Mild processing of seafood—A review

Recent years have shown a tremendous increase in consumer demands for healthy, natural, high-quality convenience foods, especially within the fish and seafood sector. Traditional processing technologies such as drying or extensive heating can cause deterioration of nutrients and sensory quality uncompilable with these demands. This has led to development of many novel processing technologies, which include several mild technologies. The present review highlights the potential of mild thermal, and nonthermal physical, and chemical technologies, either used alone or in combination, to obtain safe seafood products with good shelf life and preference among consumers. Moreover, applications and limitations are discussed to provide a clear view of the potential for future development and applications. Some of the reviewed technologies, or combinations thereof, have shown great potential for non-seafood products, yet data are missing for fish and seafood in general. The present paper visualizes these knowledge gaps and the potential for new technology developments in the seafood sector. Among identified gaps, the combination of mild heating (e.g., sous vide or microwave) with more novel technologies such as pulsed electric field, pulsed light, soluble gas stabilization, cold plasma, or Ohmic heat must be highlighted. However, before industrial applications are available, more research is needed.     

New Orleans soil lead (Pb) cleanup using Mississippi River alluvium: need, feasibility, and cost

In New Orleans, LA prior to hurricane Katrina 20-30% of inner-city children had elevated blood Pb levels > or =10 microg/ dL and 10 census tracts had a median surface soil level of Pb >1000 mg/kg (2.5 times the U.S. standard). This project tests the feasibility of transporting and grading contaminated properties (n = 25) with 15 cm (6 in.) of clean Mississippi River alluvium from the Bonnet Carré Spillway (BCS) (median soil Pb content 4.7 mg/kg; range 1.7-22.8). The initial median surface soil Pb was 1051 mg/kg (maximum 19 627). After 680 metric tons (750 tons) of clean soil cover was emplaced on 6424 m2 (69 153 ft2), the median surface soil Pb decreased to 6 mg/kg (range 3-18). Interior entrance wipe samples were collected at 10 homes before and after soil treatment and showed a decreasing trend of Pb (p value = 0.048) from a median of 52 microg/ft2 to a median of 36 microg/ft2 (25th and 75th percentiles are 22 and 142 microg/ft2 and 12 and 61 microg/ft2, respectively). Average direct costs for properties with homes were $3,377 ($1.95 per square foot), with a range of $1,910-7,020, vs $2,622 ($0.61 per square foot), with a range of $2,400-3,040 for vacant lots. Approximately 40% (86,000) of properties in New Orleans are in areas of >400 mg Pb/kg soil and estimated direct costs for treatment are between $225.5 and $290.4 million. Annual costs of Pb poisoning in New Orleans are estimated at approximately $76 million in health, education, and societal harm. Urban accumulation of Pb is an international problem; for example, the new Government of Norway established a policy precedence for an isolated soil cleanup program at daycare centers, school playgrounds, and parks to protect children. New Orleans requires a community-wide soil cleanup program because of the extent and quantity of accumulated soil Pb. The post-Katrina benefits of reducing soil Pb are expected to outweigh the foreseeable costs of Pb poisoning to children returning to New Orleans.     

Quality Characterization of Farmed Atlantic Halibut During Ice Storage

A quality index method (QIM) was developed for farmed Atlantic halibut and together with instrumental, chemical, sensory, and bacteriological analysis, quality changes of halibut stored on ice for 26 d was evaluated. Two groups of fish were fed diets that differed only in the source of lipid, where 1 diet contained only marine oil sources and the other a 50/50 mixture of marine and soybean oil. Fish were slaughtered after 1 y and then stored on ice for 26 d. The fish were sampled on day 1, day 2, and every 2nd day after that. Dietary lipid sources had no effect on freshness, (ATP) degradation (K‐value), texture, color, or liquid‐holding capacity. The QIM scores increased with storage time, in particular the appearance and eyes parameters. The QIM is a good freshness indicator for halibut. The K‐value was strongly correlated with storage time (r= 0.99), while total bacterial counts increased after 7 to 8 d of ice storage. The texture, liquid‐holding capacity, and color were significantly affected by storage time during the early period of storage, probably due to rigor stiffness and rigor resolution. The texture, liquid‐holding capacity, and color did not change significantly from approximately day 8 of storage until the end of the experiment at day 26.     

Evaluation of sampling methods for monitoring effluent phosphorus for on-site wastewater treatment systems

More than 1,600 prefabricated on-site wastewater treatment plants are in operation in the Morsa watershed in Norway. As of 2010 a monitoring program on the performance of these plants is in effect. Sampling methods for wastewater treatment plants is discussed, and different methods are compared. The study includes six different plant models, of which all are prefabricated package plants. The parameters investigated were total phosphorus (Tot-P), orthophosphate (PO(4)-P) and suspended solids (SS). Diurnal curves showed no apparent repetitive variation over 24 h intervals, indicating good equalization and robust design to compensate for highly variable loadings. A comparison of grab samples and time proportional composite samples showed almost identical average values, and a paired two-tailed Student's t-test indicates no statistically significant difference between the sampling methods. The results indicate that equivalent results should be expected irrespective of sampling method, and, as composite sampling is attributed to much higher costs, it is recommended that grab sampling should be used when a large number of plants are evaluated.     

Introducing knowledge redundancy practice in software development: Experiences with job rotation in support work

ContextJob rotation is a widely known approach to increase knowledge redundancy but empirical evidence regarding introduction and adoption in software development is scant. A lack of knowledge redundancy is a limiting factor for collaboration, flexibility, and coordination within teams and within the organization.ObjectiveThe scientific objective of this investigation was to explore benefits and challenges with improving knowledge redundancy among developers participating in job rotation. There were two practical objectives; (a) to establish customer support as a legitimate organizational function that would shield developers from support enquiries, and (b) to contribute to improved flexibility in project staffing by enabling overlapping product experience among developers.MethodWe used action research to integrate organizational change with scientific inquiry. During a period of eighteen weeks, nine developers rotated to customer support. We collected data throughout the period of collaboration; in meetings, from comprehensive interviews, and from customer support work logs.ResultsPerceptions of reduced efficiency and unnecessary redundancy outweighed benefits of shielding and learning about different products. Although there were strong indications of increased knowledge redundancy, the benefits were not sufficient to justify job rotation. Job rotation was abandoned after the trial period.ConclusionsJob rotation can contribute to improved knowledge redundancy. Benefits of knowledge redundancy include innovation stemming from integration of different knowledge domains and improved appreciation of organizational concerns. However, knowledge redundancy incurs a collective cost that must be amortized and legitimized by the organization. An adoption process that accommodates open and trustful discussion among all involved stakeholders is therefore encouraged.     

What Do We Know about Agile Software Development?

From 1,996 studies available in the agile software development literature, the authors identified 36 research studies of acceptable rigor, credibility, and relevance to include in a systematic review of empirical evidence for agile development's benefits and limitations. The review results suggest that despite some limitations, agile development can improve job satisfaction, project productivity, and customer satisfaction.     

Assessing the occurrence of egg stranding for trout and salmon in a regulated river

A key challenge in many regulated rivers is to define adequate flow levels to protect aquatic organisms. Provisioning of suitable flow can be pivotal bottlenecks for fishes such as salmon and trout that use the riverbed as an incubation habitat. Additionally, the locations where females spawn will define the probability that embryos will be dewatered during the incubation period in a regulated flow regime. We investigated the water flow, dewatering, and incubation mortality in Atlantic salmon and brown trout in natural nests over 19 years in the regulated Bjoreio River in western Norway. During the study period, different flow strategies were applied to mitigate the dewatering of incubating salmon and trout embryos. Average survival in nests sampled in late winter ranged from 54% to 92% among years and was significantly correlated with the minimum water flow occurring during the incubation period. Mortality was significantly higher in nests in shallow areas, reflecting nests exposed to dewatering. The results demonstrate a strong link between incubation mortality and managed flow regimes for river spawning salmonids. Using detailed information on the nest location and incubation mortality, we estimate minimum flow requirements for this river and demonstrate an approach to effectively mitigate the impact of river regulations on embryo survival in Atlantic salmon and brown trout.