Gauging MSSM global symmetries and SUSY breaking in de Sitter vacuum

We elaborate on a recent study of a model of supersymmetry breaking we proposed recently, in the presence of a tunable positive cosmological constant, based on a gauged shift symmetry of a string modulus, external to the Standard Model (SM) sector. Here, we identify this symmetry with a global symmetry of the SM and work out the corresponding phenomenology. A particularly attracting possibility is to use a combination of Baryon and Lepton number that contains the known matter parity and guarantees absence of dimension-four and -five operators that violate B and L.

Exposure assessment of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases/AmpC beta-lactamases-producing Escherichia coli in meat in Denmark

INTRODUCTION Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) and AmpC beta-lactamases (AmpC) are of concern for veterinary and public health because of their ability to cause treatment failure due to antimicrobial resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. The main objective was to assess the relative contribution (RC) of different types of meat to the exposure of consumers to ESBL/AmpC and their potential importance for human infections in Denmark. MATERIAL AND METHODS The prevalence of each genotype of ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli in imported and nationally produced broiler meat, pork and beef was weighted by the meat consumption patterns. Data originated from the Danish surveillance program for antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance (DANMAP) from 2009 to 2011. DANMAP also provided data about human ESBL/AmpC cases in 2011, which were used to assess a possible genotype overlap. Uncertainty about the occurrence of ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli in meat was assessed by inspecting beta distributions given the available data of the genotypes in each type of meat. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Broiler meat represented the largest part (83.8%) of the estimated ESBL/AmpC-contaminated pool of meat compared to pork (12.5%) and beef (3.7%). CMY-2 was the genotype with the highest RC to human exposure (58.3%). However, this genotype is rarely found in human infections in Denmark. CONCLUSION The overlap between ESBL/AmpC genotypes in meat and human E. coli infections was limited. This suggests that meat might constitute a less important source of ESBL/AmpC exposure to humans in Denmark than previously thought - maybe because the use of cephalosporins is restricted in cattle and banned in poultry and pigs. Nonetheless, more detailed surveillance data are required to determine the contribution of meat compared to other sources, such as travelling, pets, water resources, community and hospitals in the pursuit of a full source attribution model.

A critical review: Why isn't "cold pasteurization" being used widespread as a method to prevent food-related illnesses as a result of the consumption of ready-to-eat, fresh fruits, and vegetables

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. The American public is becoming more health conscious and there has been an increase in the dietary intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Affluence and demand for convenience has allowed consumers to opt for pre-processed packaged fresh fruits and vegetables. These pre-processed foods are considered Ready-to-Eat. They have many of the advantages of fresh produce without the inconvenience of processing at home. After seeing a decline in food-related illnesses between 1996 and 2004, due to an improvement in meat and poultry safety, tainted produce has tilted the numbers back. This has resulted in none of the Healthy People 2010 targets for food-related illness reduction being reached. Irradiation has been shown to be effective in eliminating many of the foodborne pathogens. The application of irradiation as a food safety treatment has been widely endorsed by many of the major associations involved with food safety and public health. Despite these endorsements there has been very little use of this technology to date for reducing the disease burden associated with the consumption of these products. A review of the available literature since the passage of the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act was conducted on the barriers to implementing irradiation as a food safety process for fresh fruits and vegetables. The impediments to adopting widespread utilization of irradiation food processing as a food safety measure involve a complex array of legislative, regulatory, industry, and consumer issues. The FDA’s approval process limits the expansion of the list of foods approved for the application of irradiation as a food safety process. There is also a lack of capacity within the industry to meet the needs of a geographically dispersed industry.^

Association of processed red meat and prostate cancer stage in Mexican-Americans: A population based case-control study

