Survey of undeclared egg allergen levels in the most frequently recalled food types (including products bearing precautionary labelling)

Since the number of recalls involving undeclared allergens is commonly associated with bakery and snack foods, we aimed to determine the frequency of egg allergens in a large number of these products using two commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. Samples were chosen that either had no egg identified on the product label or which had an egg precautionary statement. Among all samples, egg protein was detected in 5% of products using a Morinaga (MO) kit and 1% of products using a R-Biopharm (RB) kit. For bakery samples, egg protein was detected in 6% of 363 samples with no precautionary labelling (6% by MO and 1% by RB kit) and 12% of 80 samples which had precautionary labelling. For snack samples, egg protein was detected in 2% of 371 samples with no precautionary labelling (2% by MO and < 1% by RB kit) and 5% of 21 samples which had precautionary labelling. The disagreement rates between two methods were 5.2% for bakery products and 2.6% for snack products. The sample repeatability was at an acceptable level for bakery (< 12.5%) and snack foods (< 7.5%) for each method. The relative standard deviation between test kits was high (103.1%) for bakery foods. Four bakery products without precautionary labelling had a higher level of egg protein per serving compared with the eliciting dose (ED₁₀ of 3.7 mg protein) for egg allergic patients. These results highlight the fact that detection methodology plays a vital role for accurate labelling control and mitigation of risk for egg allergic consumers.     

Effects of mineral oil coating on internal quality of chicken eggs under refrigerated storage

The selected internal qualities (weight loss, Haugh unit, yolk index, and albumen pH) of noncoated and mineral oil‐coated chicken eggs during 15 weeks of storage at 4 °C and/or during 5 weeks of storage at 25 °C were evaluated. Results indicated that, without refrigeration, the noncoated and mineral oil‐coated eggs rapidly changed from AA to C and B grades as measured by Haugh unit, respectively, after 5 weeks of storage. However, the AA quality of the noncoated eggs could be maintained under refrigerated storage (4 °C) for at least 5 weeks. The mineral oil coating and refrigerated storage (4 °C) synergistically minimised weight loss and preserved the albumen and yolk qualities of chicken eggs during a long‐term storage. At 4 °C, the mineral oil‐coated eggs preserved the initial AA grade for at least 15 weeks with l.19% weight loss.     

Analysis of lagoon samples from different concentrated animal feeding operations for estrogens and estrogen conjugates

Although Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) have been identified as potentially important sources for the release of estrogens into the environment, information is lacking on the concentrations of estrogens in whole lagoon effluents (including suspended solids) which are used for land application. Lagoons associated with swine, poultry, and cattle operations were sampled at three locations each for direct analysis for estrogens by GC/ MS/MS and estrogen conjugates by LC/MS/MS. Estrogen conjugates were also analyzed indirectly by first subjecting the same samples to enzyme hydrolysis. Solids from centrifuged samples were extracted for free estrogens to estimate total estrogen load. Total free estrogen levels (estrone, 17alpha-estradiol, 17beta-estradiol, estriol) were generally higher in swine primary (1000-21000 ng/L), followed by poultry primary (1800-4000 ng/L), dairy secondary (370-550 ng/L), and beef secondary (22-24 ng/L) whole lagoon samples. Swine and poultry lagoons contained levels of 17(alpha-estradiol comparable to those of 17beta-estradiol. Confirmed estrogen conjugates included estrone-3-sulfate (2-91 ng/L), 17beta-estradiol-3-sulfate (8-44 ng/L), 17alpha-estradiol-3-sulfate (141-182 ng/L), and 17beta-estradiol-17-sulfate (72-84 ng/L) in some lagoons. Enzymatic hydrolysis indicated the presence of additional unidentified estrogen conjugates not detected bythe LC/MS/MS method. In most cases estrogen conjugates accounted for at least a third of the total estrogen equivalents. Collectively, these methods can be used to better determine estrogen loads from CAFO operations, and this research shows that estrogen conjugates contribute significantly to the overall estrogen load, even in different types of CAFO lagoons.     

An Innovative Submerged Entry Nozzle Design for Billet and Bloom Casting

Fluid flow in the mold has a significant impact on the quality of continuously cast steel products.Since it is strongly influenced by the SEN design,attention h...     

