Storage time‐temperature effects on the odour preferences for uncooked chicken parts

1. Whole broilers and separated legs were stored at ‐12 ± 1 °C, —18 ± 1 °C and — 75 ±2 °C (reference group, whole carcasses only), for up to nine months.

2. Legs cut from the whole birds after removal from store, unpacking and thawing, and legs from the portions were compared in odour preference at four times of examination.

3. After only 1 d the odour of the legs stored as parts at —12 °C was less preferred than that of the reference group; this was also true for legs cut from whole birds after 3 months at the same temperature.

4. After 3 months at — 12 °C the odour of the legs stored as parts was less preferred than the odour of legs obtained from whole birds.

5. Storage of legs as parts at —18 °C resulted in a comparatively less preferred odour after 3 months, while the same was true after 9 months for legs cut from the carcasses.     

Thin layer-chromatographic separation of fat soluble and water soluble food dyes

Summary The use of fat soluble and water soluble food dyes in food technology requires reliable proofs and precise identification of these substances in foodstuffs. This problematic has been studied more detailed in our Institute. During these studies some suitable procedures for thin layer chromatographic separation of these substances have been developed.For the separation of fat soluble food dyes the chromatography on thin layers of aluminium oxide and the chromatography on thin layers of starch with reversed phases were used. In the first case good separation was achieved with a solvent system containing petroleum ether and carbon tetrachlorid and their mixtures. In the second case the starch plates were impregnated with paraffin or vegetable oil, and as mobile phases a solvent system containing methanol-water-acetic adic (16 : 3 : 1) and others solvent mixtures currently used in paper chromatography were used.Water soluble food dyes were separated on thin layers of polyamide powder, which was used also for their quantitative isolation from foodstuffs. The best results were achieved with basic solvent system, for example, with a mixture containing ammonia-methanol water (5 : 15 : 80).The developed analytical procedures are suitable for the proof and the separation of fat soluble and water soluble food dyes in all foodstuffs.

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Zusammenfassung Die Verwendung von wasser- und fettlöslichen Lebensmittelfarben erfordert verläßlichen Nachweis und genaue Identifikation dieser Stoffe in den Lebensmitteln. Wir haben diese Problematik in unserem Institut eingehend studiert und einige Verfahren der chromatographischen Trennung dieser Stoffe mittels DC erarbeitet.Zur Trennung der fettlöslichen Farbstoffe verwendeten wir einerseits DC-Platten mit Aluminiumoxid, andererseits führten wir die Trennung dieser Stoffe auf einer dünnen Stärkeschicht mit umgekehrter Phase durch. Im ersten Falle wurde eine gute Trennung mit Laufmitteln erreicht, die Petroläther und Tetrachlormethan und deren Gemische enthalten. Im zweiten Falle wurde als stationäre Phase Paraffinöl, als mobile Phase eine Gemisch von Methanol, Wasser und Essigsäure im Verhältnis 16 : 3 : 1 und andere Gemische in gleichen Verhältnissen verwendet, die sich bei der Papier-Verteilungschromatographie bewährt haben.Wasserlösliche Farbstoffe wurden auf einer dünnen Schicht von Polyamidpulver getrennt, das auch zu deren quantitativer Isolation aus den Lebensmitteln verwendet wurde. Die besten Ergebnisse wurden mit alkalischen Laufmitteln erzielt, z.B. mit dem Gemisch von Ammoniak, Methanol und Wasser im Verhältnis 5 : 15 : 80.Die erarbeiteten analytischen Verfahren für Nachweis und Trennung fett- und wasserlöslicher Lebensmittelfarben bewährten sich für alle Lebensmitteltypen.

