Improvement of beef tenderness and quality traits with calcium chloride injection in beef loins 48 hours postmortem

Boneless strip loin subprimals (n = 24) were fabricated from 12 USDA Standard yield grade 2 carcasses at a commercial beef processing facility and processed 48 h postmortem to determine the effect of injection of 200 or 250 mM calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution at 5% (wt/wt) on beef quality traits. One-third of the subprimal served as the control; the remaining portion was injected with either 200 or 250 mM CaCl2 at 5% (wt/wt). The CaCl2 concentration treatment was randomly assigned to strip loins fabricated from either the right or left side of the carcass. After 7 or 14 d of postmortem storage at 2 degrees C, 2.5-cm-thick steaks were cut from each control and treated portion of the subprimals and evaluated for Warner-Bratzler shear (WBS) force, retail display characteristics, Minolta colorimeter L*, a*, and b* values, and trained sensory panel ratings. Treatment of the muscle with 250 mM CaCl2 increased (P < .05) trained sensory panel tenderness and beef flavor scores, and both CaCl2 concentrations decreased WBS force values, when compared with the control. Scores for color, uniformity, and browning in the retail display case did not differ (P > .05) for the 200-mM treatment compared with the control. Scores for discoloration in the retail display decreased (P < .05) for all three-way interactions of CaCl2 concentration, aging time, and display time after d 2 (except 7-d control, which remained the same [P > .05] d 1 through 5). The L* values did not differ (P < .05) for interactions of CaCl2 concentration, x aging time, and retail display.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Interobserver variation in the assessment of the sampling quality of cervical smears

The present study was carried out to investigate the biochemical and morphological changes in the liver after ligation of the hepatic artery (HA) in the presence and in the absence of extrahepatic cholestasis (EHC). The study was conducted on 100 rats divided into four groups of 25 animals each: group 1, sham operation; group 2, hepatic artery ligation (HAL); group 3, bile duct ligation (BDL); and group 4, HAL plus BDL. All animals were sacrificed 7 days after surgery when total bilirubin and fractions, alkaline phosphatase (AP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were measured in serum and on the inner hepatocyte mitochondrial membrane (IHMM); the incidence of necrosis and the volume fractions of vessels, bile ducts and hepatocytes in the liver were also determined. HAL reduces the relative volumes of bile ducts, with no changes in levels of bilirubin and fractions, AP, ALT, AST and IHMM, but HAL associated with EHC reduces duct proliferation and the liver becomes more vulnerable to necrosis. In conclusion, the normal liver depends on HA flow and this dependence is more evident in the presence of EHC.     

Electromagnetic compatibility aspects of active robotic systems for surgery: the robotic prostatectomy experience

This case describes ventricular proarrhythmia as a result of a synchronized internal atrial defibrillation shock in a 29-year-old man with Ebstein's anomaly referred for radiofrequency ablation of a right posterior accessory pathway. During the electrophysiologic study, atrial fibrillation was induced and 3/3 msec shocks of various strengths were delivered between two decapolar defibrillation catheters in the coronary sinus and right atrial appendage. A 2.0-J biphasic shock synchronized to an R wave after a short-long-short ventricular cycle length pattern with a preshock coupling interval of 245 msec induced ventricular fibrillation, which was externally defibrillated with 200 J. This observation has implications for the development of implantable atrial defibrillators.     

Object sorting and the heterogeneity of schizophrenia.

Gave 126 schizophrenics who were off drugs, 23 schizophrenics on drugs, and 52 nonpsychotic Ss a 30-item object-sorting test using D. Rapaport et al's passive sorting procedure. Inadequate responses were scored as Restrictive or Expansive. Some schizophrenics made predominantly Restrictive errors, and others made predominantly Expansive errors. Both chronic and newly admitted drug-free schizophrenics exceeded nonpsychotic Ss on the variance of the score of the difference between the 2 kinds of errors. Several potential statistical phenomena that often produce such heightened schizophrenic variance were ruled out. The test identifies patients with diverse error propensities and thus seems promising as a tool for seeking subdisorders within schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic evidence for nonrandom sorting of mitochondria in the basidiomycete Agrocybe aegerita

