Search results for "040201 dairy & animal science"
showing 10 items of 184 documents
Productivity of an Atriplex halimus shrubbery and effects of grazing on lambs
2009
The objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate the productivity and forage quality of Atriplex halimus, 2) investigate modifications to shrub structure induced by grazing, and 3) assess live weight changes in lambs grazing on A. halimus with and without a feed supplement (wheat straw ± barley grain). The results showed that A. halimus had low productivity (approximately 1000 kg DM ha–1) but high tolerance to grazing by lambs, although minor modifications in plant structure due to grazing were observed. Lambs grazing A. halimus as a sole diet lost weight (about 60 g lamb−1 d–1; P < 0.01), probably as a consequence of the high salt content of the forage reducing bot…
The genetic heritage of Alpine local cattle breeds using genomic SNP data
2020
Abstract Background Assessment of genetic diversity and population structure provides important control metrics to avoid genetic erosion, inbreeding depression and crossbreeding between exotic and locally-adapted cattle breeds since these events can have deleterious consequences and eventually lead to extinction. Historically, the Alpine Arc represents an important pocket of cattle biodiversity with a large number of autochthonous breeds that provide a fundamental source of income for the entire regional economy. By using genotype data from medium-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, we performed a genome-wide comparative study of 23 cattle populations from the Alpine Arc an…
On the origin and diversification of Podolian cattle breeds: testing scenarios of European colonization using genome-wide SNP data
2021
AbstractBackgroundDuring the Neolithic expansion, cattle accompanied humans and spread from their domestication centres to colonize the ancient world. In addition, European cattle occasionally intermingled with both indicine cattle and local aurochs resulting in an exclusive pattern of genetic diversity. Among the most ancient European cattle are breeds that belong to the so-called Podolian trunk, the history of which is still not well established. Here, we used genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data on 806 individuals belonging to 36 breeds to reconstruct the origin and diversification of Podolian cattle and to provide a reliable scenario of the European colonization, throug…
Colour assessment of milk and milk products using computer vision system and colorimeter
2021
Abstract A computer vision system (CVS) and a colorimeter were compared for their abilities to measure the colour of twenty-seven different milks and milk products. The frequency of similarity test showed that CVS-generated colour chips were similar to the actual sample colour in all trials (100%). The CVS-obtained colours were found to be more similar to the colour of sample visualised on the monitor, compared with colorimeter-generated colour chips, with values of 83.3–100.0% depending on the milk product. The third test showed that there was difference between colour measured by CVS and the colorimeter; colorimeter readings resulted in a darker and yellower colour based on average L∗a∗b∗…
Optimization of CASA-Mot Analysis of Donkey Sperm : optimum Frame Rate and Values of Kinematic Variables for Different Counting Chamber and Fields
2020
In order to optimize the donkey sperm motility analysis by the CASA (Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis)-Mot system, twelve ejaculates were collected from six jackasses. Capillary loaded chamber (CLC), ISAS®
Distribution and mobility of phosphates and sodium ions in cheese by solid-state 31 P and double-quantum filtered 23 Na NMR spectroscopy
2010
The feasibility of solid-state magic angle spinning (MAS) (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and (23)Na NMR spectroscopy to investigate both phosphates and Na(+) ions distribution in semi-hard cheeses in a non-destructive way was studied. Two semi-hard cheeses of known composition were made with two different salt contents. (31)P Single-pulse excitation and cross-polarization MAS experiments allowed, for the first time, the identification and quantification of soluble and insoluble phosphates in the cheeses. The presence of a relatively 'mobile' fraction of colloidal phosphates was evidenced. The detection by (23)Na single-quantum NMR experiments of all the sodium ions in t…
Chemical and physico‐chemical changes during the dry‐cured processing of deer loin
2019
The changes on chemical composition, physico‐chemical parameters, free fatty acids and free amino acids content of dry‐cured deer loin were investigated at day 0, 30 and 60 of dry‐cured process. On the whole, except for pH values (≈5.6) and composition (fat: 4.6–5.2%; protein: ≈73%; ash: ≈17.5%) that did not show differences between the processing days, the other physico‐chemical parameters were affected by curing process. Colour parameters and moisture (from 69 to 38.4%) decreased while the hardness increase from 12.35 to 342 N and lipid oxidation (from 0.2 to 0.52 mg MDA/kg) increased as dry‐cured stage progresses. In similar way, free fatty acid (2250 mg per 100 g of fat at 0 day and 594…
Effects of tannin-containing diets on small ruminant meat quality
2010
Tannins are phenolic compounds present in several forages, tree leaves and by-products used for small ruminant feeding in the Mediterranean area. Although the effects of dietary tannins on small ruminant growth performances have been largely studied, only in the last ten years researchers have started to study the effects of tannins on meat quality. Meat from small ruminants given tanniniferous diets is lighter in colour compared to meat from animals given the same diets but in which the effects of tannins have been eliminated by the supplementation of polyethylene glycol. This result has been obtained with tannins from different feeds (carob pulp, acacia leaves or sulla fresh herbage). Rec…
Genome-wide detection of copy-number variations in local cattle breeds
2019
The aim of the present study was to identify copy-number variations (CNVs) in Cinisara (CIN) and Modicana (MOD) cattle breeds on the basis of signal intensity (logR ratio) and B allele frequency of each marker, using Illumina’s BovineSNP50K Genotyping BeadChip. The CNVs were detected with the PennCNV and SVS 8.7.0 software and were aggregated into CNV regions (CNVRs). PennCNV identified 487 CNVs in CIN that aggregated into 86 CNVRs, and 424 CNVs in MOD that aggregated into 81 CNVRs. SVS identified a total of 207 CNVs in CIN that aggregated into 39 CNVRs, and 181 CNVs in MOD that aggregated into 41 CNVRs. The CNVRs identified with the two softwares contained 29 common CNVRs in CIN and 17 co…
Effect of Mycoplasma agalactiae mastitis on milk production and composition in Valle dell Belice dairy sheep
2019
Contagious agalactia (CA), a disease caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae and other pathogenic mycoplasmas, is a well-known multietiological syndrome affecting dairy breeds of sheep and goats in the Mediterranean basin. The aim of this work was to study the effect on milk production and composition of mastitis caused by M. agalactiae in Valle del Belice dairy sheep. All ewes were manually milked twice daily and the milk from both daily milking was analysed for milk composition and somatic cell counts. Moreover the morning milk samples were collected aseptically from each animal for bacteriological analyses. A mixed linear model was utilised to consider milk production and composition between ani…