Innovative procedures to evaluate corn silage for milk yield

Corn silage is the main ingredient of diets for dairy cattle (around 40% of diet DM in Italy) and, therefore, an accurate estimation of its nutritive value is essential to describe the whole diet. Given the low, and fairly stable protein, lipid and ash contents in corn silage (e.g. a total of around 15% DM), the critical point to evaluate its energy value is the amount and availability of the two main carbohydrate fractions (NDF and non fiber carbohydrates, NFC)

Impact of NDF content and digestibility of diets based on corn silage and alfalfa on intake and milk yield of dairy cows

A meta analysis (22 studies, 83 dietary treatments) evaluated the impact of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content and whole tract NDF digestibility (NDFD) on dry matter intake (DMI) and milk yield (MY) in high producing dairy cows fed corn silage and alfalfa based diets. Experimental diets were ingested at high levels to support high MY (24.1 and 37.3 kg/d, respectively of DM and MY). The average NDFD was of 42.9% (range: 20.0-68.0 %; within study standard error: ±4.0 %). DMI was negatively related with the dietary NDF (e.g. ± 1.0 % of NDF caused ±160 g/d of DMI;r2=0.51; P<0.01), while NDFD and NDF were positively related (r2=0.74; P<0.01; ±1.0 % of NDF caused approximately ±1.0 % of NDFD). MY was not influenced by dietary NDF. Considering a subset of 5 studies, the regression between NDFD and corn silage:alfalfa ratio in the diet (r2=0.84; P<0.01) allowed to estimate the NDFD of diets containing only alfalfa hay (55%) or corn silage (44%). In conclusion, the dietary NDF concentration influences the NDFD and this has implications both for DMI and MY of cows. Diets based on alfalfa hay have higher NDFD than those based on corn silage

Precision and accuracy of the NDF rumen degradability of hays measured by the Daisy fermenter

An inventory of 162 hay samples from Austrian permanent grasslands was used to obtain information about the precision of the in vitro NDF degradability (NDFd) measured by the Daisy fermenter and its accuracy to predict in situ NDFd. The within forage standard error of the in vitro NDFd triplicate, obtained in five consecutive incubations, was equal to 2.8%, while the effect of the four jar positions in the fermenter was not significant. The cutting frequency had a great impact on the in situ effective NDFd of hays, which ranged (P<0.01) from values of 32.9, 43.1 and 48.3% in hays obtained from 2, 3 and 4 cuts/season, respectively. The regression analysis between the in vitro and in situ NDFd values (measured at 48h and effective, k=3%/h) allowed to obtain medium degrees of correlation (r2 = 0.69 – 0.71; P<0.01) and low levels of accuracy (RSE = 4.0 -4.6 %)

effect of dietary inclusion of flaxseed on milk yield and composition of dairy cows

The aim of the experiment was to study the effects of flaxseed inclusion on milk yield (MY), milk fat and protein contents and milk fatty acids (FA) composition in dairy cows diets. Eight Italian Friesian primiparous cows were divided into two homogeneous groups and fed a control diet (based on corn silage, fescue hay and a concentrate) or the same diet having 0.9 Kg DM concentrate replaced by coarsely grounded flaxseed for a 21 d experimental period. The groups were inverted in respect to the dietary treatments in a subsequent experimental period according to a change-over design. The flaxseed inclusion (4-5% DM) had a positive effect on dry matter intake (DMI, 22.2 vs. 21.3Kg/d) and significantly (P<0.01) increased the MY (26.9 vs. 26.1Kg/d) and milk fat corrected yield (FCM, 27.7 vs. 26.7Kg/d). Milk fat and protein percentages (4.18 and 3.46%, respectively on average) were not affected by flaxseed treatment. Results also indicated a significant (P<0.01) reduction of saturated fatty acid/unsaturated fatty acid ratio (SFA/UFA) and an increase of n-3/n-6FA, monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). Moreover a higher proportion of total C18:1 and conjugated linoleic acid isomers (CLA) was also observed for treated group

Wnt/CTNNB1 signal transduction pathway inhibits the expression of ZFP36 in squamous cell carcinoma, by inducing transcriptional repressors SNAI1, SLUG and TWIST

The Wnt/CTNNB1 pathway is often deregulated in epithelial tumors. The ZFP36 gene, encoding the mRNA binding protein Tristetraprolin (TTP), is downregulated in several cancers, where it has been described to behave as a tumor suppressor. By this report, we show that Wnt/CTNNB1 pathway is constitutively activated, and ZFP36 expression is downregulated in Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) cell lines compared to normal keratinocytes. Moreover, we suggest that the decrease of ZFP36 expression might depend on the activity of transcriptional repressors SNAI1, SLUG and TWIST, whose expression is induced by Wnt/CTNNB1, highlighting a potential regulatory mechanism underlying ZFP36 downregulation in epithelial cancers

