RESUMOA indústria leiteira atravessa um período de intensas transformações em sua estrutura, e a qualidade do leite é uma das principais exigências. A correta adoção de medidas de higiene adequadas na produção, armazenamento e transporte do leite podem prevenir a contaminação de microrganismos psicrotróficos que representam um grave problema econômico para a indústria de laticínios. Desta forma, este estudo realizou-se com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito de diferentes técnicas profiláticas de higiene e limpeza, durante o manejo de produção, na qualidade microbiológica de leite através da contagem de bactérias psicrotróficas. As técnicas profiláticas foram avaliadas envolvendo quatro propriedades produtoras de leite. Tais técnicas foram testadas antes, durante e após a ordenha para a adoção de práticas de higiene e limpeza de utensílios e equipamentos, dos operadores/ordenhadores, do ambiente de ordenha e do manejo dos animais. Em cada propriedade foi coletada uma amostra controle, antes da adoção das profilaxias, e posteriormente amostras periódicas de quatro ordenhas. Com base no questionário aplicado, constatou-se que em todas as propriedades havia falhas nos procedimentos de higiene e limpeza e ocorrência de muitos animais com mastite sub-clínica. Concluiu-se que após a adoção das técnicas de profilaxias, ocorreram diminuições significativas na contagem de bactérias psicrotróficas do leite em todas as propriedades rurais estudadas, comprovando a importância das práticas preventivas de higiene e limpeza sobre a qualidade microbiológica do leite. Termos para indexação:Qualidade do leite; bactérias psicrotróficas; profilaxia. ABSTRACTThe milk industry lives a time of strong transformations in your structure, and the quality of the milk is one of the most important demands. The correct adoption of appropriate hygiene measures in the production, storage and transport of the milk can prevent the contamination of psichrotrofics microorganisms that represents a serious economical problem for the industry of dairy products. This study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the effect of the adoption of different preventive techniques of hygiene and cleaning, during the production handling, in the microbiological quality of milk measured for the count of psichrotrofics bacteria. The preventive techniques were appraised involving four farms milk producers. Such techniques were tested before, during and after the milk round to get being hygiene practices and cleaning of: utensils and equipments; operators / milks-man; environment of milk round; and handling of the animals. In each farm a sample was collected for control, before the adoption of the prophylaxes, and later four periodic samples were collected. Based in the applied questionnaire, it could be verified that happened flaws in the hygiene and cleaning procedures in all the farms and a lot of cows was diseased with sub-clinic infection. It was conclude that after the adoption of the techniques of prophylaxes all the farms shown significant decreases in t...

Cells of the nucleus pulposus (NP) in the intervertebral disc are derived directly from the embryonic notochord. In humans, a shift in NP cell population coincides with the beginning of age-related changes in the extracellular matrix that can lead to spinal disorders. To begin identifying the bases of these changes, the manner by which relevant environmental factors impact cell function must be understood. This study investigated the roles of biochemical, nutritional, and physical factors in regulating immature NP cells. Specifically, we examined cell morphology, attachment, proliferation, and expression of genes associated with the notochord and immature NP (Sox9, CD24, and type IIA procollagen). Primary cells isolated from rat caudal discs were exposed to different media formulations and physical culture configurations either in 21% (ambient) or 2% (hypoxic) O2. As expected, cells in alginate beads retained a vacuolated morphology similar to chordocytes, with little change in gene expression. Interestingly, NP tissues not enzymatically digested were more profoundly influenced by oxygen. In monolayer, alpha-MEM preserved vacuolated morphology, produced the highest efficiency of attachment, and best maintained gene expression. DMEM and Opti-MEM cultures resulted in high levels of proliferation, but these appeared to involve small non-vacuolated cells. Gene expression patterns for cells in DMEM monolayer cultures were consistent with chondrocyte de-differentiation, with the response being delayed by hypoxia. Overall, results indicate that certain environmental conditions induce cellular changes that compromise the notochordal phenotype in immature NP. These results form the foundation on which the mechanisms of such changes can be elucidated.

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ABSTRACT. Centropomus parallelus and C. undecimalis are the most common species of Centropomidae in Brazil. Some authors attribute their failure to grow under in artificial conditions due to limited knowledge on the morphological and functional development of their digestive system and on nutrition requirements of both species. Current research characterizes histologically and histochemically the digestive tract of C. parallelus and C. undecimalis to provide a histophysiological assessment for studies related to their nutritional needs. In the esophagus, the mucous cells in the epithelium stained positively for PAS and AB. In the stomach, positive reactions to PAS and negative to AB respectively occurred on surface and mucous cells in the epithelium and in the lamina propria. In the intestine, goblet cells showed ratio similarity, with mucus being positive in AB and PAS. A greater concentration of these cells existed in the middle and distal intestine, with a greater increase of secretions when compared to those in the proximal intestine. Results show that C. parallelus and C.undecimalis display the main features of the digestive tract of carnivorous fish, a well-developed stomach and a relatively short intestine. In fact, they give insights for future studies on the mechanisms related to the species's digestive and absorptive physiology. Caracterização Morfológica e Anatômica do Tubo Digestório de Centropomus parallelus e C. undecimalis RESUMO.Centropomus parallelus e C. undecimalis são as espécies mais comuns de Centropomidae no Brasil. Alguns autores atribuem o insucesso no seu cultivo devido ao escasso conhecimento sobre o desenvolvimento morfológico e funcional do sistema digestório, assim como o desconhecimento das exigências nutricionais das espécies. Dessa forma realizou-se o presente trabalho, com o objetivo de caracterizar histológica e histoquimicamente o tubo digestório de C. parallelus e C. undecimalis, para estudos histofisiológicos relacionados às necessidades nutricionais deste peixe. No esôfago, as células mucosas, presentes no epitélio coraram-se positivamente tanto em PAS como em AB. No estômago, as células superficiais e mucosas presentes no epitélio e na lâmina própria respectivamente, apresentaram reações positivas em PAS e negativa em AB. No intestino as células caliciformes apresentaram similaridade na proporção entre os mucos sendo positivos tanto em PAS como em AB; nos intestinos médio e distal observou-se uma maior concentração destas células, resultando em uma quantidade maior de secreções em comparação ao intestino proximal. Através dos resultados observados, concluise que o C. parallelus e C. undecimalis exibem as principais características do trato digestório de peixes carnívoros, como um estômago bem desenvolvido e um intestino relativamente curto. Estes resultados darão subsídios para futuros estudos sobre mecanismos da fisiologia digestiva e absortiva desta espécie.

