Sunflower Cake from the Biodiesel Industry in the Diet Improves the Performance and Carcass Traits of Nellore Young Bulls.

We aimed to determine the optimal inclusion level of sunflower cake (0, 90, 180, and 270 g/kg total DM) as a partial replacement of soybean meal and corn ground in young bulls' diets by examining nutrient intake and digestibility, ingestive behavior, nitrogen balance, metabolic serum profile, growth performance, and carcass traits. Thirty-two intact Nellore bulls (BW 374 ± 42.5) were distributed in a completely randomized design. The experiment lasted 90 days. The final BW of the animals was 515.25 ± 24.7. There was a linear decrease effect in the intake of DM, crude protein and nonfibrous carbohydrates, eating and rumination efficiency, N-urinary, N-total excretion, and blood urea nitrogen. Sunflower cake did not affect the NDF digestibility, nitrogen (N)-fecal excretion, blood metabolites, Longissimus lumborum muscle area, or subcutaneous fat deposition. There were linear and quadratic effects on the eating and rumination time, microbial protein production and efficiency, gamma-glutamyl transferase and cholesterol serum concentrations, and muscle carcass tissue. There was a quadratic effect on ether extract intake, final BW, and total gain with the inclusion of sunflower cake in the young bull's diet. The replacement of soybean meal and corn ground with sunflower cake at the level of 90 g/kg of DM in the diet of young bulls is recommended because it reduces the DM intake and digestibility, increases microbial protein synthesis and muscle tissue deposition, and consequently improves the performance, feed efficiency, and carcass traits.

High sero-prevalence of caseous lymphadenitis identified in slaughterhouse samples as a consequence of deficiencies in sheep farm management in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Caseous lymphadenitis (CLA), caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, is one of the most important diseases of sheep and goats, causing considerable economic losses for herd owners. RESULTS: We assessed the seroprevalence of infection with C. pseudotuberculosis in 805 sheep from 23 sheep farms that supply slaughterhouses in the state of Minas Gerais; we also analyzed management practices that could be associated with CLA occurrence, used on these and nearby farms that also supplied animals to the slaughterhouse (n = 60). The serum samples for assaying CLA infection were taken at the slaughterhouse. Frequency of infection with C. pseudotuberculosis was estimated at 43.7%, and farm frequency was estimated at 100%. Management practices were analyzed through a questionnaire. All farmers (60/60) had extensive/semi-extensive rearing system; 70.0% (42/60) identified sheep individually; 11.7% (7/60) had periodical technical assistance; 41.7% (25/60) disinfected the facilities; 86.7% (52/60) used barbed wire fences and did not implement adequate CLA control measures; only 11.7% (7/60) of breeders reported vaccination against C. pseudotuberculosis; 13.3% (8/60) took note of animals with clinical signs of CLA; 1.7% (1/60) opened and sanitized abscesses, and isolated the infected animals; 10.0% (6/60) knew the zoonotic potential of this disease and 1.7% (1/60) of the farmers culled animals in case of recurrence of abscesses. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that C. pseudotuberculosis infection is widely spread in sheep flocks in Minas Gerais state in Brazil and that there is a lack of good management measures and vaccination, allowing transmission of this infectious agent throughout the production network.

A multihousehold study reveals a positive correlation between age, severity of ocular toxoplasmosis, and levels of glycoinositolphospholipid-specific immunoglobulin A.

A cross-sectional household study involving 499 individuals was undertaken in an area of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, where infection with Toxoplasma gondii is endemic. Nearly 50% (n=247) of the sample had T. gondii-specific antibodies, even individuals in the 5-9-year-old age group. Approximately 12.5% (n=28) of a random subsample of participants who were positive for T. gondii antibodies had ocular lesions associated with T. gondii infection. The frequency of ocular toxoplasmosis increased significantly with age, with approximately 50% of individuals >60 years of age having lesions. The size of the ocular lesion correlated positively (r=0.85; P=.01) with the serum level of immunoglobulin A specific for tachyzoite-derived glycoinositolphospholipids. We found that sharing the same residence accounted for 30% of the variation in infectivity among residents in the sample, whereas age was the main risk factor for development of ocular toxoplasmosis in patients who were positive for T. gondii antibodies.

Immunoglobulin M (IgM)-glycoinositolphospholipid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: an immunoenzymatic assay for discrimination between patients with acute toxoplasmosis and those with persistent parasite-specific IgM antibodies.

In the present study we developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure immunoglobulin M (IgM) specific for glycoinositolphospholipids (GIPL) derived from tachyzoite membrane (IgM-GIPL ELISA). The sensitivity and specificity of the assay were compared with those of commercially available Toxoplasma-specific IgM serological tests, namely, immunofluorescence assay (IFA) with fixed tachyzoites and capture ELISA employing tachyzoite extracts. Our results show that all patients with acute toxoplasmosis, as determined by clinical data and conventional serological tests, were also positive by the IgM-GIPL ELISA. Interestingly, many patients that were classified as indeterminate, who had IgG with high avidity but positive results in the IgM-specific IFA and capture ELISA, were negative by the IgM-GIPL ELISA. Finally, we tested the sera from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and various parasitic infections and found no evidence of false positives in the IgM-GIPL ELISA.