Search results for "sheep"
showing 10 items of 279 documents
Effect of beta-lactoglobulin polymorphism on milk-related traits of dairy ewes analysed by a repeated measures design.
2000
Among specific genes that may affect economically important traits in sheep, the β-lactoglobulin (LGB) locus has been extensively studied. Polymorphism has been detected in several breeds, but studies of the effect of LGB alleles on milk production traits have given conflicting results. Some found that LGB polymorphism significantly affects milk yield (Bolla et al. 1989; Herget et al. 1995; Fraghì et al. 1996), fat and protein content (Garzon & Martínez 1992; Giaccone et al. 1997; Kukovics et al. 1998), only fat content (Pirisi et al. 1998) and cheese yield and composition (Di Stasio et al. 1997; Rampilli et al. 1997). However, other studies failed to detect any effect of the gene on mi…
Study of polymorphisms in the promoter region of ovine β-lactoglobulin gene and phylogenetic analysis among the Valle del Belice breed and other shee…
2012
The aim of this work was to sequence the promoter region of b-lactoglobulin (BLG) gene in four sheep breeds, in order to identify polymorphisms, infer and analyze haplotypes, and phylogenetic relationship among the Valle del Belice breed and the other three breeds considered as ancestors. Sequencing analysis and alignment of the obtained sequences showed the presence of 36 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and one deletion. A total of 22 haplotypes found in ‘‘best’’ reconstruction were inferred considering the 37 polymorphic sites identified. Haplotypes were used for the reconstruction of a phylogenetic tree using the Neighbor-Joining algorithm. The number of polymorphisms identified s…
Biogas yield from Sicilian kitchen waste and cheese whey
2013
The aim of this study is to determine the chemical composition of kitchen waste and cheese whey, as well as the biogas yield obtained from the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) tests of these two raw materials. Since the separated waste collection is performed in the town of Marineo (Palermo), a sample of kitchen waste, different from food industry one and included in the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW), was collected from the mass stored at the households of this town. Moreover, a sample of cheese whey was collected in a Sicilian mini dairy plant, where sheep milk is processed. This investigation was carried out inside laboratory digesters of Aleksandras Stulginskis University (Li…
Expansion of intracellular IFN-γ positive lymphocytes during Mycoplasma agalactiae infection in sheep.
2010
Abstract A method to assess the expansion of antigen-specific intracellular IFN-γ positive T cell subsets during the infection will be helpful for a better understanding of mycoplasmal infections physiopathology in the sheep. We analysed the percentage of antigen-specific lymphocytes positive for intracellular IFN-γ during the infection of sheep with Mycoplasma agalactiae by culturing peripheral blood mononuclear cells of infected or uninfected animals with irradiated M. agalactiae . The expansion of antigen-specific IFN-γ positive lymphocytes in infected sheep was initially sustained by CD4 + T cells at day 15 after infection, when antigen specific IgG start to be detectable, followed by C…
Layered dry envelope insulated with sheep wool-lime mix
2014
This poster describes the results of a research aimed to design and assess a new layered envelope component that might be implemented on buildings of the Mediterranean area, in order to improve the energy efficiency and the environmental sustainability. These goals have been achieved by means of the use of local and natural building materials or arising from renewable resources. In particular, thermal insulating has been realize utilizing a mix of natural and mineral materials, obtaining a biocomposite with comparable building physics and mechanical properties to commonly used building materials. Among natural materials, the sheep wool was chosen since it is, on the hand, a waste to exploit…
Tick-borne encephalitis virus, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis …
2018
The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of tick-borne pathogens of medical importance in questing ticks collected from five recreationally used islands along the Norwegian coastline. Furthermore, since coinfection may affect the disease severity, this study aimed to determine the extent of coinfection in individual ticks or co-localization of tick-borne pathogens. In all, 4158 questing Ixodes ricinus ticks were analyzed. For detection of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), nymphs (3690) were analyzed in pools of ten. To detect Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, B. miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, 468 nymphs were analyzed individually…
Rapid and specific detection of F17-related pilin and adhesin genes in diarrheic and septicemic Escherichia coli strains by multiplex PCR
1996
The F17-related adhesins are prevalent in Escherichia coli strains isolated from calves with diarrhea or septicemia and from lambs with nephropathy. The F17 family includes the F17a, F17b, F17c, and F111 fimbriae produced by bovine E. coli strains and the G agglutinin produced by human uropathogenic E. coli strains. An easy and inexpensive multiplex PCR method was developed to detect all the F17-related fimbriae and to identify four subtypes of structural subunit genes and two distinct subfamilies of adhesin genes by only two runs of amplification. A strict correlation was observed between the phenotypic assays and the multiplex PCR method when 166 pathogenic E. coli strains isolated from i…
A first comparative map of copy number variations in the sheep genome.
2011
article i nfo We carried out a cross species cattle-sheep array comparative genome hybridization experiment to identify copy number variations (CNVs) in the sheep genome analysing ewes of Italian dairy or dual-purpose breeds (Bagnolese, Comisana, Laticauda, Massese, Sarda, and Valle del Belice) using a tiling oligonucleotide array with ~385,000 probes designed on the bovine genome. We identified 135 CNV regions (CNVRs; 24 reported in more than one animal) covering ~10.5 Mb of the virtual sheep genome referred to the bovine genome (0.398%) with a mean and a median equal to 77.6 and 55.9 kb, respectively. A comparative analysis between the identified sheep CNVRs and those reported in cattle a…
Fasciola hepatica phenotypic characterization in Andean human endemic areas: Valley versus altiplanic patterns analysed in liver flukes from sheep fr…
2011
Fascioliasis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica. Of both species, F. hepatica is the only one described in the Americas, mainly transmitted by lymnaeid snail vectors of the Galba/. Fossaria group. Human fascioliasis endemic areas are mainly located in high altitude areas of Andean countries. Given the necessity to characterize F. hepatica populations involved, the phenotypic features of fasciolid adults infecting sheep present in human fascioliasis endemic areas were analysed in the Cajamarca Valley and Mantaro Valley (valley transmission patterns) and the northern Bolivian Altiplano (altiplanic transmission pattern). A computer image analysis…
High sensitivity of free lambda and free kappa light chains for detection of intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis in cerebrospinal fluid.
2008
Background – So far, an inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS) is diagnosed by immunoglobulin measurement in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum as well as by determination of the oligoclonal bands. With the free kappa and lambda light chains, new markers to diagnose intrathecal synthesis are available. Methods – In addition to routine diagnostic tests and the assessment of standard parameters, free immunoglobulin light chains were measured in the CSF of patients with neurological disorders. Results – A significant agreement was found between an increase in free kappa light chain CSF serum quotients and results of the currently widely applied method of oligoclonal band measurem…