Indicator organisms to determine the use of chilling as a critical point in beef slaughter HACCP

End of project reportDuring chilling, temperatures of carcass surfaces at different sites change over time as do other parameters such as water activity (aw), the structure of the muscle and other tissues, as the carcass enters rigor mortis. Many of these factors are known to have a major effect on cell survival and growth and must be considered in determining the influence of chilling on bacterial survival on carcass surfaces. This study aimed to determine if chilling could be used as a critical control point (CCP) in beef slaughter in relation to pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes, using E. coli and Listeria innocua as pathogen indicators. The present study was designed to determine the influence of (a) chilling at 10oC for 72 h on the survival of E. coli and (b) chilling at 4oC for 72 h on the survival of L. innocua inoculated at different sites on beef carcasses. Three sites (neck, outside round and brisket) were inoculated (1) immediately after dressing while hot (E. coli and L. innocua) and (2) when cold after chilling (L. innocua). The influence of changes in surface aw was also considered and their relationship to the survival of E. coli and L. innocua over time was assessed. The data are discussed in relation to the use of chilling as a CCP in beef hazard analysis (HACCP) and the monitoring of neck temperature as the most suitable CCP.National Development Pla

Surface plasmon and photonic mode propagation in gold nanotubes with varying wall thickness

Gold nanotube arrays are synthesized with a range of wall thicknesses (15 to >140 nm) and inner diameters of ∼200 nm using a hard-template method. A red spectral shift (>0.39 eV) with decreasing wall thickness is observed in dark-field spectra of nanotube arrays and single nanowire/nanotube heterostructures. Finite-difference-time-domain simulations show that nanotubes in this size regime support propagating surface plasmon modes as well as surface plasmon ring resonances at visible wavelengths (the latter is observed only for excitation directions normal to the nanotube long axis with transverse polarization). The energy of the surface plasmon modes decreases with decreasing wall thickness and is attributed to an increase in mode coupling between propagating modes in the nanotube core and outer surface and the circumference dependence of ring resonances. Surface plasmon mode propagation lengths for thicker-walled tubes increase by a factor of ∼2 at longer wavelengths (>700 nm), where ohmic losses in the metal are low, but thinner-walled tubes (30 nm) exhibit a more significant increase in surface plasmon propagation length (by a factor of more than four) at longer wavelengths. Additionally, nanotubes in this size regime support a photonic mode in their core, which does not change in energy with changing wall thickness. However, photonic mode propagation length is found to decrease for optically thin walls. Finally, correlations are made between the experimentally observed changes in dark-field spectra and the changes in surface plasmon mode properties observed in simulations for the various gold nanotube wall thicknesses and excitation conditions

Tracking of Salmonella through the Pork Slaughter Process

End of project reportTo help address the problem of salmonellosis in the Republic of Ireland (RoI), a national Salmonella control programme was introduced in 1997 with a view to reducing the prevalence of Salmonella in pigs on the farm and on pig carcasses. The primary objective of this present study was to determine the correlation between the Salmonella serological and bacteriological status of pigs presented for slaughter and the Salmonella status of pork cuts following slaughter, dressing and chilling. Two additional studies investigated the prevalence and numbers of Salmonella spp. in the boning halls of four commercial pork abattoirs and at retail level in butcher shops and supermarkets in the RoI. The results indicated that categorisation of pig herds on the basis of a historical serological test for Salmonella was not a good predictor of the bacteriological Salmonella status of individual pigs at time of slaughter. However, it is acknowledged that serological testing does help in giving a rough estimate of the overall Salmonella status of a pig herd. There was a linear correlation between prevalence of Salmonella in caecal contents and on pork cuts at factory level; therefore, if the number of herds presented for slaughter with high levels of Salmonella (category 3) was reduced, there would be less potential for contamination of the lairage, equipment etc. and so less likelihood of Salmonella contamination on pork. The impact of crosscontamination during transport, lairage, processing and distribution cannot be ignored and measures to diminish this would significantly reduce the dissemination of Salmonella in the chain and the consequent risk posed. A key finding was the considerable variation in the incidence of Salmonella on different sampling days and in different slaughter plants.National Development Plan 2007-201

