Chromium in the Diet of Dairy Calves: Benefits for Growth Performance, Feed Efficiency, Digestibility, and Health.

Chromium (Cr) is a mineral that helps animals subjected to stressful conditions. The suckling period is characterized by several stressful episodes, particularly during the first hours after birth and at weaning. There is little consumption of concentrate by calves in the first weeks of life; consequently, consuming any supplement added to feed would be negligible. Thus, the hypothesis was that the calves would take it in earlier if Cr were consumed in a milk replacer instead. Therefore, our study aimed to determine whether including organic Cr in calf feed (via milk replacer or concentrate) during the suckling phase would improve calf health and growth performance. Twenty-four male Holstein calves with an average age of 8 ± 4 days and 39.8 ± 6.9 kg average body weight were used. Calves were randomly divided into three groups: (a) Chromium-Milk (CR-M), receiving 4 mg Cr/animal/day via milk replacer during the 60 experimental days of suckling (n = 8); (b) Chromium-Concentrate (CR-C), receiving 4 mg Cr/animal/day via concentrate (n = 8); (c) Control (C), animals that did not receive Chromium (n = 8). The experiment lasted 75 days, divided into two well-defined stages: suckling (1-60 days) and weaning (61-75 days). Body weight weekly, daily feed intake, and blood samples taken every two weeks during the experiment were evaluated. At the end of the experiment, the apparent digestibility evaluation was carried out, with the results of weight and consumption carried out, and a feed efficiency analysis was carried out. It was observed that the inclusion of organic Cr (regardless of whether it was milk or concentrate) increased body weight gain (kg) for the CR-C group: 41.8 kg, CR-M: 40.4 kg compared to the C: 34.2 kg (p = 0.01). The protein digestibility was higher in the CR-M group (52%, p = 0.05). Cr consumption increased Cr concentrations in the serum of the calves and was higher in the first week in the animals in the CR-M group. This did not happen for the C group; however, with higher concentrate consumption, Cr concentrations increased and remained high until the end of the experiment. Glucose concentrations were higher in the groups that consumed Cr. Total protein concentrations were higher in the CR-M and CR-C groups than in group C. Immunoglobulin A concentrations were higher in groups CR-C and CR-M than in group C (days 40 and 60). In conclusion, the adding Cr to calf feed improves their health, indirectly favors growth performance, and increases protein digestibility.

Effectiveness of m-health-based core strengthening exercise and health education for public safety workers with chronic non-specific low back pain: study protocol for a superiority randomized controlled trial (SAFEBACK).

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide. Public safety workers are highly exposed to physically demanding activities and inappropriate postures, increasing the risk of experiencing LBP. Smartphone app-based self-managed interventions may be an alternative for chronic non-specific LBP (CNSLBP) treatment. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a smartphone app-based self-managed exercise program plus health education, compared to a health education program alone, on neuromuscular and perceptual outcomes in police officers and firefighters with CNSLBP. METHODS: This is a parallel, two-armed, blinded evaluator randomized clinical trial. Police officers and firefighters (from public safety institutions in the Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil) will be randomly assigned to a m-health self-managed exercise program (twice a week) plus health education or health education alone. Self-management exercise program components are mobility and core resistance exercises, available on the app. Follow-ups will be conducted post-treatment (8 weeks) and 16 weeks after randomization. The co-primary outcomes will be pain intensity and disability post-treatment (8 weeks). Secondary outcomes will be biopsychosocial factors related to CNSLBP. DISCUSSION: We hypothesize that the effects of a smartphone app-based self-managed exercise program on co-primary and secondary outcomes will be superior, compared to the health education only in public safety workers with CNSLBP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05481996. Registered on August 01, 2022).

Standardization proposal to quality control of propolis extracts commercialized in Brazil : A fingerprinting methodology using a UHPLC-PDA-MS/MS approach.

