Effect of grass–clover forage and whole‐wheat feeding on the sensory quality of eggs

BACKGROUND: A sensory panel evaluated the sensory profile of eggs from hens from three experimental systems: (1) an indoor system × normal layer diet (InL), (2) a grass–clover forage system × normal layer diet (GrL), and (3) a grass–clover forage system × whole wheat and oyster shells (GrW). RESULTS: The taste of the albumen was significantly more ‘watery’ and the yolks a darker yellow/orange in the eggs from the GrL and GrW groups. The yolk was darkest from the GrW group. The yolks from the InL and GrW groups had a significantly more ‘fresh’, less ‘animal’, ‘cardboard’, and ‘intense’ aroma than the GrL group. The taste of the yolks from the InL and GrW groups was significantly more ‘fresh’ and less ‘cardboard’‐like compared to the GrL group. The yolks tasted significantly less ‘sulfurous’ in the GrW group than in the GrL group. CONCLUSION: The combination of a high feed intake from a grass–clover pasture and the type of feed allocated is an important factor in relation to the sensory quality of eggs. Thus, a less favourable sensory profile of eggs was found from hens on a grass–clover pasture and fed a normal layer diet. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

An album of seascapes by Gustave Le Gray

Abstract

In 1856 Ernest Lacan, a journalist and early critic in the field of photography, advanced a prediction which only recently has been confirmed, that Gustave Le Gray (1820–c. 1882) ‘s'est fait un nom qui restera dans l'histoire des progrès de la photographie’¹. There is little doubt that in the 1850s Le Gray was considered at least the equal of contemporary luminaries such as Nadar, owing to the following activities and accolades: his highly advanced technical experiments, discoveries and improvements; his several treatises and short notes in journals which dealt with such; his extensive and consistent exhibition record which was accompanied by almost exclusively positive and enthusiastic reviews; persistent application of and investigation into nearly every photographic technique and iconographic theme popular at the time; his informal or professional training of photographers of note such as Henri Le Secq, Charles Nègre, Charles Marville, Maxime Du Camp, Roger Fenton, and Adrien Tournachon; and the ultimate approbation, the grant to him in c. 1858–1859 of the title ‘Photographe de S. M. L'Empereur’. Accordingly, one finds in the histories and photographic journals of his day repeated references to the exceptional quality of Le Gray's prints and the widespread influence of his writings and instruction. Nadar, in his Quand j'étais photographe of c. 1900, included extensive remarks relating to Le Gray's personal life and photographic career, but because of a span of 40 or more years between original events and recollections, Nadar's account of his subject's endeavours is at best superficial, and tends to emphasize anecdote as opposed to factual history. Short treatments dealing primarily with the technical aspects of Le Gray's photography do appear in most 20th-century surveys (Freund, Lécuyer, Gernsheim, Newhall, etc.), but neither these brief synopses nor Nadar's reminiscences constitute what may even faintly be construed as a serious attempt at a reconstruction of the photographer's career and accomplishments2 For essentially revisional biographical information concerning Le Gray, see the author's dissertation¹, especially pp. 1–20, 41–42, 52–53, and 63–47. . In recent years, however, photographic historians, art historians, and to some extent the general public, have witnessed a renaissance of interest in Le Gray's life and works, a revival which has led to more detailed and accurate textual inforinntion, and the attendant availability of a wider range of examples of his works and writings³. It therefore seems propitious to add to this rapidly expanding corpus of Le Gray studies an intensive discussion of what may well be the photographer's most distinguished technical and aesthetic achievement, the Vistas del Mar album of scascapes, here dated c. 1857–1859, now housed in the Art Institute of Chicago.     

Reproductive status in female perch (Perca fluviatilis) outside a sewage treatment plant processing leachate from a refuse dump

Reproductive failure and endocrine disruption in female perch (Perca fluviatilis) and female brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), naturally exposed to toxic leachate from a municipal refuse dump, has raised concerns about the reproductive status in female fish outside the sewage treatment plant (STP), which now treats the same leachate. Female perch from the receiving water, Lake Siljan, were therefore sampled in a gradient from the STP in Fornby and Osterviken and compared with reference females from Isunda or Solleron. A high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) technique enabled the analysis of circulating steroids in blood plasma: the sex steroids progesterone (P), 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17alpha-OHP), androstenedione (A), testosterone (T), estrone (E1), and 17beta-oestradiol (E2), the maturation-inducing hormone (MIH) 17alpha,20beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17alpha,20beta-P), and the glucocorticoids 11-deoxycortisol (11-DC) and cortisol (C). Body and organ measurements, ratio of sexually mature (SM) females, and frequencies of body lesions, were also recorded. The percentages of SM females found in Fornby on Oct 23 (83.8%) and in Osterviken on May 14 (54.0%) were lower compared with Isunda (100%). The lack of differences in gonadosomatic index (GSI) and liver-somatic index (LSI) indicated a normal vitellogenesis in SM females from Fornby and Osterviken. No differences in circulating levels of steroids were observed between the sites, except at the time of spawning, when elevated P and 17alpha-OHP levels in females from Osterviken indicated a steroidogenic shift from the synthesis of sex steroids towards the production of the MIH 17alpha,20beta-P. The significant peak-levels of both 17alpha,20beta-P and 11-DC in female perch from Osterviken at the same time suggest that both are involved in controlling final oocyte maturation in perch. The elevated levels of androgens (A and T) in females caught on the same occasion in Fornby implied that these females were at an earlier stage of oocyte maturation, prior to the steroidogenic shift towards MIH-production. This study confirms the results of an earlier study revealing low numbers of SM female perch outside the STP in Fornby. The lack of associated effects on organ indexes and circulating levels of steroids does not indicate exposure to endocrine disrupting substances (EDSs) from the treated sewage. The consistently high numbers of SM females in the northern part of Siljan suggest, however, that natural factors are not responsible for the reproductive failures in the southern part of the lake.     

