Analisi di parametri ematici significativi nel controllo e nella valutazione dell’allenamento sportivo nel cane e in altre specie animali di riferimento

RIASSUNTO Gli AA. hanno analizzato in una review in varie specie animali e razze diverse le modificazioni fisiologiche che si possono determinare in seguito ad allenamento sportivo, in riferimento in particolare al cavallo ed al cane. Gli AA. inoltre hanno utilizzato personali ricerche sperimentali condotte in cani di varie razze (pastore tedesco, segugio, levriero, setter inglese, spinone). Sono stati presi in considerazione vari parametri ematici ormonali (T3, T4, TRH, TSH, cortisolo ed altri) e non ormonali (lattato, LDH, carnitina, CK ed altri) significativi nell’impegno muscolare e nell’allenamento sportivo. Tali indici sono stati considerati nei valori assoluti e relativi. Scopo specifico di questa valutazione è proporre un test sperimentale di campo per il controllo e la valutazione in corso di allenamento del soggetto atleta, con particolare riferimento al cane. Gli AA. inoltre hanno preso in considerazione problematiche di fisiologia della nutrizione legate alla conduzione dell’attività sportiva e la possibilità di intervenire con integrazioni alimentari. In questo quadro rilevanza specifica è stata data al valore di integrazioni a base di l-carnitina. SUMMARY In this review, the Authors describe some physiological modifications in different animal species (with a reference to dogs and horses) and breeds in consequence of the athlete’s training. The Authors report also the results of personal specific experimental researches performed in different breeds of dogs (shepherd dog, bloodhound, greyhound, english setter and griffon). In particular, the Authors considered various haematic parameters, with a particular reference to some hormonal (T3, T4, TRH, TRH-mRnA, TSH, ACTH, cortisol, and others) and not hormonal (lactate, LDH, carnitin, ALP, CKcreatinphosphokinase-, CK-MB, CK-MM and others) parameters, significant in the athlete’s training and in the muscular effort. These parameters were analysed by both absolute and relative methods, comparing the results obtained in different animal species and breeds. The results described could be useful to the develop a set of laboratory tests in order to better evaluate the muscular effort of the athlete, for a practical using in the athlete’s training, with a particular reference to different breeds of dogs (shepherd dog, bloodhound, greyhound, english setter and griffon). Finally, the Authors considered some nutritional physiology problems related to the athlethe’s training and evaluated the effects of a diet integration. Interesting results were obtained after diet integration with l-carnitin in various breeds of dogs (shepherd dog, bloodhound, greyhound, english setter and griffon), in the horse and in other species

A Subtlety by Kara Walker: Teaching Vulnerable Art

In late Spring 2014, the nonprofit organization Creative Time commissioned artist Kara Walker to create her first large-scale public installation. Hosted in the industrial relics of the legendary Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn, Walker’s A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby was as controversial as it was revered. The powerful presence of the installation, coupled with its immersion in historical consciousness, makes A Subtlety rich in educational value. This article engages in a comparative reading of A Subtlety in the light of female writers and thinkers from the Caribbean, but also incorporates some of the generative questions Walker’s installation has provoked my students to ask. I especially engage questions on how to unravel the mixed metaphors that make A Subtlety the artistic embodiment of the textured experience of the African diaspora, with its complex history, cultural hybridity and transnational ramifications. While Walker’s installation seems to sustain its many layers of meanings through both form and content, the (mostly white, US-born) students in my class have responded to it in a range of critical ways that pointed especially to their emotional and critical response toward female Blackness, and reflections about the artist’s responsibility toward her intention. The article reflects on the inherent possibilities for teaching A Subtlety and other forms of what I consider “vulnerable art,” which at its best helps to channel our collective and personal discomfort in effective, healing ways

