Este estudo foi desenvolvido para investigar os efeitos da suplementação dietética de cromo, da densidade no transporte para o frigorífico e da duração do descanso pré-abate sobre os indicadores de bem-estar, desempenho e qualidade de carne de ovinos confinados. Sessenta e quatro ovinos cruzados White Dorper x Santa Inês, foram divididos em dois grupos no confinamento: grupo controle e grupo que recebeu suplementação de 2 mg cromo orgânico diariamente. Durante as pesagens foram avaliados o ganho de peso, a reatividade dos animais por meio velocidade de fuga e da movimentação, intensidade de respiração e vocalização durante o manejo em balança, além do registro de variáveis climáticas. O transporte ao frigorífico foi realizado com duas densidades distintas, 0,2 m2 por animal e 0,3 m2 por animal. Foram aplicados dois períodos de descanso, de 7 e 14 horas, após o desembarque, antes do abate. Durante as pesagens do confinamento e o manejo pré-abate foram colhidas amostras de sangue para análise de cortisol, glicose e insulina. No frigorífico foram classificadas as carcaças quanto à presença de contusões, medidas as temperaturas e pH das carcaças às 1h e 24h, além de serem retiradas amostras do músculo Longissimus dorsi para análise da qualidade de carne. Para análise dos dados dessa etapa foi utilizado o procedimento Mixed do SAS utilizando-se tratamento, tempo, transporte e tempo de espera como efeito fixo e o sexo como efeito aleatório, assim como suas interações. Em caso de resultados significativos (P < 0,05) para as fontes de variações avaliadas nas análises de variância, foi adotado como procedimento para comparações múltiplas o Teste t de Student. Não foi verificado efeito significativo (P > 0,05) dos tratamentos estudados sobre os valores de desempenho, reatividade, contusão, características de carcaça, glicogênio muscular, extrato etéreo, características L* e a* da cor e perdas totais ao cozimento. Para as características de croma b* houve efeito significativo (P < 0,05) da suplementação de cromo, onde os animais que receberam cromo diariamente apresentaram um valor menor de b*. Para a maciez houve interação entre a suplementação de cromo e o tempo de espera. Os animais que receberam a suplementação diária de cromo apresentaram uma melhor maciez com o menor tempo de espera, diferente dos animais que não receberam a suplementação de cromo, que apresentaram uma melhor maciez com o maior tempo de espera. Para as análises de bilirrubina, fosfatase alcalina, insulina avaliadas durante o confinamento, não foi verificado efeito (P > 0,05) da suplementação de cromo diário, mas foi encontrado efeito (P < 0,0001) do tempo de confinamento sobre as médias de insulina. Além disso, foi encontrada uma interação (P < 0,0001) da suplementação de cromo com o tempo de confinamento para as médias de glicose. Para o cortisol verificou-se uma interação significativa (P = 0,0046) entre a suplementação de cromo e o tempo de confinamento, onde os animais que receberam a suplementação de cromo apresentaram menores valores de cortisol sanguíneo. Ainda, durante o manejo pré-abate foi observado efeito (P < 0,05) da densidade de transporte, onde os animais que foram transportados em menor densidade (0,3 m2.animal-1) apresentaram menores valores de cortisol. Após 7 horas de espera no abatedouro não houve diminuição da concentração dos níveis séricos de cortisol (P > 0,05), porém, após 14 horas de espera observou-se uma queda significativa desses níveis (P < 0,001). Com esses resultados podemos concluir que a suplementação de cromo não influenciou nas características de desempenho e reatividade, porém, melhorou a maciez em um menor tempo de espera. A densidade de transporte não alterou a qualidade da carne, mas influenciou no bem-estar dos animais. O período de descanso de 14 horas antes do abate diminui o estresse e os níveis séricos de cortisol. / The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of chromium supplementation, the density in transport to the slaughterhouse and the duration of resting periods before slaughter, on the indicators of welfare, growth and meat quality of individual feedlot lambs. Sixty four crossbred White Dorper breed with Santa