Characterization of commercial cooked hams according to physicochemical, sensory, and textural parameters using chemometrics

Cooked ham is considered a high-value product due to the quality of its raw material. Although its consumption is still low in Brazil, it is increasing due to the rising purchasing power of sectors of the population. This study aimed to assess the microbiological, physicochemical, rheological, and sensory quality of cooked hams (n=11) marketed in Brazil. All samples showed microbiological results within the standards established by Brazilian legislation. Eight of the eleven samples studied met all the legal requirements; two samples violated the standards due to the addition of starch; one sample had lower protein content than the minimum required, and another one had sodium content higher than that stated on the label. The use of Hierarchical Cluster Analysis allowed the agglomeration of the samples into three groups with distinct quality traits and with significant differences in moisture content, chromaticity, syneresis, and heating and freezing loss. Principal Component Analysis showed that the samples which correlated to higher sensory acceptance regarding flavor and overall acceptability were those with higher moisture, protein, fat, and luminosity values. This study confirmed the efficacy of multivariate statistical techniques in assessing the quality of commercial cooked hams and in indicating the physicochemical parameters associated with the perception of product quality.

Comparison of agglutinating and neutralizing antibodies to serovar hardjo in sows immunized with two commercial whole culture polivalent anti-leptospira bacterins

It was performed the comparison of the intensity and duration of agglutinating and neutralizing antibodies to serovar Hardjo in swines vaccinated with two commercial anti-leptospira bacterins. Sows no reactive to 24 Leptospira sp serovars in the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) were divided in three groups: Group A (n=08): received two vaccine A doses with 30 days interval, Group B (n=08) two vaccine B doses with 30 days interval and Group C (n=08): control no vaccinated against leptospirosis.Blood samples were collected each 30 days during six months following the first vaccination. The sera were tested by MAT and growth inhibition test (GIT) to serovar Hardjo in order to evaluate respectively agglutinating and neutralizing antibodies. It was found that neutralizing antibodies persisted for a longer time than the agglutinating ones and that the absence of agglutinating antibodies does not means in the absence of the neutralizing. The peaks of agglutinating antibodies was obtained at least 30 days earlier than that produced by neutralizing. The duration of both kinds of antibodies measured differed between the two bacterines tested. The period for inducing neutralizing antibodies against serovar Hardjo indicated that gilts must be immunized with two doses of whole culture anti-leptospira bacterines applied 30 days each other at least 90 days before the first mating. For the maintenance of hight levels of neutralizing antibodies the revaccinations must be performed every six months after the first vaccination.

The discriminatory power of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to differentiate between isogenic teicoplanin-susceptible and teicoplanin-resistant strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

To explore the discriminatory power of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for detecting subtle differences in isogenic isolates, we tested isogenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus differing in their expression of resistance to methicillin or teicoplanin. More important changes in MALDI-TOF MS spectra were found with strains differing in methicillin than in teicoplanin resistance. In comparison, very minor or no changes were recorded in pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles or peptidoglycan muropeptide digest patterns of these strains, respectively. MALDI-TOF MS might be useful to detect subtle strain-specific differences in ionizable components released from bacterial surfaces and not from their peptidoglycan network.

Babylon electrified; the history of an expedition undertaken to restore ancient Babylon by the power of electricity and how it resulted;

Mode of access: Internet.

A treatise on the steam-engine in its various applications to mines, mills, steam navigation, railways, and agriculture with theoretical investigations respecting the motive power of heat and the proper proportions of steam-engines, elaborate tables of the right dimensions of every part and practical instructions for the manufacture and management of every species of engine in actual use,

Mode of access: Internet.

Molecular Genetic Variability Of Commercial And Wild Accessions Of Passion Fruit (passiflora Spp.) Targeting Ex Situ Conservation And Breeding.

Passiflora species are distributed throughout Latin America, and Brazil and Colombia serve as the centers of diversity for this genus. We performed cross-species amplification to evaluate 109 microsatellite loci in 14 Passiflora species and estimated the diversity and genetic structure of Passiflora cincinnata, Passiflora setaceae and Passiflora edulis. A total of 127 accessions, including 85 accessions of P. edulis, a commercial species, and 42 accessions of 13 wild species, were examined. The cross-species amplification was effective for obtaining microsatellite loci (average cross-amplification of 70%). The average number of alleles per locus (five) was relatively low, and the average diversity ranged from 0.52 in P. cincinnata to 0.32 in P. setacea. The Bayesian analyses indicated that the P. cincinnata and P. setacea accessions were distributed into two groups, and the P. edulis accessions were distributed into five groups. Private alleles were identified, and suggestions for core collections are presented. Further collections are necessary, and the information generated may be useful for breeding and conservation.

Screening of lipases for the synthesis of xylitol monoesters by chemoenzymatic esterification and the potential of microwave and ultrasound irradiations to enhance the reaction rate

Lipases from different sources, Pseudomonas fluorescens (AK lipase), Burkholderia cepacia (PS lipase), Penicillium camembertii (lipase G) and Porcine pancreas lipase (PPL), previously immobilized on epoxy SiO(2)-PVA, were screened for the synthesis of xylitol monoesters by esterification of the protected xylitol using oleic acid as acyl donor group. Among all immobilized derivatives, the highest esterification yield was achieved by P. camembertii lipase, showing to be attractive alternative to bulk chemical routes to satisfy increasing commercial demands. Further experiments were performed to determine the influence of fatty acids chain size on the reaction yield and the feasibility of using non-conventional heating systems (microwave and ultrasound irradiations) to enhance the reaction rate. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.