Effects of breed and age at slaughter on degradation of muscle lipids during processing of dry‐cured hams

Hams from Landrace, Duroc and Hampshire pigs slaughtered at ages 6, 7.5 and 9 months were processed to generate Norwegian Parma‐style hams. Lipid contents and the compositions of fatty acid classes (ΣSFA, ΣMUFA, ΣPUFA) within neutral lipids, phospholipids and free fatty acids were determined. Small differences in lipid degradation and composition of the classes were revealed. However, significant sensory differences related to lipids were observed. Breed was more important than age. Dry‐cured Hampshire hams gave a more intense mature odour that may be associated with higher overall lipid degradation. Unexpectedly, these hams also demonstrated high juiciness and tenderness, which could be related to the melting characteristics of the fat. Dry‐cured Duroc hams showed a higher susceptibility towards rancidity, presumably associated with preferential oxidation of n‐6 fatty acids relative to C18:1 n‐9. Dry‐cured Landrace hams showed the lowest juiciness and tenderness, likely due to their lower fat content (marbling).     

An empirical investigation of competency factors affecting e-business success in European SMEs

In the last decade there was growing interest in strategic management literature about factors that influence a company's ability to use IT. There is general consensus that knowledge and competency are necessary in developing an IT capability, but there is very little understanding of what the necessary competencies are, and how they influence IS usage in different contexts. The small and medium-sized enterprise context is particularly interesting for two reasons: it constitutes a major part of the economy and it has been relatively unsuccessful in exploiting e-business.     

Effects of NAD or NADP on the stability of liver and pectoral muscle enzymes in 3-acetylpyridine treated quail by heat and trypsin

(1) The effects of long term treatment with 3-acetylpyridine on the stability of enzymes towards heat and trypsin treatment were studied. (2) In the liver NAD or NADP provided a similar degree of protection against heat inactivation at 55 degrees C for 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (24%), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (24%) and malic enzyme (20%), low level of protection of lactate dehydrogenase (13%) but didn't affect acetylcholinesterase at all. In the muscle, however, there was substantial protection against heat inactivation by coenzyme of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (52%), an intermediate level of protection of lactate dehydrogenase (25%), low level of protection of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (17%) and malic enzyme (17%) and almost no protection of acetylcholinesterase. (3) In the susceptibility towards trypsin a low but similar degree of protection for dehydrogenases by coenzymes was observed in the liver whereas in the muscle there was substantial protection against trypsin inactivation by NAD of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, an intermediate level of protection of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme and very little protection of lactate dehydrogenase but no protection of acetylcholinesterase. Among enzymes tested, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase showed the greatest protection against heat and trypsin inactivation by NAD. (4) The results suggest that the effect of 3-acetylpyridine treatment on the stability of muscle glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase appears to be quite specific and selective.     

Predictors of GBV-C infection among patients referred for renal transplantation

The etiology of liver disease remains unknown in about 4 to 23% of dialysis patients and 10 to 16% of renal transplant recipients. A search for other causative agents of liver disease led to the discovery of the GB group of viruses. We studied the association between the presence of GB virus C (GBV-C) infection, known risk factors for parenterally-transmitted infections and history or laboratory evidence of liver disease among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients referred for renal transplantation to the New England Organ Bank, MA. Stored sera from patients on the renal transplantation waiting list between November 1986 and June 1990 were tested for antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV). Sera were available in 1544 of 3243 (48%) patients, and anti-HCV was detected by ELISA3 in 287 (19%). All 287 anti-HCV positive patients formed the anti-HCV positive cohort and 286 randomly selected anti-HCV negative patients formed the anti-HCV negative cohort (573 patients overall). Additional sera were available for GBV-C RNA testing in 465 of 573 (81%) patients, and GBV-C RNA was detected by RT-PCR in 146. The overall extrapolated prevalence of serum GBV-C RNA was 29%. The prevalence of serum GBV-C RNa among anti-HCV positive patients (35%) was not significantly different from that among anti-HCV negative patients (29%; P = 0.22). In a univariate analysis, compared to patients without GBV-C RNA, patients with serum GBV-C RNA were younger [odds ratio (OR) 0.98 per year of age, P = 0.01], had a lower proportion of males (OR 0.64, P = 0.03), lower proportion of patients with diabetes mellitus (OR 0.44, P = 0.01), higher proportion of patients with a previous transplantation (OR 1.53, P = 0.04), longer duration of dialysis at the time of enrollment (OR 1.004 per month on dialysis, P = 0.03), and a higher proportion of patients with history of transfusions (OR 4.58, P = 0.01). Serum GBV-C RNA was not associated with a significantly increased OR for history of liver disease or non-A, non-B hepatitis, or elevated serum alanine aminotransferase levels. In a step-wise multivariate regression analysis, a younger age (OR 0.98 per year of age, P = 0.03), and history of blood transfusions (OR 3.89, P = 0.03) were associated with an increased OR for serum GBV-C RNA, while diabetes mellitus was associated with a decreased OR for GBV-C RNA (OR 0.47, P = 0.01). Anti-HCV was not a predictor of serum GBV-C RNA (OR 1.07, P = 0.77). The results of this study support the fact that GBV-C is a parenterally transmitted virus and shed light on the modes of transmission of GBV-C among ESRD patients. However, the association with liver disease remains to be established.     

Routine analysis of proteins by Kjeldahl and Dumas methods: review and interlaboratory study using dairy products

The Kjeldahl and Dumas (combustion) methods were compared in 11 laboratories analyzing samples of milk, skim milk powder, whole milk powder, whey protein concentrate, infant formula, casein, caseinate, 2 reference compounds (glycine and EDTA), and a secondary reference skim milk powder. The comparison was conducted by using international standards where applicable. Overall means were 8.818 g N/100 g by the Kjeldahl method and 8.810 g N/100 g by the Dumas method. No evidence was found for a consistent bias between methods that may be of concern in the trading of dairy produce. A review of more than 10 related trials revealed a lack of consensus in the bias between the 2 methods, suggesting that differences in methodology and sources of systematic error may be contributors. For samples containing > 2 g N/100 g, the Dumas relative repeatability and reproducibility standard deviations were consistently about 0.35 and 0.75%, respectively, whereas the corresponding Kjeldahl values declined generally with N content and were significantly larger. The Dumas precision characteristics may be due to the dominance of Leco analyzers in this trials, and in most other recent trials, rather than an inherent method attribute. Protein determination methods for dairy products need to be reviewed and updated. The Dumas method needs Codex Alimentarius status as a recognized test method.     

An Industrial Case Study on Distributed Prioritisation in Market-Driven Requirements Engineering for Packaged Software

When developing packaged software, which is sold ‘off-the-shelf’ on a worldwide marketplace, it is essential to collect needs and opportunities from different market segments and use this information in the prioritisation of requirements for the next software release. This paper presents an industrial case study where a distributed prioritisation process is proposed, observed and evaluated. The stakeholders in the requirements prioritisation process include marketing offices distributed around the world. A major objective of the distributed prioritisation is to gather and highlight the differences and similarities in the requirement priorities of the different market segments. The evaluation through questionnaires shows that the stakeholders found the process useful. The paper also presents novel approaches to visualise the priority distribution among stakeholders, together with measures on disagreement and satisfaction. Product management found the proposed charts valuable as decision support when selecting requirements for the next release, as they revealed unforeseen differences among stakeholder priorities. Conclusions on stakeholder tactics are provided and issues of further research are identified, including ways of addressing identified challenges.