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Production and behavioural traits of heavy pigs subjected to two illumination periods
No full textAccording to latest EFSA’s recommendations (2007) on the welfare of fattening pigs, the aim of the present trial was to give a contribution to the still debated problem concerning pig requirements in terms of environmental illumination. Forty hybrid pigs (26 kg BW) were homogeneously allocated into two experimental groups (20 animals per group) each containing four replications of five pigs: group LL (Long Lighting) in which pigs were exposed to a 16-hour/day light period and group SL (Short Lighting) in which, in compliance with minimum legislative standard, pigs were subjected to a 8-hour/day light period. For both groups the light intensity was 40 lux, equivalent to the minimum mandatory level. Pigs were fed on the basis of their metabolicBW up to a maximum of 3.3 kg/pig/day. From 100 to 160 kg BW pigs were monthly videotaped over a 24-hour period in order to assess, by scan sampling, their behaviour. Growth parameters and post-mortem outcomes were submitted to analysis of variance (GLM procedure) with lighting duration as the main effect.For non-parametric data (behavioural traits), Mann-Whitney test (NPAR1WAY procedure) was used. During the first phase of the experiment (0-118 days of trial), animals receiving the longer illumination period (LL group) showed a significant (P<0.01)improvement of average daily weight gain and a reduction (P<0.05) of feed conversion rate, leading to a higher (P<0.05) final body weight. At slaughtering, despite similar lean meat yields (assessed by F-o-M), pigs on LL group produced heavier carcasses and heavier hams (P<0.01). With respect to behavioural traits, pigs receiving the longer illumination period were more calm as demonstrated by a higher percent of lying behavior and by a lower incidence of pseudo-rooting behavior (P<0.01). From a general standpoint it can be concluded that a prolonged photoperiod with a low light intensity could have some positive effects both on production and behavioural traits of pigs
Gli animali nel sentire comune dei cittadini
No full text1. Gli animali da reddito nel sentire del consumatore europeo
1.1. Produzioni e consumi di prodotti zootecnici in Italia e in Europa
1.2. Percezione innata, cosciente e comune
1.3. Conclusioni
2. Gli animali nel sentire comune dei cittadini nord-americani
2.1. Il mercato delle carni nord-americano
2.2. Consumo di alimenti e benessere animale
2.3. La risposta dell’industria
2.4. Conclusioni
3. La percezione del benessere degli animali da compagnia attraverso l’osservazione del mercato del pet-food e del pet-care in Italia e in Europa
3.1. L’universo dei pets
3.2. Il pet-food
3.3. Il pet-care
3.3. Conclusion
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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
In vitro influence of dietary protein and fructooligosaccharides on metabolism of canine fecal microbiota
Full text linkBackground: The present in vitro study investigated whether the utilization of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) may influence canine fecal microbial population in presence of diets differing in their protein content and digestibility. Fresh fecal samples were collected from five adult dogs, pooled, and incubated for 24h with the undigested residue of three diets: 1, Low protein high digestibility diet (LP HD, crude protein (CP) 229g/kg); 2, High protein high digestibility diet (HP HD, CP 304g/kg); 3, High protein low digestibility diet (HP LD, CP 303g/kg) that had been previously subjected to enzymatic digestion. In the in vitro fermentation study, there were six treatments: 1) LP HD; 2) HP HD 3) HP LD; 4) LP HD+FOS; 5) HP HD+FOS; 6) HP LD+FOS. Fructooligosaccharides were added at the final concentration of 1.5g/L. Samples of fermentation fluid were collected at 6 and 24h of incubation. Results: Values of pH were reduced by FOS at 6 and 24h (P<0.001); conversely, low protein digestibility and high dietary protein level resulted in higher pH at both sampling times (P<0.001). At 24h, FOS lowered ammonia (-10%; P<0.001) and resulted (P<0.05) in higher concentrations of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) (+43%), acetic acid (+14%), propionic acid (+75%) and n-butyric acid (+372%). Conversely, at 24h, low protein digestibility resulted (P<0.01) in lower concentrations of acetic acid (-26%), propionic acid (-37%) and total VFA (-21%). Putrescine concentrations were increased at 6 and 24h of fermentation by low protein digestibility (+21 and 22%, respectively; P<0.05) and FOS (+18 and 24%, respectively; P<0.01). After 24h of fermentation, high dietary protein level resulted in lower counts of lactobacilli and enterococci (-0.5 and -0.7 log cells/mL, respectively; P<0.05) whereas low protein digestibility tended to increase counts of C. perfringens (+0.2 log cells/mL; P=0.07). Conclusions: Results from the present study showed that diets rich in protein may exert negative influences on the canine intestinal ecosystem, slightly increasing the presence of ammonia and reducing counts of lactobacilli and enterococci. Moreover, the presence of poorly digestible protein resulted in lower concentrations of VFA. Conversely, administration of FOS may improve metabolism of canine intestinal microbiota, reducing ammonia concentrations and enhancing VFA production
Growth parameters, behavior, and meat and ham quality of heavy pigs subjected to photoperiods of different duration
Full text linkTo attain a good level of animal welfare, pigs require a sufficient nvironmental illumination. Therefore, minimum levels for light duration and light intensity have been set up by the European legislation (Directive 2008/120). An experimental trial was designed to determine whether an increased duration of the photophase (up to 16 h of light per day) could modify the behavior, productive parameters, and meat and ham quality of Italian heavy pigs. Forty crossbred (Large White × Landrace) castrated males pigs (26 kg initial average BW) intended for Protected Designation of Origin (according to European Union Regulation - European Union, 2012) dry-cured ham production were raised according to Parma ham production rules up to the weight of 160 kg. Pigs were homogeneously allotted to 2 experimental groups, each comprising 20 pigs. The short photoperiod (SP) group received the minimum mandatory number of hours of light per day (corresponding to 8 h/d), whereas the long photoperiod (LP) group was subjected to 16 h of light per day during the whole production cycle. Light intensity was maintained at 40 lux (i.e., the minimum mandatory level) for both the experimental groups. Growth and slaughtering parameters, carcass traits, fatty acid composition, meat and dry-cured ham quality, and animal behavior were assessed. Pigs in the LP group showed a greater live weight and carcass weight compared to the SP group (P = 0.005 and P = 0.007, respectively). Similarly, hams obtained from the LP group were significantly heavier and their weight losses during the dry-curing period were reduced (P < 0.01) when compared to the SP group. No significant differences were detected between the experimental groups as concerns meat and ham quality or fatty acid composition of the subcutaneous fat. Pigs in the LP group spent more time resting and less time pseudo-rooting (P < 0.01). Our results indicate that, given an appropriate dark period for animal rest, an increased duration of the photoperiod, even at the lower mandatory light intensity level, can favorably affect growth parameters of heavy pigs without any negative effect on animal behavior, carcass traits, or meat or long-cured ham quality. Therefore, rearing pigs in semidarkness should be considered as a baseless practice, contrary to animal welfare
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