The pathophysiology of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is poorly understood and therapeutic strategies are lacking. This study aimed to identify plasma proteins with pathophysiological relevance in HFpEF and with respect to spironolactone-induced effects. We assessed 92 biomarkers in plasma samples from 386 HFpEF patients—belonging to the Aldo-DHF trial—before (baseline, BL) and after one-year treatment (follow up, FU) with spironolactone (verum) or a placebo. At BL, various biomarkers showed significant associations with the two Aldo-DHF primary end point parameters: 33 with E/e’ and 20 with peak VO2. Ten proteins including adrenomedullin, FGF23 and inflammatory peptides (e.g., TNFRSF11A, TRAILR2) were significantly associated with both parameters, suggesting a role in the clinical HFpEF presentation. For 13 proteins, expression changes from BL to FU were significantly different between verum and placebo. Among them were renin, growth hormone, adrenomedullin and inflammatory proteins (e.g., TNFRSF11A, IL18 and IL4RA), indicating distinct spironolactone-mediated effects. BL levels of five proteins, e.g., inflammatory markers such as CCL17, IL4RA and IL1ra, showed significantly different effects on the instantaneous risk for hospitalization between verum and placebo. This study identified plasma proteins with different implications in HFpEF and following spironolactone treatment. Future studies need to define their precise mechanistic involvement.

INTRODUCTION: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) accounts for half of all clinical heart failure presentations, but unfortunately lacks effective therapies. Therefore, it has become more urgent to elucidate the pathophysiology underlying this disease, both by using patient data and the development of more accurate animal models. With clinical evidence suggesting that skeletal muscle abnormality is a significant factor in the development of exercise intolerance, this thesis investigates whether the salty drinking water, unilateral nephrectomy, and aldosterone (SAUNA) HFpEF mouse model also demonstrates similar skeletal muscle abnormality as seen in patients. METHODS: Eight-weeks old C57BL/6J mice were subjected to a left nephrectomy and given a mini-osmotic pump to deliver a continuous infusion of either saline (Sham) or aldosterone (HFpEF). The mice were then maintained on a standard rodent chow and a 1% sodium chloride solution. After 4 weeks, the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles were harvested. Histological analyses were performed to examine fiber composition, cross-sectional area of fiber, capillary density, and fibrosis. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) and western blot analyses were performed to examine the expression changes in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, vasculature, fibrosis and inflammation. RESULTS: HFpEF mice showed significant increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, increased heart/tibia length ratio, increased wet/dry lung ratio, decreased bodyweight as well as decreased weight of soleus and gastrocnemius muscle relative to tibia length. In oxidative soleus muscle, histological analyses showed a reduction in the abundance of type 1 and type 2A oxidative fiber, reduced cross-sectional area of type 2A fiber, decreased capillary density and increased fibrosis. Molecular analyses showed alterations that are consistent with histological data as well as increased gene expression of inflammatory mediators. In glycolytic gastrocnemius muscle, histological analysis indicated cross-sectional area was reduced for type 2B fibers and increased in type 1 fibers, and decreased capillary density. However, no changes in fiber abundance or in fibrosis was observed. Molecular data was consistent with these findings and revealed an increased gene expression of inflammatory mediators CONCLUSION: Skeletal muscle in SAUNA HFpEF mice displayed significant abnormalities relative to their sham counterparts. These results thus support that SAUNA HFpEF mouse model is suitable and relevant to study skeletal muscle abnormalities and could contribute to the development of novel therapies for HFpEF. / 2025-06-21T00:00:00Z

This research focuses on the evaluation of many aspects of the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) Standard E1-97, “Standard Method for Laboratory Evaluation to Determine Resistance to Subterranean Termites.” This standard is used extensively for testing the efficacy of new products and preservative systems against subterranean termite species. Research was done to determine what changes, if any, are needed for testing against subterranean termite species such as Coptotermes formosanus (Shiraki) and species of native termite genus Reticulitermes (Holmgren), primarily R. flavipes (Kollar). Variables from the current standard were tested to determine effects of parameters such as moisture of sand substrate; size, type, and location of test material within a test bottle; and termite number and ratios of workers to soldiers per test bottle. Research also improved comprehension of termite biology in a laboratory setting, enabling researchers to develop new and safer control methods.

