the influence of pregnancy and the beginning of lactation on pelage traits in cashmere goats

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pregnancy followed by the beginning of lactation on fibre traits incashmere goats. Two groups of cashmere-bearing goats aged between 2-3 years were used. The control group (A) included12 non-lactating, non-pregnant subjects. The experimental group (B) included 12 goats mated during the first weekof June, in order to have pregnancy and the beginning of lactation coincide with the period when cashmere normallygrows. As expected, Liveweight significantly varied in Group B during the last two months of pregnancy, when foetalgrowth reaches its maximum, and following delivery. Hair patch weight, because of the continuous growth of primary andsecondary fibres, increased significantly during the trial (P<0.001). The physiological status considered negatively affected(P<0.05) the total mean growth rate of cashmere fibres and, as a result, their length. Cashmere daily growth ratevalues varied significantly (P<0.05) throughout the experiment, while the effect of the physiological status was notedonly in November – December. Furthermore, this parameter also seems to be influenced by climatic factors and, in particular,environmental temperature, as shown by the negative correlation (r = - 0.28; P<0.05) between cashmere dailygrowth rate and environmental temperature. Guard hair length and growth rate did not differ between the two groups,however, they were influenced by time. Cashmere yield and cashmere production were lower in group B (P<0.05). Nodifferences between groups were observed for cashmere diameter. Overall, pregnancy and the consequent period of lactationnegatively influenced cashmere rather than guard hair fibres. These negative effects were noted in quantitativeterms as yield and production dropped by 37% and 43%, respectively. We hypothesise that the complete overlap of pregnancyand lactation with the period of cashmere growth reduced the number of secondary active follicles and their degreeof activity and caused an increase in competition for the partitioning of nutrients between hair follicles and the graviduterus, first, and then the mammary gland, later

Comparison of cheeses from goats fed 7 forages based on a new health index.

This study proposed the General Health Index of Cheese (GHIC) as an indicator for the presence of health-promoting compounds in cheese and compared the antioxidant capacity and phenolic and fatty acid contents of cheeses from goats consuming 7 forage species. Ninety-one homogeneous Red Syrian goats were randomly assigned to 1 of 7 feeding treatments (Festuca arundinacea, Hordeum vulgare, Triticosecale, Pisum sativum, Trifolium alexandrinum, Vicia sativa, and Vicia faba minor). The housed goat groups received the scheduled forage ad libitum. Forage species affected the antioxidant capacity, the phenolic and fatty acid contents, the Health Promoting Index, and the GHIC. Trifolium alexandrinum, Triticosecale, and Hordeum vulgare showed a clear advantage in terms of beneficial fatty acids content in goat cheese. Cheese from the Triticosecale group also showed a high antioxidant capacity value even if its polyphenol content was intermediate compared with others. Trifolium alexandrinum and Triticosecale had the highest value of the new index GHIC. This comparison suggests that there are important differences in fatty acid profile and polyphenol content among cheeses from goats fed grasses and legumes commonly used in the Mediterranean area. In this first approach, GHIC index, which combines the positive components found in cheese, seems to be a useful tool to provide an indication concerning the general health value of the product

Improvement of oxidative status, milk and cheese production, and food sustainability indexes by addition of durum wheat bran to dairy cows’ diet

