effects of different nutritional levels on nero siciliano pig performance

It is well-known that the productive performance and the carcass and meat characteristics are influenced by genetic factors so as by different environmental conditionings. Among these, the feeding should be considered particularly for the quantitative (nutritional level) and qualitative aspects (different components of the ration) so as for the modality of administration, because of the important correlation between genotype and nutritive requirements

Rosemary extract (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) supplementation into the diet of Nero Siciliano pigs: effects on lipid oxidation

During the growing-fattening period (93 days; ILW 33.5±6 kg to FLW 67±3 kg), 30 Nero Siciliano pigs were fed on a basal diet supplemented with (ROX group) or not (CTR group) a rosemary extract (1g?kg-1). At 1, 3 and 5 days after slaughtering, the oxidative stability of the Longissimus dorsi muscle was determined by using TBArs test. Moreover, on the individual samples of the muscle the lipid content, the fatty acid and the sterol composition were determined; the acidic composition of the lard, removed from backfat, was also studied. Data were subjected to ANOVA. The fat content of the muscle was unaffected by the dietary treatment as well as the oxidative stability whereas, significant differences (P²0.01) were observed for the polyunsaturated fatty acid content which showed the highest values in the meat as well as in the lard of the ROX group; PUFA/SFA ratio was also significantly highest in the muscle (P=0.004) and in the lard (P=0.017) of the ROX group, testifying a possible antioxidative activity of the rosemary extract. The sterol fraction (cholesterol, cholestanol, stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol and delta 5-avenasterol) of the Longissimus dorsi muscle was unaffected by the rosemary supplementation; a significant difference was observed only for the campesterol (CTR group=1.08, ROX group=0.90; P = 0.021)

Milk composition of "Nero Siciliano" sow. Preliminary results

AbstractQuantitative and qualitative milk production is the basis for determining the nutritional requirements of lactating sow; indeed, the gross nutrient composition of sow's milk is frequently used as a suitable starting point when formulating milk-replacer diets for piglets. Data about the sow's milk can be found from the literature but, in authors knowledge, no data on milk composition of Nero Siciliano sow exist. This study reports the preliminary results concerning some physical and chemical characteristics of the milk of this autochthonous Sicilian pig race during the lactation.The research was carried out on 10 "Nero Siciliano" sows, 4 primiparous (age: 9-12 months) and 6 pluriparous (age: 2-5 years), stabled in single boxes and fed with a concentrate. From the 10th day after farrowing to the weaning (day 58th), every week, in the morning, the sows were injected with 5 IU oxytocin (i.m.) and hand-milked; all functional mammary glands were milked. Piglets were removed and isolated from the dams fo..

Effect of lairage duration on some blood constituents and beef quality in bulls after long journey

