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Abstract: The influence of sodium chloride on the water holding capacity of meat is well known and described in literature. An increase in water holding capacity is associated with an increase in the swelling pressure in the protein matrix. A novel device was used to measure the swelling pressure during brine salting of muscle cylinders (40×50mm), in different NaCl brine concentrations (2.5 to 25%) over 6days at 4°C. Changes in meat composition, weight and height of non-constrained control samples were also measured. The aim of this work was to prove the feasibility of using the developed device in order to quantify the influence of the brine concentration on the magnitude of the swelling pressure. The obtained results indicated the adequacy of the developed device for measuring the meat swelling, while a good correlation of the swelling pressure and the changes in weight and height of the samples was observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The reduction of added sodium chloride in dry-cured ham has been proposed to reduce dietary sodium intake in Mediterranean countries. The effect of substituting sodium chloride with potassium chloride, calcium chloride and magnesium chloride on some physicochemical characteristics of dry-cured ham during processing was evaluated. The results showed that hams salted with a mixture of sodium and potassium chloride registered higher salt concentrations and lower water contents and thus, needed less time to reach the required weight loss at the end of the process. The opposite effect was observed when calcium and magnesium chloride were added to the salt mixture. The observed differences in the texture and colour parameters were mainly due to differences in water and salt content. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The reduction of added sodium chloride in dry-cured ham has been proposed to decrease the amount of sodium in the diet. The effect of substituting sodium chloride by potassium chloride, calcium chloride and magnesium chloride in some physicochemical characteristics of dry-cured ham throughout the post-salting stage was evaluated. The partial replacement of NaCl had significant effects on salt content at the end of the post-salting stage in the traditional process and this significantly affected a w. The results showed that lower sodium hams, salted with a combination of NaCl and KCl, needed a maximum of 16days more (32% increase) of post-salting than hams salted with 100% NaCl, while hams salted with a combination of NaCl, KCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2 needed a maximum of 26days more (52% increase). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Salting, one of the fundamental operations in Spanish cured loin manufacturing, is essential to preserve the product throughout its processing and storage. However, elevated blood pressure has been identified to be the major adverse effect associated with increased sodium intake. The partial replacement of NaCl with other chloride salts such as KCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2 has been proposed as a possible strategy to reduce the sodium content of these products. The aim of this study was to determine the salting time needed to reach the same chloride content as commercial dry-cured loins and, to characterise the first step in dry-cured loin production (salting), in loins salted with sodium partial replaced salts. The results indicated a reduction in the salting time when using KCl as NaCl substitute and an increase in the salting time when adding CaCl2 and MgCl2 to the mixture. Further studies need to be done in order to fully understand the influence of these low sodium mixtures of salts on the following manufacturing steps and the final quality characteristics of the product. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The partial replacement of sodium chloride by other salts has been proposed as a possible strategy to reduce the sodium content of cured meat products. Nevertheless, there is very little knowledge as regards the influence of salts other than sodium chloride on salting kinetics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect brought about by substituting sodium chloride with potassium, calcium and magnesium chloride on the salting kinetics of dry cured loins. The results showed very important changes in the salting pattern depending on the type of salts. Partial substitution of sodium affected both water and ion transport during the salting process. The presence of KCl decreased water loss while CaCl2 and MgCl2 had the opposite effect. However, replacement of up to 50% NaCl by KCl had no significant effect on the salting kinetics in the case of the control formulation. Calcium and magnesium cations penetrated with difficulty into the muscle remaining in the brine formed during the pile salting process. Moreover, the presence of calcium and magnesium cations considerably reduced the sodium and potassium content of the salted loin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The consumption of cured meat products is not recommended to hypertensive consumers due to its high sodium content. This constitutes an important restriction for this industry, which is becoming more and more important due to the current trends in consumption. The partial replacement of sodium chloride by potassium chloride has been proposed as a possible strategy to reduce the sodium content of this type of products. