Digestible tryptophan:lysine ratio for laying hens

The objective of this study was to evaluate the requirement of digestible tryptophan for white laying hens in the production stage fed diets of different digestible tryptophan: digestible lysine ratios, as well as animal performance and histological alterations in their reproductive and digestive systems. A total of 280 white laying hens at 29 weeks of age were distributed in a completely randomized design with five treatments and seven replications with eight birds in each. The treatments consisted of a base feed, formulated with corn, soybean meal and corn gluten meal, and supplemented with the synthetic amino acids L-lysine, DL-methionine, L-threonine, L-isoleucine, L-arginine, and L-valine, so as to meet the nutritional requirements for laying hens, except for digestible tryptophan. The basal diet was supplemented with 0.00; 0.017; 0.035; 0.052; and 0.069 g/kg of L-tryptophan in substitution for corn starch with the objective of reaching the levels of 0.151; 0.167; 0.183; 0.199; and 0.215 g/kg of digestible tryptophan in the feed. For the ratio between digestible amino acids and lysine, the recommendation of Brazilian Tables for Poultry and Swine was followed, except for the digestible tryptophan: digestible lysine ratios, which were 19, 21, 23, 25 and 27 for each treatment. The variation in the digestible tryptophan: digestible lysine ratio promoted changes in performance and in the histological characteristics, improving the results. The digestible tryptophan: digestible lysine ratio of 24.5% in the feed of white laying hens in production stage promotes better animal performance and histological results.

Reduced platelet amyloid precursor protein ratio (APP ratio) predicts conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease

Studies have shown that platelet APP ratio (representing the percentage of 120-130 kDa to 110 kDa isoforms of the amyloid precursor protein) is reduced in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, we sought to determine if baseline APP ratio predicts the conversion from MCI to AD dementia after 4 years of longitudinal assessment. Fifty-five older adults with varying degrees of cognitive impairment (34 with MCI and 21 with AD) were assessed at baseline and after 4 years. MCI patients were re-classified according to the conversion status upon follow-up: 25 individuals retained the diagnostic status of MCI and were considered as stable cases (MCI-MCI); conversely, in nine cases the diagnosis of dementia due to AD was ascertained. The APP ratio (APPr) was determined by the Western blot method in samples of platelets collected at baseline. We found a significant reduction of APPr in MCI patients who converted to dementia upon follow-up. These individuals had baseline APPr values similar to those of demented AD patients. The overall accuracy of APPr to identify subjects with MCI who will progress to AD was 0.74 +/- A 0.10, p = 0.05. The cut-off of 1.12 yielded a sensitivity of 75 % and a specificity of 75 %. Platelet APPr may be a surrogate marker of the disease process in AD, with potential implications for the assessment of abnormalities in the APP metabolism in patients with and at risk for dementia. However, diagnostic accuracy was relatively low. Therefore, studies in larger samples are needed to determine whether APPr may warrant its use as a biomarker to support the early diagnosis of AD.

Influence of different resistance exercise loading schemes on mechanical power output in work to rest ratio - equated and - nonequated conditions

Paulo CA, Roschel H, Ugrinowitsch C, Kobal R and Tricoli V. Influence of different resistance exercise loading schemes on mechanical power output in work to rest ratio-equated and -nonequated conditions. J Strength Cond Res 26(5): 1308-1312, 2012-It is well known that most sports are characterized by the performance of intermittent high-intensity actions, requiring high muscle power production within different intervals. In fact, the manipulation of the exercise to rest ratio in muscle power training programs may constitute an interesting strategy when considering the specific performance demand of a given sport modality. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different schemes of rest intervals and number of repetitions per set on muscle power production in the squat exercise between exercise to rest ratio-equated and -nonequated conditions. Nineteen young males (age: 25.7 +/- 4.4 years; weight: 81.3 +/- 13.7 kg; height: 178.1 +/- 5.5 cm) were randomly submitted to 3 different resistance exercise loading schemes, as follows: short-set short-interval condition (SSSI; 12 sets of 3 repetitions with a 27.3-second interval between sets); short-set long-interval condition (SSLI; 12 sets of 3 repetitions with a 60-second interval between sets); long-set long-interval (LSLI; 6 sets of 6 repetitions with a 60-second rest interval between sets). The main finding of the present study is that the lower exercise to rest ratio protocol (SSLI) resulted in greater average power production (601.88 +/- 142.48 W) when compared with both SSSI and LSLI (581.86 +/- 113.18 W; 578 +/- 138.78 W, respectively). Additionally, both the exercise to rest ratio-equated conditions presented similar performance and metabolic results. In summary, these findings suggest that shorter rest intervals may fully restore the individual's ability to produce muscle power if a smaller exercise volume per set is performed and that lower exercise to rest ratio protocols result in greater average power production when compared with higher ratio ones.