Ines were divided into two groups in confinement: control group and the group that received daily supplementation of 2 mg organic chromium. During the weighing weight gain were evaluated, as the reactivity of the animals through the flight velocity and movement, intensity of respiration and vocalization during handling in balance, as well as recording of climatic variables. The transport to the slaughterhouse was performed with two different densities, 0.2 m2 and 0.3 m2 per animal. Two resting periods of 7 and 14 hours were applied after transport, before slaughter. During confinement weighing and the pre-slaughter management blood samples were collected for cortisol, glucose and insulin analysis. Carcasses were classified for the presence of bruises and measurement of the temperature and pH at 0 and 24 hours, and samples of the Longissimus dorsi muscle were collected for meat quality analysis. Data analysis used mixed procedure of SAS using treatment, time, transportation and resting period as fixed effect and random effect the sex as well as their interactions. In case of significant results (P < 0.05) of data evaluated in the procedure of analysis of variance it was adopted for multiple comparisons the Student t test. No effect was observed (P > 0.05) for the treatments on the values of performance, reactivity, contusion, carcass characteristics, muscle glycogen, lipids, and features L* color a* and total cooking losses. For the characteristics of b* it was found a significant effect (P < 0.05) for chromium supplementation, with lower values of b*. To the tenderness it was found an interaction between supplementation and resting period, and the animals that received daily supplementation of chromium showed better tenderness with shorter resting periods, different from animals that received no supplementation which showed better tenderness with longest resting periods. For the analysis of bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, insulin evaluated during confinement, no significant effect was observed (P > 0.05) of daily supplemental chromium, but no effect of insulin was found (P < 0.0001) over time confinanent. Furthermore, it was found an interaction (P < 0.0001) of supplementation time for glucose values. For cortisol, there was a significant interaction (P = 0.0046) between chromium supplementation and confinement time, where animals that received supplementation had lower levels of blood cortisol. Still, during the pre-slaughter management it was observed a significant effect (P < 0.05) of the density of transport, where the animals that were transported in smaller density (0.3 m2.animal-1) showed lower values of cortisol. After 7 hours of resting period in the slaughterhouse, there was no decrease in the concentration of serum cortisol (P > 0.05 ), but after 14 hours it was observed a significant decrease in these levels (P < 0.001). With these results it can be conclude that chromium supplementation did not affect the performance characteristics and reactivity, however, improved tenderness in a shorter resting period. The density of transport did not alter the meat quality, but influenced the welfare of animals. The resting period before slaughter decreases stress and serum cortisol levels when the period is higher than 7 hours.

O presente trabalho avaliou a mortalidade de suínos no pré-abate através de análises anatomopatológica a fim de identificar as causas envolvidas. O estudo foi realizado durante os períodos de verão e inverno do ano de 2015 em um frigorífico do estado do Rio Grande do Sul que conta com Serviço de Inspeção Federal e está localizado na região do Vale do Taquari. No verão, foram contabilizadas 141 mortes do total de 117.260 (0,12%), enquanto que, no inverno, foram 75 mortes do total de 127.286 (0,05%). Dos 216 suínos mortos nos dois períodos, 170 foram submetidos a necropsia. Amostras foram examinadas no laboratório do Setor de Patologia Veterinária da Faculdade de Veterinária da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Entre as causas de morte diagnosticadas, as úlceras gástricas na região do quadrilátero esofágico e piloro foram as mais frequentes, sendo 29,2% (31/106) no verão e 