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Résumé L'utilisation des colorants alimentaires solubles dans l'eau et dans la graisse exige des preuves sûres et l'identification exacte de ces substances dans les aliments. Nous avons étudié ces problèmes en détail à notre institut et élaboré quelques procédés de séparation chromatographique de ces substances par chromatographie sur couche mince.A la séparation des colorants solubles dans la graisse, nous avons utilisé d'une part des couches versées sur l'alumine, d'autre part la séparation de ces substances sur une couche mince de fécule à phase inverse. Au premier cas une bonne séparation fut atteinte aux systèmes comprenant l'éther de pétrole et le tétrachlore carbonique, ou leurs mélanges. A l'autre cas on applique, comme une phase ancrée, de l'huile paraffinique, comme une phase mobile, du mélange de méthanol, d'eau et d'acide acétique en proportion 16 : 3 : 1 et d'autres en mêmes proportions qui avaient fait leurs preuves à la chromatographie de séparation sur le papier.Les colorants solubles dans l'eau furent séparés sur une couche mince de poudre polyamidé qui avait été de même appliqué à leur isolement quantitatif de l'aliment. Les meilleurs résultats furent atteints avec les systèmes alcalins p.e. avec le mélange de méthanol, d'ammoniac et d'eau en proportions 5 : 15 : 80.Les procédés analytiques élaborés pour des preuves et les séparations des colorants solubles dans la graisse et dans l'eau prouvèrent leur attestation avec tous les types de matières alimentaires.

     

Organogenic responses of Pinus pinea cotyledons to hormonal treatments: BA metabolism and cytokinin content

Isolated cotyledons from mature Pinus pinea L. embryos were cultured in vitro in a factorial combination of 4.4, 10 and 44.4 microM N6-benzyladenine (BA) for 2, 4, 8, 16 and 35 days to optimize shoot regeneration. Incubation of explants in 44.4 microM BA for 4 days, in place of the standard incubation in 4.4 microM BA for 35 days, reduced the entire culture period to 4 weeks. Shortening the culture period had no significant effect on the caulogenic response or the number of buds formed per cotyledon. To establish the relationship between key moments in the caulogenic process induced by 4.4 microM BA and the endogenous concentrations of the active forms of BA and other isoprenoid-type cytokinins (CKs), we examined uptake, metabolism and amount of BA, as well as the amounts of zeatin, dihydrozeatin and their ribosides in P. pinea cotyledons after 1, 2, 6, 12 and 24 h, and 2, 4, 8, 16 and 35 days of exposure to 8-[14C]BA. Uptake and release of BA were associated with water movement between explants and the medium during the first 8 days of culture. The interconvertible forms of BA were the main metabolites formed in the tissues. Inactivation of BA as a result of conjugation or oxidation was insignificant. The endogenous concentration of BA + N6-benzyladenosine was 20-fold higher than the exogenously applied BA during the competence acquisition phase (Days 0-3). The concentration of isoprenoid-type CKs also increased 16-fold and then decreased during this time. Induction of shoot buds (Days 4-8) was characterized by a second peak of BA uptake by explants that triggered the synthesis of N6-benzyladenosine-5 -monophosphate and by the maintenance of isoprenoid-type CKs. Reestablishment of CK homeostasis marked the shift from the induction phase to the shoot development phase in this organogenic process (Days 8-12).     

Molecular detection of Leishmania sp. in cats (Felis catus) from Andradina Municipality, São Paulo State, Brazil

The aim of this work was to molecularly detect Leishmania species in 52 cats from Andradina Municipality, S?o Paulo State, Brazil. The direct parasitological test was performed by using imprints of poplited lymph node, bone marrow and spleen to verify amastigote forms of Leishmania spp. The samples that were positive parasitological tests were subjected to molecular analysis (PCR) and sequencing. Infection was detected for 5.76% (3/52) of the examined cats and two had presence of amastigote forms of Leishmania spp. in lymph nodes. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of kinetoplast minicircle DNA, indicated positive amplification for samples of spleen and lymph nodes and the sequencing resulted in 97% similarity with Leishmania (L.) chagasi. This study proved the occurrence of infection with Leishmania (L.) chagasi in felines from Andradina municipality, S?o Paulo State.     

