COMPARISON BETWEEN TETRACYCLINE RESISTANT ENTEROCOCCI ISOLATED FROM SHEEP AND TYPICAL CHEESE IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA OF “PARCO NAZIONALE DEI MONTI SIBILLINI”

Enterococci were isolated from sheep faeces and cheese taken in the «Parco nazionale dei monti Sibillini»; then they were submitted to the antibiotic susceptibility test and to the PCR reaction to amplify tet M and tet O genes. The analysis showed that 23,64% of Enterococci from sheep and 30,77% from cheese were resistant to tetracycline; 14 strains from sheep and 5 from cheese contained tet M and tet O genes as genetic determinants of resistance. These results allow to say that resistant bacteria and genes have the possibility to be transferred from animals to derived food; therefore reducing antibiotic use in farm animals could affect the amount of resistant microorganisms that can reach human beings using this way of diffusion

CONSIDERATIONS ON MEAT INSPECTION PROCEDURES IN THE LIGHT OF CONDEMNATIONS AT AN ITALIAN EU SLAUGHTERHOUSE IN THE PERIOD 2004-2009

Post-mortem findings of 373.901 cattle slaughtered at an EC abattoir are reported. Results show high incidence of pneumonia and hepatic lesions. Total condemnation of the whole carcass has happened 91 times in Bovine species, 1073 times in swine species, 40 in sheep. In the light of the EC Regulation N.854/2004 of the European parliament and of the council of 29th April 2004 that lays down specific rules for the organization of official controls of products of animal origin destined for human consumption, authors outline the examples of simplification and partial redrafting of the existing laws on the basis of the opinions expresses by the EFSA. Comparison to other European countries and an estimate of economic damage are discussed

A comparative study of the in vitro activity of iodopropynyl butylcarbamate and amphotericin B against Prototheca spp. isolates from European dairy herds.

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to assess the in vitro effect of iodopropynyl butylcarbamate (IPBC) and amphotericin B (AMB) on Prototheca zopfii genotype 2 and Prototheca blaschkeae isolates recovered from dairy herds of Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, and Poland. The combination of IPBC with AMB on Prototheca isolates and toxicity of IPBC to the bovine mammary epithelial cells were also evaluated. The in vitro activity of IPBC and AMB against 96 isolates of P. zopfii genotype 2 and 42 isolates of P. blaschkeae was performed. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum algicidal concentrations (MAC) of IPBC and AMB were determined. To determine any synergistic, additive, or antagonistic effect of the combination of IPBC and AMB, 2-dimensional checkerboard combination tests were also performed to calculate fractional inhibitory concentrations. Cytotoxicity analysis of IPBC to the bovine mammary epithelial cell line was performed using a 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The MIC for 50 and 90% of isolates (MIC 50 and MIC 90 , respectively) for IPBC were 4 and 8 mg/L versus 0.5 and 1 mg/L for AMB, respectively. The MIC profiles differed between P. zopfii genotype 2 and P. blaschkeae , with the latter species being more susceptible to both compounds. The MIC 50 and MIC 90 of IPBC were 4 and 8 mg/L for P. zopfii genotype 2 and 1 and 2 mg/L for P. blaschkeae , respectively. The MIC 50 and MIC 90 of AMB were both 1 mg/L for P. zopfii genotype 2 and 0.25 and 1 mg/L for P. blaschkeae , respectively. Both IPBC and AMB exhibited the ability to kill Prototheca spp. The MAC for 90% of isolates of IPBC was twice the MIC 90 , whereas an 8-fold increase of the MIC 90 was algicidal in the case of AMB. Overall, the combined use of IPBC and AMB exhibited an increased algicidal effect, albeit the fractional inhibitory concentration index showed synergistic activity only against 3 P. zopfii genotype 2 isolates. For all the remaining isolates (87.5%), this combination produced only an additive effect. The MTT assay results showed both IPBC and AMB, at the concentrations employed in the study, to be nontoxic to the epithelial mammary gland cells (cell viability >90%). Notably, only IPBC at the highest concentration (i.e., 8 mg/L) exerted a slight cytotoxic effect on the cell line tested (mean cell viability: 88.54 ± 3.88 and 90.66 ± 3.0, after 2 and 4 h of MTT treatment, respectively). The anti- Prototheca activity of IPBC was here demonstrated for the first time. In addition, the combined use of IPBC with AMB enhanced each other's effect, creating an additive rather than synergistic interaction. Both agents, used at concentrations corresponding to MIC values against Prototheca spp., showed no toxic effect for the mammary epithelial cells. In conclusion, IPBC, used either alone or in combination with AMB, can be considered a promising option in the treatment armamentarium for protothecal mastitis in dairy cows

Compressible viscoelastodynamics: the Longman (1963) paradox and the long period tangential flux