Al fine di contribuire alla individuazione di un tempo adeguato di sosta al termine di un lungo trasporto, sono stati esaminati gli effetti di diverse durate della sosta al macello su alcuni parametri ematici e sulla qualit\ue0 della carne in bovini maschi interi sottoposti a viaggi commerciali di lunga durata. Lo studio \ue8 stato condotto su 39 vitelloni Limousine allevati nelle medesime condizioni presso un unica azienda situata nelle vicinanze di Saragoza (Spagna). Gli animali sono stati esaminati al termine di 5 viaggi commerciali dopo un tragitto di 2500 km, presso lo stabilimento di macellazione \u201cSan Giorgio\u201d di Gangi (Palermo). Il tempo di trasporto \ue8 stato pari a ore 53,6\ub110,9. Per i soggetti della prima, della terza e della quinta consegna, la durata della sosta \ue8 risultata compresa tra 24 e 36 ore, con una media pari a 31 ore (gruppo \u201cShort Lairage\u201d), mentre nella terza e nella quinta consegna la sosta \ue8 stata pari, rispettivamente, a 57 e 59 ore (gruppo \u201cLong Lairage\u201d). I risultati relativi all\u2019esame emocromo-citometrico, hanno evidenziato un effetto significativo (P>0,001) della durata della sosta pre-macellazione sia sul numero dei leucociti che sulle piastrine. La durata della sosta non ha mostrato avere nessun effetto significativo su globuli rossi, emoglobina ed ematocrito anche se l\u2019analisi della varianza per misure ripetute ha mostrato che, indipendentemente dalla durata della sosta, l\u2019ematocrito \ue8 variato significativamente dal momento dello scarico a quello della macellazione, aumentando durante tale periodo. L\u2019analisi statistica effettuata sui parametri ematochimici ha evidenziato un effetto significativo (P>0,05) della durata della sosta solo sull\u2019enzima CK e sul cortisolo. L\u2019enzima CK ha mostrato un incremento nel gruppo \u201cShort Lairage\u201d (33,2% vs 14,3%) mentre il Cortisolo ha mostrato una diminuzione nel gruppo \u201cLong Lairage\u201d (36,3% vs 3,8%). La durata della sosta non ha influenzato significativamente (P>0,05) l\u2019incidenza di lesioni lievi e gravi registrate sulle carcasse. Per quanto concerne la qualit\ue0 della carne, la durata della sosta ha influenzato significativamente il pHu, risultato pi\uf9 elevato (P>0,01) nel muscolo dei soggetti del gruppo \u201cLong Lairage\u201d; la luminosit\ue0 a 24h post mortem \ue8 risultata significativamente pi\uf9 elevata (P>0,05) nei soggetti del gruppo \u201cShort Lairage\u201d rispetto a quelli del gruppo \u201cLong Lairage\u201d, mentre gli indici del rosso e del giallo sono risultati essere maggiori in quest\u2019ultimo gruppo. Il calo peso dopo cottura \ue8 risultato significativamente minore (P>0,01) nel gruppo \u201cShort Lairage\u201d, lo stesso gruppo \u201cShort Lairage\u201d ha fatto registrare carni significativamente pi\uf9 tenere (P>0,01). Dai risultati ottenuti emerge come la durata della sosta pre-macellazione dopo un trasporto di lunga durata pu\uf2 influenzare il quadro ematologico e la qualit\ue0 della carne. Nel complesso \ue8 emerso che prolungare la sosta oltre le 36 ore non provoca alcun beneficio per il benessere dell\u2019animale e rischia di peggiorare la qualit\ue0 della carne. Nel caso di trasporti cos\uec lunghi come quelli esaminati sarebbe opportuno una migliore organizzazione della logistica al fine di ridurre il tempo di attesa degli animali prima della macellazione.With the aim to contribute to determine an adequate resting time for cattle after long transportation, the effects of different lairage time on some haematic parameters and meat quality of bulls subjected to long commercial journeys were investigated. Thirty-nine Limousine bulls supplied by one farm located near to Saragoza (Spain) were examined after 5 consignments at the final destination, after a journey of 2.550 km, of the \u201cSan Giorgio\u201d abattoir (Palermo, Italy). Transport time was of 53.6 \ub1 10.9 h; lairage duration for bulls of the 1st, 3rd and 5th consignments was of 31 h on average (\u201cShort Lairage\u201d group), whereas, for those of the 2nd and 4th consignments, was of 59 and 57 h, respectively (\u201cLong Lairage\u201d group). As regards the blood cell counts, data showed a significant effect (P< 0.001) of the lairage duration on leukocyte and platelet counts. No significant effect was observed for erythrocyte count, haemoglobin and hematocrit in relation to the lairage duration, even if the repeated measure analysis of variance showed that, irrespectively to the lairage duration, the hematocrit increased significantly from the unloading to the slaughter. Haematological parameters showed a significant (P< 0.05) effect of the lairage time only on CK and Cortisol. CK enzyme showed an increase in the \u201cShort Lairage\u201d group (33.2% vs. 14.3%) whereas, Cortisol showed a decrease in the \u201cLong Lairage\u201d group (36.3% vs. 3.8%). The different lairage duration did not significantly (P> 0.05) affect the incidence of slight and severe bruises of carcass. As regard meat quality, lairage duration has significantly influenced the pHu which was higher (P< 0.01) in the muscle of the animals of the \u201cLong Lairage\u201d group, the luminosity at 24h post mortem which was significantly higher (P< 0.05) in animals of the \u201cShort Lairage\u201d group and the red and yellow indices which were higher in the \u201cLong Lairage\u201d group. \u201cShort Lairage\u201d group showed lower (P< 0.01) value of cooking loss and higher (P< 0.01) value of tenderness. Data show that pre-slaughter lairage duration after a long transport may influence the blood parameters as well as meat quality. On the whole, the increase of the lairage duration over 36 h does not determine any benefit for the animal well-being whereas it can cause a reduction of the beef quality. For so long transports, it should be better an adequate organization of the facilities in order to diminish the pre-slaughter lairage duration

