Carcass traits and retail display-life of chops from different goat breed types.

Four groups of goats, Boer x Spanish, straightbred Spanish, Spanish x Angora, and straightbred Angora were slaughtered at a constant age according to accepted industry procedures. At 24 h postmortem, various carcass yield and quality measurements were taken. At 48 h postmortem, one side from each carcass was fabricated into major wholesale cuts for dissection into percentage lean, bone, and fat. Rib chops from the opposite side were fabricated, packaged, and displayed in a retail case. Trained panelists evaluated the rib chops over 4 d of retail display for lean color, surface discoloration, and overall appearance; packages were opened and analyzed for off-odor on d 4. When slaughtered at constant ages, Angora goats had lighter (P < .05) live and hot carcass weights than all other breed types, and Boer x Spanish goats had heavier (P < .05) live and carcass weights than Spanish goats. Live and carcass weights for Boer x Spanish and Spanish x Angora goats did not differ (P > .05). Carcasses from Angora goats had considerably smaller (P < .05) longissimus muscle areas than all other breed types. Carcasses from Spanish goats had lower (P < .05) carcass conformation scores than carcasses from Boer x Spanish goats but did not differ (P > .05) from carcasses of the other two breed types. Carcasses from Angora goats had smaller (P < .05) leg circumferences than the carcasses from Boer x Spanish and Spanish x Angora breed types. In general, carcasses from Boer x Spanish and Spanish goats possessed higher (P < .05) percentages of lean and lower (P < .05) percentages of fat for the side than did carcasses from Spanish x Angora and Angora goats. When the Spanish x Angora carcasses were compared to the Angora carcasses, it seemed that the addition of the Spanish breeding tended to increase lean and decrease fatness for most side or primal comparisons. There were no (P > .05) breed type or breed type x day effects for lean color, surface discoloration, overall appearance or off-odor; however, day of display did influence (P < .05) these traits. Crossing Spanish with Angora goats may be an option to improve carcass characteristics over that of straightbred Angora.

Effect of breed-type and feeding regimen on goat carcass traits.

Meat-type (Boer x Spanish and Spanish) goats from two feeding regimens (feedlot and range) were slaughtered and live and carcass weights were obtained. At 24 h after death, various yield and quality measurements were collected. One side from each carcass was fabricated into major wholesale cuts for dissection into major carcass components. Feedlot goats had heavier (P<.05) live and carcass weights and carcasses that yielded more (P<.05) dissectible fat and lean and less (P<.05) bone, as a percentage of carcass weight, than did the carcasses of range goats. In the feedlot environment, Boer x Spanish goats had greater (P<.05) live weights, carcass weights, actual and adjusted fat thicknesses, carcass conformation scores, and leg circumference scores than did Spanish goats of similar age. The only breed-type differences that were significant after adjusting for live weight using analysis of covariance were that Boer x Spanish goats in the feedlot treatment had greater (P<.05) actual and adjusted fat thickness and carcass conformation than Spanish goats on the feedlot treatment. The Boer x Spanish goat carcass trait advantage could mainly be attributed to their larger size and enhanced capacity for growth.

Direct electrochemical measurement of nitric oxide in vascular endothelium.

The endothelium plays a critical role in maintaining vascular tone by releasing vasoconstrictor and vasodilator substances. Endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) is a vasodilator rapidly inactivated by superoxide and by Fe(II) and Fe(III), all found in significant quantities in biological systems. Thus due to the short life of NO in tissue (t1/2 = 3-6 s), in situ quantification of NO is a challenging problem. We designed the present study to perform direct measurements of nitric oxide using the electrochemical porphyrinic sensor. The most significant advantages of this sensor is small size (0.5-8 microm), rapid response time (0.1-1 ms), and low detection limit (10(-9) mol l(-1)). The porphyrinic sensor was used for in vitro and in vivo measurements of NO in an isolated single cell or tissue. Effects of hypertension, endotoxemia, and ischemia/reperfusion on the release of NO and/or its interaction with superoxide (O2-) were delineated. In the single endothelial cell (rabbit endocardium), NO concentration was highest at the cell membrane (950 +/- 50 nmol l(-1)), decreasing exponentially with distance from cell, and becoming undetectable at distances beyond 50 microm. The endothelium of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) released 35% less NO (580 +/- 30 nmol l(-1)) than that of normotensive rats (920 +/- 50 nmol l(-1)), due to the higher production of O2- in SHR rats. Endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) generated NO (140 +/- 20 nmol l(-1)) in lung during the acute phase (first 10-15 min) of endotoxemia, followed by production of NO by inducible NOS. High production of O2- was observed during the entire period of endotoxemia. Ischemia (lower limb of rabbit) caused a significant increase of NO peaking at 15 min and decreasing thereafter, also due to O2- production.

