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The aim of this review is to focus the attention on the nutrition ecology of the heavy metals and on the major criticisms related to the heavy metals content in animal feeds, manure, soil and animal-origin products. Heavy metals are metallic elements that have a high density that have progressively accumulated in the food chain with negative effects for human health. Some metals are essential (Fe, I, Co, Zn, Cu, Mn, Mo, Se) to maintain various physiological functions and are usually added as nutritional additives in animal feed. Other metals (As, Cd, F, Pb, Hg) have no established biological functions and are considered as contaminants/undesirable substances. The European Union adopted several measures in order to control their presence in the environment, as a result of human activities such as: farming, industry or food processing and storage contamination. The control of the animal input could be an effective strategy to reduce human health risks related to the consumption of animal-origin products and the environmental pollution by manure. Different management of raw materials and feed, animal species as well as different legal limits can influence the spread of heavy metals. To set up effective strategies against heavy metals the complex interrelationships in rural processes, the widely variability of farming practices, the soil and climatic conditions must be considered. Innovative and sustainable approaches have discussed for the heavy metal nutrition ecology to control the environmental pollution from livestock-related activities.

The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the influence of anaerobic digestion and storage on indicator microorganisms in swine and dairy excreta. Samples were collected every 90 days for 15 months at eight farms, four pig, and four dairy farms, four of them having a biogas plant. Moreover, to evaluate storage effects on samples, 20 l of manure and slurry taken at each farm (digested manure only in farms with a biogas plant) were stored in a controlled climatic chamber at 18 °C, for 6 months. The bacterial load and the chemical-physical characteristics of excreta were evaluated at each sampling time, stored slurry, and manure were sampled and analyzed every 2 months. A high variability of the concentration of bacteria in the different excreta types was observed during the experiment, mainly depending on the type and time of treatment. No sample revealed either the presence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 or of Salmonella, usually linked to the temporary rearing of infected animals in facilities. Anaerobic digestion and storage affected in a significant way the reduction of indicator bacteria like lactobacilli, coliforms, and streptococci. Anaerobic digestion lowered coliforms in pig slurry (- 2.80 log, P

The demand for online monitoring and control of biogas process is increasing, since better monitoring and control system can improve process plants stability and economy. A number of parameters in both the liquid and the gas phase have been suggested as process indicators (pH, alkalinity, VFA and H2, redox potential, biogas production rate, biogas composition, FOS/TAC ratio, COD and/or VS reduction). The present study proposes the use of complex sensors as a possible solution to engineer a consistent control system. Tests were performed to analyze the biogas coming from a biogas plant in which conditions of pre-overloading and overloading were artificially inducted. The different inducted functioning conditions were recognised using a FOS/TAC tester, or the ratio volatile organic acids/alkaline buffer capacity. The FOS/TAC ratio has long been recognized extending as far as the imminent inversion of the digester biology to be detected at an early stage. Data coming from the e-nose were sorted and classified according to FOS/TAC ratio as a reference method. Not all the sensors of the e-nose were reactive to manure digestates, but four of them, sensitive to aromatic compounds, ammonia alkanes and methane, resulted crucial in the samples identification. Results confirmed that the e-nose can discriminate different digestion conditions, demonstrating the possibility to reduce the number of sensors in this innovative tool for biogas control systems. However, this instrument cannot be considered a complete alternative to traditional analysis systems, as, for example, the FOS/TAC titration, but a supporting tool for a quick analysis of the system.

The aim of this study is a further characterization of the electrical conductivity (EC) signal of goat milk, acquired on-line by EC sensors, to identify new indexes representative of the EC variations that can be observed during milking, when considering not healthy (NH) glands. Two foremilk gland samples from 42 Saanen goats, were collected for three consecutive weeks and for three different lactation stages (LS: 0–60 Days In Milking (DIM), 61–120 DIM, 121–180 DIM), for a total amount of 1512 samples. Bacteriological analyses and somatic cells counts (SCC) were used to define the health status of the glands. With negative bacteriological analyses and SCC &lt, 1,000,000 cells/mL, glands were classified as healthy. When bacteriological analyses were positive or showed a SCC &gt, 1,000,000 cells/mL, glands were classified as NH. For each milk EC signal, acquired on-line and for each gland considered, the Fourier frequency spectrum of the signal was calculated and three representative frequency peaks were identified. To evaluate data acquired a MIXED procedure was used considering the HS, LS and LS × HS as explanatory variables in the statistical model.Results showed that the studied frequency peaks had a significant relationship with the gland’s health status. Results also explained how the milk EC signals’ pattern change in case of NH glands. In fact, it is characterized by slower fluctuations (due to the lower frequencies of the peaks) and by an irregular trend (due to the higher amplitudes of all the main frequency peaks). Therefore, these frequency peaks could be used as new indexes to improve the performances of algorithms based on multivariate models which evaluate the health status of dairy goats through the use of gland milk EC sensors.

