The development of a combined surface adhesion and polymerase chain reaction technique in the rapid detection of Listeria monocytogenes in meat and poultry.

A procedure combining enrichment surface adhesion and polymerase chain detection (SA-PCR) was developed and applied in the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in meat products. Minced beef samples were inoculated with L. monocytogenes (log(10)3 cfu g(-1)) and incubated for 10 h at 30 degrees C in buffered peptone water. L. monocytogenes was recovered from the culture by attachment to a polycarbonate membrane immersed for 15 min in the enriched meat culture. The membrane and attached bacteria were removed from the culture and the membrane dissolved in phenol:chloroform. The DNA was extracted from the bacteria and a PCR assay was carried out using primers directed against the listerolysin O gene of L. monocytogenes. The combined (SA-PCR) technique had a detection limit of log10 4.0 cfu ml(-1) in enriched meat cultures.The rapid technique was applied to a small number of retail samples (n = 100) and was found to compare favourably to the standard cultural method. A total of 12 samples were confirmed positive for L. monocytogenes using the standard cultural method and the SA-PCR assay. No false positives or negatives were recorded by either method.     

Chemical nature and potential mobility of phosphorus in fertilized grassland soils

This paper describes results from a study of the effects of various applications of phosphorus (P) on the amounts, forms and potential mobility of P in grassland soils (0-7.5 cm) collected from four locations in the United Kingdom (Hertfordshire, Devon) and New Zealand (Taranaki, Canterbury). A sequential extraction scheme (NH₄Cl, NH₄F, NaOH I, H₂SO₄, NaOH II, residual P) designed to isolate P associated with aluminium (Al), iron (Fe) and calcium (Ca) was used to characterise P in the grassland soils from each location which had received various quantities of mineral fertilizer, organic manure and lime. Concentrations of total P in the soils ranged from 540 to 3,994 mg P kg^-1, and sequential extraction recovered 80–94% of total soil P. Extractable forms of inorganic P and organic P accounted for 40–52% and 31–50% of total soil P respectively. Inorganic and organic P present in the NaOH I fraction (P associated with Fe, Al and organic matter) accounted for most of the P which accumulated in soil from P inputs. Distribution of accumulated soil P between the various inorganic and organic P fractions appeared to be mainly controlled by the nature and availability of sorption surfaces which act as sinks for inorganic P. Phosphate sorption index data for the various soil sets indicated that the mean value of bicarbonate extractable inorganic P (Olsen P) which represented effective P saturation ranged from 61 to 217 mg P kg^-1. Potentially mobile soil P as determined by extraction with 0.01M calcium chloride (CaCl₂) was found to be most strongly correlated to the NH₄F, NaOH I and H₂SO₄ inorganic P fractions using a Freundlich isotherm.     

Phosphorus losses in subsurface flow before and after manure application to intensively farmed land.

A study was conducted to examine the loss of P in subsurface flow from three cultivated soils of varying soil P concentrations. Measurements were made in flow waters from the soils before applying manure and then 3 weeks after sowing the soils to grass. An additional measurement of P in flow waters was made 1 year later. Dissolved reactive P (DRP) concentrations measured in flow water before (0.15-0.20 mg l(-1)) and after (0.39-0.51 mg l(-1)) manure application exceed current estimates of those required to promote surface water eutrophication (0.05 mg l(-1)). Concentrations of DRP1 year after manurial application increased compared to 3 weeks after application and was attributed to the slow movement of P down the cultivated soil. Concentrations of soil P were significantly increased down the soil profile and attributed to the P saturation of soils before manurial application. The results suggest that despite the establishment of fast growing grass, P concentrations would not be mitigated in the short-term (= 1 year), due to the large contribution of P in subsurface pathways.     

The chemical oxidation of catechins and other phenolics: A study of the formation of black tea pigments

The chemical oxidation of polyphenols has been used to produce black tea pigments. (+)-Catechin, (?)-epicatechin, (?)-epicatechin gallate and (?)-epigallocatechin gallate were isolated from convenient sources, their identity being confirmed by mass spectrometry and HPLC. The oxidation of a mixture of (?)-epicatechin gallate and gallic acid gave an oxidation product of (?)-epicatechin gallate in addition to epitheaflavic acid 3-gallate. The catechins were oxidised chemically and the products analysed by HPLC, the chromatograms being compared with a black tea chromatogram. The reactions gave both resolved and unresolved pigments, and many of the resolved pigments had HPLC retention times close to black tea pigments. Each catechin behaved differently, the chromatograms of the oxidation products from each starting material being clearly distinguishable. Resolved pigments were obtained by the chemical oxidation of other phenolic compounds. This work provides a convenient method for studying the formation of resolved and unresolved black tea pigments.     

