Somatotropina bovina (rbST) recombinante sobre as características físico-químicas da carne de cabritos

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Animal performance, feeding behaviour and carcass traits of feedlot cattle diet fed with agro-industrial by-product as fat source

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

Meat characteristics of nellore cattle fed different levels of lipid-based diets

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the dietary inclusion of lipid-based diets (whole cottonseed and protected fat) on the centesimal composition, fatty acid profile, and sensory properties of meat from finishing Nellore cattle. The study was carried out from August to October 2009. Thirty nine uncastrated Nellore males with average initial body weight of 494.1 ± 10.1 kg and 36 months of age were housed for 63 days in pens with thirteen animals each. A completely randomized design with three treatments and thirteen replications was used. The treatments evaluated were: feed with 2.50% cottonseed (control diet); feed with 11.50% cottonseed; and feed with 3.13% cottonseed added of protected lipid (PL), all on a dry matter basis. No differences between treatments were observed for moisture, protein, and ash contents. However, the addition of protected fat caused an increase in the percentage of ether extract in the meat. Diets containing cottonseed or protected lipid did not affect fatty acid concentration in the meat. The intensity of the aroma, strange aroma, flavor, strange flavor, juiciness, color, and overall appearance were similar between treatments, except for tenderness, which was positively affected in cattle fed a diet in which the only lipid source was cottonseed. The study demonstrated that the addition of PL in the diets of finishing cattle led to greater levels of intramuscular fat, but to less tender meat than the other treatments.

Adjuvantes na deposição de aplicações aéreas e terrestres

The Asian rust currently is the main disease of soybean culture, having as characteristics the difficult control, by start at the bottom of plants where penetration of the droplets is harder. The fine droplets has been used with the intention of improve the penetration and increase efficiency of agrochemicals, but that are losses by drift easily. New products have been developed to increase deposition of the drops at targets. The aim of this work was evaluate the TA- 35 capacity to improving the deposition of fungicides spray solution with or without mineral oil by aerial and ground applications. Was used a factorial 3x2, three spray solutions composed by Priori Xtra (concentrated suspension of azoxystrobin 200 g L-1 + cyproconazole 80 g L-1 ) mixed with adjuvants, Nimbus (emulsifiable concentrate containing aliphatic hydrocarbons 428 g L-1 ) and TA-35 (soluble concentrate containing sodium lauryl ether sulfate, surfactants, sequestering agents and emulsifiers), in aerial and ground applications. In ground applications was used 50 L ha-1 , TXA 8002 VS spray nozzles and on aerials was used 15 L ha-1 , Turboaero atomizer, both applying fine droplets. Was utilized the Brilliant Blue (FD & C n. 1) tracer to determine the deposits. There were used glass slides as targets to collect spray droplets. After to extract the tracer of the targets using distilled water, the samples were analyzed by spectrophotometry, thereby was possible quantify the tracer deposited on each glass slide. A study to evaluate possible losses of the tracer by degradation or retention also was done. The comparative analysis of treatments was done by statistical method "Confidence Interval for Differences Between the Averages" with 95% of confidence degree (IC95%). There was degradation or retention of the tracer between the processes of application of the droplets and the processing of the samples. The deposition averages with the presence of TA-35 were greatest for both sprayers however, there were not significant differences among the treatments. The viability of TA-35 use may consider other parameters or complementary studies.

Influência de adjuvantes no espectro de gotas de ponta com indução de ar

This study aimed to verify the influence of adjuvants on the droplet spectrum of an air induction nozzle. The experiment used nine spray solutions, one including only water and eight containing adjuvants: Nimbus® (mineral oil), Óleo vegetal Nortox (vegetal oil), Li-700® (a mixture of lecithin and propionic acid), Agral® (nonyl phenoxy poly ethanol), In-Tec® (nonyl phenol ethoxylate), Antideriva (nonyl phenol ethoxylate), Silwet® L-77 Ag (copolymer polyester and silicon) and TA 35 (sodium lauryl ether sulfate). A flat fan air induction nozzle Hypro® Guardian Air 110 03 was used for the droplet spectrum evaluation. The study was conducted at the Laboratory for Particle Size Analysis (Lapar), at FCAV/UNESP, Jaboticabal/SP - Brazil. The determination of the droplet spectrum characteristics (Volume Median Diameter/VMD, percentage of droplets smaller than 100 micrometers and span) was carried out by a particle size analyzer by laser diffraction Mastersizer S (Malvern Instruments). For statistical analysis the mean values were compared using Confidence Interval at 95% (CI 95%). The results showed that for the Hypro® GA air induction nozzle the oil based adjuvants (Óleo Vegetal Nortox e Nimbus®) increased the VMD. The percentage of droplets smaller than 100 micrometers was lower for the Agral®, Antideriva, In-Tec® e TA 35, in comparison with the Óleo Vegetal Nortox and Li-700®. The span was higher for the oil based adjuvants (Óleo Vegetal Nortox e Nimbus®) and lower for the TA 35 (sodium lauryl ether sulfate), showing that the TA 35 adjuvant has a potential to improve the quality of the droplet spectrum of the Hypro® GA 11003 nozzle.