The vulnerable male, or the sex ratio among fetal deaths in Brazil

Some studies indicate the existence of innate male vulnerabilities, especially during the perinatal period. The current study is a cross-sectional analysis of fetal mortality in Brazil according to sex from 2000 to 2009, stratified by maternal characteristics (age, schooling, and gestational age), using Ministry of Health data (DATASUS). The analysis included all fetal deaths from 2000 to 2009, except when the sex of the fetus was not recorded. The male/female sex ratio (SR) for all fetal deaths was 1.188. Analysis of maternal characteristics showed that the SR was statistically higher (p < 0.01) in mothers that were younger (10-14 years), had no formal schooling, and with gestational age < 22 weeks. The study showed a statistically higher-than-expected SR (p < 0.01) for 13 underlying causes of death and a lower SR for two others. The results suggest a potential innate male vulnerability.

Describing fatigue crack growth and load ratio effects in Al 2524 T3 alloy with an enhanced exponential model

The fatigue crack behavior in metals and alloys under constant amplitude test conditions is usually described by relationships between the crack growth rate da/dN and the stress intensity factor range Delta K. In the present work, an enhanced two-parameter exponential equation of fatigue crack growth was introduced in order to describe sub-critical crack propagation behavior of Al 2524-T3 alloy, commonly used in aircraft engineering applications. It was demonstrated that besides adequately correlating the load ratio effects, the exponential model also accounts for the slight deviations from linearity shown by the experimental curves. A comparison with Elber, Kujawski and "Unified Approach" models allowed for verifying the better performance, when confronted to the other tested models, presented by the exponential model. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy after d2-lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer: the role of n-ratio in patient selection. results of a single cancer center

Background: Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy is part of a multimodality treatment approach in order to improve survival outcomes after surgery for gastric cancer. The aims of this study are to describe the results of gastrectomy and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients treated in a single institution, and to identify prognostic factors that could determine which individuals would benefit from this treatment. Methods: This retrospective study included patients with pathologically confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma who underwent surgical treatment with curative intent in a single cancer center in Brazil, between 1998 and 2008. Among 327 patients treated in this period, 142 were selected. Exclusion criteria were distant metastatic disease (M1), T1N0 tumors, different multimodality treatments and tumors of the gastric stump. Another 10 individuals were lost to follow-up and there were 3 postoperative deaths. The role of several clinical and pathological variables as prognostic factors was determined. Results: D2-lymphadenectomy was performed in 90.8% of the patients, who had 5-year overall and disease-free survival of 58.9% and 55.7%. The interaction of N-category and N-ratio, extended resection and perineural invasion were independent prognostic factors for overall and disease-free survival. Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy was not associated with a significant improvement in survival. Patients with node-positive disease had improved survival with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy, especially when we grouped patients with N1 and N2 tumors and a higher N-ratio. These individuals had worse disease-free (30.3% vs. 48.9%) and overall survival (30.9% vs. 71.4%). Conclusion: N-category and N-ratio interaction, perineural invasion and extended resections were prognostic factors for survival in gastric cancer patients treated with D2-lymphadenectomy, but adjuvant chemoradiotherapy was not. There may be some benefit with this treatment in patients with node-positive disease and higher N-ratio.

