Cooked and brined shrimps packed in a modified atmosphere have a shelf-life of >7 months at 0 °C, but spoil in 4–6 days at 25 °C

Summary Spoilage and safety of cooked, brined and modified atmosphere packed shrimps were studied at 0, 5, 8, 15 and 25 °C. Shrimps from two sources, cold and warm waters, were brined in a sodium–chloride brine containing benzoic, citric and sorbic acids. Shelf-life was above 7 months at 0 °C but only 4–6 days at 25 °C. Apparent activation energy for the effect of temperature on shelf-life was > 100 kJ mol^-1. This pronounced effect of temperature was explained by changes in spoilage microflora at different storage temperatures. Simple and empirical mathematical models for rates of spoilage were developed for the prediction of shelf-life at different temperatures. To evaluate safety, products were challenged with Listeria monocytogenes and spores of Clostridium botulinum . Above 5 °C growth responses of L. monocytogenes followed the square root model with a T_min-value of +0.2 °C. Cl. botulinum produced toxin at the time of spoilage at 25 °C but only in shrimps with < 3% water-phase salt.     

Designing an effective management system for enterprises: Concepts and verification

In this article lean and agile manufacturing are considered as separate organizational strategies of enterprise management. Therefore, a model of these strategies for business situations as well as assigning modern concepts and methods of management to these strategies and business segments has been proposed. This model, called LABDM (lean agile business development model), has been provisionally verified in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises from the gas engineering industry in the Wielkopolska province in Poland. In 17 enterprises of this industry the use of modern concepts and methods of management have been studied. With the help of the rough sets theory, a set of concepts and methods that are crucial for the effective enterprises has been identified. By comparing these concepts and methods to the LABDM, the model's rationality is proven. In conclusion, the LABDM can be used as a tool when considering a lean or agile strategy, and modern concepts and methods that are associated with these strategies. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Ultrasonic-Assisted Osmotic Dehydration of Carrot Followed by Convective Drying with Continuous and Intermittent Heating

The aim of the studies was to analyze the effect of ultrasound action on osmotic pretreatment and then on drying kinetics in continuous and intermittent drying conditions, and on the final product quality. This article presents the results of intermittent-convective drying of carrot preceded by ultrasonic assisted osmotic dehydration in fructose aqueous solutions. The theoretical drying kinetics developed from the numerical solution of mathematical model is validated using the experimental data. It has been shown that combination of ultrasonic assisted osmosis with intermittent-convective drying accelerates the drying process and improves the quality of dried biomaterial. A good adherence of the numerically determined kinetic curves confirms the usefulness of the presented model and its possible application to construction of controlled and optimized drying processes.     

Development and validation of an extensive growth and growth boundary model for psychrotolerant Lactobacillus spp. in seafood and meat products

A new and extensive growth and growth boundary model for psychrotolerant Lactobacillus spp. was developed and validated for processed and unprocessed products of seafood and meat. The new model was developed by refitting and expanding an existing cardinal parameter model for growth and the growth boundary of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in processed seafood (O. Mejlholm and P. Dalgaard, J. Food Prot. 70. 2485–2497, 2007). Initially, to estimate values for the maximum specific growth rate at the reference temperature of 25 °C (μ_ref) and the theoretical minimum temperature that prevents growth of psychrotolerant LAB (T_min), the existing LAB model was refitted to data from experiments with seafood and meat products reported not to include nitrite or any of the four organic acids evaluated in the present study. Next, dimensionless terms modelling the antimicrobial effect of nitrite, and acetic, benzoic, citric and sorbic acids on growth of Lactobacillus sakei were added to the refitted model, together with minimum inhibitory concentrations determined for the five environmental parameters. The new model including the effect of 12 environmental parameters, as well as their interactive effects, was successfully validated using 229 growth rates (μ_max values) for psychrotolerant Lactobacillus spp. in seafood and meat products. Average bias and accuracy factor values of 1.08 and 1.27, respectively, were obtained when observed and predicted μ_max values of psychrotolerant Lactobacillus spp. were compared. Thus, on average μ_max values were only overestimated by 8%. The performance of the new model was equally good for seafood and meat products, and the importance of including the effect of acetic, benzoic, citric and sorbic acids and to a lesser extent nitrite in order to accurately predict growth of psychrotolerant Lactobacillus spp. was clearly demonstrated. The new model can be used to predict growth of psychrotolerant Lactobacillus spp. in seafood and meat products e.g. prediction of the time to a critical cell concentration of bacteria is considered useful for establishing the shelf life. In addition, the high number of environmental parameters included in the new model makes it flexible and suitable for product development as the effect of substituting one combination of preservatives with another can be predicted. In general, the performance of the new model was unacceptable for other types of LAB including Carnobacterium spp., Leuconostoc spp. and Weissella spp.     

