The Potential for Heat Recovery from Beef Rendering Operations

Excerpt from the report: This publication reports on a heat recovery subsystem installed in 1976 as part of a total rendering system at a major midwestern meat packing firm. Included is a description of the total system and an economic evaluation of the heat recovery subsystem, including costs and potential savings. While this report describes a specific rendering system, indications are that similar results can be achieved in similar rendering system

Energy Costs for Marketing Fresh Beef

Excerpts from the report: This publication reports on a study of five systems and their associated energy costs for marketing fresh beef from packer to retail display case. In addition to a breakdown of costs by system, tables show costs by category (packer, central distributor or processor, transportation, retail store) and by energy source (electricity, natural gas, diesel fuel). The amounts of energy used are shown in the same detail as costs. Energy is expressed as Btu's 2 per 100 pounds of salable retail beef cuts. Results were based on theoretical engineering analyses and numerous calculations involving data collected in the field, as well as several stated assumptions. Taken into account was energy used to run the equipment directly related to preparing, packaging, handling, and refrigerating the beef, and transporting it through the systems

A Survey of Damage to Dry Groceries in Warehouses

Report Summary: Mishandling and packaging deficiencies were the major causes of damage to dry groceries in a 1985 survey of warehousing operations by the Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. The 10 warehouses surveyed employed a variety of systems from conventional to fully automated. Recouping practices varied from almost nonexistent to extensive salvaging and repacking. Disposition of recouped merchandise ranged from selling at full price to donating the item to charity. Damage reduction efforts varied similarly from none to regularly scheduled employee meetings and incentive programs. Few firms are fully aware of actual costs of damage, i.e., the many indirect costs over and above the value of the product lost. Many means are available to reduce damage; not all of them are economically feasible or applicable for any given firm. Suppliers must be willing to cooperate with their customers in resolving obvious packaging problems

Evaluation of a Shell Egg-Packing Plant Layout

Increasing costs of constructing and operating shell egg-packing plants make it essential that new or remodeled facilities be carefully planned to achieve maximum efficiency. This study evaluates the layout of a new shell egg-packing plant that demonstrates U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) planning concepts. The layout provides for adequate operating space and allows for future expansion at minimal cost. It also provides for the flow of products without backtracking, ease of maintaining sanitation, employee safety and welfare, maintenance of product quality, effective materials handling, and operating efficiency. Labor productivity in the new plant is 8.30 cases per worker-hour compared with 7.03 in the old plant, a gain of 18 percent

Wholesale Food Distribution Facilities for Wichita, Kansas

Excerpts from the report: The Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce, with the concurrence of the city, the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, the Wichita food industry, and other interested parties, requested the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make a comprehensive study of the wholesale food distribution facilities in Wichita. In September of 1971 the study was undertaken. This study analyzed the wholesale food marketing system in the Wichita metropolitan area and determined whether the products handled by firms needing new facilities were of sufficient volume and variety to provide a nucleus for a new wholesale food distribution center. Cost data were collected on the existing operations and facilities, and the cost of developing a new food distribution center was estimated, including the amount of land required, types of facilities needed, and probable operating expenses. This study includes 47 independent and 2 affiliated wholesale firms specializing in handling fresh fruit and vegetable, frozen food, grocery, meat and meat product, poultry and egg, and fluid milk products

The major genetic determinants of HIV-1 control affect HLA class I peptide presentation.

Infectious and inflammatory diseases have repeatedly shown strong genetic associations within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC); however, the basis for these associations remains elusive. To define host genetic effects on the outcome of a chronic viral infection, we performed genome-wide association analysis in a multiethnic cohort of HIV-1 controllers and progressors, and we analyzed the effects of individual amino acids within the classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) proteins. We identified >300 genome-wide significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the MHC and none elsewhere. Specific amino acids in the HLA-B peptide binding groove, as well as an independent HLA-C effect, explain the SNP associations and reconcile both protective and risk HLA alleles. These results implicate the nature of the HLA-viral peptide interaction as the major factor modulating durable control of HIV infection

Safety and immunogenicity of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine administered in a prime-boost regimen in young and old adults (COV002): a single-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 2/3 trial

