National Beef Quality Audit-2022: Transportation, mobility, live cattle, and hide assessments to determine producer-related defects that affect animal welfare and the value of market cows and bulls at processing facilities.

The National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA)-2022 serves as a benchmark of the current market cow and bull sectors of the U.S. beef industry and allows comparison to previous audits as a method of monitoring industry progress.

National Beef Quality Audit-2022 Phase 1: face-to-face and digital interviews.

The National Beef Quality Audit () has been conducted regularly since 1991 to assess and benchmark quality in the U.S. beef industry, with the most recent iteration conducted in 2022.

Evaluation of Antimicrobial Interventions against O157:H7 on the Surface of Raw Beef to Reduce Bacterial Translocation during Blade Tenderization.

The US Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) considers mechanically-tenderized beef as "non-intact" and a food safety concern because of the potential for translocation of surface O157:H7 into the interior of the meat that may be cooked "rare or medium-rare" and consumed. We evaluated 14 potential spray interventions on O157:H7-inoculated lean beef wafers (~10⁶ CFU/cm², = 896) passing through a spray system (18 s dwell time, ~40 pounds per square inch, PSI) integrated into the front end of a Ross TC-700MC tenderizer. Inoculated and processed beef wafers were stomached with D/E neutralizing broth and plated immediately, or were held in refrigerated storage for 1-, 7-, or 14-days prior to microbial enumeration.

Comparison of the Efficacy of a Sulfuric Acid-Sodium Sulfate Blend and Lactic Acid for the Reduction of Salmonella on Prerigor Beef Carcass Surface Tissue.

A study was conducted to compare the efficacy of a commercially available sulfuric acid-sodium sulfate blend (SSS) and lactic acid (LA) in reducing inoculated Salmonella populations on beef. Sixty pieces of prerigor beef carcass surface brisket tissue, collected directly from the processing line of a commercial beef processing plant, were cut into two sections (10 by 10 cm each) and spot inoculated (6 to 7 log CFU/cm2) on the adipose side with a six-strain mixture of Salmonella. One section per piece of brisket tissue was left untreated (control), while the second section was spray treated (5 s, 15 lb/in2, and 33 mL/s flow rate) with unheated (21°C) or heated (52°C) solutions of SSS (pH 1.

Social Media in Nurse Anesthesia: A Model of a Reproducible Educational Podcast.

Social media and specifically podcasting are available to the field of nurse anesthesia as potential educational tools. This article outlines key concepts in social media, including free open access medical education and literature supporting the use of podcasting in higher, medical, and nursing education. The authors provide an educational model useful for developing social media tools and a logic model for producing an educational podcast.

Antimicrobial Efficacy of a Sulfuric Acid and Sodium Sulfate Blend, Peroxyacetic Acid, and Cetylpyridinium Chloride against Salmonella on Inoculated Chicken Wings.

Studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a commercial blend of sulfuric acid and sodium sulfate (SSS) in reducing Salmonella on inoculated whole chilled chicken wings and to compare its efficacy to peroxyacetic acid (PAA) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC). Wings were spot inoculated (5 to 6 log CFU/ml of sample rinsate) with a five-strain mixture of novobiocin- and nalidixic acid-resistant Salmonella and then left untreated (control) or treated by immersing individual wings in 350 ml of antimicrobial solution. An initial study evaluated two treatment immersion times, 10 and 20 s, of SSS (pH 1.

Response surface modeling to predict fluid loss from beef strip loins and steaks injected with salt and phosphate with or without a dehydrated beef protein water binding adjunct.

This study was conducted using response surface methodology to predict fluid loss from injected beef strip steaks as influenced by levels of salt and sodium phosphates (SP) in the injection brine. Also, a beef-based dehydrated beef protein (DBP) water binding ingredient was evaluated. Paired U.

Evaluation of a dehydrated beef protein to replace sodium-based phosphates in injected beef strip loins.

A dehydrated beef protein (DBP) was evaluated as a replacement for the phosphate added to beef injection brines. U.S.

Poly(p-phenylenevinylene) Derivatives with Defined Conjugation Segments and Post-Polymerization Modification with Sterically Enshrouded Chromophores.

Two poly(p-phenylenevinylene) derivative alternating copolymers (P1-I and P2-I) have been prepared featuring iodo substituents and m-phenylene units to periodically disrupt conjugation. P1-I was derivatized with various chromophores to yield P1a-f. In P1a-f, the chromophores were positioned within a sterically protected pocket shielding them from interchain interactions so that intrachain interactions between polymer segments could be observed.

Interchromophore orientation scaffolding by m-terphenyl oxacyclophanes.

Modular oxacyclophanes featuring m-terphenyl units scaffold inter-pi-system interaction in face-to-face stacked or orthogonal orientations, leading to distinct photophysical properties.

Poly(p-phenylene ethynylene) Incorporating Sterically Enshrouding m-Terphenyl Oxacyclophane Canopies.

