A study on the possibilities of using 3-methylhistidine to quantify skeletal proteins in meat trimmings

The aim of the study was to ascertain whether the amino acid 3-methylhistidine can be used to quantify skeletal meat protein in meat trimmings. 3-Methyhistidine from different carcass trimmings was quantified by a fluorescent HPLC method. Four trimmings with three subsamples each were examined. The subsamples were analysed in duplicate. The results showed high analytical variations between duplicates and subsamples. The average concentration of 3-methylhistidine in the four trimmings was 135 μg/g fat-free and connective tissue-free meat. Compared to earlier studies this value is high. Because of the rather high analytical variation, further research must be done to evaluate the use of 3-methylhistidine as an indicator for skeletal meat proteins in whole carcass trimmings.     

Lifetime,residual strength,and quality of wood and other viscoelastic building materials

A theoretical analysis of the influence of wood quality on dead load lifetime is made on the basis of the authors DVM concept of building materials (Damaged Viscoelastic Material). It is shown that low quality structural wood and high quality clear wood lives longer than normal clear wood when loaded to the same fraction of respective strengths. At middle range qualities lifetime is practically not influenced by quality. Also considered is residual strength of wood during its lifetime experience. The results presented are valid in principle for a number of building materials applying to the DVM concept.     

Characterization of iron(III) in organic soils using extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy

The distribution of different iron (Fe) species in soils, sediments, and surface waters has a large influence on the mobility and availability of Fe, other nutrients, and potentially toxic trace elements. However, the knowledge about the specific forms of Fe that occurs in these systems is limited, especially regarding associations of Fe with natural organic matter (NOM). In this study, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy was used to characterize Fe(III) in organic soils (pH 4.6-6.0) with varying natural Fe content. The EXAFS data were subjected to wavelet transform analysis, to facilitate the identification of the nature of backscattering atoms, and to conventional EXAFS data fitting. The collective results showed the existence of two pools of iron: mononuclear Fe(III)-NOM complexes and precipitated Fe(III) (hydr)oxides. In the soil with lowest pH (4.6) and Fe content mononuclear organic complexes were the completely dominating fraction whereas in soils with higher pH and Fe content increasing amounts of Fe (hydr)oxides were detected. These results are of environmental importance, as the different iron pools most likely have markedly different reactivities.     

Nitrite and nitrate content in meat products and estimated intake in Denmark from 1998 to 2006

The content of nitrite and nitrate in cured meat products has been monitored in Denmark seven times between 1995 and 2006. The maximum permitted added amounts of sodium nitrite in Denmark (60 mg kg(-1) for most products up to 150 mg kg(-1) for special products) have not been exceeded, except for a few samples back in 2002. The intake, mean and intake distribution of sodium nitrite have been calculated from 1998 to 2006 with data from the Danish dietary survey conducted in 2000-02 on Danes from four to 75 years of age. The amounts used by industry have been relatively stable through the whole period with levels varying between 6 and 20 mg sodium nitrite kg(-1) with sausages, meat for open sandwiches and salami-type sausages being the greatest contributors. The mean intake of sodium nitrate was around 1 mg day(-1), which is very low compared with the total intake of 61 mg day(-1). The mean intake of sodium nitrite was 0.017 and 0.014, 0.009 and 0.008, and 0.007 and 0.003 mg kg(-1) body weight day(-1) for men and women in the age groups 4-5, 6-14 and 15-75 years, respectively, which was much lower than the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0.09 mg kg(-1) body weight day(-1). The 99th percentile for the group of 4-year-olds was 0.107 and 0.123 mg kg(-1) body weight day(-1) for boys and girls, respectively, and the 95th percentile was 0.057 and 0.073 mg kg(-1) body weight day(-1) for boys and girls, respectively, highest for the girls. With fewer than 100 boys and girls in the 4-5-year age group, only very few persons were responsible for the high intake. The conversion of nitrate to nitrite in the saliva and the degradation of nitrite during production and storage must also be considered when evaluating the intake of nitrite.     

Characterization of volatiles from cultured dairy spreads during storage by dynamic headspace GC/MS

The effect of storage time and storage temperature on the formation of volatile compounds in dairy spreads was investigated. Dairy spreads were stored for 10 weeks at -18, 5 and 20 °C, respectively, and analyzed after 0, 38, 54 and 67 days of storage. By means of a dynamic headspace GC/MS method using Tenax traps the dairy spreads were analyzed for volatile aromatic compounds. 61 components were identified and their relative content was followed during the storage period. Among these were four alcohols, 17 aldehydes, four esters, ten alkanes, 11 ketones and six lactones. A general increase in the concentration of most of the volatile compounds during storage was found. The content of volatile compounds in dairy spreads stored at -18 °C was nearly constant or showed a rather low increase in the content during the storage period. Storage at higher temperatures (5 and 20 °C) resulted in an increase in the content of most of the volatiles after 40 days of storage. The profiles obtained were subjected to multivariate data analysis to determine the volatiles potentially responsible for oxidized off-flavors in dairy spread. The volatiles were divided into three groups: one correlated with storage temperature and 5 °C, one with storage time and 20 °C and the last with storage time alone. Most of the volatiles were found in the highest concentration after storage at 20 °C, but the content of some volatiles was highest after storage at 5 °C.     