Propolis is a rich source of known and largely explored bioactive compounds with many pharmacological properties. It is used in several commercialized products, such as propolis-enriched honey, candies, mouth and throat sprays, soaps, toothpaste, and skin creams. However, the great diversity of propolis products and different types make the standardization of realistic quality control procedures challenging. Moreover, the extraction of propolis bioactive compounds depends on the technique and the solvent used. In Brazil, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply (MAPA) set standards to establish commercialized propolis extracts' identity and quality. In addition, according to legislation, propolis extracts must present the main classes of phenols at 200 and 400 nm on the UV spectrum. Still, it is not specified which analysis method should be used to guarantee feasible quality control of the commercialized samples. For this, we proposed a new fast UHPLC-PDA-MS/MS method for analysis and quantification of propolis phenolic compounds. Moreover, we hypothesize that there is no efficient monitoring regarding the quality of the propolis extracts sold in Brazilian stores. Therefore, the present study aimed to perform quality control of 17 Brazilian propolis extracts produced in the Southeast region (green or brown - the most representative samples). The dry extract content (% g/mL), oxidation index (seconds), total flavonoids, and phenolics (% m/m) of each sample were compared with legislation. We conclude that using the UHPLC-PDA method and the investigation that allowed the comparison with the current legislation efficiently practical problems in the commercialization of propolis extracts. However, of the 17 analyzed samples, 6 did not meet the desired the recognized standards, denoting a lack of supervision and efficient quality control, which highlights a dangerous situation regarding the commercialization of this critical product used in several industrial fields, mainly in the food and pharmaceutical sector.

Effect of dietary supplementation with grape residue flour on weight gain, metabolic profile, leukogram, proteinogram and antioxidant response in suckling lambs.

The objective of this study was to determine whether the addition of grape residue flour (GRF) in the diet of suckling lambs would improve their health and consequently enhance their growth. We used 48 lambs, 30 days of age divided into four treatments with four repetitions each, with each repetition consisting of three animals. The groups were identified as follows: G-0%, used as a control (without GRF) and G-0.5%, G-1% and G-2% referring to treatment with grape residue flour in doses of 0.5%, 1%, and 2% of inclusion in the concentrate, respectively. Lambs in groups G-1% and G-2% had higher final body weights, weight gain and average daily gain (ADG) compared to the other groups. GRF dietary supplementation had good antioxidant potential, being able to stimulate glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity and consequently reduce levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in lambs that consumed the highest dose of GRF (G-2%). GRF supplementation improved humoral responses, with increased serum levels of heavy-chain and light-chain immunoglobulins; however, there was a reduction in serum ceruloplasmin levels in these lambs. We observed higher concentrations of glucose and triglycerides in lambs in the 2% group. There were lower lymphocyte counts in lambs that received GRF. Lambs supplemented with the highest doses of GRF (G-1% and G-2%) had lower total bacterial counts in the feces. We conclude that the use of GRF in the supplementation of suckling lambs improved animal health, as it stimulated the antioxidant and immune systems and consequently favored their growth.

Growth inhibition by selenium is associated with changes in primary metabolism and nutrient levels in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Although Selenium (Se) stress is relatively well known for causing growth inhibition, its effects on primary metabolism remain rather unclear. Here, we characterized both the modulation of the expression of specific genes and the metabolic adjustments in Arabidopsis thaliana in response to changes in Se level in the soil. Se treatment culminated with strong inhibition of both shoot and root growth. Notably, growth inhibition in Se-treated plants was associated with an incomplete mobilization of starch during the night. Minor changes in amino acids levels were observed in shoots and roots of plants treated with Se whereas the pool size of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates in root was not altered in response to Se. By contrast, decreased levels of organic acids involved in the first part of the TCA cycle were observed in shoots of Se-treated plants. Furthermore, decreased expression levels of expansins and endotransglucosylases/endohydrolases (XHTs) genes were observed after Se treatment, coupled with a significant decrease in the levels of essential elements. Collectively, our results revealed an exquisite interaction between energy metabolism and Se-mediated control of growth in Arabidopsis thaliana to coordinate cell wall extension, starch turnover and the levels of a few essential nutrients.

Modeling lactose hydrolysis for efficiency and selectivity: Toward the preservation of sialyloligosaccharides in bovine colostrum whey permeate.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of lactose has been shown to improve the efficiency and selectivity of membrane-based separations toward the recovery of bioactive oligosaccharides. Achieving maximum lactose hydrolysis requires intrinsic process optimization for each specific substrate, but the effects of those processing conditions on the target oligosaccharides are not well understood. Response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects of pH (3.25-8.25), temperature (35-55°C), reaction time (6 to 58 min), and amount of enzyme (0.05-0.25%) on the efficiency of lactose hydrolysis by ß-galactosidase and on the preservation of biologically important sialyloligosaccharides (3'-siallylactose, 6'-siallylactose, and 6'-sialyl-N-acetyllactosamine) naturally present in bovine colostrum whey permeate. A central composite rotatable design was used. In general, ß-galactosidase activity was favored at pH values ranging from 3.25 to 5.75, with other operational parameters having a less pronounced effect. A pH of 4.5 allowed for the use of a shorter reaction time (19 min), lower temperature (40°C), and reduced amount of enzyme (0.1%), but complete hydrolysis at a higher pH (5.75) required greater values for these operational parameters. The total amount of sialyloligosaccharides was not significantly altered by the reaction parameters evaluated, suggesting specificity of ß-galactosidase from Aspergillus oryzae toward lactose as well as the stability of the oligosaccharides at pH, temperature, and reaction time evaluated.

