121,897 research outputs found
Chiasmocleis avilapiresae Peloso & Sturaro 2008, sp. nov.
No full text<i>Chiasmocleis avilapiresae</i> sp. nov. <p>Figs. 1–7; Table 1</p> <p> <b>Holotype.</b> MPEG 23299 (field number MAR 979), an adult female, from Estação Científica do Programa Pró-Biodiversidade da Amazônia (PPBio), Floresta Nacional Caxiuanã, municipality of Portel, state of Pará, Brazil (~ 1 o 59’S, 51 o 39’W; represented by a star in Fig. 9), collected in a pitfall trap by M.A. Ribeiro-Jr and S.H. Abrantes on 27 March 2007.</p> <p> <b>Paratopotypes.</b> MPEG 23300–06, 23318, seven adult females and one adult male respectively, collected by M.A. Ribeiro-Jr. and D.L. Arcoverde, on 26 January to 13 February 2007; MPEG 23307-17, 23319-26, 17 females and two males, collected by M.A. Ribeiro-Jr and S.H. Abrantes, on 16 March to 2 April 2007. MPEG 23318 and 23324 are cleared and stained; MPEG 23303 was dissected for myological studies.</p> <p> <b>Paratypes</b> (numbers in parenthesis refer to localities in Fig. 9). INPA 17258-59, two females, from (<b>1</b>) Reserva Extrativista do Baixo Juruá, Rio Juruá, Juruá, state of Amazonas, Brazil (~ 3º45’S, 66º05’W), collected by V. T. Carvalho, S. Novelle and L. Lopes, on 20–29 May 2006; MPEG 5169, adult female, from (<b>2</b>) Porto Urucu, Amazonas, Brazil (~ 4 o 53’S, 65 o 20’W), collected by M.S. Hoogmoed and T.C. Ávila Pires, on 21 November 1989; INPA 14218, 14224, two females, from (<b>3</b>) Lago Ayapuã, Rio Purus, Beruri, Amazonas, Brazil (~ 4 o 24’S, 62 o 15’W), collected by F. Waldez, on 1-30 June 2005; USNM 266139–41, three adult males, from (<b>4</b>) Cachoeira Nazaré, western bank of Rio Ji-Paranã, state of Rondônia, Brazil (~ 9 o 45’S, 61 o 55’W), collected by A.L. Gardner, on 18–23 November 1986; USNM 284500–01, 565956, one female and two males, respectively, from (<b>5</b>) Nova Brasília, Rondônia, Brazil (~ 11 o 09’S, 61 o 34’W) and USNM 565955, female, from (<b>6</b>) Rio Morim, Nova Colina, Rondônia, Brazil (~ 10 o 50’S, 61 o 43’W); collected by P.E. Vanzolini, R.I. Crombie and C.M. de Carvalho, 2–8 November 1984; CFBH 5132-33, an adult female and a juvenile respectively, from (<b>7</b>) Fazenda Jaburi, Espigão D’Oeste, Rondônia, Brazil (~ 11 o 36’S, 60 o 44’W), collected by P.S. Bernarde, on 2–14 April 2001; INPA 13102, female, (<b>8</b>) Igarapé Estrema, Left bank of Rio Aripuanã, Aripuanã, Amazonas, Brazil (~ 6 o 17’S, 60 o 23’W), collected by the INPA Herpetology field expedition, on 3 May 2005; MNRJ 14231–80 respectively, 31 females, 13 males, five juveniles and one of undetermined sex, from (<b>9</b>) Aripuanã, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil (~ 10 o 10’S, 59 o 28’W), collected by U. Caramaschi and R. N. Feio, on 1–5 November, 2005; MPEG 18571–73, 23287–98, three adult females and 12 juveniles from (<b>10</b>) Acampamento base Sapopema, Parque Nacional da Amazônia, Itaituba, Para, Brazil (~ 04 o 40’S, 56 o 33’W), collected by M.S. Hoogmoed and H.S. Silva-Filho, on 26 January to 18 February 2005; MPEG 23280, adult female, from (<b>11</b>) Tapuama, Rio Xingu, Altamira, Pará, Brazil (3 o 36’39’’S, 52 o 20’26’’W), collected by R. Bernardi and D. André, on 6 March 2008; MPEG 23277–79, three adult females, from (<b>12</b>) Fazenda Caracol, Rio Xingu, Anapu, Pará, Brazil (3 o 27’10’’S, 51 o 40’31’’W) collected by A. Lima, F. Rodrigues, M.J. Sturaro, and P.L. V. Peloso, on 15 March 2008; MPEG 22787, one adult female, from (<b>13</b>) Fazenda Riacho, Monte Verde, Portel, Pará, Brazil (~ 3 o 15’S, 50 o 19’W), collected by J.O. Gomes and T.C. Ávila-Pires on 23 March 2007; MPEG 23338, one female, from (<b>14)</b> Barragem da Pêra, Serra dos Carajás, Parauapebas, Pará, Brazil (~ 6 o 04’S, 49 o 54’W), collected by E. Carvalho-Jr and J.A. Chaves on 27 January 2005; MPEG 23339-41, three females, from (<b>15</b>) Noroeste II, Serra dos Carajás, Parauapebas, Pará, Brazil, (~ 6 o 04’S, 49 o 54’W), collected by E. Carvalho-Jr and J.A. Chaves on 1 November to 30 December 2005.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> A member of <i>Chiamocleis</i> based on: (1) clavicle and procoracoid present; (2) clavicle reduced, not reaching the scapula, extending beyond medial part of coracoid; (3) procoracoid touching the coracoids; (4) palatines absent.