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Donkey and human milk: Insights into their compositional similarities
Get PDFThis paper reviews the main research results on donkey milk quality to highlight the nutritional similarities with human milk, the gold standard for infant feeding. The major differences between donkey and human milk are related to the fat yield, which thus means that quantitative and qualitative supplements are needed in pre-weaned children. The two milks are similar in terms of total protein content and amino acid profile. In addition, both donkey and human milk are poor in casein and rich in lactose and also share a similar unsaturated:saturated fatty acid ratio and cholesterol, sodium, potassium and vitamin C content. The triglyceride profile is also similar. Donkey milk seems to be a promising alternative food targeted at children's health. New, well-designed clinical studies in children and other sensitive groups are needed to examine in depth the clinical and metabolic outcomes and the potential positive health impacts
Vitamin D content in donkey milk: preliminary results
No full textVitamin D is an essential nutrient that plays a crucial role in the calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism and also acts
as an hormone. Humans synthetize most of their vitamin D requirement from sunlight. However, an oral intake of vitamin
D may be an important source in winter, when the UVB-related synthesis is limited and for people who may not be
exposed to sunlight. However, only a few foodstuffs, mainly of animal origin, provide a considerable source of vitamin D
thus limiting the possibility of fulfilling the requirements of this vitamin. Milk contains above all vitamin D3 and D2.
Although there are several studies on the content of vitamin D in bovine milk, there is little information regarding donkey
milk. Therefore, the aims of this paper is to carry out a preliminary evaluation of the vitamin D content in donkey milk
and to investigate its seasonal modifications. Raw bulk milk samples were collected for 10 months, every 15 days, from a
dairy farm that produces donkey milk for human consumption. All the samples were analysed for chemical composition
and vitamin D content by HPLC after extraction by the partially modified Silva et al (1992) method. Donkey milk showed
a higher vitamin D content (2.31 lg/100ml ± 0.83) compared to bovine and human milk. Vitamin D in donkey milk showedseasonal variations as reported in cows. In particular, vitamin D had a higher concentration in the summer than in winter, probably due to the different sun exposure of the animals. In conclusion, donkey milk shows a considerable vitamin D content, which could be useful to meet the deficiencies of this vitamin in humans. Further investigations are necessary to
improve the vitamin D content in donkey milk through increasing its endogenous synthesis and transfer in milk and
to clarify other variability factors
Nutritional and nutraceutical quality of donkey milk
Get PDFIn the last few decades, there has been a renewed interest in donkeys by the scientific community involved in the recovery of biodiversity, in the rescue of some donkey breeds that have become almost extinct, and in the rediscovery of donkey milk. In addition, due to the increase in food allergies, attention has been focused on the need for a “natural” milk with a good taste, which could be used in some childhood illnesses such as allergy to cow's milk proteins allergy (CMPA). Donkey milk is very similar to human milk, especially in terms of its protein profile and lactose content, which increases palatability, stimulates intestinal absorption of calcium, and thus provides an excellent substrate for the development of enteric flora. The high content of lysozyme in this milk favours selective action against pathogenic microorganisms. In addition, the mineral content (such as calcium) and liposoluble vitamins make it an excellent nutraceutical product. A project aimed to create a donkey milk supply chain from the Amiata native breed has recently been developed in Central Italy (Tuscany). In this paper, the nutritional and nutraceutical characteristics of donkey milk are reviewed in detail. In addition, some of the potential uses of donkey milk have been briefly described: in the diet of children with CMPA, in the diets of the elderly and of people who need to lose weight by virtue of the low fat content and the good contribution of omega 3
Nutritional and nutraceutical Amiatina donkey milk quality.
No full textRecently, a project aimed to the creation of a donkey milk chain from Amiatina native breed has been developed in Tuscany. In a second step of the project, the use of donkey milk in the diet of children with allergy to the cow's milk proteins (CMA) has been evaluated. At the same time, nutritional, nutraceutical, hygienic and safety milk characteristics were tested. Furthermore, another topic of the project was to promote the biodiversity and the economy of Tuscany productions and to provide products having a constant quality. Every month bulk milk samples underwent physical and chemical analysis. The results showed dry matter content of 10 g/100 ml of milk and total protein and fat content of 1.6 and 0.5 g/100 ml, respectively. In donkey milk the protein fraction was more similar to human milk than ruminant milk, with low amounts of casein (0.8 g/100 ml). Whereas whey protein content was about a half of the total proteins (51.1%). The main whey protein fractions were beta-lactoglobulin and alpha-lactalbumin (0.35 and 0.30 g/100 ml, respectively). In addition, the lysozyme content was high (0.15 g/100 ml) and represented about the 9% of the total proteins; this enzyme has antimicrobial activity [1]. Fat content significantly differed from human milk, thus it would require an energetic integration when is used in infant feeding. By contrast, the milk showed a fatty acid composition of nutritional interest, especially for the unsaturated fatty acid content (45 g/100 g of fatty acids). In particular, the unsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio and the ω6/ω3 ratio were 0.82 and 1.65 respectively. Oleic, linoleic, alpha linolenic and eicosapentanoic acids were respectively 17%, 14%, 8% and 0.13% of the total fatty acids. These polyunsaturated fatty acids are known for their beneficial properties on human health. In addition, milk fat globules showed a mean diameter of 1.92 micron, smaller than the diameter reported for other milks. The smaller globule diameter may promote the digestibility of donkey milk fat [2]. The high lactose content (7.1 g/100 ml) is also of nutritional interest because of its contribution on milk palatability that makes the milk acceptable by children. Ash content was lower than cow milk and was about 0.36 g/100 ml. With regard to individual minerals, the amount of calcium (70 mg/100 ml), phosphorus (60 mg/100 ml), potassium (60 mg/100 ml) and sodium (20 mg/100 ml) were more similar to human milk. The Amiatina donkey milk had also a high content of vitamin D (2.3 μg/100 ml; 92 IU/100 ml on the average), higher in summer than in winter. In conclusion, the similarities with human milk were high, except for the fat content. This finding highlights the need for energy integrations especially when the milk is used in early childhood. Moreover, donkey milk use could be extended to obese people and to the elderly
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Social Preference Tests in Zebrafish: A Systematic Review
Get PDFThe use of animal models in biology research continues to be necessary for the development of new technologies and medicines, and therefore crucial for enhancing human and animal health. In this context, the need to ensure the compliance of research with the principles Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (the 3 Rs), which underpin the ethical and human approach to husbandry and experimental design, has become a central issue. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is becoming a widely used model in the field of behavioral neuroscience. In particular, studying zebrafish social preference, by observing how an individual fish interacts with conspecifics, may offer insights into several neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. The main aim of this review is to summarize principal factors affecting zebrafish behavior during social preference tests. We identified three categories of social research using zebrafish: studies carried out in untreated wild-type zebrafish, in pharmacologically treated wild-type zebrafish, and in genetically engineered fish. We suggest guidelines for standardizing social preference testing in the zebrafish model. The main advances gleaned from zebrafish social behavior testing are discussed, together with the relevance of this method to scientific research, including the study of behavioral disorders in humans. The authors stress the importance of adopting an ethical approach that considers the welfare of animals involved in experimental procedures. Ensuring a high standard of animal welfare is not only good for the animals, but also enhances the quality of our science
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Get PDFWe 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
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