Sensory traits, color, and shelf life of low-dose irradiated, raw, ground beef patties

Irradiation of raw ground beef patties had minimal effects on flavor and aroma of patties after cooking. Oxidative rancidity increased when patties were irradiated in aerobic but not in vacuum packages. Irradiation of vacuum-packaged ground beef patties produced a more stable color. In both packaging types, irradiation significantly reduced microbial growth during storage

Sensory traits, color, and shelf life of low-dose irradiated, precooked, ground beef patties

Irradiation did not influence bitter, bloody, burnt, chemical, fat-like, juiciness, liver-like, beef identity, metallic, rancid, sour, sweet, and toughness flavor/textural attributes, beef aroma, or off-odor in precooked ground beef patties. Irradiation slightly increased the animal hair flavor note, but intensity levels were <1 on the 15-point sensory scale. Except for 10% fat non-irradiated controls, reheated precooked patties had a slight sour, ammonia-like, top note. Irradiation at 3.5 kilograys (kGy) increased external redness in vacuum-packaged patties, but not in aerobic packages. Aerobic packaging with or without irradiation decreased external precooked redness. Oxidative rancidity increased when patties were irradiated in aerobic but not in vacuum packages. Reduction of oxygen in vacuum bags extended the shelf life of the precooked ground beef patties, at least in terms of oxidative rancidity. Precooking ground beef patties, irrespective of irradiation or packaging type, posed sensory disadvantages, and improvements to the precooking process are needed before irradiating at low-dose levels is appropriate

Mesoscopic phase separation in La2CuO4.02 - a 139La NQR study

In crystals of La2CuO4.02 oxygen diffusion can be limited to such small length scales, that the resulting phase separation is invisible for neutrons. Decomposition of the 139La NQR spectra shows the existence of three different regions, of which one orders antiferromagnetically below 17K concomitantly with the onset of a weak superconductivity in the crystal. These regions are compared to the macroscopic phases seen previously in the title compound and the cluster-glass and striped phases reported for the underdoped Sr-doped cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 5 figures, to be published in PR

Prospective Registry Trial Assessing the Use of Magnetic Seeds to Locate Clipped Nodes After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer Patients

Background Targeted axillary dissection (TAD) involves locating and removing both clipped nodes and sentinel nodes for assessment of the axillary response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) by clinically node-positive breast cancer patients. Initial reports described radioactive seeds used for localization, which makes the technique difficult to implement in some settings. This trial was performed to determine whether magnetic seeds can be used to locate clipped axillary lymph nodes for removal. Methods This prospective registry trial enrolled patients who had biopsy-proven node-positive disease with a clip placed in the node and treatment with NAC. A magnetic seed was placed under ultrasound guidance in the clipped node after NAC. All the patients underwent TAD. Results Magnetic seeds were placed in 50 patients by 17 breast radiologists. All the patients had successful seed placement at the first attempt (mean time for localization was 6.1 min; range 1-30 min). The final position of the magnetic seed was within the node (n = 44, 88%), in the cortex (n = 3, 6%), less than 3 mm from the node (n = 2, 4%), or by the clip when the node could not be adequately visualized (n = 1, 2%). The magnetic seed was retrieved at surgery from all the patients. In 49 (98%) of the 50 cases, the clip and magnetic seed were retrieved from the same node. Surgeons rated the transcutaneous and intraoperative localization as easy for 43 (86%) of the 50 cases. No device-related adverse events occurred. Conclusions Localization and selective removal of clipped nodes can be accomplished safely and effectively using magnetic seeds

Slogging and Stumbling Toward Social Justice in a Private Elementary School: The Complicated Case of St. Malachy

This case study examines St. Malachy, an urban Catholic elementary school primarily serving children traditionally marginalized by race, class, linguistic heritage, and disability. As a private school, St. Malachy serves the public good by recruiting and retaining such traditionally marginalized students. As empirical studies involving Catholic schools frequently juxtapose them with public schools, the author presents this examination from a different tack. Neither vilifying nor glorifying Catholic schooling, this study critically examines the pursuit of social justice in this school context. Data gathered through a 1-year study show that formal and informal leaders in St. Malachy adapted their governance, aggressively sought community resources, and focused their professional development to build the capacity to serve their increasingly pluralistic student population. The analysis confirms the deepening realization that striving toward social justice is a messy, contradictory, and complicated pursuit, and that schools in both public and private sectors are allies in this pursuit

