High-throughput non-destructive nuclear magnetic resonance method to measure intramuscular fat content in beef

High intake of saturated fat from meats has been associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and others diseases. In this paper, we are introducing a simple, high-throughput, and non-destructive low-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance method that has the potential to analyze the intramuscular fat content (IMF) in more than 1,000 beef portions per hour. The results can be used in nutritional fact labels, replacing the currently used average value. The method is based on longitudinal (T(1)) and transverse (T(2)) relaxation time information obtained by a continuous wave-free precession (CWFP) sequence. CWFP yields a higher correlation coefficient (r=0.9) than the conventional Carr-Purcell-Meiboom- Gill (CPMG) method (r=-0.25) for IMF in beef and is just as fast and a simpler pulse sequence than CPMG. The method can also be applied to other meat products.

EMERGENT CONDITIONAL RELATIONS IN A GO/NO-GO PROCEDURE: FIGURE-GROUND AND STIMULUS-POSITION COMPOUND RELATIONS

Past research has demonstrated emergent conditional relations using a go/no-go procedure with pairs of figures displayed side-by-side on a computer screen. The present Study sought to extend applications Of this procedure. In Experiment, 1, we evaluated whether emergent conditional relations Could be demonstrated when two-component stimuli were displayed in figure-ground relationships-abstract figures displayed on backgrounds of different colors. Five normal)), capable adults participated. During training, each two-component stimulus Was presented successively. Responses emitted in the presence of some Stimulus pairs (A1B1, A2B2, A3B3, B1C1, B2C2 and B3C3) were reinforced, whereas responses emitted in the presence of other pairs (A1B2, A1B3, A2B1, A2B3, A3B1, A3B2, B1C2, B1C3, B2C1, B2C3, B3C1 and B3C2) were not. During tests, new configurations (AC and CA) were presented, thus emulating structurally the matching-to-sample tests employed in typical equivalence Studies. All participants showed emergent relations consistent with stimulus equivalence during testing. In Experiment 2, we systematically replicated the procedures with Stimulus compounds consisting Of four figures (A1, A2, C1 and C2) and two locations (left - B1 and right - 132). A,11 6 normally capable adults exhibited emergent stimulus-stimulus relations. Together, these experiments show that the go/no-go procedure is a potentially useful alternative for Studying emergent. conditional relations when matching-to-sample is procedurally cumbersome or impossible to use.

Skeletal abnormalities in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae stranded in the Brazilian breeding ground

Skeletal tissues of 49 humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae that stranded between 2002 and 2011 along the Abrolhos Bank seashore and its adjacent waters in Brazil were studied. Twelve (24.5%) animals presented pathological changes in one or more bones. Degenerative changes and developmental malformations were most frequent (10.2% each), followed by inflammatory/infectious and traumatic lesions (8.2% each). Infectious diseases led to severe lesions of the caudal vertebrae of 2 whales. In one of these individuals, the lesions involved 6 caudal vertebrae, leading to ankylosis of 3 vertebrae. Degenerative changes were observed in the vertebral columns of 3 animals, involving the joints of 13 ribs of 1 individual, and in the humerus of 1 whale. Traumatic lesions, such as osseous callus in the ribs, were observed in 4 animals. In 1 whale, the rib showed severe osteomyelitis, possibly resulting from the infection of multiple fractures. Developmental abnormalities such as spina bifida on 3 cervical vertebrae of 1 whale, fusion of spinal processes on thoracic vertebrae of 1 individual and fusion of the first 2 ribs unilaterally or bilaterally in 4 animals were found. Chronic infectious conditions found in the axial skeleton may have restrained spinal mobility and had detrimental effects on the general health of the animals, contributing to stranding and death. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic study on skeletal lesions in stranded humpback whales.

The Ground State Energy per Site of the Quantum and Classical Edwards-Anderson Spin Glass in the Thermodynamic Limit

We derive general rigorous lower bounds for the average ground state energy per site e ((d)) of the quantum and classical Edwards-Anderson spin-glass model in dimensions d=2 and d=3 in the thermodynamic limit. For the classical model they imply that e ((2))a parts per thousand yena'3/2 and e ((3))a parts per thousand yena'2.204a <-.

