The phylogeny and ontogeny of autonomic control of the heart and cardiorespiratory interactions in vertebrates

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Control of Buffalo Follicular Dynamics for Artificial Insemination, Superovulation and In Vitro Embryo Production

Currently, timed ovulation induction and timed artificial insemination (TAI) can be performed in buffalo using GnRH or estradiol plus progesterone/progestin (P4)-releasing devices and prostaglandin F-2 alpha (PGF(2 alpha)). The control of the emergence of follicular waves and of ovulation at predetermined times, without the need for estrus detection, has facilitated the management and improved the efficiency of AI programs in buffalo during the breeding and nonbreeding season. Multiple ovulations, embryo transfer, ovum collection and in vitro embryo production have been shown to be feasible in buffalo, although low efficiency and limited commercial application of these techniques have been documented as well. These results could be associated with low ovarian follicular pools, high levels of follicular atresia and failures of the oocyte to enter the oviduct after superstimulation of follicular growth. This review discusses a number of key points related to the manipulation of ovarian follicular growth to improve pregnancy rates following TAI and embryo transfer of in vivo- and in vitro-derived embryos in buffalo.

Clostridium perfringens in ingredients of poultry feed and control of contamination by chemical treatments

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Cover crops affecting levels of ammonium and nitrate in the soil and upland rice development

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efficacy of sulfadoxine plus trimethoprim compared to management measures for the control of Eimeria parasitism in naturally infected and clinically asymptomatic sheep that were maintained in a feedlot

The efficacy of sulfadoxine + trimethoprim in comparison to management measures for the control of Eimeria parasitism was studied in naturally infected sheep that were raised in a feedlot and were clinically asymptomatic for eimeriosis. Weight gain was also evaluated in these animals. The following groups were formed with 15 animals/group: TO!, control animals that received saline solution and maintenance of the same management measures that were performed before the study; T02, animals that received two intramuscular doses of sulfadoxine (20 mg/kg) + trimethoprim (4 mg/kg) with a 14-day interval; T03, sheep that received two intramuscular doses of sulfadoxine (20 mg/kg) + trimethoprim (4 mg/kg) with a 14-day interval plus management measures (wood shaving bedding was changed every Monday, and 30g of ammonium sulfate were applied to the bedding and other facilities were performed every Thursday, 10 mL/20 L of water); and T04, animals that received only the management measures described for the previous group. The highest efficacy rates (arithmetic mean) for the T02 group (sulfadoxine + trimethoprim at days 0 and 14) were 21.04% and 21.98% on the 14th and 28th days after the first treatment (DAFT), respectively. However, the treatment showed efficacy rates below 17% and was totally ineffective from the 70th DAFT to the end of the study. In both the T03 (chemical treatment+ management) and T04 (management only) groups, a significant (P <= 0.05) reduction of oocyst shedding per gram of feces was observed in the animals from the 14th DAFT in comparison to the control group; however, an efficacy rate above 90% was observed from the 28th DAFT. Animals belonging to the T02, T03 and T04 groups presented with alterations in weight gain of 0.57 kg, 4.30 kg and 4.53 kg, respectively, in comparison with the control animals (T01) throughout the 91-day study period. Thus, it is possible to conclude that the two-dose sulfadoxine + trimethoprim treatment, given with a 14-day interval, had little no effect on the oocyst shedding. Moreover, the adopted management measures were enough to cause a significant decrease in the animal parasite loads. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Autonomic control of heart rate during orthostasis and the importance of orthostatic-tachycardia in the snake Python molurus

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Vagal afferent control of abdominal expiratory activity in response to hypoxia and hypercapnia in rats

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Zinc blende versus wurtzite ZnS nanoparticles: control of the phase and optical properties by tetrabutylammonium hydroxide

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

Impact of adrenalectomy and dexamethasone treatment on testicular morphology and sperm parameters in rats: insights into the adrenal control of male reproduction

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Control of Salmonella Enteritidis in turkeys using organic acids and competitive exclusion product