New Experimental Evidence about the Dyeing of Polyester Materials with Disperse Dyes

It is shown for the polyester-water-disperse dye system that the thermodynamic parameters obtained from sorption data can differ from those obtained from the saturation solubilities of the dye in the two phases. The difference is due to deviations from linearity in the sorption isotherms. The causes of these deviations for disperse dyes on polyester materials are discussed in some detail.     

Changes in equine endometrial retinol-binding protein RNA during the estrous cycle and early pregnancy and with exogenous steroids

A cDNA library was constructed from poly(A) RNA obtained from Day 14 nonbred equine endometrium. A cDNA probe for porcine retinol-binding protein (RBP) was used to screen the library, and a complete cDNA sequence (1133 bp, excluding the poly(A) tail) was obtained. Endometrial biopsies were obtained from cycling, nonbred mares at Days 0, 1, 4, 8, 10, 11, 13, and 15 and from pregnant mares at Days 11, 13, 15, and 17 after ovulation (n = 2 mares each day). Endometrial biopsies were also taken from 18 noncycling anestrous mares after the following treatments: C (vehicle control for 1 day, n = 3), E (estradiol-17 valerate, 5 mg/day for 6 days, n = 3), P (progesterone, 250 mg/day for 6 days, n = 4), ESP (E for 6 days followed by, P for 6 days, n = 4), and ELP (E for 6 days followed by P for 12 days, n = 4). Northern blot analyses were performed on total RNA (30 micrograms) using cDNA probes to equine (e) RBP and human glyceraldehyde-3 phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH). The RBP RNA levels (normalized to G3PDH) from nonbred mares were low during early diestrus and increased after Day 10, and RBP RNA levels from pregnant mares were similar to those of nonbred mares for corresponding days. E tended to decrease endometrial RBP RNA; and P, ESP, and ELP increased it compared to C. There were no significant differences among P, ESP, and ELP RBP RNA levels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Isolation,identification, and biological activity of trail-following pheromone of termiteTrinervitermes bettonianus (Sjöstedt) (Termitidae:Nasutitermitinae)

The principal compound which posseses trail-following activity at low concentration has been isolated from workers and from female alates of the grass feeding termiteTrinervitermes bettonianus. Male alates also produce the pheromone but in much smaller quantities than the female. The structure of the pheromone was determined as the diterpene hydrocarbon cembrene-A from spectra and microscale reaction data.     

Genetic methods of improving dairy cattle for the south: a review and prospects from Regional Project S-49

Objectives of Southern Regional Research Project S-49, comprising eight contributing experiment stations, are to determine direct response to selection in milk and the resultant correlated responses in nonyield traits, to define and evaluate selection criteria for total economic merit or profit, to quantify genetic and environmental components of underlying physiological characters responsible for genetic gains in economically important traits, to determine interactions of genotype by environment, and to estimate genetic values for males and females. More than 150 scientific articles from S-49 have been published in journals from 1975 to 1985. These results have contributed in a major way in identifying issues and understanding the genetic control of cow performance and economics of genetic improvement programs.     

The effect of excessive dietary vitamin A on performance and vitamin E status in swine fed diets varying in dietary vitamin E

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of high dietary vitamin A on vitamin E status and performance of growing-finishing pigs fed diets supplemented with varying levels of vitamin E. Treatments consisted of corn-soybean meal-based diets supplemented with retinyl acetate to provide 2,000 or 20,000 IU of vitamin A/kg of diet and with DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate to provide 0, 15, or 150 IU of added vitamin E/kg in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement. The trial involved 84 crossbred pigs (26 kg initial BW) allotted to pens of two pigs each (one gilt, one barrow). Serum was obtained from all pigs on d 0, 3, 7, 21, 35, 63, and 77 of the 83- or 90-d feeding period. Tissue samples (liver, leg, and neck muscle, backfat, and leaf fat) were collected from one pig (barrow) in each pen at the end of the feeding period. Average daily gain and gain:feed were .93 kg and .30, respectively, without treatment differences (P > .10). Serum alpha-tocopherol increased linearly (P < .01) by d 3 with increasing level of dietary vitamin E supplementation. High dietary vitamin A resulted in a small decrease (P < .01) in serum alpha-tocopherol on d 3, but serum alpha-tocopherol concentration was not affected (P > .10) on other days. Tissue alpha-tocopherol increased linearly (P < .001) as dietary vitamin E increased in all tissues examined. No consistent evidence was found to indicate that a high level of dietary vitamin A interfered with performance or with blood serum or tissue alpha-tocopherol concentrations in growing-finishing swine.