ZnO Nanostructured Thin Films via Supersonic Plasma Jet Deposition

Zinc Oxide nanostructured thin films were grown by a novel plasma assisted vapour deposition method, which aims to combine the versatility of deposition processes that are mediated by plasma with the capability to control particles diffusion and nucleation. For this purpose, the proposed approach spatially separates into two different vacuum chambers the creation of zinc oxide from a metalorganic precursor from the actual film growth, thanks to the extraction of a supersonic jet of plasma seeded by the precursor fragments. The characterization of the reactor in different plasma conditions has been carried out by means of optical emission spectroscopy (OES). ZnO films with different degrees of purity, thickness uniformity, as well as different morphologies can be obtained varying the deposition parameters. The samples profiles have been collected in order to evaluate deposition rates and films uniformity. The as-prepared as well as annealed thin films were characterized by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) to evaluate their chemical composition and purity. According to Raman analyses, the annealed samples are high-purity wurtzite-type crystalline zinc oxide films. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirm a surface morphology characterized by columnar structures

Effects of Administration of Three Different By-Pass Lipids on Growth Performance, Rumen Activity and Feeding Behaviour of Beef Cattle

A study was carried out on beef cattle to compare three different by-pass lipids administration in relation to their intake, performance, bunk behaviour and rumen fermentation characteristics. Ninety-six Charolaise males were subdivided into three groups. Each group was fed a specific diet including differentiated sources of rumen by-pass fats. The first group received 500 g/head/day of calcium salts (CaS), the second and the third received 420 g/head/day of hydrogenated fatty acids (HF) and triglycerides (AL), respectively. The three by-pass fats differ in fatty acids composition, chain length and mean particle size. AL group had average daily gain significantly greater (P = 0.0005) than animals fed calcium soaps. No difference was observed between AL and HF groups (P = 0.08) and between HF and CaS groups. Final body weights of AL animals were significantly higher (P = 0.005) than CaS group. There were no differences between AL group and HF group and between HF group and CaS group. Average dry matter intake (DMI) was higher (P < 0.05) in AL and HF groups compared with CaS group. Feed conversion rate was better for AL and CaS groups (P<0.05) compared with HF group. Evaluating their behaviours in approaching feed, the animals seemed to prefer hydrogenated fats flavour as regard to calcium soaps. No differences were highlighted in ruminal pH and ruminal volatile fatty acids composition among the three groups. When high dosage of fat is included into a beef cattle diet, the administration of hydrogenated triglycerides, characterized by a pleasant flavour and a small mean particle size, is likely to prove more suitable than adding calcium soaps or hydrogenated free fatty acids, probably thanks to its higher DMI and feed conversion rate, respectively. With regard to the latter higher rate, it could be only supposed that it is related to the smaller mean particle size of hydrogenated triglycerides

Rumen protected choline supplementation in beef cattle: effect on growth performance

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of rumen-protected choline administration on growth performance in beef cattle. Thirty-two newly received Charolais steers (420 kg ± 8 kg initial BW), were assigned randomly to one of the two experimental groups: control (CTR), no choline supplementation; choline (RPC), supplemented with 5 g/day choline chloride in rumenprotected form. Experimental period was 122 d long. DMI at different times did not differ between treatments. Supplementation of 5 g of choline increased body weight, and average daily gain on day 89 of the experiment,but not later on. Feed conversion rate and killing out percentage were not affected by the treatment. Therefore ruminally protected choline can improve growth performance of newly received beef cattle, and its inclusion in receiving diet can be useful

Sampling feed for mycotoxins: acquiring knowledge from food

The occurrence and control of mycotoxins in feed and food are items of great interest to researchers, producers, manufacturers and regulatory agencies. In order to implement knowledge of control measures for mycotoxins in the entire food production chain, coordinated inspection programmes aimed to check the presence and concentration of mycotoxins in feedingstuffs are recommended by the Commission of the European Communities. Reliability of measured levels of mycotoxins in feed and food is greatly affected by the collection of representative samples. Because of the heterogeneous distribution of mycotoxins, the variability associated with a mycotoxin test procedure usually depends heavily on the sampling plan. European legislation dealing with sampling plans for mycotoxins in foodstuffs has been recently revised. The aim of the following overview is to discuss the role of sampling in mycotoxin-contaminated feed by considering the evolution of legislation dealing with sampling plans for food. A sampling procedure is a multistage process and consists of three distinct phases: sampling, sample preparation and analysis. The variability associated with each step of a sampling procedure and the aspects related to feedstuffs, matrix/ mycotoxin combination and level of contamination are discussed

Expression of verocytotoxic Escherichia coli antigens in tobacco seeds and evaluation of gut immunity after oral administration in mouse model

