The Return of Large Carnivores and Extensive Farming Systems: A Review of Stakeholders' Perception at an {EU} Level

Conflicts between large carnivores and human activities undermine both the maintenance of livestock practices as well as the conservation of carnivores across Europe. Because large carnivore management is driven by a common EU policy, the purpose of this research was to assess stakeholders\u2019 perception towards bears and wolves at an EU level. We conducted a systematic search and subsequent analysis of 40 peer-reviewed studies collected from 1990 to September 2020 within Member States of the EU. Rural inhabitants and hunters exhibited the most negative attitude compared to urban inhabitants and conservationists, whose attitude was more positive. We showed that direct experience with predators as a consequence of ongoing re-colonization may have affected the degree of acceptance of certain categories and that the long-term coexistence between humans and carnivores does not necessarily imply increased tolerance. To encourage coexistence, we recommend monitoring changes in attitudes over time relative to carnivore population dynamics

Coagulation properties and Nostrano di Primiero cheese yield of milk from Brown grazing cows of different k-casein genotype

Propriet\ue0 di coagulazione e resa in Nostrano di Primiero del latte di vacche Brune al pascolo con differente genotipo per la k-caseina \u2013 Il latte prodotto in alpeggio da 16 bovine di razza Bruna Italiana con diverso genotipo per la k-caseina, 8 AA e 8 BB, \ue8 stato analizzato per composizione e caratteristiche reologiche. Lo stesso latte \ue8 stato trasformato in formaggio del tipo Nostrano di Primiero. La composizione del latte e il tempo di coagulazione (r) sono risultati simili tra i due tipi genetici, cos\uec come la composizione del siero e la resa in formaggio. Il tempo di rassodamento del coagulo (k20) e la sua consistenza (a30) sono risultati invece migliori per il tipo genetico BB rispetto all\u2019AA (4,2 min vs 7,9 min e 32,9 mm vs 25,2 mm)

Survey on welfare of dairy cow in tie-stalls in mountain area.

The aim of the survey was to study the effect of Alpine pasture and breed on welfare of dairy cattle bred in tie-stalls in mountain area of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. Twenty-four representative farms were divided into 4 groups following a factorial design: 2 managements (with vs. without summer grazing) x 2 breeds (Italian Simmental vs. Italian Brown). Data were collected following a protocol that considers direct animals' measures or remarks, buildings and equipments information. The results showed that summer grazing affected some physical parameters - BCS, claw conformation and injuries - and some behaviour parameters such as rising movements. In this trial the breed did not seem to markedly influence cows' welfare, except for BCS and lie down time

Welfare Assessment on Pasture: A Review on Animal-Based Measures for Ruminants

Outdoor and extensive farming systems allow animals to behave in a natural way and are often perceived as welfare friendly. Nonetheless, the natural environment poses multiple challenges to the welfare of animals, sometimes hampering their capacity to cope. Welfare assessment in outdoor and extensive systems has been rarely investigated, and little is known about the most appropriate indicators. The aim of this review was to identify animal-based measures of welfare to apply in extensive and pasture-based systems in domestic ruminants. Through the use of a dedicated software for systematic reviews, 810 papers were screened and a total of 52 papers were retained for in-depth analysis. ABM resulting from these papers were initially divided according to the species (cattle and small ruminants, including sheep and goats) and then to four principles: comfort, behavior, feeding and health. The results showed that welfare data were collected applying different methodologies, with an increasing use of sensors in recent years. The need to herd and restrain animals for individual data collection is one of the major constraints to data collection in extensive farming systems. It is suggested that welfare assessment in outdoor/extensive farming systems is carried out by following shared procedures in order to provide evidence of the higher animal welfare claims that these products often imply compared to indoor systems

Comparison of longissimus thoracis physical quality traits and the expression of tenderness-related genes between Goudali zebu breed and Italian Simmental × Goudali crossbreed

