Food production is responsible for almost one-quarter of the environmental impact and, therefore, its importance regarding sustainability should not be overlooked. The companion animal population is ...increasing, and an important part of pet food is composed of ingredients that have a high environmental impact. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of dry, wet, and homemade pet diets on greenhouse gas emission, land use, acidifying emission, eutrophying emissions, freshwater withdrawals, and stress-weighted water use. The wet diets were responsible for the highest impact, and dry diets were the type of diet that least impacted the environment, with a positive correlation between the metabolizable energy provided by animal ingredients and the environmental impact. It is necessary to consider the environmental impact of pet food since it is significant, and the population of pets tends to increase.
In this review, general aspects of the combination of the solid phase extraction (SPE) with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) for multielement determination are presented. ...Derivations of SPE, such as dispersive solid phase extraction (DSPE), dispersive micro-solid phase extraction (DµSPE), and dispersive magnetic micro-solid phase extraction DM-µSPE are also presented, showing the possibility of direct analysis of the solid phase. The sorbents, advantages, disadvantages, and the analytical characteristics of the combination followed by direct determination of analytes retained on the solid phase are discussed. Furthermore, the perspectives of this analytical arrangement are presented.
In areas where schistosomiasis is endemic, a negative correlation is observed between atopy and helminth infection, associated with a low prevalence of asthma. We investigated whether Schistosoma ...mansoni infection or injection of parasite eggs can modulate airway allergic inflammation in mice, examining the mechanisms of such regulation. We infected BALB/c mice with 30 S. mansoni cercariae or intraperitoneally injected 2,500 schistosome eggs, and experimental asthma was induced by ovalbumin (OVA). The number of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was higher in the asthmatic group than in asthmatic mice infected with S. mansoni or treated with parasite eggs. Reduced Th2 cytokine production, characterized by lower levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-5, and immunoglobulin E, was observed in both S. mansoni-treated groups compared to the asthmatic group. There was a reduction in the number of inflammatory cells in lungs of S. mansoni-infected and egg-treated mice, demonstrating that both S. mansoni infection and the egg treatment modulated the lung inflammatory response to OVA. Only allergic animals that were treated with parasite eggs had increased numbers of CD4⁺ CD25⁺ Foxp3⁺ T cells and increased levels of IL-10 and decreased production of CCL2, CCL3, and CCL5 in the lungs compared to the asthmatic group. Neutralization of IL-10 receptor or depletion of CD25⁺ T cells in vivo confirmed the critical role of CD4⁺ CD25⁺ Foxp3⁺ regulatory T cells in experimental asthma modulation independent of IL-10.
A high-protein hypercaloric diet enriched with glutamine and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was called an onco-diet. The goal was to verify the modulation of the inflammatory response and body ...composition of female dogs with mammary tumor after mastectomy, during onco-diet consumption, using a randomized, double-blinded, clinical trial. Six bitches (average age of 8.6 years) were allocated into Control Group-diet without glutamine, EPA and DHA supplementation; and six bitches (10.0 years) were allocated into Test-diet enriched with glutamine and omega-3. Serum measurements of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, IGF-1, C-reactive protein and determination of body composition were performed at pre- and post-surgical times. Statistical tests were used to compare the nutrient intake and dietary effects on inflammatory variables between the diets. No differences in concentrations of different cytokines (p>0.05) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (p = 0.51) were observed between the groups. The test group had a higher concentration of IGF-1 (p<0.05), higher percentage of muscle mass (p<0.01) and lower body fat (p<0.01), but the difference was present from initial and throughout the study. Onco-diet, enriched with glutamine and omega-3, in the amounts evaluated in this study, was not sufficient to modulate the inflammation and body composition of female dogs with mammary tumors submitted to unilateral mastectomy.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Essential oils and their isolated constituents are constantly being studied for the control of insect pests. In this context, the present research reports the chemical composition of Piper marginatum ...(Jacq.) oil aiming to: 1) establish lethal concentrations LC30 and LC50 for this oil and the compound geraniol, 2) histologically examine the embryonic development of Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) through light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as 3) compare the efficacy of the P. marginatum oil with that of the botanical insecticide azadirachtin, the synthetic insecticide deltamethrin, and acetone as a negative control. Semithin sections of S. frugiperda eggs revealed that the oil, geraniol, azadirachtin, and deltamethrin affected embryonic development at both concentrations. However, geraniol and the oil were more efficient because they caused more significant damage, even at lower concentrations. SEM revealed that all products altered the morphology of the eggs, modifying the structure of the chorion and making the eggs nonviable. Thus, this work demonstrates that P. marginatum oil is effective in the control of S. frugiperda because it results in embryonic damage even at the lowest concentrations.
This work proposes a simple device for thermometric titration using a contactless sensor. A low-cost infrared sensor (around $5) was adapted in a disposable, polystyrene vessel for monitoring the ...temperature to determine the endpoint of neutralization, redox, and complexation titrations, using a homemade syringe pump to titration control. Open-source software was developed to control the device using the Raspberry Pi platform and to perform automatic endpoint determination. The influence of sample volume, the flow rate of titrant, and sensor distance from the solution were evaluated to lower the variation among measurements. The parameters chosen in this regard were 10 mL of sample, 0.8 mL min−1 of titrant solution flow rate, and 3 cm of distance from the sensor to the solution. Results for the determination of the acidity of sauces and the ascorbic acid and calcium content of pharmaceutical products were compared with those from official compendia. The performance of the sensor also was compared with an infrared camera. The proposed method agreed with conventional ones to an extent ranging from 93% to 106%. The robust analytical performance and low cost of the system are essential features that could broaden the use of enthalpimetric analysis in several laboratories.