The Parent Trap: Differential Familial Power in Same-Sex Families

Do intact same-sex couples where one member of the couple became pregnant with assisted reproduction or was the primary adopter, and the other member became a parent through second parent adoption, understand the legal protections afforded them? In short the answer is no. An interesting family dynamic arises around those who can claim the true status as parent based on their legal understandings of parenthood and their interactions with the dominant culture. While high profile custody cases on this issue have been decided in the United States with varying results, no research has examined the impact of uneven legal protections afforded to gay fathers and mothers on intact same-sex families, until now. The result of research conducted on this issue indicated that second parent adopters had much less emotional power in the family, but often had more economic power. Even in long-term stable relationships, non-biological mothers and second parent adoptive fathers expressed significant worries about this emotional power differential. On the other hand, biologically connected mothers and some primary adoptive fathers were concerned about whether their partners would continue to financially support their children should the couple\u27s relationship dissolve. Both parents had misconceptions about what kind of legal protections or obligations the law afforded these second parent adopters should the couple end their relationship. Furthermore, the families\u27 interactions with the larger culture served to further undermine the stability of the family, as they worried whether their family would be culturally and legally recognized if they traveled from one state to another. Ultimately, I conclude that second parent adopters become imprisoned parents within the family and across the larger culture because of current legal frameworks and policies. Recommendations are made for legislatures, courts, policy-makers, and lawyers to expand parentage presumptions, allow for joint adoption outside of the marital context, and reframe how lawyers counsel same-sex couples as they engage in family formation

From Orphans to Families in Crisis: Parental Rights Matters in Maine Probate Courts

This Article examines the sources of the contemporary problems associated with the adjudication of parental rights matters in Maine\u27s probate courts and identifies specific reforms to address both the structural and substantive law problems. The Article first reviews the development of Maine\u27s probate courts and their jurisdiction over parental rights matters. It traces the expansion of jurisdiction over children and families from a limited role incidental to the administration of a decedent\u27s estate to the current scope—a range of matters that may result in the limitation, suspension, or termination of the rights of living parents. Maine\u27s probate courts not adjudicate questions implicating parental rights in a wide range of scenarios. However, the basic structure of Maine\u27s probate courts has remained unchanged since 1855. Maine law assigns exclusive jurisdiction of these often complex and contentious matters to a non-centralized group of county-based courts, each of which has limited resources and a single, part-time elected judge who usually has a busy law practice as his or her primary job

Meeting Across the River: Why Affirmative Action Needs Race and Class Diversity

This paper is a response to Richard Sander’s latest work challenging the notion that race based affirmative action is still relevant and demanding that institutions of higher education consider class based affirmative action. To support his thesis, Sander conducts an empirical study on who benefits from affirmative action. This Article is divided into three sections, each containing a critique of Sander’s arguments and analysis. First, I briefly reframe and reiterate the history of race and ethnicity in affirmative action’s origins to directly confront the assumption that Sander makes about what affirmative action’s original purpose entailed. The goal of Part I is to correct the erroneous epistemology from which Sander’s study emerges: the entrenched de-contextualization of race and ethnicity as a means to supplant race with class in an effort to assert that high socioeconomic minorities are over-represented in law school admissions. Part II critiques the way in which Sander presents the data to create a narrative that supports his post-race argument rather than presenting them in the most transparent manner – thus allowing the data in their fullest form to reveal their story. Specifically, Sander ignores wealth as a key measure of socioeconomic status (SES), ignores the increasing data on racial inequality, and ignores the data indicating that class and race are not interchangeable. In Part III of this Article, I consider the arguments Sander continues to reify regarding the harms of affirmative action for students of color. Ultimately, I argue that while class and racial diversity should and do intersect, racial diversity should play a key role in higher education regardless of one’s SES. In addition, I argue that a central component of Sander’s goal is to perpetuate the myth of a colorblind society without confronting how best to use racial diversity within educational institutions. Finally, I address the role of wealth and its function in access to education

Dangerous Diagnoses, Risky Assumptions, and the Failed Experiment of Sexually Violent Predator Commitment

In its 1997 opinion, Kansas v. Hendricks, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law that reflected a new model of civil commitment. The targets of this new commitment law were dubbed “Sexually Violent Predators” (SVPs), and the Court upheld indefinite detention of these individuals on the assumption that there is a psychiatrically distinct class of individuals who, unlike typical recidivists, have a mental condition that impairs their ability to refrain from violent sexual behavior. And, more specifically, the Court assumed that the justice system could reliably identify the true “predators,” those for whom this unusual and extraordinary deprivation of liberty is appropriate and legitimate, with the aid of testimony from mental health professionals

Hemispheric Specialization for Musical Structure Processing: A Dichotic Listening Study

In a dichotic listening study using a musical priming paradigm Hoch and Tillman (2010) found a left-ear advantage for the tonal function effect on spoken syllable identification, suggesting a right-hemispheric specialization for musical structure processing. A pilot study was performed using healthy right-handed non-musician participants to investigate the possible moderating effects of the Hoch and Tillman (2010) findings caused by alternating response hand as well as response key orientation. Several interactions were found which indicated that response hand and response key orientation moderated task performance. Modulations appeared to be due to a Coherence between response hand and response key orientation, as well as a possible interference occurring due to the contralateral processing of each hemi-field of internal visual representations of task response keys