A second mutant allele (V199I) at the PRKAG3 (RN) locus- I. Effect on technological meat quality of pork loin

The effect of three alleles (RN(-), rn(+) and a second mutant allele V199I, denoted rn*) at the PRKAG3 (RN) locus on such meat quality traits as pH, internal reflectance (FOP), Warner-Bratzler shear force, water-holding capacity and cooking loss were studied. M. longissimus dorsi (LD) from a total of 334 crossbreed pigs, entire males and females, Hampshire (H) and Finnish Landrace (L) of three combinations H × LH, LH × H and LH × LH, were used. The PRKAG3 alleles were identified with a DNA test and all possible RN genotypes, RN(-)/RN(-) (23%), RN(-)/rn(+) (24%), RN(-)/rn* (33%), rn(+)/rn(+) (8%), rn(+)/rn* (9%) and rn*/rn* (2%), were found. Water, intramuscular fat, protein and glycogen contents were determined. All the three alleles at the RN locus affected the studied technological meat quality traits of pork loin, except for the internal reflectance 24 h post mortem and the shear force. The RN(-) allele was dominant over the other two alleles, rn(+) and rn*, in LD with regard to ultimate pH, water-holding capacity and cooking loss, giving lower ultimate pH and water-holding capacity and higher cooking loss. The rn* allele affected ultimate pH in LD of non-carriers of the RN(-) allele, giving higher ultimate pH. The RN(-) allele was also dominant over the other two alleles in residual glycogen content in entire male pigs, but not in female pigs, where the rn* allele had a glycogen-lowering effect. The water content was higher and the protein content lower in LD of all RN(-)/- animals compared with the other genotypes, while no significant differences were found with regard to IMF content. Water-holding capacity, cooking loss and shear force were higher in LD of entire males compared with females.     

Role of the Chemical Environment beyond the Coordination Site: Structural Insight into FeIII Protoporphyrin Binding to Cysteine‐Based Heme‐Regulatory Protein Motifs

The importance of heme as a transient regulatory molecule has become a major focus in biochemical research. However, detailed information about the molecular basis of transient heme–protein interactions is still missing. We report an in‐depth structural analysis of Fe^III heme–peptide complexes by a combination of UV/Vis, resonance Raman, and 2D‐NMR spectroscopic methods. The experiments reveal insights both into the coordination to the central iron ion and into the spatial arrangement of the amino acid sequences interacting with protoporphyrin IX. Cysteine‐based peptides display different heme‐binding behavior as a result of the existence of ordered, partially ordered, and disordered conformations in the heme‐unbound state. Thus, the heme‐binding mode is clearly the consequence of the nature and flexibility of the residues surrounding the iron ion coordinating cysteine. Our analysis reveals scenarios for transient binding of heme to heme‐regulatory motifs in proteins and demonstrates that a thorough structural analysis is required to unravel how heme alters the structure and function of a particular protein.     

The influence of RN genotype, including the new V199I allele, on the eating quality of pork loin

