Progesterone plus PMSG Priming in seasonally anovulatory lactating Sarda ewes exposed to the ram effect

The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effectiveness (fertility and lambing) of priming with a single injection of progesterone plus PMSG in anovulatory lactating Sarda ewes subjected to the ram effect (RE) in spring. Thirty ewes (P4 group) were i.m. injected with 30 mg progesterone and 500 IU PMSG 36 h before ram introduction (d 0). This treatment was compared to a 12-day treatment with fluorogestone acetate intravaginal sponges that was followed by injections of 350 IU PMSG upon sponge withdrawal (FGA group, n=30). All ewes responded to RE, showing plasma progestrone concentrations >1 ng/mL between d 6 and 12 (FGA) or 6 and 9 (P4). Eighty-nine percent of the P4 ewes conceived at first ovulation, and 11% conceived following a short estrus cycle. Lambings occurred on d 150.4 +/- 3.9, and the lambing rate was 100%. The fertility of the FGA ewes was 83% for the induced ovulation and was 7% for the second ovulation after a normal cycle. The FGA ewes lambed on d 149.8 +/- 4.4, and the lambing rate was 83%. Two abortions were recorded for the FGA ewes, which had higher prolificacy than the P4 group (2.2 +/- 0.8 vs. 1.8 +/- 0.4, respectively; P<0.05). Both fertility and the lambing rate were high in both groups, with a high degree of estrus synchronization, and there were no significant differences between the groups. We concluded that priming of lactating Sarda ewes in spring with P4+PMSG before RE is an effective and competitive method (cheaper and more practical than FGA+PMSG) of inducing fertile ovulations in these ewes.     

Pizza Dough Differentiation by Principal Component Analysis of Alveographic,Microbiological, and Chemical Parameters

We contrast two types of pizza dough produced in Naples. One was prepared in accordance with pizza dough regulations drawn up by the Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione (UNI). Different pizza doughs were studied using a set of parameters linked to mechanical, microbiological, and chemical properties. The pizza doughs were analyzed by alveographic tests following Approved Methods of AACC International. In particular, alveographic values of parameters ΔP_max, V_r, ΔP_max/V_r, E_r1, E_r2, E_rT, as well as the nondimensional ratios E_r1/E_rT and E_r2/E_rT were obtained. Microbial counts of bacteria and yeast were determined and the bacteria‐to‐yeast ratio was also calculated. Total titratable acidity (TTA) and pH were determined by standard methods. Principal component analysis (PCA) applied to some technological parameters (V_r, E_r1, E_r1/E_rT, bacteria‐to‐yeast ratios, pH, and TTA), preliminarily selected on the basis of the variance explained by the components, allowed us to discriminate typical pizza dough of Naples from the other types considered in the study, demonstrating that PCA could help recognize different types of pizza dough. Hence, this method could be used to reduce the empirical component of the pizza‐making process to produce pizza dough with standardized quality.