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Essential oils (EOs), as rumen additives, decreased CH4 emissions in in vitro trials but results from in vivo studies are still limited. We investigated the effects of Origanum vulgare (OEO) and Thymus vulgaris (TEO) EOs on in vivo methane emissions from Nellore beef cattle. Six adult rumen-cannulated Nellore cattle were used in a double 3 × 3 Latin square design. Treatments consisted of three diets containing either 3 mL OEO per kg of concentrate, 3 mL TEO/kg of concentrate, or no EO addition. The experimental period consisted of three 21 d feeding periods and methane production was measured using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) technique from Day 16 to Day 21 of each feeding period. Intake, total apparent digestibility (dry matter as well as neutral and acid detergent fiber), and rumen parameters (pH, ammoniacal nitrogen concentration, and short-chain fatty acids) were also evaluated. The EOs did not decrease CH4 emissions and had no effect on rumen parameters.

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In this study, we evaluate the effects of intercropping pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) with tropical pastures for feeding Nellore cattle and compared animal performance and enteric CH4 emissions with other pasture-based systems during the dry and rainy seasons of 2021. Thirty-six Nellore steers (with a body weight of 221 ± 7 kg and an age of 15-16 months) were randomly distributed in three treatments with three replicates (in paddocks of 1.5 hectares each): (1) a degraded pasture of Urochloa spp. (DEG); (2) a recovered and fertilized pasture of Urochloa spp. (REC); and (3) pigeon pea intercropped with Urochloa spp. (MIX). Enteric CH4 emissions were estimated using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer gas technique, and dry matter intake (DMI) was determined using internal (iNDF) and external (TiO2) markers. Forages were collected by hand plucking after observations of ingestive behavior, and feces was collected after voluntary defecation. The proportion of grass and legume intake was estimated by C stable isotopes, and the forage nutritional quality was determined, while animal performance was monitored monthly, and the stocking rate was adjusted by the "put and take" technique. The results indicated that intercropping pigeon pea with tropical grasses is an interesting strategy for sustainable livestock production based on pastures. The MIX treatment was able to meet the nutritional requirements of the animals, which presented higher performance. In addition, there was a reduction in CH4 emissions up to 70% when expressed per average daily weight gain in comparison to the DEG treatment.

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Purpose: To report 5 patients with late Descemet membrane (DM) detachment after uneventful cataract surgery. Observations: After a retrospective chart analysis of consecutive patients that developed DM detachment after uneventful cataract surgery, six eyes of five patients were enrolled. In all cases, patients reported good vision initially after cataract surgery. Within days to months, these patients developed late DM detachment with decreased vision. In one patient, the detachment affected both eyes. Filtered air or diluted sulfur hexafluoride were injected in the anterior chamber to tamponade the DM detachment. In five eyes, the cornea cleared after DM reattachment. In two eyes of the same patient, DM reattached spontaneously requiring no further surgical intervention. In one patient, the Descemet failed to reattach and required an endothelial keratoplasty. Conclusion and importance: Descemet membrane detachment may occur after uneventful cataract surgery. Filtered air or long-lasting intraocular gas may be used to reattach DM. Spontaneous DM reattachment may also occur and surgeons should be aware of this to avoid unnecessary procedures.

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Pneumatic retinopexy (PR) is a minimally invasive, non-incisional procedure for repairing uncomplicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. It consists of an intravitreal gas injection followed by the maintenance of a postoperative head position and the use of laser or cryopexy to seal the retinal breaks. It was initially indicated for a single or a group of retinal breaks no larger than 1 clock hour involving the superior 8 clock hours in phakic eyes with no proliferative vitreoretinopathy. We aim to perform a narrative review on pneumatic retinopexy since the last major review of 2008, based on a Medline search up to June 20 2021 using multiple search words including pneumatic retinopexy, pneumoretinopexy, retinal detachment, and pars plana vitrectomy. Indications for PR have been expanded and include pseudophakic eyes, eyes with mild PVR, and even breaks in the inferior fundus. Depending on the case selection, PR has a single-operation success rate ranging from 45 to 80%. Despite the lower single operation success rate, the functional outcomes of those eyes repaired successfully by primary PR exceed those of scleral buckling (SB) and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). Best corrected visual acuity, metamorphopsia scores, mental health scores, and vision-related functioning scores were all better in PR-treated eyes compared to PPV-treated eyes. PR should be strongly considered for eligible patients with a primary uncomplicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachments.

