Abstract Aim: to evaluate the acute effects of expiratory positive airway pressure on cardiac autonomic modulation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients during spontaneous breathing and slow deep breathing. Methods: 17 patients were evaluated. The R-R intervals were collected (Polar® S810i) during spontaneous breathing (10 minutes) and slow deep breathing (4 minutes), with and without 5 cmH2O expiratory positive airway pressure. Stable signals were analyzed by Kubios®. Heart rate variability indices were computed in time domain and in frequency domain. Results: Expiratory positive airway pressure application affected low frequency (spontaneous breathing: 62.5±4.1 vs slow deep breathing: 28.2±4.2, p<0.001) and high frequency (spontaneous breathing: 37.4±17.3 vs slow deep breathing: 58.9±18.1, p<0.001). Interactions were observed between expiratory positive airway pressure effect and slow deep breathing effect for low frequency (p<0.001), high frequency (p<0.001) and low frequency/high frequency ratio (p<0.001). When patients were stratified by disease’s severity, we identified a significant low frequency reduction (p<0.001) and high frequency increase (p<0.001) for all stages when slow deep breathing was associated with expiratory positive airway pressure. Conclusion: A 5 cmH2O expiratory positive airway pressure during spontaneous and slow deep breathing can elicit an acute response, resulting in a cardiac autonomic control improvement in moderate-to-very severe patients.

RESUMO Atualmente o uso de sensores portáteis para mensuração de corpos cetônicos está padronizado e difundido na rotina clínica, contudo estudos em ovinos são escassos. Assim, a presente pesquisa objetivou avaliar a acurácia dos sensores portáteis de uso humano e de uso veterinário para a determinação de beta-hidroxibutirato (BHB) em ovelhas no final da gestação e no pós-parto recente. Foram utilizadas 37 amostras de sangue provenientes de nove ovelhas mestiças Corriedale. A determinação bioquímica de BHB no soro, considerada como o padrão-ouro, foi realizada utilizando-se metodologia enzimática colorimétrica. A média obtida na bioquímica sérica foi de 0,497mmol/L; no sensor de uso humano, a média foi igual a 0,537mmol/L, enquanto no sensor de uso veterinário foi de 0,751mmol/L. Foi verificada alta correlação entre o dosímetro de uso humano e o padrão-ouro (r=0,93, P<0,001). A média do aparelho de uso veterinário diferiu das demais (51%; P<0,05), superestimando os resultados em ovelhas. As medições obtidas no aparelho veterinário também apresentaram menor precisão e veracidade. Concluiu-se que o sensor portátil de uso humano é mais acurado e mais preciso no diagnóstico precoce de toxemia da gestação em ovelhas.

ABSTRACT Currently the use of portable sensors for measuring ketone bodies is standardized and diffused in the clinical routine, however, studies in sheep are scarce. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the human portable sensor and the veterinary portable sensor for the determination of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in sheep at the end of gestation and postpartum. We used 37 samples of blood from nine crossbred Corriedale sheep. Biochemical determination of serum BHB, considered gold standard, was performed using colorimetric enzymatic methodology. The mean serum biochemistry was 0.497mmol/L, in the human sensor the mean was 0.537mmol/L, while in the veterinary sensor it was 0.751mmol/L. A high correlation was verified between the dosimeter for human use and the gold standard (r= 0.93, P< 0.001). The mean of the veterinary apparatus differed from the others, being 51% (P< 0,05), higher than the standard, that is, it was less accurate and had lower veracity, overestimating the results in sheep. It was concluded that the portable sensor for human use is more accurate and accurate in the early diagnosis of toxemia of pregnancy in sheep.

The aim of this study was to assess contrast sensitivity for angular frequency stimuli as well as for sine-wave gratings in adults under the effect of acute ingestion of alcohol. We measured the contrast sensitivity function (CSF) for gratings of 0.25, 1.25, 2.5, 4, 10, and 20 cycles per degree of visual angle (cpd) as well as for angular frequency stimuli of 1, 2, 4, 24, 48, and 96 cycles/360°. Twenty adults free of ocular diseases, with normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity, and no history of alcoholism were enrolled in two experimental groups: 1) no alcohol intake (control group) and 2) alcohol ingestion (experimental group). The average concentration of alcohol in the experimental group was set to about 0.08%. We used a paradigm involving a forced-choice method. Maximum sensitivity to contrast for sine-wave gratings in the two groups occurred at 4 cpd sine-wave gratings and at 24 and 48 cycles/360° for angular frequency stimuli. Significant changes in contrast sensitivity were observed after alcohol intake compared with the control condition at spatial frequency of 4 cpd and 1, 24, and 48 cycles/360° for angular frequency stimuli. Alcohol intake seems to affect the processing of sine-wave gratings at maximum sensitivity and at the low and high frequency ends for angular frequency stimuli, both under photopic luminance conditions.

The textile industries are distinguished by the use of dyes that are applied to textiles. Dyes are pollutant materials that are difficult to decompose by microbiological treatment. An alternative way to prevent contamination of the environment by dyes is the oxidation of these materials through photocatalysis, a process by which illumination of an oxide semiconductor produces photoexcited electrons and cations that migrate over the surface of the oxide, effectively participating in the chemical reaction. The purpose of this work is to synthesize catalysts and study their performance in the photocatalytic degradation of dyes. Niobium pentoxide and silver oxide supported on niobium pentoxide (Ag/Nb2O5), prepared by the impregnation method, were used as catalysts. Prior to use the catalysts were submitted to thermal treatment for drying and calcination. Drying was carried out at 150°C for 12 hours and then the solids were calcined at 500°C for 5 hours. After that the catalysts were applied in the photocatalytic degradation of different types of dyes from textile industries. Discoloration tests were carried out in a photocatalytic reaction unit during a period of 24 hours under different operational conditions in the presence and absence of ultraviolet light (UV). The results, evaluated by spectrophotometry, show that photodegradation of the dyes occurs, which allows evaluation of the influence of the silver on photocatalytic degradation.

Avaliou-se o efeito da suplementação da vitamina C (75 e 150 mg/kg) na alimentação de frangos de corte machos sob condições de estresse de calor e superlotação. As aves foram criadas sobre "cama" de cavaco de madeira nas lotações de 10 e 14 aves/m². O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial (3 níveis de vitamina C na ração e 2 lotações), com 5 repetições. Os resultados indicaram que o aumento da lotação de criação prejudicou (P<0,05) o ganho de peso das aves no período final da criação. A conversão alimentar dos 35 aos 48 dias de idade foi melhor (P <0,01) nas aves que receberam suplementação de 75 mg/kg em comparação com o controle. A suplementação de 150 mg/kg deu média de conversão alimentar melhor do que a média da testemunha, porem, as diferenças não foram significativas. A suplementação de vitamina C apresentou efeito benéfico no desempenho de frangos de corte. O benefício se mostrou particularmente importante na melhoria da conversão alimentar.

The effect of vitamin C supplementation (75 and 150 mg/kg) was evaluated in male broiler feeding under heat stress, crowding and normal floor space conditions. The results showed that crowding conditions (10 vs. 14 birds/m²) affected negatively (P<0.05) body weight gain from 28 to 48 days of age. Feed conversion from 35 to 48 days of age was unproved (P<0.01) in birds supplemented with 75 mg/kg as compared to the control. Birds which received 150 mg of vitamin C per kg of feed showed better feed conversion than the control birds, but differences were not significant.