Feed digestibility and productive performance of bullfrogs raised in cages and fed in different periods and high frequency

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

COINCIDENCES OF FIBREWISE MAPS BETWEEN SPHERE BUNDLES OVER THE CIRCLE

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Signs, translation, and life in the Bakhtin circle and in Welby's significs

“Significs” is provisionally defined by Welby (1911: vii) as the study of the nature of significance in all its forms and relationships, of its workings in all spheres of human life and knowledge. Considering “significs” as a movement highlighting significance, Welby explores the action of signs in life; and more than the Saussurean sign composed of signifier and signified, the sign as understood by Welby refers to meaning as generated through signs in motion. This notion of “significs” empowers the study of signs when it considers the sign not in terms of the Saussurean structural representation of the union of the concept and acoustic image, but as (responsive and responsible) sign action in the world, in life. This also means to take into account the “extra-linguistic referent” (translinguistic and transdiscursive character of significs), history (space-time), subjectivity, the architecture of values connected to language, their communicative function. We believe that a dialogue can be established between Welby’s vision of significs and the notion of ideological sign proposed by Vološinov in Marxism and the Philosophy of Language, expanding the notions of “meaning” and “sense.”

Quantum Discord for d circle times 2 Systems

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Szegö polynomials: quadrature rules on the unit circle and on [-1, 1]

We consider some of the relations that exist between real Szegö polynomials and certain para-orthogonal polynomials defined on the unit circle, which are again related to certain orthogonal polynomials on [-1, 1] through the transformation x = (z1/2+z1/2)/2. Using these relations we study the interpolatory quadrature rule based on the zeros of polynomials which are linear combinations of the orthogonal polynomials on [-1, 1]. In the case of any symmetric quadrature rule on [-1, 1], its associated quadrature rule on the unit circle is also given.

New fermions and a vectorlike third generation in SU(3)(C)circle times SU(3)(L)circle times U(1)(N) models

We study two 3-3-1 models with (i) five (four) charge 2/3 (-1/3) quarks and (ii) four (five) charge 2/3 (-1/3) quarks and a vectorlike third generation. Possibilities beyond these models are also briefly considered.

Availability of nutrients, productive properties, and quality of sunflower ( L.) seeds in acid soils amended with different molar ratios between Ca and Mg

Liming is indispensable in acid soils for amending acidity; however, the technique may alter the cation balance in soil and, consequently, may limit the availability and uptake of nutrients. We aimed to evaluate different molar ratios between calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) on the availability of soil nutrients and their influence on the productive properties of sunflower and seed quality. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse under two types of contrasting soils and six molar combinations of CaCO3and MgCO3 in amendment of soil acidity to raise base saturation to 70%. After incubation, soil analysis was undertaken to verify the ratios obtained and nutrient availability. Morphological and production variables were analyzed at the end of the experiment, as well as accumulation of nutrients in the achenes and their physiological quality. In spite of equal base saturation between the types of soil, there were differences in the available contents of these cations. The increase in the Ca contents limited the Mg contents to the critical level of the sunflower. This result had a negative influence on the production properties of sunflower and physiological quality. In contrast, there was a compensation of the crop with greater accumulation of nutrients in the achenes under lower yield.

Book Review of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?": Aboriginal Communities, Restorative Justice, and the Challenges of Conflict and Change by Jane Dickson-Gilmore and Carol La Prairie

Over the past decade or two, restorative justice has become a popular approach for the criminal justice system to take in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. In part, this is due in all three countries to an appalling disproportionality in the incarceration rates for racialized minorities. As the authors of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" point out, however, governments have been attracted to restorative justice for cost-cutting reasons as well. A burning question, therefore, is whether restorative justice works.

Lindelof spaces which are indestructible, productive, or D

We discuss relationships in Lindelof spaces among the properties "indestructible". "productive", "D", and related properties. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rigidity for piecewise smooth homeomorphisms on the circle

We find conditions for two piecewise 'C POT.2+V' homeomorphisms f and g of the circle to be 'C POT.1' conjugate. Besides the restrictions on the combinatorics of the maps (we assume that the maps have bounded combinatorics), and necessary conditions on the one-side derivatives of points where f and g are not differentiable, we also assume zero mean-nonlinearity for f and g.

A forgotten little chapter on isoperimetric inequalities. On the fraction of a convex and closed plane area lying outside a circle with which it shares a diameter

[EN]Often some interesting or simply curious points are left out when developing a theory. It seems that one of them is the existence of an upper bound for the fraction of area of a convex and closed plane area lying outside a circle with which it shares a diameter, a problem stemming from the theory of isoperimetric inequalities. In this paper such a bound is constructed and shown to be attained for a particular area. It is also shown that convexity is a necessary condition in order to avoid the whole area lying outside the circle

Effect of rearing techniques and feed composition on productive traits, bird welfare and quality of poultry products

