Effect of Calving Interval on Milk Yield in Italian Buffalo Population

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the previous calving intervals (CI) on milk yield (MY) in the current lactation for the Italian buffalo breed population.Data for 86,585 lactation records from the Italian Buffalo Breeders Association database, were analyzed. MY BLUP-estimates were obtained by including in the Animal Model the fixed effects of age-parity, previous CI, and herd-contemporary-group. The MY solutions for the months of CI were analyzed with the linear regression model where CI in months was the explanatory variable. 59.66% of the lactation records had CI between 11 and 14 months. 37.91 % of the lactation records were distributed between 15 and 24 months. The smaller percentage of records showed CI greater than 24 months. This CI distribution may be, in part, the result of herd management strategies. Dairy producers try to shorten the CI of their herd in order to get the most profit from early conceptions of the buffalo. The regression model and its parameters were statistically significant. The coefficient of determination was equal to 0.58. The intercept was equal to 72.42 kg; and the linear coefficient (b) was equal to -3.43. The negative value of b denotes a negative effect of CI on MY. This result indicates that there is a negative linear relationship between previous CI and MY in the current lactation. Therefore, shorten the CI may increase the profits of the farm through higher MY, because it has less of a negative effect on MY than longer CI

Genetic Parameters and Sire Ranking for the Adjusted Estimate of Mozzarella Cheese Production in Italian Mediterranean Buffalo

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of adjusting mozzarella cheese production (APKM) compare to the unadjusted PKM on genetic parameters and sire ranking in Italian buffalo. 337,158 lactation records at 270d, from years 1997 to 2014, up to fifth parity, of 136,525 animals were analyzed. Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for APKM and PKM were predicted by BLUP-Animal Model with the fixed effects of age-parity, days-open, and contemporary-group; and the random factors of animal, permanent environmental and residuals. APKM showed lower heritability (0.23) than that of PKM (0.31) which might be due to the lower genetic correlation between APKM and milk yield (MY) (0.09) compared to that of PKM with MY (0.25). APKM positively changed sire ranking with increasing rank of sire with positive EBVs of Protein and Fat percentage, and decreasing rank of sire with negative EBVs of Protein and Fat percentage. Due to the larger correlation between PKM and MY, by selecting through the PKM, one risk is to increasing the number of buffalo that produce more milk, not optimal for making mozzarella cheese. Whereas, genetic selection through the APKM will increase the number of high-yielding buffalo with positive EBVs for Protein and Fat percentage

EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL NEUTRON DOSE AT GROUND LEVEL

This work presents the results of two cycles of neutron dose rate measurements realized using an ALNOR 2202D Neutron Dose Rate Meter whose time response is acquired and analyzed through a controlled ORTEC MCS-32 acquisition card in Windows environment. The data obtained have been compared with values from previous experimental surveys and with the data provided by the worldwide main observatories. It has been also verified the influence of the fluctuations in the flux of cosmic rays during the course of a solar cycle. By comparing the realized measurements and the data provided by the cosmic ray monitoring networks it is also possible to obtain a value of ambient dose equivalent rate and neutron flux rate which can be used as a reference for design a neutron irradiation testing of electronic devices

Spatial analysis to quantify and localise the residual cardoon stem fibres as potential bio-reinforcements for building materials

Today in Europe building-sector is responsible for the 50% of air pollution and for 70% of waste production. For this reason, researchers’ interest is focused on new eco-building materials that are sustainable, with low impact, renewable and recyclable. In this context, in the last few years, the use of cellulose-based fibres as potential reinforcements for bio-composite materials, instead of synthetic one, received worldwide growing attention. Among natural fibres, both cellulose and protein-based ones, in literature it was found that, due to its mechanical properties, artichoke fibre is suitable for this use. In this study, a Geographical Information System (GIS)–based model to locate and quantify the yearly amount of agricultural waste coming from Cynara cardunculus L. (CW) cultivation was put forward and was applied in a study area located in Southern Italy. As an additional protein-based fibre, sheep wool fibre was also taken into account due to the high presence of sheep. The estimated available amount of both considered fibres was reported in a GIS map in order to show their distribution at territorial level. The achieved results could represent basic information for both sustainable locating collection centre and analysing the environmental impact related to the logistics and supply phase

Pulse-induced switches in a Josephson tunnel stacked device

Pulse activated transitions from the metastable to the running state and viceversa have been observed in a stacked double tunnel Nb-based Josephson system. Experimental results are compared with numerical simulations based on the Sine-Gordon model of the stacked junctions by injecting pulses with variable amplitude in one of the junctions of the stack, and observing the voltage response of the other junction. Both experimental and numerical results show the possibility to induce both direct and back-switching transitions from the metastable to the running state simply by changing the amplitude of the electronic pulses injected across the stack device.Comment: Submitted to Appl.Phys.Letters, May 2001 PDF format: 14 pages, 3 Figure

Sequentializing Parameterized Programs

We exhibit assertion-preserving (reachability preserving) transformations from parameterized concurrent shared-memory programs, under a k-round scheduling of processes, to sequential programs. The salient feature of the sequential program is that it tracks the local variables of only one thread at any point, and uses only O(k) copies of shared variables (it does not use extra counters, not even one counter to keep track of the number of threads). Sequentialization is achieved using the concept of a linear interface that captures the effect an unbounded block of processes have on the shared state in a k-round schedule. Our transformation utilizes linear interfaces to sequentialize the program, and to ensure the sequential program explores only reachable states and preserves local invariants.Comment: In Proceedings FIT 2012, arXiv:1207.348

Femtosecond spectroscopy in a nearly optimally doped Fe-based superconductors FeSe0.5Te0.5 and Ba(Fe 1-xCox)2As2/Fe thin film

Femtosecond spectroscopy has been used to investigate the quasi-particle relaxation times in nearly optimally doped Fe-based superconductors FeSe 0.5Te0.5 and optimally doped Ba-122 thin films growth on a Fe buffer layer. Experimental results concerning the temperature dependence of the relaxation time of such pnictides both in the superconducting state are now presented and discussed. Modelling the T-dependence of relaxation times an estimation of both electron-phonon constant and superconducting energy gap in the excitation spectrum of both Fe(Se,Te) and Ba-122 compounds is obtained