ABSTRACT:The purpose of the current study was to develop a new tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) technique, by replacing the original titanium cage with a Ricinus communis polyurethane resin-made wedge polymer. The implants were manufactured using the same size and angles of the original titanium cages, though larger distally. The modified TTA technique (TTAm) was performed in 42 knees of 35 dogs diagnosed with rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (RCCL). Animals were submitted to radiographic and gait assessments preoperatively, early postoperatively and following 30, 60, 90 and 120 days. All animals exhibited good clinical outcome. There were no cases of impaired healing or bone resorption until 120 days postoperatively and there was no patient with patellar distress after TTAm. Scores of gait evaluation revealed differences between time points. There were also differences between the evaluations of control and pre-and post-operative times. However, there was no difference among the assessment of 30 days and the following time points. The use of the polyurethane polymer for TTAm was advantageous, not only due to biocompatibility and osseointegration, but also for providing easy handling; it can be moulded intra-operatively if necessary. Moreover, it allows precise adaptation to the osteotomy site, as opposed to the original TTA metallic implants, which cannot be moulded. It is suggested that incision lengths for TTAm are slightly shorter than those required for the conventional TTA as this requires the distal fixation of the plate at the beginning of the middle third of the body of the tibia. The TTAm does not require the use of fixation plates and it is performed only at the cranial aspect of the tibia. The method of attachment of the tibial tuberosity in the craniocaudal direction was effective. The setting associated with the use of the polyurethane polymer allowed simplification of the technique for easier implementation, and the amount of implant material required to perform TTAm was reduced in comparison to the conventional TTA. This technique can be used for treating the knees of dogs with RCCL, and provides for easy execution, less invasiveness to the tissues of the knee joint and more versatility in comparison to conventional TTA.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a monomer used in the production of polycarbonate, a polymer commonly found in plastics, epoxy resins and thermal papers. The presence of BPA in food, water, air and dust has been of great concern in recent years not only due to environmental and ecological issues but also because of its supposed risk to public health related to its mutagenic and carcinogenic potential. In this study we evaluated the toxicity of bisphenol A in zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio) and determined the 50% lethal concentration (LC50) of this chemical. BPA was used at concentrations ranging from 1 μM to 100 μM in E3 medium/0.5% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) from previously prepared stock solutions in 100% DMSO. Controls included embryos exposed only to E3 medium or supplemented with 0.5% DMSO. Camptothecin (CPT), a known inhibitor of cell proliferation was used as positive control at a concentration of 0.001 μM in E3 medium/0.5% DMSO. Adults zebrafish were placed for breeding a day before the experimental set up, then, viable embryos were collected and selected for use. Experiments were carried out in triplicates, according to specifications from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). One embryo/well (25 embryos per concentration) was distributed in 96 well microplates in presence or absence of the chemicals. The plates were kept in BOD incubators with a controlled temperature of 28.5 ºC and with photoperiod of 14 h light:10 h dark. After 24h, 48h, 72h and 96h exposure, the exposed embryos were evaluated according to the following parameters: mortality, coagulation, rate of heartbeat, hatching and presence of morphological abnormalities. Photography was obtained by photomicroscopy. Apoptosis was evaluated by DNA ladder assay. DNA was extracted by phenol:chloroform method and analyzed by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. DNA fragments were visualized after ethidium bromide staining in ultraviolet transilluminator. The LC50 determined for BPA was 70 μM after 24 hours, 72 μM after 48 hours, 47 μM after 72 hours and 31 μM after 96 hours exposure. BPA induced morphological and physiological alterations such as yolk sac and pericardial edema, hatching delay or inhibition, spine deformation, decreasing in heartbeat rate and mortality. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that BPA induced marked malformations in zebrafish embryos at concentrations above 25 μM corroborating the current concerns related to the widespread presence of BPA in the air, food and water used by humans as well as in the bodily fluids and tissues.

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To evaluate the effect of different dietary lipids on zebrafish reproduction, we examined parameters including ovary and carcass composition, oestradiol (E2) levels, eclosion rate and embryonic development. In our study, zebrafish were subjected to a 5-month feeding trial whereby olive (OLV), linseed (LIN), fish (FIS) or corn (CRN) oil were used to compose four isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets. A positive correlation was found between ovary EPA and whole-body E2 concentration (P = 0.005). The developmental dynamics was affected by dietary lipids and embryos from CRN treatment females; which had higher percentage of ARA in ovary (1.48 AE 0.44%) (P = 0.015), developed faster at 8-9 h postfertilization (hpf) than the ones originated from females receiving other diets (P = 0.0069). This effect was not sustained during later observation periods, suggesting ARA may act as a modulator of developmental dynamics only during initial phases. There was no clear effect of dietary lipid source on ovary protein content (P = 0.304) and eclosion rates at 72 hpf (P = 0.0623). Dietary fatty acids play an important role in reproductive outcome; however, additional studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanisms by which HUFA affect embryonic development.