Body composition and peak aerobic power in male international level Hungarian athletes

Body size, physique, body composition and physiological performance of elite athletes's independent aspects, have aroused the interest of exercise scientists, but studies that combine these aspects in elite athletes are scarcely available. The aim of the present study was to describe the selected anthropometric and exercise physiological characteristics of some Hungarian top athletes. The investigated subjects were qualified Hungarian water polo players (n=25), paddlers (n=24) and modern pentathlonists (n=20), all of whom had been medalists at several continental and intercontinental competitions. The athletes' body composition was estimated by the Drinkwater–Ross (45) body mass fractionation technique. Peak physiological performance was estimated by graded exhausting spiroergometric treadmill exercise. Intergroup differences in mean height, body mass and body composition characteristics were significant at the 5% level of random error. By the results of spiroergometry, all the three groups compared could be qualified as physically excellently trained. The greatest oxygen uptake relative to body mass was found in the modern pentathlonists (73.22 ml×kg–1×min–1) and the lowest one (59.79) in the water polo players. The authors do not disregard the favourable effects of regular and adequate trainings in the development of the studied characteristics, but in their opinion the process of proper selection has been the most important factor that explains the observed significant intergroup differences

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Nigella sativa crude and essential oil

Nigella sativa L. (black cumin) is well known for its benefits in the field of traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition and investigate the antimicrobial activity of cold pressed oil (CO) and essential oil (EO) of Nigella sativa L. on food-borne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. The microdilution method was used to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Nigella sativa crude oil (CO) and essential oil (EO) against 4 Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes) and 3 Gram-negative (Salmonella Hartford, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli) foodborne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria occurring in food products. Total fatty acid composition of CO was analysed by GLC, while the EO was analysed by GC-MS to detect its active compounds. The results showed that the major fatty acid of CO was palmitic acid (C16:0), as saturated fatty acid, however, linoleic acid (C18:2) was the main unsaturated fatty acid. The major compounds of the EO were p-cymene and thymoquinone. The inhibition on all tested bacteria of EO was 10 times higher than of CO, and the lowest concentration value was observed in case of Bacillus subtilis (0.003%). Hence, results reinforce the ambition to apply Nigella sativa oils in food as natural preservative

Optical properties and mineralogical composition of different Saharan mineral dust samples: a laboratory study

International audienceIn aerosol chamber experiments optical properties of resuspended mineral dust samples of defined size distributions were measured. Extinction coefficients (bext) and mass specific extinction cross sections (?ext) were determined for Saharan dust samples from different locations. The results for ?ext were not very sensitive to the type of dust and varied at ?=550 nm between 3.3±0.4 m2 g?1 and 3.7±0.4 m2 g?1. The absorption coefficients (babs) and mass specific absorption cross sections (?abs) were determined with a novel multi-wavelength photo-acoustic absorption spectrometer (PAS). The single scattering albedo was close to 1 (0.98 to 0.99) at 532 nm and 1064 nm, but significantly lower (0.63 to 0.76) at 266 nm. Additionally the chemical and mineralogical composition of the dust samples were analysed with special regard to the iron oxide phases hematite and goethite. At ?=266 nm the mineral dust sample without any detectable iron oxides showed a significantly higher SSA compared to the sample with a hematite content of 0.6 wt-%

Cause Analysis and Risk Evaluation of the Occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in the Broiler Production Chain

Tendencies of foodborne outbreaks show that the number of illnesses caused by Campylobacter spp. has been increasing recently in the European Union and in Hungary as well. However, the epidemiological statuses of Member States are diverse. There are several aspects to be investigated by competent authorities before the introduction of interventions. Methods supporting food safety decision making range from quick and easy techniques to complex, resource consuming approaches. The aim of the present study was the implementation of an evaluation and ranking system for a risk and its causes occurring in the broiler production chain. Data and information available in scientific literature were converted to a structured easy-to-use evaluation that supports decision making and helps structured data processing

Mode of action of Kluyveromyces lactis in biocontrol of Penicillium expansum

Numerous yeasts are reported as being effective in controlling plant pathogenic moulds. By selecting new biocontrol agents, knowledge about the mode of action of mould inhibition is important. In our study, mode of action of Kluyveromyces lactis - successfully applied against Penicillium expansum in former studies - was investigated. According to the results, volatile compounds are supposed to play a role in restriction of mould growth. Antibiotic substances and killer toxins produced by the tested Kl. lactis strain were not detected

Comparison of biocontrol activity of Kluyveromyces lactiswith other yeast strains against Penicillium expansum

Applying antagonistic yeasts is one of the recent possibilities for controlling postharvest disease caused by blue mould (Penicillium expansum). In this work, antagonistic activity of several Kl. lactisstrains was tested against two strains of P. expansum. Three strains of Kl. lactiswere compared to three biocontrol yeasts: Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Sporobolomyces roseusand Pichia anomala. The investigations were carried out at 25 °C, 15 °C and 5 °C, applying different yeast cell densities and culture media. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences among the three Kl. lactisstrains. The inhibitory effect of the tested yeasts was different according to the applied mould strain temperature, culture medium and cell density. Application of antagonistic yeasts combined with reduced temperature enhanced the inhibitory effect. Direct relationship was observed between increasing cell density and the biocontrol efficiency of Kl. lactis. According to this work, Kl. lactisis a possible biocontrol agent

Comparative studies on gamma radiation and high pressure induced effects on minced beef

The total viable cell count of bacteria in vacuum-packaged chilled minced beef has been decreased equally, by approx. two log-cycles, as an effect of 1.5-2.0 kGy gamma radiation or 200-300 MPa high hydrostatic pressure (UHP) treatment for 20 min. Coliform bacteria could be eliminated to non-detectable levels by the same treatments. The shelf-life of both untreated and non-thermally pasteurised samples were limited mainly by growth of lactic acid bacteria. At about equal bactericidal effect, more drastic changes of texture and colour occurred in UHP-pasteurized minced beef samples than in the radiation-pasteurized ones. Whereas radiation pasteurisation caused minimal changes in appearance, texture and DSC-thermograms of minced beef, UHP-pasteurisation of the raw samples proved to be strongly discolouring by denaturing the muscle pigments and causing extensive denaturation of the myofibrillar proteins. The water holding capacity of irradiated samples decreased, while that of high pressure treated ones increased as compared to the untreated control. Near infrared spectrometry and electronic nose measurements gave promising results to make distinctions non-destructively on changes of various physical-chemical changes and quality parameters as a function of pasteurising treatments and/or storage