‘My heart is black, your belly is white’: Encoding Emotions in a West African Culture

Hausa (Afroasiatic, West Chadic, A) is the most wide spoken language in West Africa and has got an enormous advantage from Internet. Going through the Web we can see so many sites dealing with all the aspect of Hausa life and culture. This language is widely employed in social networking, where groups of thousands of users discuss political, social and religious issues on regular basis and (almost) without censorship

Technical note: Estimation of real rabbit meat consumption in Italy

[EN] As in other livestock species, the annual per capita consumption of rabbit meat is currently estimated as the ratio of the total weight of carcasses available for consumption to the number of inhabitants of a certain region. The aim of this work was to establish conversion coefficients from carcass to dible lean meat and estimate real rabbit meat consumption in Italy. Accordingly, a total of 24 rabbits were slaughtered at 2 different ages to obtain carcasses representative of the main market categories in Northern Italy: medium-size (carcass weight of about 1.4 kg) and heavy-size (carcass weight of about 1.8 kg). Chilled carcasses were used to determine offal, dissectible fat, bone and meat weights and yields. Experimentally obtained conversion factors from carcass to edible lean meat and estimated meat waste percentage at retail and consumption levels were subsequently used to estimate the real per capita amount of rabbit meat consumed in Italy. The finding of this study revealed that, if compared to the medium-size group, heavy-size carcasses had higher lean meat yield for both intermediate (92.9 vs. 92.4%; P<0.05) and hind parts (84.3 vs. 79.1%; P<0.001). On the contrary, the meat yield of fore part was higher in the medium-size group (66.2 vs. 65.5%; P<0.001) compared to heavy-size carcasses. Eventually, overall meat yield was higher in heavy-size carcasses compared to medium-size ones (64.4 vs. 63.2%; P<0.001). By using these conversion factors and estimated overall losses at retailing and home-consumption (15%), we estimated that real per capita annual rabbit meat consumption is 0.50 kg in Italy, which is only 54% compared to the estimated apparent consumption (0.90 kg).Petracci, M.; Soglia, F.; Baldi, G.; Balzani, L.; Mudalal, S.; Cavani, C. (2018). Technical note: Estimation of real rabbit meat consumption in Italy. World Rabbit Science. 26(1):91-96. doi:10.4995/wrs.2018.7802SWORD919626

Parotid Gland Edema After Chlorhexidine Mouthrinse: Case Report and Literature Review

Introduction: Parotid gland swelling, caused by many pathological conditions, has also been reported to be a possible side effect of the use of chlorhexidine mouthwash. This adverse reaction to chlorhexidine mouthwash is, however, extremely rare and very few cases of parotid gland swelling due to chlorhexidine mouthwash have been reported in the literature. Case Description: This report describes the clinical management of unilateral parotid swelling caused by chlorhexidine mouthwash. Methods: A patient presented with left parotid gland swelling after using chlorhexidine mouthwash for three days following sinus augmentation on the contralateral side of the maxilla. Diagnosis of parotid gland swelling due to rinsing with chlorhexidine was formulated after anamnesis, clinical examination, radiographs and ultrasound of the gland excluded other pathological conditions. The patient was subsequently advised to stop rinsing. However, on the evening of the same day, swelling increased and the patient presented to an emergency department where a single intravenous dose of methylprednisolone was administered. Results: After seven days, parotid swelling decreased significantly and after three weeks had completely disappeared. Conclusion: Although unilateral or bilateral parotid gland swelling related to the use of chlorhexidine mouthwash is an uncommon adverse event, it must be suspected after other organic or infective conditions have been excluded. The precise pathogenic mechanism has not yet been determined and further studies should be carried out to better understand the pathophysiology of this uncommon phenomenon

A Plackett-Burman Design to Optimize Wood Chipper Settings

The wood-chipping process is affected by several factors, notably chipper settings and wood characteristics. It is often difficult to test all of these factors in a full factorial experimental plan, due to the large number of trials required. On the other hand, a screening design of the experiment makes it possible to manage a large number of variables in a small number of trials. Hence, this approach is used to test six factors, in order to optimize the productivity and chip quality of a drum wood-chipper. These factors are: feeding speed, screen size, PTO-speed, wood species, wood moisture content, and wood diameter. Productivity was significantly affected by screen size, while chip quality was related to feeding speed, screen size, PTO-speed, and wood species. The results suggest that the optimal configuration can be achieved by adjusting feeding speed, the PTO-speed, and the wood species, as these settings maximize chip quality. Screen size requires further analysis, as larger sizes increase productivity but reduce quality, while the opposite is true for smaller sizes. Thus, the optimal screen size requires a consideration of costs and benefits that may change according to the retail price of premium and regular wood chips, and production costs

