Volatile flavor components of stored nonfat dry milk.

Nonfat dry milk (NDM) is widely used both as an ingredient in other preparations and for direct consumption. Flavor quality of NDM is a critical parameter because it can directly impact final product quality. Flavors can be formed in NDM during subsequent storage. Identification of compounds responsible for storage-induced flavors is necessary to correlate sensory quality with potential sources of the flavors. Six NDM samples were selected for volatile flavor analysis based on sensory analysis and storage time. Volatile components were extracted by direct solvent extraction/high vacuum distillation. Volatile extracts were separated into neutral/basic and acidic fractions and analyzed by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GCO) and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). A variety of aldehydes, ketones, and free fatty acids were responsible for generation of flavors in stored NDM. The following compounds exhibited high aroma impact by AEDA: 3-(methylthio)propanal (boiled potato); o-aminoacetophenone (corn tortilla); 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone and 2-methyl-3-hydroxy-4H-pyran-4-one (burnt sugar); butanoic acid (cheesy); pentanoic acid (sweaty); acetic and hexanoic acids (sour/vinegar); octanoic, decanoic, and dodecanoic acids (waxy); p-cresol (cowy/barny); 3-methylindole (fecal); dimethyl trisulfide (cabbage); (E,E)-2,4-decadienal (fried/fatty); furfuryl alcohol (rubber/vitamin); phenylacetic acid (rose-like); and 1-octen-3-one (mushroom).     

Mammary fibroadenoma in a lamb

A fibroadenoma was diagnosed in the left udder of a 3-month-old female Chios lamb. No recurrence was observed after surgery. Grossly, the tumor had a whitish-gray lobular appearance, and the lobules were interlaced with thin septa. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of proliferating fibroepithelial tissue, including differentiated ducts lined by whorls and interlacing bundles of abundant loose fibrovascular stroma. Immunohistochemistry revealed the ductal epithelium to be positive for pancytokeratin (AE1/AE3) and loose fibrovascular stroma was positive for vimentin and basal cells covering the ductal epithelium of alpha-smooth-muscle actin. Immunostaining for the estrogen and progesterone receptors was negative. A diagnosis of mammary fibroadenoma was made based on the histological and immunohistochemical findings.     

Alpha basic crystallin expression in canine mammary tumors

The aim of this study was to evaluate prognostic and/or diagnostic factors of canine mammary tumors by immunohistochemically analyzing the expression of alpha basic crystallin (αB-c). For this, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks of 51 naturally-occurring canine mammary tumors (11 benign and 40 malignant) were used. Tissue from eight normal canine mammary glands were served as a control. Immunohistochemically, in the control mammary tissues, a few luminal epithelial cells were αB-c positive but myoepithelial cells were negative. In benign or simple type malignant tumors, αB-c expression was observed in luminal epithelial cells while the myoepithelial basal cells were negative. In benign or complex type malign tumors, positive staining was predominantly found in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells. Immunoreactivity of αB-c was also observed in neoplastic myoepithelial cells. Statistically, the number of cells immunolabeled with αB-c was found to be significantly different among tissues from normal canine mammary glands, benign lesions, and malignant tumors (p < 0.05). αB-c immunoreactivity was higher in malignant tumors than the control mammary tissues (p < 0.001). Data obtained in the current study revealed a strong association between high expression levels of αB-c and primary mammary gland tumors in canines.     

Deficit Irrigation of Soya Bean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in a Sub-humid Climate

An experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of different levels of water deficit on yield and crop water requirement of soya beans in a sub‐humid environment (Southern Marmara region, Bursa, Turkey) in 2005 and 2006. One full‐irrigated treatment (T₁), one non‐irrigated treatment (T₅) and three different deficit irrigation (T₂ = 25 % water deficit, T₃ = 50 % water deficit, T₄ = 75 % water deficit) treatments were applied to ‘Nova’ soya bean planted on a clay soil. Non‐irrigated and all deficit irrigation treatments significantly reduced biomass and seed yield and yield components. The full‐irrigated (T₁) treatment had the highest yield (3760 kg ha^?1), while the non‐irrigated (T₅) treatment had the lowest yield (2069 kg ha^?1), a 45.0 % seed yield reduction. T₂, T₃ and T₄ deficit irrigation treatments produced 11.7–27.4 % less seed yield than the T₁ treatment. Harvest index showed less and irregular variation among irrigation treatments. Both leaf area per plant and leaf area index were significantly reduced at all growth stages as amount of irrigation water was decreased. Evapotranspiration increased with increased amounts of irrigation water supplied. Our results indicate that higher amounts of irrigation resulted in higher seed yield, whereas water use efficiency and irrigation water use efficiency values decreased when irrigation amount increased.     

Temporo-spatial and kinetic gait parameters in English setter dogs

Walking analysis systems have begun to be used in veterinary medicine in recent years. The pressure-sensitive walkway is one of the systems through which we can obtain temporo-spatial and kinetic variables of walking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the walking characteristics of English Setter dogs using a pressure-sensitive system. Twenty-five English Setter dogs were included in the study. Temporo-spatial and kinetic gait parameters were obtained with the pressure-sensitive walkway system. Centre of pressure values were taken separately for the forelimbs and hindlimbs and were statistically analysed. The force values in the forelimb were found to be greater than in the hindlimb during walking. According to the results of dynamic pedobarographic evaluation, the highest-pressure values were found at the 2nd and 3rd digital pads for the forelimbs and on the 3rd and 4th digital pads for the hindlimbs. During the stance, 64.58% of the weight was found to be on the forelimbs. No difference was found between the forelimbs and the hindlimbs in centre of pressure analysis. As conclusion, the gait data obtained from the English Setter dogs can be used in future research to identify animals that may have neurological or orthopaedic problems.     