The Spatial Patterning of Alcohol Outlets in Post-Disaster Christchurch,New Zealand: Practical and Policy Implications

Natural disasters greatly impact the environment of affected societies with often unknown consequences. In this study we examine the impact that the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010–2011 had on the distribution of alcohol outlets in Christchurch, New Zealand. Specifically, we compare the distribution of both on-site and off-site alcohol outlets pre- (December 2009) and post-earthquake (December 2014) and use spatial regression models to identify whether any neighbourhood-level factors predict the observed redistributions. Overall, the number of alcohol outlets decreased by almost 13% after the Canterbury Earthquakes. However, we found a moderate increase in the clustering of both outlet types of outlets in the post-quake period. Increases in rates of both on-site and off-site alcohol outlets in neighbourhoods were positively associated with the percentage of residents who resided in their neighbourhood < 5 years and with neighbourhood crime rate change, while negative associations were found with percentage population aged between 15 and 29 years. The results suggest that the changing spatial distribution of alcohol outlets in Christchurch was not random but driven, in part, by the emergent demographic composition of neighbourhoods. The significant practical and policy implications of a redistribution of alcohol outlets are outlined providing a tangible link between empirical research and practice in an urban environment plagued with post-disaster spatial and social uncertainties.     

Naive Beliefs in Baseball: Systematic Distortion in Perceived Time of Apex for Fly Balls.

When fielders catch fly balls they use geometric properties to optically maintain control over the ball. The strategy provides ongoing guidance without indicating precise positional information concerning where the ball is located in space. Here, the authors show that observers have striking misconceptions about what the motion of projectiles should look like from various perspectives and that they estimate when the physical apex of a fly ball occurs to be far later than actual, irrespective of baseball experience. Their estimations are consistent with the highest point they are looking at as the ball approaches, not with the physical apex. These findings introduce a new and robust effect in intuitive perception in which people confuse their perceptual perspective with the physical situation that they mentally represent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nature of defocus fringes in scanning-transmission electron microscope images

Experimental observations have been made of the fringe contrast which appears at the terminating edges of thin objects in defocused, scanning-transmission electron micrographs. In general only a single bright fringe is present and the displacement and width of this fringe was found to vary linearly with defocus, indicating the contrast does not result from simple-Fresnel diffraction. A model for this contrast, based on the refraction of incident electrons by the object edge, is shown to explain the observed results.     

Comparison of nitrogen bases generated via HCl precipitation and ion exchange chromatography

Nitrogen base fractions were prepared from a heavy coal-derived liquid via two commonly accepted laboratory procedures and partially characterized. Significant differences in the composition of the two fractions suggest strongly that extreme caution should be exercised in interpreting and comparing the results of base characterization studies in which different base isolation procedures are used.     

Essentiality of dietary ω3 fatty acids for premature infants: Plasma and red blood cell fatty acid composition

Pre-term infants, that are not breast-fed, are deprived of vital intrauterine fat accretion during late pregnancy and must rely on formula to obtain fatty acids essential for normal development, particularly of the visual system. Preterm infants (30 wk postconception) receiving human milk were compared to infants given one of the following formulae: Formula A was a commercial preterm formula with predominantly 18∶2ω6 (24.2%) and low (0.5%) 18∶3ω3; Formula B was based on soy oil and contained similar 18∶2ω6 levels (20%) and high 18∶3ω3 (2.7%); Formula C was also a soy oil-based formula (20% 18∶2, 1.4% 18∶3) but was supplemented with marine oil to provide ω3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCP) at a level (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA, 0.35%) equivalent to human milk. At entry (10 days of age), the fatty acid composition of plasma and red blood cell (RBC) membrane lipids of the formula groups were identical. By 36 wk postconception, the DHA content in lipids of group A was significantly reduced compared to that in the human milk and marine oil formula groups. Omega-3 LCP results were further amplified by 57 wk with compensatory increases in 22∶5ω6 in both plasma and RBC lipids. Provision of 2.7% α-linolenic acid in formula group B was sufficient to maintain 22∶6ω3 levels equivalent to those in human milk-fed infants at 36 wk but not at 57 wk. Effects on the production of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and fragility of RBC attributable to the marine oil supplementation were negligible. The results support the essentiality of ω3 fatty acids for preterm infants to obtain fatty acid profiles comparable to infants receiving human milk. Formula for preterm infants should be supplemented with ω3 fatty acids including LCP. Based on a paper presented at the Symposium on Milk Lipids held at the AOCS Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, April 1990.     

Determination of tetrachloroethylene—Results of a collaborative study and the standardized method

The development, by collaborative study, of a standardized method for the determination of tetrachloroethylene in olive oils is described. The results of the study, which was carried out in 1989 under the direction of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), are presented and show that tetrachloroethylene can be readily determined, to an acceptable degree of precision, by gas-liquid chromatography with electron capture detection. A limited number of results obtained for the determination of trichloroethylene and chloroform by the same method indicate that a similar precision could be obtained with the method when determining these solvents also.