Conventional cage systems will be replaced by housing systems that allow hens to move freely. These systems may improve hens' welfare, but they lead to some disadvantages: disease, bone fractures, cannibalism, piling and lower egg production. New selection criteria for existing commercial strains should be identified considering individual data about laying performance and the behavior of hens. Many recording systems have been developed to collect these data. However, the management of double nest occupations remains critical for the correct egg-to-hen assignment. To limit such events, most systems adopt specific trap devices and additional mechanical components. Others, instead, only prevent these occurrences by narrowing the nest, without any detection and management. The aim of this study was to develop and test a nest usage "sensor", based on imaging analysis, that is able to automatically detect a double nest occupation. Results showed that the developed sensor correctly identified the double nest occupation occurrences. Therefore, the imaging analysis resulted in being a useful solution that could simplify the nest construction for this type of recording system, allowing the collection of more precise and accurate data, since double nest occupations would be managed and the normal laying behavior of hens would not be discouraged by the presence of the trap devices.

Tobacco seeds show a coat-imposed dormancy in which the seed envelope tissues (testa and endosperm) impose a physical constraint on the radicle protrusion. The germination-limiting process is represented by the endosperm rupture which is induced by cell-wall weakening. Transgenic tobacco seeds, obtained by insertion of exogenous genes codifying for seed-based oral vaccines (F18 and VT2eB), showed retarded germination with respect to the wild type and modified the expression of endogenous proteins. Morphological and proteomic analyses of wild type and transgenic seeds revealed new insights into factors influencing seed germination. Our data showed that the interference of exogenous DNA influences the germination rather than the dormancy release, by modifying the maturation process. Dry seeds of F18 and VT2eB transgenic lines accumulated a higher amount of reserve and stress-related proteins with respect to the wild type. Moreover, the storage proteins accumulated in tobacco F18 and VT2eB dry seeds have structural properties that do not enable the early limited proteolysis observed in the wild type. Morphological observations by electron and light microscopy revealed a retarded mobilization of the storage material from protein and lipid bodies in transgenic seeds, thus impairing water imbibition and embryo elongation. In addition, both F18 and VT2eB dry seeds are more rounded than the wild type. Both the morphological and biochemical characteristics of transgenic seeds mimic the seed persistent profile, in which their roundness enables them to be buried in the soil, while the higher content of storage material enables the hypocotyl to elongate more and the cotyledons to emerge.

The development of a monitoring system to identify the presence of laying hens, in a closed room of a free-range commercial organic egg production farm, was the aim of this study. This monitoring system was based on the infrared (IR) technology and had, as final target, a possible reduction of atmospheric ammonia levels and bacterial load. Tests were carried out for three weeks and involved 7 ISA (Institut de Sélection Animale) brown laying hens. The first 5 days was used to set up the detection sensor, while the other 15 days were used to evaluate the accuracy of the resulting monitoring system, in terms of sensitivity and specificity. The setup procedure included the evaluation of different color background (CB) thresholds, used to discriminate the information contents of the thermographic images. At the end of this procedure, a CB threshold equal to an increase of 3 °C from the floor temperature was chosen, and a cutoff level of 196 colored pixels was identified as the threshold to use to classify a positive case. The results of field tests showed that the developed monitoring system reached a fine detection accuracy (sensitivity = 97.9% and specificity = 94.9%) and the IR technology proved to be a possible solution for the development of a detection sensor necessary to reach the scope of this study.