32,8% (21/64) no inverno. As alterações pulmonares, como pneumonia enzoótica, influenza, broncopneumonia bacteriana e pleurite, foram o segundo diagnóstico mais frequente, sendo observado 15,1% (16/106) no verão e 18,8% (12/64) no inverno. A insuficiência cardíaca, incluindo pericardite bacteriana, endocardite bacteriana, cardiomiopatia hipertrófica, miocardite, infarto do miocárdio e neoplasia, apresentou-se em uma frequência de 14,2% (15/106) no verão e 9,4% (6/64) no inverno. A dilatação gástrica aguda causada pelo excesso de ração no estômago também foi um importante diagnóstico obtido, sendo 8,5% (9/106) no verão e 4,7% (3/64) no inverno. Rupturas de fígado foram observadas em 5,7% das mortes (6/106) no verão e 7,8% (5/64) no inverno, enquanto que rupturas de baço foram observadas em 0,9% das mortes (1/106) no verão e 1,6% (1/64) no inverno, representando diagnósticos importantes, mas pouco descritos na literatura como causa de morte. A enteropatia proliferativa foi diagnosticada em 5,7% dos casos (6/106) no verão e 4,7% (3/64) no inverno. A torção de mesentério foi responsável por 3,8% (4/106) das mortes ocorridas no verão e 6,2% (4/64) no inverno. Em menor frequência observaram-se as polisserosites, presente em 2,8% (3/106) dos suínos mortos no verão e 3,1% (2/64) no inverno. Já a fratura de fêmur somente foi observada em 0,9% dos casos (1/106) no período de verão. Casos inconclusivos representaram 13,2% (14/106) no verão e 10,9% (7/64) no inverno. Também se observou que a mortalidade pré-abate nas duas épocas do ano avaliadas ocorre mais em suínos que estão no período de descanso (64,5% (139/216) do que durante o transporte (35,5% (77/216). / The present study evaluated the mortality of pigs just prior to slaughter through histopathological analysis in order to identify the causes of death. The study was conducted during the summer and winter of 2015 in a slaughter that has Federal Inspection Service in Rio Grande do Sul State located in Taquari Valley. During the summer, 141 deaths were accounted from the total deaths of 117 260 (0.12%), while, in the winter, it were 75 deaths from the total of 127.286 (0.05%). Of the 216 carcasses of dead animals in both periods, 170 were analyzed. Samples were examined in the laboratory of the Veterinary Pathology Sector of the Veterinary School of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Among the causes of death diagnosed, gastric ulcers in the esophageal quadrilateral region and pylorus were the most frequent, which represented 29.2% (31/106) in the summer and 32.8% (21/64) in winter. Pulmonary disorders such as enzootic pneumonia, influenza, bacterial pneumonia and pleuritis, were the second most frequent diagnosis, observed in 15.1% (16/106) in the summer and 18.8% (12/64) in the winter. Heart failure, including bacterial pericarditis, bacterial endocarditis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, myocardial infarction and neoplasia, had a frequency of 14.2% (15/106) in the summer and 9.4% (6/64) in the winter. Acute gastric dilatation caused by excess food in the stomach was also an important diagnosis, with 8.5% (9/106) in the summer and 4.7% (3/64) in the winter. Liver ruptures were observed in 5.7% of deaths (6/106) in summer and 7.8% (5/64) in the winter, while spleen ruptures were observed in 0.9% of deaths (1/106 ) in summer and 1.6% (1/64) in the winter, representing important diagnoses, however it is rarely reported in the literature as a cause of pig death. Proliferative enteropathy was diagnosed in 5.7% of the cases (6/106) in the summer and 4.7% (3/64) in the winter. Mesenteric torsion was diagnosed in 3.8% (4/106) of deaths in the summer and 6.2% (4/64) in the winter. Polyserositis were observed in lower frequency, 2.8% (3/106) of dead pigs in the summer and 3.1% (2/64) in the winter. Femur fracture was only observed in 0.9% of cases of death (1/106) in the summer period. Inconclusive cases accounted for 13.2% (14/106) in the summer and 10.9% (7/64) in the winter. It was also noted that pre-slaughter mortality in both seasons of the evaluated year occurs more in pigs that are in the rest period (64.5% (139/216) than during transportation (35.5% (77/216).