Protection conferred by heterologous vaccination against tuberculosis is dependent on the ratio of CD4(+)/CD4(+) Foxp3(+) cells

CD4(+) Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells inhibit the production of interferon-?, which is the major mediator of protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In this study, we evaluated whether the protection conferred by three different vaccines against tuberculosis was associated with the number of spleen and lung regulatory T cells. We observed that after homologous immunization with the 65 000 molecular weight heat-shock protein (hsp 65) DNA vaccine, there was a significantly higher number of spleen CD4(+) Foxp3(+) cells compared with non-immunized mice. Heterologous immunization using bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) to prime and DNA-hsp 65 to boost (BCG/DNA-hsp 65) or BCG to prime and culture filtrate proteins (CFP)-CpG to boost (BCG/CFP-CpG) induced a significantly higher ratio of spleen CD4(+)/CD4(+) Foxp3(+) cells compared with non-immunized mice. In addition, the protection conferred by either the BCG/DNA-hsp 65 or the BCG/CFP-CpG vaccines was significant compared with the DNA-hsp 65 vaccine. Despite the higher ratio of spleen CD4(+)/CD4(+) Foxp3(+) cells found in BCG/DNA-hsp 65-immunized or BCG/CFP-CpG-immunized mice, the lungs of both groups of mice were better preserved than those of DNA-hsp 65-immunized mice. These results confirm the protective efficacy of BCG/DNA-hsp 65 and BCG/CFP-CpG heterologous prime-boost vaccines and the DNA-hsp 65 homologous vaccine. Additionally, the prime-boost regimens assayed here represent a promising strategy for the development of new vaccines to protect against tuberculosis because they probably induce a proper ratio of CD4(+) and regulatory (CD4(+) Foxp3(+)) cells during the immunization regimen. In this study, this ratio was associated with a reduced number of regulatory cells and no injury to the lungs.

OPTIMUM RATIO OF CALCIUM AND BORON IN THE NUTRIENT SOLUTION OR IN CASTOR BEAN SHOOT FOR FRUIT YIELD AND SEED OIL CONTENT

Calcium (Ca) and boron (B) have been reported as the major macro-and micronutrient required for castor bean plant yield. The objective of this study was to determine the Ca: B ratios (in the growth media and plant tissue) for fruit yield and shoot dry weight of the castor bean (Ricinus communis L.), grown in a nutrient solution, and to evaluate Ca and B supply on concentration and total uptake of Ca, potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and B, as well on the seed oil content. The treatments were arranged in a 3 x 3 factorial fashion, consisting of three rates of Ca (40, 80, and 160 mg L-1) and three of B (0.32, 0.96, and 1.60 mg L-1). Calcium and B rates increased the shoot and root dry weight and fruit yield at a Ca: B ratio in the nutrient solution of 166 and 100, respectively. Symptoms of B deficiency were observed in plants supplied with 0.32 mg B L-1, regardless of the Ca concentration in the nutrient solution. Plants which showed visual symptoms of Ca deficiency cultivated with 40 mg Ca L-1 presented concentration of Ca in plant tissue up to 10 g kg(-1). The concentration and total Ca and B uptake increased with the rates of them. Notwithstanding, the shoot Ca accumulation was improved by B rates. In addition, there were no decreases in K and Mg uptake due to Ca rates. Furthermore, addition of 80 mg L-1 of Ca and 1.60 mg L-1 of B in the growth media increased the seed oil content. The Ca: B ratio in the diagnostic leaf associated with the highest plant dry weight (shoot and root) and fruit yield, was 500 (16 to 20 g kg(-1) of Ca, and for 30 to 40 mg kg(-1) of B).

Simultaneous optical signal-to-noise ratio and differential group delay monitoring based on degree of polarization measurements in optical communications systems

We present a simultaneous optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) and differential group delay (DGD) monitoring method based on degree of polarization (DOP) measurements in optical communications systems. For the first time in the literature (to our best knowledge), the proposed scheme is demonstrated to be able to independently and simultaneously extract OSNR and DGD values from the DOP measurements. This is possible because the OSNR is related to maximum DOP, while DGD is related to the ratio between the maximum and minimum values of DOP. We experimentally measured OSNR and DGD in the ranges from 10 to 30 dB and 0 to 90 ps for a 10 Gb/s non-return-to-zero signal. A theoretical analysis of DOP accuracy needed to measure low values of DGD and high OSNRs is carried out, showing that current polarimeter technology is capable of yielding an OSNR measurement within 1 dB accuracy, for OSNR values up to 34 dB, while DGD error is limited to 1.5% for DGD values above 10 ps. For the first time to our knowledge, the technique was demonstrated to accurately measure first-order polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in the presence of a high value of second-order PMD (as high as 2071 ps(2)). (C) 2012 Optical Society of America

