Investigating the Etiology of Sour Knuckles in Postchilled Beef Carcasses

Development of sourness in beef round muscle cuts, such as knuckles, has been a long-standing issue in the beef industry with little characterization. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate and characterize the sour odor associated with beef knuckles using sensory, analytical (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry [GC-MS]), and microbiological approaches. Knuckles (n = 10) with no sour odor (control), a slight sour odor, or severe sour odor were collected during fabrication from a commercial beef processing plant. In addition, the synovial fluid from the femur joint, and the femur surface associated with the collected knuckles, were sponge-sampled. Knuckles were separated into 2 halves, with one half subjected to an odor panel, GC-MS, and microbial analyses on the day of collection (day 0). The remaining half was analyzed for odor and microbial populations following 35 d of vacuum-packaged storage at 0°C ± 2°C (day 35). Odor panelists identified differences (P < 0.05) between control and sour knuckles (slight sour odor and severe sour odor) for all attributes tested (off-odor, oxidation, putrid, and sour notes) regardless of storage day. GC-MS analysis found no statistical difference (P > 0.05) in volatiles between control and severe-sour-odor samples. Microbial analysis (aerobic plate counts and lactic acid bacteria counts) of muscle tissue on day 0 and day 35 of storage revealed no (P > 0.05) differences between the 3 treatment groups. Similarly, no (P > 0.05) differences between the treatment groups were obtained following analysis of synovial fluid and femur surface sponge samples for psychrotrophic anaerobic sporeformer counts. The findings of the study indicated that the souring condition in knuckles exists at identifiable intensities with no volatile acid or microbial population differences; therefore, further investigation is needed to determine the etiology

A phase II evaluation of cediranib in the treatment of recurrent or persistent endometrial cancer: An NRG Oncology/Gynecologic Oncology Group study

PURPOSE: Cediranib is a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors. This phase II study was conducted to assess activity and tolerability of single-agent cediranib in recurrent/persistent endometrial cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eligible patients had recurrent or persistent endometrial cancer after receiving one or two prior cytotoxic regimens, measurable disease, and Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) performance status of ≤2 (≤1 if two prior cytotoxic regimens given). Cediranib 30mg orally daily for a 28daycycle was administered until disease progression or prohibitive toxicity. Microvessel density (MVD) was measured in tumor tissue from initial hysterectomy specimens and correlated with clinical outcome. Primary endpoints were tumor response and surviving progression-free for six months without subsequent therapy (6-month event-free survival [EFS]). RESULTS: Of 53 patients enrolled, 48 were evaluable for cediranib efficacy and toxicity. Median age was 65.5 years, 52% of patients had received prior radiation, and 73% of patients received only one prior chemotherapy regimen. A partial response was observed in 12.5%. Fourteen patients (29%) had six-month EFS. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 3.65 months and median overall survival (OS) 12.5 months. No grade 4 or 5 toxicities were observed. A trend towards improved PFS was found in patients whose tumors expressed high MVD. CONCLUSION: Cediranib as a monotherapy treatment for recurrent or persistent endometrial cancer is well tolerated and met protocol set objectives for sufficient activity to warrant further investigation. MVD may be a useful biomarker for activity

Understanding the Impact of Oven Temperature and Relative Humidity on the Beef Cooking Process

The objective of this study was to evaluate the roles that cooking rate and relative humidity has on the sensory development of beef strip steaks. Thirty USDA Choice beef strip loins were collected from a commercial packing facility. Each strip loin was cut into steaks and randomly assigned to 1 of 6 cooking methods utilizing 2 oven temperatures (80°C and 204°C) and 3 levels of relative humidity [zero (ZH), mid (MH), and high (HH)]. Cooked steaks were used to evaluate internal and external color, Warner-Bratzler and slice shear force, total collagen content, protein denaturation, and trained sensory ratings. Relative humidity greatly reduced cooking rate, especially at 80°C. Steaks cooked at 80°C-ZH had the greatest (P 0.05). Steaks cooked at 80°C-ZH appeared the most (P 0.01) surface color. Total collagen was greatest (P 0.05) by treatment. Increased (P = 0.02) sarcoplasmic protein denaturation was observed with ZH and MH, while increased (P = 0.02) actin denaturation was observed only with ZH. Oven temperature did not influence (P > 0.05) protein denaturation. Trained panelists rated steaks the most tender (P 0.05) juiciness at 204°C; however, MH and HH produced a juicier (P < 0.01) steak when cooked at 80°C. Humidity hindered (P < 0.01) the development of beefy/brothy and brown/grilled flavors but increased (P = 0.01) metallic/bloody intensity. Lower oven temperatures and moderate levels of humidity could be utilized to maximize tenderness, while minimally affecting flavor development

