Growth performance, carcase characteristics and meat quality of crossbred bulls and heifers from double-muscled Belgian Blue sires and Brown Swiss, Simmental and Rendena dams

Growth, conformation, carcase and meat quality traits of crossbred calves obtained in the Alps from selected Belgian Blue sires (BB) and Brown Swiss (BS), Simmental (Si) and Rendena (Re) dams were studied, emphasising differences on dairy and dual purpose maternal breed. Six pens with five heifers (3 BB BS, 1 BB Si, 1 BB Re) and six pens with four young bulls (2 BB BS, 1 BB Si, 1 BB Re) were used. In total 53 crossbred calves were tested: 30 from BS dams and 23 from dual purpose (12 from Si and 11 from Re dams). Growth performances were measured, carcases were scored for muscle conformation and fatness, the fifth rib was dissected, and the Longissimus thoracis (LT) was analysed. The maternal breed had significant effects when the calves from dairy cows (BB BS) were compared to those of the dual pur- pose breeds (BB Si and BB Re), as at slaughter the former were 1.2% taller, 6.0% less in vivo muscle score, 5.0% less carcase muscle score, with a 13% greater proportion of bone in the rib, and their LT had 12.5% less drip losses, but 3% greater cooking losses and 25% greater shear force. It was concluded that when using a BB as a sire, the dam breed has influ- ence on the growth performance traits of the derived crossbreds, but the major influence would regard the carcase and meat quality traits. In the Alps, these differences are reflected in different sold prices of the crossbred calves from dairy and dual purpose breeds at local auctions

Changes of particle size distribution and chemical composition of a hay-based ration offered once or twice daily to dairy cows

The objective of this experiment is to evaluate the changes of particle size distribution and chemical composition of the total mixed ration (TMR) based on hay as the main forage component ("dry" TMR) and distributed once (7.00 am) or twice (7.00 am and 1.00 pm) daily to 32 lactating cows. The trial was divided in two periods of 14 days each. Diet (DM=53.7%) was formulated in order to assure the nutritional requirements of cows producing 24 kg/d of milk (crude protein=14.4% DM; NDF=40.9% DM; milk FU=0.88/kg DM) and additional amounts of concentrates were distributed using automatic feeders. Four TMR samples were collected daily (7.00 am, 10.00 am, 1.00 pm, 4.00 pm) for six days during each experiment period for a total number of 48 feed samples. Each feed sample was subjected to the estimation of the particle size distribution using the separator of Pennsylvania State University composed of two sieves (diameters of 19 and 8 mm) and a collector on the bottom, and to the determination of the chemical composition. Changes of all three particle size fractions for TMRs were observed during the day with distributions of the TMR both once and twice daily. With the once daily distribution, the large particles fraction increased linearly (P<0.001) from 19.7 to 23.4, 32.2, and 35.1%, while the finest particle fraction decreased (from 60.1 to 58.3, 50.0, 47.8%). According to particle size changes, the chemical composition varied significantly at the different times of sampling when TMR was distributed once daily. Significant variations of DM were detected for TMR with a linear (P<0.001) increase (from 54.4 to 57.9, 60.7, 61.5%). Considering once TMR distribution, the values of NDF and starch showed an opposite trend with an increase of 6.5 and a decrease of 8.3 points from 7.00 am to 4.00 pm (i.e., 9 hrs after distribution). Correlations were estimated between chemical and physical characteristics of TMRs. NDF content was positively and significantly correlated to the fraction of particles retained by a 19 mm sieve (r=0.42; P<0.001) and negatively correlated with the smaller particles (r=-0.51; P<0.001). In conclusion, when the TMRs are prepared excluding corn/hay silages, twice daily distributions of diet can avoid the selection of large feed by the cows, thereby preserving both a uniform particle size distribution and a steady chemical composition of the diet during the day. However, the cost for the extra time needed for twice daily dis- tribution should be carefully considered

Suspended culture of Ostrea edulis in the Calich lagoon (North western Sardinia, Italy): preliminary results

