Search results for " livestock"

Penalized classification for optimal statistical selection of markers from high-throughput genotyping: application in sheep breeds

2018

The identification of individuals’ breed of origin has several practical applications in livestock and is useful in different biological contexts such as conservation genetics, breeding and authentication of animal products. In this paper, penalized multinomial regression was applied to identify the minimum number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from high-throughput genotyping data for individual assignment to dairy sheep breeds reared in Sicily. The combined use of penalized multinomial regression and stability selection reduced the number of SNPs required to 48. A final validation step on an independent population was carried out obtaining 100% correctly classified individuals. …

An Epidemiological Study to Investigate Links between Atmospheric Pollution from Farming and SARS-CoV-2 Mortality.

2022

Exposure to atmospheric particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide has been linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection and death. We hypothesized that long-term exposure to farming-related air pollutants might predispose to an increased risk of COVID-19-related death. To test this hypothesis, we performed an ecological study of five Italian Regions (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Sicily), linking all-cause mortality by province (administrative entities within regions) to data on atmospheric concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and ammonia (NH3), which are mainly produced by agricultural activities. The study outcome was change in all-cause mortality during March–Apri…

Effetto del sistema di allevamento e della tecnologia di caseificazione sulla qualità del caciocavallo palermitano.

2011

Effects of livestock system and cheese making technique on the quality of Caciocavallo Palermitano cheese - Caciocavallo Palermitano is a typical stretched curd cheese produced in the Central and Western Sicily. It is traditionally obtained from whole milk of indigenous cows breeds and by the original cheese making technology in which wooden tools, source of inoculum of autochthonous lactic bacteria, are used. Recently, Caciocavallo Palermitano cheese is also obtained in dairy intensive farms of specialized breeds where milk is processed mainly using stainless steel equipment and commercial selected lactic ferments. The aim of this investigation was to verify the influence of cheese making …

L'allevamento bovino nella Vale del Torto: un caso di zootecnia sostenibile in Sicilia

2011

La zootecnia pur non risultando tra le principali attività del settore agricolo siciliano, riveste un ruolo di estrema importanza sociale, ancor più che economica, per ampie zone della Sicilia. La crisi che dagli inizi degli anni 2000 investe il settore, ed in particolare quello bovino, ha provocato tanto la chiusura di un elevato numero di allevamenti che una forte contrazione dei capi allevati, siano essi ad indirizzo carne che ad indirizzo latte. La zootecnia bovina ad indirizzo carne presente nella Valle del Torto, in provincia di Palermo e zona oggetto del presente studio, ha per molti decenni decisamente contribuito allo sviluppo di una comunità rurale che su questa attività ha creato…

Impact of climate change and man-made irrigation systems on the transmission risk, long-term trend and seasonality of human and animal fascioliasis i…

2014

Large areas of the province of Punjab, Pakistan are endemic for fascioliasis, resulting in high economic losses due to livestock infection but also affecting humans directly. The prevalence in livestock varies pronouncedly in space and time (1-70%). Climatic factors influencing fascioliasis presence and potential spread were analysed based on data from five mete- orological stations during 1990-2010. Variables such as wet days (Mt), water-budget-based system (Wb-bs) indices and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), were obtained and correlated with geographical distribution, seasonality patterns and the two-decade evolution of fascioliasis in livestock throughout the province. …

Tuberkulins un tuberkulina reakcijas

1929

Genome-wide analysis in endangered populations: a case study in Barbaresca sheep

2017

Analysis of genomic data is becoming increasingly common in the livestock industry and the findings have been an invaluable resource for effective management of breeding programs in small and endangered populations. In this paper, with the goal of highlighting the potential of genomic analysis for small and endangered populations, genome-wide levels of linkage disequilibrium, measured as the squared correlation coefficient of allele frequencies at a pair of loci, effective population size, runs of homozygosity (ROH) and genetic diversity parameters, were estimated in Barbaresca sheep using Illumina OvineSNP50K array data. Moreover, the breed's genetic structure and its relationship with oth…

APPLICAZIONE DI TECNOLOGIE BIOMOLECOLARI E PROTEOMICHE NELLO STUDIO DELLA BIODIVERSITA’ DI RAZZE ZOOTECNICHE SICILIANE AUTOCTONE

Case Study of Potential Production of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) from Livestock Wastes in Mediterranean Islands

2017

The aim of this work is to evaluate the potential production of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) from livestock wastes that are commonly found on Mediterranean islands, by using the island of Malta as a case study. Organic wastes in the form of livestock manure and slurry, as well as other by-products originating from the food transformation industry in the making of alcoholic beverages and the processing of olives, tomatoes and other streams, if mixed in such a way to achieve a correct C/N ratio, can be subjected to anaerobic co-digestion for the production of biogas and digestate. Biogas can be further transformed into biomethane, a fuel that can be used to power surface transportation and …

Cellulolytic activity in Aspergillus spp. contaminating livestock feeds and raw materials

2020

The contamination by Aspergillus spp. have become a global concern in food and feedstuffs and can lead to a reduction in yield and quality of agricultural products with significant economic losses. Most species of Aspergillus produce cellulose-degrading enzymes and some of them also have mycotoxigenic activity. This study aimed i) to evaluate the Aspergillus contamination in feeds (16) and row materials (32) collected in Sicily; ii) to isolate and identify fungi belonging to the genus Aspergillus and iii) to analyze their ability to produce cellulolytic enzymes. Aspergillus spp. contamination was evaluated on PDA using serial ten-fold dilution and spread plate technique (Mirabile et al., 20…