Response and resistance to BET bromodomain inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous and clinically aggressive disease for which there is no targeted therapy. BET bromodomain inhibitors, which have shown efficacy in several models of cancer, have not been evaluated in TNBC. These inhibitors displace BET bromodomain proteins such as BRD4 from chromatin by competing with their acetyl-lysine recognition modules, leading to inhibition of oncogenic transcriptional programs. Here we report the preferential sensitivity of TNBCs to BET bromodomain inhibition in vitro and in vivo, establishing a rationale for clinical investigation and further motivation to understand mechanisms of resistance. In paired cell lines selected for acquired resistance to BET inhibition from previously sensitive TNBCs, we failed to identify gatekeeper mutations, new driver events or drug pump activation. BET-resistant TNBC cells remain dependent on wild-type BRD4, which supports transcription and cell proliferation in a bromodomain-independent manner. Proteomic studies of resistant TNBC identify strong association with MED1 and hyper-phosphorylation of BRD4 attributable to decreased activity of PP2A, identified here as a principal BRD4 serine phosphatase. Together, these studies provide a rationale for BET inhibition in TNBC and present mechanism-based combination strategies to anticipate clinical drug resistance

Complete vertebrate mitogenomes reveal widespread repeats and gene duplications

Abstract: Background: Modern sequencing technologies should make the assembly of the relatively small mitochondrial genomes an easy undertaking. However, few tools exist that address mitochondrial assembly directly. Results: As part of the Vertebrate Genomes Project (VGP) we develop mitoVGP, a fully automated pipeline for similarity-based identification of mitochondrial reads and de novo assembly of mitochondrial genomes that incorporates both long (> 10 kbp, PacBio or Nanopore) and short (100–300 bp, Illumina) reads. Our pipeline leads to successful complete mitogenome assemblies of 100 vertebrate species of the VGP. We observe that tissue type and library size selection have considerable impact on mitogenome sequencing and assembly. Comparing our assemblies to purportedly complete reference mitogenomes based on short-read sequencing, we identify errors, missing sequences, and incomplete genes in those references, particularly in repetitive regions. Our assemblies also identify novel gene region duplications. The presence of repeats and duplications in over half of the species herein assembled indicates that their occurrence is a principle of mitochondrial structure rather than an exception, shedding new light on mitochondrial genome evolution and organization. Conclusions: Our results indicate that even in the “simple” case of vertebrate mitogenomes the completeness of many currently available reference sequences can be further improved, and caution should be exercised before claiming the complete assembly of a mitogenome, particularly from short reads alone

The Effects of Zilpaterol Hydrochloride on Carcass Cutability and Tenderness of Calf-Fed Holstein Steers

