The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition. 
The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet. 
The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources. 
The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.

Influence of Diet On the Distribtion of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals

The post-genomics era has brought with it ever increasing demands to observe and characterise variation within biological systems. This variation has been studied at the genomic (gene function), proteomic (protein regulation) and the metabolomic (small molecular weight metabolite) levels. Whilst genomics and proteomics are generally studied using microarrays (genomics) and 2D-gels or mass spectrometry (proteomics), the technique of choice is less obvious in the area of metabolomics. Much work has been published employing mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy and vibrational spectroscopic techniques, amongst others, for the study of variations within the metabolome in many animal, plant and microbial systems. This review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each technique, putting the current status of the field of metabolomics in context, and providing examples of applications for each technique employed.

Measuring the metabolome: current analytical technologies

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-destructive and rapid technique applied increasingly for food quality evaluation in recent years. It provides us more information to research the quality of food products. This review intends to give an overview of the type of information that can be obtained based on some developed theory and food research of NIRS. It includes the principle of NIRS technique, the specific techniques with chemometrics for data pre-processing methods, qualitative and quantitative analysis and model transfer, and the wide applications of NIRS in food science. In addition, the promise of NIRS technique for food quality evaluation is demonstrated, and some problems which need to be solved or investigated further are also discussed.

Theory and application of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy in determination of food quality

Spore-forming bacilli are being explored for the production and preservation of food for many centuries. The inherent ability of production of large number of secretory proteins, enzymes, antimicrobial compounds, vitamins, and carotenoids specifies the importance of bacilli in food chain. Additionally, Bacillus spp. are gaining interest in human health related functional food research coupled with their enhanced tolerance and survivability under hostile environment of gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Besides, bacilli are more stable during processing and storage of food and pharmaceutical preparations, making them more suitable candidate for health promoting formulations. Further, Bacillus strains also possess biotherapeutic potential which is connected with their ability to interact with the internal milieu of the host by producing variety of antimicrobial peptides and small extracellular effector molecules. Nonetheless, with proposed scientific evidences, commercial probiotic supplements and functional foods comprising of Bacillus spp. had not gained much credential in general population, since the debate over probiotic vs pathogen tag of Bacillus in the research and production terrains is confusing consumers. Hence, it’s important to clearly understand the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of selective beneficial Bacillus spp. and their substantiation with those having GRAS status, to reach a consensus over the same. This review highlights the probiotic candidature of spore forming Bacillus spp. and presents an overview of the proposed health benefits, including application in food and pharmaceutical industry. Moreover, the growing need to evaluate the safety of individual Bacillus strains as well as species on a case by case basis and necessity of more profound analysis for the selection and identification of Bacillus probiotic candidates are also taken into consideration.

/pdf/bacillus-as-potential-probiotics-status-concerns-and-future-2dfafhgjyh.pdf

Bacillus As Potential Probiotics: Status, Concerns, and Future Perspectives.

The Olive tree (Olea europaea L), a native of the Mediterranean basin and parts of Asia, is now widely cultivated in many other parts of the world for production of olive oil and table olives Olive is a rich source of valuable nutrients and bioactives of medicinal and therapeutic interest Olive fruit contains appreciable concentration, 1–3% of fresh pulp weight, of hydrophilic (phenolic acids, phenolic alchohols, flavonoids and secoiridoids) and lipophilic (cresols) phenolic compounds that are known to possess multiple biological activities such as antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antidyslipidemic, cardiotonic, laxative, and antiplatelet Other important compounds present in olive fruit are pectin, organic acids, and pigments Virgin olive oil (VOO), extracted mechanically from the fruit, is also very popular for its nutritive and health-promoting potential, especially against cardiovascular disorders due to the presence of high levels of monounsaturates and other valuable minor components such as phenolics, phytosterols, tocopherols, carotenoids, chlorophyll and squalene The cultivar, area of production, harvest time, and the processing techniques employed are some of the factors shown to influence the composition of olive fruit and olive oil This review focuses comprehensively on the nutrients and high-value bioactives profile as well as medicinal and functional aspects of different parts of olives and its byproducts Various factors affecting the composition of this food commodity of medicinal value are also discussed

