The objective of the present study was to use electrical bioimpedance analysis (BIA) as an alternative method of evaluating the quality of bovine raw milk. Fourteen lactating purebred Dutch cows were used. For the analyses of milk quality and electrical bioimpedance, 140 ml milk per mammary quarter and a homogeneous sample of each animal were collected, totalling 70 samples. The criteria used to evaluate milk quality consisted of somatic cell count (CCS), total bacterial count (CBT), fat, protein, lactose, total solids (ST) and non-greasy solids (SNG) as required by IN No 62/2011. A monofrequential 50 kHz and 800 μΑ alternating current generator was used for electrical BIAs. The temperature of the raw milk was 5 °C for all samples. Primary resistance and reactance readings were obtained. From these values, the values of impedance, conductance and phase angle were obtained. Correlation analyses were performed to determine the variables used by the regression analyses. The regression analysis was performed using raw milk components as dependent variables and BIA measurements as independent variables. Lactose, ST and SNG were the components of milk that correlated best and presented moderate prediction equations in relation to BIA variables. The prediction equations using resistance showed R2 of 0.42 and 0.45 for ST and SNG, respectively. In the prediction equation for ST and SNG, the conductance resulted in R2 of 0.45, and 0.45, respectively. Regarding impedance, the R2 of 0.42 and 0.45 were obtained for the predicted equations ST and SNG, respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that BIA has the potential to estimate the composition and quality of bovine raw milk.

RESUMOEsta pesquisa foi conduzida com o objetivo de avaliar a utilização da biomassa remanescente de pastagens de estação fria para produção de silagem e feno. As espécies testadas foram: aveia preta cv. Agro Zebu, azevém anual cv. Comum e trigo cv. BRS Tarumã. As forrageiras foram pastejadas por vacas em lactação da raça Holandesa, sob método de pastejo de lotação rotacionada. A silagem e o feno foram elaborados da biomassa remanescente das pastagens, 20 dias após o final do período de pastejo. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente ao acaso, em arranjo fatorial 3x2, com três repetições. Foram avaliados o rendimento de forragem, a composição botânica e a estrutural da forragem conservada, os parâmetros fermentativos da silagem e o valor nutritivo da silagem e do feno. O rendimento de forragem foi similar entre as espécies, e o material ensilado apresentou pequenos percentuais de lâminas foliares e grãos. A silagem apresentou características fermentativas desejáveis. A ensilagem apresentou menores perdas de componentes solúveis e proporcionou uma forragem com valor nutritivo mais elevado em relação à fenação, sendo a forma mais indicada para conservar a biomassa remanescente de pastagens de estação fria.

ABSTRACTThe aim of this research was to evaluate the use of cool season pastures' remaining biomass as conserved forage. The tested species were: Agro Zebu black oat, Common ryegrass and BRS Tarumã wheat. The pastures were grazed by Holstein dairy cows, in the rotating stocking grazing method. Hay and silage were done from the stubble of pasture, twenty days after the end of the grazing period. The experimental design was completely randomized, in a 3 x 2 factorial scheme, with tree replicates. Forage yield, structural and botanical composition of preserved forage, fermentative parameters and nutritive value of silage and hay were evaluated. Forage yield was similar among species, and ensiled material has small percentuals of leaf blades and grains. The silage presents desirables fermentation parameters. The silage had lower losses of soluble components, provides forage with a higher nutritional value compared to hay, and is the most appropriate way to conserve cool season remaining biomass.

RESUMO Objetivando otimizar o processo de produção de mudas de qualidade, via cultura de tecidos, realizou-se avaliação de várias concentrações de cloro ativo para a desinfestação de lâminas foliares de 14 espécies de aráceas ornamentais. Lâminas foliares foram excisadas das plantas-mãe, lavadas em água corrente/5’e em água destilada/3x. Na câmara de fluxo laminar, as folhas foram mergulhadas em álcool 70%/30’’, lavadas em água destilada estéril/3x e imersas em soluções de hipoclorito de sódio comercial (0,0%, 0,5%, 1,0%, 1,5% e 2,0% de cloro ativo)/20’. Os explantes (1cm2) foram colocados em tubos de ensaio com meio MS, com a face adaxial em contato com o meio. A unidade experimental foi composta por 5 tubos/repetição. O delineamento foi inteiramente casualizado, com 4 repetições/tratamento. Os explantes foram incubados em câmara de crescimento/escuro/25 ± 2° C/14 dias e avaliados quanto à contaminação. Os resultados obtidos mostraram diferenças significativas entre as espécies de aráceas quanto a resposta às diferentes concentrações de hipoclorito de sódio, justificando assim a otimização de protocolo individual para cada uma delas. Recomenda-se, no entanto, que seja sempre utilizada uma solução de NaOCl com a menor concentração possível de cloro ativo, a fim de evitar danos ao tecido do explante.

