PERFORMANCE AND BEHAVIOUR OF CHICKENS WITH DIFFERENT GROWING RATE REARED ACCORDING TO THE ORGANIC SYSTEM

The performance and the behaviour of three different chicken strains, reared according to the EEC-Regulation 1804/1999 organic system, were compared. The strains had very slow (Robusta maculata), slow (Kabir) and fast (Ross) growing rates, respectively. The trial was carried out on 200 chickens (male and female) per strain. Rearing lasted 81 days as required by the EEC Regulations. At slaughter age, 20 birds per group were killed. Robusta maculata and Kabir chickens showed more intense walking activity and better foraging aptitude; their antioxidant capacity was also superior. Ross chickens had a good growth rate and feed conversion index, reaching an excellent body weight, but the mortality and the culling rate were high indicating that fast-growing strains do not adapt well to organic production. Robusta maculata showed the worst productive performance although the mortality was low and Kabir birds gave intermediate results. The carcass traits were the best in Ross and the poorest in Robusta maculata. Male chickens were heavier and leaner than females

MEAT QUALITY OF THREE CHICKEN GENOTYPES REARED ACCORDING TO THE ORGANIC SYSTEM

The meat quality of three poultry genotypes with differing growth rates (fast-growing Ross; medium and slow growing Kabir and Robusta maculata, respectively) was compared. All the birds were reared according to the organic production system which requires a paddock with grass pasture (4 m2/bird) and a slaughter age greater than 81 d. The trial was carried out on 100 female chickens per strain. The meat quality was affected by the 20 different degree of maturity of the strains at slaughter age, which was 70% for Ross, 52 % for Kabir and 78% for Robusta maculata. Ross and Kabir were slaughtered at 81 d, whereas Robusta maculata, required 120 d to reach a commercial weight (>2 kg). The meat of all the three genotypes showed good qualitative traits. The main differences of the three genotypes regarded moisture, lipid, pHu, colour, iron, oxidative stability and overall acceptance. Compared with Kabir and Robusta maculata Ross meat had more fat, lower pHu and iron, and was 25 paler. The oxidative stability during display (24-96 h at 4° C) and acceptance were the worst. Kabir chickens, being the least mature strain, had the highest moisture content with a high cooking loss. The slower-growing genotypes showed a good adaptation to the extensive rearing conditions, while the fast-growing genotype showed unbalanced muscle response to the greater activity and the oxidative stability of the meat was reduced

COMPARISON OF TWO CHICKEN GENOTYPES ORGANICALLY REARED: OXIDATIVE STABILITY AND OTHER QUALITATIVE TRAITS

The effect of genotype on the oxidative stability and other qualitative traits of chicken meat was studied. Two groups of 200 chicks (Ross 205 and Kabir) were reared according to the organic farming system. At 81 d of age 20 birds per group were slaughtered and after refrigeration (24 h at 4°C) of the carcasses, Pectoralis major muscles were excised for analyses.Samples were analysed after 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours of storage at 4°C under continuous fluorescent illumination (2300 lux). The analyses concerned the chemical composition and the shear force (only at time 0) and the progress of several traits as pH, CIELAB values, Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS), panel test and fatty acid composition (at 0 and after 96 h). Genotype greatly affected the physico-chemical characteristics and the sensory evaluation. The meat from Ross chickens showed high TBARS values, perhaps due to selection for growth rate that reduced their adaptability to greater space allowance and to poorer environmental conditions; these higher TBARS values were also negatively correlated to lightness and yellowness. The initial level of TBARS affected the oxidative stability of breast meat during storage. The amount of TBARS showed significantly negative relationship with the sensory evaluation; breast meat of Kabir had higher scores for liking when the level of malondialdehyde was less than 2.5 mg kg-1

WELFARE, PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITATIVE TRAITS OF EGG IN LAYING HENS REARED UNDER DIFFERENT REARING SYSTEMS

The welfare, production performance and some qualitative characteristics of eggs obtained under three different rearing systems (conventional, organic and organic-plus) were compared. Three homogeneous groups, each of 120 White Leghorn hens, fed the same diets, were assigned to different rearing systems and data were recorded for 1 year. The welfare indicators were the following: first impact, behavioural patterns, tonic immobility and plumage status. Productive performance was recorded (% deposition; egg weight) and some qualitative traits (Haugh index, yolk colour, yolk, albumen and egg shell weight) were evaluated. Well-being was greatly affected by rearing system. The best welfare status was observed in hens of the organic-plus group, whereas the worst was in the conventional group (caged hens). Caged hens showed little interest or fear of observers, at times they had high tonic immobility and some aggressive pecking; the status of their plumage was very poor. On the contrary, caged hens produced more eggs, even if their qualitative traits (Haugh index and yolk colour) were worse than the organicplus eggs. The intense motor activity of organic hens and the concurrent intake of grass reduced their productive level; further egg deposition seemed more affected by seasonal variation