Sustav organske proizvodnje govedine: kakvoća polovica mesa

The aim was to verify organic system effect on carcass and meat quality of beefs. Twelve carcasses derived from Limousine x Red Pied beef, reared in the San Rossore Park (Tuscany) and slaughtered at 24 months of age, were used. After 24h post-mortem, carcasses were evaluated according to UE classification grid: on right half carcasses several measurements were taken and carcass compacteness was calculated. After 7 days of ageing longissimus thoracis, semitendinosus and triceps brachii muscles were analysed for pH, meat colour, water holding capacity, tenderness, chemical composition, fatty acid and cholesterol content. Results underlined the good quality of meat obtained from organic system in terms of colour, tenderness, water holding capacity and suitability for domestic storage. The meat had a low content of intramuscular fat; atherogenic and thrombogenic indices were rather high, testifying the high saturated fatty-acids content, probably due both to the inadequate finishing period, both to the high slaughtering age. An appropriate finishing period, in respect of the organic guidelines, should anticipate slaughtering age and improve carcass performance, obtaining higher intramuscular fat, and perhaps lower atherogenic and thrombogenic indices. Semitendinosus appeared agreeable due to its paler and lighter meat, but was less tender and had worst water holding capacity; instead longissimus thoracis and triceps brachii, although slightly darker, gave meat more tender and with better water holding capacity.Cilj je bio provjeriti djelovanje organskog sustava na kakvoću polovica i mesa goveda. Upotrijebljena su 12 trupla podrijetlom od Limousina x goveda crveni Pied, uzgojenih na San Rossore Parku (Toskana) i zaklanih u dobi od 24 mjeseca. Dvadeset i četiri sata nakon klanja trupla su procijenjena prema EU klasifikaciji: na desnim polovicama obavljeno je nekoliko mjerenja i izračunata zbijenost mesa. Nakon što je meso odležalo 7 dana analizirani su longissimus thoracis, semitendinosus i mišići triceps brachii za pH, boju mesa, kapacitet zadržavanja vode, mekoću, kemijski sastav, masne kiseline i sadržaj kolesterola. Rezultati su pokazali dobru kakvoću mesa dobivenu u organskom sustavu u odnosu na boju, mekoću, kapacitet zadržavanja vode i prikladnost za čuvanje u domaćinstvu. Meso je imalo nizak sadržaj međumišićne masnoće; aterogeni i trombogeni indeksi bili su prilično visoki, potvrđujući visoki sadržaj zasićenih masnih kiselina, vjerojatno zbog neadekvatnog završnog razdoblja a i visoke dobi kod klanja. Odgovarajuće završno razdoblje u smislu organskih smjernica, trebalo bi predvidjeti dob klanja i poboljšati rezultate polovica, čime bi se dobili viša međumišićna masnoća i možda niži aterogeni i trombogeni indeksi. Semitendinoza je izgledala dobra zbog bljeđeg i svjetlijeg mesa ali je bila slabije mekoće i imala najslabiji kapacitet zadržavanja vode; umjesto toga longissimus thoracis i triceps brachii dali su meso, iako nešto tamnije, veće mekoće i boljeg kapaciteta zadržavanja vode

Meat quality traits of longissimus thoracis, semitendinosus and triceps brachii muscles from Chianina beef cattle slaughtered at two different ages

The aim of this experiment was to study the effects of muscle and slaughtering age on some meat quality traits of fortyeight carcasses of Chianina beef cattle raised on the same farm and slaughtered at an age ranging between 18 and 21 months. After the usual commercial ageing period for Chianina carcasses, longissimus thoracis, semitendinosus and triceps brachii muscles were taken and analyzed instrumentally for pH, meat color, water holding capacity, tenderness and chemical composition. To compare the quality characteristics of the three muscles at different age, all data were subdivided in two groups: slaughtering age 18-19 months (n=25) and 20-21 months (n=23). Quality characteristics of meat derived from the three muscles analyzed were different: semitendinosus muscle showed higher values of Lightness (L*) and Hue (H*), thus lighter and paler meat, but was less tender and had a higher cooking loss. Meat derived from triceps brachii muscle had the lowest values of Lightness (L*) and Hue (H*) thus meat slightly darker; with regard to the other quality parameters, longissimus thoracis gave more tender meat with better water holding capacity than triceps brachii. The meat analyzed had a very low content of intramuscular fat (expressed as ether extract (%)), a very well-known characteristic of Chianina meat. The comparison between meat derived from 18-19 month old beef and from 20-21 month old beef shows that only redness (a*) and Chroma (C*) increased significantly with the increase in slaughtering age, but these results do not induce differences in meat color appreciation, as shown by the similar values of Lightness (L*) and Hue (H*). Water holding capacity, tenderness and chemical composition were not influenced by slaughtering age