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the association between processed and unprocessed red meat consumption and prostate cancer (PCa) stage in a homogenous Mexican-American population. Methods: This population-based case-control study had a total of 582 participants (287 cases with histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the prostate gland and 295 age and ethnicity-matched controls) that were all residing in the Southeast region of Texas from 1998 to 2006. All questionnaire information was collected using a validated data collection instrument. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive analyses included Student's t-test and Pearson's Chi-square tests. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to quantify the association between nutritional factors and PCa stage. A multivariable model was used for unconditional logistic regression. Results: After adjusting for relevant covariates, those who consume high amounts of processed red meat have a non-significant increased odds of being diagnosed with localized PCa (OR = 1.60 95% CI: 0.85 - 3.03) and total PCa (OR = 1.43 95% CI: 0.81 - 2.52) but not for advanced PCa (OR = 0.91 95% CI: 1.37 - 2.23). Interestingly, high consumption of carbohydrates shows a significant reduction in the odds of being diagnosed with total PCa and advanced PCa (OR = 0.43 95% CI: 0.24 - 0.77; OR = 0.27 95% CI: 0.10 - 0.71, respectively). However, consuming high amounts of energy from protein and fat was shown to increase the odds of being diagnosed with advanced PCa (OR = 4.62 95% CI: 1.69 - 12.59; OR = 2.61 95% CI: 1.04 - 6.58, respectively). Conclusion: Mexican-Americans who consume high amounts of energy from protein and fat had increased odds of being diagnosed with advanced PCa, while high amounts of carbohydrates reduced the odds of being diagnosed with total and advanced PCa.^

Consumer preferences towards beef cattle in Chile : Importance of country of origin, cut, packaging, brand and price

A study was carried out to evaluate preferences for two cuts, four countries of origin, two forms of presentation, brand and different prices of beef cattle among supermarket buyers in southern Chile, and to distinguish the existence of different market segments, through a survey of 800 people. Using a fractional factorial design for conjoint analysis, it was determined overall that the origin was more important (44.5%) than price (20.8%), form of presentation (12.2%), cut (12.0%) and brand (10.5%), with preference for Chilean and Argentinean striploin, packaged on trays, with no brand at medium price. Using a cluster analysis, three market segments were distinguished. The largest (52.3%) placed great importance on origin and preferred the highest price. The second (27.5%) also valued origin with the greatest preference for Argentinean beef, and it was the only group that preferred the ribeye as the cut. The third (20.5%) placed the greatest importance on price, and was the only group that preferred Paraguayan meat. The segments differed in the importance of eating meat for their personal well-being. The low importance of packaging and brand indicates poorly developed marketing of this product. In order to properly insert brand beef in the Chilean market, communication strategies must be implemented that identify the product with superior quality and that position the brand in the consumer's mind.

Positron bunching and electrostatic transport system for the production and emission of dense positronium clouds into vacuum

We describe a system designed to re-bunch positron pulses delivered by an accumulator supplied by a positron source and a Surko-trap. Positron pulses from the accumulator are magnetically guided in a 0.085 T field and are injected into a region free of magnetic fields through a μ -metal field terminator. Here positrons are temporally compressed, electrostatically guided and accelerated towards a porous silicon target for the production and emission of positronium into vacuum. Positrons are focused in a spot of less than 4 mm FWTM in bunches of ∼8 ns FWHM. Emission of positronium into the vacuum is shown by single shot positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy.

Export-Led Growth and Geographic Distribution of the Poultry Meat Industry in Brazil

This paper includes an examination of the sustainability of recent high growth in the poultry meat industry in Brazil. In addition, an assessment is made of the impact of increased production of poultry meat products on the development of local industries. Comparative studies of leading companies in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil reveal competitive advantages in the low costs of feedstuff and labor as well as disadvantages in the scale of business and management efficiency in the Brazilian poultry sector. Increases in domestic and foreign demand for Brazilian poultry meat have promoted development of the Brazilian poultry sector in local areas. The formation of industrial clusters is observed using regional data related to the location of slaughterhouses and the number of chickens farmed. Statistical analyses support observations made in this paper.

Productive performance, carcass and meat quality of intact and castrated gilts slaughtered at 106 or 122 kg BW