</p> <p> A large species for the genus; maximum SVL = 26.8 mm in males and 37.8 mm in females. Body ovoid and robust, head triangular, snout rounded in dorsal and lateral views, IOD about 2–3 times the IND. Four distinctive fingers and five toes present; all but first finger fringed in males, less fringed in females; fingers not webbed; finger I well developed with a distinct subarticular tubercle present between the proximal phalanges; distinct subarticular tubercles present on all fingers; toes fringed, less distinct in females; toes usually extensively webbed in males and only basally webbed in females (see Variation below). Males with dermal spines on fingers and toes; both sexes with dermal spines on dorsum and toes, more numerous and more developed in males. Males with many spines on anterior portion of chin. A light horizontal line on the posterior thigh is always present. <i>Chiasmocleis avilapiresae</i> is further characterized by having procoracoids and clavicles; clavicles do not reach the coracoids and they are entirely supported by the procoracoid cartilage; coracoids do not meet medially; procoracoids calcified near their contact with the coracoids; epicoracoids and anterior area of sternum slightly calcified. Eight procoelous presacral vertebrae present; sacral diapophyses expanded laterally; urostyle without lateral expansions; phalangeal formula of hands 2-2-3-3 and of foot 2-2-3-4-3.</p> <p> <b>Description of the holotype (Figs. 2, 3).</b> Body ovoid, robust; head short, triangular, snout short, wider than long, rounded in dorsal and lateral views; nostril not protuberant, directed anterolaterally; internarial distance slightly smaller than distance between eye and nostril and about the same as the eye diameter; canthus rostralis only slightly defined; loreal region oblique, slightly convex; eyes small, slightly protruding; interorbital area slightly concave, without cranial crests; occipital fold absent; postorbital fold present, tympanum not visible externally; upper jaw projecting beyond lower; lower lip with truncate, trilobed anterior margin; tongue large, ovoid, covering approximately ¾ of mouth floor, with free lateral and posterior borders; choanae small, rounded, widely separated, positioned anterolaterally, anterior to eye; vomerine teeth absent.</p> <p>Arm and forearm slender, without tubercles or crests. Hand not webbed, fingers slightly fringed, fingers without dermal spines; finger I well developed, with a visible subarticular tubercle; relative finger length I<II<IV<III; finger tips with small disks, except in finger I. Subarticular tubercles well developed, nearly rounded; supranumerary tubercles absent; palmar tubercle large, divided into two parts, inner larger, rhomboid, outer smaller ovoid; thenar tubercle large, rounded, at base of finger II.</p> <p> Legs short (combined THL, TBH and FL lengths 1.5 times the SVL), relatively robust; lacking tubercles; tibial and tarsal ridges absent; foot basally webbed, webbing formula I2 - –3II2 - –3 + III2 + –4 - IV4 + –2 + V; toes with well developed disks in all but first finger; fringes present on unwebbed portions of toes. Relative toe length I<II<V<III<IV; toes lack dermal spines; subarticular tubercles well developed; supranumerary tubercles absent; inner metatarsal tubercle present, oval, outer metatarsal tubercle absent.</p> <p>Skin smooth with very few scattered dermal spines on dorsum, slightly more numerous around the cloacal region; absent ventrally and on members.</p> <p> <b>Measurements of the holotype (mm).</b> SVL 34.9, HL 6.9, HW 9.6, ED 2.2, IOD 5.3, IND 2.3, END 2.7, THL 13.9, TBL 14.6, FL 22.4, 3FD 0.7, 4TD 1.1.</p> <p> <b>Color of the holotype in preservative.</b> Dorsum uniformly greyish brown; arm olive brown; forearm dark brown at inner side and olive brown at outer side; fingers cream with dark spots; dorsal surfaces of thigh and tibia same color as dorsum; cloacal region and posterior surface of thigh dark brown with a transverse white line on each side above; throat cream with brown reticutation; belly cream with irregular brown spots; ventral surface of thigh cream with few dark brown spots; ventral surface of tibia cream with several dark brown spots. Color in life of the holotype is unavailable.</p> <p> <b>Variation.