Soy ingredients stabilize bread dough during frozen storage

Bread with 48.5% soy ingredients was assessed for quality during frozen storage of the dough. Soy protein was hypothesized to prevent water migration during frozen storage, thereby producing dough that would exhibit fewer structural changes than traditional wheat bread. Wheat and soy bread were baked from dough that was fresh or frozen (−20 °C, 2 or 4 wks). Dough and bread were assessed for physical properties including moisture content, percent “freezable” and “unfreezable” water, dough extensibility, and bread texture. The bread was subjected to an untrained sensory panel. The soy bread was denser, chewier, and had a higher moisture content than wheat bread. When baked from fresh or frozen dough, soy bread was rated “moderately acceptable” or higher by 70% of panelists. Soy minimized changes in dough extensibility and resistive force to extension, leading to minimal changes in bread hardness. Although consumers could distinguish between bread baked from soy dough that was fresh or frozen for 4 wks, sensorial and textural data suggested that the rate at which the quality of the soy dough deteriorated was slower than that of wheat dough. In conclusion, the dough of consumer-acceptable soy bread retained quality characteristics during frozen storage slightly better than wheat dough.     

Effects of storage on the physico-chemical properties of corn tortillas prepared with glycerol and salt

Corn tortillas have a short shelf life due to increased firmness and microbial spoilage. Commercial corn tortillas use carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to delay staling; however this gum is expensive when compared to the rest of the tortilla ingredients. Glycerol has been added to bread and wheat tortillas to increase pliability and salt has been shown to mask the flavor of glycerol in corn tortillas. The possibility to reduce staling in corn tortillas by adding glycerol/salt as an alternative to CMC was investigated by monitoring changes in physico-chemical properties during 2 weeks of storage at 25 °C. Molecular and macroscopic changes were followed using thermal and mechanical analysis. During storage an increase in amylopectin recrystallization was observed in all samples. The “freezable” water content of all tortillas decreased over the first 3–5 days of storage with an increase after 7 days, while moisture content and water activity remained constant. Glycerol/salt tortillas exhibited a sharper transition region in the DMA temperature scan suggesting a more homogenous sample. CMC tortillas were significantly stiffer than glycerol tortillas after 14 days of storage. Glycerol/salt combinations may offer at least a partial replacement for CMC since it helped control the stiffness, water homogeneity and distribution during storage.     

A review of ophthalmic local and regional anesthesia in dogs and cats

Objective

Orbital and globe surgeries are commonly performed in companion animals and are considered to cause moderate to severe pain. Regional anesthesia techniques can provide complete sensory blockade, analgesia for painful procedures and improve surgical conditions. The purpose of this review is to summarize local and regional anesthesia techniques for ophthalmic surgery in dogs and cats with emphasis on veterinary publications in the past 12 years.

Description of a regional anaesthesia technique for the dorsal cranium in the dog: a cadaveric study

Objective

To identify landmarks and to describe a technique for nerve blockade of the dorsal cranium in dogs.

Mass rearing of the florida wax scale,Ceroplastes floridensis,for production of natural enemies

A method was developed for mass rearing the Florida wax scale (FWS),Ceroplasta floridensis Comstock — an important pest of citrus and other fruit trees in the Mediterranean basin — for production of natural enemies. The effect of host plant species, intensity of illumination and scale insect density on survival and size of the FWS was studied.Myrtus communis was found to be the most efficient host plant, and the required intensity of illumination was 200 µmol m^-2s^-1(with a photoperiod of 12L: 12D). Under these conditions, a density of 500 scale insects per plant could be achieved without reducing the size of the FWS below that required for the development of natural enemies.     

Slow-release formulations of sulfometuron incorporated in micelles adsorbed on montmorillonite

The design and tests of slow-release formulations of sulfometuron (SFM), an anionic sulfonylurea herbicide, are described. The formulations are based on incorporation of the herbicide in octadecyltrimethylammonium (ODTMA) micelles, which adsorb on a clay mineral, montmorillonite. An optimization of herbicide/micelle clay ratios yielded high adsorption of SFM (95%), and at a 1% (w/w) water suspension only 0.5% of the adsorbed SFM was released at times varying from hours to 9 days. An analytical test in Seville soil showed that under excessive irrigation (400 mm) 100% of the commercial formulation leached, whereas the micelle-clay formulations showed only 50-65% elution. A plant bioassay in Rehovot soil showed that the commercial dispersible granule formulation (Oust, 75% ai sulfometuron methyl) yielded only 23% root elongation inhibition at the top 5 cm of the soil, whereas complete inhibition was achieved with the micelle-clay formulation. The detected concentration of SFM for the micelle-clay formulation at a depth of 15-20 cm was half of that detected for the commercial one, indicating a reduction in leaching when applying the micelle-clay formulation. A 10-fold reduction in the applied dose of SFM in the micelle-clay formulations resulted in good herbicidal activity of 60-87% inhibition. These characteristics make the new formulation promising from the environmental and economic points of view.     

Construction of a genetic map of melon with molecular markers and horticultural traits, and localization of genes associated with ZYMV resistance

Abstract: A partial linkage map of melon was constructed from a cross between PI414723 and Dulce. Twenty-two SSR, 46RAPD, 2 ISSR markers and four horticultural markers [female flower form (a), Fusarium resistance, striped epicarp (st), and fruit flesh pH (pH)] were analyzed in an F₂/F₃ population to produce a map spanning 14 linkage groups. We report for the first time map positions for the st, a, and pH genes. One SSR marker was tightly linked to pH. Mapping the a gene for the female flower form to molecular linkage group 4 enabled the merging of the map of horticultural traits with the of molecular markers in this region. Using the 22 SSR markers of this map, two of the three postulated ZYMV resistance genes were located using a BC₁ population (PI414723 recurrent parent). One SSR marker was tightly linked to a ZYMV resistance gene, designated Zym-1. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effect of soil wetting and drying cycles on metolachlor fate in soil applied as a commercial or controlled-release formulation

A controlled-release formulation (CRF) has been developed for metolachlor, which reduced its leaching in a sandy soil and improved weed control in comparison with the commercial formulation. The current study tested the effect of soil wetting and drying cycles (WDCs) on metolachlor fate (desorption, leaching, and weed control) applied as the CRF and as the commercial formulation. Metolachlor adsorption to a heavy soil (Terra-Rosa) was predominately to the clay minerals and oxides. Metolachlor release from a heavy soil subjected to WDCs was higher than its release from the soil not subjected to WDCs. Consequently, a bioassay in soil columns treated with the commercial formulation indicated enhanced metolachlor leaching in heavy soils under WDCs. In contrast, when metolachlor was applied as the CRF, leaching was suppressed and not affected by WDCs. These results emphasize the advantages of the CRF also in heavy soils subjected to WDCs.