A total of 200 (Landrace3Large White dam3Pietrain3Large White sire) gilts of 5063 days of age (23.361.47 kg BW) were used to investigate the effects of castration (intact gilt, IG v. castrated gilt, CG) and slaughter weight (SW; 106 v. 122 kg BW) on productive performance, carcass and meat quality. Four treatments were arranged factorially and five replicates of 10 pigs each per treatment. Half of the gilts were ovariectomized at 58 days of age (8 days after the beginning of the trial at 29.861.64 kg BW), whereas the other half remained intact. The pigs were slaughtered at 106 or 122 kg BW. Meat samples were taken at Musculus longissimus thoracis at the level of the last rib and subcutaneous fat samples were taken at the tail insertion. For the entire experimental period, CG had higher ( P,0.05) BW gain and higher ( P,0.001) backfat and Musculus gluteus medius fat thickness than IG. However, IG had higher ( P,0.05) loin and trimmed primal cut yields than CG. Meat quality was similar for IG and CG but the proportion of linoleic acid in subcutaneous fat was higher ( P,0.001) for IG. Pigs slaughtered at 122 kg BW had higher ( P,0.001) feed intake and poorer feed efficiency than pigs slaughtered at 106 kg BW. An increase in SW improved ( P,0.001) carcass yield but decreased ( P,0.05) trimmed primal cut yield. Meat from pigs slaughtered at the heavier BW was redder (a*; P,0.001) and had more ( P,0.01) intramuscular fat and less thawing ( P,0.05) and cooking ( P,0.10) loss than meat from pigs slaughtered at the lighter BW. In addition, pigs slaughtered at 122 kg BW had less ( P,0.01) linoleic acid content in subcutaneous fat than pigs slaughtered at 106 kg BW. Castration of gilts and slaughtering at heavier BW are useful practices for the production of heavy pigs destined to the dry-cured industry in which a certain amount of fat in the carcass is required. In contrast, when the carcasses are destined to fresh meat production, IG slaughtered at 106 kg BW is a more efficient alternative.

Free-Form, High Energy Performance, Transparent Vacuum Envelope

El artículo examina un nuevo sistema envolvente ligero, delgado, con ahorro energético, libre de formas diseñado para su uso en proyectos de arquitectura.

Effect of short-term fasting prior to slaughter on welfare and meat quality or rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