</b> Measurements of the type specimens are given in Table 1. The species shows marked sexual dimorphism, with females being larger than males (Student’s <i>t</i> test for SVL; <i>t=</i> 9.894, df=89, p=0.000). Fingers slightly fringed in both sexes, fringes more developed in males; fingers with dermal spines in males, absent in females. Toes with dermal spines in males, lacking or very few spines in females. Males and females with dermal spines on body, spines in males more developed and more numerous, sometimes lacking in females. Males with many spines on anterior portion of chin (Fig. 6), absent in females. Females may present several spines around the cloaca. Variation in male and female foot webbing formula are, respectively: I(1 + – 1 +)–(2 + –2 -)II(2–1 +)–(3 + –2 +)III(2 - –1 +)–(3 + –2)IV(4–2)–(2 - –1 +)V and I(2–2 -)–(3–3 +)II(2–2 -)–(4–3 +)III(3 - –2 -)–(4 + – 3 –)IV(4–4 +)–(3–2)V.</p> <p>A mid-dorsal light stripe is present in about 20% of the individuals examined. The light horizontal stripe on the posterior portion of the thigh in invariably present in all specimens. Throat pattern varies from uniformly light to uniformly dark (generally in males); however, most specimens show a reticulated pattern of dark marks against a light background (Fig. 7). Venter varies from light with almost no dark markings to having a few small scattered small brown to black dots and from having few large spots to showing a reticulated pattern, with dark markings against a light venter.</p> <p>Variation of color in life; MPEG 18571 (field notes by M.S. Hoogmoed): Dorsum brown with indication of slightly lighter dorso-lateral bands. Forelimbs beige. Belly white, with large black spots at perimeter of belly and under thighs. Ventral side of shanks with black and white marbling. A narrow white line on posterior surface of thigh.</p> <p>MPEG 23279 (Fig. 1; our own field notes): Snout whitish. Dorsum greyish brown with scattered withe spots; dorsolateral region reddish. Forelimbs yellow. Hindlimbs marbled with red, brown and grey tones. Throat, belly and under surface of thigh cream with dark brown spots. A narrow horizontal white line on back of thighs.</p> <p>MPEG 23287 (fieldnotes by M.S. Hoogmoed): Dorsum grey brown with small white spots, white spots also present on hind limbs. Forelimbs orange-yellow. A narrow white line on back of thighs.</p> <p> <b>Osteology.</b> Description based on two cleared and stained specimens (one male, MPEG 23318; and one female, MPEG 23324). The skull of <i>C. avilapiresae</i> is slightly wider than long (about 1.1 times), with its widest point at the angle of the jaws. The nasals are not in contact medially, although very close; nasals are in contact or just overlap the frontoparietals posteriorly. Frontoparietals paired, not in contact medially, overlap posterolaterally with the prootic and posteriorly with the exoccipital. Maxilary arch incomplete, maxilla do not reach the quadratojugal, which is much reduced. Alary process of the premaxilla almost vertical. Vomer present, divided in an anterior and a posterior portion; posterior portion of the vomer apparently fused to the sphenetmoid. Palatines are absent.</p> <p>Pectoral girdle with procoracoid cartilages and clavicles present; omosternum not present; sternum present, broad, with round posterior margin, mainly cartilaginous but it shows some degree of mineralization in the anterior portion (Fig. 4). Coracoids do not touch or overlap medially; procoracoid in contact with coracoid. Clavicles slightly curved (MPEG 23324) to almost straight (MPEG 23318), entirely supported by procoracoid cartilage; clavicles not in contact laterally with coracoids, with which it forms an acute angle; clavicles broadly separated medially.</p> <p>Eight presacral vertebrae, all procoelous (Fig. 5). All presacrals with lateral processes; process more robust in presacrals II, III, and IV; processes projected anteriorly in Presacrals I, II, VII and VIII; projected posteriorly in presacrals III and IV, slightly posteriorly in presacral V; process in presacral VI is perpendicular to the vertebral column axis. Sacral diapophyses expanded laterally; urostyle without lateral projections.</p> <p>Phalangeal formula in hands 2-2-3-3, and in foot 2-2-3-4-3 (Fig. 5). Terminal phalanges knobbed, with irregularly expanded tips (Fig. 5). Prepollical and prehallical elements present.