Detection of pork and lard as adulterants in processed meat: liquid chromatographic analysis of derivatized triglycerides

A new method is described for detection of pork and lard as adulterants in processed beef and mutton mixtures. The unsaturated triglycerides in the fat are ozonized and then derivatized. The mixture of derivatized and saturated triglycerides is analyzed by liquid chromatography using a reverse-phase column and a UV detector. Pork fat has larger amounts of triglyceride containing saturated fatty acid at the C-2 position than does the fat of other meat. The ratio of triglyceride containing saturated fatty acid vs triglyceride containing unsaturated fatty acid at the same (C-2) position (SSU/SUS) in a sample is compared with those of pure meats. The presence of pork in the sample causes the ratio to increase compared with ratios for pure beef or mutton. The increase in the SSU/SUS ratio is significant for the addition of 1% pork in beef. In the case of mutton, the addition of 3% pork causes a noticeable change. The method is reliable and is also applicable to samples containing only fat. Processing (heating or cooking) does not affect the ratios.     

Effects of inoculation with Glomus mosseae, Azorhizobium caulinodans and rock phosphate on the growth of and nitrogen and phosphorus accumulation in Sesbania rostrata

A study was carried out to evaluate the influence of single or dual inoculation with Glomus mosseae and Azorhizobium caulinodans with and without rock phosphate on the growth of and N, P and K accumulation in Sesbania rostrata grown in sterilized soil. Height of plants inoculated with G. mosseae in combination with A. caulinadans and/or rock phosphate was significantly higher than that of uninoculated plants or plants inoculated with A. caulinodans alone before but not after 28 days. However, the oven-dry weight of shoots and roots from all treatments did not vary significantly. Generally, concentration and uptake of N and P but not K in shoots and roots of plants were improved by dual inoculation with G. mosseae and A. caulinodans plus or minus P. Mycorrhizal infection of roots was enhanced significantly by A. caulinodans. Received: 18 March 1996     

State diagram of temperature vs date solids obtained from the mature fruit

Mature dates were dried achieving an increase in the level of solids from 70.8% to 92.4% (wet basis). Small deformation dynamic oscillation was employed to identify changes in the viscoelastic properties of dates as a function of solids. Samples were cooled or heated at a constant scan rate of 1 degrees C/min. At high temperatures, e.g., 70 degrees C, the storage and loss modulus (G' and G' ', respectively) remained relatively independent of the time or frequency of observation, thus delineating the plateau zone. Cooling resulted in rapid development of both moduli with G' ' overtaking G'. This is known as the glass transition region and was used to define the rheological T(g). Eventually, the glassy state is reached where the storage modulus becomes dominant once more and approaches values of 10(9.5) Pa. The values of T(g) were used to determine the metastable glass transition curve of mature dates. At lower levels of solids, i.e., between 11.7% and 64%, freezing experiments were employed to identify the equilibrium melting curve of ice. The state diagram yielded a maximally freeze-concentrated solute at 70% solids with the characteristic temperature of glass formation being -50 degrees C. Data on equilibrium and kinetic events were modeled using the Chen and Gordon-Taylor equations yielding the rheological T(g) for date solids at their effective molecular weight.     

Exploitation of the late flowering species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica oleracea</Emphasis> L. for the improvement of earliness in <Emphasis Type="Italic">B. napus</Emphasis> L.: an untraditional approach

The oilseed Brassica rapa flowers and matures earlier than B. oleracea, as well as their amphidiploid B. napus. Therefore, earliness of B. rapa has been investigated as a source of variation for earliness in B. napus breeding programs. Variation for days to flower exists in B. oleracea; however, its earliest flowering variant B. alboglabra flowers 2–3 weeks later than B. napus. We hypothesized that the C genome of B. alboglabra carries alleles for early flowering which are different from the C-genome alleles of B. napus; and these alleles can be used for the improvement of B. napus. To test this, we examined flowering time in pedigree and DH populations from two B. napus × B. alboglabra crosses. A B. napus line with about a week earlier flowering than the B. napus parent was achieved through reconstitution of its C genome following pedigree selection. Introgression of the B. alboglabra allele in the early flowering pedigree lines is also evident from the presence of B. alboglabra-specific SSR alleles in this line. However, application of doubled haploidy failed to generate any line that flowered earlier than the B. napus parent, which is probably due to the difficulty of obtaining large numbers of euploid B. napus DH lines from this interspecific cross. Thus, we demonstrate that a trait of the diploid species, which apparently looks undesirable, might in fact be highly valuable for the improvement of amphidiploids; and knowledge from this research can also be applied for other traits.     