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The aim of this research was to measure enteric methane (CH4) emissions by young Brahman bulls grazing tropical pastures at different rainfall seasons in the Peruvian jungle. Fourteen 1.5-year-old, young bulls (280 kg ± 18 kg BW) were grazed on tropical grasses and legumes dominated by German grass [Echinochloa polystachya (Kunth) Hitch.] and minor proportion of Torourco grass [Paspalum conjugatum (P.J. Bergius) Roxb] and Leguminous Calopo (Calopogonium mucunoides Desv.) and Kudzú [Pueraria phaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth]. Enteric CH4 emission was measured by the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer-gas technique. Organic matter intake (OMI) was determined from organic matter digestibility (OMD) using a fecal protein crude index and fecal output estimated by the dosage of external markers. There was a difference in OMD between seasons (68 and 66% for the dry and rainy seasons, respectively; P < 0.0001). The OMI (6.7 and 7.4 kg/day) and CH4 (178.7 and 298 g/day) were higher (P < 0.05) in the dry season than in the rainy season, respectively. The yield of CH4 was lower (P < 0.0001) during rainy season (7.1%) than at the dry season (10.6%). The CH4 emission (g/day) was correlated with OMD (%) (r = 0.74, P < 0.0001). Enteric CH4 emissions of young bulls grazing mixtures of tropical pastures were significantly lower in animals grazing on the rainy-season, expressed either through unit of absolute emission, intake or as percentage of the GEI. Likewise, OMD of consumed pasture was the most important factor determining CH4 emission.

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Abstract The continuity of an electrical system's services is linked to its equipment's correct operation. The more correctly they worked, the higher the quality of the services provided. Thus, they must have their functioning scanned closely and that minor defects have their evolution monitored. This fact creates the possibility of making predictions about how long equipment can operate without compromising the system's continuity. This follow-up is proper for predictive maintenance. This paper presents three on-going COPEL Generation and Transmission projects in essential elements of its electrical system: circuit breakers, lightning arresters, and SF6 substation. The central idea of all monitoring projects is to check the early problem in this equipment and facilities.

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The grazing of Zebu cattle in poor-quality tropical pastures during the dry season has an increased environmental impact and cost of production. The use of condensed tannins (CT) as a natural feed additive to modulate ruminal archaea can mitigate the methane emissions from cattle in tropical systems. We investigated the effects of CT on in vivo methane emissions and rumen microbiota ecology in beef cattle. Batch experiments were also conducted to evaluate the impact of dietary CT on the biogas production from beef cattle manure. Six adult rumen-cannulated Nellore cattle were used in a double 3 × 3 Latin square design. Treatments consisted of three diets containing either a 0%, 1.25% or 2.5% CT additive from Acacia mimosa extract. The experimental period consisted of 63 days, and methane production was measured using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) technique from Day 16 to 21 of each feeding period. Adding Acacia extract to the diets reduced daily methane emissions per animal. Methane suppression occurred more by reduction of intake than by the direct effect on methanogenic archaea. We verified that CT directly suppresses archaea rumen communities and increases total rumen bacteria. Our study indicates that CT benefit rumen Fibrobactersuccinogenes and Ruminoccous flavefaciens populations and have no negative effect on biogas production from cattle manure. Acacia extract as a feed additive has promising potential as part of an overall nutritional strategy to reduce the methanogenesis from Zebu beef cattle in tropical systems.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Zinc sulfate and propylene glycol (PG) on methane (CH4) emission, nutrient intake, digestibility, and production in sheep grazing on a native Caatinga (Brazilian semi-arid savannah) pasture during the rainy season (from March to June 2014). Fifteen mixed Santa Inês sheep, all non-castrated males, with initial body weight of 19.8 ± 1.64 kg, and 4 ± 0.35 months of age, were distributed in a complete randomized design into three treatments: control (CT)-concentrate supplemented at 0.7% of body weight; CT + 300 mg of Zn/day; and CT + 2.5 mL of propylene glycol/kg LW0.75/day. Measurements were done in four periods during the rainy season, with 28 days of interval between each measurement. CH4 emission was measured using the SF6 tracer gas technique. CH4 emission per day was greater in PG than in CT and Zn (p < 0.05). However, no additive effect was observed on the intakes of organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), or on CH4 emission expressed as a function of OM and NDF intakes (p > 0.05). Across the months of the trial, OM and NDF intakes were greater in March, while the greatest emission of CH4 (g/day and g by g/OM intake) was observed in May (p < 0.05). Total CH4 emission (kg) from March to June (112 days of evaluation) was greater in PG compared with CT and Zn (p < 0.05). Zinc and PG had no effect on total CH4 emission when it was expressed per unit of body weight gain or carcass production (p > 0.05). The results of this study indicate that Zinc sulfate and propylene glycol have no beneficial effects in mitigating sheep CH4 emission. The CH4 emissions originated from sheep grazing native Caatinga pasture change throughout the rainy season due to fluctuations in availability and quality of pasture biomass. Moreover, the inclusion of zinc sulfate or propylene glycol did not improve animal feed intake, nutrient digestibility, and animal performance.

