The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of milking dairy cows using conventional milking parlour (CMP) and automatic milking system (AMS) on milk coagulation properties and fatty acid ...(FA) composition. Milk coagulation traits were rennet coagulation time, curd-firming time and curd firmness. Data consisted of 10,476 individual milk samples collected from 918 Holstein-Friesian cows in 8 herds: four herds milked cows using a CMP and four using an AMS. A linear mixed model was used to investigate sources of variation for milk yield, traditional quality traits, coagulation properties and FA profile. On average, cows from AMS produced 1 kg/d more milk than cows from CMP. Rennet coagulation time was slightly longer (+1.2 min) and free FA content was greater (+0.16 mmol/100 g milk fat) in milk from cows milked in AMS than CMP. Overall, the milking system did not affect the FA concentration of milk. Results of the present study suggest that AMS can be adopted without detrimental effects on milk features.
The aim of this study was to assess the effect of chemical composition, coagulation properties, pH, and titratable acidity (TA, SH°/50 ml) of vat milk on Grana Padano cheese yield (CY) under field ...conditions. Twelve cheese-making sessions were carried out from February to December 2009 in a dairy cooperative of Grana Padano Consortium (Italy), for a total of 96 vats of milk processed. For each vat, samples of raw milk were collected and analysed for quality traits (fat, protein, and casein contents), pH, TA, and milk coagulation properties (MCP), measured as rennet coagulation time (RCT, min), curd-firming time (k₂₀, min), and curd firmness (a₃₀, mm). Cheese yield was expressed as kilograms of cheese per 100 kg milk transformed, and was measured after 2 d of drainage. Fat, protein, and casein contents were positively and strongly correlated with CY (coefficients of correlation, r = 0·72, 0·88, and 0·84, respectively; P < 0·001). Coagulation properties were moderately and significantly (P < 0·001) related to CY: milk that coagulated earlier and had stronger a₃₀ was associated to greater CY. Cheese yield was analysed with a model that accounted for fixed effects of cheese-making day, fat and protein content, TA, and a₃₀. Significance was found for all the effects (P < 0·05). Milk characterised by high values of a₃₀ resulted in higher CY than milk with low values of a₃₀, indicating that MCP could be used as indicators of cheese-making efficiency. Future research should investigate the relationships between MCP and quality of cheese, and explore the feasibility of including MCP in multiple component milk pricing system for Grana Padano cheese production.
Urban Green Spaces (UGS) contribute to the sustainable development of the urban ecosystem, positively impacting quality of life and providing ecosystem services and social benefits to inhabitants. ...For urban planning, mapping and quantification of UGS become crucial. So far, the contribution of private green spaces to ecosystem services in urban areas has yet to be studied. At the same time, in many Italian cities, they represent a considerable part of the urban green cover. This study utilises a methodological approach and provides insights into the contribution of urban public and private green spaces by the consideration of a case study area in Northeast Italy. To achieve this goal, the main steps were: (i) NDVI extraction from very high-resolution (20 cm) orthophotos, (ii) classification of property status and (iii) analysis of the degree of the greenness of land cover units. From our results, the total amount of the green spaces is 5.70 km2, of which 72.1% (4.11 km2) is private, and 28.9% (1.59 km2) is public. As for the land cover, three NDVI classes were identified, highlighting different degrees of homogeneity in NDVI reflectance response within each urban land cover unit. These results will support the planning of new green areas in the post-epidemic National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Abstract
In the Ecuadorian Amazon—one of Earth’s last high-biodiversity wilderness areas and home to uncontacted indigenous populations—50 years of widespread oil development is jeopardizing ...biodiversity and feeding environmental conflicts. In 2019, a campaign to eliminate oil-related gas flaring, led by Amazonian communities impacted by fossil fuel production, resulted in an injunction against the Ecuadoran Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources and the Ministry of Environment and Water. On 26 January 2021 the Court of Nueva Loja issued a historical order to ban gas flaring in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The present citizen science project played an important role in this process, enabling the production of independent spatial information through participatory mapping with indigenous and farmer communities. Globally, lack of independent information about oil activities has led to the monitoring of gas flaring by satellite imagery, achieving remarkable results. However, apart from institutional and remotely sensed data, reliable spatial information on gas flaring in the Ecuadorian Amazon is not available. Therefore, we adopted the community-based participatory action research approach to develop a participatory GIS process, aiming both to provide reliable data and to support social campaigns for environmental and climate justice. This work presents the first participatory mapping initiative of gas flaring at a regional scale, carried out completely through open source data and software. Having identified 295 previously unmapped gas flaring sites through participatory mapping, we highlight that the extent of gas flaring activities is well beyond the official data provided by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Nightfire annual datasets, which map only 24% and 33% of the sites, respectively. Seventy five of the detected sites were in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve. Moreover, 39 of the identified sites were venting instead of flaring, a phenomenon never before documented in the Ecuadorian Amazon. This study demonstrates that, because official datasets and satellite imagery underestimate the extent of gas flaring in the Ecuadorian Amazon, community-based mapping offers a promising alternative for producing trusted, community-based scientific data. This community-produced data can support campaigns for legal recognition of human rights and environmental justice in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Finally, this study shows how local environmental conflicts can foster policy transformations that promote climate justice.