Simple Summary In the near future, the expected increase in world population will enhance feed versus food competition between animals and humans to face the increasing demand by humans. For this reason, it is of paramount importance to feed ruminants with sources alternative to those representing themselves foods for humans. Durum wheat bran (DWB), similar to other by-products of the agri-food industry, can meet this need, its fiber content is high and represents also a remarkable source of phenolic acids, especially ferulic acid. This compound exerts antioxidant properties improving the health status of animals, and allows the production of functional foods more and more requested by consumers. Accordingly, this experiment demonstrated the suitability of using DWB for dairy cows feeding, because it led to clear advantages in terms of oxidative status of animals, quality of dairy products, and feeding costs. Furthermore, DWB improved the human-edible feed conversion efficiency reducing the use of human-edible feed. Durum wheat bran (DWB) is a by-product mostly used in feeding ruminants, contributing to decrease in the utilization of feeds suitable as foods for human consumption, thus improving the sustainability of livestock production. However, the potential benefits of DWB, due to its content in phenolic acids, mainly consisting of ferulic acid with antioxidant properties, have not been well clarified yet. Accordingly, in this experiment, 36 lactating cows divided into three groups received, over a period of 100 days, one of three concentrates including DWB at 0% (DWB0), 10% (DWB10), or 20% (DWB20). The concentrates were formulated to be isoproteic and isoenergetic and, to balance the higher fiber content of the concentrates with DWB, the hay in the diets was slightly reduced. During the trial, the group feed intake and the individual milk production were monitored, and cheese was made with bulk milk from each group. Milk yield and microbiological characteristics of milk and cheese were similar among groups, indicating no DWB effect on cows performance and fermentation process. Milk from DWB20 group resulted slightly higher in casein and curd firmness (a(2r)). In cows fed DWB, the higher polyphenol intake was responsible for higher blood contents of these bioactive compounds, that seemed to have contributed in reducing the level of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs), which were higher in DWB0 cows. DWB20 cheeses showed a higher polyphenol content, lower number of peroxides, and higher antioxidant capacity than DWB0 cheeses. DWB20 and DWB10 diets resulted less expensive. In addition, the DWB20 group showed the best indexes heFCE (human edible feed conversion efficiency = milk/human edible feed) and NFP (net food production = milk - human edible food), expressed as crude protein or gross energy. In conclusion, the DWB fed to dairy cows at 12% of diet dry matter (DM) can lead to benefits, such as the improvement of oxidative status of cows, milk quality, shelf-life, and functional properties of cheese, and might contribute to reduce the feeding cost and limit the human-animal competition for feeding sources

The Quality of Five Natural, Historical Italian Cheeses Produced in Different Months: Gross Composition, Fat-Soluble Vitamins, Fatty Acids, Total Phenols, Antioxidant Capacity, and Health Index

Five natural historic cheeses of Southern Italy were investigated\u2014Caciocavallo Palermitano (CP), Casizolu del Montiferru (CdM), Vastedda della Valle del Bel\uecce (VVB), Pecorino Siciliano (PS), and Caprino Nicastrese (CN)\u2014which are produced with raw milk and with traditional techniques and tools, from autochthonous breeds reared under an extensive system. The effects of the month of production on gross composition, MUFA, PUFA, PUFA-\u3c96, PUFA-\u3c93, \u3b1-tocopherol, retinol, cholesterol, TPC, TEAC, and GHIC were evaluated. In CP, CLA, TPC, and GHIC were higher in April than in February. CdM showed higher values in terms of fat, saturated fatty acids, PUFA-\u3c93, \u3b1-tocopherol, TEAC, and GHIC in May than in February and September, while low values in terms of protein, moisture, and CLA were found. In VVB, MUFA, PUFA-\u3c96, and \u3b1-tocopherol increased in June compared with April; conversely, protein, FRAP, and TEAC were higher in April. In PS, protein, CLA, PUFA, PUFA-\u3c93, \u3b1-tocopherol, and GHIC increased in May compared with January; on the contrary, moisture, NaCl, and TEAC showed high values in January. CN showed higher values in terms of PUFA, PUFA-\u3c96, PUFA-\u3c93, TPC, TEAC, and GHIC in April and June compared with January. It is shown that each cheese is unique and closely linked to the production area. Cheeses produced in the spring months showed a high nutritional quality due to the greatest presence of healthy compounds originating from an extensive feeding system. For the purposes of raising awareness of five historical cheeses of Southern Italy that are less known by consumers, and of restoring dignity to the breeders and producers of these cheeses, we studied their quality in terms of chemical composition, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), PUFA-\u3c96, PUFA-\u3c93, \u3b1-tocopherol, retinol, cholesterol, polyphenol content (TPC), total antioxidant capacity (FRAP and TEAC), and health index (GHIC). Two stretched-curd bovine cheeses, Caciocavallo Palermitano (CP) and Casizolu del Montiferru (CdM), two ovine cheeses, Vastedda della Valle del Bel\uecce (VVB) and Pecorino Siciliano (PS), and one caprine cheese, Caprino Nicastrese (CN), were evaluated. These cheeses are produced in different months, with raw milk from animals reared in an extensive feeding system. In April, the CP cheese showed high values for CLA, TPC, and GHIC, while the CN cheese exhibited high PUFA, PUFA-\u3c96, PUFA-\u3c93, TEAC, and GHIC. In May, the CdM cheese exhibited high content of fat, saturated fatty acids, PUFA-\u3c93, \u3b1-tocopherol, TEAC, and GHIC, while the PS cheese showed high values of protein, CLA, PUFA, PUFA-\u3c93, \u3b1-tocopherol, and GHIC. These measured parameters characterize and distinguish each cheese due to links with numerous factors: Species, breed, feeding system, pasture biodiversity, climate, production technology, traditional tools, and ripening type. It is highlighted that, in general, the highest nutritional quality, linked to the highest presence of healthy compounds, originates from the pasture of cheese production in the spring

