Evaluation indices of sour flavor for apple fruit and grading standards

In order to establish grading standards of evaluation indices for sour flavor of apples, 10 indices of samples from 106 apple cultivars were tested, including： malic acid（Mal）, oxalic acid（Oxa）, citric acid（Cit）, lactic acid（Lac）, succinic acid（Suc）, fumaric acid（Fum）, total organic acids（To A, the sum of the six organic acids tested）, titratable acid（TiA）, acidity value（AcV）, and pH value. For most of the cultivars studied（85.8%）, the order of the organic acid contents in apples was Mal〉Oxa〉Cit〉Lac〉Suc〉Fum. Mal was the dominant organic acid, on average, accounting for 94.5% of To A. Among the 10 indices, the dispersion of pH value was the smallest with a coefficient of variation of only 8.2%, while the coefficients of variation of the other nine indices were larger, ranging between 31 and 66%. There were significant linear relationships between Mal and two indices（ToA and AcV） as well as between ToA and AcV. There were significant logarithmic relationships between pH value and four indices： Mal, TiA, ToA, and AcV. All the equations had very high fitting accuracy and can be used to accurately predict related indices. According to this study, Mal, ToA, and AcV of apple were normally distributed, TiA was close to normally distributed, whereas pH value had a skewed distribution. Using the fitted normal distribution curves, the grading standards of Mal, TiA, ToA, and AcV were established. The grading node values of pH value were obtained using the logarithmic relationship between pH value and Mal. The grading standards of these five indices can be used to evaluate the sour flavor of apple. This study provides a scientific basis for evaluating apple flavor and selecting apple cultivars.

Comparison of Organic Sector Development in Six Balkan Countries

The study elaborates and examines a method for evaluation of organic farming development according to 10 indicators estimated by experts＇ opinion. It could be used for making comparisons in different countries, regions, or even time periods on the basis of the 10 main indicators determined considering organic operators, organic area, organic production, organic farms＇ structure, resources, access to market, institutional support, education and training, science and technology, environmental protection, each one of them including sub-indicators. The proposed organic development index （ODI） could be used as a complex indicator for organic sector development embracing different and very significant aspects rather than only nowadays used organic area, percentage, sales, etc collected data for which are still questionable and difficult. The method was put into practice for six Balkan countries （Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, and Romania）. The calculations of ODI show very low results--not well developed and competitive sector suffering the interference of international open markets. Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania perform better while Western Balkan countries （Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina） are still at the beginning of organic sector development.

Right Hemicolectomy and Multivisceral Resection of Right Colon Cancer:A Report of 21 Cases

The long-and short-term outcomes in 21 patients with right colon cancer after right hemicolectomy and multivisceral resection surgery were investigated. Short-term therapeutic effects and long-term survival rate were retrospectively analyzed in patients with right colon cancer. These individuals underwent right hemicolectomy in combination with multivisceral resections including pancreatic head, duodenum, kidney, liver, gallbladder, and abdominal wall at the Department of General Surgery in the Henan Tumor Hospital between January 2003 and August 2014. The patients had an average age of 58.9 years（range： 39–78）. Three patients had metastatic invasion only to the duodenum; meanwhile 18 patients had invasion to the duodenum and other adjacent organs. The median survival time was 41 months（95% CI： 6.972–75.028） with one death in the perioperative period. No patients lost follow-up. One-, 3-, and 5-year survival rate was 75%, 56%, and 43%, respectively. It was concluded that indications for surgery should be tightly controlled. Favorable clinical outcomes of right hemicolectomy and multivisceral resection surgery were demonstrated for patients with right colon cancer at the T4 stage.

Effects of ammonia exposure on carcass traits and fatty acid composition of broiler meat

We aimed to study the effects of ammonia on carcass traits, organ indices and fatty acid composition of broilers. Four hundred 21-d-old male Arbor Acres broilers with initial weight 563.52 ± 2.82 g were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 groups treated with ammonia at <3 mg/kg(control),25 ± 3. 50 ± 3, and75 ± 3 mg/kg concentrations. Each group consisted of 4 replicates of 25 birds. Broilers from 21 to 42 d were reared on the net floor in the respiration-metabolism chambers where similar environmental conditions were maintained. At 32 and 42 d of age, carcass traits and organ indices were determined for4 birds per pen. At 42 d of age, fatty acid composition in the breast and thigh muscle of broilers was measured. Results showed as follows: 1) At 32 d, the dressing percentage of broilers exposed to 25 and75 mg/kg ammonia were lower than those in the control group(P < 0.05); eviscerated yield percentage of broilers in the 25 mg/kg ammonia group was also lower(P < 0.05). At 42 d, the dressing percentage of broilers in the ammonia treatments and the thigh muscle percentage of broilers in the 50 and 75 mg/kg ammonia groups were lower(P < 0.05) than those in the control. Breast muscle percentage of broilers exposed to 25 and 50 mg/kg ammonia and eviscerated yield percentage exposed to 50 mg/kg ammonia were lower than those in the control(P < 0.05). 2) The kidney index of broilers(d 32) exposed to ammonia was greater(P < 0.05) than that of the control. At 42 d, hepatic index of broilers exposed to ammonia was increased(P < 0.05), and spleen index was decreased(P < 0.05). 3) At 42 d, stearic(C18:0)and saturated fatty acids(SFA) in the thigh muscle of broilers were higher, while the unsaturated fatty acid:saturated fatty acid(U:F) ratio and unsaturated fatty acid(UFA) were lower in the 50 mg/kg ammonia treatment than in the control group(P < 0.05). In conclusion, ammonia over 25 mg/kg could decline carcass traits and immune organ indices and increase the kidney and hepatic indices. Further,exposure to 50 mg/kg ammonia could also decrease breast and thigh muscle yield percentage while increasing SFA content and decreasing UFA content in the thigh muscle of broilers.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and polychlorinated biphenyls in surface soil from the Tibetan Plateau

Concentrations of Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans（PCDD/Fs） and polychlorinated biphenyls（PCBs） in soil samples from Tibetan Plateau were determined. The average concentration of total 2,3,7,8-PCDD/Fs was（2.30 ± 1.02） pg/g, and World Health Organization Toxicity Equivalency（WHO-TEQ） average concentration was（0.013 ± 0.010）pg WHO-TEQ/g. The average concentration of ∑PCBs（7 indicator PCB and 12 dioxin like-PCB congeners） was（16.2 ± 9.25） pg/g, and WHO-TEQ average concentration was 0.043 ±0.049 pg WHO-TEQ/g. Comparing to previous studies in similar environmental conditions,PCDD/Fs and PCBs in this study showed a relatively lower concentration. The altitude dependences of PCDD/Fs and PCBs were also studied. Total organic carbon（TOC） normalized concentrations presented a quadratic relation with the altitudes, and an inflection could be found on the parabola of the total concentrations and some congeners of high concentration.The concentrations decreased with altitudes below about 4500 m above sea level（a.s.l.）, while they increased with altitudes above it. These phenomena indicate that cold condensation of PCDD/Fs and PCBs would happen above 4500 m a.s.l, on the Tibetan Plateau.