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The specific epithet honors Dr. Teresa C. S. de Ávila Pires, “T.C.”, professor and researcher at the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Teresa has worked to understand and protect the Amazonian herpetofauna for over 20 years, focusing mainly on the taxonomy, systematics and biogeography of lizards.</p> <p> <b>Distribution.</b> Known from scattered localities in the Brazilian Amazon basin, south of the Solimões and Amazonas rivers, in the states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, and Rondônia (Fig. 9).</p> <p> <b>Natural history.</b> R.I. Crombie’s fieldnotes note that specimens from Nova Colina and Nova Brasília, Rondônia, were collected in primary forest or in clearings/pastures. Specimens occurred near isolated pools in stream flood plain, always on the bank of ponds distant 0.5–1 m from water, under leaves or pieces of bark. Crombie’s notes do not mention calling activity.</p> <p> Specimens from Anapu, Itaituba and from the type locality (Caxiuanã, Pará) were collected in pitfall traps inside primary forest. Other microhylids collected in the same areas were <i>Chiasmocleis jimi</i>, <i>Ctenophryne geayi,</i> and <i>Hamptophryne boliviana. Chiasmocleis avilapiresae</i> occurs in sympatry with <i>C. bassleri</i> in at least three localities (Espigão do Oeste, Rondônia; Aripuanã, Mato Grosso and Itaituba, Pará). In Caxiuanã several specimens of the new species were found in stomachs of <i>Ceratophrys cornuta</i>, and one specimen was regurgitated by a <i>Leptodactylus paraensis</i> (M.A. Ribeiro-Jr, personal communication). A gravid female from the type locality contained approximately 1920 eggs. Advertisement call and tadpoles are unknown.</p>Published as part of <i>Peloso, Pedro Luiz Vieira & Sturaro, Marcelo José, 2008, A new species of narrow-mouthed frog of the genus Chiasmocleis Méhelÿ 1904 (Anura, Microhylidae) from the Amazonian rainforest of Brazil, pp. 39-52 in Zootaxa 1947</i> on pages 40-4
New target for the development of antimigraine drugs: in vitro and in vivo study
No full textL'emicrania è caratterizzata da attacchi dolorosi della durata di 4-72 ore, che colpisce il 12% della popolazione con un impatto importante sul benessere e la qualità della vita. La fisiopatologia dell'emicrania è molto complessa. L'emicrania può essere trattata da diverse classi di farmaci, appartenenti a due macro-categorie: terapia sintomatica e preventiva, ma la maggior parte di queste terapie sono mal tollerate o inefficaci, ed un elevato numero di pazienti sono insoddisfatti del loro trattamento, mentre altri la sviluppano in seguito ad abuso di farmaci sintomatici. Da qui la necessità di individuare nuovi obiettivi terapeutici per lo sviluppo di nuovi farmaci. L'obiettivo generale di questo lavoro di ricerca è stato lo studio farmacologico in vitro o in vivo di composti nuovi e standard che agiscono su diversi recettori coinvolti nella malattia dell'emicrania, nello specifico: 1) la messa a punto in vitro e la validazione di una serie di saggi per la caratterizzazione farmacologica di ligandi del recettore kappa; 2) sintesi e caratterizzazione farmacologica di ligandi peptidici, agonisti misti, per i recettori NOP/oppioidi; 3) progettazione, sintesi e caratterizzazione farmacologica di nuovi antagonisti TRPA1, analoghi di DHC200; 4) la valutazione del cannabidiolo (CBD) in vivo, in un modello murino di emicrania indotta dalla somministrazione sistemica del peptide correlato al gene calcitonina (CGRP); 5) la valutazione del ruolo svolto dal recettore per la nocicettina/orfanina FQ (NOP) nell’ emicrania tramite lo studio del fenotipo di topi knockout per il recettore NOP (NOP(-/-)) in due modelli sperimentali di emicrania. I risultati ottenuti sono: 1) messa a punto con successo e convalidazione farmacologica di una serie di test in vitro per caratterizzare i ligandi per il recettore kappa. Due nuovi derivati di dinorfina A sono stati caratterizzati: PWT2-Dyn A e Dyn A-palmitico. Questi composti si sono comportati come potenti agonisti per il recettore kappa; 2) 31 nuovi composti con sequenza generale [Tyr/Dmt1Xaa5]N/OFQ(1-13)NH2 sono stati sintetizzati e studiati attraverso il saggio della mobilizzazione del calcio intracellulare e tramite analisi DMR, utilizzando cellule che esprimono stabilmente