Experimental Comparison of Two Degrees-of-Freedom Vortex-Induced Vibration on High and Low Aspect Ratio Cylinders with Small Mass Ratio

Vortex-induced motion (VIM) is a specific way for naming the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) acting on floating units. The VIM phenomenon can occur in monocolumn production, storage and offloading system (MPSO) and spar platforms, structures presenting aspect ratio lower than 4 and unity mass ratio, i.e., structural mass equal to the displaced fluid mass. These platforms can experience motion amplitudes of approximately their characteristic diameters, and therefore, the fatigue life of mooring lines and risers can be greatly affected. Two degrees-of-freedom VIV model tests based on cylinders with low aspect ratio and small mass ratio have been carried out at the recirculating water channel facility available at NDF-EPUSP in order to better understand this hydro-elastic phenomenon. The tests have considered three circular cylinders of mass ratio equal to one and different aspect ratios, respectively L/D = 1.0, 1.7, and 2.0, as well as a fourth cylinder of mass ratio equal to 2.62 and aspect ratio of 2.0. The Reynolds number covered the range from 10 000 to 50 000, corresponding to reduced velocities from 1 to approximately 12. The results of amplitude and frequency in the transverse and in-line directions were analyzed by means of the Hilbert-Huang transform method (HHT) and then compared to those obtained from works found in the literature. The comparisons have shown similar maxima amplitudes for all aspect ratios and small mass ratio, featuring a decrease as the aspect ratio decreases. Moreover, some changes in the Strouhal number have been indirectly observed as a consequence of the decrease in the aspect ratio. In conclusion, it is shown that comparing results of small-scale platforms with those from bare cylinders, all of them presenting low aspect ratio and small mass ratio, the laboratory experiments may well be used in practical investigation, including those concerning the VIM phenomenon acting on platforms. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4006755]

BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE SAILFIN DORY Zenopsis conchifer (LOWE, 1852) CAUGHT BY DEEP-SEA TRAWLING FISHERY OFF SOUTHERN BRAZIL

Biological aspects of sailfin dory, Zenopsis conchifer, were studied from 839 individuals obtained from deep-sea commercial bottom trawling off southern Brazil at depths up to 526 m in 2002 and 2003. Samples included fish from 101 mm Lt and 15 g up to 640 mm Lt and 2,9 g. The sex-ratio was 50% at 150 mm Lt and between 300-350 mm Lt, with females outnumbering males in the remaining size classes. Reproductive activity seems to peak between July and August ( austral winter). Size at attainment of 50% maturity (Lt(50)) was 311 mm Lt in females. The mean length and maturity of the specimens increased with depth, suggesting that larger fish concentrate in deeper waters.

Hadron mass spectrum and the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio of hot hadronic matter

Lattice calculations of the QCD trace anomaly at temperatures T < 160 MeV have been shown to match hadron resonance gas model calculations, which include an exponentially rising hadron mass spectrum. In this paper we perform a more detailed comparison of the model calculations to lattice data that confirms the need for an exponentially increasing density of hadronic states. Also, we find that the lattice data is compatible with a hadron density of states that goes as rho(m) similar to m(-a) exp(m/T-H) at large m with a > 5/2 (where T-H similar to 167 MeV). With this specific subleading contribution to the density of states, heavy resonances are most likely to undergo two-body decay (instead of multiparticle decay), which facilitates their inclusion into hadron transport codes. Moreover, estimates for the shear viscosity and the shear relaxation time coefficient of the hadron resonance model computed within the excluded volume approximation suggest that these transport coefficients are sensitive to the parameters that define the hadron mass spectrum.

Is waist-to-height ratio a useful indicator of cardio-metabolic risk in 6-10-year-old children?