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect brought about by partial replacement of sodium chloride with potassium chloride (up to 70%) on physicochemical and microbiological parameters of dry-cured pork loin after the curing and drying process. The results showed that it is possible to obtain low sodium dry-cured loin, up to a 50% replacement of sodium by potassium, with similar physicochemical characteristics to the commercial product with usual amounts of sodium. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Cured tuna loin is a typical dry-salted product in Spain. Traditionally, loins are cleaned, stacked and smothered in sea salts, washed in bins with fresh running water, pressed and hung to dry. The aim of this study was to characterize the simultaneous thawing and salting of frozen tuna loins by using dry salt or brine and obtain a predictive equation which enable to determine the time needed to reach the same NaCl concentration as the commercial product. A reduction of the thawing time when using the simultaneous brine thawing and salting procedures was observed. A clear shortening of the processing time required to achieve the same NaCl concentration as in the commercial samples is observed when using the simultaneous thawing and salting process (89.5% and 42.8% time reduction for the brine and solid salt thawing and salting procedures, respectively). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The use of the simultaneous brine thawing/salting on frozen raw material was compared in a previous work with the traditional pile salting method. The aim of this study was to characterise and compare the post-salting stage in Spanish cured ham production by processing fresh and thawed raw material with the traditional pile salting method (which can be considered as the reference method), with the results obtained using the brine thawing/salting method, with and without applying vacuum impregnation. The obtained results show that the thawed salted hams exhibited a higher NaCl diffusion than the fresh ones, implying a shorter post-salting period. Post-salting stage could be reduced from the 50 days employed in the traditional fresh raw material salting, to 25 days when using frozen hams brine thawed/salted. No influence of the use of vacuum impregnation during the salting stage was observed on the post-salting period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Salting, is one of the fundamental operations in Spanish cured ham manufacturing, and is basic in order to preserve the product throughout its processing and storage. Pile salting is the method traditionally employed to accomplish this step. The use of frozen raw material has become quite frequent in the industry, and it implies a preliminary thawing step in a cold chamber. The aim of this study is the analysis of the first step in ham production (salting) and the influence of simultaneous brine thawing/salting and vacuum impregnation in the salting stage of Spanish cured ham. The results indicated a reduction in the salting time when using the brine thawing/salting method, which was performed together with vacuum impregnation. Further studies need to be done in order to fully understand the influence of these new salting methods on the following manufacturing steps and the final quality characteristics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the present study, the use of a rapid portable system based on impedance spectroscopy to assess fish freshness has been tested. The evolution of different physical and chemical parameters (moisture, fat, pH and TVBN) and impedance measurements (modulus and phase at different frequencies) of six different batches of sea bream (Sparus aurata) were analysed. Impedance spectroscopy was able to classify raw matter into six groups according to composition differences, and also to classify those samples stored for a time of between 0 and 15 days into different groups according to degree of freshness. TVB-N is one of the most usual parameters to assess shelf life periods of fish samples; the coefficient of determination (R 2) of 0.72 obtained in the Partial Least Squares regression for this parameter confirmed the potential application of the impedance spectroscopy for predicting sea bream freshness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In order to preserve, characterize and improve the quality of some accessions in Entre Ríos province, Argentina, a germplasm bank of aromatic and medicinal plants has been set up, including among other species, the oregano (Origanum spp.). To simplify the identification and characterization of the accession entries belonging to this genus, a chart containing 41 descriptors has been elaborated to allow the easy and quick individualization of any material being added to the collection. The first four accessions added to the collection were characterized using this chart and studied taking into account their biomass and essential oil yields and the quality of their volatile fraction. The materials analyzed are locally known as “27-09”, “Peruvian” and “native” clones and are taxonomically identified as hybrids of Origanum × majoricum Cambess; and a fourth material, known as “green Spanish” clone belonging to the species Origanum vulgare L. ssp. viridulum (Martrin-Donos) Nyman. The essential oil yield was similar for all the materials (1.7% (v/w) on dried basis). The estimated aired biomass yield was superior for the Origanum × majoricum hybrid clones (ranging from 4700 to 11,900kgha−1), whereas the “green Spanish” clone only reached a biomass of 2450kgha−1. Meanwhile, based on the quality of the essential oils, O. vulgare ssp. viridulum was more promissory, since it corresponded to a carvacrol type oregano. Finally, it will be necessary to assess the role of the agronomical and ecological variables on the latter clone, in order to increase the content of carvacrol in the essential oil and, at the same time, to improve its biomass yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Curing is one of the most traditional processes in the meat industry, being used in a great variety of products such as cured ham. During the salting process the raw material acquires the curing agents, allowing the safe development of subsequent stages in processing. Digital image analysis has been used in different food research areas. Most of the studies that use image analysis in the evaluation of different aspects of meat products have been carried out mainly on ham, detecting quality problems of the product. However, none of these studies deals with the influence of different components present on the ham surface (fat, connective tissue and lean) and its relationship with mass transfer during ham processing. The aim of this study was the use of image segmentation to quantify the lean, fatty and connective tissue areas on the ham surface and determine the relationship of those areas to salt gain during the salting process. The obtained results show that image segmentation algorithm can be used in combination with other parameters values to predicting ham behaviour during the salting process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• New approach for flotation simulation including design and operating variables. • A flotation simulator was built and tested using a large industrial dataset. • The impact of number and size of cells per row on recovery and grade was studied. • The effect of different launder designs on metallurgical performance was analysed. • This approach showed a good potential for industrial circuit characterization. This paper presents a new approach for modelling and simulation of flotation circuits, which addresses the potential to increase metallurgical performance, selecting the best choice of cell size, number of cells per bank, cell design and operating conditions. For this purpose, a flotation simulator was built and calibrated using data from industrial sampling campaigns carried out in Chilean concentrators, using modern and large mechanical flotation cells. The simulator allowed for evaluating and comparing the metallurgical performance of different flotation circuits. For this purpose, alternative scenarios were analysed for a selected industrial circuit, where different cells arrangement (number and size of cells), launder designs (represented by the mean froth transport distance) and operating conditions (pulp residence time and froth depth) were evaluated. This new approach showed to be a useful and practical tool to evaluate metallurgical performance in large industrial flotation banks, being able to show the effect of different flotation process characteristics such as froth transport distances and operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A flotation model based on an extended industrial database was developed. • The model considers the behaviour of each cell using a distributed approach. • The mineral recovery by true flotation and the gangue entrainment was calculated. • The mineral feed was characterized by particle size and liberation classes. • This paper allows improving froth behaviour by varying cells and circuits design. The aim of this work consisted of developing a flotation model based on industrial data from modern and large mechanical flotation cells (up to 300 m3). Using industrial data from different flotation plants a general model was develop considering the metallurgical performance, residence time distribution, and operational and hydrodynamic conditions. The model considers the behaviour of each cell in a flotation bank separately, using a distributed approach. The overall mineral recovery by true flotation, in terms of the collection and froth zone recoveries and the gangue entrainment into the concentrate, was calculated. The mineral feed characterization by particle size and liberation classes allowed the evaluation of the metallurgical performance along the flotation bank. This paper presents a new approach for flotation circuit modelling and simulation, which addresses the challenges for improving the froth behaviour by varying the cell design as well as the potential for circuit optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of the Fc silencing mutations such as leucine (L) to alanine (A) substitution at the position 234 and 235 (LALA) and the alanine (A) to asparagine (N) substitution at position 297 (N297A) are well investigated for human IgG. However, the effects of the same two silencing Fc mutations in a mouse IgG backbone are not yet well investigated in respect to binding to mouse Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs), complement and subsequent effector functions. By using a mouse IgG2a tool antibody directed against mouse OX40L, we demonstrate a strongly reduced binding of the two Fc mutants to high