5 research outputs found
Arthropod biodiversity associated to Europen sheep production systems
The rural territories linked to European sheep systems still cover wide areas and provide multiple ecosystems services although the current situation of the associated biodiversity is not fully understood. In this study the foliage arthropods (including pollinators), the vegetation cover and height, the number of flowers and plant species richness were evaluated in 9 sheep grazed lands from 5 EU countries with different livestock management strategies and dominant vegetation. The total abundance of arthropods, the abundance of Diptera and Heteroptera, sward height and plant species richness were higher in more extensive than in more intensively managed farms. The total abundance and the abundance of most of the orders were highest in mountain areas (MP) and lowest in improved pastures (IMP) whereas the total arthropod richness showed no differences and the richness of pollinators was lower in IMP than in MP (p < 0.01) and semi-natural pastures (SN, p < 0.01). The grass cover was higher in IMP than in the rest of the areas whereas forb cover was higher in SN than in IMP (p < 0.01). The plant species richness peaked in MP whereas the number of flowers showed no significant differences. Sward height correlated positively with forb cover, plant species richness, the richness of the whole arthropod community, the abundance of several orders like Araneae, Diptera or Homoptera, as well as with the richness of the pollinator community. The community composition of the total arthropod fauna (p < 0.01) and the pollinators in particular (p < 0.05) differed between management strategies and more diverse groups were linked to the areas under more extensive management. Both communities (total and pollinators) also differed in composition between the types of vegetation (p < 0.01) and less diverse assemblages with low abundant taxa were associated to IMP and SN whereas more diverse groups were linked to MP and grassland-forest (WP) in both cases. A better understanding of the flora-fauna dynamics in sheep grazed pasturelands is essential for the proper conservation of the biodiversity and other ecosystem services, as well as for the maintenance of sustainable sheep systems relying on the natural resources
FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF LAMB MEAT FROM ITALIAN AND GERMAN LOCAL BREEDS
The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the quality characteristics, chemical
composition and lipid profile of lamb meat from Italian (Biellese and Sambucana) and
German (Texel-Merino-Blackhead-Charollais [TMBC]) breeds reared in extensive and
semi-extensive production systems. Meat samples from 89 animals were analysed.
The meat of the lambs from semi-intensively reared Biellese, and extensively reared
Sambucana and TMBC breeds produced lean meat, with slightly higher intramuscular
fat content in TMBC. The latter also produced meat of darker colour (P<0.05) and
higher protein content (P<0.05). The meat of Sambucana lambs presented the lowest
total cholesterol content (P<0.05). The fatty acid profile of the meat showed a clear
advantage of both extensively reared breeds, which had substantially lower proportion
of saturated (SFA) but higher of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particularly n-3
(P<0.05). The beneficial effect of the extensive rearing conditions was associated with
lower n-6/n3 ratio, and atherogenic (AI) and thrombogenic (TI) indices, thereby
suggesting that production system can be used successfully to modify the fatty acid
profile to achieve a positive effect for the human health
Immunocytochemically detected free peritoneal tumour cells (FPTC) are a strong prognostic factor in gastric carcinoma
We prospectively investigated the prognostic significance of free peritoneal tumour cells (FPTC) in a series of 118 patients with completely resected gastric carcinoma. Immunocytochemistry with the monoclonal antibody Ber-Ep4 was performed on cytospins from intraoperative peritoneal lavage specimens. Twenty-three patients (20%) had FPTC which was significantly correlated with pT and pN categories, stage, tumour size, lymphatic invasion, Laurèn and WHO classifications and perigastric adipose tissue metastases. The median survival time for all FPTC positive compared with negative patients was significantly shorter (11 compared with > 72 months), with estimated 5-year survival rates of 8% vs. 60%. None of the patients with FPTC had an early gastric cancer. In advanced tumour subgroups without and with serosal invasion (n = 59 and 35), there were 19% and 34% with FPTC. Multivariate survival analysis showed nodal status, FPTC, mesenteric lymphangiosis, and lymph node metastasis to the compartment III to be independent prognostic factors with relative risks of 6.6, 4.5, 2.9 and 2.2 respectively. Recurrent disease occurred in 91% of FPTC-positive and in 38% of FPTC-negative patients. FPTC had a positive predictive value of 91% and a specificity of 97% for tumour recurrence. FPTC is a strong negative, independent prognostic indicator for survival in gastric carcinoma. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig
Technical Design Report for the Panda Forward Spectrometer Calorimeter
This document is devoted to the electromagnetic calorimeter of the Forward
Spectrometer and describes the design considerations, the technical layout, the
expected performance, and the production readiness