64 research outputs found
Does Firm Ownership Differentiate Environmental Compliance? Evidence from Indian Chromite Mining Industry
No full textThis paper compares the environmental performance of public and private firms in the context of Indian chromite mining industry. It proposes a new methodology to measure firms’ environmental performance in a multidimensional framework. Comparison of unidimensional and multidimensional environmental defiance indices reveal no significant difference between the public and private firms.Firm ownership, Multi Dimensional Environmental Compliance
Effect of supplementation with magnesium and tryptophan on the welfare and meat quality of pigs
No full textBackground Handling of animals during transport, lairage and slaughter is one o f the most important causes o f stress i n pigs and t h a t , t o g e t h e r w i t h g e n o t y p e , m o s t influence t h e final carcass and m e a t quality. A supplementation of magnesium (Mg) in the diet o f pigs may reduce the response o f t h e animals t o stressful stimuli by reducing the levels of cortisol a n d c a t e c h o l a m i n e s i n p l a s m a . A n i n c r e a s e o f t r y p t o p h a n ( T r p ) concentration in t h e diet enhances t h e synthesis of brain serotonin and may have sedative effects. Some authors report an i m p r o v e m e n t o f pork m e a t quality as a result of the supplementation of Mg o r Trp. However, other studies c o n t r a d i c t t h e s e f i n d i n g s o r o b t a i n inconsistent results. The effects of the supplement o f Mg on m e a t quality seem t o be related t o the stress-susceptibility of t h e pigs, t h a t is t o their halothane genotype. On t h e o t h e r hand, i n a n Australian study it was found t h a t under a n e g a t i v e a n t e m o r t e m h a n d l i n g treatment, a dietary Mg supplementation significantly improves pork quality and reduces the incidence of PSE carcasses. Accordingly, a Dutch study reported t h a t a short-term supplementation of the diet w i t h m a g n e s i u m a c e t a t e o r w i t h a combination of this salt w i t h Trp and vitamins does n o t improve pork quality when pigs are not stressed beyond levels a s s o c i a t e d w i t h r o u t i n e s l a u g h t e r procedures. Objectives The aim o f this study was t o evaluate t h e effect o f the supplementation of the diet with Mg and Trp on the response t o stressful factors and on meat quality of pigs. Animals homozygous with respect t o the halothane gene (positive, nn, and negative, NN) were used t o achieve this objective. Materials and methods Animals, d i e t s a n d p r e -s l a u g h t e r treatment: Seventy-one entire male pigs (36 NN and 35 nn) from Pietrain, Landrace and Large White lines, with an average live weight of 108.51* 8.32 kg, were used in this study. All animals were housed i n d i v i d u a l l y i n p e n s w i t h a s p a c e allowance of 4 m2, permitting visual and olfactory contact between each other. They were fed t h e same diet until 5 days before slaughtering, when t h r e e diet g r o u p s w e r e e s t a b l i s h e d f o r e a c h g e n o t y p e : d i e t 1 g r o u p , s a m e d i e t s u p p l e m e n t e d w i t h 1.2 g e l e m e n t a l magnesium (Mg) and 8 g L-tryptophan (Trp) per kg; diet 2 group, same diet supplemented with 8 g Trp per kg, and control group, with no supplement. Two b a t c h e s o f 3 5 a n d 3 6 a n i m a l s were slaughtered o n 2 d i f f e r e n t days. The animals of each batch were mixed in 6 different groups according t o diet and genotype and transported from the farm t o the experimental abbatoir for one hour on rougher secondary roads. Lairage time for the first pigs slaughtered was about 30 min and for t h e last ones was of 7 h. They were all stunned with 90% C0,and slaughtered. I n each batch, the animals f r o m t h e 6 groups were slaughtered alternatively. H o t carcass weight was measured a t 45 min, postmortem (pm), and used to calculate the killing-out (O/O). Skin lesions: After sticking, and when t h e c a r c a s s e s w e r e h o i s t e d o n t h e bleeding rail, fresh scratches on the skin CMSA News September 2006 Scientific Contributions (cont'd. ) were inspected and subjectively scored according t o t h e i r location (headlneck, f l a n k s l b a c k a n d h i n d q u a r t e r ) a n d occurrence ( 0 = No occurrence, 1 = 1 occurrence, 2 = 2 t o 5 occurrence, and 3 = more than 5). Meat quality measurements: The left side of t h e carcass was used t o p e r f o r m m e a t quality measurements o n t h e Longissimus thoracis (LT) and Semimembranosus (SM) muscles. Muscle pH a t 45 m i n (pH45) and a t 24 h (pHu) p m were measured using a portable pH meter equipped with a Xerolyt electrode. Electrical conductivity a t 2 4 h p m (ECu) was measured at the last rib level using a Pork Quality Meater. The muscle w a t e r h o l d i n g c a p a c i t y ( W H C ) w a s determined in the LT muscle using the bag method. Colour measurements: Colour measurements were carried o u t with a Minolta Chroma Meter CR-200 using t h e white tile provided b y t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r a s t h e i n t e r n a l standard and set t o illuminant