Molecular Insights and Clinical Outcomes of Drugs of Abuse Adulteration: New Trends and New Psychoactive Substances

Adulteration is a well-known practice of drug manufacturers at different stages of drug production. The intentional addition of active ingredients to adulterate the primary drug may enhance or mask pharmacological effects or may produce more potent drugs to increase the number of available doses and the dealer\u27s profit. Adulterants found in different drugs change over time in response to different factors. A systematic literature search in PubMed and Scopus databases and official international organizations\u27 websites according to PRISMA guidelines was performed. A total of 724 studies were initially screened, with 145 articles from PubMed and 462 from Scopus excluded according to the criteria described in the Method Section. The remaining 117 records were further assessed for eligibility to exclude articles without sufficient data. Finally, 79 studies were classified as non-biological (n = 35) or biological (n = 35 case reports; n = 9 case series) according to the samples investigated. Although the seized samples analyses revealed the presence of well-established adulterants such as levamisole for cocaine or paracetamol/acetaminophen for heroin, the reported data disclosed new adulteration practices, such as the use of NPS as cutting agents for classic drugs of abuse and other NPS. For example, heroin adulterated with synthetic cannabinoids or cocaine adulterated with fentanyl/fentalogues raised particular concern. Notably, adulterants play a role in some adverse effects commonly associated with the primary drug, such as levamisole-adulterated cocaine that may induce vasculitis via an autoimmune process. It is essential to constantly monitor adulterants due to their changing availability that may threaten drug consumers\u27 health

The Girgentana Goat Breed: A Zootechnical Overview on Genetics, Nutrition and Dairy Production Aspects

In recent years, there has been a great interest in recovering and preserving local livestock breeds. An interesting situation is represented by the Girgentana goat, an ancient local breed reared in Sicily. Over recent years, this breed has become almost extinct, in part as a consequence of the marked decrease in fresh goat milk consumption. On the basis of these considerations, several studies on its genetic structure and management aspects have been conducted in order to protect the Girgentana goat from the risk of extinction and recover its genetic and economic value. In this context, information on genetics, nutrition and dairy production aspects may have a crucial role in the improvement and management of the breed. Thus, this chapter describes some points of these applications through recent investigations on this goat breed

2019 update of the WSES guidelines for management of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection in surgical patients

In the last three decades, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has increased in incidence and severity in many countries worldwide. The increase in CDI incidence has been particularly apparent among surgical patients. Therefore, prevention of CDI and optimization of management in the surgical patient are paramount. An international multidisciplinary panel of experts from the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) updated its guidelines for management of CDI in surgical patients according to the most recent available literature. The update includes recent changes introduced in the management of this infection.Peer reviewe