A Plackett-Burman Design to Optimize Wood Chipper Settings

The wood-chipping process is affected by several factors, notably chipper settings and wood characteristics. It is often difficult to test all of these factors in a full factorial experimental plan, due to the large number of trials required. On the other hand, a screening design of the experiment makes it possible to manage a large number of variables in a small number of trials. Hence, this approach is used to test six factors, in order to optimize the productivity and chip quality of a drum wood-chipper. These factors are: feeding speed, screen size, PTO-speed, wood species, wood moisture content, and wood diameter. Productivity was significantly affected by screen size, while chip quality was related to feeding speed, screen size, PTO-speed, and wood species. The results suggest that the optimal configuration can be achieved by adjusting feeding speed, the PTO-speed, and the wood species, as these settings maximize chip quality. Screen size requires further analysis, as larger sizes increase productivity but reduce quality, while the opposite is true for smaller sizes. Thus, the optimal screen size requires a consideration of costs and benefits that may change according to the retail price of premium and regular wood chips, and production costs

GLI ANTICHI MAIS DEL PIEMONTE

Il libro descrive le caratteristiche agronomiche ma anche culturali della coltivazione del mais effettuata in Piemonte nel secolo scorso, nonchè le possibilità di valorizzazione e di miglioramento delle cultivar tradizionali destinate all'alimentazione umana ed il loro ruolo nella tutela della biodiversità rurale. Nel libro si descrive inoltre il lavoro attuato dal CRAB (Centro di riferimento per l'Agricoltura Biologica, Provincia di Torino) per il recupero e la caratterizzazione delle cultivar locali di mais, che ha portato alla costituzione di un associazione di produttori e alla formazione di un gruppo di "agricoltori custodi" per la coltivazione in purezza delle sementi di queste antiche varietà maidicole

Effect of spaghetti-meat abnormality on quality and histological traits of broiler breast fillets

During the last few years, the increasing growth rate and meat yield of modern broiler hybrids caused the appearance of several breast muscle abnormalities, such as white striping and wooden breast. Recently, a new myopathy termed spaghetti-meat (SM) characterized by extremely soft and friable pectoralis major when palpated after chilling has emerged. Since the occurrence of SM is often associated with white striping (WS), this study aimed at evaluating the effects of SM and/or WS conditions on meat quality and histological traits in broilers. For this purpose, 96 pectoralis major muscles were selected from homogeneous flocks (47 d of age and 2.8 kg of live weight at slaughter) into two independent trials and classified as follows: 24 Normal (N), 24 WS, 24 SM and 24 WS/SM. Each fillet was cut in order to separate the superficial layer from the deep one and both used to assess proximate composition, histological features, colour, pH and protein profile. Data were analyses by two-way ANOVA using abnormality and sampling position as the main variables. Proximate composition was found to be significantly modified according the type of abnormality, especially in the superficial layer of the fillets. The SM and WS/SM groups had a remarkable decrease in total protein content coupled with an increased moisture level (p&lt;.001), while WS group was associated with higher lipid content. Histological evaluations of abnormal samples evidenced several degenerative aspects that almost completely concern the superficial layer of the fillets. The SM samples showed poor fibres uniformity and a progressive rarefaction of the endo- and peri-mysial connective tissue. The WS fillets exhibited necrosis and lysis of fibres, fibrosis, lipidosis, loss of cross striation and vacuolar degeneration, while WS/SM fillets exhibited intermediate histological features. No relevant effect on meat colour has been detected, however abnormal fillets showed increased yellowness (b) and ultimate pH values (p&lt;.001). Moreover, both WS and SM abnormalities were associated with a more intense proteolytic degradation of muscle tissue (p&lt;.001), which led to the formation of high molecular-weight protein fragments. In conclusion, both muscle myopathies mainly affect the superficial layer of pectoralis major muscle, while deep section is poorly involved. Furthermore, if compared with WS, SM abnormality is associated with a more remarkable alteration of the proximate composition and quality traits of the meat