The antioxidant role of xanthurenic acid in the Aedes aegypti midgut during digestion of a blood meal.

In the midgut of the mosquito Aedes aegypti, a vector of dengue and yellow fever, an intense release of heme and iron takes place during the digestion of a blood meal. Here, we demonstrated via chromatography, light absorption and mass spectrometry that xanthurenic acid (XA), a product of the oxidative metabolism of tryptophan, is produced in the digestive apparatus after the ingestion of a blood meal and reaches milimolar levels after 24 h, the period of maximal digestive activity. XA formation does not occur in the White Eye (WE) strain, which lacks kynurenine hydroxylase and accumulates kynurenic acid. The formation of XA can be diminished by feeding the insect with 3,4-dimethoxy-N-[4-(3-nitrophenyl)thiazol-2-yl] benzenesulfonamide (Ro-61-8048), an inhibitor of XA biosynthesis. Moreover, XA inhibits the phospholipid oxidation induced by heme or iron. A major fraction of this antioxidant activity is due to the capacity of XA to bind both heme and iron, which occurs at a slightly alkaline pH (7.5-8.0), a condition found in the insect midgut. The midgut epithelial cells of the WE mosquito has a marked increase in occurrence of cell death, which is reversed to levels similar to the wild type mosquitoes by feeding the insects with blood supplemented with XA, confirming the protective role of this molecule. Collectively, these results suggest a new role for XA as a heme and iron chelator that provides protection as an antioxidant and may help these animals adapt to a blood feeding habit.

The effects of low-level light emitting diode on the repair process of Achilles tendon therapy in rats.

Thirty Wistar rats (350 +/- 20 g) were subjected to total Achilles tendon tenotomy of the right fore limb. They were submitted to a daily dose of 20 J/cm(2) light emitting diode (LED) (640 +/- 20 nm) therapy. The LED was applied punctually and transcutaneously to the lesioned region. The animals were separated into six groups, C1 and L1, C2 and L2, C3 and L3. The C groups were used for control and the L groups, treated for 7, 14 and 21 consecutive days, respectively. The animals were killed on the 7th, 14th and 21st days after surgery. After the animals had been killed, their tendons were extracted and dissected, fixed in formaldehyde at 10%, and sent for histological analysis by light microscopy in which the repair process was analysed. This study demonstrated that LED interfered in the repair process of the tendon tissue, reducing the number of fibroblasts in the initial periods and improving the quality of the repair in all periods studied.

Correção da hipofosfatemia grave com dialisato enriquecido de fósforo em paciente hemodialisado / Treatment of serious hypophophatemia with phosphorus-enriched hemodialysis in patient in dialysis units

Introdução: A hipofosfatemia é definida como fósforo plasmático menor que 2,5 mg/dl podendo ser severa se inferior a 1,0 mg/dl. Ocorre em 2 a 5 pacientes hospitalizados, sendo descrita em pacientes com insuficiência renal crônica (IRC) submetidos a tratamento dialítico intenso. O quadro clínico decorre da diminuição de 2,3-difosfoglicerato e de outros compostos energéticos do metabolismo celular (ATP), podendo resultar em diminuição da contratilidade diafragmática, rabdomiólise, disfunção hematológica, miocárdica e da parte central do sistema nervoso. Metodologia: Este trabalho é um estudo retrospectivo realizado por meio de pesquisa do prontuário do paciente em programa regular de hemodiálise na Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Marília, no período de janeiro de 2003 a março de 2004, analisando-se os exames clínicos e laboratoriais apresentados pelo paciente, bem como o resultado das intervenções de suplementação efetuadas. Discussão: Num estudo retrospectivo de três anos em 149 pacientes sob hemodiálise com bicarbonato, baixos níveis de fosfato foram encontrados em 11 (7,3).