A longitudinal observational study of the dynamics of Mycoplasma bovis antibodies in naturally exposed and diseased dairy cows

Mycoplasma bovis is an important pathogen causing disease and substantial economic losses in cattle. However, knowledge of the dynamics of antibody responses in individual cows in the face of an outbreak is currently extremely limited. The use of commercial antibody tests to support clinical decision-making and for surveillance purposes is therefore challenging. Our objective was to describe the dynamics of M. bovis antibody responses in 4 Danish dairy herds experiencing an acute outbreak of M. bovis-associated disease, and to compare the antibody dynamics between dairy cows with different disease manifestations. A total of 120 cows were examined using a standardized clinical protocol and categorized into 4 disease groups: “mastitis,” “systemic,” “nonspecific,” and “none.” Paired blood and milk samples were collected and tested using a commercial M. bovis antibody–detecting ELISA. Plots of raw data and generalized additive mixed models with cow and herd as random effects were used to describe serum and milk antibody dynamics relative to the estimated time of onset of clinical disease. Cows with mastitis had high optical density measurement (ODC%) of antibodies in both milk and serum at disease onset. The estimated mean ODC% in milk was below the manufacturer's cut-off for the other groups for the entire study period. The estimated mean serum ODC% in the “systemic” group was high at onset of disease and stayed above the cut-off until 65 d after disease onset. However, the lower 95% confidence interval (CI) for the mean ODC% was only above the manufacturer's cut-off between 7 and 17 d after onset of disease. The CI of the “systemic” and “none” groups did not overlap at any time between the day of disease onset and 65 d after disease onset, and the estimated mean ODC% for both the “nonspecific” and “none” groups were generally below the cut-off for the majority of the study period. In conclusion, the serum antibody responses were highly dynamic and showed a high level of variation between individual cows. This strongly suggests that serology is unlikely to be useful for individual diagnosis of M. bovis-associated disease in dairy cows. However, it might still be useful for herd- or group-level diagnosis. Antibodies in milk were only increased in cows with M. bovis mastitis, indicating that milk antibody measurements only have diagnostic utility for cows with mastitis.     

Nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete

This paper discusses the development of two different computer programs for nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete structures.The first program handles plane stress problems. Flow theory of plasticity is used in the modelling of concrete and reinforcement. General four-noded quadrilateral elements with selective sampling of strain are used in the discretization.The second program is developed for analysis of plates and shells. Endochronic theory is used in the constitutive law for concrete whereas an overlay model is utilized for the reinforcement. Geometric nonlinearities are accounted for through updating of coordinates for the triangular shell elements.Several examples of applications of the two programs are given. The plane stress program is used for analysis of a beam and two different corbels, while the shell program has been applied to a square plate and a shell with geometric nonlinearities.     

Calculation of turbulent three-dimensional jet induced flow in rectangular enclosures

Numerical calculations are presented for two jet induced three-dimensional flows in rectangular enclosures. The computation method uses the three velocity components and pressure as primary variables. Turbulence is modeled by a two-equation model, which incorporates governing equations for kinetic energy of turbulence and its rate dissipation. Results are compared with available velocity data. Comparisons between measured and predicted results are in general good, although some discrepancies are found. Predicted fields of both mean and isotropic turbulence velocities are shown for both cases.     

Serum concentrations of polyfluoroalkyl compounds in Faroese whale meat consumers

To learn the extent of human exposure to polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) in a remote fishing population, we measured, in Faroese children and pregnant women, the serum concentrations of nine PFCs, including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and perfluorononanoate (PFNA), by using online solid-phase extraction coupled to isotope dilution high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The serum samples analyzed had been collected between 1993 and 2005 from 103 children 7 years of age, 79 of these children at 14 years of age, and from 12 pregnant women and their children 5 years later. PFOS was detected in all samples analyzed, and both PFOA and PFNA were detected in all but one of the samples. The concentrations found are comparable tothose reported elsewhere. Correlations between paired concentrations were poor. However, PFOS and PFNA concentrations correlated well with the frequency of pilotwhale dinners and with concentrations of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls. One whale meal every two weeks increased the PFOS concentration in 14-year-olds by about 25% and PFNA by 50%. The high frequency of detection of most PFCs suggests widespread exposure in the Faroe Islands already by the early 1990s, with whale meat being an important source.