El manejo pre-sacrificio es de vital importancia en acuicultura, ya que afecta tanto a las reacciones fisiológicas como a los procesos bioquímicos post mortem, y por tanto al bienestar y a la calidad del producto. El ayuno pre-sacrificio se lleva a cabo de forma habitual en acuicultura, ya que permite el vaciado del aparato digestivo de restos de alimento y heces, reduciendo de esta manera la carga bacteriana en el intestino y la dispersión de enzimas digestivos y potenciales patógenos a la carne. Sin embargo, la duración óptima de este ayuno sin que el pez sufra un estrés innecesario no está clara. Además, se sabe muy poco sobre la mejor hora del día para realizar el sacrificio, lo que a su vez está regido por los ritmos diarios de los parámetros fisiológicos de estrés. Finalmente, se sabe que la temperatura del agua juega un papel muy importante en la fisiología del estrés pero no se ha determinado su efecto en combinación con el ayuno. Además, las actuales recomendaciones en relación a la duración óptima del ayuno previo al sacrificio en peces no suelen considerar la temperatura del agua y se basan únicamente en días y no en grados día (ºC d). Se determinó el efecto del ayuno previo al sacrificio (1, 2 y 3 días, equivalente a 11,1-68,0 grados día) y la hora de sacrificio (08h00, 14h00 y 20h00) en trucha arco iris (Oncorhynchus mykiss) de tamaño comercial en cuatro pruebas usando diferentes temperaturas de agua (Prueba 1: 11,8 ºC; Prueba 2: 19,2 ºC; Prueba 3: 11,1 ºC; y Prueba 4: 22,7 ºC). Se midieron indicadores biométricos, hematológicos, metabólicos y de calidad de la carne. En cada prueba, los valores de los animales ayunados (n=90) se compararon con 90 animales control mantenidos bajo condiciones similares pero nos ayunados. Los resultados sugieren que el ayuno tuvo un efecto significativo sobre los indicadores biométricos. El coeficiente de condición en los animales ayunados fue menor que en los controles después de 2 días de ayuno. El vaciado del aparato digestivo se produjo durante las primeras 24 h de ayuno, encontrándose pequeñas cantidades de alimento después de 48 h. Por otra parte, este vaciado fue más rápido cuando las temperaturas fueron más altas. El peso del hígado de los animales ayunados fue menor y las diferencias entre truchas ayunadas y controles fueron más evidentes a medida que el vaciado del aparato digestivo fue más rápido. El efecto del ayuno hasta 3 días en los indicadores hematológicos no fue significativo. Los niveles de cortisol en plasma resultaron ser altos tanto en truchas ayunadas como en las alimentadas en todas las pruebas realizadas. La concentración media de glucosa varió entre pruebas pero mostró una tendencia a disminuir en animales ayunados a medida que el ayuno progresaba. En cualquier caso, parece que la temperatura del agua jugó un papel muy importante, ya que se encontraron concentraciones más altas durante los días 2 y 3 de ayuno en animales mantenidos a temperaturas más bajas previamente al sacrificio. Los altos niveles de lactato obtenidos en sangre parecen sugerir episodios de intensa actividad muscular pero no se pudo encontrar relación con el ayuno. De la misma manera, el nivel de hematocrito no mostró efecto alguno del ayuno y los leucocitos tendieron a ser más altos cuando los animales estaban menos estresados y cuando su condición corporal fue mayor. Finalmente, la disminución del peso del hígado (índice hepatosomático) en la Prueba 3 no se vio acompañada de una reducción del glucógeno hepático, lo que sugiere que las truchas emplearon una estrategia diferente para mantener constantes los niveles de glucosa durante el periodo de ayuno en esa prueba. En relación a la hora de sacrificio, se obtuvieron niveles más bajos de cortisol a las 20h00, lo que indica que las truchas estaban menos estresadas y que el manejo pre-sacrificio podría resultar menos estresante por la noche. Los niveles de hematocrito fueron también más bajos a las 20h00 pero solo con temperaturas más bajas, sugiriendo que las altas temperaturas incrementan el metabolismo. Ni el ayuno ni la hora de sacrificio tuvieron un efecto significativo sobre la evolución de la calidad de la carne durante los 3 días de almacenamiento. Por el contrario, el tiempo de almacenamiento sí que parece tener un efecto claro sobre los parámetros de calidad del producto final. Los niveles más bajos de pH se alcanzaron a las 24-48 h post mortem, con una lata variabilidad entre duraciones del ayuno (1, 2 y 3 días) en animales sacrificados a las 20h00, aunque no se pudo distinguir ningún patrón común. Por otra parte, la mayor rigidez asociada al rigor mortis se produjo a las 24 h del sacrificio. La capacidad de retención de agua se mostró muy estable durante el período de almacenamiento y parece ser independiente de los cambios en el pH. El parámetro L* de color se incrementó a medida que avanzaba el período de almacenamiento de la carne, mientras que los valores a* y b* no variaron en gran medida. En conclusión, basándose en los resultados hematológicos, el sacrificio a última hora del día parece tener un efecto menos negativo en el bienestar. De manera general, nuestros resultados