Suspended culture is a widespread farming method used for many bivalve species such as mussels, oysters and scallops. In the Mediterranean, this technique is mainly practised in lagoons or in sheltered coastal areas using floating lines from which molluscs are suspended in several ways. In this study, the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis Linné, 1758) was grown in suspended lantern nets in the Calich lagoon (Sardinia, Mediterranean Sea) from March 2004 to March 2005. Two distinct groups of 6 lanterns each were hung to longline ropes near the mouth (station 1) and in the central portion of the lagoon (station 2). In each lantern (diameter=50cm; height=30cm), 90 O. edulis specimens were grown and, in order to ensure good water circulation inside the lantern net, fouling organisms were removed every month. Overall mortality, shell length (anterior-posterior axis), shell width (maximum distance on the lateral axis, between both valves of the closed shell) and total wet weight of a 180 specimen oyster sample (30 from each lantern) were recorded every 2 months at each site. In addition, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH were monitored monthly by means of a multi-parametric probe at both sites (between 10a.m. and 12p.m.). One-way ANOVA was used to test for differences in oyster final mean morphometric characters recorded at the 2 growing stations. Chi-square test (with Yates correction for continuity) was performed to compare survival rates at the end of the trial. From an initial mean shell length of 49.5±4.6mm, O. edulis growth rate showed a similar trend at both the stations. Nevertheless, ANOVA detected significant differences (F=7.10; p<0.01) in final mean oyster length values (83.7±6.5mm at station 1 vs 81.7±7.6mm at station 2). Significant differences (F=9.74; p<0.01) were also found in final mean oyster width (28.4±3.1mm at station 1 vs 27.5±2.8mm at station 2) and weight (F=4.00; p<0.05) values (91.4±16.7g at station 1 vs 87.7±18.3g at station 2). Moreover, chi-square test revealed a significantly different survival rate (χ2=10.04; p<0.01) between the 2 groups (57.4% at station 1 vs 47.6% at station 2).Water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH monthly values recorded at the 2 growing stations were almost identical. Thus, the observed differences in oyster growth and survival seemed not to be due to the hydrological variables considered. Instead, they could probably be related to mechanical and chemical effects of water renewal by coastal waters, which may have led to different seasonal seston food supplies at the 2 sites. The suspended culture of the European flat oyster described in this paper can increase the mollusc production of the Calich lagoon by growing a valuable bivalve species which is naturally scarce in this biotope. In fact, our preliminary results showed good survival and growth rates of O. edulis especially near the mouth of the lagoon. Furthermore, this farming technique could be a possible source of economic benefits for local fishermen and, above all, a low impact aquacultural activity compatible with the environment

The Bi-objective Long-haul Transportation Problem on a Road Network

In this paper we study a long-haul truck scheduling problem where a path has to be determined for a vehicle traveling from a specified origin to a specified destination. We consider refueling decisions along the path, while accounting for heterogeneous fuel prices in a road network. Furthermore, the path has to comply with Hours of Service (HoS) regulations. Therefore, a path is defined by the actual road trajectory traveled by the vehicle, as well as the locations where the vehicle stops due to refueling, compliance with HoS regulations, or a combination of the two. This setting is cast in a bi-objective optimization problem, considering the minimization of fuel cost and the minimization of path duration. An algorithm is proposed to solve the problem on a road network. The algorithm builds a set of non-dominated paths with respect to the two objectives. Given the enormous theoretical size of the road network, the algorithm follows an interactive path construction mechanism. Specifically, the algorithm dynamically interacts with a geographic information system to identify the relevant potential paths and stop locations. Computational tests are made on real-sized instances where the distance covered ranges from 500 to 1500 km. The algorithm is compared with solutions obtained from a policy mimicking the current practice of a logistics company. The results show that the non-dominated solutions produced by the algorithm significantly dominate the ones generated by the current practice, in terms of fuel costs, while achieving similar path durations. The average number of non-dominated paths is 2.7, which allows decision makers to ultimately visually inspect the proposed alternatives