Background Older adults (aged ≥70 years) are at increased risk of severe disease and death if they develop COVID-19 and are therefore a priority for immunisation should an efficacious vaccine be developed. Immunogenicity of vaccines is often worse in older adults as a result of immunosenescence. We have reported the immunogenicity of a novel chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222), in young adults, and now describe the safety and immunogenicity of this vaccine in a wider range of participants, including adults aged 70 years and older. Methods In this report of the phase 2 component of a single-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 2/3 trial (COV002), healthy adults aged 18 years and older were enrolled at two UK clinical research facilities, in an age-escalation manner, into 18–55 years, 56–69 years, and 70 years and older immunogenicity subgroups. Participants were eligible if they did not have severe or uncontrolled medical comorbidities or a high frailty score (if aged ≥65 years). First, participants were recruited to a low-dose cohort, and within each age group, participants were randomly assigned to receive either intramuscular ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (2·2 × 1010 virus particles) or a control vaccine, MenACWY, using block randomisation and stratified by age and dose group and study site, using the following ratios: in the 18–55 years group, 1:1 to either two doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or two doses of MenACWY; in the 56–69 years group, 3:1:3:1 to one dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, one dose of MenACWY, two doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, or two doses of MenACWY; and in the 70 years and older, 5:1:5:1 to one dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, one dose of MenACWY, two doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, or two doses of MenACWY. Prime-booster regimens were given 28 days apart. Participants were then recruited to the standard-dose cohort (3·5–6·5 × 1010 virus particles of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) and the same randomisation procedures were followed, except the 18–55 years group was assigned in a 5:1 ratio to two doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or two doses of MenACWY. Participants and investigators, but not staff administering the vaccine, were masked to vaccine allocation. The specific objectives of this report were to assess the safety and humoral and cellular immunogenicity of a single-dose and two-dose schedule in adults older than 55 years. Humoral responses at baseline and after each vaccination until 1 year after the booster were assessed using an in-house standardised ELISA, a multiplex immunoassay, and a live severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) microneutralisation assay (MNA80). Cellular responses were assessed using an ex-vivo IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot assay. The coprimary outcomes of the trial were efficacy, as measured by the number of cases of symptomatic, virologically confirmed COVID-19, and safety, as measured by the occurrence of serious adverse events. Analyses were by group allocation in participants who received the vaccine. Here, we report the preliminary findings on safety, reactogenicity, and cellular and humoral immune responses. This study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04400838, and ISRCTN, 15281137. Findings Between May 30 and Aug 8, 2020, 560 participants were enrolled: 160 aged 18–55 years (100 assigned to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, 60 assigned to MenACWY), 160 aged 56–69 years (120 assigned to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19: 40 assigned to MenACWY), and 240 aged 70 years and older (200 assigned to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19: 40 assigned to MenACWY). Seven participants did not receive the boost dose of their assigned two-dose regimen, one participant received the incorrect vaccine, and three were excluded from immunogenicity analyses due to incorrectly labelled samples. 280 (50%) of 552 analysable participants were female. Local and systemic reactions were more common in participants given ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 than in those given the control vaccine, and similar in nature to those previously reported (injection-site pain, feeling feverish, muscle ache, headache), but were less common in older adults (aged ≥56 years) than younger adults. In those receiving two standard doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, after the prime vaccination local reactions were reported in 43 (88%) of 49 participants in the 18–55 years group, 22 (73%) of 30 in the 56–69 years group, and 30 (61%) of 49 in the 70 years and older group, and systemic reactions in 42 (86%) participants in the 18–55 years group, 23 (77%) in the 56–69 years group, and 32 (65%) in the 70 years and older group. As of Oct 26, 2020, 13 serious adverse events occurred during the study period, none of which were considered to be related to either study vaccine. In participants who received two doses of vaccine, median anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 IgG responses 28 days after the boost dose were similar across the three age cohorts (standard-dose groups: 18–55 years, 20 713 arbitrary units [AU]/mL [IQR 13 898–33 550], n=39; 56–69 years, 16 170 AU/mL [10 233–40 353], n=26; and ≥70 years 17 561 AU/mL [9705–37 796], n=47; p=0·68). Neutralising antibody titres after a boost dose were similar across all age groups (median MNA80 at day 42 in the standard-dose groups: 18–55 years, 193 [IQR 113–238], n=39; 56–69 years, 144 [119–347], n=20; and ≥70 years, 161 [73–323], n=47; p=0·40). By 14 days after the boost dose, 208 (>99%) of 209 boosted participants had neutralising antibody responses. T-cell responses peaked at day 14 after a single standard dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (18–55 years: median 1187 spot-forming cells [SFCs] per million peripheral blood mononuclear cells [IQR 841–2428], n=24; 56–69 years: 797 SFCs [383–1817], n=29; and ≥70 years: 977 SFCs [458–1914], n=48). Interpretation ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 appears to be better tolerated in older adults than in younger adults and has similar immunogenicity across all age groups after a boost dose. Further assessment of the efficacy of this vaccine is warranted in all age groups and individuals with comorbidities. Funding UK Research and Innovation, National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Thames Valley and South Midlands NIHR Clinical Research Network, and AstraZeneca