Identification of infrared absorption spectral characteristics of synovial fluid of horses with osteochondrosis of the tarsocrural joint

OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility of the use of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy within the midinfrared range to differentiate synovial fluid samples of joints with osteochondrosis from those of control samples. ANIMALS: 33 horses with osteochondrosis of the tarsocrural joint and 31 horses free of tarsocrural joint disease. PROCEDURES: FTIR spectroscopy of synovial fluid was used. Sixty-four synovial fluid samples from the tarsocrural joint were collected. Of these, 33 samples were from horses with radiographic evidence of osteochondrosis of the tarsocrural joint and 31 from control joints. Disease-associated features within infrared spectra of synovial fluid were statistically selected for spectral classification, and the variables identified were used in a classification model. Linear discriminant analysis and leave-one-out cross-validation were used to develop a classifier to identify joints with osteochondrosis. RESULTS: 12 significant subregions were identified that met the selection criteria. The stepwise discriminant procedure resulted in the final selection of 6 optimal regions that most contributed to the discriminatory power of the classification algorithm. Infrared spectra derived from synovial fluid of joints with osteochondrosis were differentiated from the control samples with accuracy of 77% (81% specificity and 73% sensitivity). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The disease-associated characteristics of infrared spectra of synovial fluid from joints with osteochondrosis may be exploited via appropriate feature selection and classification algorithms to differentiate joints with osteochondrosis from those of control joints. Further study with larger sample size including age-, breed-, and sex-matched control horses would further validate the clinical value of infrared spectroscopy for the diagnosis of osteochondrosis in horses.     

Two perennial legumes (Astragalus adsurgens Pall. and Lespedeza davurica S.) adapted to semiarid environments are not as productive as lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), but use less water

Perennial forage legumes, particularly lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), play a significant role in crop/livestock mixed farming systems in the semiarid region of the Loess Plateau of China as stock feed and a source of nitrogen for subsequent crops. However, there is evidence that lucerne reduces soil water deep in the soil profile, thereby reducing subsequent crop productivity. From 2004 to 2010, this study evaluated the forage productivity and water use of two locally adapted perennial legume species, milk vetch (Astragalus adsurgens Pall.) and bush clover (Lespedeza davurica S.), compared with lucerne. The 7‐year total and average annual forage yield of milk vetch were 56 and 8 t ha^?1 and bush clover was 42 and 6 t ha^?1, respectively, significantly lower than lucerne at 91 and 13 t ha^?1. However, despite lower water‐use efficiencies (16 and 12 kg ha^?1 mm^?1 for milk vetch and bush clover, respectively, compared to 22 kg ha^?1 mm^?1 for lucerne), the total 7‐year water use in milk vetch and bush clover was 3500 mm and 3490 mm, respectively, which was 135–140 mm less than lucerne. After 7 years, lucerne had extracted water from the upper 5 m soil, whereas bush clover used water mainly from the upper 2 m of the soil profile and milk vetch still had some water available below 3 m. We conclude that while the locally adapted forage legumes were not as productive as lucerne as a source of fodder in mixed cropping/livestock system in this region, they use less water, which may be advantageous in drier regions.     

Mercury Flux to Sediments of Lake Tahoe, California–Nevada

We report estimates of mercury (Hg) flux to the sediments of Lake Tahoe, California–Nevada: 2 and 15–20 µg/m²/year in preindustrial and modern sediments, respectively. These values result in a modern to preindustrial flux ratio of 7.5–10, which is similar to flux ratios recently reported for other alpine lakes in California, and greater than the value of 3 typically seen worldwide. We offer plausible hypotheses to explain the high flux ratios, including (1) proportionally less photoreduction and evasion of Hg with the onset of cultural eutrophication and (2) a combination of enhanced regional oxidation of gaseous elemental Hg and transport of the resulting reactive gaseous Hg to the surface with nightly downslope flows of air. If either of these mechanisms is correct, it could lead to local/regional solutions to lessen the impact of globally increasing anthropogenic emissions of Hg on Lake Tahoe and other alpine ecosystems.