Rodrigo de Almeida

Blood cell and metabolic profile of Nellore bulls and their correlations with residual feed intake and feed conversion ratio

Em funcao das diversas variacoes metabolicas relacionadas com o consumo alimentar residual (CAR), objetivou-se nesse estudo avaliar as correlacoes do CAR tradicional (CAR1), CAR ajustado para deposicao de gordura subcutânea na garupa (CAR2) e da conversao alimentar (CA) com o perfil metabolico e sanguineo, assim como verificar as possiveis diferencas das classes de CAR1 e CAR2. Para tanto, foram utilizados 46 touros da raca Nelore com 22 meses de idade e 411kg no inicio do estudo. Os animais foram alimentados com a mesma dieta durante 84 dias, nesse periodo foram coletadas a cada 21 dias amostras de sangue para avaliacao de metabolitos no soro e do perfil celular no sangue. Nao foram encontradas correlacoes significativas da CA com nenhuma caracteristica metabolica ou sanguinea, ja para o CAR1 foi encontrada correlacao significativa para a concentracao de ureia serica, tambem houve diferenca entre as classes com relacao a creatinina, na qual animais mais eficientes apresentaram valores superiores para essa variavel. O CAR2 nao foi correlacionado com nenhuma variavel metabolica e das celulas do sangue, porem animais de menor CAR2 tiveram menor quantidade de eosinofilos quando comparados com os animais de maior CAR2. Esses resultados sugerem que animais menos eficientes para CAR podem ter maior gasto energetico com processos de sintese e degradacao proteica corporal, devido a maior quantidade de ureia presente no sangue.

Composição tecidual da carcaça e perfil de ácidos graxos da carne de cordeiros terminados a pasto ou em confinamento

The objective of this study was to evaluate tissue composition of loin and leg and fatty acids profile of the meat of lambs in four finishing systems: (1) lambs weaned around 40 days of age and kept in ryegrass pastures until slaughter; (2) lambs kept with their dams in the same pasture until slaughter; (3) same treatment of (2), but daily supplemented with 1% of the body weight in creep feeding; (4) lambs weaned at 40 days of age and confined, fed corn silage and concentrate ad libitum. It was used a complete random experimental design with four finishing systems and three replications. Lambs were slaughtered at body weight of 32 kg. Loins and right legs were used for determining tissue composition and the left loins were used for analyzing fatty acid profile. Length and maximal deep of the muscle, minimal and maximal thickness of backfat and loin eye area were measured on the left legs. Pasture finished weaned lambs showed lower fat deposition on the carcass and leg muscularity index. Muscle development and fat deposition on finished weaned lamb with or without supplementation were similar to the ones observed on feedlot finished weaned lambs. Lambs in creep feeding showed more fatty acids in the meat than pasture weaned lambs. Finishing systems influence tissue composition but they do not affect fatty acid profile in meat for human consumption.

Differentially expressed miRNAs in triple negative breast cancer between African-American and non-Hispanic white women

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), a clinically aggressive subtype of breast cancer, disproportionately affects African American (AA) women when compared to non-Hispanic Whites (NHW). MiRNAs(miRNAs) play a critical role in these tumors, through the regulation of cancer driver genes. In this study, our goal was to characterize and compare the patterns of miRNA expression in TNBC of AA (n = 27) and NHW women (n = 30). A total of 256 miRNAs were differentially expressed between these groups, and distinct from the ones observed in their respective non-TNBC subtypes. Fifty-five of these miRNAs were mapped in cytobands carrying copy number alterations (CNAs); 26 of them presented expression levels concordant with the observed CNAs. Receiving operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed a good power (AUC ≥ 0.80; 95% CI) for over 65% of the individual miRNAs and a high combined power with superior sensitivity and specificity (AUC = 0.88 (0.78−0.99); 95% CI) of the 26 miRNA panel in discriminating TNBC between these populations. Subsequent miRNA target analysis revealed their involvement in the interconnected PI3K/AKT, MAPK and insulin signaling pathways. Additionally, three miRNAs of this panel were associated with early age at diagnosis. Altogether, these findings indicated that there are different patterns of miRNA expression between TNBC of AA and NHW women and that their mapping in genomic regions with high levels of CNAs is not merely physical, but biologically relevant to the TNBC phenotype. Once validated in distinct cohorts of AA women, this panel can potentially represent their intrinsic TNBC genome signature.

