A comparison of needle-free and needle-injection methods and solutions for enhancement of beef longissimus lumborum muscles

In Experiment 1, beef strip loins (n = 15) were halved and assigned to needle (N) or needle-free (NF) injection enhancement with a phosphate plus salt solution (PS) to determine effects on color, water-binding, and palatability. Pump yields tended (P = 0.08) to be higher for NF injection. Needle-injected steaks were darker (P < 0.05) on day 1 only. The NF treatment had greater instrumental tenderness and intensity of off-flavors but less cooking loss and beef flavor (both P < 0.05). In Experiment 2, strip loins (n = 28) were halved and assigned to one of four treatments: (1) N, or (2) NF injection with PS; (3) N, or (4) NF injection with a calcium lactate solution (CL) to determine effects on water-binding and palatability. Needle-free injection resulted in a greater incidence (P < 0.05) of off-flavors and abnormal texture. The PS solution resulted in greater (P < 0.05) instrumental, myofibrillar, and overall tenderness; greater juiciness; greater incidence of off-flavors and abnormal texture; and less (P < 0.05) connective tissue and cooking losses than CL. The PS and NF combination had the highest pumped yields and least cooking losses (both P < 0.05). Enhancing beef strip loins with PS and NF injection has potential to improve yield, tenderness, and juiciness but harm texture and flavor.     

Thermal conductivity of Zn, Pr and Tb doped YBCO single crystals: Theory and experiment

The thermal conductivity K(T) vs temperature has been measured for (Y,Pr)Ba₂Cu₃O₇, (Y,Tb)Ba₂Cu₃O₇ and YBa₂(Cu,Zn)₃O₇ single crystals from 10T280K. For YBa₂Cu₃O₇(YBCO), a strong enhancement in K(T) is observed for TT_cwith a peak in K(T) at approximately TT_c/2 with a sharp change in slope of K(T) at T_c. These results are similar to those reported previously. For the selectively doped YBCO, the peak in K(T) is shifted to lower temperatures and occurs at T 20K independent of T_c and the impurity concentration. In addition, the sharp change in slope of K(T) at T_c is not apparent for the doped crystals. These results are discussed along with a theoretical model for electronic conduction including both impurity and inelastic scattering from spin fluctuations.     

Onset of binge eating and dieting in overweight women: implications for etiology, associated features and treatment

This study investigated differences between overweight binge eating women who reported the onset of binge eating prior to or following the onset of dieting (binged first [BF], or dieted first [DF]). Of overweight binge eating subjects enrolled in a treatment study, 38.7% indicated binge eating first, and 48.1% dieting first. The mean age of onset of binge eating differed significantly between the two groups (11.8 years vs. 25.7 years). More of the BF group (82.5%) satisfied proposed binge eating disorder (BED) criteria than did the DF group (52.0%), although short of significantly. The results suggest that: (a) the leading hypothesis concerning dieting as a cause of binge eating does not apply to a substantial number of individuals who binge eat; (b) there may be an early pattern and a late pattern in the development of binge eating among overweight individuals; and (c) the early or binge first pattern may be more likely to result in BED.     

Use of 99Tcm-MIBI in the assessment of patients with suspected recurrent breast cancer

