This study aimed to evaluate the intake, digestion, blood parameters, and feeding behavior of crossbred dairy cows (Holstein?×?Gir) managed on Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. Tanzania-1 and provided supplementation with groundnut cake, sunflower cake, or palm kernel cake (to replace soybean meal). Sixteen cows were randomly assigned in a Latin square design with four treatments and four experimental periods. The consumption of nutrients from the pasture did not vary between experimental treatments. Cows receiving the palm kernel cake supplement had a reduced crude protein, non-fibrous carbohydrate, and total digestible nutrient intake and an increase in the average consumption of ether extract. There was also a reduction in the digestibility of dry matter. The inclusion of supplements in the diet did not influence the average time spent eating, ruminating, or resting. The mean values of respiratory and heart rates showed thermal comfort during the trial period. There was a reduction in blood urea nitrogen with palm kernel cake supplementation, and the values of total protein, albumin, and glucose were also significantly different with this supplement. It is recommended that cakes of groundnut cake and sunflower cake seed be used for a total replacement of soybean meal supplements for lactating cows, but the use of palm kernel cake is not recommended.
Pinus plantations have increased in Brazil, and native forest areas have been converted for timber production. The clearing and the long-term loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) land-use effects on soil carbon and nitrogen stocks were evaluated in a natural broadleaved forest and in loblolly pine sites cultivated for 29, 35, 38 and 49 years, as well the soil contribution as ecosystem carbon pool. According to the exponential-decay model fitted to changes in carbon stock, the initial soil carbon stock of 200 Mg ha?1 to a depth of 100 cm in the natural forest decreased by 36% over 49 years of pine cultivation (around 72.4 Mg ha?1 of C). Around two-thirds of this decrease occurred in the top 30 cm of the soil and intensively in the first 12 years of cultivation, but slowly faded as carbon stock tended to reach a new steady state after approximately 49 years of cultivation. The soil nitrogen stock in the natural forest was 14.2 Mg ha?1 to a depth of 100 cm and decreased by 36% over the 49 years. This decrease was linear according to the fitted model, especially in the top 30 cm where nitrogen decline was 83% and was proportionally more intense than the carbon decline. Despite the soil carbon decrease, soil remained the largest carbon reservoir in the ecosystem for the growing rotation time of loblolly pine in this region.
Fish Physiology and Biochemistry - The present study was carried out to evaluate the genotoxic potential of nutritional quality of feed, using erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities assay in Nile... 相似文献
The development and intensification of Nile tilapia farming systems has happened together with ever increased use of antibiotics and therapeutants. Research on the use of probiotics has come along as alternative to routine use of antibiotics in fish diets. The manipulation of the gut microbiota through dietary probiotic inclusion targeting improved growth rate and disease resistance has been investigated in many farmed fish species. However, mechanisms underlying modulation of fish immune response remains unclear. This review summarizes and discuss recent findings in the role of probiotics on the immunity of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus addressing available information regarding immunological parameters such as phagocytic activity, lysozyme, respiratory burst activity, antioxidant enzymes, complement system as well as immune-related gene expression, in the aim to foster research efforts on effective strategies for the successful use of probiotics in the tilapia farming industry.
Theaim of this study was to examine the survival of fingerlings of silver catfish,Rhamdia quelen, in water with different pH and hardnessvalues. Fingerlings (1.60 ± 0.14 g; 5.67 ± 0.15cm) were randomly assigned to 35 treatments (in triplicate) andmaintained in 44 L polyethylene tanks (10 fingerlings/tank) for 96h. Fingerlings were exposed to seven solutions of varying pH (3.5,3.75, 4.0, 7.0, 9.5, 10.0, and 10.5) and five solutions of varying hardness(30,70, 150, 300, and 600 mg.l?1 CaCO3).Survival was assessed at 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. Fingerlingmortality was 100% after 12 h exposure to pH 3.5 at all hardnesslevels, whereas mortality at pH 3.75, 10.0, and 10.5 decreased with increasinghardness. There was no mortality of fingerlings exposed to pH 4.0, 7.0, and 9.5at all hardness levels. The results allow us to conclude that the hardnesslevels studied do not affect the survival of silver catfish fingerlings exposedto pH 3.5, 4.0, 7.0, and 9.5 for 96 h. However, the increase ofwater hardness improved survival of fingerlings of this species exposed to pH3.75, 10.0, and 10.5. 相似文献