Tetradecylthioacetic Acid Increases Hepatic Mitochondrial β-Oxidation and Alters Fatty Acid Composition in a Mouse Model of Chronic Inflammation

The administration of tetradecylthioacetic acid (TTA), a hypolipidemic and anti-inflammatory modified bioactive fatty acid, has in several experiments based on high fat diets been shown to improve lipid transport and utilization. It was suggested that increased mitochondrial and peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation in the liver of Wistar rats results in reduced plasma triacylglycerol (TAG) levels. Here we assessed the potential of TTA to prevent tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α-induced lipid modifications in human TNFα (hTNFα) transgenic mice. These mice are characterized by reduced β-oxidation and changed fatty acid composition in the liver. The effect of dietary treatment with TTA on persistent, low-grade hTNFα overexpression in mice showed a beneficial effect through decreasing TAG plasma concentrations and positively affecting saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid proportions in the liver, leading to an increased anti-inflammatory fatty acid index in this group. We also observed an increase of mitochondrial β-oxidation in the livers of TTA treated mice. Concomitantly, there were enhanced plasma levels of carnitine, acetyl carnitine, propionyl carnitine, and octanoyl carnitine, no changed levels in trimethyllysine and palmitoyl carnitine, and a decreased level of the precursor for carnitine, called γ-butyrobetaine. Nevertheless, TTA administration led to increased hepatic TAG levels that warrant further investigations to ascertain that TTA may be a promising candidate for use in the amelioration of inflammatory disorders characterized by changed lipid metabolism due to raised TNFα levels.     

Stakeholder participation as a tool for sustainable development in the Em River Basin

The Em river watershed in south‐east Sweden is an example of involving local organizations and people in river basin management that implements practically integrated water resources management and the philosophy underlying the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)/Swedish International Hydrological Programme (IHP) Hydrology, Environment, Life and Policy (HELP) programme. The Em River Stakeholder Association has applied a bottom‐up perspective. Stakeholders have been participating in several river basin projects over several years. Stakeholder participation was of special importance when working with issues of local importance, such as water economizing, fish migration, storm‐water characterization and nutrient reduction. Eight task groups have carried out projects within different fields of expertise. The river basin cooperation started as a project in 1992. In 2004, the permanent Em River Union will be formed to work towards sustainable development integrated water management, good ecological conditions and economic growth in the Em River basin.     

Can spectroscopy in combination with chemometrics replace minks in digestibility tests?

One of the most relevant but expensive methods of assessing the quality of fish meal is the physiological digestibility test with minks. The purpose of this study was to determine whether spectroscopic and chemical analyses evaluated with chemometrics can replace minks in digestibility tests. The spectroscopic methods used were the two complementary techniques of fluorescence emission and near‐infrared reflectance. The investigation included 54 samples of high‐quality fish meal ranging from 89.6 to 93.9 on the mink digestibility index. The investigation also included determination of seven quality parameters in the fish meal to substantiate the spectroscopic models on the mink digestibility. These quality parameters include the content of protein, oil, water, water‐soluble protein, ash and the biogenic substance cadaverine as well as the titration value. The study demonstrates that the mink digestibility could be predicted from combining the two reference quality parameters oil and ash with a correlation coefficient of 0.89. The best spectroscopic calibration models on the mink digestibility resulted in a correlation coefficient of 0.94 and a prediction error of 0.5 using the near‐infrared spectral ensemble and a correlation coefficient of 0.92 and a prediction error of 0.5 using the fluorescence spectral ensemble. In addition, the seven reference quality parameters could be predicted from the spectroscopic ensembles with good precision. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Building a Vision - A Practical Guide

Vision building is as old and natural as man himself. Vision building has become an effective means for individuals and organizations to set and achieve goals. A practical step by step guide to building a vision is presented, which was originally designed for building visions in groups and organizations, although with some modifications may also be used for generating individual visions.