Suspended culture of <i>Ostrea edulis</i> in the Calich lagoon (North western Sardinia, Italy): preliminary results

Suspended culture is a widespread farming method used for many bivalve species such as mussels, oysters and scallops. In the Mediterranean, this technique is mainly practised in lagoons or in sheltered coastal areas using floating lines from which molluscs are suspended in several ways. In this study, the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis Linné, 1758) was grown in suspended lantern nets in the Calich lagoon (Sardinia, Mediterranean Sea) from March 2004 to March 2005. Two distinct groups of 6 lanterns each were hung to longline ropes near the mouth (station 1) and in the central portion of the lagoon (station 2). In each lantern (diameter=50cm; height=30cm), 90 O. edulis specimens were grown and, in order to ensure good water circulation inside the lantern net, fouling organisms were removed every month. Overall mortality, shell length (anterior-posterior axis), shell width (maximum distance on the lateral axis, between both valves of the closed shell) and total wet weight of a 180 specimen oyster sample (30 from each lantern) were recorded every 2 months at each site. In addition, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH were monitored monthly by means of a multi-parametric probe at both sites (between 10a.m. and 12p.m.). One-way ANOVA was used to test for differences in oyster final mean morphometric characters recorded at the 2 growing stations. Chi-square test (with Yates correction for continuity) was performed to compare survival rates at the end of the trial. From an initial mean shell length of 49.5±4.6mm, O. edulis growth rate showed a similar trend at both the stations. Nevertheless, ANOVA detected significant differences (F=7.10; p&lt;0.01) in final mean oyster length values (83.7±6.5mm at station 1 vs 81.7±7.6mm at station 2). Significant differences (F=9.74; p&lt;0.01) were also found in final mean oyster width (28.4±3.1mm at station 1 vs 27.5±2.8mm at station 2) and weight (F=4.00; p&lt;0.05) values (91.4±16.7g at station 1 vs 87.7±18.3g at station 2). Moreover, chi-square test revealed a significantly different survival rate (χ2=10.04; p&lt;0.01) between the 2 groups (57.4% at station 1 vs 47.6% at station 2).Water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH monthly values recorded at the 2 growing stations were almost identical. Thus, the observed differences in oyster growth and survival seemed not to be due to the hydrological variables considered. Instead, they could probably be related to mechanical and chemical effects of water renewal by coastal waters, which may have led to different seasonal seston food supplies at the 2 sites. The suspended culture of the European flat oyster described in this paper can increase the mollusc production of the Calich lagoon by growing a valuable bivalve species which is naturally scarce in this biotope. In fact, our preliminary results showed good survival and growth rates of O. edulis especially near the mouth of the lagoon. Furthermore, this farming technique could be a possible source of economic benefits for local fishermen and, above all, a low impact aquacultural activity compatible with the environment

Feeding dairy cows with full fat extruded or toasted soybean seeds as replacement of soybean meal and effects on milk yield, fatty acid profile and CLA content

