Effects of Whitening Agents and Frozen Storage on the Quality of Sardine (Sardina pilchardus) Surimi: Physicochemical and Mechanical Properties

This work is focused on the effect of using whitening agents (WA) during a process followed by frozen storage (4 months at ?18°C) on the whiteness, quality parameters, and mechanical properties of sardine surimi. The whiteness of surimi exhibited a significant improvement when whitening agents (calcium carbonate and peroxide hydrogen) were used (48.75 to 60.24). Dynamic rheological measurement showed that storage moduli, G′, was considerably higher than loss moduli, G″, for both surimi with WA and control; however, the highest viscoelastic moduli were found in the treated surimi. In addition, the microstructure of surimi with WA showed more compact matrix and higher water holding capacity. On the other hand, most tested indexes showed quality losses throughout the frozen storage in both samples. Proteins underwent denaturation as indicated by the reduction in band intensities, especially myosin heavy chain (MHC) bands. Peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) measurements showed that lipid oxidation took place during storage; however, the degree of lipid oxidation was not relevant. Therefore, it was proved that the addition of whitening agents had a marked effect on the production of surimi with better functional attributes including whiteness, water holding capacity, and mechanical properties.     

Potential of acrylamide formation,sugars, and free asparagine in potatoes: a comparison of cultivars and farming systems

Glucose, fructose, sucrose, free asparagine, and free glutamine were analyzed in 74 potato samples from 17 potato cultivars grown in 2002 at various locations in Switzerland and different farming systems. The potential of these potatoes for acrylamide formation was measured with a standardized heat treatment. These potentials correlated well with the product of the concentrations of reducing sugars and asparagine. Glucose and fructose were found to determine acrylamide formation. The cultivars showed large differences in their potential of acrylamide formation which was primarily related to their sugar contents. Agricultural practice neither influenced sugars and free asparagine nor the potential of acrylamide formation. It is concluded that acrylamide contents in potato products can be substantially reduced primarily by selecting cultivars with low concentrations of reducing sugars.     

A systems analysis framework of a national forestry sector: Nigeria

As in many underdeveloped regions of the world, some African countries are at present going through stages of rapid economic changes. Such changes include relatively rapid increases in national income, urbanisation, proportion of population going to school in the ‘modern’ sense, etc. In other words, the traditional sectors of many countries are gradually being transformed into modern ones. In Nigeria such changes are accelerated by the present high world market prices for petroleum products and expanded drilling for petroleum in Nigeria which generate high growth rates for national income.These changes have important consequences for wood consumption because, as traditional economic activities decline and modern ones expand, demand for fuelwood and unprocessed wood salvaged and used on the farm declines and demand for processed wood produced commercially expands.Part I of this paper, in a general way, specifies aspects of the Nigerian forestry sector which should be considered in formulating the systems simulation model of the sector. Part II specifies an analytical model which can simulate the transfer of population from the traditional to the modern sector as economic conditions improve and enable the consequences of such a transformation on wood consumption to be traced through time. The analytical model is also tested in Part II by using the model to predict the annual consumption of various wood products in Nigeria by the year 1990.     

Forestry expansion and land-use patterns in the Nelson Region,New Zealand

The expansion of plantation forestry in New Zealandduring the last century has altered the landscape and will continue to do so in the future. The implementation of recent resource management policy, the 1991 Resource Management Act (RMA), will also influence the impact of future plantation expansion on the landscape. It is necessary to analyze current land-use patterns in order to predict effects on future landscapes. This study analyzed the current land-use patterns of the Nelson region by examining the relationship between land-use and site conditions and by characterizing the distribution pattern of land-use depending on distance from the city. The distribution pattern was considered from an economic perspective, based on the Barlowe’s model of land use distribution. The relationship between the current land-use pattern and previous land management policy was also examined using the Land Use Capability. Consequently, in addition to the physical attributes of the land, the influence of land-use management policy was obvious. Thus the RMA will undoubtedly influence land-use changes in the future. It is therefore necessary to understand the factors determining changes in land-use patterns in conjunction with the district plan of the RMA to predict future changes in land-use.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

肉类加工机刀具制造与修复的新方法

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Phenotypic Characterization of Canine Intestinal Intraepithelial Lymphocytes in Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background

Many dogs suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are presented to veterinary clinics. These patients are diagnosed based on a history of chronic gastrointestinal signs and biopsy‐confirmed histopathologic intestinal inflammation. Intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) are part of the first line of defense in the gastrointestinal immune system. Alterations in IEL subsets may play a role in the pathogenesis of IBD.

Hypothesis

The aim of this study was to characterize the phenotypes of IEL in dogs with IBD compared with healthy control dogs.

Animals

Intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes subpopulations of control dogs (n = 5) obtained from endoscopic biopsies (EB) were compared to those obtained from full thickness biopsies (FTB) on the same day. In addition, the phenotypes of IEL from FTB of control dogs (n = 10) were compared with EB of IBD dogs (n = 10). Each participant was scored clinically using the canine inflammatory bowel disease activity index (CIBDAI), and all samples were graded histopathologically. Three‐color flow cytometry of isolated IEL was performed using monoclonal antibodies against T‐ and B‐lymphocyte subpopulations.

Results

No significant differences in the composition of IEL subpopulations were found in control dogs based on method of biopsy. The IBD dogs had significantly higher CIBDAI and histopathologic scores compared with control dogs and their IEL contained a significantly higher frequency TCRγδ T‐cells.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Endoscopic biopsies provide suitable samples for 3‐color flow cytometry when studying canine intestinal IEL and IBD patients show significant changes of major T‐cell subsets compared to healthy control dogs.     

Structural basis for gluten intolerance in celiac sprue

Celiac Sprue, a widely prevalent autoimmune disease of the small intestine, is induced in genetically susceptible individuals by exposure to dietary gluten. A 33-mer peptide was identified that has several characteristics suggesting it is the primary initiator of the inflammatory response to gluten in Celiac Sprue patients. In vitro and in vivo studies in rats and humans demonstrated that it is stable toward breakdown by all gastric, pancreatic, and intestinal brush-border membrane proteases. The peptide reacted with tissue transglutaminase, the major autoantigen in Celiac Sprue, with substantially greater selectivity than known natural substrates of this extracellular enzyme. It was a potent inducer of gut-derived human T cell lines from 14 of 14 Celiac Sprue patients. Homologs of this peptide were found in all food grains that are toxic to Celiac Sprue patients but are absent from all nontoxic food grains. The peptide could be detoxified in in vitro and in vivo assays by exposure to a bacterial prolyl endopeptidase, suggesting a strategy for oral peptidase supplement therapy for Celiac Sprue.