To this day heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remains a poorly understood malady. Half of all heart failure (HF) cases are HFpEF, and the prevalence of HF is on the rise. Unlike HF with reduced ejection fraction, HFpEF has no treatment options and is often times difficult to diagnose because victims of HFpEF often have pre-existing conditions. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been implicated in maintaining myocardial health and is thought to play a role in HFpEF. We sought to test the hypothesis that VEGF-A plays a role in HFpEF in a hypertensive murine model of HFpEF. Using Western blot analysis we found that there was an up regulation of VEGF-A in the homogenized left ventricle (LV) of our HFpEF mice. Unexpectedly, there was a down regulation of VEGF-A in the homogenized tissue from the aorta in those mice. To study the circulating levels of VEGF in our HFpEF mice we used an ELISA. We found that our HFpEF mice had similar levels of circulating VEGF as our control. This suggests that VEGF has paracrine/autocrine role in our HFpEF model rather than endocrine, like our human data suggested. To identify the cells responsible for the expression profile we saw in the homogenized tissue data we looked at the response of adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVM) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) to aldosterone stimulation at short (1hr) and long (24hr) time points at both physiological (50nm) and pathological (1μm) concentrations. To do this analysis we recruited the help of Western blot, ELISA and RT-PCR techniques to construct a consistent VEGF expression profile. The Western blot ARVM data showed statistically significant (P<0.05) increase in VEGF-A to pathological doses of aldosterone, especially at the longer time point. When we tested the VSMC using Western blot analysis, we found that the trend of our n=1 sample suggested a strong response to the physiological dose of aldosterone in the short term. Using the more sensitive ELISA technique to measure the VEGF content of our VCMS we increasing our sample size to n=4 and found no statistically significant (p=NS) response to aldosterone stimulation from the VSMC. However, looking at the trends in the data it is clear that VSMC increases VEGF in response to long-term physiological doses of aldosterone. This is contrary to what we found using Western blot analysis, so we queried the VEGF mRNA from the VSMC to settle the score. Unfortunately, this too proved fruitless. The RT-PCR data was not significant and the trend was that of the ARVM expression profile. We initially turned to VSMC because we hypothesized that they could contribute to the paracrine/autocrine activity similar to what we saw in the LV from the ARVM. It is unclear if VSMC play a role in HFpEF progression, but their lack of consistent response to aldosterone could potential explain the down regulation of VEGF-A we observed in the aorta of our HFpEF mice. We initially sough to test the hypothesis that VEGF-A plays a role in our HFpEF mouse model, what we found was that ARVM contribute to localized VEGF-A increased production in the LV while in the aorta there is a down regulation of VEGF-A in our HFpEF model, we are unable to make any conclusion about VSMC response to aldosterone because of insufficient sample size. Thus in conclusion, it appears that VEGF-A does play a role in our HFpEF model specifically in a paracrine/autocrine manner in the LV where the ARVM contributes to the increased production of the cytokine.