The eating quality of M. longissimus dorsi (LD) from RN⁻ homozygotes, RN⁻ heterozygotes and RN⁻ non-carriers was investigated in a Swedish Hampshire×Finnish Landrace pig population. The recently identified new allele (V199I, here denoted rn*) at the RN locus was also detected among the pigs selected and included in the sensory evaluation. The number of animals varied from 10 to 15 in the five genotype groups; RN⁻/RN⁻, RN⁻/rn+, RN⁻/rn*, rn+/rn+ and rn+/rn* (in total 59 pigs). In addition, one pig was determined to be rn*/rn* but was excluded from the analysis. The three genotypes in which the RN⁻ allele was represented (RN⁻/RN⁻, RN⁻/rn+ and RN⁻/rn*) had higher glycogen and lower protein contents as well as lower ultimate pH (measured 48 h post-mortem) in LD than the non-carriers (rn+/rn+ and rn+rn*). Of the sensory parameters evaluated (tenderness, chewing time, chewing residual, juiciness, meat flavour and acidity), the five RN genotypes only affected acidity significantly; the RN⁻ allele contributing to a more acid taste in LD. The influence of the rn* allele resembled that of rn+ on the sensory parameters. When the material was divided into three groups (homozygous, heterozygous and non-carriers of the RN⁻ allele) the juiciness was found to be significantly influenced by RN genotype, and LD from animals that were homozygous and heterozygous with respect to the RN⁻ allele exhibited a higher juiciness than LD from non-carriers. The RN⁻ allele also tended to contribute to greater tenderness, which was significantly higher in LD from heterozygous carriers than from non-carriers of the RN⁻ allele. A more rapid decline in pH (measured as pH at 45 min and 3 h post-mortem) contributed to a greater tenderness in LD (according to a trained panel and Warner-Bratzler shear force). In addition to the RN genotype, the decline in pH was influenced by carcass weight, which varied between 71 and 97 kg, and by stunning procedure, which changed during the course of the study from individual to group stunning with CO₂. The individual stunning procedure contributed to a lower pH in the initial post-mortem phase (pH₄₅), whereas a higher carcass weight and the RN⁻ allele lowered the pH in the mid-post-mortem region (pH_3h and pH_24h), significantly (P0.05). The pH continued to decline after 24 h post-mortem and the ultimate pH was not reached until 48 h post-mortem. The cooking loss, juiciness and acidity were related to the specific characteristics of the RN⁻ carriers, such as higher glycogen content, lower protein content and lower ultimate pH (pH_48h).     

Influence of vacuum or high-oxygen modified atmosphere packaging on quality of beef M. longissimus dorsi steaks after different ageing times

The objective of the study was to determine if beef quality parameters differ between steaks in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP; 80% O₂ and 20% CO₂) and in vacuum packaging. Both M. longissimus dorsi (LD) from ten young bulls were cut in steaks day 3 postmortem and frozen either directly or after storage for 5 or 15 days in MAP and/or vacuum. The parameters studied were Warner Bratzler shear force, colour stability, α-tocopherol content, protein oxidation, water holding capacity and sensory attributes. Steaks stored in MAP had higher shear force than steaks stored in only vacuum at all ageing times. Tenderness and juiciness were negatively affected by storage in MAP. Ageing in MAP induced higher levels of metmyoglobin compared with vacuum ageing. In conclusion, high-oxygen MAP negatively influenced shear force, thawing loss, α-tocopherol content and colour stability, as well as the sensory attributes tenderness, juiciness and to some extent meat flavour.     

Variation in the content of glucosinolates,hydroxycinnamic acids,carotenoids, total antioxidant capacity and low‐molecular‐weight carbohydrates in Brassica vegetables

Bioactive compounds were investigated in genotypes (cauliflower 10, white cabbage 10, curly kale 1) and plant parts of the three crops. The content of most of the major glucosinolates glucobrassicin, sinigrin and glucoiberin differed significantly between cultivars. Samples harvested in 2000 had higher amounts of several glucosinolates than samples from 1999. Within cauliflower the buds of the floret had 1.5 to 2.5‐fold higher concentration of glucobrassicin and 4‐methoxyglucobrassicin than the stalk. In white cabbage several glucosinolates had their highest content in the outer leaves (up to 2‐fold higher). Upper leaves of curly kale contained 5‐fold more of total glucosinolates than lower leaves. Chlorogenic acid was the dominating hydroxycinnamate in curly kale, which also contained at least ten times more of carotenoids (mainly lutein) than white cabbage. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) assayed with the FRAP method was 0.76 (0.06) µmol/g fw (mean (SD)) in water‐soluble and 0.32 (0.04) in water‐insoluble extracts of cauliflower which was 62–68% higher than in white cabbage. Curly kale contained 6.4 and 6.1 µmol/g fw TAC in water‐soluble and water‐insoluble extracts. TAC did not differ between plant parts. Progoitrin and 4‐hydroxyglucobrassicin were correlated to water‐soluble TAC in white cabbage, probably reflecting a variation in other compounds. Cauliflower contained less glucose, fructose and sorbitol but more sucrose than white cabbage. Curly kale had lower contents of glucose (～2 times), fructose (～4–5 times) and sucrose (20 and 36 times, respectively) than cauliflower and white cabbage, while inositol was only found in curly kale. Storage of white cabbage reduced the amount of sorbitol and sucrose. The study shows that cultivar, plant part and storage affect the content of bioactive compounds in Brassica vegetables. The variation between years, as in cauliflower, is due to environmental factors. Since the cultivar ranking order was rather stable for several components the data could provide a basis for the selection of cultivars optimised for valuable health components for fresh market consumption. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Ageing of large cuts of beef loin in vacuum or high oxygen modified atmosphere – Effect on shear force,calpain activity,desmin degradation and protein oxidation