To evaluate the impact of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) on carcass cutability and tenderness of calf-fed Holstein steers, calf-fed Holstein carcasses (n = 102) were selected from a pool of 2,300 steers that were fed 0 or 8.3 mg/kg (DM basis) of ZH. Zilpaterol hydrochloride was supplemented the last 20 d of the finishing period and withdrawn for 3 d before slaughter. Carcasses were selected based on carcass weight as well as predetermined USDA Yield grade categories. For tenderness evaluation, steaks from the strip loin, bottom round, and top round (n = 54 per subprimal) were aged for 14 or 21 d postmortem. Carcasses from ZH-fed steers had more (P \u3c 0.01) saleable yield than carcasses from control-fed steers. Additionally, ZH-fed steers had greater (P ≤ 0.01) subprimal yield from the shoulder clod, strip loin, peeled tenderloin, top sirloin butt, bottom sirloin tri-tip, peeled knuckle, inside round, bottom round flat, eye of round, heel, and shank. Furthermore, ZH decreased (P \u3c 0.01) the total amount and percentage of bone and fat trim from the carcass. Moisture loss was not affected by ZH in LM or inside round steaks (P \u3e 0.05); however, ZH increased thawing loss (P = 0.05) but reduced cooking loss (P = 0.05) in bottom round steaks. Shear force values of LM and inside round steaks increased with ZH inclusion (P \u3c 0.01), but there was no difference in bottom round steaks (P \u3e 0.05). Steaks aged for 21 d had smaller (P \u3c 0.01) Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) values than 14-d steaks from all 3 subprimals. Trained sensory panelists did not detect any differences (P \u3e 0.05) in sensory juiciness, tenderness, or flavor variables of LM or inside round steaks, except ZH steaks from the LM received smaller scores for sustained juiciness (P = 0.01) and overall tenderness (P = 0.04) than control steaks. Although LM steaks from ZH cattle were tougher than control steaks, the ZH-treated steaks had an average WBS value of 4.10 kg, which would be classified as intermediate in tenderness, with trained panelists rating ZH steaks slightly to moderately tender. Feeding ZH improved carcass cutability of calf-fed Holstein steers; however, tenderness was reduced in LM and inside round steaks. The interaction of postmortem tenderization techniques should be investigated to evaluate their impact on palatability in cattle supplemented with β-agonists to allow the beef industry to take full advantage of the enhancement in performance and carcass yield

Effects of differing withdrawal times from ractopamine hydrochloride on residue concentrations of beef muscle, adipose tissue, rendered tallow, and large intestine.

Ractopamine hydrochloride (RAC) is a beta-agonist approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a medicated feed ingredient for cattle during the final days of finishing to improve feed efficiency and growth. Maximum residue limits and U.S. FDA residue tolerances for target tissues have defined management practices around RAC usage in the U.S. However, many countries have adopted zero tolerance policies and testing of off-target tissues, presenting a major challenge for international export. Therefore, the objective this study was to determine the necessary withdrawal time among cattle group-fed RAC to achieve residue concentrations below tolerance levels in muscle and off-target tissues. Specifically, both total and parent RAC residues were quantified in muscle, adipose tissue, rendered tallow, and large intestines from animals group-fed RAC and subjected to withdrawal 2, 4, or 7 days before harvest. Ractopamine (parent and total) residues were below the assay limit of detection ( 0.14 ng/g (detectable but below the limit of quantitation). Results of this study provide a baseline for the development of management protocol recommendations associated with withdrawal following group-feeding of RAC to beef cattle in countries that allow RAC use and intend to export to global markets which may be subject to zero tolerance policies and off-target tissue testing

National Beef Quality Audit–2016: assessment of cattle hide characteristics, offal condemnations, and carcass traits to determine the quality status of the market cow and bull beef industry

To continue the series that began in 1994, the National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) – 2016 was conducted to quantify the quality status of the market cow and bull beef sector, as well as determine improvements made in the beef and dairy industry since 2007. The NBQA-2016 was conducted from March through December of 2016, and assessed hide-on carcasses (n = 5,278), chilled carcasses (n = 4,285), heads (n = 5,720), and offal items (n = 4,800) in 18 commercial processing facilities throughout the United States. Beef cattle were predominantly black-hided; 68.0% of beef cows and 67.2% of beef bulls possessed a black hide. Holstein was the predominant type of dairy animal observed. Just over half (56.0%) of the cattle surveyed had no mud contamination on the hide, and when mud was present, 34.1% of cattle only had small amounts. Harvest floor assessments found 44.6% of livers, 23.1% of lungs, 22.3% of hearts, 20.0% of viscera, 8.2% of heads, and 5.9% of tongues were condemned. Liver condemnations were most frequently due to abscess presence. In contrast, contamination was the primary reason for condemnation of all other offal items. Of the cow carcasses surveyed, 17.4% carried a fetus at the time of harvest. As expected, mean carcass weight and loin muscle area values observed for bulls were heavier and larger than cows. The marbling scores represented by cull animal carcasses were most frequently slight and traces amounts. Cow carcasses manifested a greater amount of marbling on average than bull carcasses. The predominant fat color score showed all carcasses surveyed had some level of yellow fat. Only 1.3% of carcasses exhibited signs of arthritic joints. Results of the NBQA-2016 indicate there are areas in which the beef and dairy industries have improved and areas that still need attention to prevent value loss in market cows and bulls