Erluanbi, Southern Taiwan

Erluanbi is the most southern tip of Taiwan (Formosa) where the Taiwan (Formosa) Strait meets the Pacific Ocean. The Erluanbi national park is renown for its lighthouse, and its coral reef, and it hosts also some prehistoric sites bating back to 5,000 to 6,500 years. The Erluanbi (or Eluan Pi) lighthouse was completed in 1883, following requests from the American and Japanese governments to the Chinese government after several ship wrecks in the 1860s. Chinese troops were sent to protect the lighthouse construction from attacks by local tribesmen, and the lighthouse was surrounded a small fort with cannons and a ditch to protect it. It is a rare example of a fortified lighthouse in the world. The lighthouse itself is 21.4 m high and its light is 56.4 m above high water. The light flashes every 10 seconds and its range is 27.2 nautical miles. The surrounding Erluanbi national park is located on a raised coral reef with some huge fringing reef : e.g., the "sea pavillon". With the topical oceanic climate, the elevated reef hosts an unique vegetation and ecology. Since 1956, numerous prehistoric artefacts were uncovered including stone slab coffins and pottery (plain and painted), that encompassed at least four cultural stages from BC 4,500 to AD 800.

Analysis of six fungicides and one acaricide in still and fortified wines using solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A multiresidue gas chromatographic method for the determination of six fungicides (captan, chlorthalonil, folpet, iprodione, procymidone and vinclozolin) and one acaricide (dicofol) in still and fortified wines was developed. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was chosen for the extraction of the compounds from the studied matrices and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) detection was used. The extraction consists in a solvent free and automated procedure and the detection is highly sensitive and selective. Good linearity was obtained with correlation coefficients of regression (R2) > 0.99 for all the compounds. Satisfactory results of repeatability and intermediate precision were obtained for most of the analytes (RSD < 20%). Recoveries from spiked wine ranged from 80.1% to 112.0%. Limits of quantification (LOQs) were considerably below the proposedmaximumresidue limits (MRLs) for these compounds in grapes and below the suggested limits for wine (MRLs/10), with the exception of captan.

Multiresidue method for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides in still wine and fortified wine using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography – Tandem mass spectrometry

A SPME-GC-MS/MS method for the determination of eight organophosphorus pesticides (azinphos-methyl, chlorpyriphos, chlorpyriphos-methyl, diazinon, fenitrothion, fenthion, malathion, and methidathion) in still and fortified wine was developed. The extraction procedure is simple, solvent free, and without any sample pretreatment. Limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) values in the range 0.1–14.3 lg/L and 0.2–43.3 lg/L, respectively, were obtained. The LOQ values are below the maximum residue levels (MRLs) established by European Regulation for grapes, with the exception of methidathion. Coefficients of correlation (R2) higher than 0.99 were obtained for the majority of the pesticides, in all different wines analyzed.

Determination of 24 pesticide residues in fortified wines by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

The present work describes a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) gas chromatography_tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method to quantify 24 pesticides in fortified white wine and fortified red wine. In this study “fortified wine” refers to a wine in which fermentation is arrested before completion by alcohol distillate addition, allowing sugar and alcoholic contents to be higher (around 80-100 g/L total sugars and 19-22% alcohol strength (v/v)). The analytical method showed good linearity, presenting correlation coefficients (R2) ≥ 0.989 for all compounds. Limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) in the ranges of 0.05-72.35 and 0.16-219.23 μg/L, respectively, were obtained. LOQs are below the maximum residue levels (MRL) set by European Regulation for grapes. The proposed method was applied to 17 commercial fortified wines. The analyzed pesticides were not detected in the wines tested.

Sensory evaluation of rice fortified with iron

The objective of this study was to examine sensory differences between conventional rice and iron-fortified Ultra Rice rice (UR) and determine consumer acceptance. Differences between both types of rice were analyzed using the Duo-Trio Test on 37 non-trained judges. The Acceptance Test evaluated general rice appearance, color, aroma and taste by 43 non-trained judges, using a 7-point hedonic scale with extremes ranging from "really disliked" and "really liked." There were no significant differences between the analyzed samples of conventional rice and UR rice using Duo-Trio Test. Mean values from the Acceptance Test for the evaluated attributes (general appearance, color, aroma e taste) were 5.6 and 5.9, corresponding to "liked" and "really liked" according to the hedonic scale, respectively. The iron did not alter the sensory characteristics of the final product, and the iron-fortified rice was well accepted.

The lighthouse keeper's rescue.

Contiene un libro de lectura para los niños y un cuaderno de notas para el profesor. Las ideas sugeridas en estas actividades se desarrollan a partir de los temas, la estructura y el lenguaje del libro de lectura, aunque se pueden cambiar, adaptar y completar, siempre que los niños estén familiarizados con la historia. El faro de la costa siempre tiene que estar iluminado por la noche, el Sr. Grinling el guardafaros, ama su trabajo tanto que no se puede imaginar haciendo cualquier otra cosa. Un día, debido a su avanzada edad, en su camino para encender las luces, se queda dormido, lo que provoca algún desastre. Él y su esposa, tienen que empaquetar, sus pertenencias y marcharse, entonces ocurre algo que trae la alegría de nuevo a Grinling, y las autoridades lo recompensan readmitiéndolo como guardafaros a tiempo parcial.

