A survey on Cattle Performance Testing Centres in Italy

Performance test is the main selection tool for beef and dual purpose cattle, but it is used also in dairy cattle, despite the different aim of testing in this case. This study has aimed to obtain all available information about organisation and characteristic of performance test in Italy carried out in year 2006 by Italian Cattle Breeders Associations. The results of the survey here reported have the final aim of exploiting actual organization of selection processes carried out in Italy for beef, dual purpose and dairy cattle breeds through performance test. The survey has indicated different intensity of selection among Italian breeds, ranging from 2.45 to 3.13

Biological stress regulation in female adolescents: a key role for confiding

Attachment behaviors play a critical role in regulating emotion within the context of close relationships, and attachment theory is currently used to inform evidence-based practice in the areas of adolescent health and social care. This study investigated the association between female adolescents’ interview-based attachment behaviors and two markers of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity: cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Unlike the classic stress hormone cortisol, there is very limited investigation of DHEA—a quintessential developmental hormone—in relation to attachment, especially in adolescents. Fifty-five healthy females mean age 14.36 (±2.41) years participated in the attachment style interview. A smaller cortisol awakening response was related to anxious attachment attitudes, including more fear of rejection, whereas greater morning basal DHEA secretion was only predicted by lower levels of reported confiding in one’s mother. These attachment–hormone relationships may be developmental markers in females, as they were independent of menarche status. These findings highlight that the normative shifts occurring in attachment to caregivers around adolescence are reflected in adolescents’ biological stress regulation. We discuss how studying these shifts can be informed by evolutionary– developmental theory

The Time of Flight System of the AMS-02 Space Experiment

The Time-of-Flight (TOF) system of the AMS detector gives the fast trigger to the read out electronics and measures velocity, direction and charge of the crossing particles. The new version of the detector (called AMS-02) will be installed on the International Space Station on March 2004. The fringing field of the AMS-02 superconducting magnet is $1.0\div2.5$ kG where the photomultiplers (PM) are installed. In order to be able to operate with this residual field, a new type of PM was chosen and the mechanical design was constrained by requiring to minimize the angle between the magnetic field vector and the PM axis. Due to strong field and to the curved light guides, the time resolution will be $150\div180$ ps, while the new electronics will allow for a better charge measurement.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Proc. of 7th Int. Conf. on Adv. Tech. and Part. Phys., 15-19 October 2001,Como (Italy

meat quality traits of marchigiana beef cattle

Variation in quality of meat within the same breed and among different ones is due both to different biological factor (genotype, productivity, sex and age) and environmental and technological factors (composition and nutritional level of diet, rearing, transport and slaughter) acting on animals reared . All these factors interact in a complex way and lead to a high variability of muscular structure that characterizes the qualitative characteristic of meat. For this reason, in a study that expected the control at slaughter of 1000 Marchigiana cattle, on a random, 114 sample's steaks were taken from LD at 5th rib, right side of carcasses grading U or more in SEUROP grid. On meat samples, we tested colour parameters (L*a*b*) using Minolta Chromameter CR 200 and light D65 and Drip Loss as reported by ASPA Commission (1996). Then meat samples were weighted, frozen, lyophilized; their chemical composition (moisture, protein and fat) was determined. Variability of analysis' results was studied according to JMP package (SAS).The colour means (L*, a*, b*) were obtained considering at least 3 readings on every sample. Luminosity value (L* = 40.1 ± 3.6) is similar to the one reported on subjects transported for 1-4 hours, similarly to the Marchigiana cattle object of this study, while is higher than the mean reported by other researchers on Valdostana cattle, English crossbreds and on Charolaise x Maremmana crossbreds. The red parameter (a* = 25.0 ± 3.2) is better than means reported by the same researchers. The yellow parameter (b* = 6.9 ± 2.5) is similar to results obtained on Valdostana cattle, but lower that means obtained by other researchers. The Hue values are lower than those reported for Charolaise x Maremmana (15.1 vs 26.1), while Chroma (26.1 ± 3.7) is similar to the values obtained by the same researchers. The moisture (72.8 ± 1.2) is similar to the mean obtained on Chianina calves, but lower than the one indicated on Marchigiana bulls. The protein (19.8 ± 1.6) is lower than that obtained on Marchigiana cattle. The intramuscular fat (3.9 ± 1.5) is higher than results obtained on Marchigiana calves. The Drip Loss (1.4 ± 0.5) is 1 point % lower than those reported by other researchers. This low Drip Loss can be considered a parameter that indicates a good muscular maturity of slaughtered cattle. All parameters have a low variability except for fat (33.1%) and Drip Loss (35.7%). The Marchigiana cattle confirms the good qualitative characteristics of its meat, and strengthen the opportunity to increase the number of Marchigiana heads to be bred and raisen

In Vivo and post-mortem performances of Marchigiana and Romagnola Breeds

The aim of these studies was to evaluate the in vivo and post-mortem performances of Marchigiana and Romagnola cattle. The results provide updated information that suggest that the selection index of some parameters should be revised to improve the dressing, which is one of the limitations of these breeds

The AMS-02 Time of Flight System. Final Design

The AMS-02 detector is a superconducting magnetic spectrometer that will operate on the International Space Station. The time of flight (TOF) system of AMS-02 is composed by four scintillator planes with 8, 8, 10, 8 counters each, read at both ends by a total of 144 phototubes. This paper describes the new design, the expected performances, and shows preliminary results of the ion beam test carried on at CERN on October 2002.Comment: 4 pages, 6 EPS figures. Proc. of the 28th ICRC (2003

Short communication: Prevalence of deleterious variants causing recessive disorders in Italian Chianina, Marchigiana and Romagnola cattle.