The aim was to investigate the effect of ageing large beef cuts directly in high oxygen modified atmosphere (MA) and how ageing time in vacuum influence meat quality when followed by retail packaging in high oxygen MA. Large cuts (10 cm long) of beef loin (LD) were aged for up to 25 days postmortem in different ageing systems at 4 °C. Ageing solely in high oxygen modified atmosphere (MA, 80% O₂ + 20% CO₂) for 5 or 10 days and ageing in vacuum for 5 or 15 days followed by high oxygen MA for 5 or 10 days were compared with ageing in vacuum for 5, 15 and 25 days. Warner–Bratzler shear force, purge and cooking losses, calpain activity and desmin and carbonyl contents were measured. Shear force decreased to the same level when ageing this large beef cut solely in high oxygen MA for 5 or 10 days as when ageing in vacuum. The activity of μ-calpain disappeared, the activity of m-calpain decreased and purge loss increased between 5 and 10 days, but cooking loss and the contents of desmin and carbonyls were unaffected. The ageing time in vacuum before packaging of this large beef cut in high oxygen MA did not affect the ultimate shear force. The m-calpain activity decreased and the content of carbonyls increased compared with solely in vacuum after 15 days of total ageing, but there was no difference in the content of desmin or cooking loss between these ageing systems at the same ageing time.     

Development of road safety performance indicators for trauma management in Europe

Trauma management (TM) covers two types of medical treatment: the initial one provided by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and a further one provided by permanent medical facilities. There is a consensus in the professional literature that to reduce the severity and the number of road crash victims, the TM system should provide rapid and adequate initial care of injury, combined with sufficient further treatment at a hospital or trauma centre. Recognizing the important role of TM for reducing road crash injury outcome, it was decided, within the EU funded SafetyNet project, to develop road safety performance indicators (SPIs) which would characterize the level of TM systems’ performance in European countries and enable country comparisons.     

Phytotherapeuthics Affecting the IL-1/IL-17/G-CSF Axis: A Complementary Treatment Option for Hidradenitis Suppurativa?

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS; also designated as acne inversa) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by painful skin lesions that occur in the axillary, inguinal, gluteal and perianal areas of the body. These lesions contain recurring deep-seated, inflamed nodules and pus-discharging abscesses and fistulas. Affecting about 1% of the population, this common disease has gained appropriate clinical attention in the last years. Associated with numerous comorbidities including metabolic syndrome, HS is considered a systemic disease that severely impairs the quality of life and shortens life expectancy. Therapeutic options for HS are limited, comprising long-term antibiotic treatment, the surgical removal of affected skin areas, and neutralization of TNF-α, the only approved systemic treatment. Novel treatment options are needed to close the therapeutic gap. HS pathogenesis is increasingly better understood. In fact, neutrophilic granulocytes (neutrophils) seem to be decisive for the development of the purulent destructive skin inflammation in HS. Recent findings suggest a key role of the immune mediators IL-1β, IL-17A and G-CSF in the migration into and activation of neutrophils in the skin. Although phytomedical drugs display potent immunoregulatory properties and have been suggested as complementary therapy in several chronic disorders, their application in HS has not been considered so far. In this review, we describe the IL-1/IL-17/G-CSF axis and evaluate it as potential target for an integrated phytomedical treatment of HS.