Sorghum used to fodder production in dry farming

In Italy water deficient increase forward to cultivate resistant crops for forage production. In the present research it has been studied the opportunity of using 2 varieties of sorghum: the "Sweet Creek", used as green forage and for silage and the "True", with thinner stalks, used as hay. The fodder production and the dhurrin content during the vegetative phase of the 2 varieties were recorded. Production and chemical characteristics of green and preserved fodders (hay and silage) were determined; moreover the nutritive value and the in vitro digestibility of DM were measured. Results confirm the good adaptation of the sorghum to the water limited conditions as those ones in which the test has been carried out; green and preserved fodders yield were high, however during the hay harvest problems due to the different drying dynamics of leaves and stalks were found. The dhurrin content of these two varieties, even in the young phase, allows the use for grazing of the regrown, which have good bunching

Effect of diet energy source on weight gain and carcass characteristics of lambs

The effect of different sources of energy (lipids and carbohydrates) was studied on 36 Apennine male lambs divided by age, weight and paternity into three homogeneous groups receiving three different diets: lambs on diet 1 received ad libitum lucerne hay+concentrate supplemented with barley flakes (9%) (BC); lambs on diet 2 received ad libitum lucerne hay+concentrate supplemented with maize oil (5%) (MC) while lambs on diet 3 received only the concentrate given in diet 2 (MC). The two concentrates were isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. Lambs were slaughtered at 105 days of age. The conversion indices were similar (4.52, 4.77 and 4.61 Meat FU/kg gain) for the three treatments, but the diet 3 led to heavier carcasses (17.57kg), although with greater adipose covering, and better dressing percentages than the other two diets. The histological dissection of the proximal pelvic limb indicated a good tissue composition (total lean 56.16%) but confirmed the higher fat percentage (total fat 16.24%), particularly subcutaneous (11.44%), of the group receiving only MC. Animals on diet 3 gave carcasses with an adequate commercial weight at the age of 90–95 days and therefore it seems possible to anticipate slaughtering these animals earlier and perhaps obviate the excessive adiposity of the carcass. In general, this study further confirmed the good meat quality of Apennine carcasses slaughtered at 105 days

Nutraceutical and technological properties of buffalo and sheep cheese produced by the addition of kiwi juice as a coagulant

Kiwifruit is an interesting alternative to chymosin for milk coagulation. Although the clotting properties of actinidin (the proteolytic agent present in kiwi) have been widely investigated, little is known about the nutraceutical and organoleptic effects of kiwifruit on the characteristics of cheese. We investigated kiwifruit pulp, compared to calf rennet, in cheesemaking using sheep and buffalo milk. Although the kiwifruit extract showed a longer coagulation and syneresis time than calf rennet, it could nevertheless be exploited as a plant coagulant due to its positive effect on the nutraceutical properties. In fact, the sheep and buffalo cheese were higher in polyphenols and phytosterols than the cheese obtained using calf rennet. In addition, the nutraceutical properties were enhanced, with just a slight effect on the aroma of the cheese

Diets supplemented with condensed and hydrolysable tannins affected rumen fatty acid profile and plasmalogen lipids, ammonia and methane production in an in vitro study

The livestock sector constitutes 14.5% of global green-house gas (GHG) emissions and soil and water pollution due to nitrogen excretion. Methane and nitrogen excretions in ruminants can be mitigated by specific feeding strategies, and tannins reduce methanogenesis and ammonia syntheses. In our study, two kinds of condensed tannins (Mimosa and Gambier) and two kinds of hydrolysable tannins (Chestnut and Tara) were added (4 g/100 g DM) to a basal feed (barley: 48 g/100 g DM, wheat bran: 23 g/100 g DM, dehydrated alfalfa hay:15 g/100 g DM, soybean meal: 10 g/100 g DM and molasses: 2 g/100 g DM), inoculated with rumen fluid and fermented for 24 h. The methane, ammonia, fatty acid and plasmalogen lipid profile were determined. The results confirmed that tannins are an important family of heterogeneous compounds whose effect on rumen metabolism is strongly linked to their different characteristics. Chestnut tannin extract was shown to be a good compromise. It improved the sustainability of ruminant rearing by decreasing methanogenesis (control feed 0.159 vs chestnut feed 0.137 mmol/L rumen fluid; p =.0326), ammonia production (control feed 248 vs chestnut feed 179 mg/L rumen fluid; p <.0001) and enhancing acetate synthesis (production rate: chestnut 68.68% vs 49.64% of control).HIGHLIGHTS Tannin extracts from trees and shrubs can be used to modulate rumen fermentation. The positive effect of chestnut tannin extract was demonstrated on methane and ammonia production. Tannins showed no protective action on C18:2 trans 11

Histochemical characterisation and gene expression analysis of skeletal muscles from maremmana and aubrac steers reared on grazing and feedlot systems

This study aimed to characterise the fibre composition of Triceps brachii (TB) and Semimem-branosus (SM) muscles from 20 Maremmana (MA) and 20 Aubrac (AU) steers, and the effect of grazing activity in comparison with feedlot system. The histochemical method was performed with the m-ATPase method with an acid pre-incubation, thus allowing to distinguish type I, IIA, and IIB fibres. Additionally, on total RNA extracted from SM muscle, the expressions of atp1a1, mt-atp6, and capn1 genes were evaluated, in order to find potential associations with muscle fibre histochemical characteristics. In SM muscle, the MA steers had the greater frequency of oxidative fibres (type I and IIA) and the higher atp1a1 expression, in comparison to AU steers. Conversely, AU steers had a greater frequency of type IIB fibres, and the higher capn1 expression. A similar histochemical pattern was observed in TB muscle. The grazing activity was probably insufficient to determine differences both for fibre proportion and size, and gene expressions, except for mt-atp6 expression that was surprisingly highest in feedlot MA in comparison to other steers. These findings further the knowledge of muscle properties belonging to these breeds, and the effect of voluntary physical activity since few studies were available in this regard

