34 research outputs found
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 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 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
Ar was established: 3.6 10 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