1,720,996 research outputs found
Seasonal variation of chemical composition, fatty acid profile, and sensory properties of a mountain pecorino cheese
Get PDFThis study aims to assess the compositional traits and sensory characteristics of a traditional pecorino cheese associated with management and feeding system seasonality. The study was carried out on two mountain dairy farms using an outdoor, pasture-based system from April to October (OutS), and an indoor system (InS) during the rest of the year. Outdoor-produced milk had higher fat content and a tendency for protein and somatic cell count to be higher. The OutS cheeses showed higher dry matter and fat content, higher percentages of unsaturated fatty acids, C18:3, cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid, and trans-11 C18:1, and lower percentages of C14:0 and C16:0. These modifications in fatty acid composition determined the reduction of the atherogenic index. The OutS cheeses also displayed higher intensity of almost all sensory attributes, including odor, flavor, taste, and texture descriptors. The outdoor system partly reduced the liking of consumers for pecorino. However, changes in the productive process leading to an increment in the water content and softness of the cheeses (i.e., controlled humidity and temperature during ripening) may increase the overall liking of pasture-based products, thus promoting the consumption of healthier foods
Neurophysiological mechanisms of mother–young bonding in buffalo and other farm animals
No full textIn buffaloes and other mammalian farm species, the mother provides food and protection to the young, but she is also the main source of behavioral and social learning for the offspring. It is important that mother and young establish a bond based on a learning mechanism defined as “imprinting” early after parturition during the sensitive period, on which the welfare and survival of the offspring will depend. This review aims to summarize and discuss current knowledge regarding the imprinting process, the neurobiological pathways that are triggered during this sensitive period, and the development of the cow–calf bond. Touch, hearing, vision, and smell seem to be the predominant senses involved during imprinting in buffaloes and other mammalian farm species. In buffalo, bonding is very particular due to the expression of specific behaviors, such as allo-suckling and communal rearing. In general, imprinting and the subsequent bond may be affected by the lack of experience of the mothers or dystocic parturitions, which occur most frequently with male calves and in primiparous dams. The main problems in the development of this process include lack of seeking a protected and isolated place to give birth; moving from the birth-site after parturition; insufficient postpartum care; aversion or aggressiveness towards the newborn, or abandonment of the newborn. The process can develop differently according to the species. However, the correct development of the cow–calf relationship represents, regardless of the species, a key factor for their fitness
Improvement of Rumen Fermentation Efficiency Using Different Energy Sources: In Vitro Comparison between Buffalo and Cow
Get PDFDuring haymaking and ensilage, a significant loss of sugars occurs. The addition of a total
mixed ratio (TMR) with a liquid feed might provide promptly utilisable energy and recover the
nutrients lost during the conservation. Interesting results were already obtained by including liquid
feed in a TMR in a dairy cow. However, the possibility to also utilize them in Italian Mediterranean
buffalo is not yet supported by data. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro fermentation characteristics
and kinetics of different types of liquid feed, utilising bovine and buffalo rumen liquor as
inocula. TMR supplemented with 0.025 g of four different liquid feeds was incubated with the TMR
as control with buffalo and bovine rumen fluid using in vitro gas production technique. Considering
bovine inoculum, all the experimental diets showed lower organic matter degradability and higher
volatile fatty acid production than control TMR, while with buffalo rumen liquor, significant differences
were observed between experimental and control diets in terms of gas production and fermentation
kinetics. The tested liquid feeds can have different fermentation patterns depending on
their ingredients and compositions. Supplementing liquid feeds to a standard diet seems to provide
a source of energy that improves fermentation. No negative effects were observed on the in vitro
fermentation at the dosage utilised
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
Use of mycorrhizal inoculum under low fertilizer application: Effects on forage yield, milk production, and energetic and economic efficiency
