Júlio Cesar Oliveira Dias

Detecção de peptídeos importantes para o diagnóstico da cisticercose bovina no immunoblot

The diagnosis of cysticercosis in bovines that presents discreet infection is committed by the conventional methodology of detection employed in slaughterhouses. This deficiency leads to the development of alternative methods, such as immunoblot, in order to improve the detection of this disease. An immunoblot assay was developed to detect peptides from Taenia crassiceps antigenand it was used to test 56 samples of bovine serum (28 confirmed as negative and 28 from experimentally infected animals with Taenia saginata eggs). The peptides 4-6, 14 and 18 kDa showed better performance in bovine cysticercosis diagnosis due to an enhanced appearance, once they showed higher area and wide, contrasting with medium and high molecular weight peptides, that showed unspecific reactions and discreet appearance. The obtained results indicated that immunoblot can represent a potential alternative in bovine cysticercosis diagnosis, including its use in live animals, improving the detection of this disease even in epidemiological studies.

Association of Vitamin E with Rapid Thawing on Goat Semen

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of vitamin E associated with rapid thawing on cryopreserved goat semen. Two bucks were used and eight ejaculates per animal were collected using artificial vagina. Semen was diluted with the following treatments: BIOXCELL (control), BIOXCELL + Equex (sodium lauryl sulphate) and BIOXCELL + vitamin E 100 μM. Semen was packaged into 0.25 mL straws and cooled at 5°C for 1 hour. Freezing was performed in liquid nitrogen vapor (−155°C) during 15 minutes. Then, the straws were immersed in liquid nitrogen (−196°C). Straws were thawed at 38°C/60 seconds or at 60°C/7 seconds with immediate sperm analysis. Hypoosmotic swelling test was performed adding a 20 μL aliquot of thawed semen to 1 mL of hypoosmotic solution (100 mOsm·Kg−1) followed by incubation during 60 minutes in water bath (38°C). Vitamin E did not affect any studied parameters (P > 0.05). Nevertheless, defrosting rate of 60°C/7 seconds improved sperm membrane functional integrity (P < 0.05). Current knowledge about goat semen cryopreservation is not sufficient to ensure high post-thawing recovery rates; thus, this study brings important data about using antioxidants and different thawing rates on cryopreservation process.