Scintimammography using Tc-99m tetrofosmin.

Breast cancer, the most common malignancy in women, still poses a challenge to diagnostic procedures and therapy. Despite low specificity routine mammography is the method of choice to screen women for breast cancer. In the last years other additional diagnostic procedures such as high frequency ultrasonography (US) and especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have improved breast cancer diagnosis. However, all these imaging methods are lacking in specificity which makes biopsy or surgery necessary. The purpose of our study was to evaluate prospectively the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of scintimammography with a new cationic complex Tc-99m tetrofosmin in patients with suspicious mammographic lesions. One hundred and thirty seven patients in whom mammography and/or high resolution ultrasonography (10 MHz) revealed suspicious breast lesions were studied with Tc-99m tetrofosmin scintimammography. In 84 of them biopsy and/or surgery was performed for histological evaluation. After intravenous injection of 555 MBq Tc-99m tetrofosmin planar images in anterior and lateral projections (5 min.p.i.) and SPECT imaging including 3-D-reconstruction (20 min.p.i.) were performed. Scintimammography was evaluated as negative, equivocal (+), probably (+2) or definitely (+3) positive. Planar scintimammography with Tc-99m tetrofosmin was negative in 46 patients (43 true negative-f.n; 3 false negative-f.n.) and positive in 38 patients (27 true positive-t.p.; 11 false positive-t.p.). Using SPECT imaging Tc-99m scintimammography was negative in 43 cases (41 t.n.; 2f.n.) and positive in 41 cases (28 t.p.; 13 t.p). Sensitivity of Tc-99m tetrofosmin scintimammography in this prospective study was 90%, specificity 80%, PPV 71% and NPV 93% for planar imaging and 93%, 76%, 68% and 95% for SPECT, respectively. Scintimammographic results in patients with suspicious breast lesion show, that Tc-99m tetrofosmin accumulates in breast cancer as well as in some fibroadenoma with high cellularity. However, the high NPV of 93 and 95% respectively excludes breast cancer in suspicious mammographic lesions to a very high degree and therefore reduces the need of biopsy and/or surgery in most of these patients.

Comparison of Methods for Decontamination from Beef Carcass Surfaces.

Methods for the removal of fecal contamination from beef carcass surfaces were evaluated using a fecal suspension containing a rifampicin-resistant strain of either Escherichia coli O157:H7 or Salmonella typhimurium . Paired cuts from four distinct beef carcass regions (inside round, outside round, brisket, and clod) were removed from hot carcasses after splitting, and subcutaneous fat and lean carcass surfaces from these cuts were used to model decontamination of prechilled carcass surface regions. Hot carcass surface regions were contaminated with an inoculated fecal suspension in a 400-cm2 area and then treated by one of four treatments either immediately or 20 to 30 min after contamination. One paired contaminated surface region from each carcass side was trimmed of all visible fecal contamination. The remaining paired carcass surface region was washed either with water (35°C) or with water followed by a 2% lactic or acetic acid spray (55°C). Surface samples were obtained for microbiological examination before and after treatment from within and outside the defined area contaminated with the fecal suspension. All treatments significantly reduced levels of pathogens; however, decontamination was significantly affected by carcass surface region. The inside round region was the most difficult carcass surface to decontaminate, regardless of treatment. Washing followed by organic acid treatment performed better than trimming or washing alone on all carcass region surfaces except the inside round, where organic acid treatments and trimming performed equally well. Overall, lactic acid reduced levels of E. coli O157:H7 significantly better than acetic acid; however, differences between the abilities of the acids to reduce Salmonella were less pronounced. All treatments caused minimal spread of pathogens outside the initial area of fecal contamination, and recovery after spreading was reduced by organic acid treatments.

