Effects of breed and a concentrate or grass silage diet on beef quality in cattle of 3 ages. I: Animal performance, carcass quality and muscle fatty acid composition

An increase in the intake of the n-3 series polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is recommended by nutritionists for the human diet and beef is a significant source of these fatty acids. Enhancing the n-3 PUFA content of beef is important in view of the generally saturated nature of fatty acids in ruminant meats and the potentially negative effect this can have on human health. This study examined the effects of breed and diet on the fatty acid composition of beef M. longissimus. Ninety-six steers were used, 48 Aberdeen Angus cross (AA) and 48 Holstein-Friesian (HF). At 6months of age, 3 groups were identified, to be slaughtered at 14, 19 and 24months, respectively. Each group consisted of eight steers of each breed fed on a concentrate or a grass silage diet, rich in n-6 and n-3 PUFA, respectively. The intake of the concentrate diet was restricted so that steers of each breed grew at a similar rate on each diet. The early maturing AA produced heavier, fatter carcasses with better conformation. Animals fed grass silage had higher carcass fatness and conformation scores and higher levels of neutral lipid and total lipid in muscle than those fed concentrate. When all animals were pooled, a decline in PUFA% as total muscle lipid increased was evident. Feeding a grass silage diet rich in α-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) increased levels of this fatty acid in muscle neutral lipid by a factor of about 3.0 compared with the concentrate diet, as well as enhancing the synthesis of the n-3 series long-chain C20-22 PUFA in the phospholipid fraction, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3). In contrast, both levels and proportions of linoleic acid (18:2n-6) and the n-6 series C20-22 PUFA were higher in animals fed the concentrate diet. The proportions of 18:1trans and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in muscle neutral lipid were higher in animals fed concentrate compared with silage in all 3 groups. This was partly due to increased consumption of 18:2n-6. The ratio of PUFA to saturated fatty acids (P:S) in muscle was reduced by feeding grass silage, partly as the result of increased fat deposition. However, the increase in levels of n-3 series fatty acids with silage-feeding resulted in beneficially low n-6:n-3 ratios in muscle in all age groups (approximately 1.2 compared with 12.0 in the concentrate diet). Subtle breed differences in PUFA amounts and proportions were noted. Holstein-Friesians had higher proportions of PUFA and higher P:S ratios compared with AA, partly due to a higher proportion of phospholipid in total lipid. In phospholipid itself, HF in the 19 and 24months groups had higher proportions of most n-3 PUFA. In all age groups the ratio of DHA to its precursor, 18:3n-3 was higher in HF.     

Abiotic reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethylenes by iron-bearing soil minerals. 1. Pyrite and magnetite

Abiotic reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethylenes (tetrachloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), cis-dichloroethylene (cis-DCE), and vinyl chloride (VC)) by pyrite and magnetite was characterized in a batch reactor system. Dechlorination kinetics was adequately described by a modified Langmuir-Hinshelwood model that includes the effect of a decreasing reductive capacity of soil mineral. The kinetic rate constant for the reductive dechlorination of target organics at reactive sites of soil minerals was in the range of 0.185 (+/- 0.023) to 1.71 (+/- 0.06) day(-1). The calculated specific reductive capacity of soil minerals for target organics was in the range of 0.33 (+/- 0.02) to 2.26 (+/- 0.06) microM/g and sorption coefficient was in the range of 0.181 (+/- 0.006) to 0.7 (+/- 0.022) mM(-1). Surface area-normalized pseudo-first-order initial rate constants for target organics by pyrite were found to be 23.5 to 40.3 times greater than those by magnetite. Target organics were mainly transformed to acetylene and small amount of chlorinated intermediates, which suggests that beta-elimination was the main dechlorination pathway. The dechlorination of VC followed a hydrogenolysis pathway to produce ethylene and ethane. The addition of Fe(II) increased the dechlorination rate of cis-DCE and VC in magnetite suspension by nearly a factor of 10. The results obtained in this research provide basic knowledge to better predict the fate of chlorinated ethylenes and to understand the potential of abiotic processes in natural attenuation.     