No full textTwo studies were carried out to assess the effects of seed inoculation by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) coupled to a reduced fertilizer supply on yield, economic benefit and energy balance of maize and sorghum forage cropping. The effect of dietary inclusion of mycorrhizal forages on milk yield was also examined. The control treatments (control maize and control sorghum) were non-mycorrhizal seeds fertilized with recommended doses of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The inoculated treatments (inoculated maize and inoculated sorghum) were the mycorrhizal seeds fertilized with a half dose of N. For each treatment, two plots, 1.5 ha each, were used. The forages were ensiled and fed to lactating buffaloes (maize) and dairy cows (sorghum). Plant traits and yield parameters were generally found to be higher in inoculated compared to the control plants. Inoculation positively influenced the chemical composition of sorghum silage that resulted in less fibre and more protein and presented higher dry matter degradability. No differences between the control and inoculated maize silages were found. For both inoculated crops, higher profitability (+670 and 732€ for maize and sorghum, respectively), as well as an increment of net energy (+0.24 and 0.60, respectively), and energy use efficiency (+0.53 and 0.85, respectively) were observed. The use of the inoculated silages did not affect milk yield. Results suggest that seed inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi combined with the low rate of fertilizers could be a viable solution to increase the eco-efficiency and profitability in forage production without affecting forage quality and lactating cow productivity
Feed-grade hempseed as alternative protein source in organic broilers diet: Growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality
No full textThis study investigated the feasibility of integrating feed-grade hempseed (FG-HS), an emerging by-product of
the oil industry, into organic poultry production, focusing on its impact on growth performance, slaughter yield,
and quality traits of meat in medium-growing chickens. Soybean expeller cake (SBE) was used for comparison.
One hundred and twenty 21-day-old chickens were assigned to three dietary groups, each consisting of two
replicates of twenty chickens. Treatments included a control diet containing 30 % SBE and two experimental
diets with FG-HS replacing SBE at 50 % (H15) or 100 % (H30). Trial lasted 14 weeks. At the end of the
experimental period, birds were sacrificed for carcass evaluation, including welfare-related traits. Rheological,
nutritional, and sensory properties of breast meat were also evaluated. Birds fed the H30 diet showed a trend
toward lower incidence of footpad dermatitis (P = 0.06), cleaner plumage (P < 0.03), higher final live weight (P
< 0.05), and heavier viscera (P < 0.05) compared to the SBE and H15 groups. No effects of diet were found for
eviscerated carcass weights, commercial cut yield or meat quality traits such as composition, amino acid profile,
water holding capacity, and Warner-Bratzler shear force. Notably, FG-HS inclusion significantly reduced saturated
fatty acid levels (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05 for H30 and H15 diets, respectively), while increasing polyunsaturated
fatty acids (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05). The H30 diet enhanced overall flavor intensity (P < 0.01) and
significantly reduced (P < 0.01) fibrousness, gumminess, and mouth residue. Results suggest that FG-HS can be
successfully integrated into broiler diets at inclusion rates up to 30 % without compromising bird growth performance,
carcass and meat traits. Moreover, FG-HS at the highest inclusion level shows potential for enhancing
breast meat quality in terms of fatty acid profile and sensory characteristics
Use of fresh forage in buffalo cows’ feeding: effect on sensory properties of Mozzarella cheese
No full textReplacing maize silage with hydroponic barley forage in lactating water buffalo diet: Impact on milk yield and composition, water and energy footprint, and economics
Get PDFLarge-scale Optimized Searching for Cruise Itinerary Scheduling on the Cloud
No full textWe consider the Cruise Itinerary Schedule Design (CISD) problem, which consists in identifying a cruise itinerary in order to optimize the payoff of a cruising company. To deal with this problem we present an optimization strategy based on a parameters optimization process. We exploits the Simulation exploration and Optimization Framework for the cloud (SOF) for building our computing intensive process on a cloud computing infrastructure. The optimization process is based on a heuristic tabu-search strategy, which computes and evaluates the cruise schedule and a genetic algorithm that optimizes the parameters of the heuristic search. We have evaluated the proposed solution in terms of quality as well as the scalability/cost efficiency on the cloud infrastructure Amazon Web Services
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