Recent times have witnessed wildfires causing harm to both ecological communities and urban–rural regions, underscoring the necessity to comprehend wildfire triggers and assess measures for ...mitigation. This research hones in on Cartagena del Chairá, diving into the interplay between meteorological conditions and land cover/use that cultivates a conducive environment for wildfires. Meteorologically, the prevalence of wildfires is concentrated during boreal winter, characterized by warm and dry air, strong winds, and negligible precipitation. Additionally, wildfires gravitate toward river-adjacent locales housing agriculture-linked shrubs, notably in the northern part of the zone, where a confluence of land attributes and meteorological factors synergize to promote fire incidents. Employing climate scenarios, we deduced that elevated temperature and reduced humidity augment wildfire susceptibility, while wind speed and precipitation discourage their propagation across most scenarios. The trajectory toward a warmer climate could instigate fire-friendly conditions in boreal summer, indicating the potential for year-round fire susceptibility. Subsequently, via machine-learning-driven sensitivity analysis, we discerned that among the scrutinized socio-economic variables, GINI, low educational attainment, and displacement by armed groups wield the most substantial influence on wildfire occurrence. Ultimately, these findings converge to shape proposed wildfire mitigation strategies that amalgamate existing practices with enhancements or supplementary approaches.
Abstract Background Intramammary infection is the result of invasion and multiplication of microorganisms in the mammary gland and commonly leads to mastitis in dairy animals. Although much has been ...done to improve cows’ udder health, mastitis remains a significant and costly health issue for dairy farmers, especially if subclinical. In this study, quarter milk samples from clinically healthy cows were harvested to detect pathogens via quantitative PCR (qPCR) and evaluate changes in individual milk traits according to the number of quarters infected and the type of microorganism(s). A commercial qPCR kit was used for detection of Mycoplasma bovis , Mycoplasma spp., Staphylococcus aureus , coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), Streptococcus agalactiae , Streptococcus dysgalactiae , Streptococcus uberis , Prototheca spp., Escherichia coli , Klebsiella spp., Enterococcus spp. and Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis. Quarter and pooled milk information of 383 Holstein, 132 Simmental, 129 Rendena, and 112 Jersey cows in 9 Italian single-breed herds was available. Results Among the cows with pathogen(s) present in at least 1 quarter, CNS was the most commonly detected DNA, followed by Streptococcus uberis , Mycoplasma bovis , and Streptococcus agalactiae . Cows negative to qPCR were 206 and had the lowest milk somatic cell count. Viceversa, cows with DNA isolated in ≥ 3 quarters were those with the highest somatic cell count. Moreover, when major pathogens were isolated in ≥ 3 quarters, milk had the lowest casein index and lactose content. In animals with pathogen(s) DNA isolated, the extent with whom milk yield and major solids were impaired did not significantly differ between major and minor pathogens. Conclusions The effect of the number of affected quarters on the pool milk quality traits was investigated in clinically healthy cows using a commercial kit. Results remark the important negative effect of subclinical udder inflammations on milk yield and quality, but more efforts should be made to investigate the presence of untargeted microorganisms, as they may be potentially dangerous for cows. For a smarter use of antimicrobials, analysis of milk via qPCR is advisable – especially in cows at dry off - to identify quarters at high risk of inflammation and thus apply a targeted/tailored treatment.