Verocytotoxic Escherichia (E.) coli strains are responsible for swine oedema disease, which is an enterotoxaemia that causes economic losses in the pig industry. The production of a vaccine for oral administration in transgenic seeds could be an efficient system to stimulate local immunity. This study was conducted to transform tobacco plants for the seed-specific expression of antigenic proteins from a porcine verocytotoxic E. coli strain. Parameters related to an immunological response and possible adverse effects on the oral administration of obtained tobacco seeds were evaluated in a mouse model. Tobacco was transformed via Agrobacteium tumefaciens with chimeric constructs containing structural parts of the major subunit FedA of the F18 adhesive fimbriae and VT2e B-subunit genes under control of a seed specific GLOB promoter. We showed that the foreign Vt2e-B and F18 genes were stably accumulated in storage tissue by the immunostaining method. In addition, Balb-C mice receiving transgenic tobacco seeds via the oral route showed a significant increase in IgA-positive plasma cell presence in tunica propria when compared to the control group with no observed adverse effects. Our findings encourage future studies focusing on swine for evaluation of the protective effects of transformed tobacco seeds against E. coli infection

First Evaluation of Infrared Thermography as a Tool for the Monitoring of Udder Health Status in Farms of Dairy Cows

The aim of the present study was to test infrared thermography (IRT), under field conditions, as a possible tool for the evaluation of cow udder health status. Thermographic images (n. 310) from different farms (n. 3) were collected and evaluated using a dedicated software application to calculate automatically and in a standardized way, thermographic indices of each udder. Results obtained have confirmed a significant relationship between udder surface skin temperature (USST) and classes of somatic cell count in collected milk samples. Sensitivity and specificity in the classification of udder health were: 78.6% and 77.9%, respectively, considering a level of somatic cell count (SCC) of 200,000 cells/mL as a threshold to classify a subclinical mastitis or 71.4% and 71.6%, respectively when a threshold of 400,000 cells/mL was adopted. Even though the sensitivity and specificity were lower than in other published papers dealing with non-automated analysis of IRT images, they were considered acceptable as a first field application of this new and developing technology. Future research will permit further improvements in the use of IRT, at farm level. Such improvements could be attained through further image processing and enhancement, and the application of indicators developed and tested in the present study with the purpose of developing a monitoring system for the automatic and early detection of mastitis in individual animals on commercial farms

Evaluation of antigens stability of tobacco seeds as edible vaccine against VTEC strains

Plants have represent a promising alternative for biopharmaceutical proteins (Ma et al., 2003; Rossi et al., 2014). Many plant based edible vaccines have been shown to be effective in inducing local immune responses (Rossi et al., 2013). Edible vaccines can activate both mucosal and systemic immunity, as they come in contact with the digestive tract lining. This dual effect would provide first-line defense against pathogens invading through the mucosa. The antigens are released in the intestines are taken up by M cells that are present over the Payer’s patches (in the ileum) and the gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). Edible vaccines represent an important worldwide goal for the prevention of the enteric diseases, also in livestock. In particular, the enteric infections are a significant clinical problem in pigs. Verocytotoxic Escherichia (E.) coli strains are responsible for serious enterotoxaemia that causes important economic losses in the pig industry. The production of a vaccine for oral administration of transgenic seeds could be a practical and efficient system to prevent the infection and to reduce the antibiotic use. This study was focused on tobacco plants, previously transformed by agroinfection for the seed-specific expression of antigenic proteins (F18 adhesive fimbriae and the B subunit of the Vt2e toxin) as model of edible vaccines against verocytotoxic E. coli strains. The dietary administration of transgenic tobacco seeds promotes a significant increase in the number of mucosal IgA-producing cells of the tunica propria in both small and large intestine in mice (Rossi et al., 2013). A protective effect of oral administration of transgenic tobacco seeds was also observed against verocytotoxic Escherichia coli infection in piglets (Rossi et al., 2014). The aim of this study was to assess the seed-expression stability, that is a important requirement in the vaccine production, of F 18 and Vt2e-B heterologous genes into the progeny of transformed tobacco plants

Rumen-protected choline and vitamin E supplementation in periparturient dairy goats: effects on milk production and folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin E status

We investigated the effects of rumen-protected choline (RPC) and vitamin E (VITE) administration on milk production and status of folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin E during the periparturient period of dairy goats. Forty-eight Saanen multiparous goats were selected for the 72-day experiment, being moved to a maternity pen 30 days before expected parturition and assigned to one of the four experimental groups: control (CTR), no choline or vitamin E supplementation; choline (RPC), supplemented with 4 g/day choline chloride in rumen-protected form; vitamin E (VITE), supplemented with 200 IU/day vitamin E in rumen-protected form; and choline and vitamin E (RPCE), supplemented with 4 g/day RPC chloride and 200 IU/day vitamin E. Supplements were administered individually before the morning feed to ensure complete consumption, starting 30 days before kidding and continuing for 35 days after. During the experiment, milk yield and 4% fat-corrected milk (FCM) yield were, respectively, 210 and 350 g/day higher in RPC-supplemented goats than in non-supplemented goats. Milk fat concentration and fat yield were also increased by RPC treatment. Milk yield and composition were unaffected by vitamin E supplementation. There were no significant interactions between RPC and VITE for any of the variables measured. Plasma metabolites did not differ between treatments before and after kidding except that plasma folate at parturition was higher in RPC-supplemented goats. Neither choline nor vitamin E affected vitamin B12 plasma concentrations, while a time effect was evident after the second week of lactation, when B12 levels in each treatment group started to increase. Vitamin E administration resulted in plasma α-tocopherol levels that were 2 to 2.5 times higher than in non-supplemented goats. Overall, these results suggest that greater choline availability can improve milk production and methyl group metabolism in transition dairy goats