Protein Content in the Diet Influences Growth and Diarrhea in Weaning Piglets.

The aim of this research has been to assess the effect of the dietary protein level on piglet growth and post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) incidence. Piglet fecal microbiota and feces composition were also assessed. The experiment was carried out on 144 weaned piglets (Duroc × Large White; 72 piglets per treatment) and lasted from weaning (at 25 days of age) until the end of the post-weaning phase (at 95 days).

Differences in larval survival and IgG response patterns in long-lasting infections by Trichinella spiralis, Trichinella britovi and Trichinella pseudospiralis in pigs.

Background: Domesticated and wild swine play an important role as reservoir hosts of Trichinella spp. and a source of infection for humans. Little is known about the survival of Trichinella larvae in muscles and the duration of anti-Trichinella antibodies in pigs with long-lasting infections.

Oxidative stability of pork meat lipids as related to high-oleic sunflower oil and vitamin E diet supplementation and storage conditions.

The aim of this research work was to evaluate the oxidative stability of pork meat lipids as related to dietary supplementation with high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) and/or α-tocopheryl acetate (VE), as well as the influence of storage conditions. Four different diets (control; HOSO; VE; HOSO+VE), were fed to swines until slaughtering. Meat slices were packed in vessels with transparent shrink film and exposed to white fluorescent light for 3 days at 8 °C.

Evaluation of the oxidation state and metal concentration in the adipose tissue of Parma ham.

The effect of different dietary fat supplements: A, no added fat; B, 3% added lard and C, 3% added partially hydrogenated lard (PHL), were evaluated in dry cured Parma ham fat by determination of the lipid oxidation indices, R1 and R2, on a total of 30 Italian Landrace×Italian Large White pigs. Furthermore, correlations between lipid oxidation and calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper and nickel concentrations, determined in Parma ham fat, was also investigated. Results highlighted a correlation between the oxidative state of Parma ham fat and the pigs' diet; in particular the addition of 3% PHL led to a more stable depot fat towards lipid oxidation compared to the addition of lard.

Efficient production by sperm-mediated gene transfer of human decay accelerating factor (hDAF) transgenic pigs for xenotransplantation.

A large number of hDAF transgenic pigs to be used for xenotransplantation research were generated by using sperm-mediated gene transfer (SMGT). The efficiency of transgenesis obtained with SMGT was much greater than with any other method. In the experiments reported, up to 80% of pigs had the transgene integrated into the genome.