A prospective trial was performed to assess the accuracy of 99Tcm-methoxyisobutyl isonitrile (99Tcm-MIBI) scintimammography and X-ray mammography in 18 patients (mean age 58 years, range 46-79 years) with suspected recurrent breast cancer in the breast and/or loco-regional tissues. All patients had been diagnosed to have breast cancer 1-23 years before scintimammography. Two patients had undergone mastectomy, so that a total of 34 breasts were studied with X-ray mammography and with prone-lateral and anterior scintimammography. Any abnormalities on X-ray mammograms and scintimammograms were noted, as was any additional local or nodal uptake of 99Tcm-MIBI. The nature of any lesion seen with either modality, or in which there was a clinical suspicion of recurrence, was confirmed by cytological or histological examination of tissue samples. There were nine breasts with recurrent cancer in eight patients. X-ray mammography identified six of these cancers. 99Tcm-MIBI scintimammography identified eight of nine recurrent breast cancers (the one cancer not seen was positive on X-ray mammography). In the 26 breasts without cancer, two were reported as having changes consistent with cancer and one was reported equivocal. There were three false-positive and one equivocal scintimammograms. The accuracy of 99Tcm-MIBI scintimammography within the breast (85%) was similar to X-ray mammography (82%). Axillary lymph node recurrence occurred in five patients, four of whom were positive with 99Tcm-MIBI. An additional patient had focal uptake of 99Tcm-MIBI at the site of recurrent cancer on the anterior chest wall. In conclusion, 99Tcm-MIBI scintimammography may provide useful complementary information in patients with suspected recurrence of cancer in the breast or loco-regional tissues.     

The impact of individual trauma symptoms of deployed soldiers on relationship satisfaction.

Research traditionally has focused on the development of individual symptoms in those who experienced trauma directly but has overlooked the interpersonal impact of trauma. The current study reports data from 45 male Army soldiers who recently returned from a military deployment to Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) or Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and their female spouses/partners. The results indicated that increased trauma symptoms, particularly sleep problems, dissociation, and severe sexual problems, in the soldiers significantly predicted lower marital/relationship satisfaction for both soldiers and their female partners. The results suggest that individual trauma symptoms negatively impact relationship satisfaction in military couples in which the husband has been exposed to war trauma. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditing is key

Auditing is a key element to ensure that an effective electrical safety program exists in your facility. It is recommended that internal audits be performed at least once each year and that external audits be performed not to exceed once every three years. Auditing provides the means to understand performance versus established standards and identify areas for continued improvement. To have an effective electrical safety program, an auditing process must be an integral element of the electrical safety program. An effective audit program helps to ensure that the electrical safety management systems are maintained and sustainable. A set of audit criteria and protocol provides the framework or basis for the audit program. Using protocols is beneficial to ensure consistency of the audits. To be truly effective, an audit program must be designed to be sustainable, both in terms of management commitment to the process and to the ongoing development of knowledgeable and capable auditors. A management process that addresses the content and scope of the audits, standards and regulations that apply to the facilities, use of audit protocols, the frequency of audits, and training of auditors is integral to an effective and sustainable auditing program. A sustainable auditing program ensures that the electrical safety procedures, recordkeeping, and operating discipline are continuously monitored and improved upon, and in the end, electrical-related incidents and injuries are reduced.     

Technology development of a high-density 32-channel 16-Gb/s opticaldata link for optical interconnection applications for theoptoelectronic technology consortium (OETC)

A parallel, 32-channel, high density (140 μm pitch), 500 Mb/s NRZ, point-to-point, optical data link has been fabricated using existing GaAs IC, silicon optical bench (SiOB), and multichip module (MCM-D) technologies. The main components of the transmitter and the receiver modules are a GaAs-based vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) array at 850 mn with its IC driver array chip and an integrated metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) receiver (photodetector and signal processing circuits) array at 850 nm. The package module uses a modified 164 I/O JEDEC premolded plastic quad flat pack (PQFP) in combination with a polymer film integrated circuit (POLYFIC) chip carrier. The electrical input and output are 500 Mb/s NRZ binary signals. The optical I/O in both modules consists of a directly-connectorized (nonpigtail) fiber array block that plugs into the 32×1 optical fiber ribbon directly on one side and accepts 32 optical signals from the SEL array or delivers them to the MSM receiver array via a gold-coated 45° polished fiber array mirror. The MACII-32 ribbon cable is an enhanced version of the standard MACII connector ribbon cable. This paper characterizes key components of the optical data link, describes its package design, and discusses preliminary component and optical data link test results