Growth, carcass and meat quality of Casertana, Italian Large White and Duroc x (Landrace x Italian Large White) pigs reared outdoors

To compare growth, skeletal development, carcass traits and meat quality of different genotypes, 10 Casertana (CT), 10 Italian Large White (LW) and 10 Duroc x (Landrace x Italian Large White) (DU) crosses, barrows of 90 days of age, were allotted to the same outdoor rearing and feeding conditions. Live weight was recorded and average daily gain (ADG) was calculated. At slaughter (330-day-old) dressing and lean percentages were determined; backfat thickness and loin eye depth were measured. Carcasses were dissected into commercial cuts. Water holding capacity, pH and colour (45 min and 24 h post-mortem) were measured. Longissimus lumborum muscle samples were collected for cholesterol, \u3b1-tochopherol and intramuscular collagen (IMC) analyses. CT compared to DU and LW had the lowest growth rate and skeletal development. Casertana showed higher backfat thickness, lower lean cut/fatty cut ratio and less lean meat (P<0.05). Loin eye depth differed among genotypes with LW>DU>CT (P<0.05). CT showed higher red colour of the meat than DU and LW (P<0.05). CT compared to LW had the highest hydroxylysylpiridinoline (HLP) crosslink concentration and HLP/IMC ratio, and a lower IMC amount (P<0.05). Casertana pigs produced meat that could be tougher than that from the improved breed, but more acceptable from the technological point of view. At eleven months of age bone weight, length and diameter were clearly genetic type-related; differently, the bone maturit

Light dependent redox catalysis by Photosystem I complexes encapsulated in organic nanoparticles

Photosystem I (PSI) is a pigment binding multi-subunit protein complexes involved in photosynthesis. PSI is localized in the thylakoid membranes and catalyze the electron transfer reaction from plastocyanin to ferredoxin, as one of the main steps involved in conversion of light energy into chemical energy. PSI is highly efficiency with a photochemical efficiency close to one. Several attempts have doing in the past in order to exploit the high efficiency and high stability of PSI in an extra-cellular context in order to catalyze electron transfer reactions: in this work we present an innovative solution for exploiting the photochemical properties of PSI, by encapsulation of PSI complexes in organic nanoparticles. Nanoparticles offer a protected environment to the encapsulated molecule, giving it the possibility of preserving its functional properties and studying how they change over time. In this work the complete characterization, both morphological and functional, of nanostructures obtained by encapsulation of PSI complexes purified from higher plants with PLGA (poly lactic-co-glycolic acid) polymer is presented. The results obtained by transient absorption and time-resolved fluorescence demonstrate that encapsulated PSI were characterized by an higher photochemcial activity compared to PSI complexes in detergent solution. Moreover, encapsulated PSI maintained the high efficiency observed for several weeks even if exposed to very strong light, being more stable compared to PSI in detergent solution. Finally, the nanostructures obtained by encapsulated PSI were able to catalyze light dependent redox reactions with electron acceptors and donors outside the nanostructures Potential application of these PLGA encapsulated PSI in different fields are thus presented and discussed

Limit on the Radiative Neutrinoless Double Electron Capture of 36^{36}Ar from GERDA Phase I

Neutrinoless double electron capture is a process that, if detected, would give evidence of lepton number violation and the Majorana nature of neutrinos. A search for neutrinoless double electron capture of $^{36}$Ar has been performed with germanium detectors installed in liquid argon using data from Phase I of the GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment at the Gran Sasso Laboratory of INFN, Italy. No signal was observed and an experimental lower limit on the half-life of the radiative neutrinoless double electron capture of $^{36}$Ar was established: $T_{1/2} >$ 3.6 $\times$ 10$^{21}$ yr at 90 % C.I.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Valutare la stabilit\ue0 proteica alle condizioni enologiche

Vengono valutati varie metodiche per la valutazione della stabilit\ue0 proteica dei vini bianch

Fatty acids milk composition in Italian Simmental and Italian Holstein cows

Increasing importance is given to healthy diets and to satisfy this demand, the benchmark of milk quality now includes also the specific composition of the lipid and protein fractions in milk. Milk fat has been criticized because of its higher concentration of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and low concentrations of monounsaturated (MUFA) and poly- unsaturated (PUFA), but fatty acids (FA) profile can be improved via genetic selection, which can provide a more permanent solution compared with managementrelated approaches. The aim of this work is to estimate the correlations among groups of milk FA, namely SFA, unsaturated (UFA), MUFA and PUFA, and EBVs (kg of protein EBVp, kg of fat EBVf) in Italian Simmental (IS) and Italian Holstein (IH) cattle. Milk sampling was conducted in 6 commercial farms of IS and 4commercial farms of IH. Cows had free access to water and a ad libitum total mixed ration offered twice a day. The day of official milk recording, 100 mL of milk individual samples were collected and split in two 50 mL aliquots, one used for the determination of protein, fat, lactose and for somatic cell count (SCC) and the second frozen at -20\ub0C within 2 hours for fatty acid analyses. Before statistical analysis, animals were classified for parity with ordinal value of 1 for first calving, 2 for second calving and 3 for cows with more than 2 calving. Analysis was performed with a mixed model, with fixed effects of Breed and Parity and random effect of Farm and the linear relationships with DIM and with EBVs within breeds. Results evidenced a significant correlation between SFA, UFA, PUFA, MUFA with EBVp and EBVf in both breeds. Relevant to highlight is the ratio rumenic/(vacenic+rumenic), resulted to be statistically significant considering breeds as well as EBVp and EBVf. This may be due to a divergent selection for the gene involved in vaccenic/rumenic methabolism in the two breeds while the significant association with EBVf and EBVp suggests the existence of a genetic variability of the trait within breeds. Daily CH4 emission (g/kg of FPCM), estimated on the basis of fatty acid profile, was also correlated with EBVf and EBVp. Although further investigations are required, these traits can be considered in breeding programs for the next generation dairy cows

Paraneoplastic pemphigus presenting with a single oral lesion

Paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) is recognised in most cases after diagnosis of malignant and benign haematological tumours. PNP usually presents with severe and diffuse oral ulcerations, ocular lesions, lichen planus-like skin lesions and frequently genital ulcerations. We describe the uncommon case of a patient unaware of any neoplasia with a unique ulcerated oral lesion with histological (acantholysis of the basal epithelial layer, necrotic keratinocytes and pronounced regenerative hyperplasia) and immunofluorescent (direct immunofluorescence test exhibited immunoglobulin IgG, fibrinogen and C3 deposition in intercellular areas and along the basement membrane; indirect immunofluorescence test performed on rat bladder showed bright fluorescence) features suggestive of PNP. Diagnosis of PNP was strengthened by the subsequent discovery of monoclonal gammopathy. The reported case is quite unusual if we consider the clinical appearance of the oral lesions and the patient\u2019s negative medical history. Following serological examinations, the patient proved to have monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), one of the most common premalignant plasma cell disorders