A sterically encumbered m-terphenyl oxacyclophane substituted with two aryl iodide substituents has been prepared as a versatile monomer for the preparation of π-conjugated polymers. The monomer has been used to prepare a poly(p-phenylene ethynylene) derivative (P1) incorporating oxacyclophane units as canopies that shield one side of the π-system from inter-chain interactions. The photophysical properties of P1 in dilute solution compare well to those of a poly(p-phenylene ethynylene) derivative (P2) that lacks the canopy.

Canopied trans-chelating bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) ligand: synthesis, structure and catalysis.

The terphspan scaffold was employed to support a bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) ligand () that provides a m-terphenyl canopy over one side of its metal complexes. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies on a silver complex of {[Ag()]AgBr(2)}(2) revealed an unusual tetranuclear silver core with a Ag-Ag bond distance of 3.0241(8) A with as a trans-chelating ligand (C-Ag-C = 171 degrees ).

Dizinc enzyme model/complexometric indicator pairs in indicator displacement assays for inorganic phosphates under physiological conditions.

A dizinc phosphohydrolase enzyme model complex employing the dinucleating ligand 2,6-bis-[(bis-pyridin-2-ylmethyl-amino)methyl]-4-methylphenol (L1) was tested for binding to a series of 11 commercially available complexometric indicators in aqueous N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) buffer at pH 7.4, with the aim of determining the applicability of these indicators in indicator displacement assays (IDAs) under physiological conditions. Dissociation constants (Kd) were determined for 11 indicator-Zn2L1 complexes, spanning 2 orders of magnitude from 2.

Effective killing of the human pathogen Candida albicans by a specific inhibitor of non-essential mitotic kinesin Kip1p.

Kinesins from the bipolar (Kinesin-5) family are conserved in eukaryotic organisms and play critical roles during the earliest stages of mitosis to mediate spindle pole body separation and formation of a bipolar mitotic spindle. To date, genes encoding bipolar kinesins have been reported to be essential in all organisms studied. We report the characterization of CaKip1p, the sole member of this family in the human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans.

Thermochemistry is not a lower bound to the activation energy of endothermic reactions: a kinetic study of the gas-phase reaction of atomic chlorine with ammonia.

The rate constant for Cl + NH3 --> HCl + NH2 has been measured over 290-570 K by the time-resolved resonance fluorescence technique. Ground-state Cl atoms were generated by 193 nm excimer laser photolysis of CCl4 and reacted under pseudo-first-order conditions with excess NH3. The forward rate constant was fit by the expression k1 = (1.

Differential expression of NAT1 translational repressor during development of bovine intramuscular adipocytes.

This study was undertaken to test for differential gene expression in intramuscular adipocytes during fat deposition of feedlot steers. Angus x Hereford steers (n = 50) were fed a high-energy concentrate ration ad libitum for 20 (n = 5), 86 (n = 15), 121 (n = 15), and 146 days (n = 15) to obtain various degrees of intramuscular adipocyte development. Carcass traits were significantly different (P < 0.

Trimming and Washing of Beef Carcasses as a Method of Improving the Microbiological Quality of Meat.

A study to compare procedures and interventions for removing physical and bacterial contamination from beef carcasses was conducted in six carcass conversion operations that were representative of modern, high-volume plants and located in five different states. Treatment procedures included trimming, washing, and the current industry practice of trimming followed by washing. In addition, hot (74 to 87.

Effects of Postexsanguination Dehairing on the Microbial Load and Visual Cleanliness of Beef Carcasses.

Ten grain-fed steers or heifers were selected to be dehaired at slaughter, while another 10 cattle (of the same kind) were slaughtered and dressed without dehairing. The carcasses of these animals were evaluated for bacterial contamination (aerobic plate count [APC], total coliform count [TCC], Escherichia coli biotype I, and count and presence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes ) after sampling from the brisket, flank, and inside round at each of three sites (after dehiding, after evisceration, and after final carcass washing).

Microbiological and Visual Effects of Trimming and/or Spray Washing for Removal of Fecal Material from Beef.

Microbiological and visual evaluations were performed to compare the efficacy of hand trimming, spray washing, or a combination of treatments, in the removal of bacteria and fecal material from beef adipose tissue. Subcutaneous adipose samples with intact fascia from the surfaces of briskets (obtained within 15 min postmortem) were inoculated on different sizes of surface areas (0, 0.3125, 0,625, 1.

Evaluation of Hand-Trimming, Various Sanitizing Agents, and Hot Water Spray-Washing as Decontamination Interventions for Beef Brisket Adipose Tissue.

Various chemical solutions (5% hydrogen peroxide, 0.5% ozone, 12% trisodium phosphate, 2% acetic acid, and 0.3% commercial sanitizer), water (16 to 74°C) spray-washing interventions, and hand-trimming/spray-washing treatments were compared for their ability to remove fecal material and to reduce bacterial contamination on beef brisket fat samples in a model spray-washing cabinet.