Dreams of Prosperity in America met with Disillusionments and Despair for Eastern & Southern European Immigrants

This paper will explore the challenges experienced by destitute Eastern and Southern Europeans after migrating to New York City during the late nineteenth century and into the earlier part of the twentieth century. Throughout their Americanization process, these newcomers confronted difficulties in reconciling old world norms with newfound liberties in the land of opportunity. Religion further complicated their lives in terms of tensions created between their belief systems - Orthodox Judaism and Roman Catholicism - pitted against the practices of the mainstream White Anglo Saxon Protestants. The backdrop of a thriving and consumerism environment in New York City ironically furthered their struggles in that these immigrants lacked the means and skills to economically integrate themselves with New York City’s established population. This situation in turn created a clash of the classes. By extension, the element of exploitation will be explored as each group is vulnerable to mistreatment by various American institutions such as private businesses, religious establishments, and government agencies. All of these harsh realities faced by the immigrants served to dishearten their enthusiastic imaginings towards a better life anticipated in the New World. Two novels that reflect such immigrant experiences are Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska and Christ in Concrete by Pietro Di Donato. Both novels will be analyzed throughout this paper in order to explore the contradictions between dreams of prosperity in America met with disillusionments and despair for these Eastern and Southern European immigrants

Parallel Mechanisms between Placental Amyloidosis/Preeclampsia and Neurodegenerative Diseases

This short review summarizes recent studies on placenta-preeclampsia in the mother and/or intrauterine growth restriction in the child. The ideas raised here are framed within a paradigm that favors the opening of new research lines in these themes and are focused on the outlining of early investigation and/or an adequate treatment for mothers who develop the pathology. Thus, this review focuses on those studies that categorize PE in the group of pathologies defined as "conformational diseases", as a consequence of the misfolding of proteins due to endoplasmic reticulum ER stress. In this particular case, the ER stress that develops in the syncytiotrophoblast because of the oxidative stress caused in the placenta by the hypoxia that occurs as a consequence of the failure in the remodeling of endometrial arteries. This leads to an increased syncytiotrophoblast apoptosis with detachment of misfolded proteins into the maternal circulation, which in turn would be primarily responsible for the signs of preeclampsia in the mother: proteinuria, edema, and hypertension. The review also analyzes the preeclampsia-prions-placenta relationship, since the normal cell-surface protein PrPc is normally present in the plasma membrane of syncytiotrophoblast, but appears to be increased in cases of preeclampsia. However, although neurodegenerative disorders resulting from conformational changes in the prion protein from its normal cellular form, PrPc, to the infectious scrapie isoform, PrPSc are well known, limited information is available on Pr Pc and PrPSc in the ST, hence review on these proteins gains more attention in normal and pathological placenta

SUSTAINABILITY OF POULTRY PRODUCTION USING THE EMERGY APPROACH: COMPARISON OF CONVENTIONAL AND ORGANIC REARING SYSTEMS

The organic production system is an important strategy, compatible with sustainable agriculture, avoiding the use of chemical compounds,limiting the intensity of production and providing controls along the entire chain of production. The aim of this study is to compare conventional and organic poultry production in terms of emergy analysis. The main differences in the two systems were the emergy cost for poultry feed and for cleaning/sanitization of the buildings between successive productive cycles. In both production systems the poultry feed represented more than 50% of the emergy flow. Regarding the agronomic phase, it was shown that almost all the organic crops, avoiding chemical fertilizers and pesticides, saved around 60% emergy. The emergetic costs for housing of the birds were very similar in both systems. Relating the emergy results with productive performance it is possible to show that, although the annual productive performance was much lower in organic than in conventional (206%), transformity of organic poultry was around 10% lower. Comparison of the organic poultry system with a conventional one from the viewpoint of sustainability showed that all the emergy-based indicators are in favour of the organic farming system with a higher efficiency in transforming the available inputs in the final product, a higher level of renewable inputs, a higher level of local inputs and a lower density of energy and matter flows