i recettori oppioidi. [Dmt1,5]N/OFQ(1-13)-NH2 è stato identificato come l'agonista peptidico misto NOP/mu più potente finora descritto. Questo è un peptide promettente da testare in vivo nei modelli di emicrania preclinica; iii) DHC236 e DHC277 sono stati identificati come antagonisti TRPA1 puri e potenti, tre volte più potenti del composto di partenza DHC200. Si tratta di ligandi promettenti da testare in vivo in modelli di emicrania preclinica; iv) una singola somministrazione acuta di CGRP induce segni di ipersensibilità facciale sia nei topi femmine che in maschi, mentre il trattamento ripetuto di CGRP ha prodotto una progressiva diminuzione dell’allodinia periorbitale in topi femmine, mimando la progressione ad una fase cronica dell'emicrania. La somministrazione di CBD ha protetto sia le femmine che i maschi dall'insorgenza di allodinia periorbitale indotta da una singola iniezione di CGRP, mentre CBD cronico ha impedito lo sviluppo di allodina basale nelle femmine. Inoltre, il CBD iniettato dopo CGRP, ha revertito l'allodina evocata da CGRP ed ha anche ridotto i segni di dolore spontaneo indotti dalla somministrazione di CGRP nelle femmine. CBD ha bloccato l'ansia indotta da CGRP nei maschi, ma non è riuscito a revertire la fotofobia indotta da CGRP nelle femmine; v) Topi CD-1 sia maschi che femmine knock-out per il recettore NOP si sono dimostrati più sensibili sia agli effetti di NTG che di CGRP quando confrontati con CD-1 sia maschi che femmine wild-type, suggerendo che il ruolo nell’insorgenza dell’emicrania del recettore NOP. Concludendo, questo lavoro ha permesso lo sviluppo di nuove tecniche e composti per accelerare l'identificazione e lo sviluppo di nuovi farmaci anti-emicrania.Migraine is a recurrent headache disorder typified by painful attacks lasting 4 to 72 hours, which affects 12% of the Caucasian population and has a major impact on the well-being and quality of life of patients and their families. Migraine can be treated by different classes of drugs, belonging to two macro-categories: symptomatic and preventive therapy, but most of these therapies are poorly tolerated or ineffective, and a large number of patients are dissatisfied with their treatment, while others develop it following the abuse of symptomatic drugs. Hence the need to identify new therapeutic targets for the development of new anti-migraine drugs. The general aim of this research work has been the in vitro or the in vivo pharmacological investigation of new and standard compounds acting on different receptors involved in migraine disease. The aims of the study were: 1) the in vitro set-up and pharmacological validation of a battery of assays for the pharmacological characterization of kappa opioid receptor ligands; 2) the design, synthesis, and pharmacological characterization of mixed NOP/opioid peptide agonists; 3) the design, synthesis, and pharmacological characterization of new TRPA1 antagonists, analogs of the standard antagonist DHC200; 4) the evaluation of cannabidiol (CBD) in vivo, in a mouse model of migraine induced by calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) systemic administration; 5) the evaluation of the role played by the NOP receptor in migraine by studying the phenotype of mice knockout for the NOP receptor (NOP(-/-)) in two experimental migraine models (nitroglycerin (GTN)-induced migraine and CGRP-induced migraine). The main results can be resumed as follow: 1) a platform of in vitro assays to characterize ligands for the kappa opioid receptors have been successfully set up and pharmacologically validated using a panel of standard kappa ligands. In the frame of this study, two new dynorphins A derivatives have been characterized: PWT2-Dyn A and Dyn A-palmitic. These compounds behaved as potent full kappa agonists; 2) 31 new compounds with the general sequence [Tyr/Dmt1Xaa5]N/OFQ(1-13)NH2 have been synthesized and investigated through the calcium mobilization and the DMR assays, using cells stably expressing the NOP, mu, delta, and kappa receptors. [Dmt1,5]N/OFQ(1-13)-NH2 was identified as the most potent mixed NOP/mu peptide agonist so far described. This is a promising peptide to test in in vivo in pre-clinical migraine models; 3) DHC236 and DHC277 were identified as pure and potent TRPA1 antagonists, three times more potent than