Meat quality traits of longissimus thoracis, semitendinosus and triceps brachii muscles from Chianina beef cattle slaughtered at two different ages

The aim of this experiment was to study the effects of muscle and slaughtering age on some meat quality traits of fortyeightcarcasses of Chianina beef cattle raised on the same farm and slaughtered at an age ranging between 18 and 21months. After the usual commercial ageing period for Chianina carcasses, longissimus thoracis, semitendinosus and tricepsbrachii muscles were taken and analyzed instrumentally for pH, meat color, water holding capacity, tenderness andchemical composition. To compare the quality characteristics of the three muscles at different age, all data were subdividedin two groups: slaughtering age 18-19 months (n=25) and 20-21 months (n=23). Quality characteristics of meatderived from the three muscles analyzed were different: semitendinosus muscle showed higher values of Lightness (L*)and Hue (H*), thus lighter and paler meat, but was less tender and had a higher cooking loss. Meat derived from tricepsbrachii muscle had the lowest values of Lightness (L*) and Hue (H*) thus meat slightly darker; with regard to the otherquality parameters, longissimus thoracis gave more tender meat with better water holding capacity than triceps brachii.The meat analyzed had a very low content of intramuscular fat (expressed as ether extract (%)), a very well-known characteristicof Chianina meat.The comparison between meat derived from 18-19 month old beef and from 20-21 month old beef shows that only redness(a*) and Chroma (C*) increased significantly with the increase in slaughtering age, but these results do not inducedifferences in meat color appreciation, as shown by the similar values of Lightness (L*) and Hue (H*).Water holding capacity, tenderness and chemical composition were not influenced by slaughtering age

Effect of dietary Curcuma longa L. powder on lipid oxidation of frozen pork

Introduction - Modification of the eating habits incremented the consumption of ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook and frozen foods. Meat can be store up as frozen for different time in relation to the animal species, to the cut or to a previous processing. Several researches were conducted to evaluate the use of antioxidant products as dietary supplementation in order to produce modification in chemical composition of meat and lead to a positive influence on the length of shelf life of the products. Aim - The aim of this research was to study the effect of the supplementation with Curcuma longa L. powder in pig diet on the lipid oxidation after common frozen storage (-18 °C) of meat for long time (up to 135 days). Materials and methods - Pigs were fed with two different diets, control and turmeric, for 30 days before been slaughtered. Longissimus lumborum chops were frozen at -18 °C and lipid oxidation was evaluated with the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) method after 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120 and 135 days of storage. Results and discussion - The addition of the natural antioxidant did not modify the meat quality of the evaluated samples (P > 0.05). Nor the time of storage increased the TBARS value of the meat (P > 0.05). Our results are in accordance with other similar research studies on antioxidant dietary supplementations. Conclusion - Pigs, as large animal, probably need a bigger amount of antioxidant supplementation in order to modified meat characteristics. Thus, the lack of difference in lipid oxidation of frozen meat showed by Control and Turmeric diets could be associated both to the small dose of dietary turmeric powder and to the length of the diet period

