Effect of post-mortem temperature on beef tenderness

Beef adductor muscles were incubated for 4 h post mortem at 10°C and for 4 h and 6 h post mortem at 30°C, 37°C and 42°C. Half of the muscles were cooked just after incubation and the other half was first stored for two days at 4°C and then cooked. Meat kept for 4 h or 6 h at 42°C and for 6 h at 37°C and cooked at once had a significantly (p<0·05) lower shear force than meat kept for 4 h at 37°C, 4 h at 30°C, 6 h at 30°C or 4 h at 10°C. The respective significant differences were also found when the meat was cooked two days after incubation. Organoleptic evaluation showed that meat incubated for 6 h at 37°C or for 4 h at 42°C was not significantly more tender than other samples. However, meat kept for 6 h at 42°C was more tender (p<0·5) than the other samples. After two days of storage, meat incubated for 6 h at 37°C and for 6 h at 42° was more tender (p<0·05) than meat kept for 6 h at 30°C. It was concluded that high temperature conditioning at 37°C or higher for 6 h (4 h at 42°C) just after slaughter makes meat more tender than conventional cooling systems.     

Computergestützte Frühwarn- und Entscheidungssysteme

Zusammenfassung Die massive Bedrohung durch Nuklearwaffen, die den Supermächten die Möglichkeit zur Auslöschung allen Lebens auf der Erde geben, erfordert eine Entscheidungsfindung oftmals innerhalb weniger Minuten. Dies hat beide Seiten zum Aufbau von Frühwarn- und Entscheidungssystemen (FWES) veranlaßt, durch deren Einsatz ein atomarer Angriff noch innerhalb der Raketenflugzeit erkannt werden soll. In diesem FWES spielt die Verarbeitung und Weiterleitung von Informationen durch den Computer eine kriegsentscheidende Rolle: Die Informatik ist zu einer der wichtigsten Grundlagenwissenschaften in der Rüstungsforschung geworden. Dieser Artikel gibt eine Übersicht über die Funktionsweise computergestützter FWES und zeigt Fehlerquellen auf, die es möglich und sogar wahrscheinlich machen, daß eine Verkettung unglücklicher Umstände zu einem Nuklearkrieg aus Versehen führen kann.

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Liste der Abkürzungen ANMCC Alternate National Military Command Center - BMWES Ballistic Missile Early Warning System - CSS Communication System Segment - EMP Elektromagnetischer Puls - FWES Frühwarn- und Entscheidungssystem - ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile - JCS Joint Chief of Staff - NCS NORAD Computer System - NMCC National Military Command Center - NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command Center - PAC Pacific Command - PARCS Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System - SAC Strategic Air Command - SCC Space Computational Center - SLBM Submarine-launched Ballistic Missiles - WWMCCS World Wide Military Command and Control System     

Fabrication of composite wire of lead coated on glass fiber by extrusion

1　INTRODUCTIONCoatingglassfiberwithleadproducesakindofnewcontinuouscomposite ,whichcanfindwideap plicationsinmanydifferentfields ,especiallyinthebatteryoftheEVsandHEVsthathasalreadybecomethemostimportantgoalinmostcountries[13] .Withakindofspecialtechnologythiskindofnewcompos itewirecanbeusedtoproducegridsofnewleadacidbatterythatisveryusefultotheEVsandHEVs .Thiskindofnewleadacidbatteryhasmanyadvan tages ,suchashigherspecificenergy ,lessinnerresis tance ,morequicklychargingcapabilityand…     

The role of the surface free energy in the selection of a suitable excipient in the course of a wet-granulation method

Pellets containing metronidazole were produced in a centrifugal granulator, with hydroxypropylcellulose (Klucel LF®) as binding agent, and corn starch, microcrystalline cellulose (Vivapur 101®) and lactose as excipients. The wettability of the pharmaceutical powders was assessed by means of contact angle measurements, and the dispersive and polar surface energies were determined. The spreading coefficients, the work of adhesion and the work of cohesion were calculated and correlated with the pellet properties (friability, bulk and tapped density, and porosity). The aim was to investigate the role of the surface free energy of one- and two-component powder compositions in pellet production. The interactions between the particles were found to be connected with the measured pellet parameters. It was concluded that, in the course of the growth of the pellets, the particle sizes of the pharmaceutical powders and the interactions between them are important. If the work of cohesion of the binder is lower than the work of cohesion of the substrate and the work of adhesion, then the optimal amount of the binding agent is that which coats the particles uniformly in minimal quantity and in continuous layer.     

