1,721,321 research outputs found
A survey on Italian compost dairy barns
Full text linkCompost-bedded pack barns, generally known as compost dairy barns, are alternative housing systems for dairy cows. In these barns, the whole surface of the resting area is covered with a deep-bedded pack that is frequently stirred in order to incorporate fresh manure into the pack and to enhance the evaporation of water. Experiences with compost bedded pack barns for dairy cows are reported in literature from the USA, Israel, the Netherlands and Austria. The main advantages of these housing systems regard animal welfare and manure management. Since 2006, this housing system has been applied consistently in Italy. However, scientific knowledge about Italian compost barns is still lacking.
This study aims at describing housing system, assessing producers’ satisfaction and measuring performance of dairy cows housed in compost bedded pack barns. Ten commercial dairy farms in northern Italy was involved in the study. All pens in each farm were surveyed to determine the surface of total available area, bedded area and pack depth. In order to investigate management practices, labor requirement, consumption of bedding materials and producers satisfaction, a questionnaire was submitted to each farm manager. The temperature of the bedded pack was measured in each farm during summer and winter. Moreover, data from Italian Breeder Association were collected for each herd over a period of one year (from September 2011 to September 2012). For the ten compost barns involved in the study the average total available area was 10.9 m2 per cow and the average pack area was 6.7 m2 per cow. The bedded pack was aerated 1.4 times per day.
The most commonly used bedding material in these farms was dry sawdust. The consumption of bedding materials was 8.1 m3 per cow per year. A clear tendency to inverse correlation was found between the space per cow and the amount of bedding needed per cow (R2= 0.395; p-value=0.051). Operations related to pack management require 4.1 hours of labor per cow per year. Direct relationship was found between the bedded area space per cow and the annual labor required for pack management per cow (R2=0.505; p-value=0.048). Performance of cows housed in compost barns included in this study was encouraging and although some concerns about the cost of bedding, overall producers were satisfied with this housing system
A survey of Italian compost dairy barns
Full text linkCompost-bedded pack barns (CBPB), generally known as compost dairy barns, are alternative housing systems for dairy cows. In these barns, the whole surface of the resting area is covered with a deepbedded pack that is frequently stirred in order to incorporate fresh manure into the pack and to enhance the evaporation of water. Experiences with CBPB for dairy cows are reported in literature from the US, Israel, the Netherlands and Austria. Potential advantages of these housing systems regard animal welfare and manure management. Since 2006, this housing system has been widely applied in Italy. However, there is still little scientific knowledge available about Italian CBPB. This study aims to describe the housing system, assess producers’ satisfaction and measure performance of dairy cows housed in CBPB. Ten commercial dairy farms in northern Italy were involved in the study. All pens in each farm were surveyed to determine the total available surface area, bedded area and pack depth. A questionnaire was submitted to each farm manager in order to investigate management practices, labour requirement, amount of bedding materials used and producers’ satisfaction. The temperature of the bedded pack was measured in summer and in winter. Data from the Italian Dairy Association were collected for each herd over a period of one year (from September 2011 to September 2012). In the barns involved in the study, the average total available area was 10.9 m2/cow and the average pack area was 6.7 m2/cow. The bedded pack was aerated 1.4 times per day.The most commonly used bedding material in these farms was dry sawdust. The consumption of bedding materials was 8.1 m3/cow per year. A tendency towards inverse correlation was found between the space per cow and the amount of bedding needed per cow (R2=0.395; P=0.051). Operations related to pack management required 4.1 hours of labour per cow per year. A direct relationship was found between the bedded area space per cow and the annual labour required for pack management (R2=0.505; P=0.048). Although some concerns were raised about the cost of bedding and ease of management, producers were satisfied with this housing system
Sustainable and quality tourism along Saint Martin of Tours route in the rural area of Pavia
Full text linkBetween the end of the first millennium and the beginning of the second, the practice of pilgrimage took on increasing importance (Cohen, 1992) and Via
Francigena, Camino de Santiago and other routes became channels of communication for the realization of the cultural unit that characterized Europe in
the Middle Ages (Dallari, Trono, 2006). Although in recent centuries routes to sacred sites begun to lessen in their importance, due to the advanced secularization of time that remodelled lifestyle patterns, visions and perspectives, in the last few decades the changes taking place in the tourist sector have given new models of holiday and people rediscover spiritual historical and cultural meanings. From 1987 the EU programme “Crossroads of Europe (COE)” listed 29 cultural itineraries and the Council of Europe stated that “there has been a significant growth in religious tourism in recent years, particularly with a
resurgence of pilgrimage to important shrines and a growth in more general spiritual tourism” and “the religious motive often means that pilgrims travel along specific routes to visit a number of shrines or even to complete lengthy itineraries” (Morazzoni, Boiocchi, 2013). The aim of our paper is to contribute to the analysis of the methods for promoting sustainable and quality tourism along European Cultural Routes. In particular, the study will focus on a specific religious itinerary, the Saint Martin of Tours Route, and territory, the North-Italian rural area around Pavia. The city was recognized in 2012 by European Commission as an example of Crossroads in cultural and religious routes and will attend in 2015 the presidency of the European Cultural Route of Saint Martin of Tours. The methodology of the research bases on a descriptive approach in the fields of human and tourism geography, with an emphasis on the concepts of territory and landscape, local systems and networks, using a deductive reasoning (Dematteis and Governa, 2005; Raffestin, 2005). The study will use data collected by internet surveys and by interviews to representatives of local operator that carry on marketing projects. As result, we will try to identify traditional and innovative marketing projects about Saint Martin of Tours Route for promoting the touristic products and their possible implementation in connection with the event Milan Expo 2015, which will be only 40 km far from Pavia and its surrounding
