Veterinary drugs in drinking water used for pharmaceutical treatments in breeding farms

Water is susceptible to be used for numerous purposes, including edible, both for humans and animals. In the food animal production, drinking water is frequently used as a way to carry out the most common pharmacological treatments. In these cases, there are many variables which could degrade drugs dissolved in this mean, even when properly arranged pharmaceutical formulations are used. In fact, although a product obtains a Marketing Authorization through appropriate laboratory studies both drug stability and solubility, on the other hand the solubility of the same drug in natural water used as a drinking water is not documented. In the present study has been evaluated the dissolution kinetics (at 0 hours and 24 hours) of products, having oxytetracycline and tylosin as active ingredient, used in drinking water samples in order to see how the different physical and chemical factors that characterize the drinking water may affect therapeutic efficacy. In fact, multiple factors, also of little relevance if individually considered, are able to adversely affect the pharmacological treatment carried out in drinking water.

Agricultural Genetics and Plant Breeding in Early Twentieth-Century Italy

This thesis is about plant breeding in Early 20th-Century Italy. The stories of the two most prominent Italian plant-breeders of the time, Nazareno Strampelli and Francesco Todaro, are used to explore a fragment of the often-neglected history of Italian agricultural research. While Italy was not at the forefront of agricultural innovation, research programs aimed at varietal innovation did emerge in the country, along with an early diffusion of Mendelism. Using philosophical as well as historical analysis, plant breeding is analysed throughout this thesis as a process: a sequence of steps that lays on practical skills and theoretical assumptions, acting on various elements of production. Systematic plant-breeding programs in Italy started from small individual efforts, attracting more and more resources until they became a crucial part of the fascist regime's infamous agricultural policy. Hybrid varieties developed in the early 20th century survived World War II and are now ancestors of the varieties that are still cultivated today. Despite this relevance, the history of Italian wheat hybrids is today largely forgotten: this thesis is an effort to re-evaluate a part of it. The research did allow previously unknown or neglected facts to emerge, giving a new perspective on the infamous alliance between plant-breeding programs and the fascist regime. This thesis undertakes an analysis of Italian plant-breeding programs as processes. Those processes had a practical as well as a theoretical side, and involved various elements of production. Although a complete history of Italian plant breeding still remains to be written, the Italian case can now be considered along with the other case-studies that other scholars have developed in the history of plant breeding. The hope is that this historical and philosophical analysis will contribute to the on-going effort to understand the history of plants.

Lipid quality and oxidative stability in food products from animal origin, as affected by breeding factor

Nowadays it is requested more investigations on alternative rearing systems that are able to improve poultry welfare and to warrant high-quality and safe meat products. This thesis work was focused on the evaluation of the oxidative stability of poultry meats, obtained with different rearing systems, diets (supplemented with bioactive compounds), and packaging conditions. The thesis work was divided into the following parts: - Evaluation of the effects of different rearing systems on the quality, fatty acid composition and oxidative stability of poultry thigh and breast meat belonging to different product categories (“rotisserie” and “cut-up” carcasses); - Evaluation of the effects of different rearing systems and packaging conditions on the shelf-life of poultry thigh meat stored at 4°C for 14 days, and the effects of feed supplementation with thymol (control diet and diet with 2 different concentration of thymol) and packaging conditions on lipid oxidation of poultry thigh meat shelf-life (stored at 4°C for 14 days). The oxidative stability of poultry meat was studied by means of the spectrophotometric determinations of peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. - Evaluation of anti-inflammatory effects of different flavonoids (thymol, luteolin, tangeretin, sulforaphane, polymethoxyflavones, curcumin derivates) to detect their biological activity in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells in vitro, in order to study more in depth their action mechanisms. It was evaluated the cell vitality (MTT assay), nitrite concentration and protein profile. The study was focused on the identification of potential dietary bioactive compounds in order to investigate their biological activity and possible synergic effects, and to develop new suitable strategies for long-term promotion of human health, in particular against cancer.