Effects of Oil-in-Water Nanoemulsion Based on Sunflower Oil on the Quality of Farmed Sea Bass and Gilthead Sea Bream Stored at Chilled Temperature (2 ± 2°C)

The influence of oil-in-water nanoemulsion on the sensory, chemical, and microbiological qualities of sea bream and sea bass fillets stored at 2 ± 2°C was investigated. The results showed that the use of nanoemulsion extended the shelf life of fish one or two days when compared with the control. Treatment with nanoemulsion significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the values of chemical parameters throughout the storage period. Bacterial growth was inhibited by the use of nanoemulsion. Nanoemulsion had an inhibitory effect on protein denaturation during refrigerated storage and microwave cooking. Based on the results, it can be concluded that sunflower oil-based nanoemulsion extended the shelf life and improved the quality of both sea bream (Sparus aurata) and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fillets during storage.     

The expressions of HSP70 and ��B-crystallin in myocarditis associated with foot-and-mouth disease virus in lambs

This study describes the expression of heat shock protein70 (HSP70) and alpha-basic-crystallin (α-BC) and their association with apoptosis and some related adaptor proteins in the pathogenesis of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV)-induced myocarditis in lambs. HSP70 was generally overexpressed in the myocardial tissues and inflammatory cells of FMDV-induced myocarditis with differential accumulation and localization in same hearts when compared to non-foot-and-mouth disease control hearts. α-BC immunolabeling showed coarse aggregations in the Z line of the cardiomyocytes in FMDV-infected hearts in contrast to control hearts. Overall, the results of this study show that the anti-apoptotic proteins, HSP70 and α-BC, were overexpressed with increased apoptosis in FMDV-infected heart tissues. Both proteins failed to protect the cardiomyocytes from apoptosis as defense mechanisms to the FMDV during the infection, suggesting that the virus is able to increase apoptosis via both downregulation and/or upregulation of these anti-apoptotic proteins.     

Transformation of a simple plastic into a superhydrophobic surface

Superhydrophobic surfaces are generally made by controlling the surface chemistry and surface roughness of various expensive materials, which are then applied by means of complex time-consuming processes. We describe a simple and inexpensive method for forming a superhydrophobic coating using polypropylene (a simple polymer) and a suitable selection of solvents and temperature to control the surface roughness. The resulting gel-like porous coating has a water contact angle of 160 degrees. The method can be applied to a variety of surfaces as long as the solvent mixture does not dissolve the underlying material.     

Effects of dietary protein and energy concentrations on performance and carcase characteristics of chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar) raised in captivity

1. This study was conducted to determine the effects of starter and grower diets with differing crude protein (CP) and metabolisable energy (ME) concentrations on the body weight (BW), live weight gain (LWG), feed consumption (FC), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and carcase, breast+back, rump, wing, neck and abdominal fat weights of chukar partridge raised in captivity. 2. Chukar partridges were fed on starter diets containing 4 concentrations of CP (160, 200, 240, 280 g/kg) and 4 concentrations of ME (10.9, 11.7, 12.6, 13.4 MJ/kg) from hatch to 8 weeks of age; they were fed on grower diets containing 4 concentrations of CP (150, 175, 200, 225 g/kg) and 4 concentrations of ME (11.9, 12.6, 13.2, 13.8 MJ/kg) from 9 to 16 weeks of age. All diets contained at least 5.5 g/kg methionine, 15 g/kg lysine and 10 g/kg methionine+cystine. Sixteen starter and 16 grower diets were arranged in a 4 x 4 factorial design with 4 levels of CP and 4 levels of ME. Each treatment was replicated three times with each replicate consisting of 5 males and 5 females. 3. Partridges fed on a starter diet containing 160 g CP/kg were significantly lighter at 8 weeks of age than those in groups given diets containing a higher CP. However, at 16 weeks of age, the differences in BW among treatments had disappeared. Throughout, there were no significant effects of ME concentration on BW and LWG. 4. The daily mean FC for the 0 to 8 week and 0 to 16 week periods was not affected by dietary CP concentration. For the 9 to 16 week period, the partridges fed on a grower diet containing 225 g CP/kg consumed more feed than those given a diet containing 175 g CP/kg. 5. The highest FCR for the 0 to 8 week period was in partridges fed on a starter diet containing 160 g CP/kg. For the 9 to 16 week period, the lowest FCR was in partridges fed on a grower diet containing 150 g CP/kg. For the 0 to 16 week period, there was not a significant effect of dietary CP concentration on FCR. The daily mean FC and the FCR for the 0 to 8, 9 to 16 and 0 to 16 week periods decreased when the ME concentration of the starter and grower diets increased. 6. The carcase, rump and breast+back weights of the male partridges increased when the ME content of the diets increased. Weights of all carcase components of the male partridges were significantly greater than those of the carcase components of the females. 7. There were no significant interactions between CP and ME concentrations on BW, LWG, FC, FCR and carcase characteristics. 8. We conclude that the starter diet for chukar partridges raised for meat production should contain at least 200 g CP/kg, 11.7 MJ ME/kg, and the grower diet should contain 150 g CP/kg, 12.6 MJ ME/kg.