Influence of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and L-Lysine on heavy pigs performances and meat quality

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) refers to a group of positional and geometric fatty acid isomers derived from linoleic acid. Dietary CLA supplementation has been shown to increase feed efficiency and may reduce body fat content in swine as recently reviewed by Corino et al., (2005). There was only one research conducted in heavy pig in which the authors did not observed any significant effect of dietary CLA on growth performances and lean tissue (Corino et al., 2003)

Proteomic insights on the metabolism in inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic and relapsing inflammatory conditions of the gut that include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The pathogenesis of IBD is not completely unraveled, IBD are multi-factorial diseases with reported alterations in the gut microbiota, activation of different immune cell types, changes in the vascular endothelium, and alterations in the tight junctions\u2019 structure of the colonic epithelial cells. Proteomics represents a useful tool to enhance our biological understanding and to discover biomarkers in blood and intestinal specimens. It is expected to provide reproducible and quantitative data that can support clinical assessments and help clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of IBD. Sometimes a differential diagnosis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and the prediction of treatment response can be deducted by finding meaningful biomarkers. Although some non-invasive biomarkers have been described, none can be considered as the \u201cgold standard\u201d for IBD diagnosis, disease activity and therapy outcome. For these reason new studies have proposed an \u201cIBD signature\u201d, which consists in a panel of biomarkers used to assess IBD. The above described approach characterizes \u201comics\u201d and in this review we will focus on proteomics

Growth performance and oxidative status in piglets supplemented with verbascoside and teupolioside

Two hundred forty piglets, half female and half barrows, 8.1 ± 1.40 kg LW, were divided into 6 experimental groups and fed ad libitum with a diet supplemented with the following levels of antioxidants: 0 (CON + = positive control added with 100 mg lincomicine/kg), 5 (LT = low teupolioside or LV = low verbascoside), 10 (HT = high teupolioside; HV = high verbascoside; LT+LV) mg/kg of diet for 56 days. Body weight and feed intake were recorded on d0, 14 and 56 of the trial. Ten piglets from each group were selected and blood collected by anterior vena cava puncture at 0, 14 and 56 d for reactive oxygen metabolite (ROMs) determination. HV showed final weight higher than the other groups (P<0.05), and oxidative stability was improved by both integrations of verbascoside. These results support the view that Verbascoside influences the growth performances and oxidative status of piglets

A sensory study on loin quality from pigs slaughtered at 120 or 160 kg liveweight

Effects of different slaughter weights (160 vs. 120 kg) on chemical, physical and sensory characteristics of pig loin were investigated. Physical and chemical traits were similar for the two typologies of weight, whereas lower values of moisture (P<0.01) and higher fat content (P<0.05) were found in heavy pork loin; furthermore increased slaughter weight resulted in redder, more yellow and intensive colour (P<0.05). A selected and trained panel carried out difference from control test showing that heavy pig loin scored higher for appearance and taste parameters (P<0.05), but lower for tenderness (P<0.05). Heavy pig loin was redder, more marbling, wetter, sweeter, and saltier and had higher metallic flavour and lower tenderness

Biomechanical role and motion contribution of ligaments and bony constraints in the elbow stability: A preliminary study

In flexion-extension motion, the interaction of several ligaments and bones characterizes the elbow joint stability. The aim of this preliminary study was to quantify the relative motion of ulna respect to humerus in two human elbow specimens and to investigate the constraints role for maintaining the joint stability in different dissections condition. Two clusters of 4 markers were fixed respectively to ulna and humerus, and their trajectory was recorded by a motion capture system during orthopedic maneuver. Considering the medial ulnar collateral posterior bundle (pMUCL) and the coronoid, two dissection sequences were executed. The orthopedic maneuver of compression, pronation and varus force was repeated at 30°, 60°, 90° flexion for the functional investigation of constraints. Ulna deflection was compared to a baseline flexion condition. Respect to intact elbow, the coronoid osteotomy influences the elbow stability at 90° (deflection=11.49±17.39 mm), while small differences occur at 30° and 60°, due to ligaments constraint. The contemporary pMUCL dissection and coronoid osteotomy causes elbow instability, with large deflection at 30° (deflection=34.40±9.10 mm), 60° (deflection=45.41±18.47 mm) and 90° (deflection=52.16±21.92 mm). Surgeons may consider the pMUCL reconstruction in case of unfixable coronoid fracture

<i>In situ</i> electrical and thermal monitoring of printed electronics by two-photon mapping

Printed electronics is emerging as a new, large scale and cost effective technology that will be disruptive in fields such as energy harvesting, consumer electronics and medical sensors. The performance of printed electronic devices relies principally on the carrier mobility and molecular packing of the polymer semiconductor material. Unfortunately, the analysis of such materials is generally performed with destructive techniques, which are hard to make compatible with in situ measurements, and pose a great obstacle for the mass production of printed electronics devices. A rapid, in situ, non-destructive and low-cost testing method is needed. In this study, we demonstrate that nonlinear optical microscopy is a promising technique to achieve this goal. Using ultrashort laser pulses we stimulate two-photon absorption in a roll coated polymer semiconductor and map the resulting two-photon induced photoluminescence and second harmonic response. We show that, in our experimental conditions, it is possible to relate the total amount of photoluminescence detected to important material properties such as the charge carrier density and the molecular packing of the printed polymer material, all with a spatial resolution of 400 nm. Importantly, this technique can be extended to the real time mapping of the polymer semiconductor film, even during the printing process, in which the high printing speed poses the need for equally high acquisition rates.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Conspiracy beliefs, regulatory self-efficacy and compliance with COVID-19 health-related behaviors: The mediating role of moral disengagement

Although recent studies on the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have highlighted the negative effects of moral disengagement on intentions to comply with COVID-19 containment measures, little is known about the mediating role of moral disengagement in the relationship between regulatory self-efficacy in complying with the containment measures, beliefs in conspiracy theories and compliance with COVID-19 health-related behaviors. Data were collected from 1164 young adults (women, N&nbsp;=&nbsp;796; 68.4%; mean age 25.60&nbsp;±&nbsp;4.40 years) who completed an online survey from 15th May to 22nd June 2021. Results of the multi-group path analyses indicated that higher beliefs in conspiracy theories were associated with lower compliance with COVID-19 health-related behaviors, whereas higher self-efficacy beliefs in complying with the containment measures were associated with higher compliance with COVID-19 health-related behaviors. Moral disengagement significantly mediated the associations between beliefs in conspiracy theories, regulatory self-efficacy, and compliance with COVID-19 health-related behaviors. Finally, the tested model was gender-invariant. Findings suggest that public health authorities and social care professionals should promote interventions aimed at improving regulatory self-efficacy, emphasizing the moral significance of respecting or ignoring the recommended COVID-19 measures (e.g., physical distance in public), and enhancing people's concern for the potential harms of their immoral actions