Mastitis in small ruminants has a major effect in reducing both yield and quality of milk leading to strong economic losses. In addition, mastitis is one the most frequently cited reason for culling. In dairy cows electrical conductivity (EC) of milk has been introduced as an indicator trait for mastitis. When the measurement of electrical conductivity (EC) of milk is based on time-series analysis of historical data, comparing values from different quarters within milking, satisfactory results in mastitis detection can be achieved. On the contrary, mastitis detection models based on EC measurement of milk within milking are not available in literature for dairy goats. Aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of milk EC, measured within milking from halves of each udder, to predict mastitis status in dairy goats at farm level. For this purpose, a group of 8 Saanen goats was involved in a 225-day study. Two foremilk samples were daily collected during morning milking from halves of each udder for a total of 4 samples per animal/day. Results of bacteriological analyses were used to distinguish between healthy (absence of mastitis agents) and infected (presence of contagious or environmental mastitis agents) udder halves. EC was measured in milk from halves of each udder during every morning milking at 1-s intervals using four experimental milking units equipped with conductimetric sensors. The average of the 20 highest EC values (X20) and the variation of the 20 highest EC values ( σ 20 2 ) within milking were calculated for each udder halves. In addition 4 EC traits based on X20 and σ 20 2 were computed: the highest half udder X20 value within goat and milking (Max_X20), the highest half udder σ 20 2 value within goat and milking ( Max _ σ 20 2 ), the inter-udder halves ratio between the udder halves X20 values within goat and milking (IHR_X20), and the inter-udder halves ratio between udder halves σ 20 2 value within goat and milking ( IHR _ σ 20 2 ). Values for the traits were calculated for every milking throughout the whole lactation. Proc Mixed of SAS® 9.1 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA, 2008) was performed to test for significant differences in EC traits between healthy and infected udder halves and between healthy (absence of infected udder halves) and infected (presence of at least one infected udder half) goats. Results highlighted that the average of the 20 highest electrical conductivity half udder values recorded within milking in early lactation and the highest half udder X20 value within goat and milking in mid lactation could be potentially used in monitoring udder health of dairy goats.

Accurate milk yield measurement is important to maintain production efficiency and improve farm management: yield data enable to implement and evaluate feed rations for individual cows or groups, calculate actual lactation curves and identify potential health problems proactively. Nowadays, many electronic milk metering devices, based on different methods of measurement, are available on the market. Vacuum drop across the meter, accuracy over a wide range of flow rates and farm conditions (e.g. foaming of milk) are the key problems of currently available electronic milk meters. Aim of this project was the development of a free-flow milk meter, able to work with different flow rates and different combination of air-milk flows, with a measuring chamber essentially made by a portion of linear pipe, horizontally disposed and with no mechanical movement parts, to minimize the interferences with the milk flow and on the electric conductivity (EC), to calculate the milk yield, in order to obtain a low-cost device. A prototype was built up and laboratory and farm tests were carried out during 2004 and 2005, in order to evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of the new device. Laboratory and farm tests were carried out following the guidelines of the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR). Laboratory tests showed a bias of 1.4% and a standard deviation of 5.0%, while farm tests showed a bias of -4.5% and a standard deviation of 12.7%.

Plants have represent a promising alternative for biopharmaceutical proteins (Ma et al., 2003; Rossi et al., 2014). Many plant based edible vaccines have been shown to be effective in inducing local immune responses (Rossi et al., 2013). Edible vaccines can activate both mucosal and systemic immunity, as they come in contact with the digestive tract lining. This dual effect would provide first-line defense against pathogens invading through the mucosa. The antigens are released in the intestines are taken up by M cells that are present over the Payer’s patches (in the ileum) and the gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). Edible vaccines represent an important worldwide goal for the prevention of the enteric diseases, also in livestock. In particular, the enteric infections are a significant clinical problem in pigs. Verocytotoxic Escherichia (E.) coli strains are responsible for serious enterotoxaemia that causes important economic losses in the pig industry. The production of a vaccine for oral administration of transgenic seeds could be a practical and efficient system to prevent the infection and to reduce the antibiotic use. This study was focused on tobacco plants, previously transformed by agroinfection for the seed-specific expression of antigenic proteins (F18 adhesive fimbriae and the B subunit of the Vt2e toxin) as model of edible vaccines against verocytotoxic E. coli strains. The dietary administration of transgenic tobacco seeds promotes a significant increase in the number of mucosal IgA-producing cells of the tunica propria in both small and large intestine in mice (Rossi et al., 2013). A protective effect of oral administration of transgenic tobacco seeds was also observed against verocytotoxic Escherichia coli infection in piglets (Rossi et al., 2014). The aim of this study was to assess the seed-expression stability, that is a important requirement in the vaccine production, of F 18 and Vt2e-B heterologous genes into the progeny of transformed tobacco plants., International Journal of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, Vol 2, No 2s (2015)