Investigation of Ground- and Excited-State Photophysical Properties of 5,10,15,20-Tetra(4-pyridyl)-21H,23H-porphyrin with Ruthenium Outlying Complexes

The present work employs a set of complementary techniques to investigate the influence of outlying Ru(II) groups on the ground- and excited-state photophysical properties of free-base tetrapyridyl porphyrin (H(2)TPyP). Single pulse and, pulse train Z-scan techniques used M association with laser flash photolysis, absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy, and fluorescence decay measurements, allowed us to conclude that the presence of outlying Ru(II) groups causes significant changes on both electronic structure and vibrational properties of porphyrin. Such modifications take place mainly due to the activation of. nonradiative decay channels responsible for the emission, quenching, as well as by favoring some vibrational modes in the light absorption process, It is also observed that, differently from what happens when the Ru(II) is placed at the center of the macrocycle, the peripheral groups cause an increase of the intersystem crossing processes, probably due to the structural distortion of the ring that implies a worse spin orbit coupling, responsible for the intersystem crossing mechanism.

Study of using marker assisted selection on a beef cattle breeding program by model comparison

A data set of a commercial Nellore beef cattle selection program was used to compare breeding models that assumed or not markers effects to estimate the breeding values, when a reduced number of animals have phenotypic, genotypic and pedigree information available. This herd complete data set was composed of 83,404 animals measured for weaning weight (WW), post-weaning gain (PWG), scrotal circumference (SC) and muscle score (MS), corresponding to 116,652 animals in the relationship matrix. Single trait analyses were performed by MTDFREML software to estimate fixed and random effects solutions using this complete data. The additive effects estimated were assumed as the reference breeding values for those animals. The individual observed phenotype of each trait was adjusted for fixed and random effects solutions, except for direct additive effects. The adjusted phenotype composed of the additive and residual parts of observed phenotype was used as dependent variable for models' comparison. Among all measured animals of this herd, only 3160 animals were genotyped for 106 SNP markers. Three models were compared in terms of changes on animals' rank, global fit and predictive ability. Model 1 included only polygenic effects, model 2 included only markers effects and model 3 included both polygenic and markers effects. Bayesian inference via Markov chain Monte Carlo methods performed by TM software was used to analyze the data for model comparison. Two different priors were adopted for markers effects in models 2 and 3, the first prior assumed was a uniform distribution (U) and, as a second prior, was assumed that markers effects were distributed as normal (N). Higher rank correlation coefficients were observed for models 3_U and 3_N, indicating a greater similarity of these models animals' rank and the rank based on the reference breeding values. Model 3_N presented a better global fit, as demonstrated by its low DIC. The best models in terms of predictive ability were models 1 and 3_N. Differences due prior assumed to markers effects in models 2 and 3 could be attributed to the better ability of normal prior in handle with collinear effects. The models 2_U and 2_N presented the worst performance, indicating that this small set of markers should not be used to genetically evaluate animals with no data, since its predictive ability is restricted. In conclusion, model 3_N presented a slight superiority when a reduce number of animals have phenotypic, genotypic and pedigree information. It could be attributed to the variation retained by markers and polygenic effects assumed together and the normal prior assumed to markers effects, that deals better with the collinearity between markers. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Use of ground-penetrating radar to map subsurface features at the Lapa do Santo archaeological site (Brazil)

In this article we present some results of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) studies carried out at the Lapa do Santo archaeological site. This cave is within the Lagoa Santa karstic region, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Results from 44 GPR profiles obtained with 400 MHz shielded antennas indicated anomalous hyperbolic reflections and areas with high sub-horizontal reflection amplitude suggesting archaeological and geological potential targets, respectively. These results were encouraging and were used to guide excavations at this site. Excavation of test units (metre by metre) allowed identifying an anthropogenic feature, e.g., a fire hearth structure and natural features, such as a stalagmite and top of bedrock. Results also indicated the importance of the GPR survey as a tool for orienting archaeological researches, increasing the probability of finding archaeological interest targets in an excavation program in an area of environmental protection.