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) serotype in the asymptomatic HCV-infected patients from selected groups

In asymptomatic hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected blood donors and persons from high risk groups (intravenous drug users and hemodialyzed patients) HCV serotypes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 have been detected. The most frequent was serotype 1. In the group of intravenous drug users (IDU) a coexistence of different serotypes was observed.     

Trend reversal of nitrate in Danish groundwater--a reflection of agricultural practices and nitrogen surpluses since 1950

This paper assesses the long-term development in the oxic groundwater nitrate concentration and nitrogen (N) loss due to intensive farming in Denmark. First, up to 20-year time-series from the national groundwater monitoring network enable a statistically systematic analysis of distribution, trends, and trend reversals in the groundwater nitrate concentration. Second, knowledge about the N surplus in Danish agriculture since 1950 is used as an indicator of the potential loss of N. Third, groundwater recharge CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) age determination allows linking of the first two data sets. The development in the nitrate concentration of oxic groundwater clearly mirrors the development in the national agricultural N surplus, and a corresponding trend reversal is found in groundwater. Regulation and technical improvements in the intensive farming in Denmark have succeeded in decreasing the N surplus by 40% since the mid 1980s, while at the same time maintaining crop yields and increasing the animal production of especially pigs. Trend analyses prove that the youngest (0-15 years old) oxic groundwater shows more pronounced significant downward nitrate trends (44%) than the oldest (25-50 years old) oxic groundwater (9%). This amounts to clear evidence of the effect of reduced nitrate leaching on groundwater nitrate concentrations in Denmark.     

Hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and Thermoelectric Generator for Maximum Power Output in Micro-CHP Systems

One of the most obvious early market applications for thermoelectric generators (TEG) is decentralized micro combined heat and power (CHP) installations of 0.5 kWe to 5 kWe based on fuel cell technology. Through the use of TEG technology for waste heat recovery it is possible to increase the electricity production in micro-CHP systems by more than 15%, corresponding to system electrical efficiency increases of some 4 to 5 percentage points. This will make fuel cell-based micro-CHP systems very competitive and profitable and will also open opportunities in a number of other potential business and market segments which are not yet quantified. This paper quantifies a micro-CHP system based on a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and a high-performance TE generator. Based on a 3 kW fuel input, the hybrid SOFC implementation boosts electrical output from 945 W to 1085 W, with 1794 W available for heating purposes.     

Mutations in the hepatocyte nuclear factor-1alpha gene in Caucasian families originally classified as having Type I diabetes

Mutations in the hepatocyte nuclear factor-1alpha (HNF-1alpha) gene are the cause of maturity-onset diabetes of the young type 3 (MODY3), which is characterised by a severe impairment of insulin secretion and an early onset of the disease. Also at onset of diabetes some MODY patients show similar clinical symptoms and signs as patients with Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of MODY3 patients misclassified as Type I diabetic patients. From a large population-based sample of unrelated Danish Caucasian Type I diabetic patients with an affected first degree relative, 39 patients (6.7%) who did not carry any high-risk HLA-haplotypes, i.e. DR3 or DR4 or both were examined by single-strand conformational polymorphism scanning and direct sequencing of the coding region and the minimal promoter of the HNF-1alpha gene. Four of the 39 Type I diabetic patients (10%) were identified as carrying mutations in the HNF-1alpha gene. One patient carried a missense mutation (Glu48Lys) in exon 1, two patients carried a missense mutation (Cys241Gly) in exon 4 and one patient carried a frameshift mutation (Pro291fsdelA) in exon 4. The mutations were all identified in heterozygous form, segregated with diabetes, and were not identified in 84 unrelated, healthy subjects. Furthermore, family history in three of the four families showed diabetes in four consecutive generations, suggestive of an autosomal dominant inheritance. In conclusion, about 10% of Danish diabetic patients without a high-risk HLA-haplotype, originally classified as having Type I diabetes could have diabetes caused by mutations in the HNF-1alpha gene. Clinical awareness of family history of diabetes and mode of inheritance might help to identify and reclassify these diabetic subjects as MODY3 patients.     

Parenteral nutrition in postoperative period

Results of surgical procedures in malnutrished patients are worse than in well-nutrished patients. Perioperative nutritional treatment lead to diminished percentage of postoperative complications and mortality. Authors presents the influence of early postoperative enteral nutrition in 35 malnutrished patients on body composition and anthropometrical and biochemical parameters of their nutritional status. Results shows that enteral nutrition in postoperative phase can decrease catabolic effect of surgical treatment.