Non-destructive cavity QED probe of Bloch oscillations in a gas of ultracold atoms

We describe a scheme for probing a gas of ultracold atoms trapped in an optical lattice and moving in the presence of an external potential. The probe is non-destructive and uses the existing lattice fields as the measurement device. Two counter-propagating cavity fields simultaneously set up a conservative lattice potential and a weak quantum probe of the atomic motion. Balanced heterodyne detection of the probe field at the cavity output along with integration in time and across the atomic cloud yield information about the atomic dynamics in a single run. The scheme is applied to a measurement of the Bloch oscillation frequency for atoms moving in the presence of the local gravitational potential. Signal-to-noise ratios are estimated to be as high as $10^4$.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

1D model for the dynamics and expansion of elongated Bose-Einstein condensates

We present a 1D effective model for the evolution of a cigar-shaped Bose-Einstein condensate in time dependent potentials whose radial component is harmonic. We apply this model to investigate the dynamics and expansion of condensates in 1D optical lattices, by comparing our predictions with recent experimental data and theoretical results. We also discuss negative-mass effects which could be probed during the expansion of a condensate moving in an optical lattice.Comment: RevTeX4, 8 pages, 10 figures, extended and revised versio

Fresh forage in dairy ass's ration: effect on milk fatty acid composition and flavours

The first studies on the quali-quantitative aspects of ass's milk have focussed the attention towards nutrition of human infants affected by multiple food intolerance (Carroccio et al., 2000). More recently, its use is studied also in cardiopathology prevention, in neonatal cerebral growth and in the regulation of the immuno-inflammatory system, where the fatty acids are directly implicated (Chiofalo et al., 2003)

