1,720,997 research outputs found
Delibere ANAFIBJ: riflessioni e considerazioni
Full text linkLo scorso 16 Novembre 2022, presso la sede dell’ANAFIBJ, si sono tenute le riunioni della Commissione Tecnica Centrale (CTC) della razza Frisona e della razza Jersey. In questo articolo vogliamo riportarvi alcune delle riflessioni e dei commenti condivisi con i tecnici dell’Associazione e gli altri membri delle CTC
Stess da caldo: i contorni del problema e le possibili soluzioni
No full textI periodi più caldi dell’anno rappresentano una grossa sfida per l’allevatore nella gestione della propria mandria. Nel presente articolo analizzeremo tutte quelle buone pratiche manageriali utili a garantire una buona produttività delle bovine anche in condizioni climatiche sfavorevoli
Foraggi secchi e insilati: costi e benefici
Full text linkAllevatori, veterinari e tecnici nutrizionisti da tempo riconoscono nella disponibilità di foraggi di buona qualità il principale fattore alimentare responsabile di ottimali risultati sanitari e produttivi nelle stalle. Solo in parte sostituibili nelle razioni, i foraggi condizionano i processi digestivi e la capacità di ingestione degli animali e, in definitiva, le loro performance in stalla
An investigation into Italian consumers’ awareness, perception, knowledge of European Union quality certifications, and consumption of agri-food products carrying those certifications
Full text linkThe present study investigated Italian consumers’ awareness, perception, knowledge of European Union (EU) quality certifications: Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG), and organic as well as the consumption of agri-food products carrying those certifications. A total of 212 consumers responsible for food purchases took part in a web-based survey between June and December 2019, inclusive. Descriptive statistics were calculated in relation to the data collected, followed by a factor analysis to reduce data dimensionality, and a cluster analysis on the latent variables generated, to identify similarities and differences among respondents. Awareness, perception, knowledge and consumption of agri-food products carrying EU quality labels has increased among consumers in recent years. The results related to the consumer's knowledge of quality-certified products showed that more than half of respondents were able to spontaneously quote examples of PDO (76%), PGI (56%) and organic food products (73%) while only 33% of participants could name at least one TSG product. The general awareness of the guarantees offered by PDO and PGI marks was also assessed in relation to production processes, the natural and human factors of a particular environment and the reputation and quality of a particular region. Cluster analysis showed that consumers with the highest education were most likely to value EU quality certifications and support their local economies. The information obtained have practical implications for marketing and communication of European certified food products at national and international level
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
Genetic and Non-Genetic Variation of Milk Total Antioxidant Activity Predicted from Mid-Infrared Spectra in Holstein Cows
Full text linkFood antioxidants enhance products shelf life and stability during technological treatments through the maintenance of their physical and chemical properties. Moreover, they are endowed with several positive effects on human health, including cell membranes preservation, enzyme functionality, and DNA integrity. Milk has been described in relation to a wide array of fat soluble and water-soluble antioxidant compounds, in particular vitamin A, C, and E, lactoferrin and peptides derived from casein and whey proteins. The total antioxidant activity (TAA) of milk is a novel and scarcely explored trait, defined as the sum of antioxidant contributions of the aforementioned compounds. On this background, the aims of the present study were to investigate the variability of milk TAA on a large scale exploiting predictions obtained through mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy and to estimate genetic parameters of this trait in Holstein cows. Individual milk samples were collected between January 2011 and December 2018 during the routine milk recording procedure. Samples were analysed for gross composition through MIR spectroscopy and MIR spectra were stored. Milk TAA was then predicted (pTAA) from the stored milk MIR spectra (111,653 test-day records of 9519 cows in 344 herds) using the previously developed prediction model; considering the prediction accuracy, pTAA might be considered a proxy of the TAA determined through the reference method. Overall, pTAA averaged 7.16 mmoL/L of Trolox equivalents, showed a nadir around 40 days after calving and increased thereafter, following a linear trend up to the end of lactation. The lowest pTAA was observed in milk sampled from June to September. Milk pTAA was heritable (0.401 ± 0.015) and genetically associated to fat yield (0.366 ± 0.049), crude protein (CP) yield (0.238 ± 0.052), fat percentage (0.616 ± 0.022) and CP percentage (0.754 ± 0.015). The official selection index of Italian Holstein put the 49% of the emphasis on fat and protein yield and percentage; therefore, it derives that an indirect favourable selection for milk pTAA should be already in progress in Italian Holstein population
Implementation of Ketosis breeding value in Italian Holstein