the starting compound DHC200. These are promising ligands to test in in vivo in pre-clinical migraine models; 4) a single administration of CGRP induced facial hypersensitivity in both female and male mice, while repeated CGRP treatment produced progressively decreased levels in basal pain thresholds only in female mice, suggesting the progression to a chronic migraine phase. In the acute protocol, the CBD administration protected both female and male mice from periorbital allodynia induced by a single CGRP injection, and in the chronic one prevented increased levels of basal allodynia induced by repeated CGRP treatment in female mice. Moreover, CBD injected after CGRP, reversed CGRP-evoked allodynia, and also reduced spontaneous pain traits induced by CGRP administration in female mice. Finally, CBD blocked CGRP-induced anxiety in male mice but failed in protecting CGRP-induced photophobia in female mice; 5) female and male NOP(-/-) mice were more sensitive to the effects of both GTN and CGRP compared to wild-type mice, suggesting that the NOP receptor plays a role in migraine onset. In conclusion, this work brings to the scientific community new methodologies, compounds, and evidence useful to speed up the identification and development of new anti-migraine drugs
The impact of informal and formal care disruption on older adults' psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in UK
No full textThis paper investigates how formal and informal caregiving disruptions-due to the U.K. government's non -pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) aimed at reducing transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus-may have affected the likelihood of psychological distress among older individuals. We model the association between disruption of formal and informal care and mental health of the elderly during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic using a recursive simultaneous -equation model for binary variables. Our findings reveal that public interventions, which are most essential for reducing the pandemic spread, influenced the provision of formal and informal care. The lack of adequate long-term care following the COVID-19 outbreak has also had negative repercussions on the psychological well-being of these adults
Use of microparticulated whey protein (MWP) in the Italian dairy industry
No full textThe thesis is composed of four contributes, dealing with different approaches developed to understand the different aspects of whey proteins (WP) recovery, and their use across cheese manufacturing. The general aim of the research project was to investigate and propose strategies for the utilization of whey and whey products in cheese produced by an Italian dairy industry. The Soligo dairy cooperative (Soligo, Treviso, Italy) was partner and supported the project.
In this scenario, the objectives of the first contributes was to develop a gold-method for WP quantification in whey, by Reversed Phase -HPLC, and to evaluate the potential of mid infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) in WP prediction. Whey proteins included α-Lactoalbumin (α-LA), β-Lactoglobulin A and B (β-LG), bovine serum albumin, caseinomacropeptides, proteose peptone and total WP identified. Repeatability and reproducibility tests, in validation procedures, were performing by calculating the relative standard deviation (RSD) within and across days for retention times and peak areas. Samples of whey (n = 187) were analysed according to the reference methods and MIRS spectra were stored (900 - 4000 cm-1); statistical analysis was carried out through partial least squares regression and random cross-validation procedure. Retention times were stable, with RSD ranging between 0.03% and 0.80%. The RSD of peak area in repeatability and reproducibility tests ranged from 0.25% to 8.48% depending on the considered proteins and their relative abundance; indeed, better coefficients of determination in validation were obtained for fractions present in whey in large amounts, as β-LG (0.58), total identified WP (0.58), α-LA (0.56), while minor WP were predicted with minor appreciable accuracy. Results from this study propose a high-throughput and high-resolution method for WP quantification in whey and show the potential of MIRS for their prediction.
