Positional analysis of egg triacylglycerols and phospholipids from hens fed diets enriched with refined seal blubber oil

The effect of feeding laying hens with refined seal blubber oil (SBO, containing 22.2% ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids) on the fatty acids composition and regiospecific distribution of fatty acids in triacylglycerols (TAG) and phospholipids (PL) of egg produced was investigated. The hens were fed four diets containing 0 (control), 1.25, 2.5 or 5% SBO for 5 and 9 weeks. Comparison of the total fatty acids composition indicated that a 5 week feeding period was sufficient to obtain the highest amount of total polyunsaturated fatty acids in the eggs. The fatty acids composition of the egg lipids reflected the fatty acids composition of the diet. The substantial reduction in the ω6/ω3 ratio (ie 8.5 to 2.6) is of interest, and is in line with the recommendations of health authorities in several countries, where it has been suggested that the human diet should contain a ω6/ω3 ratio of 3–4. The greatest reduction of the ω6/ω3 ratio occurred for diet A (control) and diet B (1.25% SBO). Principal component analysis analysis of the fatty acids composition of egg lipid showed four clusters representing: (i) the control diet; (ii) the diet containing 1.25% SBO as well as samples obtained from feeding 2.5% SBO for 9 weeks; (iii) the diet with 5% SBO; and (iv) samples obtained from hens fed 2.5% SBO for 5 weeks. More ω‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3 PUFA) were incorporated in phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine than in TAG. Although ω3 were predominantly linked in the position Sn‐1,3 of TAG in SBO, they were esterified in the Sn‐2 position of the TAG and PL of eggs obtained after feeding laying hens with enriched diets. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Investigation into the response of barley to applied zinc

The response of barley to foliar and soil applied zinc was studied at fire low soil zinc sites in south-east Scotland over two season. None of the treatments increased the grain yield at harvest. Of the treatments studied only foliar applied zinc sulphate consistently increased the zinc content of plant tissue, and this was more marked when a split application of 2·5 + 2·5 kg ha^?1 Zn was used as opposed to a single treatment of 5 kg ha^?1 Zn. It is concluded that at the present time there is no evidence that zinc is limiting the yield potential of barley when grown on low zinc soils in this part of Scotland.     

Interlaboratory bias in the determination of mercury concentrations in commercially available fish utilizing thermal decomposition/amalgamation atomic absorption spectrophotometry

Four commercially available fish fillets were freeze-dried, homogenized, and analyzed for mercury by the Texas A&M Trace Element Research Laboratory and the Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL) utilizing thermal decomposition/amalgamation atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Two-way analysis of variance detected bias in the data between the two laboratories. Some of the bias could be attributed to different calibration curve quantitation and near detection limit quantitation, albeit causal explanations could be confounded with other effects. Knowledge of analytical bias will aid interpretation of interlaboratory data. The swordfish mercury content, as determined by both laboratories, was about 1 ppm, while mercury content found in the Atlantic salmon was about 0.021 ppm. For the Alaskan halibut, the Texas A&M measured a mercury concentration of 0.155 ppm, while the UPHL measured a mercury concentration of 0.181 ppm for the same fish. The Texas A&M determined that the Canadian-raised salmon contained about 0.019 ppm of mercury, while the UPHL determined a mercury content of about 0.025 ppm for the same fish. The mercury found within the fish fillets did not exceed nationwide mercury mean values determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.     

Fatty acids and cholesterol oxidation in salted and dried shrimp

The aim of this work was to evaluate the occurrence of cholesterol oxidation products and to analyze the lipidic profile in salted–dried shrimp. Fifty samples of salted–dried shrimp were evaluated, and the cholesterol oxides (7β-OH, 7α-OH, 7-Keto and 25-OH) were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. The cholesterol oxides: 7β-OH (34.63–72.56 μg/g), 7α-OH (5.02–12.12μg/g), 7-Keto (7.44–32.68 μg/g) and 25-OH (2.37–22.88 μg/g) were determined in all samples analyzed. Regarding to the total cholesterol content and the average thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) content, the results ranged from 73.88 to 247.69 mg/100 g, and 0.02 to 1.30 mgMA/kg, respectively. The fatty acids profile was: 27.48% saturated, 43.90% monounsaturated and 28.61% polyunsaturated. The presence of cholesterol oxidation products and the values of TBARS indicate the degree of oxidation of this product, which was probably initiated by inadequate conditions of processing and storage.     

NERC and Enforcement Issues: NERC Gains in Vegetation Management,Cyber and Physical Security,and Reliability Assurance

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) recently issued its Annual Report, in which it set forth its 2013 achievements. A few of the accomplishments stand out and are discussed below.     