sugieren que la trucha arco iris puede soportar un período de ayuno previo al sacrificio de hasta 3 días o 68 ºC d sin que su bienestar se vea seriamente comprometido. Es probable que con temperaturas más bajas las truchas pudieran ser ayunadas durante más tiempo sin ningún efecto negativo sobre su bienestar. En cualquier caso, se necesitan más estudios para determinar la relación entre la temperatura del agua y la duración óptima del ayuno en términos de pérdida de peso vivo y la disminución de los niveles de glucosa en sangre y otros indicadores metabólicos. SUMMARY Pre-slaughter handling in fish is important because it affects both physiological reactions and post mortem biochemical processes, and thus welfare and product quality. Pre-slaughter fasting is regularly carried out in aquaculture, as it empties the viscera of food and faeces, thus reducing the intestinal bacteria load and the spread of gut enzymes and potential pathogens to the flesh. However, it is unclear how long rainbow trout can be fasted before suffering unnecessary stress. In addition, very little is known about the best time of the day to slaughter fish, which may in turn be dictated by diurnal rhythms in physiological stress parameters. Water temperature is also known to play a very important role in stress physiology in fish but the combined effect with fasting is unclear. Current recommendations regarding the optimal duration of pre-slaughter fasting do not normally consider water temperature and are only based on days, not degree days (ºC d). The effects of short-term fasting prior to slaughter (1, 2 and 3 days, between 11.1 and 68.0 ºC days) and hour of slaughter (08h00, 14h00 and 20h00) were determined in commercial-sized rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) over four trials at different water temperatures (TRIAL 1, 11.8 ºC; TRIAL 2, 19.2 ºC; TRIAL 3, 11.1 ºC; and TRIAL 4, 22.7 ºC). We measured biometric, haematological, metabolic and product quality indicators. In each trial, the values of fasted fish (n=90) were compared with 90 control fish kept under similar conditions but not fasted. Results show that fasting affected biometric indicators. The coefficient of condition in fasted trout was lower than controls 2 days after food deprivation. Gut emptying occurred within the first 24 h after the cessation of feeding, with small traces of digesta after 48 h. Gut emptying was faster at higher water temperatures. Liver weight decreased in food deprived fish and differences between fasted and fed trout were more evident when gut clearance was faster. The overall effect of fasting for up to three days on haematological indicators was small. Plasma cortisol levels were high in both fasted and fed fish in all trials. Plasma glucose response to fasting varied among trials, but it tended to be lower in fasted fish as the days of fasting increased. In any case, it seems that water temperature played a more important role, with higher concentrations at lower temperatures on days 2 and 3 after the cessation of feeding. Plasma lactate levels indicate moments of high muscular activity and were also high, but no variation related to fasting could be found. Haematocrit did not show any significant effect of fasting, but leucocytes tended to be higher when trout were less stressed and when their body condition was higher. Finally, the loss of liver weight was not accompanied by a decrease in liver glycogen (only measured in TRIAL 3), suggesting that a different strategy to maintain plasma glucose levels was used. Regarding the hour of slaughter, lower cortisol levels were found at 20h00, suggesting that trout were less stressed later in the day and that pre-slaughter handling may be less stressful at night. Haematocrit levels were also lower at 20h00 but only at lower temperatures, indicating that higher temperatures increase metabolism. Neither fasting nor the hour of slaughter had a significant effect on the evolution of meat quality during 3 days of storage. In contrast, storage time seemed to have a more important effect on meat quality parameters. The lowest pH was reached 24-48 h post mortem, with a higher variability among fasting durations at 20h00, although no clear pattern could be discerned. Maximum stiffening from rigor mortis occurred after 24 h. The water holding capacity was very stable throughout storage and seemed to be independent of pH changes. Meat lightness (L*) slightly increased during storage and a* and b*-values were relatively stable. In conclusion, based on the haematological results, slaughtering at night may have less of a negative effect on welfare than at other times of the day. Overall, our results suggest that rainbow trout can cope well with fasting up to three days or 68 ºC d prior to slaughter and that their welfare is therefore not seriously compromised. At low water temperatures, trout could probably be fasted for longer periods without negative effects on welfare but more research is needed to determine the relationship between water temperature and days of fasting in terms of loss of live weight and the decrease in plasma glucose and other metabolic indicators.

