Computed tomographic (CT) arthrogram contributes to the diagnosis of an osteochondroma of the distal calcaneus in a horse

Osteochondromas in the horse are most commonly found as a solitary lesion affecting the distal radial metaphysis. In this location, diagnosis is reliant on radiographic and ultrasonographic examination and confirmed with post-operative histopathology. This case report describes the additional benefit of performing a CT arthrogram to aid the diagnosis of an osteochondroma in an atypical location.     

Causes of death in beef cattle in southern Brazil

We determined the prevalence of diseases and pathogens associated with mortality in beef cattle in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, based on pathology laboratory submissions. Postmortem examinations were conducted on 1,277 beef cattle that died between 2008 and 2018. Information regarding age, time of the year, breed, and regional location were analyzed statistically. Most cattle were from the surrounding region of Porto Alegre, and 78.7% of the analyzed cases had diagnostic value. The diagnostic category with most cases was infectious and/or parasitic diseases (60%), followed by toxic and toxicoinfectious (25%). Most cases occurred in the fall. Major disease conditions identified included hemoprotozoal infection (18.2%), rabies (8.2%), and plant intoxications by Senecio spp. (8.5%) and Pteridium arachnoideum (4.6%). Hemoprotozoal infection occurred at a higher frequency in young cattle, mainly in animals up to 1 y old. Intoxication by Senecio spp. was more frequent in cattle 2–3 y old.     

Production,chemical composition,and fatty acid profile of milk from buffaloes fed with cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum) cake and murumuru (Astrocaryum murumuru) cake in the Eastern Amazon

The objective was to evaluate the effect of concentrate supplementation using by-products of the Amazonian industry on milk production, milk composition, and milk fatty acid profile of dairy buffaloes. Twelve lactating buffaloes (544.5 ± 35.6 kg, 6.4 ± 2.2 years old, 59 ± 6 days in milk) were allotted in a pasture of Mombaça grass and managed under rotational grazing (4 days occupancy/28 days rest). A 3 × 3 Latin square was adopted, and each animal alternately received three supplementary treatments based on corn bran + soybean meal or cupuaçu cake or murumuru cake for 21 days per treatment. Murumuru cake increased the levels of lauric acid and myristic acid in the milk (p < 0.05). Murumuru cake reduced the unsaturated fatty acid contents in the milk compared with animals fed control diet or cupuaçu cake (24.27% vs. 25.24% vs. 25.08%). The n-6/n-3 ratio was 2.6, 1.97, and 2.0 in the control, cupuaçu, and murumuru groups, respectively. Based on this parameter, cakes made from cupuaçu as well as murumuru could be considered to be adequate for inclusion in dairy water buffalo feed. However, the murumuru cake addition requires some caution because its use induces the secretion of higher levels of lauric and myristic fatty acids that are related to human cardiovascular disease.     

Carbon Depletion by Plowing and its Restoration by No‐Till Cropping Systems in Oxisols of Subtropical and Tropical Agro‐Ecoregions in Brazil

The continuous use of plowing for grain production has been the principal cause of soil degradation. This project was formulated on the hypothesis that the intensification of cropping systems by increasing biomass‐C input and its biodiversity under no‐till (NT) drives soil restoration of degraded agro‐ecosystem. The present study conducted at subtropical [Ponta Grossa (PG) site] and tropical regions [Lucas do Rio Verde, MT (LRV) site] in Brazil aimed to (i) assess the impact of the continuous plow‐based conventional tillage (CT) on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock vis‐à‐vis native vegetation (NV) as baseline; (ii) compare SOC balance among CT, NT cropping systems, and NV; and (iii) evaluate the redistribution of SOC stock in soil profile in relation to soil resilience. The continuous CT decreased the SOC stock by 0·58 and 0·67 Mg C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ in the 0‐ to 20‐cm depth at the PG and LRV sites, respectively, and the rate of SOC sequestration was 0·59 for the PG site and ranged from 0·48 to 1·30 Mg C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ for the LRV site. The fraction of C input by crop residues converted into SOC stock was ~14·2% at the PG site and ~20·5% at the LRV site. The SOC resilience index ranged from 0·29 to 0·79, and it increased with the increase in the C input among the NT systems and the SOC sequestration rates at the LRV site. These data support the hypothesis that NT cropping systems with high C input have a large potential to reverse the process of soil degradation and SOC decline. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of the Nixtamalization Process on the Dietary Fiber Content,Starch Digestibility,and Antioxidant Capacity of Blue Maize Tortilla

Nixtamalization is an ancient process developed by the Mesoamerican cultures. Initially, volcanic ashes were used and then calcium hydroxide in commercial production, and more recently nixtamalization with calcium salts (NCS) has been proposed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of NCS on carbohydrate digestibility and antioxidant capacity in the elaboration of blue maize tortillas. NCS in blue tortillas showed a high amount of total dietary fiber (14.27 g/100 g), the main fraction being insoluble dietary fiber. The contents of resistant starch and slowly digestible starch did not change with the nixtamalization process. The predicted glycemic index value was lower in blue tortillas with the NCS process (58) than with the traditional nixtamalization process (71). In general, NCS in blue tortillas presented a higher antioxidant capacity than traditional tortillas (ferric reducing antioxidant power method), indicating that phenolics present in blue maize maintain their activity after cooking. It can be concluded that the nutraceutical features (high dietary fiber content and antioxidant capacity) of blue maize tortillas are enhanced when they are elaborated with the NCS process.     

Central nervous system signs in chickens caused by a new avian reovirus strain: a pathogenesis study

The present study describes the pathogenesis of infection of chicks with a new avian reovirus strain, belonging to the so-called enteric reovirus strains (ERS) that is capable of causing central nervous system signs in SPF white leghorns. After intramuscular (IM) or oral inoculation birds were either observed for clinical signs or sacrificed for macroscopic, histological and virological examination for 21 days. Virus isolation was performed on the brain, leg muscle, hock joint, liver and spleen. For the detection of viral antigen the immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique was performed on the caudal part of the cerebrum, spinal cord including spinal ganglia and right N. Ischiadicus. High mortality (79% in 7 days) was seen in birds that were inoculated IM. Survivors were depressed and stayed small until the end of the experiment. One bird had tremor and showed torticollis at 9 days after IM inoculation. Birds that were inoculated orally were depressed from day 4 and stayed small until the end of the experiment. One bird showed a torticollis at 10 days after inoculation. After both IM and oral inoculation ERS was isolated from the brain between 3 and 10 days after inoculation. Other examined organs were positive for virus isolation from day 1 or 5 until day 21. IHC revealed viral antigen positive cells in the Plexus chorioideus (plexus epithelial cells or cells within the underlying connective tissue) and in a spinal ganglion. The results indicate that the pathogenesis of ERS infection in chickens bears some resemblance with that of the mammalian reoviruses serotype 1 in mice.     

First report of Seville root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne hispanica) infecting tobacco in the Brazil

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is one of the major nonfood crops in the Southern of Brazil. During 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 crop seasons, Root Knot...     

Wavelet Edge Detection Method Based-on Multi-scale Fuzzy Logic

A novel edge detection algorithm is proposed by implementing fuzzy image enhancement at different scales.The implement of this algorithm can reduce the negative influence bring from the non-maximum suppression algorithm which select only one threshold.The success of the approach depends on the selection of a general fuzzy operator(GFO) for the enhancement of contrast of region after smoothing of image at different scales.Consequently,it is more obvious that coarse intensity changes are obtained at a large scale whereas the fine details of intensity changes are obtained at a small scale.A pretty performance is obtained by used this work.