The use of sensory evaluation and consumer preference for the selection of sweetpotato cultivars in East Africa

Sweetpotato is an important staple crop in East Africa with great potential for introducing improved cultivars, but little is known about which sensory characteristics are desirable. Over a 2 year period, 600 consumers were interviewed at three locations (urban and rural) in the Lake Zone of Tanzania and their preference of 14 locally available sweetpotato cultivars in cooked form was evaluated. A simple questionnaire based on consumers first‐choice preference was used followed by socio‐economic questions. A trained sensory panel profiled the cooked sweetpotato samples, enabling comparisons with preference, location and season. Cluster analysis based on the sensory attributes was used to classify the cultivars into three groups; one cluster comprised the most preferred cultivars and another contained the least. Some cultivars were consistently preferred over the 2 year period while others were not. The location where the cultivars were grown also influenced preference. Stepwise regression indicated that the most discriminating sensory attributes were starch and stickiness. Target levels based on the mean intensity scores of these attributes are suggested as a means of screening new cultivars. The implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Model for Faculty, Student, and Practitioner Development in Sustainability Engineering through an Integrated Design Experience

Sustainable development and the green building movement have been adopted faster than any recent movement in the engineering field. With over 40% of the total U.S. energy usage servicing the operation of commercial and residential buildings, this trend is well founded. Recent surveys of the industry indicate that within 4 to 5?years, a vast majority of engineering firms expect their business will be significantly dedicated to green building designs. In contrast, current academic institutions are not well positioned to prepare young engineers for this challenge, and current faculty are not well trained in the tenets of sustainability or the roles of engineers in this movement. Change must occur if the engineering and design professions are to remain relevant and responsive to societal needs. To accommodate this challenge, the writers have designed and implemented the Integrated Design Experience (IDeX), a capstone course in which undergraduate and graduate students interact with faculty and practitioners on real projects with challenging needs in sustainability. The course is designed to provide an actual and virtual space for the multitude of disciplines to interact on real designs to foster both improved research and outreach efforts. Expected outcomes from the course include both student and faculty learning on the methods and value of sustainable design as well as the development of an interdisciplinary network of faculty and practitioners involved in sustainable design. Learning is being evaluated using a continuous authentic assessment of design products. First-year results indicate that students learned interdisciplinary teamwork and communication skills, and they see substantial value in the authentic design experience. In future years, the development of the interdisciplinary network will be tracked by using social networking tools and by assessing faculty attitudes toward involvement in IDeX. Both metrics will be investigated using the diffusions of innovation framework. The combined evaluation will lead to an in-depth understanding of how the IDeX model can be scaled and replicated at other institutions.     

The targeted delivery of multicomponent cargos to cancer cells by nanoporous particle-supported lipid bilayers

Encapsulation of drugs within nanocarriers that selectively target malignant cells promises to mitigate side effects of conventional chemotherapy and to enable delivery of the unique drug combinations needed for personalized medicine. To realize this potential, however, targeted nanocarriers must simultaneously overcome multiple challenges, including specificity, stability and a high capacity for disparate cargos. Here we report porous nanoparticle-supported lipid bilayers (protocells) that synergistically combine properties of liposomes and nanoporous particles. Protocells modified with a targeting peptide that binds to human hepatocellular carcinoma exhibit a 10,000-fold greater affinity for human hepatocellular carcinoma than for hepatocytes, endothelial cells or immune cells. Furthermore, protocells can be loaded with combinations of therapeutic (drugs, small interfering RNA and toxins) and diagnostic (quantum dots) agents and modified to promote endosomal escape and nuclear accumulation of selected cargos. The enormous capacity of the high-surface-area nanoporous core combined with the enhanced targeting efficacy enabled by the fluid supported lipid bilayer enable a single protocell loaded with a drug cocktail to kill a drug-resistant human hepatocellular carcinoma cell, representing a 10(6)-fold improvement over comparable liposomes.     

The import of the cortisol rise in child care differs as a function of behavioral inhibition.

Children of ages 3 to 4.5 years (N = 107; 45 boys, 62 girls) were studied twice, 6 months apart, to examine whether the cortisol rise in child care at Time 1 (T1) was associated with (a) changes in anxious, vigilant behavior from T1 to Time 2 (T2) and (b) higher internalizing symptoms at T2. Controlling for measures of home environment and child care quality at T1, as well as for cortisol activity at T2, we obtained results indicating that behavioral inhibition moderated the associations between the rise in cortisol at T1 and child outcomes at T2 (i.e., anxious, vigilant behavior and internalizing symptoms). For both outcomes, the rise in cortisol at T1 became more positively predictive at increasing levels of behavioral inhibition. Specifically, at higher levels of behavioral inhibition, children with larger T1 cortisol increases expressed more internalizing symptoms than did children at lower levels of behavioral inhibition; in contrast, for those with low cortisol activity at T1, children with higher levels of inhibition expressed fewer internalizing symptoms than did children at lower levels of inhibition. In addition, children with higher levels of behavioral inhibition and lower cortisol activity at T1 exhibited reductions in anxious, vigilant behavior from T1 to T2, whereas at lower levels of behavioral inhibition, variations in the T1 cortisol rise bore no relation to changes in this behavior. These results suggest that the rise in cortisol at child care may have differential predictive value as a function of behaviorally inhibited temperament. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

‘Everybody's Different’: Struggles to Find Community on the Suburban Frontier

The pace of suburban development on the growth frontiers of Australian cities raises urgent urban planning and resourcing issues regarding the physical and social infrastructure that are required to support this growth. These pressures are contributing to the popularity of capital-led master-planning approaches among governments and homebuyers because of its potential to deliver urban planning and infrastructure resources to new suburbs. Master-planning approaches have largely been used to create prestige estates attracting upper-middle-class residents; however, they are increasingly being adapted for wider markets. This paper explores how these contexts are important for understanding ongoing and emerging tensions among residents living in two socio-economically and culturally diverse suburbs on the peri-urban fringe of Melbourne, Australia. The findings question the potential of capital-led master-planning approaches to deliver sound urban and social planning outcomes for socially complex suburban settings.