Orientador: Jorge Laço Portinho / Resumo: O objetivo deste estudo foi conhecer a distribuição de Cladocera na zona litorânea de lagoas marginais, abrangendo a comunidade de forma completa, incluindo suas formas ativa e dormente, encontradas nos habitats que compõem essa região: coluna d’água, sedimento e banco de macrófitas. O estudo foi realizado em quatro lagoas marginais. Em cada lagoa foram definidas quatro estações de amostragem, em cada estação foram amostrados os três habitats, sedimento e macrófita (comunidade dormente), e coluna d’água abaixo das macrófitas (comunidade ativa). Ao investigar essa organização, observamos que a comunidade de Cladocera se distribui de forma heterogênea entre os três habitats. O banco de ovos no sedimento apresenta maior riqueza de espécies e maior número de ovos, quando comparado ao banco de ovos nas macrófitas. A comunidade ativa e os bancos de ovos apresentam elevada interação em relação à deposição e eclosão de ovos. O sedimento e a coluna d’água são os principais habitats onde as espécies se distribuem, e embora apresentem elevada similaridade entre si (táxons em comum), esses habitats isoladamente não são capazes de representar de forma completa a composição e riqueza da comunidade de Cladocera da região litorânea, pois cada um apresenta táxons de ocorrência exclusiva. / Abstract: The objective of this study was to know the distribution of Cladocera in littoral area of marginal lagoons, covering the community completely, including its active and dormant forms found in the habitats that make up this area: macrophytes bank, sediment and water column. The study was carried out in four marginal lakes. In each lake four sampling stations were defined, in each station the three habitats were sampled, sediment and macrophyte (dormant egg banks), and water column below the macrophytes (active community). In investigating this organization, we observed that the community of Cladocera is distributed heterogeneously among the three habitats. The egg bank in the sediment presents higher species richness and higher egg numbers when compared to egg banks in macrophytes. The active community and the egg banks present high interaction in relation to resting eggs deposition and hatching. The sediment and the water column are the main habitats where the species are distributed, and although they have a high similarity between them (common taxa), these habitats alone are not able to fully represent the composition and richness of the community of Cladocera in littoral area, since each one presents taxa of exclusive occurrence. / Mestre

The two most common methods to measure resting metabolic rate using indirect calorimetry are steady state or time interval. Steady state is commonly defined as the first five minutes in which oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production vary by <10%. A time interval measurement generally lasts 20-60 minutes. Using steady state criteria is often harder to achieve, but many suggest it more accurately measures resting metabolic rate. Our objective was to determine if there were differences between steady state and time interval measurements in a healthy adult population. Seventy seven subjects were measured for 45 minutes. Inclusion criteria included healthy subjects ages 18-65, excluding pregnant and lactating women. Paired t-tests analyzed differences between measures, and Bland-Altman plots evaluated bias, precision, and accuracy. Of 77 subjects, 84% achieved steady state, and 95% achieved SS by minute 30. Most differences between steady state and time intervals were statistically but not practically significant. Bland-Altman plots showed steady state measurements were generally lower indicating that steady state is more indicative of resting metabolic rate. Minutes 6-25 were most precise, accurate and fairly unbiased compared to steady state. We recommend measuring a subject for 30 minutes and using steady state criteria of <10% variation of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production for five minutes if a subject is able to achieve it. However, if a subject cannot achieve steady state, we recommend averaging minutes 6-25.

Orofacial clefts are among the most common congenital defects in the United States, affecting roughly 1 in 600 births annually. A majority of these cases are considered to be “isolated” clefts of the lip and/or palate (ICLP). However the term “isolated” is somewhat of a misnomer, as functional deficits frequently accompany ICLP. One of the most problematic yet understudied of these deficits involves the high prevalence of reading disabilities in this population. It has been estimated that as high as 46% of children with ICLP will be diagnosed with a reading disability, particularly dyslexia. Despite this high prevalence and the well-established neurological basis of dyslexia, relatively little attention has been paid to the role that brain development plays in the reading problems in ICLP. Previous studies from our lab have demonstrated significant changes in brain structure in children with ICLP (that have importantly correlated with functional measures). However we have yet to combine both a structural and functional neuroimaging study with an in-depth analysis of reading dysfunction in this population. The current study examined boys with ICLP, age 8-12 (boys have a higher prevalence of ICLP and show more significant reading problems that girls with ICLP) compared to healthy control boys. Measures of cognitive functioning were obtained with an emphasis on reading and language skills. In addition MRI scans were obtained which included volumetric measures, diffusion-weighted measures (DWI; white matter), and connectivity measures (resting-state fMRI). Even after controlling for the effect of socioeconomic status, boys with ICLP showed significant decreases in reading and language skills (particularly reading fluency). Boys with ICLP did not show significant differences on phonlogical measures (the primary cause of dyslexia). In addition, phonological measures were not predictive of reading fluency, while object naming tasks were predictive of reading fluency in boys with ICLP. For white matter integrity, measures of fractional anisotropy (FA) were found to be increased in the right occipital lobe for boys with ICLP indicating more organized white matter in this region. This increase in right occipital FA was also predictive of better reading outcomes, particularly reading fluency. For more specific white matter tracts, only the fornix and the tapetum (both associated with the temporal lobes) showed a significant difference with a decrease in FA for boys with ICLP. The decrease in FA in the tapetum was also predictive of better reading outcomes in ICLP. When looking at resting-state networks, boys with ICLP showed an increase in connectivity within posterior and subcortical regions when compared to healthy control boys, indicating stronger network connections within the posterior language regions of the brain. Taken together, these results point to differences in both structural and functional connectivity in the brains boys with ICLP. Furthermore, this pattern is different than that found in children with developmental dyslexia as there appears to be no disruption of the posterior reading systems. Cognitive measures also indicate normal phonological awareness in this group, further distinguishing them from dyslexic children. Boys with ICLP instead may be over-relying on these posterior, more visually oriented reading systems as a compensatory mechanism to overcome problems with the development of the typical “lexical route” of reading.