Stearoyl coenzyme A desaturase enzyme activity and mRNA levels are not different in subcutaneous adipose tissue from Angus and American Wagyu steers.

We proposed that greater stearoyl coenzyme A (CoA) desaturase enzyme activity caused the elevated monounsaturated fatty acids observed in American Wagyu adipose tissue. Stearoyl CoA desaturase mRNA concentrations and enzyme activities were measured in subcutaneous adipose samples from Angus (n = 5) and American Wagyu (n = 5), fed to the Japanese market end point. A rat liver stearoyl CoA desaturase cDNA clone was used to measure the relative amounts of stearoyl CoA desaturase mRNA. Enzyme activities and mRNA concentrations, as measured by laser densitometry of slot-blot autoradiograms, were not significantly different between the two breeds at this stage of growth. This investigation has demonstrated that, at this stage of maturity, differences in fatty acid composition between Angus and American Wagyu steers cannot be attributed to differences in stearoyl CoA desaturase enzyme activity.

Isokinetic Muscle Testing: Is It Clinically Useful?

The use of computer-driven muscle-testing devices has become increasingly popular during the past two decades. This expensive equipment allows evaluation of muscles and muscle groups in an isokinetic manner. Isokinetic muscle testing is performed with a constant speed of angular motion but variable resistance. Isokinetic dynamometers have been shown to produce relatively reliable data when testing simple, uniaxial joints, such as the knee, as well as when testing the spine in flexion and extension. Isokinetic strength data are generally not helpful in the diagnosis of orthopaedic abnormalities. Isokinetic testing can be helpful during the rehabilitation of orthopaedic patients, since it allows easy monitoring of progress. It also enables the patient to work on muscle rehabilitation in a controlled manner at higher speeds than are possible with more conventional exercise equipment. An isokinetic rehabilitation program can be easily tailored with concentric and eccentric components that closely resemble muscle actions during occupational and sports activities.

Extinction of visible and infrared beams by falling snow.

Classical optics holds that the extinction cross of particles should be equal to twice their geometric cross section, in the limit where the particles are much larger than the wavelength. It follows that the extinction coefficient of such large scatterers should be independent of wavelength. Snowflakes are much larger than the wavelengths of visible and infrared radiation, yet many investigators have found that the visible and infrared extinction coefficient of falling snow measured with transmissometers is wavelength dependent. This dependency is known to be a result of the scattering contribution to the transmissometer signal. Furthermore, many measurements in the visible and infrared show that extinction values measured simultaneously with two transmissometers are linearly related up to at least 12 km(-1). The slope depends on the wavelengths and optical characteristics of the transmissometers. We show that for small values of extinction, the observations can be explained by taking into account single-scattering contributions to transmissometer signals. For high values of extinction, a multiplescattering model gives good agreement with measurements.

Cardiovascular risk factor knowledge and belief in prevention among adults in Chicago.

We present our findings on cardiovascular risk factor knowledge and belief in prevention from a survey administered to adult family members of children participating in a Chicago school health education program. The major risk factor most frequently recognized and understood appeared to be hypertension. Cigarette smoking and cholesterol were least frequently recognized. Few respondents could identify all three of the major risk factors, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, and cholesterol. Non-high-school graduates and the Hispanic subgroup demonstrated less knowledge and understanding. The results confirm the benefits of the extensive high blood pressure education programs of the past decade and support the need for similar interventions in nutrition and smoking prevention and cessation. Innovative approaches toward the less-educated and the Hispanic subgroups within the population also appear necessary to accelerate the encouraging decline in cardiovascular diseases seen over the past two decades.

Student heart health knowledge, smoking attitudes, and self-esteem.

The Chicago Heart Health Curriculum Program (CHHCP) is a comprehensive, cardiovascular disease, risk-reduction program designed for a multiracial urban population of sixth-grade students and their families. The study showed strong program impact on student health knowledge, and found that independence of peers significantly influenced smoking attitudes and self-esteem. The latter was associated strongly with humanistic teacher attitudes and behavior as well. Smoking attitudes were found to be related significantly to general health attitudes. The results suggest that future programs conveying heart health knowledge should consider student learning in the affective context of self-esteem, independence of peers, and teacher humanism. Reinforcement through continual intervention over a prolonged period may produce more permanent change over time.