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BACKGROUND: The 6-dimensional health state short form (SF-6D) is a health preference measure used in economic evaluations of many treatments. OBJECTIVES: To compare the results provided by the SF-6D index, when applied to a representative sample of the Brazilian population, using Brazilian and UK preference weights. METHODS: Five thousand individuals were assessed in the 5 regions of Brazil. Preference measures in healthcare were assessed using the SF-6D Brazil, version 2002. To calculate the single utility score, 2 preference weights were used: one established for the Brazilian population (SF-6D Brazil) and the other for the UK population (SF-6D UK). Agreement between the SF-6D Brazil and the SF-6D UK was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient, the Wilcoxon signed rank test, confidence intervals (CIs), and the Bland-Altman method. RESULTS: The mean values of the SF-6D Brazil and the SF-6D UK were 0.83 ± 0.15 and 0.84 ± 0.15, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.952 (CI 0.942-0.960; P<.010). The Wilcoxon signed rank test and CI showed a statistically significant difference between the 2 measures; this difference was, however, very small and considered clinically irrelevant (CI 0.011-0.013; P<.010). Using the Bland-Altman method resulted in a mean difference of 0.012 and the limits of agreement were between -0.077 and 0.101. CONCLUSIONS: The present study identified very small quantitative differences between UK- and Brazilian-derived SF-6D scores. Tests of agreement, however, showed that the impact of using different sets of preference weights in the construction of quality-adjusted life-year might be considered irrelevant.

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OBJECTIVES: To investigate the internal consistency of the SF-6D as a health status index in the Brazilian urban population. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional population based study. METHODS: Five thousand individuals, older than the age of 15, were assessed in the five regions of the country. Two different methods of scoring the SF-6D where compared: "weighting the items" of the questionnaire through the Brazilian official weight coefficients, and "unweighting the items" through a parallel non preference scoring rule solely based on patients' answers to SF-6D health classification system (SF-6DHSI). Principal component factor analysis was used for the development of the SF-6DHSI. Pearson's, Spearman's, and intraclass correlation coefficients were used to assess the psychometric properties. RESULTS: The SF-6DHSI scoring formula summarized the pattern of factor loadings and the item-internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.858). The scale showed good item-internal consistency, exceeding the 0.70 standard. The association between weighted and unweighted (SF-6DHSI) scores was extremely high (Spearman's ρ = 0.971). The correlations of the SF-6DHSI with the Physical Component of the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) and the Health Assessment Questionnaire was moderate to strong. The intraclass correlation coefficient obtained (0.917) also suggested that the concordance between the weighted and unweighted score distributions was prominent. CONCLUSIONS: A nonweighted approach to score the SF-6D provides a reliable global measure of health status. The SF-6D health classification system is useful for assessing quality of life in a large and representative sample of the Brazilian population.

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OBJECTIVE: This study describes the utility scores of the SF-6D, standardized for the Brazilian urban population. METHODS: Five thousand individuals, over the age of 15, were assessed in the five regions of the country, in 16 capitals. The sample consisted of representative quotas of the Brazilian population. The selection of households was random. Face-to-face approach was applied in the household interviews. The SF-6D questionnaire was used to assess the measure of utility. Sociodemographics, household income and work status were also evaluated. RESULTS: The mean score of utility assessed by the SF-6D for the study population was 0.82 (015). The scores were lower for females (0.79), and as age increases, the utility scores progressively decrease. Individuals who reported health problems affecting their work activities presented the lowest scores (0.64). CONCLUSIONS: This study describes the utility scores using the SF-6D, standardized for the Brazilian urban population. These values will be useful for understanding the impact of interventions on health and quality of life in the population, assisting decision-making in the health sector.