The compressible viscoelastodynamics and the fluid behaviour of the Earth occupy an important position in the study of glacial isostatic adjustments (GIA). There, our understanding of these issues is incomplete and we still have to solve the Longman (1963) paradox concerning compressible inviscid solids, in order to describe correctly viscoelastic solids at large time scales or the fluid outer core. For compositional stratifications (the density increase with depth deviates from what should be expected from self-compression) static perturbations cannot involve volume changes. Thus the incremental pressure vanishes and loads could not be sustained, at least from a mathematical point of view. This conclusion is not physically sound and, obviously, load are sustained isostatically. For compressional stratifications instead, incremental pressure is allowed. However the differential system describing conservation of momentum and self-gravitation is not well posed and thus it is not completely solved. Smylie {\amp} Manshina (1971) and Chinnery (1975) proposed a way to avoid the Longman (1963) paradox in order to define core-mantle boundary (CMB) conditions. For compressional stratifications, we set up the system of differential equations controlling the perturbations of the inviscid fluid and we propose a new way to derive the CMB conditions able to determine also spatial and gravitational perturbations. Furthermore, we derive a new analytical solution for compressible Maxwell Earth models characterized both by stable and unstable compositional stratifications, as well as by compressional stratifications. This allows us to discover a new class of relaxation modes, the compositional C-modes, of which the unstable Rayleigh-Taylor modes are a subclass. If the stratification is unstable these modes describe the well known gravitational overturning, while, for stable stratification, they describe a long period tangential flux, which diverges in the fluid limit. Our findings make a step ahead in the solution of the Longman (1963) paradox and shed new light on material compressibility and buoyancy forces

Compressible viscoelastodynamics of a spherical body at long timescales and its isostatic equilibrium

The problem of compressibility in modelling of viscoelastic deformations of planetary bodies is still a topic under discussion. Studies facing this topic discuss the error when considering a stratification of layers with constant material parameters. But homogeneous compressible layers imply that the initial state is not stable. So, any perturbationmethod applied to this type of state results in an ill-posed problem, evident in a denumerable infinite set of modes in the spectral representation of the solution. Based on the analytic solution of Cambiotti and Sabadini, we discuss any violation from the stable Adams-Williamson condition to result in unphysical behaviour where we concentrate here on the consequences for the horizontal displacement and deformation within the mantle due to surface loading. This focus motivates to revisit the Longman paradox, which discusses the boundary conditions for a compressible fluid core

New Appraisals of GIA Modelling and Space Gravity (GRACE) Data Treatment

The new generation of space gravity data, from GRACE and the incoming GOCE, rejuvenated our interest on some basic issues in GIA modelling, and made us to conceive new approaches in space gravity data treatment. Once cleared for hydrological effects, for those of the atmosphere and oceans, and present day mass imbalance, the signal from the deep interior is that from the GIA response to Pleistocene deglaciation. We have thus reconsidered the basic physics underlying the differential equations controlling the GIA readjustment of the mantle, following the philosophy of pushing the treatment of these differential equations as far as possible from the analytical standpoint. We obtained, among other findings, that the contribution of the denumerably infinite compressional D-modes can be dealt with accurately by normal mode approach, disclosing the very intimate nature of the compressional D-mode cluster point, which we demonstrated not contributing at all to deformation: our results definitely prove the correctness of normal mode approach, even for compressible mantle models. In parallel with these new theoretical achievements, we implemented a new procedure aimed at deriving a weighted surface mass distribution in water equivalent, starting from an initial guess, to exctract the secular gravity effects of present-day phenomena. Once these gravity effects from the various Earth's compartments except its interior are carefully removed from GRACE data, we remain with a gravity pattern where the effects of PGR are clearer, ready to be compared with viscoelastic model predictions. This cleared gravity pattern allows us to pursue a global preliminary viscosity inversion, greatly improved with respect to those based on un-cleared gravity data. Theoretical achievements in viscoelastic modelling are prerequisites to better understand many Solid Earth phenomena, GIA in the first place, and we show that our data treatments can improve interpretation of space gravity data

A comparative analysis of the solutions for a Maxwell Earth: the role of the advection and buoyancy force

Within the normal mode relaxation theory, we thoroughly analyze and compare the exact compressible and incompressible solution for a viscoelastic stratified Earth model with an approximated analytical one, where the ratio between gravity and radial distance from the Earth's centre is considered constant in each layer of the model. We implement an algorithm, based on the Runge-Kutta scheme, to integrate in the r variable the spheroidal part of the linearized momentum and Poisson equations. This numerical scheme allows us to unravel the impact of such an approximation. We disclose new aspects of the physics underneath the terms entering the system of differential equations, such as the advection and the buoyancy force. These issues are relevant for a wide range of geophysical applications and timescales, from the 1-102 yr related to postseismic deformation, to the 103 yr of postglacial rebound, to the 106 yr of True Polar Wander. We show that such an approximation affects the buoyancy force term, due to the sensitivity of the tangential displacement component in the compressible deformation, and the advection term, for that part containing an effective unstable radial force, dependent on the radial displacement. Relative errors between exact and approximated Love numbers are sizable for low harmonic degrees (13, 62, 17 per cent and 4, 39, 4 per cent for the elastic and viscous radial, tangential and gravitational Love numbers), but can become lower than 1 per cent at high harmonic degrees, for appropriate choices of the constant gravity term entering advection and buoyancy force. Our findings shed light on the role of the latter in the readjustment of the interfaces where the planet is subject to variations in its physical properties, in quasi-static deformation case. We show that the contribution of the denumerably infinite compressional D-modes can be dealt with accurately by normal mode approach and that the D-mode cluster point does not contribute to the deformation

Religious slaughter and animal welfare: data from an online consultation

Two are the main results of the online survey, which was conducted with the purpose to examine the purchase behavior of a group of consumers and their views on animal welfare and religious slaughter. First result is the respondents’ great interest about the question on animal welfare, which is in accordance with the growing interest of European citizens about this issue. Second is the demand for a more transparent labeling of animal products, which would be also concerning animal welfare and slaughter method used. These results are in conflict with marketing analysis, which find that consumers want to receive only positive information. Paradoxically, the more information is transmitted to reassure consumers the higher risk to alarm them