A correction to the unimodal and bimodal truncated normal distributions for a more accurate representation of extreme and calm wind speeds

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Stress indicators in steers at slaughtering

This work aimed to assess the blood modifications of some slaughtering-linked stress hormones in cattle subject to butcher standardized procedures. The blood samples of 20 Limousine 12-13 months old steers have been collected before slaughtering, during lairage, and after stunning by captive bolt gun, during exsanguination. The plasma level of epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol and beta-endorphin have been assayed by EIA. The data indicate that catecholamines, cortisol and beta-endorphin did not significantly increase after stunning in these animals

the influence of pregnancy and the beginning of lactation on pelage traits in cashmere goats

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pregnancy followed by the beginning of lactation on fibre traits incashmere goats. Two groups of cashmere-bearing goats aged between 2-3 years were used. The control group (A) included12 non-lactating, non-pregnant subjects. The experimental group (B) included 12 goats mated during the first weekof June, in order to have pregnancy and the beginning of lactation coincide with the period when cashmere normallygrows. As expected, Liveweight significantly varied in Group B during the last two months of pregnancy, when foetalgrowth reaches its maximum, and following delivery. Hair patch weight, because of the continuous growth of primary andsecondary fibres, increased significantly during the trial (P<0.001). The physiological status considered negatively affected(P<0.05) the total mean growth rate of cashmere fibres and, as a result, their length. Cashmere daily growth ratevalues varied significantly (P<0.05) throughout the experiment, while the effect of the physiological status was notedonly in November – December. Furthermore, this parameter also seems to be influenced by climatic factors and, in particular,environmental temperature, as shown by the negative correlation (r = - 0.28; P<0.05) between cashmere dailygrowth rate and environmental temperature. Guard hair length and growth rate did not differ between the two groups,however, they were influenced by time. Cashmere yield and cashmere production were lower in group B (P<0.05). Nodifferences between groups were observed for cashmere diameter. Overall, pregnancy and the consequent period of lactationnegatively influenced cashmere rather than guard hair fibres. These negative effects were noted in quantitativeterms as yield and production dropped by 37% and 43%, respectively. We hypothesise that the complete overlap of pregnancyand lactation with the period of cashmere growth reduced the number of secondary active follicles and their degreeof activity and caused an increase in competition for the partitioning of nutrients between hair follicles and the graviduterus, first, and then the mammary gland, later

Cashmere production from Scottish Cashmere kids and crossbreed Scottish Cashmere x Jonica kids

This study is part of a much wider research programme to evaluate the possibility of producing valuable textile fibres, such as cashmere, from goat breeds reared in Italy. In order to achieve this, we have used crossbreeding. The first stage of the programme consisted of evaluating cashmere production in F1 kids obtained by crossing white-haired Jonica does, which have no secondary fibres, with Scottish Cashmere bucks. The trial lasted one year starting in March 2007, and took place in the Department of Animal Production of the University of Bari (Italy). We used 14 male kids: 7 Scottish Cashmere (SC group), and 7 F1 (SC x J group) derived from crossing Scottish Cashmere bucks with does of the Jonica breed, commonly reared in southern Italy. All the parameters considered (live weight, number and active percentage of primary and secondary follicles, S/P ratio, patch weight, growth and length of guard hair and down, yield, down production and diameter, blood protein and T3 and T4) were significantly influenced (P<0.01) by age. Genotype also had a significant effect (P<0.01) on all parameters except for the active percentage of primary follicles and the blood protein level. The factors which influence down production showed the heterosis effect to a varying extent in F1, but they still produced significantly less than the SC group kids (38.5±4.04 vs 68.5±9.16 g; P<0.01). These results are largely due to both their low number of secondary follicles (30.0±1.46 vs 39.3±1.02; P<0.01), which also have a lower percentage of activity (64.7±2.47 vs 90.0±1.53; P<0.01), and also to the down length which was 28% shorter than in SC group. This genetic combination is clearly unsatisfactory so others must be sought, probably by using more rustic local breeds, as well as more productive breeds for crossbreeding

evaluation of animal welfare and milk production of goat fed on diet containing hydroponically germinating seeds

Hydroponic fodder is a particularly nutritious feed, rich in protein and vitamins such as ß-carotene, trace elements and enzymes. It may also offer the advantage of a continuous availability. A pilot plant for hydroponically production of germinating seeds was built in an area of the same farm where the trial took place. Three homogeneous groups of 30 Jonica breed goats in lactation (4th-5th parity) were used to evaluate the effects of two different levels of partial dietary substitution with hydroponically germinating (h.g.) oat on plasma levels of cortisol and milk production. Germinated oat was used after 7 days of hydroponic growth. Control group (T) received only feed (fodder and oat integrated with complement feed). The other 2 groups were fed on diet containing different levels (1,5Kg - group A; 3Kg - group B) of hydroponically germinating oat. Goats showed a small interest in fresh feed during the trial period. The integration with hydroponically germinating oat in partial substitution of the traditional feed in the diet of goat did not significantly affect biochemical and haematological parameters

Pig, F1 (wild boar x pig) and wild boar meat quality

Sixteen carcasses of wild boars, pigs, hybrids F1 (wild boar x pig) and reared wild boar have been examined to study the meat quality and the fatty acid composition. Four carcasses came from hunted wild boars and twelve from animals reared in outdoor pens till nine months of age. The meat produced by the hunted wild animals, although not marketable, offers the best quality and nutritional characteristics. The use of hybrids reared in outdoor pens can approximate or equalize the hunted wild boars meat traits. Reared wild boar meat has, in the complex, better compositional characters than hybrids and domestic groups, but acidic quality of fat is not particularly useful for human feeding

