Investigation of the levels of N(τ)-Methylhistidine in a range of beef cuts and offals

Protein-bound N(τ)-methylhistidine (N-MeHis) has been suggested as an index for the estimation of muscle (meat) protein in meat and meat products. This paper examines the levels of N-MeHis in a range of six prime beef cuts together with beef flank, cheek, mechanically recovered meat (MRM) and offals. The study was undertaken by two separate laboratories using a previously reported HPLC procedure involving the conversion of N-MeHis to a fluorescent derivative. It is shown that, whilst similar N-MeHis levels are present in the prime cuts, there is considerable variation in those found in the other cuts and offals. The average N-MeHis level in six prime cuts observed at both laboratories is 122 μg/g fat-free connective tissue-free (FFCF) meat; however, flank exhibits apparently high N-MeHis levels, whilst cheek and MRM contain only approximately 70% of the level found in the prime cuts. The offals contain between 0 and 65% of the N-MeHis level found in prime cuts. The greater variability and the often lower value of the N-MeHis content of these legitimate meat materials preclude the establishment of a single realistic index for FFCF beef, and present fundamental problems for the assessment of the lean meat content of manufactured beef products by N-MeHis determination.     

Investigation of the levels of free purine and pyrimidine bases and metabolites in mechanically recovered meats

Levels of free purine and pyrimidine bases and metabolites, in particular xanthine, have been investigated in poultry meat and MRM as potential qualitative or quantitative markers for the presence of MRM in meat products. Only xanthine was found to exhibit significantly different levels between the source meat and MRM product where, for example, it was found to be present at approximately 100 μg/g in turkey MRM but only 57, 33 and 14 μg/g in the neck, leg and breast meat respectively. The wide variation in levels within a cut, together with the overlap between figures for source meat and MRM, preclude the use of xanthine as a robust qualitative or quantitative marker. Processing of turkey meat by subjecting it to an increasing level of comminution does not appear to elevate the indigenous level of free xanthine.     

Kinetics of the Benzylation of Potato Starch

The formation of benzyl ethers of potato starch by etherification with benzyl chloride is base catalyzed and is therefore carried out at high pH. In a suspension of starch granules the rate of starch ether formation is found not to be linearly related to the concentration of hydroxyl ions in the water phase of the suspension. At the same pH widely different rates of reaction can be observed, to be due to the tendency of the starch granules to “absorb” hydroxyl ions when electrolytes are added to the suspension. The rate of formation of the benzyl ether of starch is found to be linearly related to the amount of hydroxyl ions “absorbed” by the starch. The rate of the side reaction leading to benzyl alcohol turned out to be higher in the presence of starch than in water of the same pH.     

Bioassaying combinations of wood preservatives and tannins withPoria placenta andAspergillus niger

With “new” preservatives it is convenient to be able to screen their efficacy before time consuming and expensive fungi tests are carried out. For a fast screening of preservatives, combined with natural and synthetical tannins, two screening tests withAspergillus andPoria, respectively, had been used. The results had been compared with soil block tests. With both screening tests, reproducible and distinctive results are given even after a couple of days. However, the comparison with the soil block test showed, that the result from the screening tests are not reliable for a later use of timber in soil contact.     

Hydrogen-fueled diesel engine without timed ignition

Experiments were carried out to investigate the feasibility of converting a diesel engine to hydrogen-fueled operation without providing a timed ignition system. Use was made of a glow plug and a multiple-strike spark plug. The work was done with an ASTM-CFR engine, the diesel head of which was modified to resemble the geometry of a D399 series Caterpillar diesel engine. Engine speed was 1240 rev/min. The glow plug was found to provide reliable ignition and smooth engine operation. It caused the hydrogen to ignite almost immediately upon the start of injection. Indicated mean effective pressures were on the order of 1.3φ MPa for equivalence ratios φ between 0.1 and 0.4 at a compression ratio of 18. This is significantly higher than the corresponding result obtained with diesel oil (about 0.6 φ MPa for 0.3 < ? < 0·9). Indicated thermal efficiencies were on the order of 0.4 for hydrogen and 0.20–0.25 for diesel oil. Operation with the multiple-strike spark system yielded similar values for IMEP and efficiency, but gave rise to large cycle-to-cycle variations in the delay between beginning of injection and ignition. Large ignition delays were associated with large amplitude pressure waves in the combustion chamber. The measured NO_χ concentrations in the exhaust gas were of the order of 50–100 ppm. This is significantly higher than the corresponding results obtained with premixed hydrogen and air at low equivalence ratios. Compression ignition could not be achieved even at a compression ratio of 29.     

Silver Stars: Silver–Polymer Composite Stars: Synthesis and Applications (Adv. Funct. Mater. 9/2011)

Colloidal “silver stars” were synthesized upon poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic) acid nanosphere templates via a facile two‐step silver reduction method. Myriad dendrimer‐like Ag star morphologies were synthesized by varying the amount of poly(vinyl alcohol) and trisodium citrate used during silver reduction. Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that star‐shaped silver–polymer composites possessing nanoscopic, fractal morphologies with diameters ranging from 500 nm to 7 μm were produced. These composites have broad applications from antibacterial agents to catalysis; two such applications were tested here. Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) studies showed multiple hot spots of SERS activity within a single star. Electrochemical catalysis experiments demonstrated the feasibility of using the silver stars instead of platinum for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline fuel cells.     

High-speed digital color imaging pyrometry

Temperature measurements of high-explosive and combustion processes are difficult to obtain due to the speed and environment of the events. To overcome these challenges, we have characterized and calibrated a digital high-speed color camera that may be used to measure the temperature of such events. A two-color ratio method is used to calculate a temperature using the color filter array raw image data and a graybody assumption. If the raw image data are not available, temperatures may be calculated from the processed images or movies, depending on proper analysis of the digital color imaging pipeline. We analyze three transformations within the pipeline (demosaicing, white balance, and gamma correction) to determine their effect on the calculated temperature. Using this technique with a Phantom color camera, we have measured the temperature of exploded C-4 charges. The surface temperature of the resulting fireball was found to rapidly increase after detonation, and subsequently decayed to a constant value of approximately 1980 K.     

The benefit of dividing an indirect thermal storage into two compartments: Discharge experiments

Experiments are presented to demonstrate the benefits of dividing an indirect thermal storage into two compartments. The transient discharge experiments were conducted in an undivided and equally divided 126 l rectangular storage vessel, which has a height to depth aspect ratio of 9.3:1 and is inclined at 30° to the horizontal. A 240-tube copper heat exchanger with a total surface area of 2.38 m² was immersed in the storage fluid. For the divided storage, the heat exchanger flow path was in series through the two compartments. Water flow rate through the heat exchanger was varied from 0.05 to 0.15 kg/s to demonstrate the effect of varying the number of transfer units (NTU) from 2.2 to 7 on the relative performance of undivided and divided storage vessels. Reported measurements include transient storage temperature distribution, heat exchanger outlet temperature, delivered energy, and exergy of the divided and undivided storage. The divided storage provides higher energy delivery rates and higher heat exchanger outlet temperatures during most of the discharge. The magnitude of these benefits depends on NTU and the extent of discharge. For a flow rate of 0.05 kg/s, corresponding to a nominal NTU of 7, the divided storage delivers a maximum of 11% more energy than the undivided storage when 100 l of hot water or 55% of the stored energy has been delivered. For a flow rate of 0.15 kg/s, corresponding to a nominal NTU of 2.5, the divided storage delivers a maximum of 5% more energy at the same level of discharge. Data agree with first and second law analyses of a storage system comprised of two tanks in series.