Season and altitude effects on milk fatty acid profile in Sarda dairy sheep flocks

Diet plays a major role in modulating the fatty acid composition of ruminant milk. It is also well known that the intake of fresh forages has a positive influence on polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), particularly CLA and omega- 3, compared with diets based on dry forage and concentrates. Altitude influences, directly, grass availability and botanical composition of the pasture, and, indirectly, the amount of concentrate supplemented to the diet. Therefore, the altitude where farms are located at may give indirect information about the type of feeding system trough analysis of milk fat. The objective of this survey was to investigate variations in the milk fatty acid profile, focusing on the content of vaccenic acid (VA), conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and n-3 fatty acid (FA), of Sarda dairy ewes flocks located at different altitudes throughout Sardinia. Bulk milk samples were collected in spring (April) and in summer (July) from 36 flocks located at different altitudes: 3 flocks in the lowlands (Low), 3 flocks in the hills (Hill) and 3 in the highlands (High) in 4 provinces (Sassari, Nuoro, Oristano and Cagliari) of Sardinia (Italy). Milk fatty acid profile was analyzed by gas-chromatography. Data were analyzed with a linear model with altitude (A), season (S), province (P) and altitude x season as fixed factors. The interaction was never significant. The season influenced significantly almost all fatty acids analyzed. The proportion of short chain FA (C4-C10) decrease (10.0 vs 7.0 mg/100 mg FA; P<0.01) and that of medium chain FA increase (43.2 vs 45.5 mg/100 mg FA; P<0.10) from spring to summer. The long chain FA did not vary between spring and summer but the concentration of oleic acid (C18:1 cis9) increased significantly from spring to summer (22.3 vs 25.1 mg/100 mg FA; P<0.01). The proportion of n-3 FA was higher in spring than summer (1.2 vs 0.7 for n- 3 FA; P<0.01). The variation in n-3 FA in milk fat was mainly due to the variation in a-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n- 3) which decrease from 1.0 to 0.5 mg/100 mg FA from spring to summer. The same pattern was showed by vaccenic acid (VA; trans-11 18:1) that decrease from 1.6 vs 0.8 mg/100 mg FA. No variation in cis9, trans11 CLA has been observed between spring and summer (1.0 vs 0.8 mg/100 mg FA). A reduction of PUFA (5.64 vs 5.10; P<0.10), n3/n6 ratio (0.38 vs 0.21) and content of C20:5 n-3 (0.13 vs 0.07 mg/100 mg FA) from spring to summer has been observed. Unexpectedly, the milk FA profile was not affected by altitude, except for C18:1 c9, probably because of the low number of samples analyzed

PCR-based methods to discriminate Bacillus thuringiensis strains

Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram positive bacterium that is used for the production of biopesticides. The toxic action of different strains and serovars ofB. thuringiensis can be extremely selective towards specific pests, or, in contrast, it can affect a wide variety of non-target organisms such as insects, vertebrates or humans. A reliable characterization of the cultivated strains is of primary importance for the biopesticide industry, in order to assess the contamination of the final product with strains with different pesticide actions or that might be dangerous for human health. The aim of this study was to develop useful methods for the typing of differentB. thuringiensis strains using two PCR-based methods, RAPD and Rep-PCR with BOXA1R and ERIC2 primers. The molecular fingerprints obtained using ERIC2-PCR showed a reliable ability to discriminateBacillus thuringiensis strains

Selection of folate-producing lactic acid bacteria for improving fermented goat milk

Goat milk is a complete food but its low level of folic acid diminisches its nutritional efficacy. In this study, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lb. delbrueckii subsp. lactis and Lb. helveticus strains were selected for folate production in goat milk to improve its quality. A suitable HPLC method was developed to directly determine both total folate and its biologically active derivatives such as 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (5- CH3-H4-PteGlu), tetrahydrofolate (H4-PteGlu) and 5 formyl-tetrahydrofolate (5-CHO-H4-PteGlu). Results showed that S. thermophilus, Lb. delbrueckii subsp. lactis and Lb. helveticus strains produced higher amounts of total folate than Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, especially 5-CH3-H4-PteGlu and H4-PteGlu. Moreover the use of selected S. thermophilus strains in association with Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus resulted in yoghurt with a significant quantity of folate and good organoleptic features

Autoimmunity in gestational diabetes mellitus in Sardinia: a preliminary case-control report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We previously reported a high prevalence (22.3%) of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in a large group of Sardinian women, in contrast with the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes. Sardinia has an unusual distribution of haplotypes and genotypes, with the highest population frequency of HLA DR3 in the world, and after Finland, the highest prevalence of Type 1 diabetes and Autoimmune-related Diseases. In this study we preliminarily tested the prevalence of serological markers of Type 1 diabetes in a group of Sardinian GDM patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We determined glutamic decarboxylase antibodies (anti-GAD65), protein tyrosine phosphatase ICA 512 (IA2) antibodies (anti-IA2), and IAA in 62 GDM patients, and in 56 controls with matching age, gestational age and parity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found a high prevalence and very unusual distribution of antibodies in GDM patients (38.8%), the anti-IA2 being the most frequent antibody. Out of all our GDM patients, 38.8% (24 of 62) were positive for at least one antibody. Anti-IA2 was present in 29.0 % (18 out of 62) vs. 7.1% (4 out of 56) in the controls (P < 0.001). IAA was present in 14.5% (9 out of 62) of our GDM patients, and absent in the control subjects (P < 0.001). Anti-GAD65 was also present in GDM patients, with a prevalence of 3.2% (2 out of 62) while it was absent in the control group (P = NS). Pre-gestational weight was significantly lower (57.78 ± 9.8 vs 65.9 ± 17.3 <it>P </it>= 0.04) in auto-antibodies- positive GDM patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results are in contrast with the very low prevalence of all antibodies reported in Italy. If confirmed, they could indicate that a large proportion of GDM patients in Sardinia have an autoimmune origin, in accordance with the high prevalence of Type 1 diabetes.</p

