Unidade Haugh como medida da qualidade de ovos de galinha armazenados sob refrigeração

Alterations in physical, chemical and functional characteristics of egg proteins occur during storage. These changes depend on the storage conditions, mainly duration, temperature and relative humidity. This study examined the fresh egg Haugh unit score and the storage egg Haugh unit score, at room temperature (25°C) and under refrigeration conditions (8°C), during 7, 14 and 21 days of storage. Haugh units and albumin height decreased considerably during storage at room temperature. At 8°C, there was no significant difference in the Haugh unit for different periods of storage, but their values were smaller as compared to fresh eggs. The weight of the eggs was not affected by both storage and temperature. For both temperatures, pH was positively correlated with Haugh units and negatively with the albumin height.

Perfil sensorial de ovos de Páscoa

Easter egg is a popular chocolate-candy in egg form commercialized in Brazil during Easter time. In this research, Quantitative Descriptive Analysis was applied to select sensory attributes which best define the modifications in appearance, aroma, flavor and texture when cocoa butter equivalent (CBE) is added to Easter eggs. Samples with and without CBE were evaluated by a selected panel and fourteen attributes best describing similarities and differences between them, were defined. Terms definition, reference materials and a consensus ballot were developed. After a training period, panelists evaluated the samples in a Complete Block Design using a 9 cm unstructured scale. Principal Component Analysis, ANOVA and Tukey test (p<0.05) were applied to the data in order to select attributes which best discriminated and characterized the samples. Samples showed significant differences (p<0.05) in all attributes. Easter egg without CBE showed higher intensities (p<0.05) in relation to the following descriptors: brown color, characteristic aroma, cocoa mass aroma, cocoa butter aroma, characteristic flavor, cocoa mass flavor, hardness and brittleness.

Competição larval em Chrysomya megacephala (F.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae): efeitos de diferentes níveis de agregação larval sobre estimativas de peso, fecundidade e investimento reprodutivo

In insects that utilize patchy and ephemeral resources for feeding and egg laying, the outcome of larval competition for food resources depends on the amount of resources and the spatial distribution of immatures among patches of food. In the present study, the results of larval competition for food in Chrysomya megacephala, in traits such as female weight, fecundity and reproductive investment, were different in situations where the level of larval aggregation (proportion of competitors per amount of food) was the same, but with densities of competitors and amounts of food proportionally different. These results are indicative that the larval competition may depend both on the larval density and the amount of food, in different situations with the same proportion of larvae per gram of food.