This study measured total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) in adults at least 50 years of age. The goal was to determine the effect of the estimate of resting metabolic rate (RMR) on the relationship between energy expenditure estimates made using (a) self-reports of physical activity and (b) food intake records. The objectives were to determine if (a) RMR estimates based on body composition, body weight, and the 111 metabolic cart were strongly related to each other, and (b) TDEE estimates based on a 7- day physical activity diary and a 7-day food intake record were more strongly related to each other when an RMR was used that was based on body composition, body weight, or the met cart. This was a three-phase study. In phases I and II, the Pearson r was computed for all combinations of methods . If r > .80, the most practical method for field use was used in the next phase. Phase I: Estimated body composition using bioimpedance (BIA), skinfold (SKF), and girth. Phase II: Measured RMR using a met cart and three equations. Phase III: Computed TDEE using the self-reports. The Pearson r was computed to determine which methods of estimating RMR resulted in the strongest relationships. Forty-four older adults participated. Phase I: r = .88 for SKF, girth; r = .64 for SKF, BIA. Phase II: rs ranged from .47 to .59 between the met cart-RMR and all the other methods; rs ranged from .84 to .98 for the remaining methods. Phase III: r = .41 between the two estimates of TDEE that used a body weight -RMR; r = .59 between estimates using a met cart-RMR; and r = .58 between estimates using a body composition-RMR. Even though r = .59 and r = .58 are similar, the average individual difference between the two estimates for each participant was smaller for the metabolic cart- RMR (372 calories /day) than for the body composition-RMR (1,045 calories /day), which suggests that body composition is not as useful as a met cart when estimating TDEE for older adults . When estimating clients' daily calorie needs, health professionals ought to consider using a met cart to estimate RMR and TDEE instead of other methods .

In this study, Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC13705 (A. vinelandii), which is a free-living, nitrogen-fixing, gram-negative, and aerobic rod bacterium, was need to evaluate its ability to biodegrade tetracyanonickelate (TCN) under different conditions. Results show that A. vinelandii was able to biodegrade various concentrations of TCN (1, 10, and 20 mM) under aerobic conditions. Oxygen consumption and nitrogenase activity were investigated at 1 mM of TCN. Results indicate that the production of ammonia and methane was observed when TCN was consumed. Results suggest that nitrogenase was possibly involved in the enzymatic degradation of TCN. Moreover, higher degradation rate of TCN, higher nitrogenase activity, higher oxygen consumption, and higher specific growth rates were also observed at log growth period. Results suggest that the hypothesis of respiratory protection of nitrogenase is supported. Moreover, the addition of ammonia (1, 5, and 10 mM) would cause the decrease of TCN degradation rate (28%) during a 24-hr incubation period. Inhibition of TCN degradation (degradation rate¡G16% for 24 hrs) was observed when nitrite (5 and 10 mM) was added into the growth medium. Furthermore, the addition of 8% of glucose would significantly enhance the TCN degradation by the resting cells (degradation rate¡G43% for 8 hrs) . Results from this study provide us insight into the characteristics and mechanisms of TCN conversion by A. vinelandii.