Magistro darbe tiriama ekologinės ir įprastinės žemdirbystės plėtra Dovinės upės baseino Simno, Krosnos ir Igliaukos seniūnijų agrarinėse teritorijose. Darbo tikslas: Įvertinti įprastinės ir ekologinės gamybos ūkių skaičiaus kitimo tendencijas Simno, Krosnos ir Igliaukos seniūnijose. Darbo objektas: Simno, Krosnos ir Igliaukos seniūnijų ekologinės ir įprastinės gamybos ūkiai. Darbo metodai: Mokslinės literatūros analizė, dokumentų analizės metodas, duomenų grupavimas, statistiniai metodai, grafinis vaizdavimas. Darbo rezultatai: Tyrimų rezultatai parodė, kad įprastinės ir ekologinės gamybos ūkių skaičius Simno, Krosnos ir Igliaukos seniūnijose per 2008 metus mažėjo: įprastinės 9,6 procento, ekologinės 14,2 proc. Mažėjimo priežastis - ūkininkaujančių amžiaus didėjimas, nuosavybės į žemę perleidimas kitiems asmenims, pasitraukimas iš prekinės žemės ūkio gamybos. Pagal ES Nitratų direktyva gyvulių skaičius 1 ha turi būti nedidesnis negu 1,7 SG. Išnagrinėjus laikomų gyvulių skaičių nagrinėtose seniūnijose 1 ha vidutiniškai tenka 0,35 - 0,49 sąlyginio gyvulio (SG). Lyginant 2008 metų ir 2007 metų duomenis, sąlyginių gyvulių skaičius tenkantis 1 ha Igliaukos ir Krosnos seniūnijose turi tendenciją mažėti. Igliaukos, Krosnos ir Simno seniūnijos ūkiuose pasėlių struktūroje daugėja javų, o daugiamečių žolių mažėja. Ši tendencija kelia rūpestį dėl galimos agrarinės apkrovos didėjimo Dovinės upės baseine. / Master thesis analyzed ecological and traditional farming development in the Dovines basin Simno, Krosnos and Igliaukos agrarian regions. Aim of the work: to evaluate tendencies of quantity changes in traditional and ecological production farms in Simnas, Krosna and Igliauka regions. Object of the work: ecological and usual farming in Simnas, Krosna and Igliauka districts. Methods: Scientific literature content analysis and synthesis, logical abstracts, sample survey, data grouping, method of statistical analysis, graphic presentation. Results: Research results revealed that number of traditional and ecological production farms in Simno, Krosnos and Igliaukos regions decreased during 2008. Traditional farms decreased 9,6 percent, ecological farms 14, 4 percent. Reduce reasons -farmers' aging, surrender of property to other persons and recession from merchant agriculture production. According to EU Nitrates Directive, the amount of livestock in 1 hectare can not be higher than 1,7 of conditional animal. After evaluation of livestock amount in Simno, Krosnos and Igliaukos regions, it was perceived that in 1 hectare are approximately 0, 35 - 0, 49 of conditional animal. While comparing 2007 and 2008 data, the amount of conditional animals in 1 ha had the tendency to decrease. The amount of corns is growing in crops structure in Simno, Krosnos and Igliaukos regions. Although the quantity of perennial herbs decreasing. This tendency is posing an issue about possible increase of... [to full text]

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and congestive heart failure (CHF) patients have higher serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), which alters the test interpretation. We aim to define BNP cutoff levels to diagnose acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in CKD according to CHF subtype: heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Material and methods: We reviewed 1,437 charts of consecutive patients who were admitted for dyspnea. We excluded patients with normal kidney function, without measured BNP, echocardiography, or history of CHF. BNP cutoff values to diagnose ADHF for CKD stages according to CHF subtype were obtained for the highest pair of sensitivity (Sn) and specificity (Sp). We calculated positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR–, respectively), and diagnostic odds ratios (DOR), as well as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) for BNP. Results: We evaluated a cohort of 348 consecutive patients: 152 had ADHF, and 196 had stable CHF. In those with HFpEF with CKD stages 3–4, BNP < 155 pg/ml rules out ADHF (Sn90%, LR– = 0.26 and DOR = 5.75), and BNP > 670 pg/ml rules in ADHF (Sp90%, LR+ = 4 and DOR = 6), with an AUC = 0.79 (95% CI: 0.71–0.87). In contrast, in those with HFrEF with CKD stages 3–4, BNP < 412.5 pg/ml rules out ADHF (Sn90%, LR– = 0.19 and DOR = 9.37), and BNP > 1166.5 pg/ml rules in ADHF (Sp87%, LR+ = 3.9 and DOR = 6.97) with an AUC = 0.78 (95% CI: 0.69–0.86). All LRs and DOR were statistically significant. Conclusions: BNP cutoff values for the diagnosis of ADHF in HFrEF were higher than those in HFpEF across CKD stages 3–4, with moderate discriminatory diagnostic ability. / Revisión por pares

