Co-products of beef processing enhance non-haem iron absorption in an in vitro digestion/caco-2 cell model

Beef processing produces high volumes of protein rich, low value, ‘waste’ co-products such as offal. Beef improves uptake of low bioavailable non-haem iron (found in vegetables, fortificants, supplements) and this effect is dubbed the ‘meat-factor’, although the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we investigate whether bovine co-products (kidney, lung, heart) not previously studied share this enhancing potential. This was determined by coupled in vitro digestion of co-products and subsequent caco-2 cell ferritin formation (an intracellular iron storage protein). In this study we show that bovine co-products significantly increase caco-2 cells’ response to non-haem iron from infant rice cereal. The presence of these co-products, (kidney, lung and heart), increased relative uptake (by 207.13%, 171.21%, 265.28%, respectively), to a greater extent than beef (30.23%). Our findings present a novel function for co-products of beef processing that may have potential as food ingredients to improve non-haem iron bioavailability, thus adding value.     

Landscape planning and community participation: Local lessons from Mullaghmore, the Burren NationalPark, Ireland

Issues relating to community participation in landscape management, as well as the manipulation of the community for political ends, are addressed. It is argued that the current fashionable participatory model of development and policy formulation requires closer scrutiny and may be unrealistic in certain contexts. A case-study approach is adopted, whereby the role of the community in attempts to construct a visitor interpretative centre at the foot of Mullaghmore Mountain, within the Burren National Park, Ireland, is analysed. The complexity of the term community is exposed, and important questions about who speaks for the community are raised. It is concluded that local development, including ecosystem and landscape management, is best approached neither from a 'top-down' nor a 'bottom-up' developmental model. It is suggested that insights from adaptive co-management models, which promote a multi-level management approach, whereby local knowledge and experience are incorporated within enabling local and extra-local institutional structures, may provide a viable alternative. Finally, it is argued that human-environmental interaction in a specific place, including the management of common pool resources, needs to be situated within the historical, ecological and cultural narrative of its human ecology.     

Strategies for Software Engineering Implementation

For the past several years, automating the functions of systems development through computer-aided software engineering (CASE) and software reengineering have promised quality systems in shorter time. This article discusses the advantages of these two technologies and how IS managers can best implement them in their organizations.     

Ethanol dehydration activity on hydrothermally stable LaPxOy catalysts synthesized using CTAB template

Nanocrystalline LaP_xO_y with various starting P to La ratios from 0.5 to 2.0 catalysts were prepared by a sol?Cgel method using cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as template. The catalysts were thoroughly characterized by N₂ physisorption, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of NH₃, solid state ³¹P and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. XRD results indicate the presence of predominantly monazite LaPO₄ with minor amounts of (??3.0 wt%) rhabdophane LaPO₄ phase in the samples with starting P/La ratios of 1.0 and 1.5. NH₃-TPD results show an increasing trend in the total acidity with increase in P/La ratio. These catalysts were tested in the selective ethanol dehydration in the temperature range between 250 and 400?°C. The catalyst activity (??mol/h/m²) is increased with P/La ratio and the catalyst with highest P/La ratio of 2.0 exhibiting the highest ethanol dehydration activity. The ethanol conversion increased with reaction temperature, reaching 100% at 350?°C and remains unchanged at higher temperatures. On the other hand, the ethylene selectivity is also increased up to 350?°C and then decreased with further increase of reaction temperature. At a P/La ratio of 2, the CTAB templated LaP_xO_y catalyst showed higher catalytic activities compared to the LaP_xO_y by hydrothermal method without any template.     

Influence of molten-state annealing on the phase structure and crystallization behaviour of high impact polypropylene copolymer

The phase structure evolution of high impact polypropylene copolymer (IPC) during molten-state annealing and its influence on crystallization behaviour were studied. An entirely different architecture of the IPC melt was observed after being annealed, and this architecture resulted in variations of the crystallization behaviour. In addition, it was found that the core-shell structure of the dispersed phase was completely destroyed and the sizes of the dispersed domains increased sharply after being annealed at 200 °C for 200 min. Through examination of the coarseness of the phase morphology using phase contrast microscopy (PCM), it was found that a co-continuous structure and an abnormal ‘sea-island’ structure generally appeared with an increase in annealing time. The original matrix PP component appeared as a dispersed phase, whereas the copolymer components formed a continuous ‘sea-island’ structure. This change is ascribed to the large tension induced by solidification at the phase interface and the great content difference between the components. When the temperature was reduced the structure reverted to its original form. With increasing annealing time, the spherulite profiles became more defined and the spherulite birefringence changed from vague to clear. Overall crystallization rates and nucleation densities decreased, but the spherulite radial growth rates remained almost constant, indicating that molten-state annealing mainly affects the nucleation ability of IPC, due to a coarsened microstructure and decreased interface area.     

Effectiveness of partner social support predicts enduring psychological distress after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Objective: Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) survivors who are 1 to 3 years posttransplant are challenged by the need to resume valued social roles and activities—a task that may be complicated by enduring transplant-related psychological distress common in this patient population. The present study investigated whether transplant survivors who receive adequate social support from their spouse or intimate partner experience lower distress. Method: Effects of receiving a greater quantity of partner support (a common approach to studying enacted support) were compared with effects of receiving more effective partner support (i.e., support that more closely matches their needs in terms of its quantity and quality). Men and women (N = 230) who were 1 to 3 years posttransplant completed measures of partner support quantity (Manne & Schnoll, 2001), partner social support effectiveness (Rini & Dunkel Schetter, 2010), and psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory; Derogatis & Spencer, 1982). Potential medical and sociodemographic confounds were controlled in analyses. Results: As hypothesized, survivors reported less distress when they received more effective partner support (p