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•A simple and low-cost device was proposed for thermometric titrations.•Inexpensive infrared thermometer was used and compared to an infrared camera.•Open-source software was developed for sensor control and endpoint determination.•Complexation, neutralization, and redox titrations were feasible.•Comparable results to infrared camera and reference methods were obtained.
The aim was to evaluate the effect of feeding a low-phosphorus and maintenance protein diet in healthy cats and cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) with IRIS stages 1 (CKD-1) and 2 (CKD-2). Cats ...were initially fed a senior diet (30 days) followed by the renal diet (60 days). Body composition, body weight (BW), muscle mass score (MMS), and body condition score (BCS) were assessed before (T30) and after renal diet intake (T60). General mixed linear models were used to assess the effects of fixed groups and moments (T30 × T60), as well as their interaction, in addition to the random effects of animals within each group. Unlike healthy cats and cats with CKD-1, cats with CKD-2 had a loss of BW, lower BCS (
< 0.005), and lower MMS (
= 0.0008) after 60 days of consuming the renal diet. The fat mass and lean body mass (LBM), determined by the deuterium isotopes method, did not change in all cats between T0 and T60. In healthy cats and cats with CKD-1, the renal diet resulted in maintenance of BW, BCS and MMS; but cats with CKD-2 presented lower BCS and did not reduce phosphatemia after consumption.
ObjectivesThe study aims to evaluate the magnitude of multimorbidity in Brazilian adults, as well to measure their association with individual and contextual factors stratified by Brazilian states ...and regions.MethodsA national-based cross-sectional study was carried out in 2013 with Brazilian adults. Multimorbidity was evaluated by a list of 22 physical and mental morbidities (based on self-reported medical diagnosis and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for depression). The outcome was analysed taking ≥2 and ≥3 diseases as cut-off points. Factor analysis (FA) was used to identify disease patterns and multilevel models were used to test association with individual and contextual variables.ResultsThe sample comprised 60 202 individuals. Multimorbidity frequency was 22.2% (95% CI 21.5 to 22.9) for ≥2 morbidities and 10.2% (95% CI 9.7 to 10.7) for ≥3 morbidities. In the multilevel adjusted models, females, older people, those living with a partner and having less schooling presented more multiple diseases. No linear association was found according to wealth index but greater outcome frequency was found in individuals with midrange wealth index. Living in states with higher levels of education and wealthier states was associated with greater multimorbidity. Two patterns of morbidities (cardiometabolic problems and respiratory/mental/muscle–skeletal disorders) explained 92% of total variance. The relationship of disease patterns with individual and contextual variables was similar to the overall multimorbidity, with differences among Brazilian regions.ConclusionsIn Brazil, at least 19 million adults had multimorbidity. Frequency is similar to that found in other Low and and Middle Income Countries. Contextual and individual social inequalities were observed.
The freshwater microcrustacean Dendrocephalus brasiliensis, known as branchoneta, has been considered for use as an alternative live feed for commercial aquatic organisms during larval development. ...However, there are limited studies on techniques to improve nauplii hatching. Thus, the aim of this work was to develop a method for reproduction and cyst recovery, following a new process for nauplius production by the enzymatic action of chitinase and/or chemical treatment. The physical and chemical water parameters and hatching rate were monitored, while morphological changes on nauplii were evaluated after enzyme and chemical treatment by Scanning Electron Microscopy. A hatching protocol was developed for the use of Ca(OH)2, ascorbic acid and enzyme, wherein the most efficient concentration of enzyme for hatching cysts was determined. The concentrations of commercial chitinase tested were 0.008 U·mL−1, 0.08 U·mL−1 and 0.16 U·mL−1 in 20 mg of cysts, which resulted in the ideal concentration of 0.16 U·mL−1 yielding 88% hatching efficiency. Therefore, the concentration of 0.16 U·mL−1 was used for the second experimental test, which consisted of a control and five experimental treatments with three replicates. In T1, the cysts were subjected to chitinase, T2 to calcium hydroxide, T3 to ascorbic acid, T4 to calcium hydroxide and ascorbic acid and T5 to calcium hydroxide, ascorbic acid and chitinase. The use of the enzyme showed an increase in the hatching rate of the branchoneta, and the addition of calcium hydroxide and ascorbic acid further increased the hatching efficiency of the nauplii (96%). At the naupliar stage one, the treatment with the use of chitinase, calcium hydroxide and ascorbic acid did not present morphological alterations in nauplii. In larval stage two, nauplii already initiate alterations in the region of the abdomen with T5, with segments developed for the naupliar stage. Therefore, the use of enzyme associated with chemicals promotes an increase in hatching when compared to the traditional hatching process. Moreover, this treatment also promotes a reduction of hatching time, as >80% of total hatching was observed on the first day. The proposed protocol could be used for the hatching of branchoneta cysts for the use of nauplii offered as food until naupliar stage 2 in fish and shrimp larviculture.
•Chitinase, ascorbic acid and Ca(OH)2 promotes higher hatching efficiency of branchoneta cysts.•The effect of chitinase on nauplii morphogenesis is reduced by the presence of ascorbic acid and Ca(OH)2.•High hatching rates allow large scale production of branchoneta nauplii and biomass.•A new process was stablished, from cyst production and processing to optimizing hatching rates.
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