Aim: To evaluate the use of organic acids (OAs) and competitive exclusion (CE) product administered continuously in the feed and transiently in drinking water on the control of Salmonella enterica subspecie enterica serotype Enteritidis (SE) prior to slaughter.Methods and Results: The influence of treatments were evaluated on pH, population of the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae, concentration of volatile fatty acids and SE colonization in the crop and caecum. The birds were challenged with SE 24 h before being slaughtered, and then, the caeca and crop were removed and subjected to SE counts. Continuous administration of OAs reduced the population of bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family in both crop and caecum, positively influenced the butyric acid concentration and reduced SE colonization in the caecum. The diet supplemented with CE product positively influenced the quantity of LAB in the crop and caecum, elevated the butyric acid concentration and reduced both Enterobacteriaceae quantity and SE colonization in the caecum. There was no effect from administering the treatments via drinking water on the variables measured.Conclusions: Continuous supplementation in feed with OAs and CE product reduced SE colonization of the caeca.Significance and Impact of the Study: Supplementation of OAs and CE product in diet to turkeys can reduce the SE load, potentially leading to a lower contamination risk of meat during slaughter.

Production and Use of Heteroptera Predators for the Biological Control of Eucalyptus Pests in Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Productivity and costs of Beller-Buncher and forest processor in stands of eucalypts in first cut

The rationalization of forest harvesting and minimization costs is a constant search by the managers involved in this process, making them decide practices which are economically viable to optimize that operation. This study aimed to evaluate technically and economically the performance of feller-buncher and the forest processor in stands of eucalypts in first cut. The technique analysis included time and movements, productivity, efficiency operational and mechanical availability. The economic analysis included the parameters operational cost, harvesting cost and energy consumption. Aiming the optimization the cost of forest harvesting, the system composed by feller-buncher and processor forest presented itself as a technically and economically viable alternative to harvesting eucalypt in first cut or stands that do not have bifurcated trees.

A fuzzy Lyapunov function approach for stabilization and control of switched TS fuzzy systems

In this work, sufficient conditions for the existence of switching laws for stabilizing switched TS fuzzy systems via a fuzzy Lyapunov function are proposed. The conditions are found by exploring properties of the membership functions and are formulated in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Stabilizing switching conditions with bounds on the decay rate solution and H1 performance are also obtained. Numerical examples illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design methods.

Application of Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt and Azadirachta indica A. Juss in the control of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

Parasitism constitutes one of the main problems that affect livestock. Commercial acaricides have been used to control tick, but these chemicals have been responsible for the development of drug resistance and residues in the environment. Changes in the concept of production determined the search for natural measures, which guarantees animal sanity along with safety of the produced food. This assay had as objective to evaluate the citronella oil and neem oil in the control of bovine ticks. By the technique of adult ticks immersion, 280 ticks were evaluated, distributed in equal number throughout four treatments: negative control group, positive control (ivermectin), neem oil and citronella oil. It was analyzed the mortality index, estimated reproduction, product efficiency, index of eggs production and the hatchability rate. The efficiency of the product was verified by the mortality index just for the positive control group (100%) and citronella oil (97.14%). Also, the citronella oil inhibited the eclosion of eggs in 100%. The other treatments did not presented the minimum eclosion inhibition level of 95%. Under the conditions of the present assay citronella oil was efficient against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. This result was not observed in relation to the neem oil.

Performance and parasite control of different genetic groups of lambs finished in irrigated pasture

The aim of this study was to compare the following four genetic groups of hair sheep: Santa Inês (SI), Morada Nova (MN), Brazilian Somali (BS), and the F1 1/2Dorper x 1/2Morada Nova crossbreed on traits related to growth and parasitic infection. Thirty-three male lambs of the same age and of simple birth, under the same pre-weaning management conditions were used in the experiment. After weaning the animals were housed in a completely randomized design in paddocks made of Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania. Along the course of the research, the performance of the four groups of sheep was observed to be negatively affected by gastrointestinal parasites, but there was a genotype effect to the average daily weight gain (ADWG), where the SI and F1 genotypes presented higher values. The effects of genotype, time and genotype x time interaction were significant in weight and corporal score (CS) measurements. The BS lambs had the highest CS values throughout the experiment despite not presenting greater weight gain when compared to the SI and F1 breeds. There were also significant effects of time and genotype x time interaction for packed cell volume (PCV) and FAMACHA© score (FAM) and only the time effect was significant in the total number of eggs per gram (EPG) and total plasma protein (TPP). The MN lambs showed higher PCV values and unlike the other groups, presented a FAMACHA© score below 3 and PCV above 23% even having a higher EPG tendency, especially in the initial phase, indicating a possible higher resilience to infection caused by gastrointestinal parasites.