We studied mitochondrial transmission in the homobasidiomycete Agrocybe aegerita during plasmogamy, vegetative growth, and basidiocarp differentiation. Plasmogamy between homokaryons from progeny of three wild-type strains resulted in bidirectional nuclear migration, and the dikaryotization speed was dependent on the nuclear genotype of the recipient homokaryon. Little mitochondrial migration accompanied the nuclear migration. A total of 75% of the dikaryons from the fusion lines had both parental mitochondrial haplotypes (mixed dikaryons), and 25% had only a single haplotype (homoplasmic dikaryons); with some matings, there was a strong bias in favor of one parental haplotype. We demonstrated the heteroplasmic nature of mixed dikaryons by (i) isolating and subculturing apical cells in micromanipulation experiments and (ii) identifying recombinant mitochondrial genomes. This heteroplasmy is consistent with the previously reported suggestion that there is recombination between mitochondrial alleles in A. aegerita. Conversion of heteroplasmons into homoplasmons occurred (i) during long-term storage, (ii) in mycelia regenerated from isolated apical cells, and (iii) during basidiocarp differentiation. Homokaryons that readily accepted foreign nuclei were the most efficient homokaryons in maintaining their mitochondrial haplotype during plasmogamy, long-term storage, and basidiocarp differentiation. This suggests that the mechanism responsible for the nonrandom retention or elimination of a given haplotype may be related to the nuclear genotype or the mitochondrial haplotype or both.     

Targeting of MAL, a putative element of the apical sorting machinery, to glycolipid-enriched membranes requires a pre-golgi sorting event

The MAL proteolipid is a nonglycosylated polytopic membrane protein with specific residence in glycolipid-enriched membrane (GEM) microdomains. MAL has been proposed as an element of the machinery for apical transport in polarized epithelial cells. Previous work demonstrated that MAL requires its four carboxyl-terminal amino acids to be targeted to GEMs. In the present work, we have engineered MAL with N-glycosylation consensus sequences to delimit the site at which commitment of MAL to access into GEMs takes place. Comparison of engineered MAL proteins bearing either an intact or a truncated carboxyl terminus revealed that whereas the former acquired endo H-sensitive and endo H-resistant mature glycosylation, the protein with a deleted carboxyl terminus did not. These results indicate that although MAL incorporation into GEMs takes place mainly in the Golgi, commitment of MAL to enter GEMs is a pre-Golgi event.     

Multiple sorting pathways between the late Golgi and the vacuole in yeast

Newly synthesized proteins that reach the last compartment of the Golgi complex can be sorted into pathways leading either to the cell surface or to the vacuole. It now appears that there are at least two routes from the Golgi to the vacuole: the 'CPY pathway', which involves transit through an endosomal/prevacuolar compartment (PVC), and a recently discovered 'ALP pathway', which bypasses the PVC, but may involve other as yet unidentified intermediate compartments. No cytosolic signal has been identified that directs the entry of membrane proteins into the CPY pathway. In contrast, the transport of ALP through the ALP pathway is saturable and signal mediated. Much recent work has focused on the identification of proteins that regulate trafficking to the vacuole. A number of genes have been identified that are specific for either the CPY or ALP sorting pathways, while other genes affect both types of transport and may therefore act at or after a point of convergence. Progress has also been made in further elucidating the members of the SNARE complexes that act in Golgi-to-PVC transport as well as those that mediate fusion with the vacuole.     

Processes of overall similarity sorting in free classification.

The processes of overall similarity sorting were investigated in 5 free classification experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that increasing time pressure can reduce the likelihood of overall similarity categorization. Experiment 3 showed that a concurrent load also reduced overall similarity sorting. These findings suggest that overall similarity sorting can be a time-consuming analytic process. Such results appear contrary to the idea that overall similarity is a nonanalytic process (e.g., T. B. Ward, 1983) but are in line with F. N. Milton and A. J. Wills's (2004) dimensional summation hypothesis and with the stochastic sampling assumptions of the extended generalized context model (K. Lamberts, 2000). Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrated that the relationship between stimulus presentation time and overall similarity sorting is nonmonotonic, and the shape of the function is consistent with the idea that the three aforementioned processes operate over different parts of the time course. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The value of the coefficient of variation in assessing repeat variation in ECG measurements

AIMS: The coefficient of variation is a popular measure for describing the amount of repeat variability present in ECG measurements from recording to recording. However, it can be misleading. The aim of the present study was to assess repeat variation (reclassification) in computer measured ECG criteria, i.e. positive to negative or vice versa, and compare this with the coefficient of variability. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two ECGs were obtained from each of 295 patients, one day apart, and separately from a further 364 patients, several minutes apart. All patients were considered to be in a stable condition. Estimates of the coefficients of variation were obtained for a number of ECG parameters used in the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy. Corresponding reclassification rates of relevant ECG criteria were also calculated. Large coefficients of variation were observed in voltage parameters, e.g. R in V5 (20% for day-to-day recordings and 6% for minute-to-minute recordings) while the corresponding reclassification rates were 8% and 0% respectively. The repeat variation in the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy was up to 5% for day-to-day recordings and up to 3% for minute-to-minute recordings based on several different criteria. CONCLUSION: A large coefficient of variation in a particular variable does not necessarily correspond to a high reclassification rate. A better measure of the impact of ECG variability for a particular measurement is obtained from its reclassification rate. In turn, this may have a minimal effect on the overall diagnosis of a particular abnormality.     

