Fatty acid composition and meat quality traits of organically reared Korean native black pigs

Current study investigated the effect of feeding systems (conventional vs organic rearing) on carcass characteristics, meat quality and fatty acid composition of Musculus longissimus dorsi of Korean native black barrows (KNP). Thirty pigs were reared under a conventional feeding system at indoor area of 1 m² per head, while another thirty pigs were fed an indoor area with organic saw dusts of 1 m² and an outdoor area with free ranges of 1 m² for each pig for organic system. Diet for the organic rearing was also provided according to the guideline for organic pork products. Warner–Bratzler shear force was lower and water holding capacity was higher for pork produced under the organic guidelines. However, pork produced by an organic system did not affect sensory traits compared to pork produced by a conventional one. In addition, longissimus muscle from organically reared pigs had significantly (P < 0.05) higher myoglobin content and consequently higher CIE a?-values compared with those for the conventionally-reared pigs (P < 0.05). The organic pork resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) higher polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and unsaturated fatty acid contents, as well as a higher n-3 PUFA than the conventional one (P < 0.05).     

Flame retarding PC/ABS resins having superior thermomechanical properties

Triphenyl phosphate (TPP) is well known to be one of the most effective flame retardants for acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) and its blending resins, such as polycarbonate (PC)/ABS, among various phosphorous-based compounds. However, TPP can also play a role as a plasticizer, which decreases the mechanical properties of PC/ABS resins at high temperature. Furthermore considerable amount of TPP has to be evaporated during molding process due on its much lower evaporation temperature. To overcome these shortcomings, we tried to immobilize TPP by grafting on butadiene moiety of ABS. FT-IR analysis of prepared TPP-grafted ABS (ABS-g-TPP) comparing with TPP, ABS and their blend confirmed that chemical reactions happened between TPP and ABS resins and it was attributed to the graft reaction of TPP onto butadiene moieties. Prepared ABS-g-TPP resins were blended with PC at various compositions to be prepared as testing specimens by injection molding. The physical characteristics such as mechanical properties, thermal stability, and flame retarding properties of the PC/ABS-TPP graft copolymer were analyzed through Vicat softening temperature, IZOD impact strength, transmission electron microscope, and UL94 flame retardation tests. Results showed that PC/ABS-g-TPP resin takes better thermomechanical properties than the existing PC/ABS resins at relatively low additional TPP amounts.     

Silsesquiazane/organic polymer blends as organic-inorganic hybrid materials

Silsesquiazane (SSQZ), one of the branched forms of polysilazane, was blended with polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(iso-butyl methacrylate) (PBMA), and poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) to produce organic-inorganic hybrid materials. The polymers were selected to provide specific interaction, such as ??-?? interaction or hydrogen bonding, with SSQZ. AFM studies revealed that carbonyl containing polymers, PMMA, PBMA, and PVAc were miscible with SSQZ while PS was immiscible. DSC analysis of the hybrids also supported the miscibility behaviours of the system. The glass transition behaviour of SSQZ/PS showed individual transition temperature corresponding to the each component while SSQZ/carbonyl-containing polymers displayed one transition temperature that matched with the theoretically calculated values following the Kwei equation. Among the miscible hybrid system, the interaction with SSQZ increased in the order of PMMA> PBMA> PVAc, as determined by the q value in the Kwei equation. This result was confirmed by determining the degree of hydrogen bonding in FT-IR spectra. Thermal stability of organic polymers was improved by incorporating SSQZ regardless of the miscibility.     

Taste Compounds and Biofunctional Activities of the Sandy Beach Clam Hydrolysate for the Shellfish Flavoring Condiment

ABSTRACT

Sandy beach clam meat was hydrolyzed with proteases (Alcalase and Flavozyme) for the manufacture of a natural flavoring condiment. The optimal conditions for the enzymatic hydrolysis of the shellfish meat via the response surface methodology were: temperature, 54.7°C; pH, 5.9; time, 45 h. The total amino acid content of the shellfish hydrolysate was 9,218.8 mg/100 g and consisted mainly of glutamic acid, aspartic acid, glycine, arginine, lysine, and leucine. Nucleotides and their related compounds of the shellfish hydrolysate consisted mainly of adenosine diphosphate (0.86 mg/100 g), adenosine monophosphate (11.24 mg/100 g), and inosine (49.03 mg/100 g). The shellfish hydrolysate resulted in three protein peaks in the Bio-Rad P2 gel chromatography pattern. The antioxidant activity was highest at Peak 1 (64.67%), followed by Peak 2 (27.48%) and Peak 3 (16.67%); whereas the angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory activity was highest at Peak 3 (67.27%), followed by Peak 2 (6.14%). Antitumor activity was highest at Peak 1 (18.77%), followed by Peak 2 (8.75%). All the sensory attributes of the shellfish condiment were scored highly. Therefore, the sand beach clam hydrolysate can be commercialized as an ingredient of a natural flavoring condiment or seasoning.     