C. Triplicate measurements were taken on LT muscle. The measurements were expressed as CIE L* a* b*. Results and discussion Five animals died before being slaughtered (during transport o r while unloading the lorry), all of t h e m from halothane positive pigs ( n n ) : t h r e e c o r r e s p o n d e d t o t h e control and t h e other t w o t o the diet 1 group (Mg + Trp). The sedative effect of t h e d i e t w i t h Trp ( d i e t 2) s e e m e d t o facilitate t h e coping o f t h e animals t o s t r e s s f u l f a c t o r s , s u c h a s n e w environments. The presence and severity of skin lesions indicative o f aggressive behaviour are presented i n Conclusions The mixture o f Mg and Trp increased the frequency o f skin lesions due t o fighting during transport and lairage. The aggressive behaviors due t o mixing contribute t o an increase in pHu in the meat from the animals fed diet 1 and diet 2 and, as a consequence, some meat quality characteristics (colour a n d w a t e r h o l d i n g capacity) improved. However, t o ascertain i f these supplements a r e a d e q u a t e t o b e u s e d i n a n i m a l production in order t o improve meat quality, other factors such as food intake and daily growth should be considered. Acknowledgement
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF ALTAR FROM TROGIR CHAPELL BY NICCOLO FIORENTINO
No full textNa temelju ugovora 4. 1. 1468. autor rekonstruira izgled prvobitnog oltara u trogirskoj kapeli prema navedenim mjerama. Ujedno argumentira tezu da je reljef anđela svijećonoše Nikole Firentinca, u Muzeju grada Trogira, bio predeviđen kao jedan od dva anđela na stipesu oltara. Uz grafičku rekonstrukciju oltara u prostoru kapele autor ističe njegovu snukturalnu povezanost s arhitekturom, kao i središnje mjesto koje je svećenik zauzimao, te se ponovno zalaže za adekvatnu redukciju baroknog oltara u cilju revalorizacije cjeline.After analyzing a contract dated January 4 1568, containing a detailed description of an altar project for tiie Renaissance chapel of the blessed Ivan of Trogir, the author presents its verbal and graphic reconstrution. Tehe altar was to have three fihures of angels graphic reconstruction. The altar was to have three figures of angels on the mensa and two reliefs of angels on the stipes, whilw four sculptures/caryatids holding the saint's sarcophagus were to be placed at the back of the altar. Analyzing the iconography, form and dimensions of Nicolo Florentine's "sorrowful angel" with candelabra from the museum in Trogir, the author concludes that this relief is the only surviving part of the Renaissance altar which was never built, but received instead the presnt Baroque altar. It was to stand on the right edgeof the altar stipes. This very fine Early Renaissance relief of a standing boy/angel with candelabra, today at the municipal museum in Trogir, certainly belongs among Nicolo's best works. Among the numerous reliefs of winged children created by this artist torch-bearing genii, telamon putii, little angels -this angelic boy is not only zhe largest in format but also comes closest to a full three-dimensional sculpture. This relief was published and attributed to Nicolo of Florence long ago (1940) by Cvito Fisković. Fisković first supposed that this was one of two angels flanking Nicolo's Pieta under theCross on the Čipiko altar in the Benedictine church in Trogir, and later (1959) suggested that it may also have stood near the statute of Saint Sebastian in the small church of the same name. The iconography of the figure, and the candelabra, place this angel into the context of the funerary cult, an idea which is also supported by his camposed posturewith slightly incliined head and closed eyes with The attitude of this moumful sympathetic angel directs us to imagine it as parzt of some sepulchral ansamble, and the author believes that this light-bearing angel was made for the altar of the Renaissance chapel in the Trogir mausoleum which has a Gothic sarchophagus (de Sanctis, 1345) with the figure of the blessed Bishop Ivan of Trogir. The contract of January 4 1468finally offers an unequivocal solution of this problem: the figure belongs to the composition of an altar for this chapel — designed but never completed or put in place. It helps us to gain a more defiinite idea of what the nausoleum, which is a masterpiece of the European Early Renaissance, would have looked like if it had ever been completed. (The author remainds us in passing that the original stone mensa of the altar has been preserved, placed on a stipes inAlexius' baptistery (1467) in the immediate neighbourghood). On the present Baroque altar the sarcophagus seems welded into one unified mass with the mensa and stipes to which are added the two large marble angels. The contract clearly shows that instead of this one mass two separate, and also lighter and more "airy' structures were to be elevated above floor level with twosteps: the altar and mensa (2 1/2 x 4 1/2 feet) placed in front on four supports (columns), along with three statues of angels (three feet each) ; the sarcophagus was to be placed behind the altar, supported by four statues/caryatids (4 feet each). The Gothic sarcophagus was also to have one