Lipid Oxidation and Sensory Characteristics of Grass-Fed Beef: Effect of Duration of Grazing Prior to Slaughter

Beef from cattle produced from grass has a higher concentration of fatty acids considered to be beneficial to human health than beef produced from more intensive production systems and this increase in fatty acid concentration is dependant on the duration at pasture prior to slaughter (Noci et al., 2003). Improvements in the fatty acid composition of beef must not impair other quality characteristics of beef. Little information is available on the pattern of change of quality characteristics in grazing animals. The objective of this study was to determine the shelf-life and eating quality of beef from cattle produced from a standard Irish grass silage/concentrates finishing system but allowed to graze grass for different periods prior to slaughter

Collimated dual species oven source and its characterisation via spatially resolved fluorescence spectroscopy

We describe the design, construction and characterisation of a collimated, dual-species oven source for generating intense beams of lithium and caesium in UHV environments. Our design produces full beam overlap for the two species. Using an aligned microtube array the FWHM of the output beam is restricted to ~ 75 milliradians, with an estimated axial brightness of 3.6x10[superscript]14 atoms s[superscript]-1 sr[superscript]-1 for Li and 7.4x10[superscript]15 atoms s[superscript]-1 sr[superscript]-1 for Cs. We measure the properties of the output beam using a spatially-resolved fluorescence technique, which allows for the extraction of additional information not accessible without spatial resolution

Breakfast glycaemic index and exercise: combined effects on adolescents' cognition

The aim of the present study was to examine the combined effects of breakfast glycaemic index (GI) and a mid-morning bout of exercise on adolescents’ cognitive function. Participants were randomly allocated to a high or low GI breakfast group in a mixed research design, where each participant completed two experimental trials (exercise and resting). Forty-two adolescents (12.4±0.5 years old), undertook a bout of exercise (ten repeats of level one of the multi-stage fitness test; exercise trial) or continued to rest (resting trial) following consumption of either a high or low GI breakfast. A battery of cognitive function tests (visual search test, Stroop test and Sternberg paradigm) was completed 30 min before and 45 min following the exercise. Average heart rate during exercise was 170±15 beats.min-1. On the complex level of the Stroop test, response times improved across the morning following the low GI breakfast on both the exercise and resting trials, though the improvement was greatest on the exercise trial. However, response times only improved on the resting trial following the high GI breakfast (p = 0.012). On the 5 letter level of the Sternberg paradigm, response times improved across the morning following the low GI breakfast (regardless of exercise) and only on the exercise trial following the high GI breakfast (p = 0.019). The findings of the present study suggest that the combined effects of breakfast GI and exercise in adolescents depend upon the component of cognitive function examined. A low GI breakfast and mid-morning bout of exercise were individually beneficial for response times on the Sternberg paradigm, whereas they conferred additional benefits for response times on the Stroop test

De Novo Mutations Producing Unstable Hemoglobins or Hemoglobins M

Hemoglobins M and unstable hemoglobins cause clinical syndromes that are transmitted in autosomal dominant fashion. Pedigrees of 50 probands with de novo mutations producing unstable Hb disease or Hb M disease were compiled. Cases were ascertained (1) by screening the relevant literature published from 1950 through 1980 and (2) through personal communication. Additional pedigree data on several published cases were collected, and a depository containing all available information related to de novo Hb mutants was established. The 50 probands were born in 14 countries between 1922 and 1976. Paternity was tested in 36% of the cases, and no instance of false paternity was noted. The data were used to test for an association of advanced parental age with the appearance of de novo mutants. Paternal ages at the probands\u27 births ranged from 20 to 50 years, with a mean of 32.7 years. Maternal ages ranged from 18 to 43 years, with a mean of 28.5 years. For each year and country (or, where necessary, for the nearest possible year and/or a demographically similar country), the cumulative frequency distributions of the ages of parents who had a child in that country and year were computed; the ages of each proband\u27s father and mother were then expressed as percentiles on these distributions. The distribution of paternal age percentiles was shifted toward the upper end of the range, with 11 of the 50 paternal ages falling between the 90th and 100th percentiles. The distribution of maternal age percentiles was more complex, with one peak (10 of 50 ages) falling between the 30th and 40th percentiles and a second peak (10 of 50 ages), between the 90th and 100th percentiles. These distributions, though suggestive of an association of advanced parental age and the appearance of de novo mutations that cause unstable Hb disease or methemoglobinemic cyanosis, were not significantly different from those uniform distributions expected in the absence of a parental age effect

De Novo Mutations Producing Unstable Hemoglobins or Hemoglobins M

Hemoglobins M and unstable hemoglobins cause clinical syndromes that are transmitted in autosomal dominant fashion. Pedigrees of 50 probands with de novo mutations producing unstable Hb disease or Hb M disease were compiled. Cases were ascertained (1) by screening the relevant literature published from 1950 through 1980 and (2) through personal communication. Additional pedigree data on several published cases were collected, and a depository containing all available information related to de novo Hb mutants was established. The 50 probands were born in 14 countries between 1922 and 1976. Paternity was tested in 36% of the cases, and no instance of false paternity was noted. The data were used to test for an association of advanced parental age with the appearance of de novo mutants. Paternal ages at the probands\u27 births ranged from 20 to 50 years, with a mean of 32.7 years. Maternal ages ranged from 18 to 43 years, with a mean of 28.5 years. For each year and country (or, where necessary, for the nearest possible year and/or a demographically similar country), the cumulative frequency distributions of the ages of parents who had a child in that country and year were computed; the ages of each proband\u27s father and mother were then expressed as percentiles on these distributions. The distribution of paternal age percentiles was shifted toward the upper end of the range, with 11 of the 50 paternal ages falling between the 90th and 100th percentiles. The distribution of maternal age percentiles was more complex, with one peak (10 of 50 ages) falling between the 30th and 40th percentiles and a second peak (10 of 50 ages), between the 90th and 100th percentiles. These distributions, though suggestive of an association of advanced parental age and the appearance of de novo mutations that cause unstable Hb disease or methemoglobinemic cyanosis, were not significantly different from those uniform distributions expected in the absence of a parental age effect