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/13/3/3291/pdf

Valuable Nutrients and Functional Bioactives in Different Parts of Olive (Olea europaea L.)—A Review

Simple Summary Alternative cage-free housing systems for growing rabbits, such as parks/elevated pens, are currently being developed in Mediterranean countries. In these parks, the inability to express gnawing behavior and fear are the top behavioral-welfare-associated consequences. Gnawing inability promotes abnormal stereotypical and aggressive behaviors. Fear can be reduced by avoiding aggression. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the effect of gnawing compressed hay blocks and sex-group composition (only females, only males, mixed sex) on the productive results, behavior, and reactivity of growing rabbits in a park system. None of the animals showed injuries due to aggression at the end of the trial. The provision of gnawing blocks affected rabbit behavior negligibly but improved their reactivity towards a new environment or a new object; thus, the inclusion of gnawing blocks should be recommended for animal welfare. Changes in sex-group composition were not relevant in terms of either quantity or quality of performance and conspecific interactions. Abstract To improve animal welfare in collective park housing systems, this study assessed the effects of the provision of gnawing hay blocks and the group composition (F: females, M: males, FM: mixed sex) on performance, behavior, and reactivity of 288 growing rabbits reared in 18 parks (16 rabbits/park) from 31 to 73 days of age. The presence of gnawing blocks inside the feeding area of the parks scarcely affected performance and budget time, but decreased the time spent in the resting area compared to parks without blocks (p < 0.001); it increased the time spent moving during the open field test (p < 0.05) and the rate of rabbits that approached the object in the novel-object test (p < 0.05). As for sex-group composition, the feed conversion ratio was lower in parks F and FM than in park M (p < 0.05). During the open-field test, FM rabbits spent more time moving (p < 0.05), whereas M rabbits displayed self-grooming for a longer time (p < 0.01). Results related to production, behavior, and reactivity indicate the provision of gnawing blocks for welfare improvement, but do not support the change from current mixed-sex to single-sex rearing.

/pdf/use-of-gnawing-hay-blocks-effects-on-productive-performance-204lzjc0.pdf

Use of Gnawing Hay Blocks: Effects on Productive Performance, Behavior and Reactivity of Growing Rabbits Kept in Parks with Different Sex-Group Compositions

A standardised protocol was used to evaluate health and welfare of lactating does and their litters on 12 commercial farms of the North of Italy in 36 visits ( hree per farm) during three productive cycles (a utumn, winter, and summer) over one year. Farms used four diffe ent housing systems (standard breeding cages, dualpurpose breeding cages, enriched cages, and parks). At late lactation (27-31 d after kindling), 82% of does had adequate body condition score (BCS). The main health concerns were diarrhoea (mean preva lence: 6.6%), ulcerative pododermatitis (3.4%), mastitis (3.0%), and dermatomycosis (2.8%) in does; dermatomycosis (1.6%) and diarrhoea (1.1%) in litters. Regarding t he housing system, the females kept in parks and en rich d cages were heavier (4968 g and 4914 g vs. 4431 and 4765 g) and had a higher BCS than those in standard and dual-purpose cages (0.001<P<0.01). Litter size was higher in parks and enriched cages(9.18 and 8.61) t han in standard and dual-purpose cages (8.08 and 8.21); ki t weight was higher in dual-purpose cages (575 g) a nd lower in standard and enriched cages (541 g and 540 g) (P<0.001). The prevalence of health concerns in does and litters was similar across all housing systems. Performance and health of the animals also changed according to the productive cycle: doe and kit weig ht were higher in the autumn and winter cycles than in summer, BCS was higher in the winter and summer cyc les than in autumn (1.98 and 2.01 vs. 1.92), and li tter size was higher in the winter cycle than in the aut umn and summer ones (8.83 vs. 8.24 and 8.19; P<0.00 1). Lastly, a higher prevalence of diarrhoea in does wa recorded in autumn and summer than in winter (9.3 % and 6.7% vs. 3.5%; P<0.001).