Besides Pathology: Long Non-Coding RNA in Cell and Tissue Homeostasis

A significant proportion of mammalian genomes corresponds to genes that transcribe long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Throughout the last decade, the number of studies concerning the roles played by lncRNAs in different biological processes has increased considerably. This intense interest in lncRNAs has produced a major shift in our understanding of gene and genome regulation and structure. It became apparent that lncRNAs regulate gene expression through several mechanisms. These RNAs function as transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulators through binding to histone-modifying complexes, to DNA, to transcription factors and other DNA binding proteins, to RNA polymerase II, to mRNA, or through the modulation of microRNA or enzyme function. Often, the lncRNA transcription itself rather than the lncRNA product appears to be regulatory. In this review, we highlight studies identifying lncRNAs in the homeostasis of various cell and tissue types or demonstrating their effects in the expression of protein-coding or other non-coding RNA genes.

Sources of variation in milk urea nitrogen in Paraná dairy cows

The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between milk urea nitrogen (MUN) and milk yield, fat and protein contents, breed and season effects, parity and days in milk in dairy cows from Parana State, Brazil. A total of 127,428 test-days from 16,013 dairy cows belonging to 96 herds enrolled in an official milk recording program were analyzed. Multivariate mixed model methodology was used to determine the relationship between MUN and the fixed effects and the covariable milk production. Milk urea nitrogen averaged 14.45±4.60 mg/dL. Positive and intermediate association between MUN and milk yield (r = 0.34) were found. Holstein cows showed lower MUN adjusted means than crossbred, Jersey, and Brown Swiss cows: 14.18 vs. 15.49, 16.12, and 17.62 mg/dL, respectively. First-lactation cows showed higher MUN values than second-lactation and older cows: 16.16 vs. 15.95, and 15.45 mg/dL, respectively. MUN test-days collected during the winter were higher than those collected in the other seasons. The effects of the lactation stage on MUN were significant, with the highest MUN values observed in the sixth month of lactation. High-producing dairy cows showed higher milk urea concentrations but several environmental factors may contribute to reduce this important parameter of diet utilization efficiency.

New microbial additives on sugarcane ensilage: bromatological composition, fermentative losses, volatile compounds and aerobic stability

In this study, the inclusion of Lactobacillus brevis + Enterococcus faecium + L. plantarum was compared to the inoculation with a commercial additive containing strains of Lactobacillus buchneri and to the silage without additives (control). Silages were prepared in experimental silos and stored for 90 days before opening of the silos. It was evaluated chemical composition of sugarcane before and after ensiling process, composition of organic acids and ethanol in the silages, aerobic stability and fermentative losses during the ensiling process. Use of compound additive and commercial additive containing strains of Lactobacillus buchneri increased production of effluents and gas and total dry matter losses. Lactic acid content in the silage increased with the use of compound additive, although this additive had increased content of ethanol (18.6% of DM) compared with the control ensilage (14.4%). Aerobic stability in the silage was not influenced by inoculants added into ensilage process. The additives used have impaired the ensiling process of sugarcane.

Small RNA sequencing reveals a comprehensive miRNA signature of BRCA1-associated high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Aims BRCA1 mutation carriers are at increased risk of developing high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), a malignancy that originates from fallopian tube epithelium. We aimed to identify differentially expressed known and novel miRNAs in BRCA1-associated HGSOC. Methods Small RNA sequencing was performed on eight normal tubal and five HGSOC samples of BRCA1 carriers. Differential expression of a subset of known and novel miRNAs was validated by qRT-PCR on the samples used for small RNA sequencing and a second sample cohort comprising normal and HGSOC tissue of matched BRCA1 and non-BRCA carriers. Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were used to determine the clinical relevance of the validated differentially expressed miRNAs. Results 59 known and 20 novel miRNAs showed a significant >fourfold expression difference between normal tubal tissue and HGSOC. qRT-PCR validation confirmed a significant difference in expression levels for 10 out of 11 known miRNAs. Upregulation of two novel miRNAs could not be confirmed. Interestingly, for seven miRNAs a significant increase in expression was observed when comparing normal tubal tissue of postmenopausal women with premenopausal women. Expression levels of miR-145-5p significantly increased with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, while the expression levels of the other nine validated miRNAs were not associated with clinical characteristics. Conclusions We report a comprehensive expression signature including both known and novel miRNAs of BRCA1-associated HGSOC. Comparison with previous profiling studies showed a good overlap and a large number of miRNAs not reported to be differentially expressed in HGSOC before underscoring the importance of this study.

