Formulation Protocol and Dicationic Salts Affect Protein Functionality of Model System Beef Batters

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to determine if addition, and order of addition, of CaCl₂ and MgCl₂ affected protein functionality of lean beef preblends. Four treatments were applied to non-preblended (NPB) batters prior to thermal processing. Six treatments were applied to preblended (PB) batters 12 h prior to thermal processing. All treatments contained 2% NaCl. Dicationic salts decreased raw pH in NPB and PB batters, while cooked pH was unaffected. Magnesium chloride in NPB and CaCl₂+ MgCl₂ in PB batters resulted in the highest total soluble protein (TSP). Calcium chloride + MgCl₂ in NPB batters resulted in firmer gels compared to the control. Magnesium chloride, in both NPB and PB, caused the greatest increase in soluble myosin, and preblending decreased myosin solubility.     

Transitional pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia of childhood is associated with favorable prognostic clinical features and an excellent outcome: a Pediatric Oncology Group study

The presenting characteristics and survival of children with the newly recognized transitional cell pre-B immunophenotype of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are compared with those of children with pre-B ALL to determine the clinical significance of the new phenotype. Patients with transitional pre-B ALL (n = 17), defined by lymphoblasts expressing cytoplasmic and surface mu heavy chains without kappa or lambda light chains, have lower initial leukocyte counts (p = 0.02) and a higher frequency of DNA indexes > 1.16 (p < 0.001) than patients with pre-B ALL (n = 501), whether or not cases with the unfavorable prognostic (1;19) translocation are included in the analysis. Patients with transitional pre-B ALL lack FAB L3 morphology, bulky extramedullary disease, surface kappa or lambda chains, and the (8;14), (8;22), and (2;8) translocations, features that characterize the syndrome of B-cell ALL. The 4-year relapse-free survival result for children with transitional pre-B ALL appears better than that for children with pre-B ALL (93.3 +/- 17% versus 72.9% +/- 4.6%), but this difference is not statistically significant. We conclude that patients with transitional pre-B ALL have a very favorable prognosis in the context of the therapy used in this study.     

Understanding the role of competition in video gameplay satisfaction

One of the key elements in many video games is competition. Based on Self-Determination and Flow theories, this paper explores the process through which competition makes a video game satisfying. A structural model that examines the impacts of Situational Competitiveness (manipulated via modes of competition) and Dispositional Competitiveness (as a personality trait) on gameplay experience is proposed and validated. The results show that the perception of video game competitiveness has a strong effect on Flow experience and Satisfaction. While an individual’s personality impacts the perception of a game’s competitiveness, this perception can also be influenced by the mode of competition.     

Oil sands tailings sludge solidification and bitumen recovery

ABSTRACT

Canada is a forerunner in the development of oil sands mining and processing technology. At present two commercial plants, both of them surface mining operations are producing approximately 200,000 of syncrude per day. At both of these plants a hot water separation process is used.

The vast amounts of tailings, consisting of bitumen, sand, fines and water, generated from the hot water extraction process while recovering bitumen during surface mining operation, must be stored within gigantic man-made reservoirs created by constructing high dykes or dams. In this study, the potential of lime addition for stabilization of the sludge and recovery of bitumen has been investigated. Results of study indicate that more than 50 percent water as well as the bitumen can be recovered from sludge by centrifuging alone. With lapse of time, lime addition causes solidification of sludge as reflected by strength increase of treated and compacted sludge. The implication of this investigation is that bitumen recovery from sludge is possible with the possibility of direct feed to the upgrading plant. The process discussed in this paper is economically feasible. This is particularly true in those areas where bitumen recovery by surface mining is relatively high due to a high waste/are ratio and when quality of mined oil sands is relatively low.     

Development and use of an efficient patent information system in the German Democratic Republic

The G.D.R. is celebrating the fortieth year of its founding and the article details the patent information systems organized by the Office for Inventions and Patents. These include patent document and literature collections and computerized bibliographic and statistical information services.     

Disappearance of phosphorus in phytate from concentrates in vitro and from rations fed to lactating dairy cows.

Objectives were to determine concentrations of P in phytate in selected concentrates, disappearance of P in phytate from these concentrates in vitro, and extent of hydrolysis of phytate in vivo. Total P and P in phytate were determined for eight concentrates; 32 to 81% of total P was in phytate. Six concentrates were incubated in vitro to determine the extent of phytate disappearance from solids and its appearance and disappearance from solution. Greater than 90% of P in phytate disappeared from solids between 6 and 8 h of incubation in vitro (wheat middlings, rice bran, hominy, soybean meal, and dried distillers grains) or between 12 and 24 h (cottonseed meal). Phosphorus in phytate in solution was hydrolyzed by 12 h except for cottonseed meal (by 24 h). Hydrolysis of the inositol ring to release P in vivo was greater than 99%, based on total fecal collection from 11 cows and the use of Cr as an indigestible marker in excreta, and between 94 to 98% for the same samples when acid detergent lignin was used as an indigestible marker to calculate phytate disappearance. These results further indicate that P in phytate should be considered available to lactating dairy cows when rations to meet their P requirements are being formulated.     

ITA study of non-destructive methods of inspecting and testing tunnel linings

The International Tunneling Association's Working Group on Maintenance and Repair of Underground Structures is preparing a report dealing with non-destructive methods of inspecting and testing tunnel linings. This request for information details the scope of the group's work and the types of information the group is seeking at this time.     

Patent information: an historical perspective

An historical survey of one specific technical field, as illustrated in patent disclosures, is presented. The field is umbrellas, parasols and walking sticks, from the first British patent of 1780 up to the present day, using classified abridgements in bound volumes of hard copy until the mid 1970s and online databases thereafter. More detailed analyses of the last 20 years are provided. Unlike many recent rapidly developing fields, this field has changed relatively little over two centuries; annual inputs are comparable since the middle 1800s, while many similar solutions to recurrent problems resurface periodically. Nevertheless, discernible commercially and technically significant improvements occur throughout this period, as well as many short-lived tangential developments. Some reasons for this pattern are suggested.