Mechanical Degradation of Tungsten Alloys at Extreme Temperatures in Vacuum and Oxidation Atmospheres

Mechanical degradation of tungsten alloys at extreme temperatures in vacuum and oxidation atmospheres.

Influence of castration on growth performance and carcass and meat quality of heavy female pigs

The main objetive of this Doctoral Thesis was to study the influence of female castration and pig sex on growth performance and carcass and meat quality of white pigs slaughtered at different final weights. Three experiments (Exp.) were conducted. In Exp. 1, a total of 200 (Landrace * Large White dam x Pietrain * Large White sire) gilts of 50 ± 3 days of age (23.3 ± 1.47 kg BW) was used to investigate the effects of castration (intact females, IF vs. castrated feamles, CF) and slaughter weight (106 vs. 122 kg BW) on productive performance and carcass and meat quality. There were four experimental treatments arranged as a 2 x 2 factorial and 5 replicates of 10 pigs each per treatment. Half of the gilts were ovariectomized at 58 d of age (8 days after the beginning of the trial; 29.8 ± 1.64 kg BW) whereas the other half remained intact. Meat samples were taken at m. Longissimus thoracis at the level of the last rib and subcutaneous fat samples were taken at the tail insertion. For the entire experiment period, CF had higher BW gain (P<0.05) and backfat and m. Gluteus medius (GM) fat thickness (P<0.001) than IF. However, IF had higher loin and trimmed primal cut yields (P<0.05) than CF. Meat quality was similar for IF and CF but the proportion of linoleic acid in subcutaneous fat was higher (P<0.001) for IF. Pigs slaughtered at 122 kg BW had higher (P<0.001) feed intake and poorer feed efficiency than pigs slaughtered at 106 kg BW. An increase in slaughter weight (SW) improved (P<0.001) carcass yield but decreased (P<0.05) trimmed primal cut yield. Meat from females slaughtered at the heavier BW was redder (a*; P<0.001) and had more (P<0.01) intramuscular fat and less thawing (P<0.05) and cooking (P<0.10) loss than meat from females slaughtered at the lighter BW. Also, females slaughtered at 122 kg BW had less (P<0.01) linoleic acid content in the subcutaneous fat than pigs slaughtered at 106 kg BW. Castration of gilts and slaughtering at heavier BW might be useful practices for the production of heavy pigs destined to the dry cured industry in which a certain amount of fat in the carcass is required. In contrast, when the carcasses are destined to fresh meat production, IF slaughtered at 106 kg BW are a more efficient alternative. In Exp. 2, crossbred pigs (n=240) from Pietrain*Large White sires mated to Landrace*Large White dams with an average of 100 d of age (60.5 ± 2.3 kg) were used to investigate the effects of gender and slaughter weight (SW) on growth performance and carcass and meat quality characteristics. There were 6 treatments arranged factorially with 3 genders (IF vs. CF vs.castrated males, CM) and 2 SW (114 vs. 122 kg BW). Each of the 6 combinations of treatments was replicated 4 times and the experimental unit was a pen with 10 pigs. Castrated males and CF ate more feed, grew faster and had more carcass backfat depth and fat thickness at the GM muscle, but lower loin yield than IF (P<0.05). In addition, CF and CM had more intramuscular fat (P<0.05) and less linoleic acid content in the subcutaneous fat (P<0.01) than IF. Pigs slaughtered at 122 kg BW had lower ADG (P<0.05), poor gain-to-feed ratio (P<0.05), and more GM fat than pigs slaughtered at 114 kg BW (P < 0.05). It is concluded that CF and CM had similar productive performance and meat quality characteristics when slaughtered at the same age, and that the castration of females improved daily gains and increased weight and fat content of primal cuts with respect to IF. Therefore, castration of females is recommended in pigs destined to the dry-cured industry because of the beneficial effects on the quality of the primal cuts. In Exp. 3, the effects of gender and castration of females (IF vs. CF vs. CM) on performance and carcass and meat quality were studied in crossbred pigs (Landrace x Large White dams x Duroc sires) slaughtered at 119.2 (trial 1) or 131.6 (trial 2) kg BW. Intact females had better feed conversion and less carcass fat than CF and CM. Trimmed shoulder yield was higher for CM than for CF with IF being intermediate. Primal cut yield and meat quality, however were similar for all treatments. Proportion of linoleic acid in backfat was lower for CF than for IF or CM, and the differences were significant in pigs slaughtered witn 131.6 kg BW. The higher fat content and the fatty acid profile favour the use of CF and CM over IF for the production of heavy pigs destined to the dry-cured industry.

Animal performance and meat characteristics in steers reared in intensive conditions fed with different vegetable oils

Enhancing the quality of beef meat is an important goal in terms of improving both the nutritional value for the consumer and the commercial value for producers. The aim of this work was to study the effects of different vegetable oil supplements on growth performance, carcass quality and meat quality in beef steers reared under intensive conditions. A total of 240 Blonde D? Aquitaine steers (average BW = 293.7 ± 38.88 kg) were grouped into 24 batches (10 steers/batch) and were randomly assigned to one of the three dietary treatments (eight batches per treatment), each supplemented with either 4% hydrogenated palm oil (PALM) or fatty acids (FAs) from olive oil (OLI) or soybean oil (SOY). No differences in growth performance or carcass quality were observed. For the meat quality analysis, a steer was randomly selected from each batch and the 6th rib on the left half of the carcass was dissected. PALM meat had the highest percentage of 16:0 ( P< 0.05) and the lowest n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) ratio ( P< 0.05), OLI had the highest content of t 11-18:1 ( P< 0.01) and c 9,t 11-18:2 ( P< 0.05) and SOY showed the lowest value of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) ( P< 0.001), the highest percentage of PUFA ( P< 0.01) and a lower index of atherogenicity ( P = 0.07) than PALM. No significant differences in the sensory characteristics of the meat were noted. However, the results of the principal component analysis of meat characteristics enabled meat from those steers that consumed fatty acids from olive oil to be differentiated from that of steers that consumed soybean oil.