On the environmental impacts of voluntary animal-based policies in the EU: Technical and political considerations

The livestock sector has a large influence on direct and indirect (via land use change) greenhouse gas emissions, with potential negative impacts on climate change. We quantify the environmental impacts related to the introduction of a voluntary animal-based policy supported by the European Union (EU), the Measure 14 of Rural Development Programmes 2014–2020 on animal welfare. In particular, we focus on methane and nitrous oxide emissions (direct impacts), and on carbon-based and nitrous oxide emissions from land use change (indirect impacts). Our case study is the dairy sector of the EU Member States. We found that the animal-based measures have (on average) limited environmental impacts, although marked differences exist across Member States

Gambaran Histopatologi Hati Tikus Wistar Yang Diberikan Jus Tomat (Solanum Lycopersicum) Pasca Kerusakan Hati Wistar Yang Diinduksi Karbon Tetraklorida (Ccl4)

: Liver is the largest organ in the abdominal cavity. As the center of metabolism in the body, liver is potentially damaged by exposure of toxic substances, inter alia carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Metabolism of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) produces CCl3 free radicals that can damage the liver. In Indonesia, there are a lot of natural ingredients that have antioxidant properties, such as tomato. Lycopene in tomatoes contains antioxidant compounds that can prevent damages due to free radical. This study aimed to obtain liver histopathological changes of wistar rats fed with tomato juice after being induced of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). This was an experimental study, using 10 wistar rats which were divided into 4 groups. Group I was the negative control; group II was induced with CCl4 0,05 cc/day and was terminated on day 6; group III was induced with CCl4 0,05 cc/day and was given tomato juice 3 ml/day, and terminated on day 13; group IV was induced by CCl4 0,05 cc/day, given regular pellets, and terminated on day 13. The results showed that group II had histopathological changes of the liver indicating fatty liver, meanwhile group III showed regeneration of nearly all liver cells. Conclusion: Administration of tomato juice after the induction of 3 ml carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) for 7 day showed regeneration of almost all liver cells

Gambaran Histopatologi Hati Tikus Wistar Yang Diberikan Jus Tomat (Solanum Lycopersicum) Pasca Kerusakan Hati Wistar Yang Diinduksi Karbon Tetraklorida (Ccl4)

: Liver is the largest organ in the abdominal cavity. As the center of metabolism in the body, liver is potentially damaged by exposure of toxic substances, inter alia carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Metabolism of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) produces CCl3 free radicals that can damage the liver. In Indonesia, there are a lot of natural ingredients that have antioxidant properties, such as tomato. Lycopene in tomatoes contains antioxidant compounds that can prevent damages due to free radical. This study aimed to obtain liver histopathological changes of wistar rats fed with tomato juice after being induced of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). This was an experimental study, using 10 wistar rats which were divided into 4 groups. Group I was the negative control; group II was induced with CCl4 0,05 cc/day and was terminated on day 6; group III was induced with CCl4 0,05 cc/day and was given tomato juice 3 ml/day, and terminated on day 13; group IV was induced by CCl4 0,05 cc/day, given regular pellets, and terminated on day 13. The results showed that group II had histopathological changes of the liver indicating fatty liver, meanwhile group III showed regeneration of nearly all liver cells. Conclusion: Administration of tomato juice after the induction of 3 ml carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) for 7 day showed regeneration of almost all liver cells

Guideline on management of the acute asthma attack in children by Italian Society of Pediatrics

Background: Acute asthma attack is a frequent condition in children. It is one of the most common reasons for emergency department (ED) visit and hospitalization. Appropriate care is fundamental, considering both the high prevalence of asthma in children, and its life-threatening risks. Italian Society of Pediatrics recently issued a guideline on the management of acute asthma attack in children over age 2, in ambulatory and emergency department settings. Methods: The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology was adopted. A literature search was performed using the Cochrane Library and Medline/PubMed databases, retrieving studies in English or Italian and including children over age 2 year. Results: Inhaled f2 agonists are the first line drugs for acute asthma attack in children. Ipratropium bromide should be added in moderate/severe attacks. Early use of systemic steroids is associated with reduced risk of ED visits and hospitalization. High doses of inhaled steroids should not replace systemic steroids. Aminophylline use should be avoided in mild/moderate attacks. Weak evidence supports its use in life-threatening attacks. Epinephrine should not be used in the treatment of acute asthma for its lower cost / benefit ratio, compared to \u3b22 agonists. Intravenous magnesium solphate could be used in children with severe attacks and/or forced expiratory volume1 (FEV1) lower than 60% predicted, unresponsive to initial inhaled therapy. Heliox could be administered in life-threatening attacks. Leukotriene receptor antagonists are not recommended. Conclusions: This Guideline is expected to be a useful resource in managing acute asthma attacks in children over age 2

