Effect of the replacement of Tifton 85 with maniçoba hay on the performance of Morada Nova hair sheep

The use of native and adapted forages is an alternative for sustainable production systems in northeast Brazil. The goal of this study was to evaluate the substitution of Tifton 85 by maniçoba hay on the performance and carcass traits of Morada Nova hair sheep. The 16 lambs that were used in this study initially weighed 19.36?±?1.48 kg, were housed in individual pens, and were slaughtered at 58 days of confinement. The dry matter intake (839.84 g/day and 3.81 % WB) was higher (P?<?0.05) in sheep fed maniçoba hay. The feed conversion was 7.39 for sheep fed maniçoba hay. The empty body weight (21.61 kg) and cold carcass weight (11.40 kg) did not differ (P?>?0.05) between sheep fed different hay types. The replacement of Tifton 85 by maniçoba hay did not influence the loin eye area (cm²) or carcass compactness index (kg/cm). The replacement of Tifton 85 by maniçoba hay in Morada Nova sheep diet did not affect the weight gain or carcass characteristics. The maniçoba hay can be considered a forage resource for feeding sheep in Brazilian semiarid tropics.     

Productive performance of juvenile freshwater prawns Macrobrachium rosenbergii in biofloc system

The aim of this study was to compare two rearing systems for freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii: one with use of a recirculating aquaculture system with biofilters (RAS) and another with use of microbial flocs (F). Thirty postlarvae of freshwater prawn with an initial average weight of 0.13 ± 0.05 g were randomly stocked in six experimental units with 0.20 m² and volume of 50 L. The experiment lasted thirty days. Dissolved oxygen, temperature and pH were monitored daily; ammonia concentration was determined three times per week; nitrite concentration, alkalinity and hardness were measured weekly. For the formation of microbial floc, molasses was used to keep the ammonia concentrations within safe levels for prawn farming. The variables of water quality remained within the suitable range for the production of the species, except for ammonia concentrations at the F treatment, which exceeded the safe levels. At the end of the experiment, the following parameters were evaluated: survival, specific growth rate, weight gain and feed conversion rate. Differences were found only in feed conversion rate with better values on RAS treatment. The microorganisms present in the RAS and F treatment were also evaluated. The densities of rotifers, amoebas and total bacteria were higher at the F treatment although the same organisms were found at the RAS treatment. The results of this study showed the possibility of rearing M. rosenbergii in biofloc system technology.     

Neoplastic melanocytic pleural effusion in a Portuguese water dog

A 9-year-old castrated male Portuguese water dog was presented following incomplete excision of a malignant melanoma at the left lip commissure by the referring veterinarian. Physical examination was otherwise unremarkable. The patient was staged using thoracic radiographs, abdominal ultrasound, and fine-needle aspirates of the mandibular lymph nodes and spleen. Given the absence of any definitive evidence of metastasis, the malignant melanoma was surgically completely removed. The dog then received four melanoma vaccine doses as an adjuvant therapy and remained clinically healthy for more than 3 months after the last immunization. However, 232 days after the initial discovery of the lip mass, the dog was euthanized due to deterioration and a poor prognosis based on the presence of lung metastases and neoplastic melanocytic pleural effusion. The latter has been rarely reported in dogs, despite the high prevalence of oral malignant melanomas and the tendency of these tumors to metastasize to the lungs.     

Predicting mature cork biomass with t years of growth from one measurement taken at any other age

Cork is a natural product that is extracted from the outer bark of the cork oak tree. According to Portuguese legislation, the interval between two consecutive cork extractions on the same tree must be equal or greater than 9 years. Although the majority of the cork oak stands are debarked at the end of this period, this rotation may not be the optimum in many cases. The existing models for cork weight prediction can only be used for trees debarked at a 9 years or, in one model, at a 10-years rotation period, since the data used for its development was limited to these growth periods. The development of a method that allows for the prediction of the mature cork biomass with t years of growth, based in one measurement taken at any other age, was the main objective of this work. The method is based on the knowledge that the density of the cork tissue is constant between the inner and outer cork rings, being significantly different from density of the cork back. It can be implemented using two different equations that were developed during this work: a model to estimate cork biomass with 9 years of age and a model to estimate the cork back weight proportion at 9 years of age. For the first model, four different alternative models were developed, considering different levels of information collected during forest inventory. The model to estimate the cork back weight proportion leads to the biomass of cork tissue. Cork biomass at t years is obtained by decreasing or increasing the biomass of cork tissue according to the difference in cork thickness between t and 9 years of growth. The proposed method was evaluated by comparing the observed and estimated values of cork biomass from an independent data set with corks with 9, 10 and 11 years of age. The results showed similar precision for corks with 9, 10 or 11 years of age. As expected the precision of the predictions increases when the model to estimate cork biomass with 9 years of age uses more information. The presented method should be an important tool for cork oak stand management, for the prediction of the evolution of carbon stocks in cork oak stands, and will allow analyzing the impact in cork biomass production of decreasing or extending the interval between two consecutive cork extractions.     

Dose-related antinociceptive effects of intravenous buprenorphine in cats

The dose-related antinociceptive effects of intravenous (IV) buprenorphine were evaluated in cats. Thermal (TT) and mechanical threshold (MT) devices were used for nociceptive stimulation. After baseline threshold recordings, buprenorphine was administered IV (0.01, 0.02 or 0.04 mg/kg; B1, B2 and B4, respectively) in a randomised, blinded and cross-over study. Data were analysed by ANOVA (P < 0.05) using 95% confidence intervals (CI). TT increased 15, 30, 45 min and 1 (5.2 ± 2.7 °C), 2, 3 and 4 h after B1; 15, 30, 45 min and 1 (5.1 ± 3.9 °C) and 2 h after B2, and 15, 30, 45 min and 1 (5.4 ± 3.3 °C), 2, 3, 6 and 8 h after B4. MT increased 15 and 45 min after B2 (260 ± 171 mmHg), and 30 (209 ± 116 mmHg) and 45 min and 1 and 2 h after B4. At 45 min, MT values were significantly higher after B2 compared to B1 (P < 0.05). With MT, B2 and B4 produced more antinociception and longer duration of action than B1, respectively. No dose response to thermal stimulation was detected.     

How does water and salt stress affect the germination and initial growth of Brazilian soya bean cultivars?

The effects of water and salt stress on rate of germination and seedling growth were investigated under laboratory conditions in 46 soya bean genotypes from Central-West region of Brazil to verify how these stresses may limit crop establishment during the initial growth stage and also to identify the most tolerant genotypes to drought and salinity. Mild water and salt stresses were imposed by seed exposure to –0.20 MPa iso-osmotic solutions with polyethylene glycol—PEG 6000 (119.57 g/L) or NaCl (2.357 g/L) for 12 days at 25°C. The germination percentage, seedling length and seedling dry matter were measured, and then, salt or drought tolerance indexes were calculated. The “NS 5909 RG,” “NS 7000 IPRO,” “NS 7338IPRO,” “FPS Solimões RR,” “NS 5151 IPRO,” “SYN 13610 IPRO,” “LG 60177 IPRO,” “NS 6909 IPRO” and “BMX Desafio RR” were identified as the most drought-tolerant genotypes, whereas under salinity conditions, the genotypes “5D 615 RR,” “BMX Desafio RR,” “5D 6215 IPRO” and “BMX Ponta IPRO” were identified as tolerant. The “BMX Desafio RR” is the genotype most adapted to both stress conditions and, therefore, should be used under conditions of water shortage and excess salt in the soil at sowing time.