Status and ethno-medicinal usage of invasive plants in traditional health care practices: a case study from northeastern Bangladesh

Species diversity and ethno-medicinal usage of 39 species of invasive plants were explored in and around two protected areas, Khadimnagar National Park (KNP) and Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctu- ary (RKWS), of northeastern Bangladesh,. Status of invasive plants were investigated in 60 sample plots with 5 different habitat types, including forest, roadside, homestead, fallow land and others (ponds, canals, water logged areas, agricultural land, etc.). Data about the usage of invasive plants in traditional health care were collected through interviewing 110 households. Among the five habitat types, fallow land (28 species) pos- sessed the highest number of species, followed by roadside (25 species), forest (23 species), homestead (22 species) and others (13 species). Based on the survey, invasive plants of study areas were also categorized into five degrees of invasiveness e.g., naturalized, introduced, possibly invasive, moderately invasive and highly invasive. Additionally, there is the linear trend between degrees of invasiveness and use percentage of invasive plants. Total 39 species of invasive plants belonging to 29 fami- lies were recorded, which are generally used to treat 37 diseases, ranging from simple headache to highly complicated eye and heart diseases. The majority of the species used by the local inhabitants were herbs (16 spe- cies), followed by some shrubs (11 species), climbers (5 species), trees (5 species) and grasses (2 species). The use percentage of aboveground plant parts were higher (70.58%) than that of underground plant parts (16.18%).     

Homestead forest resources and their role in household economy: A case study in the villages of Gazipur Sadar Upazila of central Bangladesh

This study examines the species composition, diversity and economic importance of homestead forests in the household economy of central Bangladesh. The study documents 57 homestead forest species and their main usage in 90 households across three villages of Gazipur Sadar Upazila. Homestead forests in Bangladesh comprise a mixture of fruit, timber and bamboo species. While superficially homestead forestry appears unimportant in rural livelihoods, in reality the contribution is huge, both as a source of food security and for other necessary household materials. A clear understanding of the physical characteristics and economic role of homestead forests in rural livelihoods is vital for ensuring sustainable resource management. Income and production of homestead forestry on a per hectare basis are found to vary widely between landholding size classes. Significant relationships are identified between forest performance (production and income) and species richness and education level. Homestead forestry appears to be a potential subsistence income generating land-use practice in the study area. The economic scope of homestead forestry can be further enhanced provided the appropriate species composition of the forest is achieved and the education of forest owners is ensured through targeted management and policy interventions.     

Intracellular plutonium: removal by liposome-encapsulated chelating agent

Chelating agents, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) were successfully encapsulated within lipid spherules (that is, liposomes). Encapsutlated [(14)C]EDTA, given intravenously to mice, was retained longer in tissues that nonencapsulated [(14)C]EDTA. Encapsulated DTPA, given to mice 3 days after pluttonium injection, removed an additional fraction of plutonium in the liver, presumably intracellular, not available to nonencapslulated DTPA. It also further increased urinary excretion of plutonium. Introduction of chelating agents into cells by liposomal encapsulation is a promising new approach to the treatment of metal poisoning     

Economic potential of rice precision farming in malaysia: the case study of Felcra Seberang Perak

Many attempts/efforts have been made to cope with the fluctuated production performance in rice production in Malaysia. There is a crucial need in technological advancement to tackle the issue of environmental variability, decreasing productivity and the rising cost in rice cultivation. The use of variable rate technology has increased rice yield through efficient resource allocation. Notwithstanding, an evaluation of the feasibility of this technology is required in terms of economic and intangible benefits. Therefore, this study attempted to determine the potential benefits that could come out of the use of precision agriculture technologies in rice cultivation. A precision farming technology package was developed by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute. It consists of two components, namely a variable rate seed application system and a variable rate fertilizer application system. The study estimated the monetary benefits gained from the use of these two technology components at Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority Seberang Perak. The study also compared the performance of the technology package against the conventional practice. The Cost–Benefit Analysis exercise has been implemented to show the benefits and implications comprised in the study. It was found that there is an additional net income per hectare in between Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) 1109 to MYR 1333 due to the reduction in the production cost if the precision farming technology packages were adopted. The advancement in two cultivation stages showed a positive impact monetarily for both small-scale and large-scale farmers in the study. However, many challenges are to be faced for the technologies implementation since the existing rice cultivation recommended practices throughout all stages even yet to be practiced and taken seriously.

     

乳链菌肽应用新进展

食品防腐剂一直是食品科学的研究热点。乳链菌肽是一种目前应用最为广泛的高效、无毒天然食品防腐剂,已经广泛应用于肉类、牛奶、干酪、蔬菜等食品的防腐处理,而且应用领域还在不断扩展。在此,对乳链菌肽在活性食品包装材料、农业饲料、避孕药物、医学移植等新领域应用的最新进展进行了综述,介绍了乳链菌肽与非热处理技术联合作用的特点和杀菌机制,同时对应用前景进行了展望。