The aim of this trial was to compare some meat physical quality traits and the expression of some tenderness-related genes between Goudali (G, Bos indicus) breed and Italian Simmental × Goudali (SimGoud, SG, Bos taurus x Bos indicus) crossbreed. Ten G and 12 SG bulls, aged 31 ± 0.49 months, bred in the same farm and conditions in Western Highland Plateau Savannah of Cameroon were considered. Physical quality traits of longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle such as water losses, colour parameters and rheological properties were determined together with ultimate pH (pHu). The mRNA early post-mortem abundance of calpain-1 (Capn1), calpain-2 (Capn2), calpastatin (Cast), caspase 3 (Casp3), caspase 9 (Casp9), αB-crystallin (Cryab), heat shock proteins 27 (Hsp27), 40 (Hsp40) and 70 (Hsp70) was detected by qPCR. The Capn1, Cast, Hsp27 and Hsp70, early post-mortem protein content was determined by ELISA. The meat of G bulls had greater values of lightness (p < .05) and cooking loss (p < .05) than SG. The expression of Hsp70 in G was greater at mRNA (p < .05) level than SG. None of the other variables considered was significantly different between G and SG breeds. Whereas crossbreeding with Italian Simmental breed changed the colour and ameliorated the water retention capacity of G meat, tenderness and the expression of tenderness-related genes, both at mRNA and at protein level, were not significantly different between the pure local breed and the crossbreed. In comparison with pure Goudali, crossbreeding Goudali with Italian Simmental breed has a limited impact on meat traits in tropical conditions

Environmental sustainability of Alpine livestock farms

The 2006 FAO report concerning the environmental impact of the livestock sector has generated scientific debate, especially considering the context of global warming and the need to provide animal products to a growing world population. However, this sector differs widely in terms of environmental context, production targets, degree of intensification and cultural role. The traditional breeding systems in the Alps were largely based on the use of meadows and pastures and produced not only milk and meat but also other fundamental positive externalities and ecosystem services, such as conservation of genetic resources, water flow regulation, pollination, climate regulation, landscape maintenance, recreation and ecotourism and cultural heritage. In recent decades, the mountain livestock, mainly represented by dairy cattle, has been affected by a dramatic reduction of farms, a strong increase of animals per farm, an increase in indoor production systems, more extensive use of specialised non-indigenous cattle breeds and the increasing use of extra-farm concentrates instead of meadows and pastures for fodder. This paper firstly describes the livestock sector in the Italian Alps and analyses the most important factors affecting their sustainability. Secondly, it discusses the need to assess the ecosystem services offered by forage- based livestock systems in mountains with particular attention to greenhouse gas emission and its mitigation by carbon sequestration. In conclusion, comparison between the different elements of the environmental sustainability of mountain livestock systems must be based on a comprehensive overview of the relationships among animal husbandry, environment and socio-economic context

Tourists and Local Stakeholders’ Perception of Ecosystem Services Provided by Summer Farms in the Eastern Italian Alps

In the Alps, summer farms are temporary units, where cattle are moved during summer to graze on Alpine pastures, which provide multiple ecosystem services (ESs), many of which do not have a market value. This study aimed at understanding and comparing the perceptions of summer farms and of the associated ESs by local stakeholders and tourists in a study area of the province of Trento in the eastern Italian Alps. Thirty-five online questionnaires and two focus groups were realized with local stakeholders involved in the dairy value-chain. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 405 tourists in two representative summer farms. The perceptions of summer farms diered between local stakeholders, who mainly focused on provisioning ESs, and tourists, who mainly focused on cultural and regulating ESs. Both categories of actors rated positively eight dierent ESs associated with summer farms, but demonstrated a lack of knowledge of specific regulating ESs. This study showed that discussion among the dierent actors is required to increase mutual knowledge and to grasp the diversity of links between summer farms and ESs, in order to support public policies and private initiatives for promoting summer farm products and the sustainable development of mountain regions

