Ângela Maria Quintão Lana

Acute toxicity of long-circulating and pH-sensitive liposomes containing cisplatin in mice after intraperitoneal administration

AIMS The objective of this work was to evaluate the acute toxicity of long-circulating and pH-sensitive liposomes containing cisplatin (SpHL-CDDP), after their intraperitoneal administration in male and female mice. MAIN METHODS After single administration of free CDDP (5,10,and 20 mg/kg) or SpHL-CDDP (7,12,30,45 and 80 mg/kg), the body weight was recorded and the LD(50) was calculated. Blood samples were collected for biochemical and hematological analysis. Kidneys, liver, spleen and bone marrow were removed to histopathological examination. KEY FINDINGS Mice treated with high doses of free CDDP showed a greater loss of body weight and more delayed recovery time than those treated with SpHL-CDDP. The LD(50) values for SpHL-CDDP treatment for male and female mice groups were 2.7 and 3.2 fold higher, respectively, than that obtained for free CDDP. The red and white blood cells counts and quantification of hemoglobin and hematocrit presented no change upon administration of SpHL-CDDP treatment. Free CDDP treatment, however, did lead to an appearance of mild anemia and a reduction in total white blood cell counts. As regards nephrotoxicity, it was observed that free CDDP treatment caused pronounced alterations in the blood urea and creatinine levels of mice. In contrast, these parameters were slightly altered only after SpHL-CDDP treatment at a dose of 30 mg/kg. Microscopic analysis of kidneys from mice treated with SpHL-CDDP showed no morphological alteration. Concerning hepatotoxicity, no histopathological alteration was observed after both treatments. SIGNIFICANCE These findings reveal that SpHL-CDDP can eliminate CDDP-induced toxicity and is thus a promising candidate for intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Serum antibodies and shedding of infectious porcine circovirus 2 into colostrum and milk of vaccinated and unvaccinated naturally infected sows.

Serum antibodies and shedding of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) into lacteal secretions were examined in naturally infected sows. Total (TA) and neutralising (NA) antibodies against PCV2 were evaluated in serum and colostrum from 20 vaccinated (Vac) and 21 unvaccinated (N-vac) sows. Anti-PCV2 IgA titres and PCV2 infectious titres were determined in colostrum and milk. All sows had high TA and NA levels in serum and colostrum. Infectious PCV2 was detected in 22/41 colostrum samples (7/20 Vac and 15/21N-Vac sows) and 5/20 milk samples (1/5 Vac and 4/15N-Vac sows). Anti-PCV2 IgA was found in high levels in colostrum and varying levels in milk. Infectious PCV2 may be present in milk and colostrum of naturally infected sows, even in the presence of NA.

Variabilidade espacial de atributos químicos do solo em áreas sob sistema plantio convencional

SUMMARY : SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF SOIL CHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES INAREAS MANAGED UNDER CONVENTIONAL TILLAGE The spatial variability of soil chemical attributes was evaluated in a commercialplantation under conventional soil tillage in Uberlândia, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in2004. The sampling grid was the Santa Rosa Farm, where the soil is classified as veryclayey Red Latosol (680 g kg -1 clay). The objective was to evaluate the spatial distributionand dependence of the soil chemical attributes in a plantation under conventional soiltillage. For this purpose, soil data were collected from a grid of 121 sampling points in the0–0.2 m layer, spaced 50 m apart, and analyzed by means of geostatistics. The followingsoil attributes were assessed: soil pH water ; phosphorus and available potassium; calcium,magnesium and exchangeable aluminum; H + Al; boron; copper; iron, manganese; zinc;sulphur and organic matter. The values of base saturation (V %), total CEC (T) and sum ofbases (SB) were also computed. The data were evaluated by descriptive statistics andspatial dependence analysis, through the adjustment of semivariograms. The variationcoefficient (CV) of most attributes was high; the highest one was found for phosphorus(73.51 %) and the lowest for soil pH

Efeito de doses de torta de filtro e modo de aplicação sobre a produtividade e qualidade tecnológica da soqueira de cana-de-açúcar

A expansao do setor sucroalcooleiro aumenta areas de plantio, assim como volumes de residuos (como a torta de filtro) que podem ser utilizados na agricultura como fonte de nutrientes, reduzindo a contaminacao ambiental e os custos com adubacao, entretanto, faltam informacoes sobre modos de aplicacao. Nesse contexto, conduziu-se este trabalho, com o objetivo de avaliar doses de torta de filtro e modos de aplicacao (superficial na linha e incorporado na entrelinha) sobre as variaveis tecnologicas e produtividade da cana soca. O experimento foi instalado em soqueira de cana-de-acucar (SP 81-3250), cultivada em solo de textura argilosa, localizado no municipio de Goianesia/GO. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos ao acaso (DBC), com onze tratamentos e 5 repeticoes, em esquema fatorial 5 X 2 + 1 que correspondem a 5 doses crescentes de torta de filtro (0, 10, 20, 40 e 80 t ha-1), combinadas a 2 modos de aplicacao (na linha superficial e na entre linha incorporada) e um tratamento adicional correspondente a adubacao mineral da Usina Jalles Machado S.A.. A aplicacao de torta de filtro na cana-soca na dose de 70 t ha-1 proporcionou a maior producao de colmos de cana-de-acucar, independentemente do modo de aplicacao.

