Rapid method for determining fat content in meat by using continuous wave nuclear magnetic resonance (CW-NMR) technique

Development of rapid methods is often needed for the in-line process control of the proximate composition (e.g. fat or moisture content) of meat in the meat processing plants. This paper reports on the continuous wave nuclear magnetic resonance (CW-NMR) technique applied for determining fat content in fresh meat. The interfering moisture content in meat was removed by microwave drying and the dried residue was transferred quantitatively into the NMR-tubes. The total analysis time was about 35 min. Experiments were performed with pork (with a fat content from 1.7% to 21%), beef (with a fat content from 1.0% to 16.1%), lard (rendered pork fat) and tallow (rendered beef fat) samples and with their combinations: lard-tallow, lard-lean pork, tallow-lean beef and lard-tallow-lean beef-lean pork. The regression (prediction) equations (NMR-signal vs. fat content determined with the Soxhlet reference method) of pork and beef did not differ significantly. However, there was a noticeable difference between the regression lines of pure lard and pure tallow. Moreover, the latter ones differed from the regression equations of pork, beef and of the various meat-fat combinations. The variability of the fatty acid composition of the fat also seems to influence the stability of the calibration curves, because the sensitivity of the CW-NMR signal to the fatty acid composition interferes with the quantitative determination of fat content in meat

Highly substrate selective nucleophilic amination of nitro-substituted 4-(2-hydroxyethylamino)phthalazin-1(2H)-ones

An unexpected selectivity was observed in the aromatic displacement reaction of 4-(2-hydroxyethylamino)phthalazinones 1-3 and 7, 8 differently substituted with the leaving nitro group on the condensed benzene ring. On treatment with a series of amine and hydrazine nucleophiles, the 8-nitro isomers 1-3 were readily transformed into the corresponding aromatic amine (4-6), while the substrates carrying the nitro group at position 6 or 7 (7 and 8) remained unchanged on prolonged treatment with any of the reagents used. Application of pyridine or DMF as a solvent proved to be indispensable to successful conversions even of the 8-nitro derivatives 1-3

Highly substrate selective nucleophilic amination of nitro-substituted 4-(2-hydroxyethylamino)phthalazin-1(2h)-ones

An unexpected selectivity was observed in the aromatic displacement reaction of 4-(2-hydroxyethylamino)phthalazinones (1) under bar-(3) under bar and (7) under bar, (8) under bar differently substituted with the leaving nitro group on the condensed benzene ring. On treatment with a series of amine and hydrazine nucleophiles, the 8-nitro isomers (1) under bar-(3) under bar were readily transformed into the corresponding aromatic amine ((4) under bar-(6) under bar), while the substrates carrying the nitro group at position 6 or 7 ((7) under bar and (8) under bar) remained unchanged on prolonged treatment with any of the reagents used. Application of pyridine or DMF as a solvent proved to be indispensable to successful conversions even of the 8-nitro derivatives (1) under bar-(3) under bar.Accession Number: WOS:00007207550001

The EU and Central and Eastern Europe: the absence of inter-regionalism

In contrast to its relations with many other areas of the world, the EU's relations with Central and Eastern Europe are not 'interregional'. The EU has developed intensive bilateral relations with the Central and East European countries, which has allowed it to use economic and political conditionality to encourage them to undertake reforms — and successfully so. It has promoted sub-regional cooperation, but not consistently or extensively, and strong sub-regional groupings have not evolved in Central and Eastern Europe. The 'big-bang' enlargement of 2004 extended the EU's regional model to much of the European continent, but is not an example of interregionalism. The shadow of enlargement has also created considerable challenges for the EU in its relations with its new neighbours