Construção e validação de um túnel de vento para ensaios de estimativa da deriva em pulverizações agrícolas

The aim of this study was to build and validate a low cost reduced-scale wind tunnel for drift evaluation on pesticide application technology. The work was carried out at the NEMPA - Núcleo de Ensaio de Máquinas e Pneus Agroflorestais (NEMPA), FCA/UNESP, Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Botucatu/SP, Brazil. The wind tunnel main characteristics were an open circuit and a closed working section with a fan blowing air into the tunnel. Screens were fitted downstream after the fan in order to stabilize the air flow on the working section. The tunnel was built with 3.0 mm eucalyptus hardboard, with a total length of 4.8 m and a squared section of 0.56 m. The air flow was provided by a 180 W axial fan. The system was adjusted and calibrated to provide a laminar and stable flow at 2.0 m s-1. Validation studies were carried out by using a Teejet XR 8003 flat fan nozzle at 200 kPa (medium droplets) to apply a spray solutions containing water plus a food dye (Blue FDC) at 0,6% m v-1 mixed with two adjuvants: a polymer based anti drift formulation at 0,06% m v-1 and a sodium lauryl ether sulfate based surfactant at 0,2% v v-1. After a 10-second application the drift was collected on nylon strips transversally fixed along the tunnel at different distances from the nozzle and different high from the bottom part of the tunnel. Drift deposits were evaluated by spectrophotometry. The wind tunnel had low levels of turbulence and high repeatability of the data, which means that the flow was uniform and able to be used for carrying out measures to estimate drift. The validation results showed that the tunnel was effective to enable comparative drift measurements on the spray solution used in this work making possible the evaluation of drift risk potential under those spray technologies. The use of an adjuvant based on a polymer reduced the amount of drift from the nozzle compared to the surfactant.

Avaliação da eficiência nutricional e economica de dietas para papagaios verdadeiros (Amazona aestiva) em cativeiro

Pós-graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia Animal - FEIS

Biodegradation of Thermoplastic and hermosetting Polyesters from Z-Protected Glutamic Acid

In a previous article,1 the development and molecular characterization of three polyesters from N-carbobenzyloxy-L-glutamic acid (ZGluOH) were reported. The polymers were a linear, heterochain polyester (ZGluOH and ethylene glycol), a crosslinked heterochain polyester (ZGluOH and diglycidyl ether of 1,4-butanediol), and a crosslinked, heterochain aromatic polyester (ZGluOH and diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A). In this manuscript, results of biodegradation studies are reported. The three polymers hydrolyzed to low molecular weight oligomers similar to the monomers with lipase. When exposed to a mixed culture of micro-organisms, the first two resins degraded to biomass and respiratory gases. The crosslinked heterochain aromatic polyester resisted microbial degradation.

Chemical evaluation and thermal behavior of Brazil nut oil obtained by different extraction processes

Brazil nut richness has been widely studied aiming at finding transformation models that increase its yield, keep its quality, reduce costs, and increase its productivity. The objective of this study is to evaluate the spectroscopic profile and the chemical and thermal behavior of Brazil nut oil obtained by different extraction processes. Lipid soxhlet extractions with petroleum ether and hexane, and using hydraulic pressing and supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) were performed. The physicochemical analyses showed an acidity index with significant differences between the samples obtained by hydraulic pressing and supercritical CO2. The peroxide index presented significant difference for the oil obtained by hydraulic pressing compared to that obtained by the other extraction processes. The fatty acid profiles showed a relevant presence of the omega series (w-3, w-6, and w-9) with significant differences for the extraction processes evaluated. The results of the thermogravimetric and differential analyses did not indicate changes in mass loss and presented predominantly exothermic behavior. The spectroscopic profiles indicate that the extraction processes do not change the spectral profile of the oils. (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intake, nutrient apparent digestibility and ruminal constituents of sheep fed diets with canola, sunflower or castor oils

