Efficacy of root digestion and maceration in determining abundance of rootinhabiting nematodes

Alternatives were sought to the standard root staining and plate counting technique for determining abundance of rootinhabiting plant parasitic nematodes as it is time consuming and laborious The use of KOH cellulase pectinase EDTA sodium hypochlorite bleach root staining or tap water alone or in combination with heating or maceration in a Waring blender was investigated as tools for extracting the root knot (Meloidogyne) clover cyst (Heterodera) and lesion (Pratylenchus) nematodes from white clover (Trifolium repens) roots Abundance of nematodes extracted from and remaining in roots after maceration was determined to assess the efficacy of the various treatments The best method involved staining roots by the standard method followed by a 10 second pulse of blender maceration For seedlings extraction of M trifoliophila nematodes by the best maceration method was not significantly different to that of the standard method but macerated samples took ca 6x less time to assess than the standard method

Chocolate-Flavored Drink from Sweet Whey-Milk Blend Sweetened with Date Puree

A chocolate-flavored dairy drink sweetened with date puree was prepared by using equal parts each of sweet whey and whole milk. The blend was combined with 1.50% cocoa powder, 6% sugar (60% from date puree and 40% from table sugar), 0.05% stabilizer and 0.01% vanilla. The drink was compared with a control prepared with the same formulation except table sugar was used as a sweetener. Both products were heated to 60°C, mixed in a Waring Blender for 2 min, pasteurized at 85°C for 30 min and cooled to 4°C. Sedimentation, pH, acidity and acceptability tests were determined. The chocolate-flavored drink prepared with sweet whey-milk blend and partially sweetened with date puree appeared to be stable and highly acceptable. Chemical and physical properties of the finished product were within normal ranges.

Neutralized Direct-Acid-Set Whey as an Extender for a Chocolate-Flavored Dairy Drink1

A chocolate-flavored dairy drink was prepared in which four parts of neutralized direct-acid-set whey and six parts of whole milk were combined with 1.44% chocolate flavoring, 4.5% sugar and 0.2% nonfat-dry milk. The extended chocolate-flavored drink was compared with a conventional chocolate-flavored low-fat milk made with the same formulation except skimmilk replaced neutralized whey and no nonfat-dry milk was added. Both products were heated to 80 C and mixed 2 min in an institutional Waring blender to disburse salts from neutralized whey. pasteurized at 80 C for 35 min and cooled immediately to 5 C. Sedimentation. viscosity, pH and consumer acceptability were determined. No sedimentation occurred after 7 days of storage, but after 10 days about 5.3% sediment by volume was observed in both drinks upon centrifugation. After 7 days at 4 C, the whey-extended chocolate drink had a 4% by volume watery layer that increased to 4.5% after 10 days. Maximum viscosities of 47 and 49 centipoise, respectively, were obtained after 5 days at 4 C for the extended and conventional chocolate-flavored low-fat milk. Viscosities declined to 26–27 centipoise after 10 days. Twenty-two of a consumer panel of 37 preferred the whey drink over the conventional, and seven expressed no preference, judging by a combined preference/triangle test. When data from the triangle taste test were subjected to a statistical analyses, the probability for preference was .47 for the whey drink, .30 control and .21 no preference. There was no difference in acceptability (p > 0.05).

Comparative Study of the Stomacher and the Waring Blender for Homogenization of High-Fat Dairy Foods1

There were no differences between conventional aerobic plate counts on high-fat dairy food products after homogenization 2 min in either a Stomacher 400 or a Semi-Micro Waring blender.

The kinetic parameters of trehalase in whole and disrupted mitochondrial preparations from two insects with asynchronous muscle

The kinetic parameters of trehaiase in honey bee and flesh fly mitochondria were compared. The studies were carried out with whole mitochondria and with mitochondria disrupted in various ways and to different degrees. Honey bee mitochondrial trehalase was significantly activated by Lubrol WX treatment (30.0-fold), by high pH treatment (20.8-fold), and by a treatment consisting of 10 passes through a French press (37.9-fold) but not by the other treatments tried (salt, proteases, Waring blender, and sonication), despite the fact that these treatments also disrupted the mitochondria significantly. The activation effect was on the Vmax. The Km value did not change. Simple breakage of either the outer or inner (or both) membranes was not sufficient to activate trehalase from honey bees, which showed that the activation was not an indirect result of a change in the ease with which trehalose can pass through the membranes. Honey bee trehalase is the first trehalase from insects with asynchronous muscle which has been shown to be activatable by physical and chemical methods. Flesh fly mitochondrial trehalase behaved quite differently from the honey bee enzyme in that it could not be activated by any of the techniques tried, even when there were significant amounts of disruption.

Enumeration of Coliforms and Salmonella in Food Prepared by Blending and Stomaching

The efficiencies of the Waring blender, the Stomacher 400, and the Stomacher 3500 were compared for preparing food samples for enumerating coliforms and Salmonella. Comparative most probable number (MPN) determinations were performed on 289 samples, representing 12 categories of nonfatty foods and 2 categories of fatty foods. Total coliforms were enumerated in 9 categories of nonfatty foods, and the geometric means of MPNs in samples prepared by the Stomacher 400 and the Stomacher 3500 were not statistically different from those means of MPNs of samples prepared by the blender in 100 and 89% of the categories, respectively. In the 3 categories of nonfatty foods in which fecal coliforms were enumerated, geometric means of the MPNs of samples prepared by the Stomacher 400 and the Stomacher 3500 were not statistically different from those means of MPNs of samples prepared by the blender in 3 and 2 of the food categories, respectively. Of the 3 categories of nonfatty foods in which Salmonella was enumerated, geometric means of the MPNs of samples prepared by the Stomacher 400 and the Stomacher 3500 were not statistically different from those means of MPNs of samples prepared by the blender in 3 and 2 of the categories, respectively. Adding Tween 80 to 2 categories of fatty foods at final concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% did not result in a consistent increase in coliform MPNs obtained after stomaching with either model.

Behaviour of Mechanically Blended Return-Sludge in Absence of Substrate

Nine sets of batch experiments, each of ten to twelve days duration, were conducted in the laboratory on return-sludge samples collected from activated sludge treatment plant at Windsor. The thickened sludge samples were blended daily in a waring blender and were continuously aerated in twelve-litres capacity jars. Parallel runs were made on control sludge samples which were not blended. Amongst the parameters varied were the speed and frequency of blending and the aeration rate. The effects of these variables on progressive bio-degradation of volatile suspended solids and the settling characteristics of the sludge were determined. Blended sludge showed significant improvement in the rate of bio-degradation and its settling characteristics as compared to the control unblended sludge