Transmembrane domain-dependent sorting of proteins to the ER and plasma membrane in yeast

Sorting of membrane proteins between compartments of the secretory pathway is mediated in part by their transmembrane domains (TMDs). In animal cells, TMD length is a major factor in Golgi retention. In yeast, the role of TMD signals is less clear; it has been proposed that membrane proteins travel by default to the vacuole, and are prevented from doing so by cytoplasmic signals. We have investigated the targeting of the yeast endoplasmic reticulum (ER) t-SNARE Ufe1p. We show that the amino acid sequence of the Ufe1p TMD is important for both function and ER targeting, and that the requirements for each are distinct. Targeting is independent of Rer1p, the only candidate sorting receptor for TMD sequences currently known. Lengthening the Ufe1p TMD allows transport along the secretory pathway to the vacuole or plasma membrane. The choice between these destinations is determined by the length and composition of the TMD, but not by its precise sequence. A longer TMD is required to reach the plasma membrane in yeast than in animal cells, and shorter TMDs direct proteins to the vacuole. TMD-based sorting is therefore a general feature of the yeast secretory pathway, but occurs by different mechanisms at different points.     

Employee perceptions on the implementation of robotic manufacturing technology.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 71(3) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2008-10743-001). Several crucial horizontal rules were omitted from Table 2. The corrected table appears in the erratum.] A review of the industrial robotics literature identified 4 areas of employee concern during the implementation of robots: general robotics orientation, job security, management concern, and expected changes. A principal factors analysis of a 58-item questionnaire generated to measure these dimensions extracted 4 factors that reproduced the a priori conceptual areas. Composite scales formed from items loading on these factors yielded acceptable reliabilities. A discriminant analysis using the scale scores indicated significant group differences among 316 manufacturing employees in 3 occupational classes—assembly line workers, job setters, and skilled trades. These results, corroborated by a content analysis of an open-ended question, show that low-skill workers reacted negatively toward the implementation of robots, perceiving them largely as threats to their job security. High-skill workers reacted more positively toward the robots and perceived the implementation as providing opportunities to expand their skills. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

考虑加权排序的分类数据聚类算法

针对部分聚类算法对数据输入顺序敏感的问题,定义了不干涉序列指数,提出了应用不干涉序列指数对分类数据进行加权排序的方法,并基于该方法对受数据输入顺序影响的CABOSFV_C分类数据高效聚类算法进行改进,提出了考虑加权排序的聚类算法(CABOSFV_CSW),消除了算法对数据输入顺序的敏感性.采用UCI基准数据集进行实验,发现应用加权升序排序的CABOSFV_CSW算法在处理分类数据时,聚类质量较原始CABOSFV_C算法和其他受数据输入顺序影响的算法在准确性上有改善,在稳定性上有显著提高.     

Genetic variation in the east Midlands

According to history, the population of the British Isles derives its genepool from a succession of invaders and immigrants. The settlement pattern of these invaders gave rise to a patchwork of genepools, shown in previous genetic surveys. Specimens from 1117 blood donors of regionally subdivided East Midlands (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire) were analysed for 18 conventional genetic systems (blood groups, serum proteins and red cell enzymes), according to place of residence. Significant differences exist among the five geographically defined sub-populations, and it is argued that these are derived from the historical settlement of continental European populations in the region, especially the Danes and the Vikings.     

Microsatellite variation in the Australian dingo

Shoulder arthroplasty (SA) is commonly performed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have been treated with long-term immunosuppressive medication. RA is associated with an increased risk of neoplasms of the immune system. A case of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as an unexpected diagnosis after the routine pathologic examination of the soft tissues after SA was detected in a 54-year-old woman with long-standing RA and prolonged immunosuppressive therapy. Although this case does not support the cost-effectiveness of routine specimen evaluation during SA, we suggest that histological analysis of the surgical tissues is appropriate and should be performed in all patients who have been treated with prolonged immunosuppressive medication, especially RA patients as well as patients who have suspicious surgical findings.