Full text linkAn increase of circulating ketone bodies is associated, particularly at the onset of the lactation, with (sub)clinical ketosis, which may reduce cows’ health, production and increase culling rate. The aim of the current research was to develop a genetic evaluation for subclinical ketosis for Holstein dairy cattle using data routinely available from the national milk recording system and linear type classification. For this breeding value three traits were considered: 1) β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), 2) fat-to-protein ratio (FPR), both measured during routine milk recording, and 3) linear body condition score (BCS) measured by a classifier. Both FPR and BCS were used as indicator traits for sub-clinical ketosis. Currently milk BHB and FPR were available on more than 2.2 million test-days records belonging to Holstein cows in the first 90 days-in-milk from first, second and third lactation. These records were subsequently matched to the closest linear classification date when body condition score (BCS) was scored. The pedigree of phenotyped cows was traced back up to 4 generations. (Co)variance components were estimated using trivariate linear mixed models; in particular, for BHB and FPR the fixed effects of herd-test-day, the two-way interaction between week of lactation and parity, and the three-way interaction between classes of age at calving, parity and year of calving were considered. The additive genetic effect and, only for BHB and FPR, the permanent environment were the random effects. Heritability estimates were 0.093, 0.090 and 0.157 for BHB, FPR and BCS, respectively, while repeatability estimates were 0.179 (BHB) and 0.209 (FPR). Phenotypically, milk BHB was positively correlated with FPR (0.279) and weakly with BCS (-0.038), similarly to the correlation estimated between FPR and BCS (-0.049). Milk BHB was genetically correlated with FPR (0.159) and BCS (-0.161), while the genetic correlation between FPR and BCS was -0.14. The results from the present study demonstrated the presence of exploitable genetic variation for breeding purposes resulting in EBVs
Development of a selection index for resistance to subclinical ketosis in Holstein Friesian dairy cows
Full text linkAt the onset of lactation, high-yielding dairy cows could often experience a period of negative energy balance. This is reflected in a loss of body condition, due to body fat mobilization, and an increase of circulating ketone bodies, particularly β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). This condition, known as hyperketonaemia, can result in (sub)clinical ketosis with negative implications on cow productivity and functionality, including health and fertility. The objective of the present study was to develop a genetic evaluation of resistance to subclinical ketosis for Holstein dairy cattle using data routinely available from the national milk recording system and linear classification. Milk BHB and fat-to-protein ratio (FPR) was available on more than 2.2 million test-days records belonging to Holstein cows in the first 90 days-in-milk from first up to the third lactation. These records were subsequently matched to the closest linear classification date when body condition score (BCS) was measured by an expert evaluator. The pedigree of cows has traced back up to 6 generations. (Co)variance components were estimated using trivariate linear mixed models; in particular, for BHB and FPR the fixed effects of herd-test-day, the two-way interaction between the week of lactation and parity, and the three-way interaction between classes of age at calving, parity and year of calving were considered. The linear model for BCS included the fixed effects of herd-year-round of classification, year of calving and the two-way interaction between age at calving and stage of lactation. The additive genetic effect and, only for BHB and FPR, the permanent environment were the two random terms. Due to computational constraints, (co)variance components were estimated on ten different subsets including 400 herds each, and subsequently averaged. Milk BHB and FPR and BCS averaged 0.056, 1.152 and 2.99, respectively. Heritability estimates were 0.093, 0.090 and 0.157 for BHB, PFR and BCS, while repeatability estimates were 0.179 (BHB) and 0.209 (FPR). The genetic (phenotypic in parenthesis) correlations were 0.159 (0.279; BHB vs. FRP), −0.161 (−0.038; BHB vs. BCS) and −0.140 (−0.049; FPR vs. BCS). The present study suggests that an exploitable additive genetic variation exists for milk BHB, and it could be used to set up breeding strategies aiming at improving resistance to subclinical ketosis through genetic selection
Application of a handheld near-infrared spectrometer to predict gelatinized starch, fiber fractions, and mineral content of ground and intact extruded dry dog food
Full text linkThe aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of a handheld near-infrared spectrometer to predict total and gelatinized starch, insoluble fibrous fractions, and mineral content inextruded dry dog food. Intact and ground samples were compared to determine if the homogenization could improve the prediction performance of the instrument. Reference analyses were performed on 81 samples for starch and 99 for neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergentlignin (ADL), and minerals, and reflectance infrared spectra (740 to 1070 nm) were recorded with aSCiOTMnear-infrared (NIR) spectrometer. Prediction models were developed using modified partial least squares regression and both internal (leave-one-out cross-validation) and external validation.The best prediction models in cross-validation using ground samples were obtained for gelatinized starch (residual predictive deviation, RPD = 2.54) and total starch (RPD = 2.33), and S (RPD = 1.92), while the best using intact samples were obtained for gelatinized starch (RPD = 2.45), total starch (RPD = 2.08), and K (RPD = 1.98). Through external validation, the best statistics were obtained for gelatinized starch, with an RPD of 2.55 and 2.03 in ground and intact samples, respectively. Overall, there was no difference in prediction models accuracy using ground or intact samples. In conclusion, the miniaturized NIR instrument offers the potential for screening purposes only for total and gelatinized starch, S, and K, whereas the results do not support its applicability for the other traits
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