Alemtuzumab plus cyclosporine treatment of the autoimmune hemolytic anemia in an adult bowel transplant

An adult male underwent a bowel transplant for tufting enteropathy, receiving alemtuzumab, tacrolimus, and steroids as immunosuppressants. Five years later, he developed an autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA), anti-IgG positive, with reduced reticulocyte count, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia with antiplatelet antibodies. After an unsuccessful initial treatment with high dose steroids, reduction in tacrolimus dose, and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a bone marrow biopsy revealed absence of erythroid maturation with precursor hyperplasia. The patient was switched to sirolimus and received four doses of rituximab plus two courses of plasmapheresis, which decreased his transfusion requirements. After a febrile episode one month later, the AIHA relapsed with corresponding decreases in platelet and leukocyte count: cyclosporine A (CsA) was started with a second course of rituximab and IVIG without response, even though repeat bone marrow biopsy did not reveal morphology correlated to an acquired pure red cell aplasia (APRCA). Considering the similarity in his clinical and laboratory findings to APRCA, alemtuzumab was added (three doses over a week) with CsA followed by steroids. The patient was eventually discharged transfusion-independent, with increasing hemoglobin (Hb) levels and normal platelet and leukocyte count. One year later he is still disease-free with functioning graft

Digestibility and metabolic utilization of diets containing whole-ear corn silage and their effects on growth and slaughter traits of heavy pigs

The aim was to evaluate 2 levels of dietary inclusion of chopped whole-ear corn silage (WECS) on energy and nutrient utilization, growth, and slaughter performances of heavy pigs. Two in vivo experiments were conducted to determine digestibility and metabolic utilization of WECS using 18 barrows weighing 118 +/- 8 kg BW on average, metabolic cages and respiration chambers (Exp. 1), and the effect of WECS on the growth performance and carcass traits on 42 barrows from 90 to 170 kg BW (Exp. 2). In both experiments, pigs were fed 3 experimental diets: a control diet (CON) containing cereal meals, extracted soybean meal, and wheat bran (80%, 9%, and 8% of DM, respectively) and 2 diets containing 15% (15WECS) or 30% WECS (30WECS) on a DM basis in place of wheat bran and corn meal. The diets were prepared daily by mixing the WECS to a suitable compound feed. Feed intake was always restricted to allow a daily DMI of 7.2% BW0.75 in Exp. 1 and from 8.0% to 6.5% BW0.75 in Exp. 2. Diets had similar NDF contents (15.2% to 15.8% of DM), and WECS inclusion resulted in a slight reduction in CP content (from 14.0% to 13.6% of DM) and a considerable decrease in P content (from 0.47% to 0.30% of DM). Digestibility of OM, CP, and fat was similar among diets, whereas P digestibility was lower (P < 0.05) for the 30WECS diet (33.5%) in comparison with the CON and 15WECS diets (45.5% and 44.1%, respectively). Nitrogen lost in feces and urine and N retained were not different among diets, whereas P retained decreased with the increase of WECS (5.4, 3.7, and 2.2 g/d for the CON, 15WECS, and 30WECS diets, respectively; P < 0.05). No difference among diets was observed for energy balance. The WECS contained 13.48 MJ ME and 9.39 MJ NE/kg DM. In Exp. 2, feed intake was not depressed by WECS inclusion, and the ADG for the whole experiment was not different among dietary treatments (from 737 to 774 g/d). Fecal pH was lower (P < 0.05) for the WECS diets than the control diet (7.10 and 7.00 vs. 7.40) and for the sampling at 150 kg BW than that at 130 and 110 kg BW (6.96 vs. 7.29 and 7.24). At slaughter, lean percentage in the carcass was lower in the 30WECS diet than those of the other 2 diets (46.8% vs. 48.3% and 48.6%, P = 0.05). The overall experimental data obtained in both trials indicate that substitution of wheat bran and corn meal for WECS (up to 30% of DM) does not affect, with the exception of P utilization and carcass leanness, energy and nutrient utilization and performance of heavy pigs in the last phase of growing

Capisaldi per la memoria e “prese” per il futuro. Considerazioni sul (possibile) ruolo del patrimonio ex-industriale a partire dall’osservazione di due processi di rigenerazione urbana a Modena e Reggio Emilia