The sensorimotor cortex is a brain region comprising the primary motor cortex (MI) and the primary somatosensory (SI) cortex. In humans, investigation into these regions suggests that MI and SI are involved in the modulation and control of motor and somatosensory processing, and are somatotopically organized according to a body plan (Penfield & Boldrey, 1937). Additional investigations into somatotopic mapping in relation to the limbs in the peripheral nervous system and SI in central nervous system have further born out the importance of this body-based organization (Wall & Dubner, 1972). Understanding the nature of the sensorimotor cortex‟s structure and function has broad implications not only for human development, but also motor learning (Taubert et al., 2011) and clinical applications in structural plasticity in Parkinson‟s disease (Sehm et al., 2014), among others. The aim of the present thesis is to identify functionally meaningful subregions within the sensorimotor cortex via parcellation analysis. Previously, cerebral subregions were identified in postmortem brains by invasive procedures based on histological features (Brodmann, 1909; Vogt. & Vogt., 1919; Economo, 1926; Sanides, 1970). One widely used atlas is based on Brodmann areas (BA). Brodmann divided human brains into several areas based on the visually inspected cytoarchitecture of the cortex as seen under a microscope (Brodmann, 1909). In this atlas, BA 4, BA 3, BA 1 and BA 2 together constitute the sensorimotor cortex (Vogt. & Vogt., 1919; Geyer et al., 1999; Geyer et al., 2000). However, BAs are incapable of delineating the somatotopic detail reflected in other research (Blankenburg et al., 2003). And, although invasive approaches have proven reliable in the discovery of functional parcellation in the past, such approaches are marked by their irreversibility which, according to ethical standards, makes them unsuitable for scientific inquiry. Therefore, it is necessary to develop non-invasive approaches to parcellate functional brain regions. In the present study, a non-invasive and task-free approach to parcellate the sensorimotor cortex with resting-state fMRI was developed. This approach used functional connectivity patterns of brain areas in order to delineate functional subregions as connectivity-based parcellations (Wig et al., 2014). We selected two adjacent BAs (BA 3 and BA 4) from a standard template to cover the area along the central sulcus (Eickhoff et al., 2005). Then subregions within this area were generated using resting-state fMRI data. These subregions were organized somatotopically from medial-dorsal to ventral-lateral (corresponding roughly to the face, hand and foot regions, respectively) by comparing them with the activity maps obtained by using independent motor tasks. Interestingly, resting-state parcellation map demonstrated higher correspondence to the task-based divisions after individuals had performed motor tasks. We also observed higher functional correlations between the hand area and the foot and tongue area, respectively, than between the foot and tongue regions. The functional relevance of those subregions indicates the feasibility of a wide range of potential applications to brain mapping (Nebel et al., 2014). In sum, the present thesis provides an investigation of functional network, functional structure, and properties of the sensorimotor cortex by state-of-art neuroimaging technology. The methodology and the results of the thesis hope to carry on the future research of the sensorimotor system.

Manual sleep scoring, executed by visual inspection of the EEG, is a very time consuming activity, with an inherent subjective decisional component. Automatic sleep scoring could ease the job of the technicians, because faster and more accurate. Frequency information characterizing the main brain rhythms, and consequently the sleep stages, needs to be extracted from the EEG data. The approach used in this study involves a wavelet filter bank for the EEG frequency features extraction. The wavelet packet analysis tool in MATLAB has been employed and the frequency information subsequently used for the automatic sleep scoring by means of an artificial neural network. Finally, the automatic sleep scoring has been employed for epoching the fMRI data, thus allowing for studying brain resting state networks during sleep. Three resting state networks have been inspected; the Default Mode Network, The Attentional Network and the Salience Network. The networks functional connectivity variations have been inspected in both healthy and narcoleptic subjects. Narcolepsy is a neurobiological disorder characterized by an excessive daytime sleepiness, whose aetiology may be linked to a loss of neurons in the hypothalamic region.

No description available.