releif on each side and four more reliefs ancased in the two existing framed areas in ront (two on the left and two on the right side). Described the altar, which was to have a stone mensa of 41/2 to 21/2 feet, the contract stipulates an altar either placed on four columns — which was customary at that time and marked on the designed added to the contract — or "closed on three sides with two angels in half-relief in front" (... laso davanti con doi angoli del mezo relevo). The author concludes that the relief of the angel discussed in this paper was one of two angels to be carved in mezzo-rilievo and placed at the front of the altar stipes (more precisely, considering the position of the body and inclination of the head, at its right edge). The height of the relief is 82 cm, which corresponds to 2 1/3 feet, which with the undeđyig stone and mensa height amounts to 2 1/2 feet — a height proportionate with the width of the mensa accordance with the principle of equality of a structure's front (facade) and plan. (The other figures of the altar mentioned in the contract were to be statues, not relefs and of larger dimensions: 3 and 4 1/2 feet). The statues of the caryatids placed on two steps (total height one foot) were thus to come level with the floors of the sculpture niches on the walls, which would bring the sarcophagus they supported to the waist of the Resurrected Christ placed in the altar niche. The priest standing before the altar would be placed directly under the medallion with the figure of God the Father at the centre of the casetted barrel valting of the chapel. This type ofcomposition:Christ blessing thr figure of the deceased on the sarcophagus, and God blesseing the priest, reminds us of other designs by Juraj Dalmatinac (e.g. the medallion with God the Father above a child on the baptismal font of the Baptistery in Šibenik Cathedral); it also corresponds to Nicolo the Florentine's method of composing thematic groups. The replacing of the columns supporting the mensa with two reliefs of angels on the stipes is in accordancewith the obvious intention of the Florentine to increase the number and broaden the role of human figureschildren in particular — in the chapel. It also shows his customary preference for the figurative rather than decorative alternative, in the words for the alternative that was more demanding and as a rule closer to the Renaissance programme. The same applies to the geniitorchbearers at the pilaster baes which replaced the garlands stipulated in the contract, or the sculptures of the Annunciation on the triumphal arch which replaced the rosettes. The latter changes have been pointed out by the author in a series of studiesof the Chapel in Trogir
Changes in Hyaluronan Metabolism and RHAMM Receptor Expression Accompany Formation of Complicated Carotid Lesions and May be Pro-Angiogenic Mediators of Intimal Neovessel Growth
No full text Previous studies have shown that changes in expression of the glycosaminoglycan, hyaluronan (HA) were associated with erosion in areas of post-mortem coronary artery liable to rupture. Angiogenesis is an important feature of ulcerating haemorrhagic plaques prone to rupture. HA is a glycosaminoglycan known to possess potent angiogenic properties on metabolism to oligosaccharides of HA (o-HA) in the presence of hyaluronidase (HYAL) enzymes. In this study we have examined HA receptor and HYAL enzyme expression in a series of carotid artery specimens used as vascular transplants and exhibiting various stages of atherosclerotic lesions as determined by anatomo-pathology. Our results demonstrated dramatically increased expression of HYAL-1 in regions of inflammation associated with complicated plaques. Receptor for HA-mediated motility (RHAMM), which is known to be important in transducing angiogenic signals in vascular endothelium, was strongly expressed on intimal blood vessels from complicated lesions but almost absent from other regions including adventitial vessels. Metabolism of HA, together with up-regulation of RHAMM in complicated plaque lesions might be partly responsible for over-production of leaky neovessels and predisposition to plaque rupture. </jats:p
Short communication. Sensory evaluation of commercial beef produced in Uruguay and three European countries
No full textThe main goal of this study was to characterize and compare the organoleptic quality of beef from Uruguay and
from three European countries. In Uruguay, 40 Hereford steers were raised exclusively under grazing conditions up to
either two or three years old. Meat samples were aged for 20 days, matching commercial conditions. In Europe, one
commercial local beef type, with two ageing times (7 and 20 days), from Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom
were compared with Uruguayan beef samples, using 20 animals of each treatment per country. The highest beef odour
and flavour scores were for the British beef aged for 7 days followed by the German and Uruguayan meat. Beef from
the youngest animals (Spanish) and, especially from the UK, were up to 42 and 62%, respectively, more tender than
German beef, all of them aged for 7 days. The highest juiciness scores were for the Uruguayan three years old beef.