Some Consequences of Thermosolutal Convection: The Grain Structure of Castings

The essential principles of thermosolutal convection are outlined, and how convection provides a transport mechanism between the mushy region of a casting and the open bulk liquid is illustrated. The convective flow patterns which develop assist in heat exchange and macroscopic solute segregation during solidification; they also provide a mechanism for the transport of dendritic fragments from the mushy region into the bulk liquid. Surviving fragments become nuclei for equiaxed grains and so lead to blocking of the parental columnar, dendritic growth front from which they originated. The physical steps in such a sequence are considered and some experimental data are provided to support the argument

Monitoring Soil Quality to Assess the Sustainability of Harvesting Corn Stover

Harvesting feedstock for biofuel production must not degrade soil, water, or air resources. Our objective is to provide an overview of field research being conducted to quantify effects of harvesting corn (Zea mays L.) stover as a bioenergy feedstock. Coordinated field studies are being conducted near Ames, IA; St. Paul and Morris, MN; Mead, NE; University Park, PA; Florence, SC; and Brookings, SD., as part of the USDA-ARS Renewable Energy Assessment Project (REAP). A baseline soil quality assessment was made using the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF). Corn grain and residue yield for two different stover harvest rates (∼50% and ∼90%) are being measured. Available soil data remains quite limited but sufficient for an initial SMAF analysis that confirms total organic carbon (TOC) is a soil quality indicator that needs to be closely monitored closely to quantify crop residue removal effects. Overall, grain yields averaged 9.7 and 11.7 Mg ha−1 (155 and 186 bu acre−1) in 2008 and 2009, values that are consistent with national averages for both years. The average amount of stover collected for the 50% treatment was 2.6 and 4.2 Mg ha−1 for 2008 and 2009, while the 90% treatment resulted in an average removal of 5.4 and 7.4 Mg ha−1, respectively. Based on a recent literature review, both stover harvest scenarios could result in a gradual decline in TOC. However, the literature value has a large standard error, so continuation of this long-term multi-location study for several years is warranted

Hospital readmissions and mortality among fee-for-service medicare patients with minor stroke or transient ischemic attack: Findings from the COMPASS cluster-randomized pragmatic trial

Background Mortality and hospital readmission rates may reflect the quality of acute and postacute stroke care. Our aim was to investigate if, compared with usual care (UC), the COMPASS-TC (Comprehensive Post-Acute Stroke Services Transitional Care) intervention (INV) resulted in lower all-cause and stroke-specific readmissions and mortality among patients with minor stroke and transient ischemic attack discharged from 40 diverse North Carolina hospitals from 2016 to 2018. Methods and Results Using Medicare fee-for-service claims linked with COMPASS cluster-randomized trial data, we performed intention-to-treat analyses for 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year unplanned all-cause and stroke-specific readmissions and all-cause mortality between INV and UC groups, with 90-day unplanned all-cause readmissions as the primary outcome. Effect estimates were determined via mixed logistic or Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for age, sex, race, stroke severity, stroke diagnosis, and documented history of stroke. The final analysis cohort included 1069 INV and 1193 UC patients (median age 74 years, 80% White, 52% women, 40% with transient ischemic attack) with median length of hospital stay of 2 days. The risk of unplanned all-cause readmission was similar between INV versus UC at 30 (9.9% versus 8.7%) and 90 days (19.9% versus 18.9%), respectively. No significant differences between randomization groups were seen in 1-year all-cause readmissions, stroke-specific readmissions, or mortality. Conclusions In this pragmatic trial of patients with complex minor stroke/transient ischemic attack, there was no difference in the risk of readmission or mortality with COMPASS-TC relative to UC. Our study could not conclusively determine the reason for the lack of effectiveness of the INV