The PhD project was focused on the study of the poultry welfare conditions and improvements. The project work was divided into 3 main research activities. A) Field evaluation of chicken meat rearing conditions kept in intensive farms. Considering the lack of published reports concerning the overall Italian rearing conditions of broiler chickens, a survey was carried out to assess the welfare conditions of broiler reared in the most important poultry companies in Italy to verify if they are in accordance with the advices given in the European proposal COM (2005) 221 final. Chicken farm conditions, carcass lesions and meat quality were investigated. 1. The densities currently used in Italy are in accordance with the European proposal COM 221 final (2005) which suggests to keep broilers at a density lower than 30-32 kg live weight/m2 and to not exceed 38-40 kg live weight/m2. 2. The mortality rates in summer and winter agree with the mortality score calculated following the formula reported in the EU Proposal COM 221 final (2005). 3. The incidence of damaged carcasses was very low and did not seem related to the stocking density. 4. The FPD scores were generally above the maximum limit advised by the EU proposal COM 221 final (2005), although the stocking densities were lower than 30-32 kg live weight per m2. 5. It can be stated that the control of the environmental conditions, particularly litter quality, appears a key issue to control the onset of foot dermatitis. B) Manipulation of several farm parameters, such litter material and depth, stocking density and light regimen to improve the chicken welfare conditions, in winter season. 1. Even though 2 different stocking densities were established in this study, the performances achieved from the chickens were almost identical among groups. 2. The FCR was significantly better in Standard conditions contrarily to birds reared in Welfare conditions with lower stocking density, more litter material and with a light program of 16 hours light and 8 hours dark. 3. In our trial, in Standard groups we observed a higher content of moisture, nitrogen and ammonia released from the litter. Therefore it can be assumed that the environmental characteristics have been positively changed by the improvements of the rearing conditions adopted for Welfare groups. 4. In Welfare groups the exhausted litters of the pens were dryer and broilers showed a lower occurrence of FPD. 5. The prevalence of hock burn lesions, like FPD, is high with poor litter quality conditions. 6. The combined effect of a lower stocking density, a greater amount of litter material and a photoperiod similar to the natural one, have positively influenced the chickens welfare status, as a matter of fact the occurrence of FPD in Welfare groups was the lowest keeping the score under the European threshold of the proposal COM 221 final(2005). C) The purpose of the third research was to study the effect of high or low stocking density of broiler chickens, different types of litter and the adoption of short or long lighting regimen on broiler welfare through the evaluation of their productivity and incidence of foot pad dermatitis during the hot season. 1. The feed efficiency was better for the Low Density than for High Density broilers. 2. The appearance of FPD was not influenced by stocking density. 3. The foot examination revealed that the lesions occurred more in birds maintained on chopped wheat straw than on wood shaving. 4. In conclusion, the adoptions of a short light regimen similar to that occurring in nature during summer reduces the feed intake without modify the growth rate thus improving the feed efficiency. Foot pad lesion were not affected neither by stocking densities nor by light regimens whereas wood shavings exerted a favourable effect in preserving foot pad in good condition. D) A study was carried out to investigate more widely the possible role of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol supplemented in the diet of a laying hen commercial strain (Lohmann brown) in comparison of diets supplemented with D3 or with D3 + 25- hydroxycholecalciferol. Egg traits during a productive cycle as well as the bone characteristics of the layers have been as well evaluated to determine if there the vitamin D3 may enhance the welfare status of the birds. 1. The weight of the egg and of its components is often greater in hens fed a diet enriched with 25-hydroxycholecalciferol. 2. Since eggs of treated groups are heavier and a larger amount of shell is needed, a direct effect on shell strength is observed. 3. At 30 and at 50 wk of age hens fed 25 hydroxycholecalciferol exhibited greater values of bone breaking force. 4. Radiographic density values obtained in the trial are always higher in hens fed with 25-hydroxycholecalciferol of both treatments: supplemented for the whole laying cycle (25D3) or from 40 weeks of age onward (D3+25D3).

Study of innovative methods of control in the cereal productive chain for the production of beer and spirits

Researches performed during the PhD course intended to assess innovative applications of near-infrared spectroscopy in reflectance (NIR) in the production chain of beer. The purpose is to measure by NIR the "malting quality" (MQ) parameter of barley, to monitor the malting process and to know if a certain type of barley is suitable for the production of beer and spirits. Moreover, NIR will be applied to monitor the brewing process. First of all, it was possible to check the quality of the raw materials like barley, maize and barley malt using a rapid, non-destructive and reliable method, with a low error of prediction. The more interesting result obtained at this level was that the repeatability of the NIR calibration models developed was comparable with the one of the reference method. Moreover, about malt, new kinds of validation were used in order to estimate the real predictive power of the proposed calibration models and to understand the long-term effects. Furthermore, the precision of all the calibration models developed for malt evaluation was estimated and statistically compared with the reference methods, with good results. Then, new calibration models were developed for monitoring the malting process, measuring the moisture content and other malt quality parameters during germination. Moreover it was possible to obtain by NIR an estimate of the "malting quality" (MQ) of barley and to predict whether if its germination will be rapid and uniform and if a certain type of barley is suitable for the production of beer and spirits. Finally, the NIR technique was applied to monitor the brewing process, using correlations between NIR spectra of beer and analytical parameters, and to assess beer quality. These innovative results are potentially very useful for the actors involved in the beer production chain, especially the calibration models suitable for the control of the malting process and for the assessment of the “malting quality” of barley, which need to be deepened in future studies.

Identification of CNV and QTL for productive and functional traits in dairy cattle using dense SNP chips

The thesis identify CNV structural variants as possible markers for genomic selection and identify QTL regions for Fatty Acid Content in the Italian Brown Swiss population. Additionally it maps the QTL for mastitis resistance in the Valdostana Red Pied cattle.