Tenderness, ageing rate and meat quality of pork M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum after accelerated boning

The impact of accelerated boning on tenderness, ageing rate and meat quality of pork longissimus muscle was investigated. Accelerated boning of eight Large White×Landrace pork carcasses at 30 min post-mortem followed by chilling at 0°C resulted in tougher pork with higher drip loss and a darker surface lightness relative to conventional boning at 24 h post-mortem. The increased toughness was still observed at 4 days post-mortem, a time by which 80% of ageing generally had occurred as seen in experiment 2. The increased toughness could be attributed to cold shortening and a reduction in proteolysis.     

Adult smoking intervention programmes in Massachusetts: a comprehensive approach with promising results

This paper provides a brief overview of the history of Massachusetts' opposition to smoking. It describes the current Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program and its smoking intervention programmes; changes in public opinion, perceptions and attitudes toward smoking; and programme impact. Massachusetts has been successful in developing a comprehensive intervention that has had encouraging results in changing public attitudes about smoking and in helping smokers to quit.     

Examination of structural changes of polymeric amino acid-based surfactants on enantioselectivity: effect of amino acid order, steric factors, and number and position of chiral centers

In this study, a large number of polymeric chiral surfactants were examined and their performances in terms of enantiomeric resolution compared for a variety of chiral analytes. The surfactants investigated in this study include all possible dipeptide combinations of the L-form of alanine, valine, leucine, and the achiral amino acid glycine (except glycine-glycine). Also included in this study were the single amino acid surfactants of alanine, valine, and leucine as well as the single chiral center dipeptide surfactant poly(sodium undecyl-L-leucine-beta-alanine) (poly L-SULbetaA). Several different aspects of polymeric dipeptide surfactants, as they pertain to chiral separations, are examined. Some of the factors investigated in this report include the effect of position and number of chiral centers, amino acid order, and steric effects.     

Capillary electrochromatography of cholesterol and its ester derivatives

Separation of cholesterol and its ester derivatives using micellar electrokinetic chromatography is a challenge due to the extreme hydrophobicity of these compounds. In this work, an isocratic capillary electrochromatography (CEC) method has been developed to separate a complex mixture of cholesterol and its 12-ester derivatives. The proportions of mobile phase (tetrahydrofuran, acetonitrile, water), as well as the effects of acid modifiers, buffer concentrations, voltage, and temperature on the separation of cholesterol derivatives were investigated. Addition of a polymeric surfactant, poly(sodium N-undecanoyl-L-glycinate), to the mobile phase reduced migration time and improved resolution of the analytes. The CEC method developed allows baseline separation of a complex mixture of cholesterol and 12 ester derivatives in less than 40 min. Finally, the method is applied to the characterization of cholesterol, cholesterol linoleate, and cholesterol oleate extracted from atherosclerotic plaque deposits in the arterial walls of a human aorta.     

Halothane genotype, pre-slaughter handling and stunning method all influence pork quality

Seventy-six Landrace and four Large White × Landrace pigs (n=80) of 90-134 kg liveweight were randomly allocated to a 2×2×2 factorial experiment to determine the effect of halothane genotype [heterozygous for the halothane gene (Nn) and homozygous dominant (NN)], pre-slaughter handling (minimal and negative) and stunning method (CO(2) stunning and electrical) on pork quality. The rate of muscle pH decline post-slaughter of the m. longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) muscle was faster in Nn pigs compared with NN pigs (0.86 and 0.30 pH units/h, respectively). Pork from Nn pigs was also paler in colour, had higher percentage drip loss and purge and lower sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar protein solubility compared with NN pigs. Pork from CO(2) stunned pigs had a lower drip loss compared to pork from electrically stunned pigs (5.80 and 7.28%, respectively?- means of both genotypes combined). Tenderness of pork assessed at 24 h post-slaughter was not influenced by genotype, pre-slaughter handling or stunning method. However, pork from Nn pigs aged for 5 days post-slaughter was less tender than NN pigs (5.84 and 4.84 kg, respectively). Pale, soft and exudative pork was produced in all negatively handled Nn pigs, regardless of stunning method. The average amount of ecchymosis-affected muscle trimmed from carcasses of electrically stunned pigs was higher compared to pigs stunned with CO(2) (65 and 0.7 g, respectively). These data indicate that although halothane status was the most important factor influencing pork quality, pre-slaughter handling and stunning method also influenced meat and carcass quality.     