Caratteristiche qualitative del latte e del formaggio Caciocavallo nella razza bovina Podolica

Introduction: In recent years the Podolica cattle has increased the demand for dairy products: milk and Caciocavallo cheese are highly appreciated by consumers. In order to high quality product the Podolica breed is a growing interest, it has produces in southern Italian regions as Basilicata. Caciocavallo Silano DOP is one of the 400 cheese varieties produced in Italy, it's produced from "pasta filata". Aim: Aim of the study was analyzed chemical and technological aspects of Podolica milk, moreover fatty acid composition of Caciocavallo cheese was carried out. Materials and methods: The trial was conducted in three farms in province of Potenza, Italy, during two seasons. In winter season when animals were reared in stable and in spring-summer season when cows were reared in outdoor system. During two experimental period milk was sampled from cows in each farm. Samples were analyzed for chemical and technological aspects. The whole of the milk derived from the different farms, during two periods, were used for processing dairy to obtain Caciocavallo Silano DOP cheese in a local dairy. The variance analysis according t-Student test was used to assess statistical differences. Results and discussion: The grazing system during spring and summer improved total fat in milk sampled and increased cheese yield. No difference was observed for technological characteristics, results showed acceptable values in all farms for both farming systems. The fatty acid composition of cheese showed difference in saturated class, mainly for palmitic acid as evinced for stable group that received integration of concentrate. Monounsaturated fatty acid has highlighted significant differences between the experimental groups. Oleic acid C18:1c9 contributes most to the increase of the other also to the total of unsaturated fatty acids. Statistical difference was found for ALA (α-Linolenic acid) a member of the group of essential fatty acids that must be acquired through diet. Conclusion: Different rearing systems led to an improvement of the fat content in the milk and greater cheese yield processing. Pasture group showed a better dietary composition ad showed favorable content specially for ALA. There is some evidence ALA consumption might have a slight preventative effect against cardiovascular diseases. These aspects represented better nutritional quality aspect of Caciocavallo cheese and an economic advantage for breeders

PixFEL: development of an X-ray diffraction imager for future FEL applications

A readout chip for diffraction imaging applications at new generation X-ray FELs (Free Electron Lasers) has been designed in a 65 nm CMOS technology. It consists of a 32 × 32 matrix, with square pixels and a pixel pitch of 110 µm. Each cell includes a low-noise charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) with dynamic signal compression, covering an input dynamic range from 1 to 104 photons and featuring single photon resolution at small signals at energies from 1 to 10 keV. The CSA output is processed by a time-variant shaper performing gated integration and correlated double sampling. Each pixel includes also a small area, low power 10-bit time-interleaved Successive Approximation Register (SAR) ADC for in-pixel digitization of the amplitude measurement. The channel can be operated at rates up to 4.5 MHz, to be compliant with the rates foreseen for future X-ray FEL machines. The ASIC has been designed in order to be bump bonded to a slim/active edge pixel sensor, in order to build the first demonstrator for the PixFEL (advanced X-ray PIXel cameras at FELs) imager

Vertically-Aligned Functionalized Silicon Micropillars for 3D Culture of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cortical Progenitors

Silicon is a promising material for tissue engineering since it allows to produce micropatterned scaffolding structures resembling biological tissues. Using specific fabrication methods, it is possible to build aligned 3D network-like structures. In the present study, we exploited vertically-aligned silicon micropillar arrays as culture systems for human iPSC-derived cortical progenitors. In particular, our aim was to mimic the radially-oriented cortical radial glia fibres that during embryonic development play key roles in controlling the expansion, radial migration and differentiation of cortical progenitors, which are, in turn, pivotal to the establishment of the correct multilayered cerebral cortex structure. Here we show that silicon vertical micropillar arrays efficiently promote expansion and stemness preservation of human cortical progenitors when compared to standard monolayer growth conditions. Furthermore, the vertically-oriented micropillars allow the radial migration distinctive of cortical progenitors in vivo. These results indicate that vertical silicon micropillar arrays can offer an optimal system for human cortical progenitors' growth and migration. Furthermore, similar structures present an attractive platform for cortical tissue engineering

Differential Ligand Binding to a Human Cytomegalovirus Chemokine Receptor Determines Cell Type–Specific Motility

While most chemokine receptors fail to cross the chemokine class boundary with respect to the ligands that they bind, the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-encoded chemokine receptor US28 binds multiple CC-chemokines and the CX3C-chemokine Fractalkine. US28 binding to CC-chemokines is both necessary and sufficient to induce vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) migration in response to HCMV infection. However, the function of Fractalkine binding to US28 is unknown. In this report, we demonstrate that Fractalkine binding to US28 not only induces migration of macrophages but also acts to inhibit RANTES-mediated SMC migration. Similarly, RANTES inhibits Fractalkine-mediated US28 migration in macrophages. While US28 binding of both RANTES and Fractalkine activate FAK and ERK-1/2, RANTES signals through Gα12 and Fractalkine through Gαq. These findings represent the first example of differential chemotactic signaling via a multiple chemokine family binding receptor that results in migration of two different cell types. Additionally, the demonstration that US28-mediated chemotaxis is both ligand-specific and cell type–specific has important implications in the role of US28 in HCMV pathogenesis