A protocol for measuring health and welfare of reproducing does and litters in rabbit farms

The nutritional role of fibre in rabbit feeding has been widely assessed (Gidenne, 2000) and the spread out of rabbit epizootic enterocolitis (REE) has strongly increased the dietary fibre levels and reduced starch, as a method to prevent digestive troubles. In fact, high starch to fibre ratios may favour digestive problems, especially in young rabbits having a low gut amylase activity (Blas et al., 1994; Gidenne et al., 2000)...

Effect of starch to ADF ratio and grinding procedure in diets for growing rabbits

To evaluate aggression and behaviour of reproducing does in a part-time system, 48 crossbred multiparo us rabbit does were housed in individual modules of a park system. A total of 12 parks with 4 does were f o med by joining adjacent modules from 9 d before kindlin g until 2 d before kindling and from 2 d or 12 d af ter kindling (early or late grouping time, respectively ) until weaning. Within grouping time, half of the parks maintained a stable group; the other half changed o ne doe every week. Behaviour in all parks was video recorded for 24 h at 2 d, 12 d and 19 d after kindl ing. The number of total aggressive interactions significantly decreased from the grouping day to th e 19 d of lactation (P<0.001), and was lower in lategrouped does compared to early-grouped ones (P<0.01 ) and in stable groups compared to variable groups (0.001<P<0.01). Regarding the time spent resting, f eeding, drinking and self-grooming, the observation day always had a significant effect, whereas the group stability was less relevant. Finally, at 19 d, on a ver ge, does rested individually for a 45.3% of the observa tion time and in contact with a mate for a 17.2% of the observation time, without significant differences a ccording to the grouping time or the group stabilit y (P>0.05).

Effect of grouping time and group stability on behavior and aggression among rabbit does in a part-time housing system

The study aimed at evaluating whether housing growing rabbits in pairs in bicellular cages (18 animals/m 2 ) or in group of 20 to 54 animals kept in small (1.40 x 1.20 m) or large pens (1.40 x 2.40 m) with wooden floor at low (12 animals/m 2 ) or high stocking density (16 animals/m 2 ) might influence growth performance and slaughter traits. The rabbits kept in bicellular cages showed higher final live weight (2839 vs. 2655 g; P<0.01), daily weight gain (+10%; P<0.01), and feed intake (+11%; P<0.001), without differences for feed conversion ratio, compared with the rabbits housed in collective pens. At slaughter, the former rabbits also displayed higher dressing percentage (60.5% vs. 59.6%), dissectible fat proportion (3.0% vs. 2.1% reference carcass) and hind leg muscle-to-bone ratio (7.53 vs. 6.63) (P<0.001) compared with the group-housed rabbits. Within the collective pens, the increase in the stocking density from 12 to 16 rabbits/m 2 increased only the slaughter dressing percentage (59.4% vs. 59.8%; P=0.05), whereas no significant effect of pen size was measured. In conclusion, rearing rabbits in collective pens impaired growth performance and slaughter results compared to rabbits kept in bicellular cages, regardless of stocking density or pen size.

/pdf/performance-of-growing-rabbits-in-bicellular-cages-and-1vwswhgoat.pdf

Gerolamo Xiccato

Papers

Use of Gnawing Hay Blocks: Effects on Productive Performance, Behavior and Reactivity of Growing Rabbits Kept in Parks with Different Sex-Group Compositions

A protocol for measuring health and welfare of reproducing does and litters in rabbit farms

Effect of starch to ADF ratio and grinding procedure in diets for growing rabbits

Effect of grouping time and group stability on behavior and aggression among rabbit does in a part-time housing system

Performance of growing rabbits in bicellular cages and collective pens