GROUND STATE AND NON-GROUND STATE SOLUTIONS OF SOME STRONGLY COUPLED ELLIPTIC SYSTEMS

We study an elliptic system of the form Lu = vertical bar v vertical bar(p-1) v and Lv = vertical bar u vertical bar(q-1) u in Omega with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition, where Lu := -Delta u in the case of a bounded domain and Lu := -Delta u + u in the cases of an exterior domain or the whole space R-N. We analyze the existence, uniqueness, sign and radial symmetry of ground state solutions and also look for sign changing solutions of the system. More general non-linearities are also considered.

Influence of different shrinking temperatures and vacuum conditions on the ability of psychrotrophic Clostridium to cause 'blown pack' spoilage in chilled vacuum-packaged beef

This study determined the ability of psychrotrophic Clostridium strains isolated from vacuum-packaged beefs and abattoir environments to cause 'blown-pack' spoilage of vacuum-packaged beef stored at 2 and 15 degrees C. The influence of shrinking temperatures (83, 84 and 87 degrees C) and vacuum pressure (6 and 9 mbar) on the occurrence of such spoilage as well as the effects of simulated transportation (500 km) on the integrity of packages was determined. At 15 degrees C and 2 degrees C, twelve and six strains caused 'blown-pack' spoilage, respectively. The combination of vacuum pressure (9 mbar) combined with shrinking temperature (87 degrees C) retarded the occurrence of spoilage. The simulated transportation under the experimental conditions did not affect the integrity of packages. More studies that assess the factors that may contribute for the occurrence of 'blown-pack' spoilage should be performed to avoid the occurrence of such spoilage during its shelf-life. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microwave-assisted enzymatic synthesis of beef tallow biodiesel

Optimal conditions for the microwave-assisted enzymatic synthesis of biodiesel have been developed by a full 2(2) factorial design leading to a set of seven runs with different combinations of molar ratio and temperature. The main goal was to reduce the reaction time preliminarily established by a process of conventional heating. Reactions yielding biodiesel, in which beef tallow and ethanol used as raw materials were catalyzed by lipase from Burkholderia cepacia immobilized on silica-PVA and microwave irradiations within the range of 8-15 W were performed to reach the reaction temperature. Under optimized conditions (1:6 molar ratio of beef tallow to ethanol molar ratio at 50A degrees C) almost total conversion of the fatty acid presented in the original beef tallow was converted into ethyl esters in a reaction that required 8 h, i.e., a productivity of about 92 mg ethyl esters g(-1) h(-1). This represents an increase of sixfold for the process carried out under conventional heating. In general, the process promises low energy demand and higher biodiesel productivity. The microwave assistance speeds up the enzyme catalyzed reactions, decreases the destructive effects on the enzyme of the operational conditions such as, higher temperature, stability, and specificity to its substrate, and allows the entire reaction medium to be heated uniformly.

Estimation methods of non-additive effects for characteristics of weight and scrotal circumference in crossbred beef cattle

The objective of this study was to investigate, in a population of crossbred cattle, the obtainment of the non-additive genetic effects for the characteristics weight at 205 and 390 days and scrotal circumference, and to evaluate the consideration of these effects in the prediction of breeding values of sires using different estimation methodologies. In method 1, the data were pre-adjusted for the non-additive effects obtained by least squares means method in a model that considered the direct additive, maternal and non-additive fixed genetic effects, the direct and total maternal heterozygosities, and epistasis. In method 2, the non-additive effects were considered covariates in genetic model. Genetic values for adjusted and non-adjusted data were predicted considering additive direct and maternal effects, and for weight at 205 days, also the permanent environmental effect, as random effects in the model. The breeding values of the categories of sires considered for the weight characteristic at 205 days were organized in files, in order to verify alterations in the magnitude of the predictions and ranking of animals in the two methods of correction data for the non-additives effects. The non-additive effects were not similar in magnitude and direction in the two estimation methods used, nor for the characteristics evaluated. Pearson and Spearman correlations between breeding values were higher than 0.94, and the use of different methods does not imply changes in the selection of animals.