"The Memory Functioning Questionnaire for assessment of memory complaints in adulthood and old age": Correction to Gilewski et al.

Reports an error in "The Memory Functioning Questionnaire for assessment of memory complaints in adulthood and old age" by Michael J. Gilewski, Elizabeth M. Zelinski and K. Warner Schaie (Psychology and Aging, 1990[Dec], Vol 5[4], 482-490). In the aforementioned article, the author note at the beginning of the article should have contained the following statement: "The Memory Functioning Questionnaire (MFQ) items that appear in the appendix at the end of this article were published previously in 'Memory Functioning Questionnaire (MFQ)' by Michael J. Gilewski and Elizabeth M. Zelinski (Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 1988, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 665-670). The current article reflects the construction validation, scoring, and interpretation of the MFQ more accurately than does the article that appeared in Psychopharmacology Bulletin." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1991-08788-001.) The results of psychometric analyses of the Metamemory Questionnaire (MQ) of E. M. Zelinski et al (1980), developed to evaluate perception of everyday memory functioning, are presented for a sample of 343 men and 435 women (aged 16-89 yrs). Exploratory factor analysis yielded 4 correlated factors (General Frequency of Forgetting, Retrospective Functioning, and Mnemonics Usage) that accounted for 36.7% of the variance in responses to the MQ. Factor structure was invariant across age groups (16-54 vs 55-89 yrs), 2 independent samples, and over 3 yrs. Because some of the original MQ scales did not load on the factors, only 64 of the original 92 items were retained for inclusion in the Memory Functioning Questionnaire (MFQ). Internal consistency of MFQ scores is high. The MFQ is therefore reliable for evaluating memory self-appraisals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A rare and little known variant of hypospadias

Hypospadia is a congenital defect presenting as different variants of dysplasia of the distal urethra with ectopy of the urethral external orifice and distortion of the penis. A variant of hypospadia not yet described in Russian medical literature was observed in a newborn boy. He had normal penis and scrotum, but on the under-side of the penis there was a site of thin skin protruding as a resonance bag in urination. At the site of the thin skin the back urethral wall was absent with a cavity covered by the thin skin. In urination urine filled the cavity blowing up the skin above it to the form of the resonance bag. This variant of hypospadia was designated as segmental urethral hypoplasia.     

Cocaine-induced activation of striatal neurons during focused stereotypy in rats

As psychomotor stimulants, both amphetamine and cocaine elicit episodes of repetitive motor activation (focused stereotypy) known to involve the mesostriatal dopamine system. During amphetamine-induced focused stereotypy, motor-related neurons in the striatum respond with either an excitation or inhibition, depending on dose and behavioral pattern, whereas nonmotor-related units are inhibited. To assess striatal activity during the focused stereotypy induced by cocaine, both types of striatal units were recorded in ambulant rats. Either 20 or 40 mg/kg cocaine caused highly focused sniffing and head bobbing, which occurred in conjunction with activation of both motor- and nonmotor-related neurons. The activation of motor-related units was evident even when firing rate was compared during periods of matched pre- and post-drug behavior, arguing against movement as the sole basis for the drug-induced neuronal excitation. Subsequent administration of haloperidol (1.0 mg/kg) reversed but did not completely block the neuronal activation, while the behavioral response shifted away from focused stereotypy toward an increase in ambulation. Thus, the level of activation of both motor- and nonmotor-related striatal neurons may play a critical role in the behavioral response pattern induced by cocaine.