Cities provide resources for the animals that live in them or their surroundings. There has been an increase in the number of ecological studies in urban areas, including interactions between plants and bees. Bees are pollinators that provide a vital ecosystem service to crops and wild plants. We assessed plant community structure in the campus of Universidade de São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, included in the neotropical Atlantic Forest biome, focusing on floristic composition, pollination syndromes, flowering phenology, and spatiotemporal distribution of floral resources for bees. Currently, the city is surrounded by sugar cane plantations. Once a month, from April 2011 to March 2012, we sampled plant species and individuals in bloom in an area with 500 m radius from the bee-rearing facilities of Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP), totaling 78 hectares. We sampled 289 plant species of 73 families; Leguminosae was the richest family. Plants pollinated by bees predominated (67%), followed by plants pollinated by hummingbirds (18%). Melittophilous species flowered throughout the year and, hence, food availability for bees was continuous. The flowering of plant individuals that provided pollen, nectar, and floral oil was seasonal in all vegetation (except for nectar in shrubs), with peaks in resource availability in the transition from the dry to the rainy season, and also in the rainy season. Our results show that the campus is able to maintain bee populations amid a monoculture matrix, acting as a refuge. In addition, it provides a list of several attractive native plants to different pollinator groups, coupled with a phenogram, that can be used in the design and planning of urban areas. 相似文献
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of 2 remifentanil infusion regimens on cardiovascular function and responses to nociceptive stimulation in propofol-anesthetized cats. ANIMALS: 8 adult cats. PROCEDURES: On 2 occasions, cats received acepromazine followed by propofol (6 mg/kg then 0.3 mg/kg/min, i.v.) and a constant rate infusion (CRI) of remifentanil (0.2 or 0.3 microg/kg/ min, i.v.) for 90 minutes and underwent mechanical ventilation (phase I). After recording physiologic variables, an electrical stimulus (50 V; 50 Hz; 10 milliseconds) was applied to a forelimb to assess motor responses to nociceptive stimulation. After an interval (> or = 10 days), the same cats were anesthetized via administration of acepromazine and a similar infusion regimen of propofol; the remifentanil infusion rate adjustments that were required to inhibit cardiovascular responses to ovariohysterectomy were recorded (phase II). RESULTS: In phase I, heart rate and arterial pressure did not differ between remifentanil-treated groups. From 30 to 90 minutes, cats receiving 0.3 microg of remifentanil/kg/min had no response to noxious stimulation. Purposeful movement was detected more frequently in cats receiving 0.2 microg of remifentanil/kg/min. In phase II, the highest dosage (mean +/- SEM) of remifentanil that prevented cardiovascular responses was 0.23 +/- 0.01 microg/kg/min. For all experiments, mean time from infusion cessation until standing ranged from 115 to 140 minutes. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Although the lower infusion rate of remifentanil allowed ovariohysterectomy to be performed, a CRI of 0.3 microg/kg/min was necessary to prevent motor response to electrical stimulation in propofol-anesthetized cats. Recovery from anesthesia was prolonged with this technique. 相似文献
Microsporogenesis of several Brachiaria species of the Brazilian collection at Embrapa Beef Cattle has been analyzed in detail. This paper reports abnormal cytokinesis
in three accessions of three different species (Brachiaria humidicola, 2n = 4x = 36, Brachiaria decumbens, 2n = 4x = 36, and Brachiaria dura, 2n = 6x = 54). Chromosomes paired in bi-, tri-, and quadrivalents in these accessions, whereas chromosome segregation at meiosis
I was characterized by exclusion of laggards as micronuclei. In a high number of meiocytes, the first sign of cytokinesis
appeared only in metaphase II and did not divide the meiocyte into a dyad. Total absence of cytokinesis was also detected
among meiocytes in the second division. Since in both cases the two metaphase plates were very close, they favored the rejoining
of chromosome sets after anaphase II and formed a restitutional nucleus in telophase II. Second cytokinesis occurred after
telophase II in most meiocytes. Monads, dyads, and triads with n or 2n nuclei were observed among meiotic products. The 2n gametes observed correspond to the first division restitution (FDR). The number of affected cells in each accession was variable,
but the number of microspores with restitutional nucleus, including those scored in tetrads and the released ones, did not
exceed 9%. Although polyploidy is common in the genus Brachiaria, its origin is still unclear. Current results suggest that 2n gametes may have contributed to the evolutionary history of the genus. 相似文献
Summary Apomixis is widely distributed among tropical forage grasses, and has long been merely regarded as an impediment to breeding. Panicum maximum is presented as the first opportunity for Brazilian geneticists to develop and test original breeding schemes adapted to an apomictic species.A large and representative germplasm of P. maximum has been introduced and is currently being evaluated. Basic knowledges on biology and reproduction are also available, which demonstrate an easy manipulation of apomixis and sexuality. Several limiting traits have already been detected during evaluation, which justify breeding attempts. An ideal scheme is given to transfer new qualities to already selected varieties. 相似文献