Secondary organic aerosol formation from the photooxidation of p- and o-xylene

The formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from the photooxidation of xylene isomers (m-, p-, and o-xylenes) has been extensively investigated. The dependence of SOA aerosol formation on the structure of xylene isomers in the presence of NO was confirmed. Generally, SOA formation of p-xylene was less than that of m- and o-xylenes. This discrepancy varies significantly with initial NOx levels. In a NOx-free environment, the difference of aerosol formation between o- and p-xylenes becomes insignificant. Several chemical pathways for the SOA dependence on structure and NOx are explored, with the experimental findings indicating that organic peroxides may be a major key to explaining SOA formation from aromatic hydrocarbons.     

The stress and displacement fields at the tip of crazes in glassy polymers

This analysis models a craze region in glassy polymers as an elastic transversely isotropic homogeneous inclusion of thin elliptical shape with different elastic properties from the bulk polymer. The plane elasticity problem for an applied uniform stress field is solved and the results dimensionalized with respect to the craze tip radius. Stress and strain enhancements of several times far field values are found to occur at the craze tip and are independent of craze tip radius. These results are consistent with experimentally observed characteristics of craze growth and should be important in assessing the relative merits of different criteria that have been proposed for craze growth in glassy polymers.     

Mobil Zeolite Catalysts for Monomers

It has been about 20 years since Plank, Rosinski, and Hawthorne reported their spectacular results with metal-modified zeolite cracking catalysts for more efficient production of gasoline [1]. This discovery has saved an estimated 200 million barrels of crude oil each year in the United States alone [2]. In 1972, a patent by Argauer and Landolt described the preparation of a member of a generation of new synthetic zeolites, called ZSM- 5. It was unique because of its high silica/alumina ratio and greatly reduced coking rates for reactions with hydrocarbons by comparison with known low silica zeolites [3]. This material was an early member of a series of over 50 synthetic zeolitic substances prepared in Mobil laboratories.     

Forest bioenergy or forest carbon? Assessing trade-offs in greenhouse gas mitigation with wood-based fuels

The potential of forest-based bioenergy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when displacing fossil-based energy must be balanced with forest carbon implications related to biomass harvest. We integrate life cycle assessment (LCA) and forest carbon analysis to assess total GHG emissions of forest bioenergy over time. Application of the method to case studies of wood pellet and ethanol production from forest biomass reveals a substantial reduction in forest carbon due to bioenergy production. For all cases, harvest-related forest carbon reductions and associated GHG emissions initially exceed avoided fossil fuel-related emissions, temporarily increasing overall emissions. In the long term, electricity generation from pellets reduces overall emissions relative to coal, although forest carbon losses delay net GHG mitigation by 16-38 years, depending on biomass source (harvest residues/standing trees). Ethanol produced from standing trees increases overall emissions throughout 100 years of continuous production: ethanol from residues achieves reductions after a 74 year delay. Forest carbon more significantly affects bioenergy emissions when biomass is sourced from standing trees compared to residues and when less GHG-intensive fuels are displaced. In all cases, forest carbon dynamics are significant. Although study results are not generalizable to all forests, we suggest the integrated LCA/forest carbon approach be undertaken for bioenergy studies.     

Issues in the Reconstruction of Gene Order Evolution

As genomes evolve over hundreds of millions years, the chromosomes become rearranged, with segments of some chromosomes inverted, while other chromosomes reciprocally exchange chunks from their ends. These rearrangements lead to the scrambling of the elements of one genome with respect to another descended from a common ancestor. Multidisciplinary work undertakes to mathematically model these processes and to develop statistical analyses and mathematical algorithms to understand the scrambling in the chromo...     

GLUCOSE OXIDASE REACTION FOR ESTIMATION OF GLUCOSE WITHOUT HORSERADISH PEROXIDASE. SOME MICROBIOLOGICAL AND FERMENTATION APPLICATIONS

An enzymic method has been developed for analysis of glucose. Glucose oxidase acts on glucose to produce hydrogen peroxide which acts to directly reduce the green Cu(II) 2–2′-bicinchoninate complex to a violet complex without horseradish peroxidase. A concentration range of 20–200 μM glucose was used but the reaction shows a linear range of 20–800 μM glucose. Interference is controlled by using a blank determination which has not been treated with glucose oxidase. The reaction has been used to estimate glucose levels in Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation and α-amylase, invertase and β-galactosidase reactions and coloured corn-steep fermentation media.