The Via Francigena as a tourist product for local development: the case of Lucca and its province
Full text linkThe European programmes and the local policies toward the valorization of Via
Francigena have been always promoting a general diffusion of cultural heritage,
both at scientific level (through numerous archeological, historical and geographic
publications) and at tourist level (through specific tourist guides and the
information technology communication). After a concise overview of the tourist’s
features involved in this type of tourism, of this heritage usage methods and
of the effort in collecting data concerning the tourists just as pilgrims, the present
work has the aim to examine the level of popularity of the Via Francigena
in the area of Lucca and find a possible more suitable way of promotion. This
research study has been carried out through a survey involving both tourists and
residents focusing on the religious or tourist relevance of the path, the advertisement
efficacy and the degree of Internet use. The surrey has been carried out in
different periods, between May and July 2014 in order to better understand the
impact of an important event in Lucca concerning the official opening ceremony
of the trail in the Province of Lucca. A particular interest has been given to
the community involvement in the process of a more tourist development of the
Francigena path, as a mean to highlight and capitalize also other resources and
specificities of the area. The survey addressed to the residents in Lucca let us understand
the perception level of Via Francigena as a resource and at what extent
the community can be involved in boosting it as a tourist product for an image
coming back and an economic upturn of Lucca and it’s Province
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Properties of conventional and alternative bedding materials for dairy cattle
Full text linkThe bedding material used in barns for dairy cows has a significant effect on animal welfare and performance. Bedding influences the duration in which animals remain lying down and, consequently, the processes of rumination and milk production. It is crucial to have a complete understanding of the properties of bedding materials and the effects of alternative bedding materials on dairy cattle. This paper aims to evaluate the physical, chemical, and biological properties of various alternative and conventional bedding materials for dairy cattle for use in compost bedded pack or freestall barn systems. We analyzed 50 samples of 17 bedding materials produced in 3 European countries. We analyzed physical properties including the water holding capacity, porosity, moisture content, bulk density, dry bulk density, and particle size. Chemical analyses were performed to determine the total N, total organic C,
and C:N ratio. In the biological analyses, the Escherichia coli count, total bacteria count, coliform count, and Klebsiella spp. count were assessed. The results demonstrated how the physical properties of the bedding materials may influence the chemical and biological properties. All of the materials presented adequate chemical properties to be used as bedding material. The physical properties of the bedding materials differed widely among the materials except for the dry bulk density, which presented no difference. Moreover,the contamination of each studied microorganism was observed for each bedding material to determine which material had the lowest level of contamination. Posidonia oceanica, Miscanthus grass, and spelt husks could be considered as a potential alternative material for use as bedding material for dairy cows in both systems (i.e., composted bedded pack and freestall). This experiment illustrated the importance of performing thorough physical, chemical, and biological analyses before implementing a material as bedding for dairy cattle
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Free-choice pasture access for dry cows: Effects on health, behavior, and milk production
Full text linkAllowing dairy cattle to access pasture or outdoor areas is known to be beneficial for cows' welfare and is considered important by the general public. However, in confinement-based operations with high-yielding cows, pasture access may be difficult to implement, especially for lactating animals. Providing pasture access to heifers and dry cows seems a more feasible option for most farms. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of providing high yielding dairy cows with free-choice pasture access during the dry period on their health, behavior and milk production. Over the study period, a total of 78 Holstein cows were assigned to 1 of 2 treatments during the dry period (51 ± 8 d): housing with free-choice access to the pasture (PAST) or housing continuously without any access to the outdoors (CTRL). After calving, all cows from both treatments were mixed and housed continuously. To assess the effects of the treatment on cows' performance, all animals enrolled were monitored both before calving and during the first 100 d in milk (DIM) of the following lactation. The behavior of all cows involved was monitored continuously during the whole observation period using collar-based sensors. All cows were inspected monthly to assess lameness, hock lesions, cleanliness, and body condition score (BCS). During the period after calving (0-100 DIM), milk production and composition were also monitored. Results showed that free-choice pasture access affected cows' feeding behavior. Before calving, the animals in PAST spent more time feeding than in CTRL and, interestingly, this difference tended to persist for several weeks after calving. During the dry period, cows in PAST were cleaner than in CTRL but no differences in locomotion and BCS were found between the 2 groups. Free-choice pasture access during the dry period also affected milk production during the following lactation. The cows that spent the dry period in PAST produced more milk than CTRL counterparts, particularly for the animals that calved during summer. In the current study we have found that providing free-choice pasture access during the dry period can positively affect the performance of dairy cattle and represents a desirable practice in confinement-based dairy production systems
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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