and low affinity recombinant and cell expressed mouse FcγRs, when compared to the mouse IgG2a with the wild type (wt) backbone. Reduced FcγR binding by the two investigated Fc mutants could further be confirmed on primary mouse macrophages expressing their native FcγRs. In addition, we reveal that the LALA and N297A mutations in the mIgG2a also slightly reduced binding to C1q of human origin. Thus, here we provide experimental evidence that the two investigated Fc mutations in the mouse IgG backbone lead to similar “silencing” properties as previously demonstrated for the human IgG and thus represent a useful method to alter effector functions in tool antibodies to be used in mouse models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progesterone pharmacokinetics were analyzed for plasma hormone concentrations ranging from linear to saturated metabolism in lactating Holstein cows with differing daily milk yields. The adequacy of 2-coupled first-order (bi-exponential equation), hyperbolic (Michaelis-Menten equation), and sigmoidal (Hill equation) kinetic models to describe the experimental progesterone pharmacokinetic profiles was examined on a statistical basis. After nonlinear regression and statistical analysis of the data-fitting capability, a simple one-compartment model based on Hill equation proved to be most adequate. This model indicates an enzyme-catalyzed metabolism of progesterone involving cooperative substrate-binding sites, resulting from allosteric effects that yield a sigmoidal saturation rate curve. Kinetic parameters were estimated for 2 groups of lactating Holstein cows with different daily milk yields. We found, for the first time, a remarkable quantitative agreement of the Hill coefficient value with that reported in pharmacokinetic studies involving cytochrome P450, family 3, subfamily A (CYP3A)-mediated reactions in other mammals, humans included. It seems that positive cooperativity makes enzymes much more sensitive to plasma progesterone concentration, and their activities can undergo significant changes in a narrow range of concentration as characteristic of sigmoidal behavior. Therefore, the values of classical pharmacokinetic parameters, such as the elimination constant, half-life, and clearance rate, were found to be highly dependent on the plasma progesterone concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper describes a new controlled swelling device fabricated to measure the corresponding swelling pressure of meat immersed in brine throughout salting. To set up the proposed device, swelling in pieces of pork meat immersed in a 5% (w/w) NaCl brine was studied. It is well known and described in literature the influence of NaCl on the water holding capacity of meat. The increase in that value has been related with the existence of swelling pressures in the protein matrix. The obtained results indicated that the developed device provides swelling pressure values which are in accordance with the measured changes in composition, weight and height of non-constrained samples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dry-cured ham consumption is restricted by hypertensive consumers due to its high sodium content. This constitutes an important matter for this industry, being relevant due to the current trends in consumption. In order to prevent the problems related to the high sodium intake, one of the possibilities is the total or partial replacement of sodium by other ions, such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. The aim of this study was to characterise the post-salting stage in Spanish cured ham production with the results obtained after salting with low sodium salt content. The results showed that lower sodium hams needed more time of post-salting to reach similar water activity values than those achieved by hams salted with 100% NaCl. Nevertheless, no differences in microbial counts were observed among the studied batches, although a sharp decrease in microbiota was observed when the, post-salting time was prolonged in the lower sodium hams. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study evaluated the flow, viscoelastic and masticatory properties of tailor made pea cream using different hydrocolloids, and the potential effect that saliva could have while chewing. The creams thickened with pectin, carboxymethyl cellulose, tara gum and konjac gum showed the weakest internal gel structure with highest values of loss tangent at 1Hz (0.49 ± 0.07), slope of log elastic modulus versus log frequency (0.34 ± 0.05) and maximum capacitance (0.07 ± 0.02 Pa-1). The samples thickened with commercial hydrocolloids were affected the most by the presence of saliva, with a significant reduction in apparent viscosity at 10 s−1, that ranged from 1500 mPas until 11000 mPas. These results demonstrate that it is possible to optimize the structure of thickened pea cream for dysphagia by using, for example, carboxymethyl cellulose, tara gum and konjac gum, because they provide a greater viscous component, and, therefore, a bolus that is more easy to swallow. • The structure of the thickened pea creams can be optimized using hydrocolloids. • Hydrocolloids can modify the viscoelastic balance of the thickened pea creams. • A high viscous component offered greater miscibility with saliva. • Good viscoelastic balance of the thickened pea creams makes them easier to swallow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]