The natural tragacanth gum, the sap of Astragalus gummifer, has been successfully used as a gelling agent in tissue culture media for in vitro shoot development and proliferation of miniature rose and carnation. Shoot development of nodal segments excised from greenhouse grown plants, was investigated on MS medium solidified with either 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0% tragacanth or 0.8% agar as control....

Mountain papaya fruits (Vasconcella pubescens) were tested for firmness with a nondestructive acoustic method for 14 days after harvest. The response of each fruit was analyzed with the Fourier transform to obtain a firmness index (FI) based on the second resonant frequency and with the Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) to obtain a spectrogram frequency centroid (FC) index. The indexes were p...

This study aimed at understanding softening in Jonagold apple (Malus×domestica Borkh.) fruits, by investigating pectin modifications and the evolution of pectin-modifying enzymes during postharvest storage and ripening. Jonagold apples were harvested at commercial maturity and stored at different temperatures and controlled atmosphere conditions for 6 months, followed by exposure to ambient she...

To compare the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture, massage, and Tachibana-Ryojutsu (one of Japanese traditional body balance therapy techniques (SEITAI)), on stiff shoulders, the subjects' muscle firmness, blood pressure, pulse, VAS, and body temperature were measured before and after the treatment. Forty-seven volunteer subjects gave written informed consent to participate in this study. The ...

This paper reviews the literature relating to the potential impact of swine nutrition on pork quality attributes. Supra-nutritional levels of vitamin E have been shown to increase muscle vitamin E content and reduce lipid oxidation; however, the impact on muscle color and water holding capacity has been variable. Selenium is also potentially involved in reducing lipid oxidation; there is no evi...

BACKGROUND Thromboelastometry is a whole blood assay performed to evaluate the viscoelastic properties during blood clot formation and lysis. Rotation thromboelastography (ROTEM), Pentapharm GmbH, Munich, Germany) has overcome some of the limitations of classic thromboelastography. So far, no clinical validation on reproducibility (inter- and intra-assay variability) and sample stability over t...

The effect of storing cooked Bengal and Cypress milled rice at –13, 3, 20, and 36 °C on texture and degree of starch retrogradation was investigated. Cooked rice firmness increased, while stickiness decreased, during storage at –13 and 3 °C. Starch retrogradation, measured with a differential scanning calorimeter, was observed for both cultivars during storage at –13 and 3 °C, but not at 36 °C....