The objective of the second contribute was to investigate the effect of increasing concentrations of microparticulated whey proteins (MWP; from 0.0 to 9.0%, vol/vol) on milk coagulation properties (MCP), namely rennet coagulation time (RCT), curd-firming time, and curd firmness 30 min after rennet addition (a30). Three bulk milk samples, collected and analyzed during 3 days, were added with 6 concentrations of MWP (vol/vol): 1.5%, 3.0%, 4.5%, 6.0%, 7.5%, and 9.0%. Moreover, a sample without MWP was used as control. Milk coagulation properties were measured using Formagraph (Foss Electric A/S, Hillerød, Denmark). The increment of the amount of MWP added to milk led to longer RCT. In particular, significant differences were found between RCT of the control samples (13.5 min) and RCT of samples added with 3.0% (14.6 min) or more of MWP. Similar trend was observed for curd-firming time, which showed the shortest time in the control samples and the longest in samples with 9.0% (21.4 min) of MWP. No significant differences were detected for a30 across concentrations of MWP. Adjustments in cheese processing should be made when recycling MWP, in particular during coagulation process by prolonging the time of rennet activity before cutting of the curd.
Aim of the third study was to evaluate the effect of MWP, using standardized milk with different protein-to-fat ratios (PFR; high, standard and low levels of fat) and increasing MWP concentrations (from 0.0 to 4.0 %, vol/vol) on milk coagulation process, cheese yield and composition of 30 cheese samples carried out through a mini cheese-making technique. The increment of PFR affected RCT. Moreover, cheese yield decreased as the level of fat decreased, and it was higher in low-fat cheese (high PFR) with 4.0% MWP compared with low-fat cheese with 3.0% MWP. No differences were found for cheese yield in standard and high fat cheese (standard and low PFR) across MWP concentrations. The stable composition of low-fat Caciotta suggests the possibility to include MWP as fat replacer to maintain the yield.
The fourth contribute aimed at the investigating the effectiveness of Hyper Spectral Image (HSI) technique to detect MWP in low-fat Caciotta cheese, produced with increased concentration of MWP (2.0%, 3.0%, 4.0% vol/vol). Hyperspectral image is an emerging technology successfully employed in food inspection, by combining the advantages of conventional digital image and spectroscopy to obtain both spatial and spectral information from an object. Twelve mini-cheese making were performed using standardized milk in low fat condition (3.5% of protein and fat). Protein levels were adjusted with 2.0%, 3.0% or 4.0% MWP vol/vol. For each day of cheese making a control thesis without MWP was performed (0.0% MWP). After one month of ripening a slice of each cheese was analysed for the acquisition of near infrared image in range wavelengths from 1,100 to 1,600 nm, for a total of 140 wavelengths measured. Several spatial and spectral pre-processing were tested: two times spatial binning, and standard normal variate plus second derivate were select as optimal. Principal component analysis reported an explained variability of 7% across treatments. Cluster analysis evidenced an increment in component presence by increasing MWP percentage in treatments. Moreover, a score plot reported a destine classification of samples contains MWP and control without. The results confirm the ability of HIS in MWP detection, and this information can be used to construct further classification models able to discriminate cheese adulteration for MWP addition
Sustainability of dairy farms in mountainous areas
No full textThe general aim of this thesis was to analyze the sustainability of dairy cattle farms in mountainous areas. The studies were conducted in the Eastern Italian Alps, a study area representative of the evolution of livestock systems in mountainous areas
Functional Selectivity Does Not Predict Antinociceptive/Locomotor Impairing Potencies of NOP Receptor Agonists
No full textNociceptin/orphanin FQ controls several functions, including pain transmission, via stimulation of the N/OFQ peptide (NOP) receptor. Here we tested the hypothesis that NOP biased agonism may be instrumental for identifying innovative analgesics. In vitro experiments were performed with the dynamic mass redistribution label free assay and the NOP non-peptide agonists Ro 65-6570, AT-403 and MCOPPB. In vivo studies were performed in wild type and β-arrestin 2 knockout mice using the formalin, rotarod and locomotor activity tests. In vitro all compounds mimicked the effects of N/OFQ behaving as potent NOP full agonists. In vivo Ro 65-6570 demonstrated a slightly higher therapeutic index (antinociceptive vs. motor impairment effects) in knockout mice. However, all NOP agonists displayed very similar therapeutic index in normal mice despite significant differences in G protein biased agonism. In conclusion the different ability of inducing G protein vs. β-arrestin 2 recruitment of a NOP agonist cannot be applied to predict its antinociceptive vs. motor impairment properties