Nero Siciliano pig: effect of the diet on meat quality

In the context of a typical breeding system for the autochthonous pig races, the effects of the traditional diet (grain cereals, legumes and agro-industrial by-product) and of a commercial diet (pellets) on the meat quality of Nero Siciliano pig were studied. Thirty animals, 16 castrated males and 14 females, were divided into two groups of 15 each one homogeneous for live weight (32.47±1.74 kg), sex (8 males and 7 females) and age (2 months), called "Traditional" (TRA) and "Experimental" (EXPE). Pigs of "TRA" group were fed with barleycorn (2 kg/head/day) and citrus pulp (1 kg/head/day) whereas, those of "EXPE" group received 1.3 kg/head/day of a pelletted complete feed (Dry Matter: 87.5%, on a DM basis: 18.29% Crude Protein, 3.43% Ether Extract, 6.06% Crude Fiber, 7.43% Ash) formulated to be isoenergetic and isonitrogenous with the Traditional diet. The trial lasted 93 days, preceded by a 15day adaptation period. After the slaughter (FLW: EXPE 67.4kg vs. TRA 61.69 kg; P>0.05 and FCR: EXPE 3.71 kg/kg vs. TRA 6.65 kg/kg; P<0.001), chemical and fatty acid composition of the Longissimus lumborum muscle were determined as well as the acidic composition of the lard removed by the backfat. On the basis of the fatty acid profile, the quality indices were calculated. The oxidative stability (TBARs) of the intramuscular lipid was determined at 1, 3, 5 days after slaughtering. Data were subjected to ANOVA. Protein (EXPE 23.01 g/100g vs. TRA 23.17 g/100g) and lipid (EXPE 3.12 g/100g vs. TRA 2.69 g/100g) content of the muscle was unaffected by the diet whereas, moisture (EXPE 72.52 g/100g vs. TRA 73.072 g/100g) and ash (EXPE 1.01 g/100g vs. TRA 1.08 g/100g) levels showed significant (P<0.05) differences. As regards fatty acid composition of the meat, significant differences were observed for the total SFAs (EXPE 41.42% vs. TRA 38.95%, P<0.01) and PUFAs (EXPE 9.05% vs. TRA 12.11%, P<0.05) in particular for the n3 series (EXPE 0.79% vs. TRA 1.40%, P<0.05) and for the n6 series PUFAs (EXPE 8.11% vs. TRA 10.49%, P<0.05). Fatty acid composition of the lard showed significant (P<0.05) differences for MUFAs (EXPE 47.63% vs. TRA 49.11%) and PUFAs (EXPE 11.38% vs. TRA 10.01%); in particular significant differences for the n3 series (EXPE 0.77% vs. TRA 0.94%, P<0.05) and for the n6 series PUFAs (EXPE 10.62% vs. TRA 9.08%, P<0.01) were reported. The different distribution of the fatty acid classes in the meat and in the lard could be due to: i) the different acidic composition of the feeds (pellet vs. barleycorn + citrus pulp), ii) the different destinations of the plasmatic fatty acids during their metabolic cycle (constituents of adipose tissue, of tryglicerides, of membranes phospholipids). The quality indices have shown significant (P<0.001) differences only in the Longissimus lumborum muscle, with the highest values for the Atherogenic (EXPE 0.49% vs. TRA 0.42%,) and for the Thrombogenic indices (EXPE 1.11% vs. TRA 0.91%) in the EXPE group. No significant difference was observed for the oxidative stability of the muscle during the storage. Data show the importance to study specific diets for Nero Siciliano pig in relation to the destination of meat. Research supported by MIUR, PRIN-2003 ("Nero Siciliano pig breeding: evaluation of its production", Prof

Superfluid and Dissipative Dynamics of a Bose-Einstein Condensate in a Periodic Optical Potential

We create Bose-Einstein condensates of 87-rubidium in a static magnetic trap with a superimposed blue-detuned 1D optical lattice. By displacing the magnetic trap center we are able to control the condensate evolution. We observe a change in the frequency of the center-of-mass oscillation in the harmonic trapping potential, in analogy with an increase in effective mass. For fluid velocities greater than a local speed of sound, we observe the onset of dissipative processes up to full removal of the superfluid component. A parallel simulation study visualizes the dynamics of the BEC and accounts for the main features of the observed behavior.Comment: 4 pages, including figure

Analytic theory of correlation energy and spin polarization in the 2D electron gas

We present an analytic theory of the pair distribution function and the ground-state energy in a two-dimensional (2D) electron gas with an arbitrary degree of spin polarization. Our approach involves the solution of a zero-energy scattering Schr\"odinger equation with an effective potential which includes a Fermi term from exchange and kinetic energy and a Bose-like term from Jastrow-Feenberg correlations. The form of the latter is assessed from an analysis of data on a 2D gas of charged bosons. We obtain excellent agreement with data from quantum Monte Carlo studies of the 2D electron gas. In particular, our results for the correlation energy show a quantum phase transition occurring at coupling strength $r_s\approx 24$ from the paramagnetic to the fully spin-polarized fluid.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure