SAM multipliers and subsystems: Structural analysis of the Basilicata’s agri-food sector

Local agri-food products are conceived as a form of cultural capital, representing potentially fruitful resources for rural development. Italy and its regions offer a rich and diverse agricultural and food heritage that has led to the creation of numerous quality agri-food systems. Despite their ability to absorb disturbances and maintain their functions, it is important to develop economic models targeted to analyse the relationships among the components of food systems, in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses and drive the implementation of sectoral policies. In view of the new Rural Development Programme (2014-2020), the aim of this work is to analyse the structure of the Basilicata’s agri-food system using a multi-sector model based on a two-region SAM, specifically developed for Basilicata, an Italian region charac-terised by a highly specialised agri-food sector. Results show that the availability of a highly disaggregate multi-sector model of the regional economy may be a valuable supporting tool to design regional policies for innovation and for the development of rural areas, laying the foundation for further analysis

Age-related changes in the primary motor cortex of newborn to adult domestic pig sus scrofa domesticus

The pig has been increasingly used as a suitable animal model in translational neuroscience. However, several features of the fast-growing, immediately motor-competent cerebral cortex of this species have been adequately described. This study analyzes the cytoarchitecture of the primary motor cortex (M1) of newborn, young and adult pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). Moreover, we investigated the distribution of the neural cells expressing the calcium-binding proteins (CaBPs) (calretinin, CR; parvalbumin, PV) throughout M1. The primary motor cortex of newborn piglets was characterized by a dense neuronal arrangement that made the discrimination of the cell layers difficult, except for layer one. The absence of a clearly recognizable layer four, typical of the agranular cortex, was noted in young and adult pigs. The morphometric and immunohistochemical analy-ses revealed age-associated changes characterized by (1) thickness increase and neuronal density (number of cells/mm2 of M1) reduction during the first year of life; (2) morphological changes of CR-immunoreactive neurons in the first months of life; (3) higher density of CR-and PV-immunopositive neurons in newborns when compared to young and adult pigs. Since most of the present findings match with those of the human M1, this study strengthens the growing evidence that the brain of the pig can be used as a potentially valuable translational animal model during growth and development

Deviation of behavioural and productive parameters in dairy cows due to a lameness event: a synthesis of reviews

Lameness is a widespread multifactorial condition affecting the health and performance of dairy cows. Despite the growing support by precision farming technologies, farmers still lack reliable data-driven tools to early identify lame cows. This study used a synthesis of reviews to identify cow’s behavioural and productive parameters most related to lameness and estimate their deviation due to a lameness event. The methodological approach used reviews as starting point to identify the most pertinent studies with the intention of extracting and analysing data from these primary studies. The final dataset used information collected from 31 research papers, cited in 15 reviews, and involved more than 25,000 dairy cows. Five parameters were suitable for the meta-analysis: one about eating behaviour (eating time), three regarding activity and resting behaviour (lying bouts, lying bout duration and lying time) and milk yield. The meta-analysis revealed that all parameters had a significant deviation in cows affected by lameness. The calculation of the pooled means allowed to quantify a mean value for the deviation imposed by a severe lameness event from the value recorded on nonlame cows. Compared to a nonlame animal, a lame cow had a significant negative deviation for eating time (−39 min/day), number of lying bouts (−0.5/day), and milk yield (−3 kg/day). Lame cows had positive deviations for lying bout duration (+12 min/bout) and daily lying time (+42 min/day). The individual or combined use of these mean deviation values as alarm reference thresholds could improve the accuracy of the current automated lameness detection systems

Escaping the resource curse in regional development: A case study on the allocation of oil royalties

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the socio-economic impact of the allocation of royalties from oil extraction on regional development through a case study on the Basilicata region (Italy). We examine how the regional government’s chosen policies have impacted the income of Basilicata residents and the economic development of the region and how a different set of choices may reveal a more effective approach to turning revenue into long-term public benefits. The analysis focuses on growth as well as on distributive impacts of the allocation of royalties. The results clearly show that the past allocation of the royalties accruing to regional government into regional policies generated little impact in terms of economic growth and occupation, the total well below what was expected. Appreciable impacts on incomes and occupation will not be forthcoming unless resources are redirected towards supporting a stronger competitiveness of the regional economic system

Multi-aspect testing and ranking inference to quantify dimorphism in the cytoarchitecture of cerebellum of male, female and intersex individuals: a model applied to bovine brains.

The dimorphism among male, female and freemartin intersex bovines, focusing on the vermal lobules VIII and IX, was analyzed using a novel data analytics approach to quantify morphometric differences in the cytoarchitecture of digitalized sections of the cerebellum. This methodology consists of multivariate and multi-aspect testing for cytoarchitecture-ranking, based on neuronal cell complexity among populations defined by factors, such as sex, age or pathology. In this context, we computed a set of shape descriptors of the neural cell morphology, categorized them into three domains named size, regularity and density, respectively. The output and results of our methodology are multivariate in nature, allowing an in-depth analysis of the cytoarchitectonic organization and morphology of cells. Interestingly, the Purkinje neurons and the underlying granule cells revealed the same morphological pattern: female possessed larger, denser and more irregular neurons than males. In the Freemartin, Purkinje neurons showed an intermediate setting between males and females, while the granule cells were the largest, most regular and dense. This methodology could be a powerful instrument to carry out morphometric analysis providing robust bases for objective tissue screening, especially in the field of neurodegenerative pathologies

1H NMR metabolic profile to discriminate pasture based alpine asiago PDO cheeses

The study was carried out in an alpine area of North-Eastern Italy to assess the reliability of proton nuclear magnetic resonance 1H NMR to fingerprint and discriminate Asiago PDO cheeses processed in the same dairy plant from upland pasture-based milk or from upland hay-based milk. Six experimental types of Asiago cheese were made from raw milk considering 2 cows’ feeding systems (pasture- vs. hay-based milk) and 3 ripening times (2 months, Pressato vs. 4 months, Allevo_4 vs. 6 months, Allevo_6). Samples (n = 55) were submitted to chemical analysis and to 1HNMRcoupled with multivariate canonical discriminant analysis. Choline, 2,3-butanediol, lysine, tyrosine, and some signals of sugar-like compounds were suggested as the main water-soluble metabolites useful to discriminate cheese according to cows’ feeding system. A wider pool of polar biomarkers explained the variation due to ripening time. The validation procedure based on a predictive set suggested that 1H NMR based metabolomics was an effective fingerprinting tool to identify pasture-based cheese samples with the shortest ripening period (Pressato). The classification to the actual feeding system of more aged cheese samples was less accurate likely due to their chemical and biochemical changes induced by a prolonged maturation process

Short communication: Reference limits for blood analytes in Holstein late-pregnant heifers and dry cows: Effects of parity, days relative to calving, and season.

Abstract Reference limits for metabolic profiles in Holstein late-pregnant heifers and dry cows were determined considering the effects of parity, days relative to calving, and season. Blood samples were collected from 104 pregnant heifers and 186 dry cows (68 primiparous and 118 pluriparous) from 60 to 10 d before the expected calving date in 31 dairy farms in northeastern Italy. Sampling was performed during summer (182 samples) and the following winter (108 samples). All the animals were judged as clinically healthy at a veterinary visit before sampling. Outliers were removed from data of each blood analyte, and variables that were not normally distributed were log transformed. A mixed model was used to test the fixed effects of parity (late-pregnant heifers, primiparous or pluriparous dry cows), class of days relative to calving (60–41 d, 40–21 d, 20–10 d), season (summer or winter), and the interactions between parity and class of days relative to calving and between parity and season, with farm as random effect. Single general reference limits and 95% confidence intervals were generated for analytes that did not vary according to fixed effects. Whenever a fixed effect included in the model significantly affected a given analyte, specific reference limits and 95% confidence intervals were generated for each of its levels. Albumin, urea, triglycerides, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine kinase, conjugated bilirubin, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, chloride, zinc, copper, and iron concentrations were not influenced by any of the fixed effects. Total protein, globulins, creatinine, glucose, alkaline phosphatase, gamma glutamyltransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and sodium plasma concentrations were affected by parity. The class of days relative to calving had a significant effect on the concentrations of total protein, globulins, fatty acids, cholesterol, total bilirubin, and sodium. Season affected plasma concentrations of creatinine, glucose, fatty acids, lactate dehydrogenase, and sodium. Interactions between parity and class of days relative to calving and between parity and season did not significantly affect any of the blood analytes tested. The reference limits and the 95% confidence intervals for blood analytes determined in the study could help dairy practitioners to improve the accuracy of metabolic profile interpretation in Holstein late-pregnant cattle

Multi-aspect testing and ranking inference to quantify dimorphism in the cytoarchitecture of cerebellum of male, female and intersex individuals: a model applied to bovine brains

The dimorphism among male, female and freemartin intersex bovines, focusing on the vermal lobules VIII and IX, was analyzed using a novel data analytics approach to quantify morphometric differences in the cytoarchitecture of digitalized sections of the cerebellum. This methodology consists of multivariate and multi-aspect testing for cytoarchitecture-ranking, based on neuronal cell complexity among populations defined by factors, such as sex, age or pathology. In this context, we computed a set of shape descriptors of the neural cell morphology, categorized them into three domains named size, regularity and density, respectively. The output and results of our methodology are multivariate in nature, allowing an in-depth analysis of the cytoarchitectonic organization and morphology of cells. Interestingly, the Purkinje neurons and the underlying granule cells revealed the same morphological pattern: female possessed larger, denser and more irregular neurons than males. In the Freemartin, Purkinje neurons showed an intermediate setting between males and females, while the granule cells were the largest, most regular and dense. This methodology could be a powerful instrument to carry out morphometric analysis providing robust bases for objective tissue screening, especially in the field of neurodegenerative pathologies