Background: Childhood obesity is a public health problem worldwide. Visceral obesity, particularly associated with cardio-metabolic risk, has been assessed by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, but both methods use sex-and age-specific percentile tables and are influenced by sexual maturity. Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is easier to obtain, does not involve tables and can be used to diagnose visceral obesity, even in normal-weight individuals. This study aims to compare the WHtR to the 2007 World Health Organization (WHO) reference for BMI in screening for the presence of cardio-metabolic and inflammatory risk factors in 6–10-year-old children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken with 175 subjects selected from the Reference Center for the Treatment of Children and Adolescents in Campos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The subjects were classified according to the 2007 WHO standard as normal-weight (BMI z score > −1 and < 1) or overweight/obese (BMI z score ≥ 1). Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting glycemia, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG), Homeostatic Model Assessment – Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), leukocyte count and ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (CRP) were also analyzed. Results: There were significant correlations between WHtR and BMI z score (r = 0.88, p < 0.0001), SBP (r = 0.51, p < 0.0001), DBP (r = 0.49, p < 0.0001), LDL (r = 0.25, p < 0.0008, HDL (r = −0.28, p < 0.0002), TG (r = 0.26, p < 0.0006), HOMA-IR (r = 0.83, p < 0.0001) and CRP (r = 0.51, p < 0.0001). WHtR and BMI areas under the curve were similar for all the cardio-metabolic parameters. A WHtR cut-off value of > 0.47 was sensitive for screening insulin resistance and any one of the cardio-metabolic parameters. Conclusions: The WHtR was as sensitive as the 2007 WHO BMI in screening for metabolic risk factors in 6-10-year-old children. The public health message “keep your waist to less than half your height” can be effective in reducing cardio-metabolic risk because most of these risk factors are already present at a cut point of WHtR ≥ 0.5. However, as this is the first study to correlate the WHtR with inflammatory markers, we recommend further exploration of the use of WHtR in this age group and other population-based samples.

A note on the use of the generalized odds ratio in meta-analysis of association studies involving bi- and tri-allelic polymorphisms

Abstract Background The generalized odds ratio (GOR) was recently suggested as a genetic model-free measure for association studies. However, its properties were not extensively investigated. We used Monte Carlo simulations to investigate type-I error rates, power and bias in both effect size and between-study variance estimates of meta-analyses using the GOR as a summary effect, and compared these results to those obtained by usual approaches of model specification. We further applied the GOR in a real meta-analysis of three genome-wide association studies in Alzheimer's disease. Findings For bi-allelic polymorphisms, the GOR performs virtually identical to a standard multiplicative model of analysis (e.g. per-allele odds ratio) for variants acting multiplicatively, but augments slightly the power to detect variants with a dominant mode of action, while reducing the probability to detect recessive variants. Although there were differences among the GOR and usual approaches in terms of bias and type-I error rates, both simulation- and real data-based results provided little indication that these differences will be substantial in practice for meta-analyses involving bi-allelic polymorphisms. However, the use of the GOR may be slightly more powerful for the synthesis of data from tri-allelic variants, particularly when susceptibility alleles are less common in the populations (≤10%). This gain in power may depend on knowledge of the direction of the effects. Conclusions For the synthesis of data from bi-allelic variants, the GOR may be regarded as a multiplicative-like model of analysis. The use of the GOR may be slightly more powerful in the tri-allelic case, particularly when susceptibility alleles are less common in the populations.

Biological aspects of the Sailfin dory Zenopsis conchifer (Lowe, 1852) caught by deep-sea trawling fishery off southern Brazil

Biological aspects of sailfin dory, Zenopsis conchifer, were studied from 839 individuals obtained from deep-sea commercial bottom trawling off southern Brazil at depths up to 526 m in 2002 and 2003. Samples included fish from 101 mm Lt and 15 g up to 640 mm Lt and 2,9 g. The sex-ratio was 50% at 150 mm Lt and between 300-350 mm Lt, with females outnumbering males in the remaining size classes. Reproductive activity seems to peak between July and August (austral winter). Size at attainment of 50% maturity (Lt50) was 311 mm Lt in females. The mean length and maturity of the specimens increased with depth, suggesting that larger fish concentrate in deeper waters.