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AbstractIn rabbits’ reproductive performance, litter size, birth weight, growth, and mortality rate are among the most important indicators to define the productive potential and they are associated with parity order. Birth weight and little size are valuable parameters as related to mortality and weaning weight. Thus, it is important to study individual newborn and intra-litter homogeneity parameters. This trial aimed to consider the litter homogeneity weight at birth, both within each litter and in the whole population, in order to suggest new proper within-litter homogenisation parameters. In this study, the 1st and 6th parity order had, respectively, the lowest and highest values in litter size (8.96 vs 12.39, n), born-alive (8.36 vs 12.22, n), litter weight (456.4 g vs 719.8, g), born-alive weight, and quartiles’ homogeneity. These parameters decreased in greater parity orders. No significant effects on still-born numbers and mortality rates were evidenced. All these litter homogeneity evaluation parameters appeared interesting in describing differences between parity orders. The results confirmed that does parity order influences litter size and born-alive weight, but also the intra- and inter-litter homogenisation. Litter homogenisation is crucial to ensure a proportionate share of milk, more equal growth, and better productive performances. Based on these results, we suggest for the commercial genetic centres to equalise the litters according to the birth weight, by dividing the population into quartiles and rearing kits with light birth weight in smaller litters and those with heavier birth weight in larger litters.HIGHLIGHTSDoes parity order influences litter size and born-alive weightKit’s quartiles distribution is a useful tool for equalisation practice

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The total conversion of the oil barrel to good quality fuels and distillates has been an overriding goal in the oil refinery industry. Today, it is even more important to improve the effective use of the energy fossil reserves. The actual technologies still produce variable amounts of low quality fractions (e.g.fuel oil, bunker oil) or by-products (e.g.coke). The evolution of the slurry hydrocracking technology can open the way to achieve the objective. This technology was originally developed in Germany in the first half of the last century and reconsidered by several research groups in the past decades. The catalyst used in the slurry process is still constituted by the same materials developed by German scientists in the last century, i.e.bulk, crystalline, nano-sized iron, molybdenum or tungsten sulfide. We have demonstrated now that it is possible to improve the catalytic performances by combining the excellent hydrogenation, hydrodesulfurization and hydrodemetallation properties of dispersed MoS2catalyst with those of a conventional cracking catalyst. This dual catalyst system demonstrates for the first time the ability of dispersed MoS2particles to protect the cracking catalyst against rapid decay due to coke accumulation and metal poisoning.

Several different technologies are available for H2S removal from the gas stream of medium capacity. Among them, the most widely used is Locat with more than 120 plants worldwide. In the last decade, many new processes, such as Sulfatreat‐DO, Crystasulf, Caltech, and UCSR, were proposed to overcome the drawbacks of the state‐of‐the‐art processes (low sulfur purity, chemical degradation, thiosulfate formation). We have developed a new H2S conversion method based on acid ferric nitrate solution, co‐catalyzed by a heteropolyacid. H2S was converted to pure sulfur (>99.9 %), with no traces of organic compounds. Due to the acid pH of the solution, no chelant or surfactant was needed and iron content in the solution could reach very high levels. Keggin heteropolyacid (H6PW9V3O40) catalyzed the reoxidation of reduced ferrous solution with air at mild temperature and at very high reaction rate. The undesired side reaction (NOxformation) could be avoided by simply increasing the oxygen partial pressure.