Intramammary infection affects quality and quantity of milk. Having as final target the improving of animal health’ monitoring, this research studied the gland milk electrical conductivity (EC) signal in order to identify a possible parameter more representative of the EC variations that can be observed, during a milking, when not healthy (NH) glands are considered. Two foremilk gland samples, from 40 Saanen goats, were acquired for three weeks and lactation stages (LS: 0-60 Days In Milking; 61-120 DIM; =>120 DIM), for a total amount of 1440 samples. Bacteriological analyses and somatic cells counts (SCC) were used to define glands health status. In case of negative bacteriological analyses and SCC

The objective of this study was to estimate the space occupied by a pig, calculated from direct measurements on the animal or from digital images. A total of 100 pigs with body weight (BW) ranging from 47 to 198 kg were individually weighed and measured for body length, back and shoulder height. The area of the rectangle into which each pig can be fitted was calculated, following the same method as Petherick and Baxter [Petherick, J.C., Baxter, S.H., 1981. Modelling the static spatial requirements of livestock. In: MacCormack, J.A.D. (Ed.), Proceedings of the CIGR Section II Seminar on Modelling, Design and Evaluation of Agricultural Buildings, Aberdeen, August 1981, Scottish Farm Buildings Investigation Unit, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, UK. pp 75–82]. In addition, pictures of the pigs were taken with a digital camera at the same distance and resolution to estimate the area of the geometrical shape of each animal by counting the number of pixels. Values of Petherick and Baxter's data space (A = 0.047 × BW0.67) are significantly higher (p

Intramammary infection affects the quality and quantity of dairy goat milk. Health status (HS) and milk quality can be monitored by electrical conductivity (EC). The aim of the study was to determine the detection potential of EC when measured on-line on a daily basis and compared with readings from previous milkings. Milk yields (MYs) were investigated with the same approach. To evaluate these relative traits, a multivariate model based on fuzzy logic technology – which provided interesting results in cows – was used. Two foremilk samples from 8 healthy Saanen goats were measured daily over the course of six months. Bacteriological tests and somatic cells counts were used to define the HS. On-line EC measurements for each gland and MYs were also considered. Predicted deviations of EC and MY were calculated using a moving-average model and entered in the fuzzy logic model. The reported accuracy has a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 69%. Conclusions show that fuzzy logic is an interesting approach for dairy goats, since it offered better accuracy than other methods previously published. Nevertheless, specificity was lower than in dairy cows, probably due to the lack of a significant decrease of MY in diseased glands. Still, results show that the detection of the HS characteristics with EC is improved, when measured on-line, daily and compared with the readings from previous milkings.

Fontina cheese is a DOP (Designation of Protected Origin) cheese produced in Aosta Valley (Western Alps, North Italy) by dairy farms and cheese factories members of Fontina Cheese Producers’ Consortium. Since 2003 Fontina Consortium has developed an identification and branding system to trace the cheese from the factories to the consumers, but till now no operative instruments have been developed for the traceability of the milk produced by the farms members of the Consortium. This lack is mainly due to the traditional dairy cattle breeding system of Aosta Valley that is based on small family-operated dairy farms characterized by a low technological level. In these farms cows are housed in stall barns during winter, while in spring and summer livestock are herded to upland pastures located at the highest elevations (up to 2300 m a.s.l.). The average number of lactating cows is lower than 20 and they are milked by mobile milking units, bucket or pipeline milking systems. Following the European Union Regulation (EC Reg. 178/2002), a traceability system of the milk was developed for the dairy farms located in mountain areas. The project has been articulated in three sequential phases: • development of a database model (Entity and Relationship model) to identify all the farm data (livestock treatments, feed registration, external foodstuff records, etc) required and useful to trace the milk yield; • implementation of the database model by a user friendly software application to simplify the storage and the management of all the farm data; • development of a special mobile milking unit to record milking data (cows production and milk electric conductivity). The mobile milking unit was equipped with: a RFID antenna to identify the cows by transponders (ruminal bolus); a mastitis detection device, based on the measurement of the milk electrical conductivity, to monitor the quality of the milk produced by each cow; a milk meter to measure the milk yield of each cow; a palm PC with a customized software application to record milking data and then transfer them to the farm database. Presently a field test of the developed system is in progress in a farm in Aosta Valley. Preliminary results showed a fairly good effectiveness of the system in tracing milk production from the stable to the dairy factory nailing the traceability system implemented by Fontina Consortium.