abstract: Heart failure is a major worldwide health concern and is the leading cause of hospitalization among elderly Americans. Approximately 50% of those diagnosed with heart failure have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF). HFPEF presents a therapeutic dilemma because pharmacological strategies that are effective for the treatment of heart failure and reduced ejection fraction have failed to show benefit in HFPEF. Long term moderate intensity exercise programs have been shown to improve diastolic function in patients HFPEF. High intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to improve diastolic function in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. However, the effects of high intensity interval training in patients with HFPEF are unknown. Fourteen patients with HFPEF were randomized to either: (1) a novel program of high-intensity aerobic interval training (n = 8), or (2) a commonly prescribed program of moderate-intensity (MOD) aerobic exercise training (n = 6). Before and after four weeks of exercise training, patients underwent a treadmill graded exercise test for the determination of peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), a brachial artery reactivity test for assessment of endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (BAFMD), aortic pulse wave velocity assessment as an index of vascular stiffness and two-dimensional echocardiography for assessment of left ventricular diastolic and systolic function. I hypothesized that (1) high-intensity aerobic interval training would result in superior improvements in FMD, aortic pulse wave velocity, VO2peak, diastolic function and, (2) changes in these parameters would be correlated with changes in VO2peak. The principal findings of the study were that a one month long high intensity interval training program resulted in significant improvements in diastolic function as measured by two-dimensional echocardiography [pre diastolic dysfunction (DD) grade - 2.13 + 0.4 vs. post DD grade - 1.25 + 0.7, p = 0.03]. The left atrial volume index was reduced in the HIIT group compared to MOD ( - 4.4 + 6.2 ml/m2 vs. 5.8 + 10.7 ml/m2, p = 0.02). Early mitral flow (E) improved in the HIIT group (pre - 0.93 + 0.2 m/s vs. post - 0.78 + 0.3 m/s, p = 0.03). A significant inverse correlation was observed between change in BAFMD and change in diastolic dysfunction grade (r = - 0.585, p = 0.028) when all the data were pooled. HIIT appears to be a time-efficient and safe strategy for improving diastolic function in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction. These data may have implications for cardiovascular risk reduction in this population. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Exercise and Wellness 2012

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T12:05:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese katia kopp.pdf: 961457 bytes, checksum: 3756d48b10534109e9caa6f1bb961523 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-30 / Composition and diversity of anuran amphibians in preserved and disturbed environments in the Cerrado of the State of Goiás, Mid-West Brazil. The Cerrado is the second largest biome of Brazil, with an approximate area of 2 million km², which represents about 23% of the total area of the country. Despite the high conversion of natural areas of the Cerrado in agricultural areas and pastures, comparative studies that address aspects of the composition and diversity of frogs from adjacent areas in different states of conservation are lacking. Thus, this study aimed to address taxonomic richness and community composition of anuran amphibians in twelve water bodies located in preserved areas (inside the National Park of Emas - PNE) and disturbed areas located around the PNE to test whether the structure of frogs communities is different in preserved and disturbed areas and whether species richness is correlated with descriptors of the heterogeneity of habitats. Were recorded 25 species of frogs belonging to nine genera of five families in the 12 water bodies sampled. Species richness was higher in disturbed than in preserved areas. Diversity and equitability were significantly higher in preserved water bodies (P <0.05) while dominance was higher in disturbed water bodies. An analysis of percentage of similarity (SIMPER) showed that the percentage of dissimilarity between the compared groups was 52.26%. The analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed significant results on differentiation between groups (Global R = 0.17, P = 0.04). Species richness was not related to any descriptor of heterogeneity. Geographic distance was related to species composition between sampled water bodies (r = -0.35, p = 0.01). At least two non-exclusive factors may be responsible for patterns of species composition and diversity of frogs found in the environments studied: a) the disturbance caused by human action in the use of natural areas for agriculture and livestock enables greater richness of species in disturbed areas, which is consistent with the hypothesis of intermediate disturbance, b) the migration between adjacent ponds allows the maintenance of communities and patterns of species composition. Thus, although species