Long ageing periods (20 days) tended to produce off-aromas in the case of the British beef, which showed the highest
scores in abnormal odour flavour intensities. European beef showed a significant variability in its sensory attributes
that could not be justified only by differences in the ageing time. Uruguayan beef has meat with similar sensory characteristics to some European meats, and because of that it could have good consumer acceptability.This research was part of cooperative agreement among INIA Uruguay, INIA Spain, and the AECID Spain, with the participation of the National Meat Institute (INAC, Uruguay).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Acceptability of meat with different levels of boar taint compounds for Spanish and English consumers.
No full textImaging of early inflammation in low-to-moderate carotid stenosis by 18-FDG-PET
No full textIt is not clear if 18FDG-PET can be useful for detection of inflammation in low to moderate carotid stenosis. We studied 15 patients scheduled for endarterectomy with contralateral carotids with less than 50% stenosis. 18-FDG-PET was performed prior to CEA and 3 months following surgery. FDG-uptake values were calculated based on maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) and corresponding uptake ratios. We confirmed by CD68 macrophage staining that FDG accumulation corresponds to active inflammation (R=0.8 p less than 0.005). We found significant correlation between the FDG-uptake in the carotids scheduled for CEA and contralateral carotids with low to moderate stenosis (R=0.9 p less than 0.001). The FDG uptake ratio in the contralateral arteries remained stable on the follow-up imaging (1.15+/-0.2 vs. 1.14+/-0.1, R=0.7 p=0.006). We did not find correlation between FDG uptake and symptomatic or asymptomatic patients, degree of carotid stenosis and vascular risk factors. This is a prospective, preliminary in vivo study demonstrating that low to moderate carotid atherosclerosis can be detected using 18-FDG-PET imaging and highlights the truly systemic nature of atherosclerosis
Acceptability of meat with different levels of boar taint compounds for Spanish and English consumers.
No full textPostprint (published version
Imaging of early inflammation in low-to-moderate carotid stenosis by 18-FDG-PET
No full textIt is not clear if 18FDG-PET can be useful for detection of inflammation in low to moderate carotid stenosis. We studied 15 patients scheduled for endarterectomy with contralateral carotids with less than 50% stenosis. 18-FDG-PET was performed prior to CEA and 3 months following surgery. FDG-uptake values were calculated based on maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) and corresponding uptake ratios. We confirmed by CD68 macrophage staining that FDG accumulation corresponds to active inflammation (R=0.8 p less than 0.005). We found significant correlation between the FDG-uptake in the carotids scheduled for CEA and contralateral carotids with low to moderate stenosis (R=0.9 p less than 0.001). The FDG uptake ratio in the contralateral arteries remained stable on the follow-up imaging (1.15+/-0.2 vs. 1.14+/-0.1, R=0.7 p=0.006). We did not find correlation between FDG uptake and symptomatic or asymptomatic patients, degree of carotid stenosis and vascular risk factors. This is a prospective, preliminary in vivo study demonstrating that low to moderate carotid atherosclerosis can be detected using 18-FDG-PET imaging and highlights the truly systemic nature of atherosclerosis
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