ABSTRACT The objective for this study was to determine the most efficient chlorine concentration in order to protect explants in tissue culture from contamination. Leaf blade explants of 1 cm2 were used. The leaves were washed with tap water for 5 minutes and then washed 3 times with distilled water. The explants were placed in a laminar air flow chamber followed by immersion in 70% alcohol for 30 minutes and then washed 3 times with sterile distilled water, followed by 20 minutes immersion in a sodium hypochloride comercial solutions with active chlorine concentrations of: 0.0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0%. Still inside the laminar air flow chamber, the explants were placed in test tubes (containing MS medium) with the adaxial face in contact with the medium. The experimental design was completely randomized with 5 replications of 5 test tubes per plot, each containing one innoculated explant. The explants in the test tubes were kept in the dark in a growth chamber at 25 ± 2º C during a 14-day period, then evaluated for contamination. There were observed significant differences between species of araceas with regard to their responsiveness to the different concentrations of sodium hypochloride, which supports the difference in concentration to be used specifically for each one. It is advisable to always use a NaOCl solution having the lowest effective concentration of active chlorine to avoid damage to the explants.

In this study, the micronuclei test (MNT) was applied in exfoliated cells of buccal mucosa, in order to evaluate the genotoxic risk associated with occupational exposure of mechanics, storage battery renovation workers, and car painters. For each individual, 3000 exfoliated buccal cells were analyzed. There was a significantly higher frequency of micronucleated cells (MNC) in the exposed workers than in controls. Smoking and drinking habits, age, and working time did not represent significant factors in terms of increasing the production of micronuclei (MN), when the control and the exposed groups were compared. These results allowed to conclude that the studied individuals belong to a risk group and should periodically undergo biological monitoring and proper care.

Objetivando uma melhor análise citogenética das formigas cortadeiras Atta sexdens piriventris e Acromyrmex heyeri, algumas modificações foram feitas no sentido de otimizar a metodologia de Imai et al. (Jpn. J. Genet. 63: 159-185, 1988), tendo-se conseguido a diminuição do tempo de preparo do material e melhor qualidade da preparação. O gânglio cerebral de pré-pupa foi dissecado em solução de colchicina hipotônica 0,0025% e colocado sobre lâmina de vidro (nova e previamente limpa para ser corada com Giemsa) com colchicina hipotônica. A lâmina foi colocada sobre placa de gelo (4 ± 1oC) por 20 min. O material foi fixado diretamente na lâmina (com fixador I gelado), macerado com agulha histológica e fixado novamente com fixador I, seguido dos fixadores II e III, todos gelados. A lâmina foi rapidamente flambada após a última fixação e foi deixada secar à temperatura ambiente por 2 h. As metáfases resultantes apresentaram, com maior freqüência, cromossomos menos contraídos, com cromátides irmãs separadas e bem definidas, quando o material foi processado como descrito acima e corado com solução de Giemsa 3% em tampão fosfato pH 6,8, por 15 min.

Some modifications were made to the methodology of Imai et al. (Jpn. J. Genet. 63: 159-185, 1988) for cytogenetic analysis of the leaf-cutting ants Atta sexdens piriventris and Acromyrmex heyeri (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), shortening preparation time and improving chromosomal preparations. The brain ganglia of prepupae were dissected in a 0.0025% hypotonic solution of colchicine, placed on a glass slide on a cold plate (4 ± 1oC) for 20 min. The material was fixed directly on the cold slide (with cold fixative I), macerated with a histological needle and fixed again with fixative I, followed by fixatives II and III, all of them cold. The slide was flame-dried right after the use of fixative III, and it was allowed to air-dry at room temperature for 2 h. The resulting metaphases presented less contracted chromosomes, with separated and well defined sister chromatids at a high frequency, when the material was processed in the manner described and stained with 3% Giemsa in phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) for 15 min.