality and property. The IgG avidity assay evaluated in 115 positive samples was carried to discriminate acute and chronic infection. Twelve samples (10.4%) had presented antibodies of low avidity while 103 (89.6%) presented high avidity antibodies; indicating that most of the animals was precocious exposure to the parasite. Significant difference was verified only for the variable sex. We also evaluate the capacity of recombinant adenoviruses codifying SAG1, SAG2, SAG3 and CMV in inducing activation of specific immune response in goat. These 109 animals received 109 pfu of the AdSAG1, AdSAG2, AdSAG3, AdCMV or PBS in vaccine protocol with 3 immunizations. Serum samples of the each animal, before and after mmunization, had been submitted to the ELISA. The results demonstrate that the immunizations had induced the production of IgG antibodies specific against T. gondii proteins

Avaliação de diferentes formas de preservação e desenvolvimento in situ de folículos ovarianos pré-antrais caprinos

This study evaluated the effect of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in the activation of goats preantral follicles (FOPA). Were used four pairs of ovaries of adult mixed breed goats. Each ovarian pair was divided into 23 fragments. One fragment was fixed for histology and other fragment was using to follicular isolation procedure. The remaining fragments were cultured in 1.0 ml of Minimum Essential Medium (MEM) or MEM supplemented with IAA at concentrations of 10, 40, 100, 500 or 1000 ng/mL. The in vitro culture was performed at 39°C in incubator with 5% CO2 for 1, 3 and 5 days. After in vitro culture was evaluated histological integrity and viability of FOPA. The addition of 100 ng/ml of IAA to MEM showed a significant increase in follicles transition in the third day of in vitro culture, characterizing follicular activation. Moreover, this concentration was obtained maintaining the histological integrity of PAF by the fifth day of in vitro culture. The viability test confirmed the results of histology. Thus, we conclude that IAA can promote the activation of goats FOPA