Influence of frozen storage on aptitude of sardine and dolphinfish for cold-smoking process

Stability of dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and sardines (Sardina pilchardus) of different fat content (lean and fatty sardines) during frozen storage and its suitability for cold-smoking throughout storage were evaluated in order to overcome seasonal and excess catches of these species. Dolphinfish showed a relative stability regarding protein functionality (protein solubility, apparent viscosity, water and lipid holding capacity), lipid oxidation and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) accumulation, which led to high acceptability ratings of the resulting smoked product throughout frozen storage (340 days). However, both lean and fatty sardines showed a marked loss of protein functionality, which coincided with the accumulation of oxidation products and TVBN. Freezing of raw muscle may become a valuable preservation method for the smoking industry to overcome the short caught period of dolphinfish in the Balearic Islands and to make use of excess catches of both, lean and fatty sardine. High quality smoked products may be obtained from the frozen muscle during approximately twelve, four and two months of frozen storage for Dolphinfish, lean and fatty sardine, respectively.     

Muscle tissue structural changes and texture development in sea bream, Sparus aurata L., during post-mortem storage

Sea bream, Sparus aurata L., specimens were studied in pre-rigor (3 h) and during the following post-mortem days: 1, 5, 10, 15 and 22. Muscle and textural parameters were evaluated on 6 specimens/stage. Structural results showed scarce fibre-to-fibre detachment on pre-rigor, which increased during the post-mortem degradation. Ultrastructural changes revealed rapid muscle degradation. In pre-rigor myofibrils were detached to both sarcolemma and endomysium. Intermyofibrillar spaces increased and some mitochondriae and sarcoplasmic reticulum were swollen. After 1 day, the sarcolemma appeared occasionally disrupted and the interfibrillar spaces increased. From 5 to 10 days, the I-band and Z line presented some alterations, although these were more severe at 15-22 days. Thus, in these two last stages, loss of I-band, Z line and actin filaments was observed, that coincides with the alteration of the hexagonal arrangement in these advanced stages. Also, the fragmentation of myofibrils increased from 5 to 10 days on. Sarcolemma and endomysium were gradually disrupted throughout the post-mortem stages with total loss at 22 days. Consequently, the interfibrillar spaces increased at last stages. Autophagic mechanisms increased from 5 days on, with an intense destruction of all the intracytoplasmic organelles. Textural parameters decreased from pre-rigor until 5-10 days, mainly associated to detachment of myofibers to sarcolemma-endomysium.     

Interference of EDTA in the treatment of metal plating wastewater by biosorption

BACKGROUND: The applicability of biosorption for the treatment of metal plating wastewater is adversely affected by the presence of complexing agents. To investigate this limitation on the removal of copper(II) onto peat, batch and column experiments were carried out using EDTA as the model complexing agent. The influence of pH and copper(II):EDTA mass ratios were evaluated for copper(II) concentrations between 5 and 100 mg Cu(II) dm^?3. RESULTS: EDTA negatively affected the copper(II) uptake of peat for pH > 5. Batch and column experiments showed that copper(II)‐EDTA complexes were not sorbed by peat. The leaks of copper(II) detected from the beginning of the column operation matched the copper(II)‐EDTA concentration in the feed solutions. To overcome the interference of EDTA, a novel approach based on the combination of peat + activated carbon was proposed. Nearly complete removal of copper(II) was maintained over 70 h in the treatment of a solution containing 20 mg Cu(II) dm^?3 with 11% of copper(II)‐EDTA complexes. CONCLUSION: A new mass transport model coupling copper(II) speciation in the feed and mass transfer rate‐controlled process simulated the copper(II) breakthrough curves in the presence of EDTA and could be used to successfully predict the breakthrough point. This work demonstrated that biosorption can also be applied for the treatment of wastewater containing complexing agents with the proper combination of sorbent materials. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Volatile fraction and sensory characteristics of Manchego cheese. 2. Seasonal variation

An automatic purge and trap apparatus, coupled to a GC-MS was used to study the seasonal variability of the volatile fraction of raw milk Manchego cheese. Both season and dairy significantly affected abundance of most volatile compounds. Most aldehydes, methyl ketones, n-alcohols, and secondary alcohols reached significantly higher concentrations in spring cheeses. Branched chain alcohols showed significantly higher concentrations in autumn and winter cheeses, while significantly higher amounts of diketones were found in summer cheeses. Most ethyl esters reached higher concentrations in spring and winter cheeses and lower in autumn cheeses. Lower concentrations of alpha-pinene were found in spring cheeses, and higher amounts of limonene were observed in winter cheeses. Heptane and octane were significantly more abundant in summer cheeses. No significant seasonal differences were found either for quality or intensity scores.     

Variation in phenol content in grapes during ripening: low-molecular-weight phenols

Summary Variations in low-molecular-weight phenolic compounds in different parts (must, skin, and seeds) of berries ofV. vinifera, variety Cencibel during ripening were studied using HPLC andTLC. Twenty-five different compounds were identified. The differences were chiefly quantitative, although some quantitative differences were also recorded.

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Veränderungen des Phenolgehalts während der Reife der Weintrauben: Polyphenole mit niedrigem Molekulargewicht

Zusammenfassung Die Veränderungen der phenolischen Verbindungen mit niedrigem Molekulargewicht während der Reife in verschiedenen Teilen (Saft, Schale und Samen) der Beeren vonV. vinifera, Varietät Cencibel, wurden mit HPLC- und DS-Chromatographie untersucht. Fünfundzwanzig Verbindungen wurden identifiziert. Die Veränderungen waren hauptsächlich quantitativ; einige qualitative Veränderungen wurden ebenfalls beobachtet.

     

Attentional orienting within visual field in a lexical decision task.

The influence of spatial attention on lexical decisions to lateralized target letter-strings appearing either along with a distractor (Experiment 1) or in an otherwise empty field (Experiments 2–6) was examined. Attentional orienting was controlled by peripheral (Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 6) and central (Experiments 4–5) cuing methods. Manipulations of spatial attention, including cue validity and cue–target stimulus onset asynchrony, were combined with manipulations of word frequency in Experiments 3-6. All the attentional manipulations were effective, but they did not modify the right visual field advantage in word performance, In addition, the attentional effects did not interact with either the presence or absence of distractors or with stimulus familiarity. Implications of these results regarding the influence of spatial attention (the posterior attention system) on word processing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nutritional and antioxidant status of an institutionalized elderly group in Murcia (Spain)

The aging of the population is giving rise to a large number of studies aimed at improving the quality of life, considering diet as a major contributing factor in this life stage. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the nutritional status of a group of institutionalized elderly in Murcia, Spain, and to relate the diet to anthropometric and biochemical indices, paying special attention to total antioxidant status. The dietary evaluation showed excessive intakes of proteins and lipids, and deficiencies in those of carbohydrates, dietary fiber, zinc, iodine and vitamins A, E and D. The high proportion of overweight observed were not significantly correlated to the energy intakes. Although total plasma antioxidant status was low (0.62 mM eq Trolox and 0.98 mM eq Fe(II)) compared with reference values, estimated oxidative risk in this group of elderly was low according to plasma levels of vitamins C, A & E.