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Understanding the impact of changing pasture composition on reducing emissions of GHGs in dairy grazing systems is an important issue to mitigate climate change. The aim of this study was to estimate daily CH4 emissions of dairy cows grazing two mixed pastures with contrasting composition of grasses and legumes: L pasture with 60% legumes on Dry Matter (DM) basis and G pasture with 75% grasses on DM basis. Milk production and CH4 emissions were compared over two periods of two weeks during spring using eight lactating Holstein cows in a 2 × 2 Latin square design. Herbage organic matter intake (HOMI) was estimated by chromic oxide dilution and herbage organic matter digestibility (OMD) was estimated by faecal index. Methane emission was estimated by using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer technique adapted to collect breath samples over 5-day periods. OMD (0.71) and HOMI (15.7 kg OM) were not affected by pasture composition. Milk production (20.3 kg/d), milk fat yield (742 g/d) and milk protein yield (667 g/d) were similar for both pastures. This may be explained by the high herbage allowance (30 kg DM above 5 cm/cow) which allowed the cows to graze selectively, in particular in grass sward. Similarly, methane emission expressed as absolute value (368 g/d or 516 L/d) or expressed as methane yield (6.6% of Gross Energy Intake (GEI)) was not affected by treatments. In conclusion, at high herbage allowance, the quality of the diet selected by grazing cows did not differ between pastures rich in legumes or rich in grasses, and therefore there was no effect on milk or methane production.

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Race differences in health have been extensively analyzed and documented in the literature, especially between African Americans or blacks and whites in the United States. Despite the vast literature in the area, the majority of studies that explore the relationship between race and health use outcomes such as self-rated health, mortality or morbidity, and disability, but very few use Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) measures and their domains or dimensions. This narrative review aims to provide a better understanding of the relationship between race and health domains that are commonly used in preference-based HRQoL measures. We investigated the literature on race, physical health, mental health, pain and discomfort, cognition, neurologic spectrum domains, dexterity, ambulation, vitality and social functioning domains. We conducted a literature search and review using the key words race and the health domain of interest, using medical and social sciences databases, such as MEDLINE/Pubmed, Web of Science, and the Google Scholar portal.The majority of the studies identified in the literature show that African Americans or blacks in the United States tend to have lower scores than whites throughout a variety of health domains found in preference-based HRQoL measures. This review also emphasizes the scarcity of studies that investigate some health domains, such as social functioning, dexterity, vitality and neurologic spectrum domains, and therefore we identify the need for more studies focusing on race and measures that address such domains.

A literatura sobre raça nos Estados Unidos está repleta de estudos que documentam diferenças na saúde entre negros e brancos. Entretanto, a maioria dos trabalhos que exploram a relação entre raça e saúde utiliza medidas com saúde autorrelatada, mortalidade e morbidade, mas poucos empregam medidas de qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde e seus domínios específicos. Este artigo revisa a literatura sobre raça e qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde, especificamente examinando os domínios que constituem as principais medidas baseadas na teoria da utilidade: saúde física; saúde mental; dor e desconforto; cognição; domínios neurológicos; destreza; locomoção; vitalidade; e funcionamento social. Conduziu-se uma revisão da literatura usando as palavras-chave raça e o domínio da qualidade de vida de interesse nos Estados Unidos. Foram consultadas as bases de dados Medline/Pubmed, Web of Science e o portal Google Scholar. A maioria dos estudos sobre diversos domínios das medidas de qualidade de vida investigados sugere que negros têm pior qualidade de vida do que brancos nos Estados Unidos. A revisão salienta a escassez de estudos que exploram a relação entre raça e alguns domínios, como, por exemplo, funcionamento social, destreza, vitalidade e domínios de escopo neurológico, e, portanto, mostra a necessidade de que futuros estudos examinem a relação entre raça e estes domínios.

La literatura sobre raza en los Estados Unidos está repleta de estudios que documentan diferencias en la salud entre negros y blancos. No obstante, la mayoría de los trabajos que explotan la relación entre raza y salud utiliza medidas con salud autorrelatada, mortalidad y morbilidad, pero pocos emplean medidas de calidad de vida relacionada con la salud y sus dominios específicos. Este artículo revisa la literatura sobre raza y calidad de vida relacionada con la salud, específicamente, examinando los dominios que constituyen las principales medidas basadas en la teoría de la utilidad: salud física; salud mental; dolor y molestias; cognición; dominios neurológicos; agilidad; locomoción; vitalidad; y funcionamiento social. Se realizó una revisión de la literatura usando las palabras-clave raza y el dominio de la calidad de vida de interés en los Estados Unidos. Se consultaron las bases de datos Medline/Pubmed, Web of Science y el portal Google Scholar. La mayoría de los estudios sobre diversos dominios de las medidas de calidad de vida investigados sugiere que los negros tienen peor calidad de vida que los blancos en los Estados Unidos. La revisión resalta la escasez de estudios que explotan la relación entre raza y algunos dominios, como, por ejemplo, funcionamiento social, agilidad, vitalidad y dominios de objetivo neurológico, y, por tanto, muestra la necesidad de que futuros estudios examinen la relación entre raza y estos dominios.

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