Evaluation of a commercial process for collection and cooling of beef offals by a temperature function integration technique.

The hygienic adequacy of a commercial process for the collection and cooling of beef offals was assessed by a temperature function integration technique. The diverse operations for collection of offals were inspected. The rates of product movement through those operations, and the temperatures of products at the time of their being packed, were determined. From that information, four of the nine product types were selected for examination of their temperature histories during the assembly and cooling of the cartoned products. The products selected encompassed product at near-body and near-air-ambient temperatures at the time of packaging, product in the largest and smallest cartons used in the process, and product with relatively short and long residence times in an unchilled carton stack assembly area. Twenty-one temperature histories were collected for each of the products, and the possible proliferation of an indicator organism, Escherichia coli, calculated for each temperature history. The results were assessed against a temperature function integration criterion derived from studies of beef carcass and cartoned meat cooling processes. Products packaged at near-ambient temperature readily met with the criterion, but products packed at near-body temperatures did not comply. The latter non-compliance was extreme for product packaged in large cartons. However, the principal cause of non-compliance was identified as highly variable cooling conditions in the carton freezing facility. A brief survey of air speeds and temperatures within that facility indicated means by which product cooling could be better controlled.     

Modelling direct sequence pseudonoise(dspn) satellite reception with directional antennas in the dense scatterer mobile environment

A geometric propagation model is developed for simulating the reception of direct sequence pseudonoise (DSPN) satellite signals by a directional or omni antenna in the dense scatterer mobile environment. The model is first validated for narrowband signals by a direct comparison of both simulated cumulative signal strength statistics and simulated diffuse Doppler spectra with classical theory. The model is then used to predict fading statistics for DSPN signaling, either with omni or directional antennas. As expected, the mitigation of fading is closely related to the ratio of DSPN chip duration to delay spread of the scatterer medium for both the omni and directional antennas.     

Attentional cues in chronic schizophrenia: Abnormal disengagement of attention.

M. I. Possner's 1980 reaction time (RT) paradigm was used to examine the engagement and disengagement operations of visual selective attention in patients with schizophrenia. In the 1st experiment 14 medicated, chronic schizophrenic Ss (diagnosed by criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM-I]), and 15 age-matched normal and control Ss made a speeded response to a target preceded by a valid, and invalid, or no cue. Control Ss showed the expected advantage and disadvantage in RT for valid and invalid cues, which suggests intact engagement and disengagement operations. For schizophrenic Ss, valid cues also enhanced RT, but invalid cues did not slow RT. Similar results were found in the 2nd experiment. The failure of unpredictable, invalid cues to inhibit RT in chronic schizophrenia may be related to an abnormality in the disengagement operation of selective attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a quick-release form of bromocriptine (Ergoset) on fasting and postprandial plasma glucose, insulin, lipid, and lipoprotein concentrations in obese nondiabetic hyperinsulinemic women

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect on various aspects of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism of administering a quick-release formulation of bromocriptine (Ergoset) to obese, nondiabetic, hyperinsulinemic women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Hourly concentrations of prolactin, glucose, insulin, free fatty acid (FFA), and triglyceride were measured for 24 h before and after approximately 8 weeks of treatment with Ergoset. In addition, fasting lipid and lipoprotein concentrations and the steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) concentration in response to a continuous infusion of somatostatin, insulin, and glucose were determined before and after Ergoset administration. RESULTS: Circulating prolactin concentrations were dramatically decreased (P < 0.001) following treatment, associated with a significant fall (P < 0.05) in 24-h-long plasma glucose, FFA, and triglyceride concentrations. Neither circulating plasma insulin concentrations nor the ability of insulin to mediate glucose disposal changed with treatment. Finally, fasting total cholesterol fell (P < 0.05) and the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol decreased (P = 0.06) in association with Ergoset treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The fact that significant metabolic improvement was seen in the obese nondiabetic hyperinsulinemic women studied suggests that Ergoset could be of therapeutic benefit in clinical conditions of hyperglycemia and/or dyslipidemia.     