In the last two decades, the molecular cause of six monogenic autosomal recessive disorders has been identified in native Italian beef cattle: two different ATP2A1 variants for the pseudomyotonia congenita, the first in Chianina and Romagnola (PMT1) and the second in Romagnola (PMT2); a KDM2B variant for the paunch calf syndrome (PCS) in Marchigiana and Romagnola; a NID1 variant for the congenital cataract (CC) in Romagnola; a LAMB1 variant for the hemifacial microsomia (HFM) in Romagnola; an ABCA12 variant for the ichthyosis fetalis (IF) in Chianina and a FA2H variant for the ichthyosis congenita (IC) in Chianina. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential impact of these disorders in the affected Italian populations. For this purpose, 3331 Chianina, 2812 Marchigiana and 1680 Romagnola bulls born in the last 40 years were considered. The allelic frequency (AF) of the variant for PMT1 was 1.0% in Romagnola, 4.6% in Marchigiana and 5.9% in Chianina. The AF of the variant for PMT2 was 3.3% in Romagnola and 0% in the other two breeds. The AF of the variant for PCS was 11.7% in Romagnola, 2.0% in Marchigiana and 0% in Chianina. The AF of the variants for CC, HFM, IF and IC resulted below 3%, being the variants detected only in the breed populations in which they were previously reported. Considering a selected male population in the single breed, Chianina showed carrier prevalence of 11.9% for PMT1, 7.7% for IC and 6.4% for IF. Romagnola showed carrier prevalence of 23.4% for PCS, 6.7% for PMT2, 4.1% for HFM, 3.2% for CC and 2.0% for PMT1. Marchigiana showed carrier prevalence of 9.1% for PMT1 and 4.0% for PCS. With respect to the Romagnola cattle, the concerning presence of a total of five defect alleles in the population hampers a general approach based on the prevention of carriers from artificial insemination. However, identification of carriers may allow conscious mating to prevent the risk of homozygous descendants as well as the spread of heterozygous offspring. Therefore, systematic genotyping for all seven known harmful alleles is recommended to prevent risk mating between carriers, in particular to avoid the occurrence of affected offspring

Inducing structural changes in biological polymers

The aim of the project is to investigate disorder induced into molecular structure of biological polymers by various extrinsic factors. This study focuses on two major proteins found in the extracellular matrix of connective tissues - collagen and fibrillin. Collagen is the most abundant protein in mammals and can be found in connective tissues providing the all important structural scaffolding for cells. It is mostly found in a highly ordered fibrillar form however, various extrinsic factors can lead to its degradation and transformation into disordered gelatine. During degradation, the ordered structure of collagen is lost triple helical molecules unfold into gelatine, however, it has been proposed that this process may involve different intermediate states depending on the treatment. The aim of this project is to identify and characterize these potential metastable states that occur during collagen transformation. Understanding of the underlying molecular transformations can be beneficial in medicine where gelatinisation of collagen is observed in malignant breast tissues (induced by metalloproteinases) or can be induced by heat during surgical treatment (e.g. laser based) or an intense X-ray beam (i.e. used as a sophisticated treatment of cancer). Investigation of induced alteration in biological tissues and other materials that contain collagen (historical parchment, leather) can also benefit biomaterial production and future designs in implant surgery and pharmacy, e.g. tissue-engineered skin substitutes. The results presented in this thesis proved that the nature of collagen transformations varies depending on the treatment and the main findings, which were previously unobserved include: (1) identification of a novel collagen structure with an 80 nm axial periodicity (recorded during an intensive X-ray irradiation), (2) a novel 20 nm periodic structure (formed during UV irradiation) and (3) changes in collagen fibril diameter and interfibrillar spacing (observed in breast cancer tissues). The second of the studied proteins, fibrillin, is a main component of fibrillin-rich microfibrils and plays a crucial role in providing elasticity to the majority of connective tissues. The study described here was designed to investigate the elastic response of fibrillin-rich microfibrils during controlled tissue extension, and hence the effect of the external factor - mechanical stress. The results gave a further insight into the basis of the elastic properties of fibrillin and have major implications for understanding the functionality and extensibility of fibrillin in connective tissues.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Macroseismic effects highlight site response in Rome and its geological signature

A detailed analysis of the earthquake effects on the urban area of Rome has been conducted for the L’Aquila sequence, which occurred in April 2009, by using an on-line macroseismic questionnaire. Intensity residuals calculated using the mainshock and four aftershocks are analyzed in the light of a very accurate and original geological reconstruction of the subsoil of Rome based on a large amount of wells. The aim of this work is to highlight ground motion amplification areas and to find a correlation with the geological settings at a sub-regional scale, putting in evidence the extreme complexity of the phenomenon and the difficulty of making a simplified model. Correlations between amplification areas and both near-surface and deep geology were found. Moreover, the detailed scale of investigation has permitted us to find a correlation between seismic amplification in recent alluvial settings and subsiding zones, and between heard seismic sound and Tiber alluvial sediments