Identification of Vibrio harveyi,Vibrio ichthyoenteri,and Photobacterium damselae isolated from olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus in Korea by multiplex PCR developed using the rpoB gene

Major fish bacterial diseases in Korea are edwardsiellosis, streptococcosis, and vibriosis. Among vibrionaceae, Listonella anguillarum, Vibrio harveyi, V. ichthyoenteri, and Photobacterium damselae were identified as causative organisms of vibriosis in flounder. In this study, we developed a multiplex PCR method using the RNA polymerase β subunit (rpoB) gene, known as a housekeeping gene for identification of Vibrio spp. causing vibriosis in flounder. Three pairs of PCR primers were designed based on the rpoB sequence of three species, V. harveyi, V. ichthyoenteri, and P. damselae. The PCR assay, using a mixture of six primers, yielded amplicons of 601, 434, and 533 bp in V. harveyi, V. ichthyoenteri, and P. damselae. None of the untargeted species yielded an amplicon. The detection limits for pure culture in kidney were 2.5 × 10⁴ cfu/g kidney for V. harveyi, 2.5 × 10⁵ cfu/g kidney for V. ichthyoenteri, and 2.5 × 10⁶ cfu/g kidney for P. damselae. From the colonies on TCBS agar plates of different samples, 632 Vibrio spp. isolated from aquacultured flounder between 2004 and 2010 were identified by the multiplex PCR method. As a result, 265 strains (41.9 %) were V. ichthyoenteri; 115 strains (18.2 %) were V. harveyi and 72 strains (11.4 %) were P. damselae.     

Evaluation of Seed Vigor Tests for Predicting Seedling Establishment at Low Temperature in Rice (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza sativa</Emphasis> L.)

This study was carried out to develop an evaluation method to predict rice seedling establishment (SE) under low-temperature conditions. Two Korean-bred japonica cultivars, Shindongjin and Hopum were used in the experiment. Fresh seeds were treated with an accelerated aging (AA) at 40°C and 100% RH for 1-15 days. The SEs of the fresh and AA seeds were evaluated in nursery beds at 17°C, and their correlation coefficients with seed vigor values measured by 9 test methods including standard germination test (SGT), cool germination test (CLT), cold germination test (CDT), seedling growth rate test (SGRT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), peroxidase (POX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and α ‐amylase (AMY) activities. The percentage of SE decreased slowly from 75 to 0% with an increasing of AA period from 0 to 15 days. The result of nine vigor tests showed different correlations with the SE. SGT, CLT, SGRT, and POX were significantly correlated with the SE. In the correlation analysis with only short-term aging seeds (1-7 days), the SE was very highly correlated with SGT, CLT, CDT, SGRT, POX, and CAT. These results suggest that seed vigor values measured by several methods including SGT and POX could be used as a reference value to secure SE at low temperatures in nursery bed rice seedling culture.     

Outbreak of Brucellosis in Domestic Elk in Korea

Seven of 18 elk on a deer farm were found by the official Rose‐Bengal agglutination test (RBT) and tube agglutination test to be brucellosis reactors/suspects. Evaluation with the competitive ELISA (C‐ELISA) and the fluorescence polarization assay (FPA) tests revealed that six and five sera were positive respectively. The seven reactors/ suspects were slaughtered and their blood and tissues were collected. Brucella species could be isolated from three of the slaughtered animals, with nine isolates being obtained from the popliteal, supramammary and submandibular lymph nodes, vaginal discharge, mammary tissue and spleen. Brucella genus‐specific PCR based on 16S rRNA and AMOS‐PCR, which is specific for differential Brucella species, revealed that all nine isolates were Brucella abortus. These nine were further confirmed to be B. abortus biovar 1 by classical biotyping scheme assays. This is the first report of an outbreak of brucellosis in domestic elk in Korea. Our observations suggest that deer should be included in the routine Brucella surveillance programme for the effective control and prevention of brucellosis in Korea.     

A consensus genetic map of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) based on 10 mapping populations

A consensus genetic map of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) was constructed by merging linkage maps from 10 different populations, using STMS (Sequence-tagged Microsatellite Sites) as bridging markers. These populations derived from five wide crosses (C. arietinum × Cicer reticulatum) and five narrow crosses (Desi × Kabuli types) were previously used for mapping genes for several agronomic traits such as ascochyta blight, fusarium wilt, rust resistance, seed weight, flowering time and days to flower. The integrated map obtained from wide crosses consists of 555 loci including, among other markers, 135 STMSs and 33 cross-genome markers distributed on eight linkage groups and covers 652.67 cM. The map obtained from narrow crosses comprises 99 STMSs, 3 SCARs, 1 ASAP, fusarium resistance gene, 5 morphological traits as well as RAPD and ISSR markers distributed on eight linkage groups covering 426.99 cM. Comparison between maps from wide and narrow crosses reflects a general coincidence, although some discrepancies are discussed. Medicago truncatula cross-genome markers were BLASTed against the M. truncatula pseudogenome permitting assignments of chickpea linkage groups LGI, II, III, IV, V and VI on Medicago chromosomes 2, 5, 7, 1, 3 and 4, respectively. A marker detectable on Medicago chromosome 4 were also located on LGVIII, This consensus map is an important progress to assist breeders for selecting suitable markers to be used in marker-assisted selection (MAS).