Effect of extended postmortem aging and steak location on myofibrillar protein degradation and Warner-Bratzler shear force of beef M. semitendinosus steaks.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of steak location and postmortem aging on cooked meat tenderness and myofibrillar protein degradation of steaks from M. semitendinosus (ST). Following harvest and a 6 d chill period, the left ST was removed from carcasses of crossbred feedlot steers ( = 60, average hot carcass weight 427 ± 24 kg). Each ST was fabricated into ten 2.54-cm thick steaks originating from the proximal to distal end of the muscle. Steaks cut adjacent to each other were paired, vacuum packaged, and randomly assigned to 7, 14, 21, 42, or 70 d of aging at 2 ± 1°C. After aging, within each steak pair, steaks were randomly assigned to Warner-Bratzler shear force or myofibrillar proteolysis analysis (calpain activity and desmin and troponin-T degradation). Muscle fiber type and size were also determined at the 2 ends of the muscle. There was no location × d of aging interaction ( = 0.25) for ST steak WBSF. Steak location affected (quadratic, < 0.01) WBSF. As steaks were fabricated from the proximal to distal end, WBSF values decreased toward the middle of the muscle and then increased toward the distal end. Activity of all calpains and myofibrillar protein proteolysis were unaffected by steak location ( > 0.13). Type I, IIA, and IIX muscle fibers were larger at the proximal end of the muscle than the distal end ( < 0.01). Increasing d of aging improved WBSF (quadratic, < 0.01) for the duration of the 70 d postmortem period. As d of aging increased, intact calpain-1 activity decreased (quadratic, < 0.01) with activity detected through 42 d. Day of aging affected autolyzed calpain-1 (linear, < 0.01) and calpain-2 activity (quadratic, < 0.01). Through d 70 of aging, the intensity of intact 55 kDa desmin band decreased (linear, < 0.01), while there was an increase (linear, < 0.01) in the degraded 38 kDa band. Similarly, d of aging increased troponin-T proteolysis, indicated by a decrease (quadratic, < 0.01) in intensity of the intact 40 kDa band and an increase (linear, < 0.01) in the 30 kDa degraded band. Intramuscular WBSF differences are not due to proteolytic activity or myofibrillar degradation and seem related to muscle fiber size. The improvement of ST steak WBSF through 70 d of aging is partly due to continued degradation of desmin and troponin-T. Calpain proteolytic analysis indicates that autolyzed calpain-1 and calpain-2 may be involved in extended postmortem myofibrillar protein proteolysis.

Calibration of membrane inlet mass spectrometric measurements of dissolved gases: differences in the responses of polymer and nano-composite membranes to variations in ionic strength.

This work examines the transmission behavior of aqueous dissolved methane, nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide through two types of membranes: a polysiloxane nano-composite (PNC) membrane and a conventional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane. Transmission properties at 30 °C were examined by membrane introduction mass spectrometry (MIMS) at nearly constant gas partial pressures in NaCl solutions over a range of ionic strength (0-1 molal). Gas flow rates were examined as a function of dissolved gas concentrations using the Setschenow equation. Although MIMS measurements with PDMS and PNC membranes produced signal responses that were directly proportional to aqueous dissolved gas concentrations, the proportionalities varied with ionic strength and were distinctly different for the two types of membranes. With the exception of carbon dioxide, the PNC membrane had membrane salting coefficients quite similar to Setschenow coefficients reported for gases in aqueous solution. In contrast, the PDMS membrane had membrane salting coefficients that were generally smaller than the corresponding Setschenow gas coefficient for each gas. Differences between Setschenow coefficients and membrane salting coefficients lead to MIMS calibrations (gas-flow vs. gas-concentration proportionalities) that vary with ionic strength. Accordingly, gas-flow vs. gas-concentration relationships for MIMS measurements with PDMS membranes are significantly dependent on ionic strength. In contrast, for PNC membranes, flow vs. concentration relationships are independent (argon, methane, nitrogen) or weakly dependent (CO2) on ionic strength. Comparisons of gas Setschenow and membrane salting coefficients can be used to quantitatively describe the dependence of membrane gas-flow on gas-concentrations and ionic strength for both PDMS and PNC membranes.

An easy entry into berbane and alloyohimbane alkaloids via a 6-exo radical cyclization.

[reaction: see text] The pharmacologically important tetracyclic berbane and pentacyclic alloyohimbane structures were prepared efficiently in four steps including a stereoselective 6-exo radical cyclization using xanthates as the radical source.