Use of green solvents as pre-treatment of dissolving pulp to decrease CS2 consumption from viscose production

Choline chloride-based deep eutectic solvents are widely used in biomass processing. In this work, four different green solvent mixtures were used as pre-treatment of acid sulphite dissolving pulp with the hypothesis of increasing the possibilities to produce viscose fibres and decreasing the use of the harmful and toxic carbon disulphide in the process. The experiments were performed at two different pulp to solvent mass ratios. Pulp quality parameters were also measured to determine the suitability of the pretreatment: a-cellulose, viscosity, lignin and pentosan content. In addition, X-ray diffraction analysis of pulps at the best solid to liquid ratio was performed to obtain the influence of the crystallinity index. Best results were obtained with the use of lactic acid, with reactivity values close to 94%, giving a reduction of CS2 usage of 15.83%. Furthermore, a linear relationship between the crystallinity index calculated by the XRD and reactivity with a regression factor of 0.87 was found

Considerations on the environmental and social sustainability of animal-based policies

The contribution of the livestock sector to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as the worsening of animal welfare, with the intensification of production methods, have become increasingly relevant. Our contribution investigates the environmental impacts, in terms of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, of animal-based policies supported by the European Union. We examine factors affecting the adoption and the magnitude of related budget of Measure 215-animal welfare-of Rural Development Programmes 2007-2013. Our focus is cattle farming in Italy. The results highlight that the problem of animal welfare is highly perceived in regions with greater livestock intensity, also where GHG emissions are relevant. Given the adoption of measure 215, more budget tends to be allocated in regions where livestock units are particularly high. In addition, from the analysis emerges the bargaining position of regions with a higher propensity to the agricultural sector

Efficiency of cold atmospheric plasma under ozone (O3) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) regimes on the degradation of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in solid state and in spiked pistachio kernels

Mycotoxins are the primary contaminants in food that have a significant impact on global food safety and security. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has demonstrated significant potential in reducing mycotoxins among innovative technologies. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) CAP system in reducing aflatoxins B1 (AFB1), B2 (AFB2), G1 (AFG1), G2 (AFG2), and ochratoxin A (OTA). The distinctive feature of the device here used was the ability to operate at two different powers, resulting in two different plasma reactive species ambients: ozone (O3) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) regimes. CAP treatments exhibited a significant reduction of all investigated pure mycotoxins, which was regime, molecule chemical structure, distance from the source and time-dependent. In particular, O3 regime was more effective (AFB1 and AFG1 99%, AFB2 and AFG2 60%, OTA 70% reduction, respectively, at 60 min, 4 cm distance from the plasma source). As low-moisture foods pistachio kernels (Pistacia vera L. seeds) were selected to evaluate the matrix effect. As expected, the mycotoxins were reduced to a much lesser extent than pure molecules. Worthy of note was the 23% reduction of OTA. To our best knowledge, this is the first investigation about OTA degradation in pistachio food matrix by cold plasma. It should also be noted that the pistachios have been artificially contaminated with spots of a mixture of mycotoxins, to best represent a probable real contamination

Toward Sustainable and Healthy Fish Products—The Role of Feeding and Preservation Techniques

Fish is a fundamental component of the human diet, and in the near future the proportion of aquatic foods originating from aquaculture production is expected to increase to over 56%. The sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector involves the use of new sustainable raw materials as substitutes for traditional fishmeal and fish oil ingredients, but it is crucial that the substitution maintains the nutritional value of the fish meat. In addition, the preservation of the nutritional value should be a mandatory requirement of new technologies that extend the shelf life of fish. In this context, we evaluated the impact of a newly formulated feed and three preservation treatments (brine, pulsed electric field (PEF), and PEF plus brine) on the fatty acid composition and protein and lipid digestibility of sea bass fillets. In non-digested fillets, although slightly reduced by the newly formulated feed (standard = 2.49 +/- 0.14; newly formulated = 2.03 +/- 0.10) the n-3/n-6 PUFA ratio indicated good nutritional value. The preservation treatments did not modify the fatty acid content and profile of non-digested fillets. Conversely, protein and lipid digestibility were not affected by the different diets but were significantly reduced by brine, with or without PEF, while PEF alone had no effect. Overall, our results indicated that the newly formulated feed containing 50% less fishmeal is a good compromise between the sustainability and nutritional value of cultivated seabass, and PEF is a promising preservation technology deserving of further study