Características de desempenho e eficiência alimentar de touros Purunã em crescimento de três classes de consumo alimentar residual

This trial aimed to evaluate the performance, feed intake and feed efficiency traits of Puruna growing bulls of three groups of residual feed intake (RFI): efficient, intermediary and inefficient. There were used 110 growing bulls with average of 10 months of age and 233kg of body weight (BW) which were randomly allocated in individual feedlot pens. The diet was composed, in dry matter (DM) basis, by 420g/kg of concentrate and 580g/kg of corn silage, and was offered ad libitum. Daily dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) were assessed during 112 days. Initial and final BW and ADG not differed between the efficiency groups and showed mean values of 233kg, 360kg and 1.14kg/d. Mean values of 7.19, 7.62 and 8.10kg/d to DMI and -0.48, -0.01 and 0.48kg DM/d to RFI were observed in efficient, intermediary and inefficient groups. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) and gross feed efficiency (GFE) not differed between efficient and intermediary groups, which showed means of 6.65kg DM/kg gain and 153g gain/kg DM. Inefficient group showed higher FCR and lower GFE, with mean values of 7.40kg DM/kg gain and 138g gain/kg DM. Partial efficiency of growth (PEG) differed between the efficiency groups and showed means of 294, 277 and 255g gain/kg DM for growth in efficient, intermediary and inefficient groups. RFI showed moderate to high correlations with FCR, GFE and PEG, and decrease of RFI resulted in decrease of FCR in 12.2%, increase of GFE in 13.3% and increase of PEG in 15.5%. Efficient Puruna growing bulls (low RFI) present lower feed intake, but maintains the same production level that inefficient ones (high RFI). Thus, RFI classification allows identifying animals with potential to improve the productive efficiency of herd.

Substituição parcial de farelo de soja por ureia de liberação lenta em rebanhos leiteiros comerciais

Two experiments evaluated the partial replacement of soybean meal by encapsulated urea (Optigen®II, Alltech do Brasil, Curitiba, PR, Brasil). From a Control diet, 1kg of soybean meal was replaced by an isonitrogenous mixture containing 160g of Optigen®II + 2.5kg of corn silage in Exp.1, or 150g of Optigen®II + 850g of finely ground corn in Exp.2. In Exp.1, 61 Holstein cows were blocked and allocated to a treatment for 21 days, and measures of the same variable at the end of the standardization period were used as covariate. In Exp.2, 97 cows were allocated to a sequence of two treatments for 21 days, in a simple reversal (crossover) design. Response to treatments was evaluated from day 17 to 21. In both experiments, the nutrient composition of the offered diet and orts, orts as a % of the offered, body weight, and body condition score of the animals did not differ across treatments. Daily milk yield was 38.4kg/d for Control and 38.9 for Optigen®II in Exp.1 (P=0.62), and 27.0kg/d and 27.2 in Exp.2 (P=0.64), respectively. Encapsulated urea decreased milk fat content in Exp.2 (P=0.04). Optigen®II increased milk urea nitrogen from 16.3 to 17.3mg/dL in Exp.1 (P<0.01) and the ratios of milk produced to feed consumed (P=0.08) and allantoin to creatinine in urine (P=0.03) in Exp.2. Replacing soybean meal with Optigen®II did not induce lower performance.

Analysis of daily body weight of dairy cows in early lactation and associations withproductive and reproductive performance

The objective of this study was to describe daily body weight (BW) changes in the first 100 days of lactation in confined dairy cows and to associate BW loss with productive and reproductive performance. Data included 26,344 daily BW measurements of 372 Holsteins calving between June 2011 and June 2012 in a commercial herd in the South of Brazil. Cows were automatically weighed and were assigned according to parity. Individual measurements were smoothed using cubic splines, generating nadir BW, days to nadir BW and the BW loss (absolute and relative values). This approach used days in milk (DIM) as a single smoothing variable. Body weight at calving differed across parities: 570.5, 653.5, and 699.9 kg, for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd and subsequent parities, respectively. Body weight at nadir also differed across parities: 521.5, 608.8, and 647.3 kg, respectively. Mean days from calving BW to nadir BW and mean loss of BW (kg) from calving to nadir BW did not differ across parities, but relative BW change (kg/100 kg) was larger in animals in first parity (-8.4 kg/100 kg) than second parity (-6.6 kg/100 kg). However, cows in first parity had more chances for good reproduction than cows in third and subsequent parities (44.0% vs. 30.7%, respectively). There was no difference in the probability of adequate reproduction (pregnant until 180 DIM) among cows with low, medium, or high milk yield. Furthermore, cows with low and medium BW loss (below 60 kg of BW change) showed more likelihood to adequate reproduction than cows with high BW loss (above 60 kg of BW): 45.5 and 45.8% vs. 24.4%, respectively. Improvements in fertility of dairy cows should be achieved by minimizing body weight loss in early lactation.