In order to improve the hospital information system of the Chilean University Hospital, the Veterinary Medicine School of Universidad de Chile made a research cooperation with Universita San Raffaele Roma to develop and test a new release of the O3-Vet software application. O3-Vet was selected by the Chilean University mainly for two reasons: (1) it uses human medicine standardized technologies such as ''Health Level 7'' (HL7) and ''Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise'' (IHE), which allow a good level of data sharing and hospital management; (2) it is open source, which means it can be adapted to specific hospital needs. In the new release, a subset of diagnostic terms was added from the ''Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms'' (SNOMED CT), selected by the ''American Animal Hospital Association'' (AAHA) to standardize the filing of clinical data and its retrieval. Results from a limited survey of veterinarians of the University (n=9) show that the new release improved the management of the Chilean University Hospital and the ability to retrieve useful clinical data.

Fungal contamination and the presence of related toxins is a widespread problem. Mycotoxin contamination has prompted many countries to establish appropriate tolerance levels. For instance, with the Commission Regulation (EC) N. 1881/2006, the European Commission fixed the limits for the main mycotoxins (and other contaminants) in food. Although valid analytical methods are being developed for regulatory purposes, a need exists for alternative screening methods that can detect mould and mycotoxin contamination of cereal grains with high sample throughput. In this study, a commercial electronic nose (EN) equipped with metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) sensors was used in combination with a trap and the thermal desorption technique, with the adoption of Tenax TA as an adsorbent material to discriminate between durum wheat whole-grain samples naturally contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON) and non-contaminated samples. Each wheat sample was analysed with the EN at four different desorption temperatures (i.e., 180 °C, 200 °C, 220 °C, and 240 °C) and without a desorption pre-treatment. A 20-sample and a 122-sample dataset were processed by means of principal component analysis (PCA) and classified via classification and regression trees (CART). Results, validated with two different methods, showed that it was possible to classify wheat samples into three clusters based on the DON content proposed by the European legislation: (a) non-contaminated; (b) contaminated below the limit (DON < 1,750 μg/kg); (c) contaminated above the limit (DON > 1,750 μg/kg), with a classification error rate in prediction of 0% (for the 20-sample dataset) and 3.28% (for the 122-sample dataset).

Objectives The aim of this study was to obtain echocardiographic measurements and establish reference ranges for 14 parameters in Standardbred racehorses in training. Background Several studies have been published about cardiac measurements in Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, National Hunt horses, Warmbloods and ponies; however, not all parameters have been published for the Standardbred trotter in training. Animals, materials and methods Thirty normal Standardbred racehorses in training were assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography (2-D) and M-mode echocardiography using standardized imaging planes. Mean values, standard deviations, 95% confidence interval for the means and 95% confidence interval for the cardiac parameters measured in the population were calculated. Furthermore, a general linear model was constructed using sex, age and body weight (bwt) of the horses as independent variables and the echocardiographic measurements as dependent variables. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed with the level of significance at p Results Reference ranges were established for 14 echocardiographic parameters in Standardbred racehorses. Weak linear relationships between echocardiographic measurements and body weight were observed for LVIDd, LVIDs, LVFWs, and AOD. Linear regressions on these parameters were used to calculate the 95% confidence intervals for the predicted values. Conclusions The data collected in this study provide reference values for the evaluation of Standardbred racehorses in training. Body weight has a negligible affect on most echocardiographic parameters in this homogeneous population, but did mildly influence the results of left ventricular and aortic measurements.

A veterinary electronic patient record, compliant with the IT standards (HL7, DICOM and IHE), was developed at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Milan (Italy) in order to improve the veterinary hospital workflows, making the stored clinical data more homogenous and sharable, thereby increasing the integration with current and future software applications. The system was developed by open-source software in order to reduce the implementation and maintenance costs and to make the system sharable with other veterinary hospitals or research centers without additional costs. The system was tested from May to October 2006. Results show that the majority of the veterinarians involved in the test agreed on the advantages obtained by the use of application software concerning the availability of all the useful clinical data [71.4%], the quality of the diagnostic procedures [78.58%] and the efficiency [85.58%] of hospital activities.