In bovine milk, Ca and P are partitioned between micellar (MP) and soluble phase (SP), both having important effects on coagulation properties. In particular, greater mineral content in the MP ...translates into better milk coagulation ability. Nevertheless, the high analytic costs of gold standard methods hamper the possibility to deepen partition of minerals in MP and SP on a large scale. In this study, MP and SP of Ca and P were predicted from 111,653 milk mid-infrared spectra of Holstein cows to investigate genetic parameters. The average coefficient of determination of the prediction models in cross validation was 0.73. Heritability estimates of MP and SP of Ca and P ranged from 0.472 to 0.548 and the two phases of the same mineral were negatively correlated. The MP of Ca was genetically associated with protein yield (0.284) and content (0.658); in the case of MP of P, the latter were equal to 0.262 and 0.808, respectively. The current selection index of Italian Holstein places positive emphasis on protein percentage and yield, thus it is likely that the MP of the investigated minerals is increasing at the expense of the SP. In perspective, it would be important to assess genetic correlations between measured and predicted phenotypes to corroborate the use of such predictions for management and breeding purposes.HighlightsMicellar and soluble fractions of Ca and P predicted from milk spectra are heritable.Micellar fraction of Ca and P is favourably genetically associated with traits of interest for the dairy industry, such as milk protein and coagulation properties.The Italian Holstein selection index emphasises protein percentage and yield, and thus it is indirectly improving micellar phase of Ca and P.
Fifteen years after a nationwide voluntary iodine prophylaxis program was introduced, the aims of the present study were: (
) to obtain an up-to-date assessment of dietary iodine intake in the Veneto ...region, Italy; and (
) to assess dietary and socioeconomic factors that might influence iodine status.
Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was obtained in 747 school students (median age 13 years; range: 11-16 years).
The median UIC was 111 μg/L, with 56% of samples ≥ 100 μg/L, but 26% were < 50 μg/L, more frequently females. Iodized salt was used by 82% of the students. The median UIC was higher among users of iodized salt than among non-users, 117.0 ug/L versus 90 ug/L (
= 0.01). The median UIC was higher in regular consumers of cow's milk than in occasional consumers, 132.0 μg/L versus 96.0 μg/L (
< 0.01). A regular intake of milk and/or the use of iodized salt sufficed to reach an adequate median UIC, although satisfying only with the combined use. A trend towards higher UIC values emerged in regular consumers of cheese and yogurt.
Iodine status has improved (median UIC 111.0 μg/L), but it is still not adequate as 26% had a UIC < 50 μg/L in the resident population of the Veneto region. A more widespread use of iodized salt but also milk and milk product consumption may have been one of the key factors in achieving this partial improvement.
The present study aimed to investigate the effect of β- and κ- casein, and β-lactoglobulin genotypes on milk composition and milk coagulation properties predicted using Fourier-transform mid-infrared ...spectroscopy (FT-MIR). The final dataset provided 74,721 observations from 5316 Holstein-Friesian cows reared in 122 herds in the Veneto region. Individual cow milk composition was obtained from Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) testing between the years 2012 and 2021. Genotypes were analysed through customised bovine genotyping chip. The effect of both separate and combined milk protein genotype on major milk components, SCS, urea, and predicted milk coagulation properties, were investigated applying a linear mixed model. β-lactoglobulin BB resulted in the higher fat content, whereas protein and casein content was mostly enhanced by the k-casein BB haplotype. The urea content was significantly lower in β-lactoglobulin AA and k-casein EE genotypes and SCS was significantly lower in β-casein A1A1, β-lactoglobulin AA, and k-casein BB genotypes. Milk coagulation properties performance was significantly improved by β-casein A1A1, β-LG BB and k-casein BB, both as single variants and as composite genotype. The effect of genotypes on milk composition and milk coagulation properties showed five and four principal hierarchical clusters, respectively. Clustering highlighted unexpected relationships among genotypes in terms of final milk quality, suggesting it could be possible to select favourable genotypes maintaining sufficient diversity.
HIGHLIGHTS
Milk protein variants have an impact on milk technological properties, but phenotype collection is laborious and expensive.
Data collected using mid-infra-red spectroscopy can be used to estimate milk coagulation properties and perform population studies.
Milk protein variants revealed unexpected relationships with milk composition and technological traits.
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