Antimicrobial activity and spectrum of LB20304, a novel fluoronaphthyridone

Compound LB20304 is a fluoronaphthyridone carboxylic acid with a novel pyrrolidine substituent. This drug was compared with ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, ofloxacin, and trovafloxacin against over 800 pathogens, most from blood stream infections, by National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards reference methods. LB20304 was the most active agent against gram-positive species including strains observed to be resistant to other fluoroquinolones and glycopeptides. The potency of LB20304 (MIC50, 0.03 micrograms/ml) against the Enterobacteriaceae was exceeded only by that of ciprofloxacin (0.015 micrograms/ml). It has limited activity against gram-negative anaerobes.     

Determination of tryptophan in feedstuffs: Comparison of two methods of hydrolysis prior to HPLC analysis

The tryptophan content of nine samples of commercial feed was determined using two procedures (I and II) differing mainly in the hydrolysis conditions used prior to analysis. With I, hydrolysis was performed with 4 M LiOH in the presence of maltodextrin with 5-methyltryptophan used as internal standard at 110°C for 24 h; with II. oxygen-free 1.3 M Ba(OH)₂ was used at 125°C for 16 h. The two procedures gave identical results for a given sample indicating that the corrections for the incomplete recovery of tryptophan 5-methyltryptophan quantitation were satisfactory.     

Tracking musical patterns using joint accent structure.

Joint Accent Structure (JAS) is a construct that uses temporal relationships between different accents in a melodic pattern as indices of its complexity. The present study examines the role of different JASs in real time, attending to simple musical events. 39 adults with or without musical training were told to selectively attend to and synchronize finger taps with accents in 2 experiments that examined attentional tracking to musical patterns having a concordant or discordant JAS. Results indicate that tapping was more variable with discordant than with concordant JAS patterns, both with respect to produced inter-accent time periods and with respect to the phase of taps relative to accent onsets. These findings are interpreted in terms of real time attending and its control by event time structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do changes in cognitive factors influence outcome following multidisciplinary treatment for chronic pain? A cross-lagged panel analysis.

Changes in maladaptive cognitions may constitute therapeutic processes of multidisciplinary pain programs. A cross-lagged panel design was used to determine whether (a) early-treatment cognitive change predicted late-treatment outcome index change, but not vice versa; and (b) these effects remained significant with depression change controlled. Ninety chronic pain patients, in a 4-week multidisciplinary program, completed measures of catastrophizing, pain helplessness, depression, pain, interference, and activity level at pre-, mid-, and posttreatment. With depression changes controlled, early-treatment catastrophizing and pain helplessness changes predicted late-treatment outcome index changes, but not vice versa; early-treatment depression changes predicted late-treatment activity changes, but not vice versa. Findings advance understanding of pain treatment process and suggest that negative cognition changes may indeed affect improvements in treatment outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color changes in cyanosis and the significance of congenital dichromasy and lighting

There are anecdotal reports of color vision deficient medical practitioners (particularly deuteranopes) having difficulty in recognizing cyanosis. An understanding of the color changes in oxygenated blood has led to a better understanding of the lighting needs for hospitals. Using the same database, this article investigates the propensity for color vision deficient observers to make mistakes with cyanotic patients. The possibilities for helping the observer with appropriate color of lighting are considered. The spectral reflectances of blood at varying oxygenation levels previously reported were used 7 ; 8 to calculate chromaticity and lightness. The direction of the chromaticity change was compared with the protanopic and deuteranopic confusion lines. An attempt was made to identify sources that enhanced color changes for the color deficient. The color change of blood oxygenation is closely aligned with the confusion lines of congenital dichromats (particularly protanopia) showing the potential for difficulty in making this decision. No source could be demonstrated to solve the problem or even reduce it significantly. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 32, 428–432, 2007