Effects of calcium-chelating agents and pasteurisation on certain properties of calcium-fortified soy milk

Addition of 25 mM calcium chloride to soy milk reduced pH, increased ionic calcium and caused it to coagulate. The effects of different chelating agents were investigated on selected physicochemical properties of soy milk and on preventing coagulation. The soy milks were then pasteurised to examine how heat treatment changed some of these properties as well as to evaluate their effects on heat stability. Sediment formation and susceptibility to coagulation could be reduced by decreasing ionic calcium and increasing pH. To achieve this, the most effective chelating agents were tri-sodium citrate and disodium hydrogen phosphate. These chelating agents also reduce absolute viscosity and particle size. Sodium hexa meta phosphate was also effective, but less so; it reduced ionic calcium but had a less noticeable effect on pH. The disodium salt of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid was not effective, as it decreased the pH of soy milk. Ionic calcium and pH are useful indicators of heat stability of calcium-fortified soy beverages. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the quality of cottage cheese produced from standard and protein-fortified skim milk

The effects of milk protein fortification on the texture and microstructure of cottage cheese curd were evaluated. Protein powder (92.6% protein) was added to the skim milk at a level of 0.4% (w/w) to produce curds. Control curds with no protein powder addition were also produced. These curds were analysed for differences in yield, total solids, curd size, texture and structure. It was found that the addition of protein powder contributed to a significant yield increase, which can be attributed to increased water retention, with better curd size distribution. Control curds were firmer than the fortified curds and the structure showed less open-pore structure as revealed by electron microscopy. However, the addition of dressing masked the textural differences, and a sensory panel was unable to distinguish between cheeses produced from fortified milk and controls.

Feasibility of using dialysis for determining calcium ion concentration and pH in calcium-fortified soymilk at high temperature

Dialysis was performed to examine some of the properties of the soluble phase of calcium (Ca) fortified soymilk at high temperatures. Dialysates were obtained while heating soymilk at temperatures of 80 and 100 °C for 1 h and 121 °C for 15 min. It was found that the pH, total Ca, and ionic Ca of dialysates obtained at high temperature were all lower than in their corresponding nonheated Ca-fortified soymilk. Increasing temperature from 80 to 100 °C hardly affected Ca ion concentration ([Ca2+]) of dialysate obtained from Ca chloride-fortified soymilk, but it increased [Ca2+] in dialysates of Ca gluconate-fortified soymilk and Ca lactate-fortified soymilk fortified with 5 to 6 mM Ca. Dialysates obtained at 100 °C had lower pH than dialysate prepared at 80 °C. Higher Ca additions to soymilk caused a significant (P≤ 0.05) reduction in pH and an increase in [Ca2+] of these dialysates. When soymilk was dialyzed at 121 °C, pH, total Ca, and ionic Ca were further reduced. Freezing point depression (FPD) of dialysates increased as temperature increased but were lower than corresponding soymilk samples. This approach provides a means of estimating pH and ionic Ca in soymilks at high temperatures, in order to better understand their combined role on soymilk coagulation.

Potential sources of mouth drying in beverages fortified with dairy proteins: a comparison of casein and whey-rich ingredients

Oral nutritional supplement drinks (ONS) are beverages high in dairy proteins that are prescribed to individuals at risk of malnutrition. Consumption of ONS is poor in elderly care facilities, with patients commenting that the sensory attributes of these drinks reduce their enjoyment and willingness to consume. Mouth drying is an attribute of ONS found to build with repeated consumption, which may further limit liking of these products. This study investigated the sources of drying sensations by sequential profiling, with a trained sensory panel rating a range of model milk systems and ONS over repeated sips and during after-effects. Sequential profiling found that fortification of milk with both caseinate and whey protein concentrate significantly increased the perception of mouth drying over repeated consumption, increasing by between 35 and 85% over consumption of 40mL. Enrichment of ONS with either whey protein concentrate or milk protein concentrate to a total protein content of 8.7% (wt/wt) resulted in whey and casein levels of 4.3:4.4% and 1.7:7.0% respectively. The product higher in whey protein was substantially more mouth drying, implying that whey proteins may be the most important contributor to mouth drying in ONS. However, efforts to mask mouth drying of protein-fortified milk by increasing sweetness or fat level were unsuccessful at the levels tested. Increasing the viscosity of protein-fortified milk led to a small but significant reduction in mouth drying. However, this approach was not successful when tested within complete ONS. Further analysis is required into the mechanism of protein-derived mouth drying to mask negative sensations and improve the enjoyment and consumption of protein-rich ONS.