Suitability of a commercial low-cost biologging system for monitoring movement, behaviour and heart rate of grazing dairy cows
No full textThis study explored the suitability of a commercial biologging system incorporating GPS and heart rate (HR) sensors to monitor grazing cattle’s movement, behaviour and heart rate. We preliminarily tested the GPS accuracy with stationary tests and then monitored six dairy cows grazing in an alpine summer pasture for 20 days and nights. We trained a random forest model on direct observations to infer cows’ behaviours (resting, grazing, walking) from GPS movement data. We associated each GPS position with the HR (beats per minute - bpm) mean and maximum-minimum difference in the 120–second interval preceding its acquisition. The GPS sensor showed high accuracy (positioning error lower than 2 m in open sky-view and 3 m under tree canopy cover) and efficiency of position acquisition of 95% after excluding outlier positions. The efficiency of HR data acquisition was lower, peaking at 77% during daytime activity and dropping to 50% during night-time resting. The HR mean and the maximum-minimum difference were lower during resting and at night and higher during grazing, walking, and daytime. They also increased with slope and Temperature Humidity Index (THI). This study indicates that this commercial biologging system is suitable for short-term monitoring of animals’ movement, behaviour and physiological responses to varying pasture and climatic conditions, offering insights for livestock management in alpine summer pastures
A Multi-Language Comparison of Influences on Author Verification using Character N-Grams
No full textWe create a new multi-language corpus for author verification based on Wikipedia talkpages, and evaluate the influence that differences in topic and time have on character n-gram author profiles. Topic alignment between two texts is found to increase author verification precision, and an authors writing style is found to change over time, but not more significantly after 3 years than after 1 year.Information ArchitectureWISElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
Nitrogen and phosphorus excretion on mountain farms of different dairy systems
No full textWe developed a procedure to estimate the release of nutrients into the environment on Alpine dairy farms and applied it to a sample of 564 farms in the Province of Trento (north-eastern Italy) as a case study. Farm data (geographical location, herd size, milk production and quality, reproductive events, land use) were gathered from institutional databases and merged. Information on the formulation of the ration was obtained from farm visits. The farms fell into 4 groups: traditional with summer transhumance to highland pastures (T-ALP, 51%), traditional without transhumance (T-noALP, 24%), traditional using silage (T-S, 5%), and modern (MOD, 20%). The model predicted N and P excretion from cows and heifers on a farm basis. The N in manurTe was computed from total N excreted, assuming a 28% of N loss due to volatilisation. A cow unit was defined as the cow and its share of replacement heifer. The average dietary N content of the lactating cows ranged from 20 to 30 g/kg DM, while on-farm N excretion ranged from 90 to 190 kg/year per cow unit; the modern farms had the highest average value (137 kg), the T-ALP farms the lowest (106 kg). Average P excretion ranged from 10 to 40 kg/year/ cow unit. The on-farm N and P in manure per unit of milk decreased asymptotically with increasing cow pro- ductivity, from 25 to 19 and from 4.1 to 2.8 g/kg milk, respectively. The modern farms had the greatest amounts of N and P in manure per unit of agricultural land (260 and 51 kg/ha, respectively), the T-ALP farms the lowest (161 and 37 kg/ha, respectively). Within system, there was a huge variation among farms in the N and P load per unit of agricultural land, which was largely explained by the number of cow units per ha and by nutrient excretion per cow unit, but not by herd size or cow productivity. Within dairy system, the N and P contents of the rations for lactating cows were weakly related to the daily milk yield, but strongly related to the annual excretion of the nutrient per cow unit. The farm N loads were below the legal thresholds (340 kg N/ha per year), but the geographical distribution of the loads indicated two critical areas due to farm density
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe 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
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