The objective in this experiment was to determine the effects of feeding diets with canola, sunflower or castor oils on intake, nutrient apparent digestibility and ruminal constituents of crossbred Dorper x Santa Ines sheep. Four rumen-cannulated animals of 90.2 +/- 11.4 kg average body weight were assigned to a 4 x 4 latin square. Animals remained individually in cages for the metabolism assay and were fed diets containing roughage at 500 g/kg and concentrate based on ground corn and soybean meal also at 500 g/kg. No oil was added to the control diet, whereas the others had canola, sunflower or castor oils at 30 g/kg (DM basis). There was no difference for the intake of DM and nutrients, except for ether extract, which was greater when animals received oil. The digestibility coefficients of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, non-fiber carbohydrates and neutral detergent fiber were not changed; however, the addition of oil increased the ether extract digestibility. The values of total digestible nutrients (TDN, g/kg of DM), digestible energy (DE, Mcal/kg of DM), TDN intake and DE intake also did not change with the addition of lipids. Concerning the ruminal constituents, the addition of vegetable oils reduced the concentrations of acetate, butyrate and total short-chain fatty acids. Adding canola, sunflower or castor oils at 30 g/kg in diets with 500 g roughage/kg and 500 g concentrate/kg does not impair the intake or digestibility of nutrients in sheep, although it reduces the concentration of short-chain fatty acids in the rumen.

Simultaneous determination of dextromethorphan, dextrorphan and doxylamine in human plasma by HPLC coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry: Application to a pharmacokinetic study

In the present study, a fast, sensitive and robust method to quantify dextromethorphan, dextrorphan and doxylamine in human plasma using deuterated internal standards (IS) is described. The analytes and the IS were extracted from plasma by a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) using diethyl-ether/hexane (80/20, v/v). Extracted samples were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). Chromatographic separation was performed by pumping the mobile phase (acetonitrile/water/formic acid (90/9/1, v/v/v) during 4.0 min at a flow-rate of 1.5 mL min(-1) into a Phenomenex Gemini (R) C18, 5 mu m analytical column (150 x 4.6 mm id.). The calibration curve was linear over the range from 0.2 to 200 ng mL(-1) for dextromethorphan and doxylamine and 0.05 to 10 ng mL(-1) for dextrorphan. The intra-batch precision and accuracy (%CV) of the method ranged from 2.5 to 9.5%, and 88.9 to 105.1%, respectively. Method inter-batch precision (%CV) and accuracy ranged from 6.7 to 10.3%, and 92.2 to 107.1%, respectively. The run-time was for 4 min. The analytical procedure herein described was used to assess the pharmacokinetics of dextromethorphan, dextrorphan and doxylamine in healthy volunteers after a single oral dose of a formulation containing 30 mg of dextromethorphan hydrobromide and 12.5 mg of doxylamine succinate. The method has high sensitivity, specificity and allows high throughput analysis required for a pharmacokinetic study. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enantioselective analysis of unbound tramadol, O-desmethyltramadol and N-desmethyltramadol in plasma by ultrafiltration and LC-MS/MS: Application to clinical pharmacokinetics

This study describes the enantioselective analysis of unbound and total concentrations of tramadol and its main metabolites O-desmethyltramadol (M1) and N-desmethyltramadol (M2) in human plasma. Sample preparation was preceded by an ultrafiltration step to separate the unbound drug. Both the ultrafiltrate and plasma samples were submitted to liquid/liquid extraction with methyl t-butyl ether. Separation was performed on a Chiralpak (R) AD column and tandem mass spectrometry consisting of an electrospray ionization source, positive ion mode and multiple reaction monitoring was used as the detection system. Linearity was observed in the following ranges: 0.2-600 and 0.5-250 ng/mL for analysis of total and unbound concentrations of the tramadol enantiomers, respectively, and 0.1-300 and 0.25-125 ng/mL for total and unbound concentrations of the M1 and M2 enantiomers, respectively. The lower limits of quantitation were 0.2 and 0.5 ng/mL for analysis of total and unbound concentration of each tramadol enantiomer, respectively, and 0.1 and 0.25 ng/mL for total and unbound concentrations of M1 and M2 enantiomers, respectively. Intra- and interassay reproducibility and inaccuracy did not exceed 15%. Clinical application of the method to patients with neuropathic pain showed plasma accumulation of (+)-tramadol and (+)-M2 after a single oral dose of racemic tramadol. Fractions unbound of tramadol, M1 or M2 were not enantioselective in the patients investigated. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The influence of different co-catalysts in Pt-based ternary and quaternary electro-catalysts on the electro-oxidation of methanol and ethanol in acid media