Heart rate of Mangalarga Marchador mares under marcha test and supplemented with chrome

The objective of this experiment was to characterize the heart rate (HR) of twelve Mangalarga Marchador mares, before, during, and immediately after 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes of marcha tests, evaluating the effect of chrome on cardiac performance. The mares were assigned into three groups distinguished by supplementation of 0, 5 and 10 mg of Cr, respectively. The experiment was conducted in two phases, 24 and 6 days, respectively. The first phase included diet, Cr and exercise adaptation and the second, three 50-minute marcha tests, every other day. Before the tests, a Heart Rate Monitor was adapted to check the HR. The assay was randomly conducted in split-splot arrangement, with four replications. Mean comparisons were performed through minimal significative difference (MSD) test and the time evaluation was performed through regression adjustment model. The results showed positive effect of Cr on heart rate performance and animal return. Chrome did not influence the heart rate during the marcha tests and the HR values characterized the marcha tests as sub maximal intensity exercise.

Validação do Lipe® como método para determinar a digestibilidade dos nutrientes em eqüinos

The objective of this work was to test the efficiency of enriched and purified lignin, Lipe®, as external indicator in order to estimate the apparent digestibility of the nutrients in equine diets, compared with the total feces collection and the chromic oxide methods. Six female Mangalarga Marchador with average of two years of age and average weight of 331 kg were used. The diet was alfalfa hay, commercial grain and mineral salt. The experimental period was of 29 days, the first 24 used for the adaptation of animals to the diet and facilities and the last five days for feed estimation and total feces collection. A random blocks design was used in which each animal constituted one block and each digestibility determination method, one treatment. The digestibility of nutrients using chromic oxide were smaller than those from the total collection and Lipe®, and those estimated by the Lipe® were similar to those from the total collection. Chromic oxide revealed to be inadequate and Lipe® was considered efficient to estimate the apparent digestibility in equine.

Cinética de passagem da digesta, balanço hídrico e de nitrogênio em eqüinos consumindo dietas com diferentes proporções de volumoso e concentrado

Este trabalho foi conduzido com os objetivos de avaliar a cinetica de passagem da digesta no trato digestivo e estimar o balanco hidrico e de nitrogenio em equinos consumindo dietas com diferentes niveis de volumoso. Foram utilizados quatro potros nao castrados, mesticos, com idade de 18 meses, alojados em baias individuais e exercitados uma vez ao dia. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o quadrado latino 4 x 4, em que cada periodo experimental teve duracao de 14 dias de adaptacao a dieta e cinco dias de coleta fecal. As dietas foram compostas por feno de capim-coastcross e concentrado, fornecidos simultaneamente, duas vezes ao dia, nas proporcoes de 40:60, 60:40, 80:20 e 100:0. A cinetica de passagem da digesta foi estimada pelo tempo medio de retencao da digesta (TMR), da taxa de passagem (TxP) e do tempo de trânsito (TT), utilizando dois indicadores externos, o cromo fixado como mordente na fibra em detergente neutro (Cr-FDN) e o complexo cobalto-EDTA (Co-EDTA). O balanco hidrico foi avaliado de acordo com as quantidades de agua ingerida in natura e na dieta e excretada na urina e nas fezes. O balanco de nitrogenio foi avaliado de acordo com as quantidades diarias de compostos nitrogenados consumidos e excretados. As medias dos valores da cinetica de passagem nas fases solida e liquida da digesta foram 42,7 e 33,8 horas para TMR e de 2,4 e 3,1 %/hora para TxP. O TT da fase liquida da digesta apresentou efeito linear negativo, em funcao da inclusao de volumoso na dieta. O consumo medio de agua foi de 13,8 litros. O balanco hidrico variou de 7,9 a 1,8 litros para as dietas com 40 e 100% de volumoso, respectivamente, reduzindo de forma linear, com a inclusao do volumoso na dieta.

Metabolic long-term follow-up of functioning simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation versus pancreas transplantation alone: insights and limitations.