Fullerene-based ruthenium catalysts: a novel approach for anchoring metal to carbonaceous supports. I. Structure

The influence of fullerenes and related support materials on the structural and catalytic properties of ruthenium was investigated. Catalysts based on C₆₀, raw fullerene black, extracted fullerene black, cathode deposit and graphite were prepared by an impregnation/activation procedure with Ru₃CO₁₂. The local co-ordination sphere of the resulting highly dispersed X-ray amorphous ruthenium was investigated by means of EXAFS. The dominating role of the presence of non-six-membered carbon rings on the structure and the stability of the Ru particles will be illustrated. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Method for characterization of triacylglycerols and fat-soluble vitamins in edible oils and fats by supercritical fluid chromatography

This study demonstrates the usefulness of capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) for the characterization of triacylglycerols of edible oils and fats. Triacylglycerols were separated according to the acyl carbon number and the degree of unsaturation on a 25% cyanopropyl/25% phenyl/50% methylpolysiloxane stationary phase. Valuable information concerning the triacylglycerol composition of berry oils was obtained, despite the overlapping of certain triacylglycerol peaks. Simultaneous analysis of fat-soluble vitamins and triacylglycerols is not practical by capillary SFC with flame-ionization detection because of the low concentration of naturally-occurring fat-soluble vitamins in edible oils. Therefore, higher loading of the sample, which led to overloading of triacylglycerols, was required to get reasonable peaks for fat-soluble vitamins. The method was applied to the characterization of triacylglycerols and tocopherols in sea buckthorn pulp and seed oil, and cloudberry seed oil without any sample purification prior to SFC. In addition, the stationary phase proved useful for separating the more complex mixtures of triacylglycerols found in milk fat and in fish oil.     

Activity and Selectivity of a Nanostructured CuO/ZrO2 Catalyst in the Steam Reforming of Methanol

Steam reforming of methanol for production of hydrogen can be carried out over copper based catalyst. In the work presented here, the catalytic properties of a CuO/ZrO₂ catalyst (8.5wt%) synthesised by a templating technique were investigated with respect to activity, long term stability, CO formation, and response to oxygen addition to the feed. The results were obtained using a fixed bed reactor and compared to a commercial methanol synthesis catalyst CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃. It is shown that, depending on the time on stream, the temporary addition of oxygen to the feed has a beneficial effect on the activity of the CuO/ZrO₂ catalyst. After activation, the CuO/ZrO₂ catalyst is found to be more active (per copper mass) than the CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ system, more stable during time on stream (measured up to 250h), and to produce less CO. Structural characterisation by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) reveals that the catalyst (as prepared) consists of crystalline, tetragonal zirconia with small domain sizes (about 60Å) and small/disordered crystallites of CuO.     

Electrolytical fission at mercury cathodes of an NO single bond in ethers derived from 1-hydroxybenzo(d)-1,2,3-triazoles

The single NO bond in various ethers derived from 1-hydroxybenzo(d)-1,2,3-triazoles is reduced at mercury cathodes in a 2-electron process giving rise to the non-substituted benzotriazole and a corresponding primary alcohol. Controlled-potential electrolysis actually resulted in isolating the products of the above type eg benzotriazole and 2-piperidinoethanol. Cathodic reduction of non-substituted benzotriazole in acid media proceeds evidently via a chemical reaction between benzotriazole and hydrogen obtained by the catalytic reduction of hydrogen ions at the mercury electrode.     

Hydrogenation of Citral Over a Polymer Fibre Catalyst

A polymer-supported Pd catalyst was investigated in hydrogenation of citral (3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienal), which is a stereoisomer with an isolated and a conjugated double bond as well as a carbonyl group. The catalyst was a fibrous polymer-supported catalyst modified with functional groups and immobilized metals. A comparison of the polymer-supported catalyst with conventional catalysts was made.