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the replacement of about 70% of soybean meal (SBM) with extruded(ES) or toasted (TS) full-fat soybean seeds in diets for lactating cows on milk quality, fatty acid profile, and conjugatedlinoleic acid (CLA) content. Eighteen lactating cows were assigned to 3 groups which received a basal diet, supplementedwith 1.8, 2.1 and 2.1 kg/head, respectively, of SBM, ES and TS. There was no significant effect on milk yield,calculated as the difference between daily yield during the experimental period and the mean of the last 5 days of adaptation(-1.65, -1.29 and -0.20 kg/d, respectively, for SBM, ES and TS; P>0.10) and milk quality parameters (fat, protein,urea and cheese making parameters) among treatments. In the ES group there was a decrease in the short chainFA content (from C4 to C13) in milk fat (9.2 vs 11.0 and 10.8 g/100 g lipids, respectively, for ES, SBM and TS; P<0.05).Medium chain FA (from C14 to C17) content in milk fat was lower for ES and TS groups compared with SBM (46.8 and48.0 vs 54.8 g/100 g lipids respectively; P<0.01), while long chain FA (C≥18) concentration in milk fat was lower in theSBM group compared to the others (34.3 vs 44.2 and 41.2 g/100 g lipids, respectively, for SBM, ES and TS; P<0.001).The replacement of SBM with ES enhanced oleic and linoleic acid and, particularly, CLA content. Intermediate values wereobserved for the TS group. CLA content (0.91, 0.62 and 0.56 g/100 g lipids, respectively, for ES, TS and SBM; P<0.05)increased throughout the trial in all groups. ES also reduced the proportion of SFA with respect to SBM (65.2, 68.2 and70.9 g/100 g lipids, respectively, for ES, TS and SBM; P<0.05), and increased MUFA (26.9, 24.5 and 23.1 g/100 g lipidsin the same order; P<0.05) and PUFA (7.4, 6.9 and 5.5 g/100 g lipids in the same order; P<0.05) of milk fat, thusimproving the health-quality of milk. The various soybean products did not affect either metabolic profile (protein, urea,glucose, cholesterol, NEFA, triglycerides, liver parameters and mineral serum content) or rumen parameters (pH, ammoniaand VFAs). The replacement of SBM with ES and TS permitted an improvement in the nutritional properties of milkwithout negatively affecting animal performances

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) fed to dairy cows does not modify the cheese-making properties of milk but affects the color, texture, and flavor of ripened cheese

Garlic and garlic components have recently been proposed as ruminal activity modulators to reduce the enteric methane emissions of ruminants, but little is known of their influence on milk coagulation proper- ties, nutrient recovery, cheese yield, and sensorial and rheological characteristics of milk and cheese. The pres- ent study assessed the effects of garlic and diallyl sul- fide supplements on dry matter intake (DMI), produc- tive performance, milk coagulation properties, cheese yield, milk and cheese sensory profiles, and rheological characteristics. Four dairy cows were fed a total mixed ration either alone (control) or supplemented with 100 or 400 g/d of garlic cloves or 2 g/d of diallyl sulfide in 4 consecutive experimental periods in a 4 7 4 Latin square design. The diallyl sulfide dose was established to provide approximately the same amount of allyl thiosulfinate compounds as 100 g of fresh garlic cloves. The total mixed ration was composed of 0.29 corn si- lage, 0.23 corn-barley mixture, 0.17 sunflower-soybean mixture, 0.12 alfalfa hay, 0.12 grass hay, 0.04 sugar beet pulp, and 0.02 other additives, and contained 0.253 starch, 0.130 crude protein, and 0.375 neutral detergent fiber, on a dry matter basis. Each experimental period consisted of 7 d of transition and 14 d of treatment. On d 18 and 21 of each period, milk samples (10 L) were collected from each cow for chemical analysis and cheese-making. The organoleptic properties of the milk and 63-d-ripened cheeses were assessed by a panel of 7 trained sensory evaluators. The experimental treat- ments had no effects on DMI, milk yield, feed efficiency (milk yield/DMI), milk coagulation properties, nutrient recovery, or cheese yield. Garlic-like aroma, taste, and flavor of milk and cheese were significantly influenced by the treatments, particularly the highest dose of gar- lic cloves, and we found close exponential relationships between milk and cheese for garlic-like aroma (R2 = 0.87) and garlic-like flavor (R2 = 0.79). Diallyl sulfide and 400 g/d of garlic cloves resulted in lower pH, shear force, and shear work of ripened cheeses compared with the other treatments. Garlic cloves and diallyl sulfide had opposite effects on cheese color indices. We conclude that adding 400 g/d of garlic to the feed of lactating dairy cows highly influences the sensory and rheological characteristics of cheese

A shashlik calorimeter with longitudinal segmentation for a linear collider

Two techniques for longitudinal segmentation of shashlik calorimeters are proposed. Beam tests have demonstrated the technical feasibility of longitudinally segmented shashlik calorimeters in which longitudinal sampling is performed by lateral vacuum photodiodes or by using two scintillator types with different decay times. Results concerning energy resolution and e/π separation are presente

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good