Background. Pancreas transplantation involves a set of procedures that, in some cases, lead to different complications and outcomes. The aim of this study was to analyze the long-term effects of pancreas transplantation regarding carbohydrate and lipid metabolism parameters to determine differences between simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation and pancreas transplantation alone (PTA). Methods. Sixty-four patients (46 SPK and 18 PTA), with an immunosuppression protocol based on tacrolimus plus mycophenolate mofetil and prednisone, were evaluated for at least 1 year after transplantation. No patient made use of any hypoglycemic or hypolipidemic drugs. Comparisons were performed between SPK and PTA patients using the chi-square test, Fischers exact test, and unpaired Students t test, as appropriate. Results. Patients were 39.8±9.3 years old, predominantly male (60.9%), with a mean follow-up of 25.4±10.4 months after transplantation. The PTA group exhibited worse renal function and higher tacrolimus levels than the SPK group. Fasting glucose, 2 hr plasma glucose after overload, C-peptide, and HbA1C were within the normal range, with no statistically significant differences between the PTA and SPK groups. Insulin (INS) and the homeostasis model assessment of INS resistance index were above the normal range in both the groups. Lipids were also similar between groups. Conclusions. The majority of patients with long-term functioning pancreas transplant achieved good glucose control without use of exogenous INS or oral antidiabetic drugs, although they were hyperinsulinemic. There were no significant differences concerning glucose and lipid parameters between the SPK and PTA groups, even though the PTA patients exhibited higher tacrolimus levels and worse renal function.

Efeito da densidade e de programas de alimentação sobre o desempenho de frangos de corte

O objetivo deste experimento foi avaliar o efeito da densidade e de programas de alimentacao sobre o desempenho produtivo e o rendimento de carcaca e de cortes nobres em frangos de corte aos 42 dias de idade. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado, num esquema fatorial 3x2 (densidades, programas de alimentacao), com quatro repeticoes cada. As densidades foram: 10, 12 e 16 aves/m2. A alimentacao foi constituida de programa 1 (quatro racoes): pre-inicial, inicial, crescimento e final; e programa 2 (cinco racoes): pre-inicial I, pre-inicial II, inicial, crescimento e final. Na fase de 1 a 7 dias houve diferenca significativa (P<0,05) entre densidades para consumo de racao, ganho de peso e conversao alimentar. Para a fase de 15 a 21 e 22 a 28 dias de idade, os melhores resultados de ganho de peso e conversao alimentar foram obtidos na densidade de 16 aves/m2. Nas fases de 8 a 14, 29 a 35 e 36 a 42 dias de idade e no periodo total, nao foram observadas diferencas significativas entre os programas de alimentacao e entre densidades em nenhum dos parâmetros avaliados. Recomenda-se para frangos de corte, machos, de 1 a 42 dias de idade, a densidade de 16 aves/m2, independentemente do programa de alimentacao.

Feed efficiency in Mangalarga Marchador foals fed diet supplemented with probiotics or phytase

The objective was to assess the effect of probiotic or phytase supplementation on dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion (FC) in 24 Mangalarga Marchador foals (16 males, 8 females), with 241.6 ± 23.2 days of age, and 216.7 ± 27.8 kg of body weight (BW). The study lasted 28 days, the first 23 days for diet and handling adaptation, and the last five days for feces collection. The basal diet consisted of Cynodon pasture and pelleted concentrate (1.2 kg/100 kg BW), as well as water and mineral salt ad libitum. Treatments groups were assigned as follows: basal diet (control); basal diet + 5 g/day of live yeast culture (109 CFU/g of S. cerevisiae); basal diet + 2 g/day of live bacteria (108 CFU/g of B. bifidum, E. faecium, L. acidophilus, L. plantarum) and yeast culture (105 CFU/g of S. cerevisiae); and basal diet + 1250 FTU/day of phytase. Pasture DMI was estimated with an external marker (LIPE™) associated with cecal in situ digestibility of dry matter. All foals were randomized, by replicated, using a 4 × 2 factorial, and results were compared using Student t-test, taking into consideration the effect of initial BW as covariate for the percentage DMI per BW. Among foals, DMI varied from 2.4 to 2.8% BW, with foals supplemented with live bacteria and yeast having lower DMI (total diet and forage). All animals had an ADG of 0.33 kg/day, and foals supplemented with live bacteria and yeast had FC 32.42 to 43.83% lower than foals supplemented with phytase or fed only basal diet. The phytase dose of 205 FTU/kg DM in the basal diet had no effects. Probiotic composed of live bacteria and yeast culture improved feed efficiency of forage and can be used as a nutritional strategy to maintain body condition in foals during the dry season.