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Editorial: One Health: The Parameters of an Eco-Sustainable Farm
Full text linkEditorial che introduce il tema di uno special issu
Metabolic profile and oxidative status in goats during the peripartum period
No full textThe aim of this study was to monitor the metabolic pro. le and oxidative status in goats during the peripartum period. A blood sample was taken from 10 Red Syrian goats on days -21, -3, +1, +14, and +28 from delivery. Samples were assayed for glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities, and reactive oxygen metabolites, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I, free triiodothyronine (fT(3)), free thyroxine (fT(4)), leptin, urea, non-esterified fatty acids, triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, globulin, calcium and inorganic phosphorus concentrations. Blood glutathione peroxidase activity decreased during the postpartum period and its values were significantly (P < 0.05) lower on days 14 and 28 postpartum. Albumin levels were significantly (P < 0.05) lower on days -3, 1 and 28 from delivery compared with day -21. Plasma urea levels significantly (P < 0.001) decreased starting from day -3 from delivery. No effect of time from delivery was noted on reactive oxygen metabolites, non-esterified fatty acids, triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein, calcium and inorganic phosphorus, insulin and leptin concentrations and superoxide dismutase activity. Plasma concentrations of fT3 were significantly (P < 0.01) higher on days 14 and 28 compared with days -21, -3 and 1 from delivery. Plasma levels of fT4 were significantly (P < 0.01) lower on days -3 and 1 from delivery. Plasma insulin-like growth factor-I values slowly decreased during the postpartum period and its values were significantly (P < 0.05) lower on day 28. This study indicates that goats experienced moderate oxidative stress during the peripartum period
The Effect of Different Types of Physical Exercise on the Behavioural and Physiological Parameters of Standardbred Horses Housed in Single Stalls
Full text linkThe aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of three different physical exercises on the physiological and behavioural patterns of Standardbred trotters housed in single stalls. Twelve racing mares were observed twice during each different exercise: daily training (DT) consisted of forty minutes at slow trot (4-5 m/s) in a small track; maximal exercise (ME) consisted of 1600 m run at maximal velocity; race (R) was a real race of 1600 m. The mares were examined at rest in their stall (Time I), soon after the completion of the exercise (Time II), one hour (Time III), and two hours (Time IV) after the exercise. Their heart rate, respiratory rate, and rectal temperature were recorded and they were videotaped in order to complete a focal animal sampling ethogram. All physiological parameters increased after exercise, in accordance with its intensity. After R and ME horses spent more time drinking, eating, and standing. The incidence of abnormal behaviours was very low and it was not affected by the different types of exercise. Overall, the assessment of horse behaviour after physical exercise by means of a focal animal sampling ethogram represents a useful tool to monitor equine welfare
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
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
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
Relationship between oxidative status and pregnancy outcome in dairy cows
No full textIn ruminants, oxidative stress may be involved in several pathological conditions, including conditions that are relevant for ruminant reproduction, production and the general welfare (Miller et al 1993). Oxidative stress resulting from increased production of pro-oxidants, and/or a decrease in antioxidant defence, leads to damage of biological macromolecules and disruption of normal metabolism and physiology. Recent evidence has identified a potential role for oxidative stress as a trigger for cell death during luteolysis. Corpus luteum is essential for the maintenance of pregnancy and an excessive free radical generation damages luteal cell membrane and affects progesterone (P4) production (Kato et al 1997). This condition may lead to a failure in embryo development, increasing days open and calving intervals. It is possible that the metabolic stress induced by lactation makes the corpus luteum more susceptible to stress and free radicals may be involved in the decrease in fertility.
This study was designed to evaluate if the establishment of pregnancy may be affected by metabolic and oxidative status of dairy cows. We used 40 pasture fed Holstein-Friesian cows which were monitored daily for oestrous activity starting from day 50 postpartum. On the day of the artificial insemination (AI; Day 0), and on Days 30 and 42 after AI, blood samples were collected and reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) and biological antioxidant potential (BAP) concentrations were determined by a commercial kit (Diacron, Grosseto, Italy) on fresh blood by FRAS4 (H&D limited, Parma, Italy). Blood was centrifuged immediately and plasma was stored at -20 ̊C until assayed for its concentrations of P4, pregnancy associated glycoprotein (PAG), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), glucose, total proteins, urea, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), and glutathione (GSH). Plasma PAG concentrations at days 30 and 42 were used to perform a pregnancy diagnosis according to Zoli et al (1992). On the days of sampling, all cows were monitored for body condition score (BCS). The data gathered were analysed by logistic regression (GenStat); analysis included: between-subjects main effect of AI outcome (AI positive: AI+, AI negative: AI- and embryo mortality: EM), within-subjects main effect of postpartum period (Period 1: 120 days) and their interaction. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated between the parameters measured in this study.
Overall, we observed 26 AI+ (33%), 49 AI- (62%), while EM was observed in 4 cases (5%). Cows that experienced EM had lower BCS values (2.5) compared to the AI+ (2.8) and AI- (2.9) cows (P<0.05). A reduction in BCS during early lactation doubles the rate of pregnancy losses and embryo mortality in dairy cows (Lopez-Gatius et al 2003). During the postpartum BCS increased and NEFA decreased (P<0.05) suggesting a recovery from the negative energy balance (NEB). The observation that on Day 0 plasma NEFA concentrations were higher in the AI+ (0.62 mmol/L; P<0.05) cows compared to the AI- (0.58 mmol/L) and EM (0.58 mmol/L) cows was unexpected as high serum concentrations of NEFA are known to have detrimental effects on fertility. Plasma glucose and ROMs concentrations increased during the postpartum (P<0.03 and P<0.01, respectively) with their highest values observed during Period 3. The gradual increase in glucose concentration suggests a recovery from the NEB. It is likely that the increase in ROMs concentration was due to the parallel increase in glucose, indeed the two were significantly correlated (r=0.2; P<0.05). Concentrations of BAP decreased during the postpartum (P<0.05) possibly as a consequence of parallel increase in ROMs levels; antioxidant depletion indeed, is considered the consequence and not the cause of oxidative stress. GSH and AOPP showed a similar trend: during Period 1 their concentrations were higher in EM than in AI+ and AI- (P<0.05). However, because of the low number of EM cases, this finding needs to be confirmed in further studies. It seems that plasma ROMs and BAP concentrations are not related to AI outcome. Considering that the maintenance of redox homeostasis is quite complex, further studies are required to clarify the role of oxidative status on cows’ fertility
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