richness was lower in preserved water bodies, the highest diversity recorded in such habitats demonstrates their importance for the maintenance of community integrity and viable frogs populations / As comunidades de anfíbios anuros, inclusive em regiões tropicais, são influenciadas diretamente pelas condições ambientais, as quais desempenham um papel importante na estruturação e regulação das comunidades. Esse estudo teve como objetivo determinar a diversidade de modos reprodutivos, a temporada de vocalização e testar a correlação das variáveis climáticas com a riqueza, a abundância dos anuros adultos e dos girinos e com a atividade de vocalização dos machos em 12 corpos d&#8223;água localizados no interior e entorno do Parque Nacional das Emas, sudoeste do Estado de Goiás, Brasil. Foram realizadas 16 amostragens entre dezembro de 2005 e março de 2008. Um total de 25 espécies de cinco famílias foram registradas: Bufonidae (1 espécie), Hylidae (9 espécies), Leptodactylidae (8 espécies), Leiuperidae (6 espécies), Microhylidae (1 espécie). Quatro padrões de atividade reprodutiva foram reconhecidos entre as espécies: contínuo, intermediário, prolongado e explosivo. A riqueza de anuros adultos, a abundância e atividade de vocalização dos machos foram positivamente relacionadas com a temperatura do ar, umidade e precipitação. A riqueza de girinos foi positivamente relacionada com a precipitação e com a temperatura da água, mas não houve relação da abundância de girinos com nenhum dos descritores climáticos. Foram registrados seis modos reprodutivos 56% das espécies apresentaram modos reprodutivos aquáticos generalizados, e 44% depositam os ovos em ninhos de espuma. As espécies registradas no presente estudo apresentaram predominância de modos reprodutivos generalizados e padrão reprodutivo tipicamente associado ao período quente e chuvoso, como esperado para regiões tropicais sazonais. Entretanto, a segregação temporal entre grupos de espécies dentro do período chuvoso parece facilitar a coexistência de espécies generalistas típicas de áreas abertas e/ou antrópicas

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T13:46:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leticia_Bauer_Nino_Dissertacao.pdf: 5915772 bytes, checksum: 9c3e73296507137bb6040e18d305a284 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-09-12 / The study aims to analyze the representations of the social actors in the city of Pelotas, RS, about the use of the natural resources, considering the emergence of a new juridical mark that regularizes farming activities, and conservationist or environmental sustainability objectives. Also, inquires if it is possible to conciliate farmers interest, their practices and representations about the property of the productive resources with the society effort to preserve the integrity of the agroecosystems. The referential and theoretical support of this research is the Moscovici´s Theory of the Social Representations (1961). A qualitative research was done, whit eleven individual semi structured interviews. The wide objective of the analysis was to look for sense and comprehension. As data were collected by semi structured interviews, the most adequate analysis was the one of the content and, more specific, the analysis of the assessment, which try to reveal the social representations or the judgments of the actors by the examination of certain constructive elements of the speech. The content analysis of the interviews revealed that, in spite of the diversity of the visions of the social actors who were interviewed about the persistence of the resquicious of the old conception of property use in absolute terms in one side, and the contemporary way of their submission to collective interests of environmental preservation and sustainability at the other side, the conflict, that is clearly perceptive between those positions, is passing through a mutual adjustment by the adaptation of the environmental legislation, the sustainability exigencies and social practices, originating new theories and living practices, with reciprocal tolerance of the consciences / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar as representações de atores sociais do município de Pelotas, RS sobre o uso dos recursos naturais, em que pese a emergência de um novo marco jurídico que regula as atividades agropecuárias, em meio aos objetivos conservacionistas ou da sustentabilidade ambiental. Indagar, ainda, se é possível conciliar os interesses dos produtores, suas práticas e representações sobre a propriedade dos recursos produtivos com o esforço da sociedade em preservar a integridade dos agroecossistemas. A pesquisa tem como referencial e apoio teórico a Teoria das representações sociais de Moscovici (1961). Assim, foi feita uma pesquisa qualitativa, na qual foram realizadas onze entrevistas individuais semi-estruturadas. O objetivo amplo da análise foi procurar sentidos e compreensão. Tendo em