Guidelines for a common port noise impact assessment: the ANCHOR LIFE project

Abstract The paper reports the main contents of the guidelines developed in the framework of the project ANCHOR, acronym of Advanced Noise Control strategies in HarbOuR, which is a European Project funded as part of the announcement Life 2017. The guidelines represent an updated version of those elaborated in the NoMEPorts project named 'Good Practice Guide on Port Area Noise Mapping and Management'; the aim is to define a common approach in port noise monitoring and assessment, considering the outcomes of previous EU funded projects and the algorithms defined by the European Directive 2015/996, in order to produce Port Noise Impact Assessments to be included in ports Environmental Management Systems (EMS). The procedures described in the guidelines will guide professionals in organizing and managing geographical data, in characterizing noise sources and defining, for each of them, the correct noise emission power level, in evaluating noise propagation and people exposure to noise and, finally, in selecting the most efficient mitigation action by means of a cost benefit analysis. Moreover, the paper reports the results of a comparison between noise mapping outcomes obtained using the new noise mapping algorithms defined by the 2015/996 Directive and the old 2002/49/EC Annex II ones; especially at long distances from the source the differences between the two methodologies are not negligible

Life Monza: project description and actions’ updating

The introduction of Low Emission Zones, urban areas subject to road traffic restrictions in order to ensure compliance with the air pollutants limit values set by the European Directive on ambient air quality (2008/50/EC), is a common and well-established action in the administrative government of cities. The impacts on air quality improvement are widely analysed, whereas the effects and benefits concerning the noise have not been addressed in a comprehensive manner. As a consequence, the definition, the criteria for the analysis and the management methods of a Noise Low Emission Zone are not clearly expressed and shared yet. The LIFE MONZA project (Methodologies fOr Noise low emission Zones introduction And management - LIFE15 ENV/IT/000586) addresses these issues. The first objective of the project, co-funded by the European Commission, is to introduce an easy-replicable method for the identification and the management of the Noise Low Emission Zone, an urban area subject to traffic restrictions, whose impacts and benefits regarding noise issues will be analyzed and tested in the pilot area of the city of Monza, located in Northern Italy. Background conditions, structure, objectives of the project and actions’ progress will be discussed in this article

cryptokarst a case study of the quaternary landforms of southern apulia southern italy

Skriti kras (cryptokarst) je kras, razvit pod prepustnim, vendar netopnim pokrovom. Nastane zaradi vode, ki prenika skozi krovne plasti. V krovnih plasteh se zbira voda, se poeasi preceja skoznje in razjeda maticno kamnino. Zaradi tega nastanejo depresije, zapolnjene s pokrovnim sedimentom, in kraski stebri. Zaradi posedanja prepustnega pokrova, nastanejo na povrsju ulegnine. Ce erozija odtsrani krovnino, se razgali relief, za katerega so znacilni kraski stebri, razvalinasti relief in vrtace. Cryptokarst is a karst developed beneath a permeable and not karstifiable formation by percolating waters. The permeable rock acts as a storage of water which feeds slow seepage and infiltration enhancing the alteration of bedrock. The resulting forms consist of depressions, filled by the covering sediments, and pinnacles. The sinking of the permeable cover can produce depressions on the topographic surface. Erosion of the cover exposes a landscape characterised by pinnacles, ruinforms and dolines. In the Apulia region, cryptocorrosion surfaces are characterized by solution pipes 4-5 meters deep and with variable width (from a few centimeters to about one meter). Pipes walls are covered by a brownish carbonate crust, from a centimeter to more than 10 centimeters thick. The continental sands are only found in these depressions. The cryptocorrosion process took place late in the Middle Pleistocene on Quaternary marine abrasion terraces covered by no-carbonate sandy-silty continental deposits. The process stopped before the Last Interglacial age in response of an abrupt climatic change that induces a calcium carbonate precipitation and the formation of a carbonate crust

Effects of protein sources on performance, carcass composition, blood parameters and meat quality in Charolais heifers

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of feeding faba bean and sweet lupin as alternative protein sources to soybean on productive performance, blood parameters, carcass composition, and chemical-physical characteristics of meat and its fatty acid (FA) profile in Charolais heifers. Twenty-four heifers were divided into three homogenous groups and fed with durum wheat straw and three iso-energetic and isonitrogenous pelleted complete diets containing 14% (on as-fed basis) soybean meal; 28% faba bean; and 20% sweet lupin seed. The animals were slaughtered after a 168 day feeding period, and the Longissimus lumborum muscle was sampled for meat quality measurements. The feed conversion index was better in the heifers fed faba bean compared with the soybean treatment group (6.71 versus 7.17). No differences were found among treatment groups in productive performance, slaughtering data and physical features. The concentration of linoleic acid in the meat of the soybean group differed significantly from that in the lupin group (2.38 versus 2.11%). Feeding lupin seed increased the concentrations of C20:3 n-6 (0.09%) and C20:4 n-6 (0.20%) in meat significantly, compared with the soya- and faba bean treatments (0.06–0.07% and 0.12–0.13%, respectively). No differences were found among groups for blood parameters, except for urea concentration, which was lower in the lupin group compared with the concentrations in the serum of heifers receiving the soya bean treatment (31.29 as opposed to 37.56 mg/dL). In conclusion, since faba bean and lupin seed did not affect any of the parameters negatively, these legume grains can be included successfully as alternative protein sources in beef cattle diet.Keywords: Faba bean, lupin seed, soybean, beef cattle, feedin