One of the key objectives in fuel cell technology is to reduce Pt loading by the improvement of its catalytic activity towards alcohol oxidation. Here, a sol-gel based method was used to prepare ternary and quaternary carbon supported nanoparticles by combining Pt-Ru with Mo, Ta, Pb, Rh or Ir, which were used as electro-catalysts for the methanol and ethanol oxidation reactions in acid medium. Structural characterization performed by XRD measurements revealed that crystalline structures with crystallites ranging from 2.8 to 4.1 nm in size and with different alloy degrees were produced. Tantalum and lead deposited as a heterogeneous mixture of oxides with different valences resulting in materials with complex structures. The catalysts activities were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and by Tafel plots and the results showed that the activity towards methanol oxidation was highly dependent of the alloy degree, while for ethanol the presence of a metal capable to promote the break of C-C bond, such as Rh, was necessary for a good performance. Additionally, the catalysts containing of TaOx or PbOx resulted in the best materials due to different effects: the hi-functional mechanism promoted by TaOx and a better dispersion of the catalysts constituents promoted by PbOx. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study of quercetin-loaded liposomes as potential drug carriers: in vitro evaluation of human complement activation

Liposomes have been employed as potential drug carriers. However, after their in vivo administration, they can be destabilized by proteins of complement system, contributing to the clearance of vesicles from blood circulation. Antioxidant flavonoids such as quercetin have been reported to be beneficial to human health, but their low water solubility and bioavailability limit their enteric administration. Therefore, the development of appropriate flavonoid-carriers could be of great importance to drug therapy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the activation of human complement system proteins by liposomes composed of soya phosphatidylcholine (SPC) and cholesterol (CHOL) or cholesteryl ethyl ether (CHOL-OET) loaded with quercetin or not. The consumption of complement, via classical (CP) and alternative (AP) pathways, by different vesicles was evaluated using a hemolytic assay and quantitative determination of iC3b and natural antibodies deposited on empty liposomal surfaces by ELISA. The main results showed that empty liposomes composed of large amounts of CHOL consumed more complement components than the others for both CP and AP. Furthermore, replacement of CHOL with CHOL-OET reduced complement consumption via both CP and AP. Incorporation of quercetin did not change CP and AP consumption. Deposition of iC3b, IgG and IgM in vesicles composed of SPC: CHOL-OET at a molar ratio of 1.5:1 was lower compared to the others. Taken together, these observations suggest that liposomes composed of SPC: CHOL-OET at a molar ratio of 1.5:1 are the most appropriate among the vesicles studied herein to be used as a drug carrier system in further investigations.

Analysis of carvedilol enantiomers in human plasma using chiral stationary phase column and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

Carvedilol is an antihypertensive drug available as a racemic mixture. (-)-(S)-carvedilol is responsible for the nonselective beta-blocker activity but both enantiomers present similar activity on a1-adrenergic receptor. To our knowledge, this is the first study of carvedilol enantiomers in human plasma using a chiral stationary phase column and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The method involves plasma extraction with diisopropyl ether using metoprolol as internal standard and direct separation of the carvedilol enantiomers on a Chirobiotic T (R) (Teicoplanin) column. Protonated ions [M + H]+ and their respective ion products were monitored at transitions of 407 > 100 for the carvedilol enantiomers and 268 > 116 for the internal standard. The quantification limit was 0.2 ng ml-1 for both enantiomers in plasma. The method was applied to study enantioselectivity in the pharmacokinetics of carvedilol administered as a single dose of 25 mg to a hypertensive patient. The results showed a higher plasma concentration of (+)-(R)-carvedilol (AUC08 205.52 vs. 82.61 (ng h) ml-1), with an enantiomer ratio of 2.48. Chirality, 2012. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.