130 purification of large scale mrna encoding zfn nucleases by dhplc technology

A novel strategy of targeted gene correction of the interleukin-2 receptor common gamma chain (IL2RG) gene for the treatment of X-linked Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID-X1) is achieved by the combination of a pair of IL2RG-specific Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFN) and the correct-gene template DNA delivered by integration-defective lentiviral vector (IDLV).The transient expression of the ZFN pair targeting the disease-causing gene is obtained by the electroporation of the two corresponding mRNAs, produced by in vitro transcription starting from plasmid DNA template. A major limitation of the mRNA transcribed in vitro is the presence of residual contaminants such as short RNAs and double stranded (ds)RNAs that may affect the function and spectrophotometric quantification of the product hampering therefore the delivery of high quality and precise amount of mRNA to target cells. Moreover, dsRNA contaminants represent a possible risk in terms of immunogenicity of the product, leading to activation of unwanted innate immune response with consequent reduction/abrogation of mRNA translation as well as potential alteration of the properties of the transfected cells. To improve nuclease expression while decreasing cellular innate response to mRNA transfection we combined different strategies: (i) inclusion of UTRs and polyA tails in the DNA template used for mRNA production; (ii) use of modified nucleotides during mRNA production and (iii) purification of the mRNAs by dHPLC with a reverse phase column made of non-porous matrix consisting of polystyrene-divinylbenzene copolymer beads alkylated with C-18 chains (Transgenomic, LTD.). In particular, the purification of in vitro transcribed mRNAs by means of dHPLC has been shown to strongly improve the translation of mRNA and significantly reduce the contaminant presence thus preventing innate immunity and eventually increasing modified cells persistence in vivo. We have developed feasible and reproducible, small and large scale mRNA production and downstream purification processes of the ZFN pairs obtaining accurate RNA quantification and reduced risk of immunogenicity. The full process achieved a 60% yield, loading with a 500µg RNA for each run with a single clean chromatographic peak. Furthermore, the level of residual organic solvent (i.e. Acetonitrile) used in the purification process is compatible with that applicable into clinic. The highly translatable non-immunogenic dHPLC-purified mRNA can be delivered without toxicity and represents a powerful and safe tool for the application of gene therapy protocols

Molecular profiling of aged neural progenitors identifies Dbx2 as a candidate regulator of age-associated neurogenic decline.

Adult neurogenesis declines with aging due to the depletion and functional impairment of neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs). An improved understanding of the underlying mechanisms that drive age-associated neurogenic deficiency could lead to the development of strategies to alleviate cognitive impairment and facilitate neuroregeneration. An essential step towards this aim is to investigate the molecular changes that occur in NSPC aging on a genomewide scale. In this study, we compare the transcriptional, histone methylation and DNA methylation signatures of NSPCs derived from the subventricular zone (SVZ) of young adult (3 months old) and aged (18 months old) mice. Surprisingly, the transcriptional and epigenomic profiles of SVZ-derived NSPCs are largely unchanged in aged cells. Despite the global similarities, we detect robust age-dependent changes at several hundred genes and regulatory elements, thereby identifying putative regulators of neurogenic decline. Within this list, the homeobox gene Dbx2 is upregulated in vitro and in vivo, and its promoter region has altered histone and DNA methylation levels, in aged NSPCs. Using functional in vitro assays, we show that elevated Dbx2 expression in young adult NSPCs promotes age-related phenotypes, including the reduced proliferation of NSPC cultures and the altered transcript levels of age-associated regulators of NSPC proliferation and differentiation. Depleting Dbx2 in aged NSPCs caused the reverse gene expression changes. Taken together, these results provide new insights into the molecular programmes that are affected during mouse NSPC aging, and uncover a new functional role for Dbx2 in promoting age-related neurogenic decline.This work was supported by grants to P.J.R.-G. from the 6 Wellcome Trust (WT093736) and the BBSRC (BB/P013406/1, BB/M022285/1), by funding from 7 Sapienza University of Rome (G.L, S.B., E.C) and by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of 8 Economy to P.B. (BFU2016-75412-R, co-financed by FEDER). The Babraham Institute Biological 9 Services Unit is supported by Campus Capability Grant funding from the BBSRC