3rd International Conference on Avian heRpetological and Exotic mammal medicine

Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) can be responsible for encephalitis in humans and horses and for reproductive disorders in pigs. Birds are amplifying hosts and JEV has been detected in different organs. There are no published data showing the presence of the virus in the organs of healthy birds, captured during inter epidemic periods. We report the results obtained from samples from 12 young birds collected in Italy in 2011 - 2012. Serial sections from formalin-fixed and paraffinembedded tissue samples were routinely processed for histopathology, immunohistochemistry (IHC; pAb, PG 10004, Genesis Biotech Inc.) and Sybr Green real time PCR. IHC to JEV was positive in 9 of 12 bone marrows, showing reaction products in stem cells concurrently positive also for anti CD11b antibody. Four of 12 bone marrows were positive by real time PCR, while other samples showed low quality nucleic acids. JEV localization in bird’s bone marrow myeloid lineage cells, suggest that monocytemacrophage precursors may represent a target cell for the virus, as recently demonstrated in the arbovirus Chikungunya virus. Our results suggest that birds could be reservoir for JEV maintaining myeloid cells persistently infected with the virus

Effect of dietary turmeric powder (Curcuma longa L.) on cooked pig meat quality

The study was carried out on raw meat samples derived from pigs fed with a control diet and a diet supplemented with daily 4.5 g of turmeric powder per pig. After slaughter raw meat was stored for 7 days at 4°C. At Day 0 and Day 7 samples were cooked in a preheated oven at 163°C to the internal temperature of 71°C. Colour parameters, Warner Bratzler shear force, TBARS and antioxidant capacity (ABTS, DPPH and FRAP) were determined at Day 0 and Day 7. Dietary turmeric powder induced an increase in cooked meat of L* value (P < 0.001) and reductions in a*, b* indexes and in C* value (P < 0.01, P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). Colour modifications in cooked meat were correlated with colour parameters of raw samples. The Curcuma longa powder dietary supplementation did not affect lipid oxidation, Warner Bratzler shear force and antioxidant capacity of cooked meat (P > 0.05)

Effect of Islamic ritual slaughter on beef quality.

The aim of this study was to evaluate several quality characteristics of meat obtained from 20 Limousine calves slaughtered either according to conventional methods (n=10) or by the Islamic ritual slaughtering procedure (n=10). After 7 days of ageing under vacuum, pH, drip loss, colour and oxymyoglobin percentage were measured on longissimus dorsi muscle after 2h, 2 and 6 days of storage to study their evolution. With conventional slaughter pH remained stable until the 6th day of storage, while with ritual slaughter it increased from the 2nd to 6th day of storage. Drip loss increased considerably from the 2nd to 6th day of storage in conventional slaughter, while in ritual slaughter the drip loss increase was lower. Meat colour was not influenced by the slaughtering system but only by the different lengths of storage

DETECTION OF PESTIVIRUS IN FECAL SAMPLES FROM WILD RUMINANTS BY PCR

Ruminant pestiviruses affect wild and domestic ruminants worldwide, causing reproductive disorders and severe economic losses. Usually serological, virological or PCR tests are carried out on serum or blood collected from captured live animals or from organs of dead animals. The aim of this work was to evaluate if fecal samples are suitable for detecting ruminant pestiviruses in wild ruminants. Fecal samples from red deer (Cervus elaphus, n=16) and Appenninic chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata, n=12) were collected from the environment. Samples were analyzed in a few days and aliquots were stored at 4ºC for 3 months and re-tested. Pooled fecal samples were diluted with PBS, were centrifuged, and the pellet was used for RNA extraction by silica membrane tech-nology. Real Time PCR was carried out to detect Pestivirus spp. Positive samples were used for PCR and sequencing of a 5’UTR sequence. All four pool samples from red deer and 3 out of 4 pool of chamois resulted positive and sequences showed the highest homology with BVDV-1. Positive samples were found also in samples refrigerated for 3 months. To our knowledge, this is the first report of amplification and sequencing of pestiviruses from feces of wild ruminants