vista que a coleta de dados foi feita através da aplicação de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, o tipo de análise mais adequado foi o de conteúdo, e mais especificamente, foram feitas análises da avaliação, que são as que tentam principalmente revelar as representações sociais ou os juízos dos locutores a partir de um exame de certos elementos constitutivos do discurso. A análise do conteúdo das entrevistas revelou que, inobstante a diversidade de visões dos atores sociais entrevistados sobre, de um lado, a persistência, ainda, de resquícios da antiga concepção do uso da propriedade em um aspecto absoluto e, de outro lado, o caminho contemporâneo de sua submissão aos interesses coletivos pela preservação ambiental e pela sustentabilidade, o conflito, ainda claramente perceptível entre as posições, está passando por uma mútua adequação obtida através da adaptação tanto da legislação ambiental e das exigências da sustentabilidade quanto das práticas sociais, originando a formação de novas posturas, teóricas e práticas e de convivência, com maior tolerância recíproca das consciências

The long digital extensor tendon can suffer trauma with considerable lack of a segment, becoming extremely difficult the primary repair due to muscle contraction and wound contamination. In order to correct this, an experimental model was developed, using 6 adult ponies, weighing betweem 150 to 200 kg. Before the pre surgical adaptation, the animals were submitted to a surgical procedure under general anaesthesia. Through a surgical incision in the right rear limb, a piece of 3cm in length of the long digital extensor tendon was removed. In the tendon gap was implanted an homologus tendon segment preserved in glyceril 98% by mean of a Kessler modified suture, with mononylon 2.0. In the other limb was done a similar defect with excision of 3cm of the same tendon, repaired only with Kessler modified suture, leaving the mononylon strands in the gap, without the use of preserved homograft. After the surgical procedure, an external restraint with acrylic device was applied in both rear legs for a period of 60 days. Ninety days after the surgery all animals went under a new procedure in which, there were done biopsies of both repaired tendons. Besides they went thought histological analysis. It was verified that there was a good healing in both repairing methods. The tendon that was grafted presented advantages such as the dimensions maintenance of the receptor tendon. As well as the peritendineous adherence missing. As for the limb function there was not observed any change, so all animals, regardless of the repairing methods, presented a perfect motion in different trails level. / O tendão do músculo extensor digital longo (TEDL) pode sofrer ferimento traumático com considerável perda de segmento, tornando extremamente difícil o seu reparo primário devido à contratura dos músculos e contaminação da ferida. Com base nesta observação foi elaborado um modelo experimental em que foram utilizados seis pôneis adultos com peso médio de 100 kg. Após o período de adaptação pré-operatória, os animais foram submetidos à intervenção cirúrgica, sob anestesia geral inalatória, onde foi realizada a secção de um segmento de 3cm de comprimento do TEDL do membro posterior direito, mimetizando uma ruptura tendínea total. Em seguida foi implantado na falha tendínea, um segmento de tendão homólogo preservado em glicerina a 98% sendo este fixado aos cotos proximal e distal por meio de sutura de Kessler modificada com fio de nailon onofilamentoso 2.0. No membro contra-lateral foi realizado um defeito semelhante, onde também procedeu-se a retirada de segmento do TEDL medindo cerca de 3cm de comprimento. Para a reparação foi realizada somente a sutura de Kessler, ficando os fios de sutura no espaço criado, orientando desta maneira os cotos tendíneos, diferenciando do procedimento realizado no membro posterior direito pelo fato de não sofrer implantação de segmento tendíneo homólogo preservado. Após o procedimento cirúrgico todos os animais foram submetidos à imobilização externa com gesso acrílico em ambos os membros operados, por um período de sessenta dias, com o objetivo de impedir a flexão da articulação metatarsofalangeana evitando tensão na linha de anastomose . Decorridos noventa dias de pós-operatório, todos os animais passaram por nova intervenção cirúrgica, onde foram realizadas biópsias de ambos os tendões reparados e então submetidos a análise histológica. Onde se verificou adiantado estágio de cicatrização em ambos os métodos de reparo, sendo que o tendão que recebeu o implante apresentou vantagens, como a manutenção do diâmetro e espessura do tendão receptor e ausência de aderências peritendíneas. Quanto à funcionalidade dos membros operados não foi verificada nenhuma alteração digna de nota, pois todos os animais, independente do método de reparo, deambularam perfeitamente nas diferentes fases da marcha.