È posizione condivisa che la rigenerazione urbana sia ormai una necessità, nonché l’orizzonte principale a cui deve tendere ogni intervento sulla città contemporanea. Nell’ampia gamma di azioni che vengono ricondotte a tale termine, tuttavia, convivono approcci diversi. Se la crisi economica ha rallentato e bloccato numerosi interventi di ristrutturazione urbanistica avviati su grandi aree dismesse, dando origine a progetti interrotti e segnalando la necessità di innovare gli strumenti urbanistico-finanziari a supporto di tali trasformazioni, emerge una riflessione disciplinare vivace, che si interroga sulla concreta applicabilità del riciclo e dell’adaptive reuse, ma che si scontra con le ancora forti inerzie delle modalità d’intervento correnti, riconducibili ai più tradizionali modelli di progetto urbano integrato degli anni ’80 e ’90. Tale diversità nel modus operandi è riscontrabile anche in realtà urbane geograficamente prossime e simili per storia e assetti socio-economici, quali Modena e Reggio Emilia. Nel primo caso, in diverse aree ex-industriali nel quadrante a nord della fascia ferroviaria si è intervenuto con una preventiva tabula rasa. Nel secondo caso, nel comparto delle ex-Officine Meccaniche Reggiane si sta realizzando un parco per l’innovazione tecnologica riutilizzando i fabbricati industriali storici. La rilettura e il confronto di queste due esperienze consentono di riflettere sulle loro potenzialità e i loro limiti, traendone insegnamenti per future operazioni, auspicate e incentivate dalla nuova Legge Urbanistica della Regione Emilia-Romagna (2017)

Fragile, eppure strategico: patrimonio pubblico e rigenerazione urbana

Dal punto di vista del patrimonio di attrezzature e dotazioni pubbliche, Modena e Reggio Emilia sono casi esemplari nel panorama italiano. Queste città dispongono infatti di proprietà pubbliche cospicue, formatesi in epoche differenti e costituite da diversi tipi di manufatti e aree; beni che in particolare sono l’esito di decenni di urbanistica riformista durante i quali la dotazione locale di standard urbanistici ha conosciuto un notevole incremento, fino a diventare uno dei tratti distintivi di queste realtà urbane . Nonostante la ricchezza quantitativa e qualitativa di tale patrimonio, esso appare oggi ‘fragile’, facendo emergere, qui con particolare evidenza, due ordini di questioni. Da un lato, in una condizione di generale contrazione delle risorse comunali, le amministrazioni sono particolarmente esposte sul fronte della manutenzione di uno stock edilizio progressivamente obsoleto e del suo necessario adeguamento alle normative, in primis quelle antisismiche, antincendio ed energetiche. Da un altro lato, l’inadeguatezza delle strutture esistenti nei confronti di nuove domande – relative a una società sempre più anziana, multiculturale e frammentata – richiede visione e innovazione nella gestione di questo esteso capitale fisso ereditato. Ora, quale senso assume tale patrimonio in relazione alla condizione urbana caratteristica delle ‘città medie’ italiane – bene rappresentata dai due capoluoghi emiliani – alla luce di alcuni cambiamenti strutturali che modificano il quadro di riferimento entro cui le attrezzature e le dotazioni pubbliche venivano intese e gestite fino al recente passato? Le due città in questione sono oggi contraddistinte da popolazioni residenti e da basi economiche stabili, ma allo stesso tempo sono investite da profondi cambiamenti nella stratificazione sociale e nella composizione demografica, e si trovano a dover rispondere a diffuse domande di rigenerazione urbana innescate dalla ridefinizione dell’infrastruttura produttiva e commerciale. È da questi processi che il loro patrimonio pubblico viene sollecitato in modo nuovo, e ciò avviene in particolare nei quadranti nord delle due città, aree percepite come marginali e insicure per la presenza di spazi industriali dismessi, crescenti quote di residenti stranieri e una generale sotto-dotazione di attrezzature collettive

L’ovest. Una modernità incompiuta

La prima parte del libro – Modena contemporanea: depositi e questioni – è dedicata al tempo lungo della città, riletto attraverso il suo divenire. In particolare, si offre uno spaccato della condizione contemporanea della città rivisitando scelte e interventi che hanno in passato riguardato parti significative, mettendo in evidenza alcune questioni tuttora rilevanti. In questa parte si delineano le grandi porzioni urbane che nel tempo sono state oggetto di attenzione tecnica, politica e amministrativa, talvolta artistica e letteraria, e che, anche per questo, hanno contribuito alla costruzione dell’immagine di Modena. Se ne traccia un profilo che non ha pretese esaustive e che organizza la conoscenza della città a partire da problemi, indizi, ipotesi