Drying studies of sorghum for forage and biomass production

Test plots of sorghum were planted and cut at maturity. Natural drying of the cut material was monitored in the field. Laboratory drying tests were conducted to determine the drying kinetics of the stalks under four different configurations at 50 °C and 0.5 m/s air velocity. These included: 20 cm long sections with sealed ends to duplicate stalks of infinite length and remove “end effects”; 20 cm long sections with open ends to account for “end effects”; and 20 cm sections with longitudinal splitting to remove the effects of the outer layer of the stalks. In addition, short sections (5 cm) were dried to determine the impact of enhanced “end effects” on drying. Mathematical models were derived from replicate laboratory trials and were used to predict the times required to reach a final moisture content of 10% (wet basis). These times ranged from over 200 hours with the sealed ends to 15 hours with splitting of the stalks to expose the interior fully to the drying medium. Field drying of cut sorghum was found to be insufficient to adequately dry these materials for storage or use in energy production, especially under wet-weather conditions. Laboratory tests showed the need for substantial disruption of the stalk surface to promote drying. This can be achieved through mechanical maceration of the stalks. Simply cutting the stalks at ground level and relying upon open-air drying did not reduce the moisture content to acceptable levels for animal feed or energy production.     

同时蒸馏萃取和固相微萃取与气相色谱/质谱法结合分析巴马火腿的风味成分

采用同时蒸馏提取(SDE)和固相微萃取(SPME)2种前处理分离方法,以及气相色谱和质谱联用分析鉴定技术,对巴马火腿的挥发性风味进行了研究,共鉴定出99种成分,其中主要为醛类和醇类化合物,其次为酮、酯、酸、烃类化合物,另有少量含硫及杂环化合物,表明醛类和醇类化合物对巴马火腿的风味贡献较大。比较了SDE法和SPME法对风味成分的影响,结果发现,SDE法提取的巴马火腿主要成分为十六醛、3-羟基-2-丁酮、乙酸乙酯等;SPME法提取的巴马火腿主要成分为己醛、3-甲基丁醛、3-羟基-2-丁酮等。发现了9种新物质,如十六二烯酸甲酯、4-甲基苯酚和6-甲基-1-辛烯等。     

莱鲍迪苷A在甲醇-水体系中溶解度与超溶解度的测定

测定了莱鲍迪苷A在甲醇溶液中的溶解度和超溶解度曲线,并用数学模型进行了拟合,同时还测定了温度、降温速率、搅拌速率对甲醇溶液中莱鲍迪苷A介稳区宽度的影响。结果表明,莱鲍迪苷A在甲醇溶液中的溶解度随着温度的升高而增加,而介稳区宽度随着温度的升高而减小,随着降温速率的增加而增大,随着搅拌速率的增加先减小后增大。     

Inhibition of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli by antimicrobial peptides caseicin A and B and the factors affecting their antimicrobial activities

The antimic robial activities of caseicin A and B antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were assessed against a selection of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) strains (n = 11), other bacterial pathogenic and spoilage bacteria (n = 7), using a model broth system. The ability of the AMPs to retain their antimicrobial activities against a strain of E. coli O157:H7 380-94 under various test conditions (pH, temperature, water activity, sodium chloride concentrations, inoculum size and the presence of competitive microflora) was assessed and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and number of surviving E. coli O157:H7 calculated. The mean number of VTEC surviving after exposure to 2 mg/ml caseicin A and B was reduced by 4.96 and 4.19 log₁₀ cfu/ml compared to the respective controls. The susceptibility of E. coli O157:H7 to the caseicin AMPs decreased as temperature, pH, water activity and inoculum size were reduced. The presence of sodium chloride (0.5-2.5%) did not affect the activity of caseicin A (p > 0.05), however it did inhibit the activity of caseicin B. The presence of a competitive microflora cocktail did not significantly (p > 0.05) affect the activities of the AMPs for the majority of the concentrations tested. Using a quantitative PCR assay, the levels of verotoxins (vt1 and vt2) expressed by E. coli O157:H7 following exposure to a sub-inhibitory concentration (0.5 mg/ml) of caseicin A showed that the verotoxin levels did not differ from the levels produced by the control cultures. The antimicrobial activity of caseicin A against E. coli O157:H7 was also tested in a model rumen system, however concentrations of ≥ 2 mg/ml did not significantly (p > 0.05) reduce E. coli O157:H7 numbers in the model system over a 24 h period. The application of caseicin AMPs in food and/or animal production may be valuable in combination with other antimicrobials although further research is required.     