Latent track radius of PTFE irradiated with high energy ion beam

PTFE foils were irradiated with different ion beams (Xe, Au and U) with energies up to 1.5 GeV and fluences between 1 x 10(8) and 1 x 10(13) ions/cm(2) at room temperature. The induced modifications in the polymer were analyzed by FTIR, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and XRD. In the FTIR spectra, the CF2 degradation accompanied by the formation of CF3 terminal and side groups were observed. In the UV-Vis spectra, the observed increase in the absorption at UV wavelengths is an indication of polymer carbonization. From XRD, the amorphization of the material was evidenced by the decrease in the intensity of the main diffraction peak. An exponential fit of the intensity of the IR absorption peaks resulted in the following values: 2.9 +/- 0.8; 4.5 +/- 0.9 and 5.6 +/- 0.8 nm for the latent track radius after irradiation with Xe, Au and U beams, respectively. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PFGE characterisation and adhesion ability of Listeria monocytogenes isolates obtained from bovine carcasses and beef processing facilities

Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen capable of adhering to many surfaces and forming biofilms, which may explain its persistence in food processing environments. This study aimed to genetically characterise L monocytogenes isolates obtained from bovine carcasses and beef processing facilities and to evaluate their adhesion abilities. DNA from 29 L monocytogenes isolates was subjected to enzymatic restriction digestion (Ascii and Apal), and two clusters were identified for serotypes 4b and 112a, with similarities of 48% and 68%. respectively. The adhesion ability of the isolates was tested considering: inoculum concentration, culture media, carbohydrate source, NaCl concentration, incubation temperature, and pH. Each isolate was tested at 10(8) CFU mL(-1) and classified according to its adhesion ability as weak (8 isolates). moderate (17) or strong (4). The isolates showed higher adhesion capability in non-diluted culture media, media at pH 7.0, incubation at 25 degrees C and 37 degrees C, and media with NaCl at 5% and 7%. No relevant differences were observed for adhesion ability with respect to the carbohydrate source. The results indicated a wide diversity of PFGE profiles of persistent L monocytogenes isolates, without relation to their adhesion characteristics. Also, it was observed that stressing conditions did not enhance the adhesion profile of the isolates. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of a rocker non-heeled shoe on EMG and ground reaction forces during gait without previous training

Unstable shoes have been designed to promote "natural instability" and during walking they should simulate barefoot gait, enhancing muscle activity and, thus, attributing an advantage over regular tennis shoes. Recent studies showed that, after special training on the appropriate walking pattern, the use of the Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) shoe increases muscle activation during walking. Our study presents a comparison of muscle activity as well as horizontal and vertical forces during gait with the MBT, a standard tennis shoe and barefoot walking of healthy individuals without previous training. These variables were compared in 25 female subjects and gait conditions were compared using ANOVA repeated measures (effect size:0.25). Walking with the MBT shoe in this non-instructed condition produced higher vertical forces (first vertical peak and weight acceptance rate) than walking with a standard shoe or walking barefoot, which suggests an increase in the loads received by the musculoskeletal system, especially at heel strike. Walking with the MBT shoe did not increase muscle activity when compared to walking with the standard shoe. The barefoot condition was more effective than the MBT shoe at enhancing muscle activation. Therefore, in healthy individuals, no advantage was found in using the MBT over a standard tennis shoe without a special training period. Further studies using the MBT without any instruction over a longer period are needed to evaluate if the higher loads observed in the present study would return to their baseline values after a period of adaptation, and if the muscle activity would increase over time. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of supplementation of two sources and two levels of copper on lipid metabolism in Nellore beef cattle

This study was conducted with 35 Nellore beef cattle to determine the effect of supplementation of two levels and two copper sources (organic and inorganic) on metabolism of lipids and cholesterol of meat. The five treatments used were: Control: without copper supplementation, 110 or 140: 10 or 40 mg/kg DM (as Cu sulfate), O10 or O40: 10 or 40 mg/kg DM (as Cu proteinate). In general, the copper supplementation changed the fatty acid profile of meat (p < 0.05), with a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids and reduction of saturated fatty acids. There was no effect of supplementation on blood cholesterol and triglycerides, however; in general, there was a reduction in cholesterol concentration in the L dorsi (p < 0.05) compared to the control treatment through the reduction (p < 0.05) in the concentrations of GSH and GSH/GSSG ratio. The Cu supplementation did have an influence on metabolism of lipids. The production of healthier meat is beneficial to public health by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.