Integration of Emerging Biomedical Technologies in Meat Processing to Improve Meat Safety and Quality

Modern‐day processing of meat products involves a series of complex procedures designed to ensure the quality and safety of the meat for consumers. As the size of abattoirs increases, the logistical problems associated with large‐capacity animal processing can affect the sanitation of the facility and the meat products, potentially increasing transmission of infectious diseases. Additionally, spoilage of food from improper processing and storage increases the global economic and ecological burden of meat production. Advances in biomedical and materials science have allowed for the development of innovative new antibacterial technologies that have broad applications in the medical industry. Additionally, new approaches in tissue engineering and nondestructive cooling of biological specimens could significantly improve organ transplantation and tissue grafting. These same strategies may be even more effective in the preservation and protection of meat as animal carcasses are easier to manipulate and do not have the same stringent requirements of care as living patients. This review presents potential applications of emerging biomedical technologies in the food industry to improve meat safety and quality. Future research directions investigating these new technologies and their usefulness in the meat processing chain along with regulatory, logistical, and consumer perception issues will also be discussed.     

Development of a food frequency questionnaire for Sri Lankan adults

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs) are commonly used in epidemiologic studies to assess long-term nutritional exposure. Because of wide variations in dietary habits in different countries, a FFQ must be developed to suit the specific population. Sri Lanka is undergoing nutritional transition and diet-related chronic diseases are emerging as an important health problem. Currently, no FFQ has been developed for Sri Lankan adults. In this study, we developed a FFQ to assess the regular dietary intake of Sri Lankan adults. METHODS: A nationally representative sample of 600 adults was selected by a multi-stage random cluster sampling technique and dietary intake was assessed by random 24-h dietary recall. Nutrient analysis of the FFQ required the selection of foods, development of recipes and application of these to cooked foods to develop a nutrient database. We constructed a comprehensive food list with the units of measurement. A stepwise regression method was used to identify foods contributing to a cumulative 90% of variance to total energy and macronutrients. In addition, a series of photographs were included. RESULTS: We obtained dietary data from 482 participants and 312 different food items were recorded. Nutritionists grouped similar food items which resulted in a total of 178 items. After performing step-wise multiple regression, 93 foods explained 90% of the variance for total energy intake, carbohydrates, protein, total fat and dietary fibre. Finally, 90 food items and 12 photographs were selected. CONCLUSION: We developed a FFQ and the related nutrient composition database for Sri Lankan adults. Culturally specific dietary tools are central to capturing the role of diet in risk for chronic disease in Sri Lanka. The next step will involve the verification of FFQ reproducibility and validity.     

Disparities in arteriovenous fistula placement in older hemodialysis patients

The benefits of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) as the preferred vascular access for hemodialysis have been clearly demonstrated. However, only about 20% of patients in the United States initiate hemodialysis with an AVF. In this study, we assessed whether disparities exist in the type of first hemodialysis access placed prior to dialysis start (rather than that used at dialysis initiation), to detect whether certain disadvantaged groups might have lower likelihood of AVF placement. Study cohort of 118,767 incident hemodialysis patients ≥67 years of age (1/2005–12/2008) derived from the United States Renal Data System was linked with Medicare claims data to identify the type of initial access placed predialysis. We used logistic regression model with outcome being the initial predialysis placement of an AVF as opposed to an arteriovenous graft or a central venous catheter. Increasing age, female sex, black race, lower body mass index, urban location, certain comorbidities, and shorter pre–end‐stage renal disease nephrology care are all associated with a significantly lower likelihood of AVF placement as initial access predialysis. Our study suggests the presence of significant disparities in the placement of an AVF as initial hemodialysis vascular access. We suggest that additional attention should be paid to these patient groups to improve disparities by patient education, earlier referral, and close follow‐up.     

Speaker-independent isolated word recognition using multiple hiddenMarkov models

A multi-HMM speaker-independent isolated word recognition system is described. In this system, three vector quantisation methods, the LBG algorithm, the EM algorithm, and a new MGC algorithm, are used for the classification of the speech space. These quantisations of the speech space are then used to produce three HMMs for each word in the vocabulary. In the recognition step, the Viterbi algorithm is used in the three subrecognisers. The log probabilities of the observation sequences matching-the models are multiplied by the weights determined by the recognition accuracies of individual subrecognisers and summed to give the log probability that the utterance is of a particular word in the vocabulary. This multi-HMM system results in a reduction of about 50% in the error rate in comparison with the single model system     

Prospective highlights of functional skin proteomics

Although a wide variety of protein profiles have been extensively constructed via proteomic analysis, the comprehensive proteomic profiling of the skin, which is considered to be the largest organ of the human body, is still far from complete. Our efforts to establish the functional skin proteome, a protein database describing the protein networks that underlie biological processes, has set in motion the identification and characterization of proteins expressed in the epidermis and dermis of the BALB/c mice. In this review, we will highlight various cutaneous proteins we have characterized and discuss their biological functions associated with skin distress, immunity, and cancer. This type of research into functional skin proteomics will provide a critical step toward understanding disease and developing successful therapeutic strategies.     

Influence of cationic flocculant properties on the flocculation of yeast suspensions

In this study four different cationic polyelectrolytes of different molecular weight and charge densities were used to flocculate yeast suspensions to determine the effect of flocculant dose, molecular weight and charge density on the resulting floc size, morphology and charge. The zeta potential of the negatively charged yeast flocs was observed to increase with flocculant dose. As the flocculant dose was increased the charge of the floc was observed to reverse; the actual dose at which charge reversal occurs being dependent on the flocculant charge density and molecular weight. Floc size and morphology, measured with a video camera, showed that higher molecular weight flocculants produced larger flocs for the same dose. The results obtained here suggest that that flocculants may be screened by determining the charge, size and morphology of the resulting floc particles which is less time-consuming.     

DESIGN OF SEMI-AUTOMATED MAIL PROCESSING FACILITIES

This paper presents a two-level approach to designing and analyzing semi-automated mail processing facilities. The strategic issues related to equipment selection and capacity expansion are examined at the upper level with the help of a large scale mixed integer linear program. The general formulation is characteristic of a multistage, multicommodity network, and contains over 7500 variables and 6500 constraints. Solutions provide input to a SLAM-based simulation model that is used to investigate operational issues related to resource scheduling, service standards, and growth in mail volume.

The Northern Virginia Area facility serves as the baseline for the study. Results are presented for a proposed system embodying a host of new concepts and equipment. The first is an upgraded multi-line optical character reader (MLOCR) which is capable of scanning the entire address field, looking up a corresponding 11-digit ZIP code in a national directory, and bar-coding the envelope accordingly. The second is a remote video encoding system (RVES) which will perform the same functions as the MLOCR, but with an operator at a console to process handwritten addresses. With this new equipment, it will be possible to sequence almost 80 percent of the letter mail to the order in which it is delivered by the carrier. This is expected to reduce the amount of in-office activity by up to 45 percent, and save over $6 billion a year when implemented nationwide.     

Spectral analyzer for Thomson scattering

We describe here a four-channel spectral analyzer suitable for use in Thomson scattering diagnostics of plasmas, that incorporates several novel features and is inexpensive and physically compact. It is suitable for spectral analysis of light scattered from plasmas having densities down to approximately 10(14) cm(-3) and temperatures up to several hundred electron volts.