A Case Study for a Collaborative Business Environment in Real Estate

According to recent vision of Web 2.0,this paper explores the prospective of implementing a business environment that enables users to be more agile in capturing and evaluating information about real estate offers. A cloud infrastructure hosts the business environment and introduces commercial services in a web community made up of a set of actors (i.e. citizens, enterprises, professionals, companies etc.). Users explore, change and share both quantitative and spatial information by means of a social network, the common venue within which they interact. Being offered as a cloud service, the business environment supports efficient and scalable data management of loosely structured information that is captured from web resources. A prototype is presented that provides users with the geographic representation of real estate offers and related statistics about the price trend

Microbiological and physicochemical properties of Pecorino Romano cheese produced using a selected starter culture

The effect of a selected autochthonous starter culture made up by Streptococcus thermophilus,Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis and Lactobacillus helveticus on the microbiological and physicochemical properties of Pecorino Romano cheese during ripening was investigated. The suitability of the experimental starter culture was tested at industrial scales in cheese-making trials of Pecorino Romano. Pecorino Romano cheese manufactured by use of scotta-fermento served as control. The lactic microflora increased significantly in experimental cheeses as compared to the control and this was also accompanied by a substantial decrease of spoilage microorganisms in experimental cheeses. Free amino acids (FAAs) were more abundant in experimental cheeses, arginine+g-aminobutyric acid and leucine in particular. These differences could be likely due to a different enzymatic activity of the selected starter culture as compared to the scotta-fermento used in the control trials. Oleic (C18:1), palmitic (C16:0), butyric (C4), stearic (C18:0) and myristic (C14:0) acids were the most abundant Free Fatty Acids (FFAs) detected in both brand of cheeses at the end of ripening. Overall, the level of FFAs in experimental and control cheeses did not show significant differences, even if the average values in experimental cheeses were always slightly higher than those recorded for the control. Moreover, the average content of FFAs of Pecorino Romano was found the lowest when compared with the other Sardinian PDO cheeses; most likely the high content of sodium chloride and the low aW of Pecorino Romano influenced all the lipase activities, even those present in the rennet paste. Despite this, the employment of the selected starter culture revealed useful to improve the physico-chemical features of Pecorino Romano while preserving its tipicity

Influence of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria on cheese microflora and free amino acids of sweet Pecorino Sardo PDO

Pecorino Sardo Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) is a half-cooked paste cheese produced only with full cream ewes’ milk that can be thermised if necessary. Pecorino Sardo PDO is a cylindrical-shaped cheese with flat faces and a straight or slightly convex rim. Two typologies of Pecorino Sardo PDO are currently produced: "sweet" when the ripening time is short (20-60 days), and "ripened" when the ripening is longer than 2 months. In this study we evaluated the influence of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on the microbiological and nutritional characteristics of the “sweet” type of Pecorino Sardo PDO. For this aim two cheese-making trials (experimental and control) were carried out on an industrial scale. Experimental Pecorino Sardo cheese was manufactured with the addition of an autochthonous starter culture prepared with Streptococcus thermophilus + Lactobacillus plantarum + Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis + Lactobacillus casei subsp. casei while control cheese was manufactured with the addition of a commercial starter including Streptococcus thermophilus + Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis + Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris. The evolution of free amino acids (FAAs) and cheese microflora were then monitored in both cheeses at different ripening times. The addition of the selected autochthonous starter resulted in a substantial increase of the mesophilic lactic microflora, lactobacilli in particular, in the experimental curd and cheeses. The presence of spoilage microorganisms in the experimental cheeses, such as total and fecal coliforms, was significantly reduced compared to the control indicating a suitable activity of the starter during the fermentation phase. Moreover, the use of the selected autochthonous LAB allowed the production of experimental cheeses with a significantly higher amount of FAAs compared to Pecorino Sardo control cheeses. It is concluded that the selected starter used in the experimental trials is suitable for the production on a industrial scale of the “sweet” type of Pecorino Sardo PDO

Caratterizzazione tecnologica e microbiologica del caglio di capretto edibile = Technological and microbiological characterization of edible goat-rennet

The “edible goat-rennet” is a traditional Sardinian foodstuff that is particularly appreciated by consumers loving intense, strong and hot flavours. The edible goat-rennet is the foodstuff deriving from the stomach of unweaned (brestfed) goat. The edible part is represented by the milk coagulated inside the rennet which is subjected to a suitable ripening time before consumption. The nutritional and organoleptic attributes of the traditional product are not constant and sometimes the edible goat-rennet doesn’t meet the required hygienic and sanitary requirements. In order to improve the value and the quality of this product, an investigation on the traditional manufacturing technology was carried out to set up a new a manufacturing process able to provide a foodstuff with suitable hygienic and sanitary attributes and constant nutritional and organoleptic features typical of the traditional product. The edible goat-rennet produced with the experimental technology showed a balanced content of protein, fat and carbohydrates as well as a high content of short-chain and polyunsaturated free fatty acids. Moreover, the edible goat-rennet was free of poilage/pathogenic bacteria and characterized by a high number of mesophilic lactic acid bacteria that constitute a warranty for the shelf-life and the healthiness of the product