Inhibitory effect of sowthistle (Ixeris dentata) on development and expression of behavioral locomotor sensitization to nicotine in rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sowthistle (Ixeris dentata, IXD) on development and expression of nicotine-induced locomotor sensitization and underlying neuronal activation reflected by c-Fos expression in rats. Rats were pretreated with IXD 30 min before a daily injection of nicotine during an 8-day development phase and then challenged with nicotine after a 6-day withdrawal period. In another set of experiments, same IXD doses were administered once 30 min before nicotine challenge. Daily IXD treatment during development phase was not effective in blocking nicotine-induced locomotor sensitization in rats. However, a single IXD treatment after the development and withdrawal periods of nicotine sensitization significantly alleviated sensitized locomotor behavior on day 15. These behavioral results were coincident with significant inhibition of nicotineinduced c-Fos expression in the nucleus accumbens. These results indicated that IXD pretreatment significantly blocked the expression, but not the development of nicotine-induced locomotor sensitization in rats.     

Intra-muscular and inter-muscular variation in carbon turnover of ovine muscles as recorded by stable isotope ratios

In the case of muscle-based foods, the incorporation of dietary isotopic signals into muscle tissue is a dynamic process and it is not known whether all muscles, or locations within a muscle, have the same isotopic composition. Therefore, an experiment was conducted in which 28 lambs were switched from a control diet to an isotopically distinct experimental diet offered at two different energy allowances (EA). Small, albeit significant, differences were detected in tissue carbon (C) turnover within the muscle Longissimus dorsi. Inter-muscular comparison showed similar C half-lives for four of the five analysed muscles. The results also clearly demonstrated that the EA had a significant impact on intra- and inter-muscular C turnover. The findings of similar tissue C turnover of several muscles sold as meats and the comparable tissue-diet fractionation of the analysed muscles (both within the same EA) will enable scientists to analyse different meat samples according to availability without introducing large biases. However, EA must be considered a factor of uncertainty.     

The importance of landscape in wine quality perception: An integrated approach using choice-based conjoint analysis and combination-based permutation tests

This work’s aim is to evaluate the importance of landscape in wine quality perception using a novel integrated approach based on two statistical techniques, i.e. choice-based conjoint analysis (Gustafsson et al., 2001) and combination-based permutation tests (Corain and Salmaso, 2004, Pesarin and Salmaso, 2009a). To this end we developed a preference choice experiment which was submitted to a sample of respondents during blind wine tasting meetings. The obtained results allow us to weigh up and emphasise the importance of an attractive landscape to the perception of a finer quality of wine. Indeed, we noticed that associating wine to an image of greater visual impact, i.e. an evocative landscape, induces a significantly higher preference for the tasted wine. Moreover, the integrated application of choice-based conjoint analysis and combination-based permutation tests allows us to identify the specific relationship each market segment has with landscape, price and wine quality.     

Excessive cross-linking of caseins by microbial transglutaminase and its impact on physical properties of acidified milk gels

By varying cross-linking intensity, the effect of microbial transglutaminase on acid gels made from casein solution and raw milk was studied. To avoid any impact of heating, N-ethylmaleimide was used for enzyme inactivation after appropriately checking its efficiency. Up to a specific degree of oligomerisation gel stiffness and firmness increased and tan δ, time at gelation onset and syneresis decreased. Above approximately 70% and 25% of cross-linked protein in casein solution and raw milk, respectively, these parameters showed an opposite behaviour, and weak gels with high syneresis were obtained. Substrate differences, such as preferred cross-linking of adjoining κ-caseins on the surface of the micelle enhanced the effect of steric hindrance in raw milk and impaired proper rearrangements upon acidification at a much lower level of oligomerised protein. It is mainly dimeric and trimeric casein that successfully contributed to the enhanced properties of milk protein gels.     

Effect of ultrasound treatment on properties of gluten-based film

Gluten films obtained in acid conditions display some protein dispersion difficulties. Ultrasound treatment (UT) could represent an interesting strategy for improving gluten film appearance. Different UT exposure times were applied to film-forming dispersion. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of ultrasound treatment on gluten-based films at molecular and mesoscopic levels. Distribution in gliadin and glutenins was determined with SE-HPLC. The UT improved protein dispersion and final film appearance. Sonication did not lead to large changes in various gluten fractions, which suggests absence of important protein breakdown at the molecular level. Gluten showed high tolerance to UT. Surface properties of untreated and treated films were investigated by contact angle measurement: sonication promoted hydrophilic surface properties.Industrial relevanceBio-based packaging has been receiving increasing attention in view of its beneficial impact on the environment. Among proteins, gluten resulted as a very interesting film-forming material. Gluten films prepared in acid conditions showed problems in protein dispersion. Sonication represents a physical strategy which allowed us to obtain gluten-based films without the addition of chemical additives, such as sodium sulphite.