Quality Improvement in Mackerel Fillets Caused by Brine Salting Combined with High-Pressure Processing.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of brine salting and high-pressure processing (HPP) on the microbial inactivation and quality parameters of mackerel fillets. Mackerel fillets were immersed in 3% and 9% sodium chloride brine for 90 min at refrigerator temperature, and then treated at 300, 400, 500, and 600 MPa pressure for 5 min. The microbial counts and physicochemical qualities of the fish were examined. In comparison with fish fillets treated with brine or high pressure alone, those treated with the combination of brine salting and HPP showed significantly reduced aerobic plate count (APC) and psychrotrophic bacteria count (PBC). The hardness and chewiness of salt-brined fillets were obviously lower than those of the unsalted fillets under the same pressure condition. Thus, brine salting imparted mackerel fillets a softer texture, which compensated for the HPP-induced increased hardness and chewiness of the fillets. The L* (lightness) and ΔE (colour difference) values of the fillets increased with increasing pressure, with or without brine salting. Conversely, a* (redness) values decreased with increasing pressure. The samples treated with 3% brine in combination with 300 or 400 MPa pressure had a* values similar to those of the samples processed under similar HPP conditions alone but showed lower ΔE values than the other groups. Therefore, as a very high pressure would adversely affect the texture and colour of the fish fillets, this study suggests that immersion in an appropriate brine concentration (3%) and treatment with HPP at 400 MPa for 5 min improved or maintained the colour and texture relatively well and produced a synergistic bactericidal effect.

Inhibitory Effects of High-Hydrostatic-Pressure Processing on Growth and Histamine Formation of Histamine-Forming Bacteria in Yellowfin Tuna Meat during Storage.

In the research, we evaluated the effects of high-pressure processing (HPP) on the growth and histamine formation of histamine-forming bacteria (HFB) in yellowfin tuna meat during storage. Tuna meat samples inoculated with the individual HFB species Morganella morganii and Photobacterium phosphoreum were subjected to HPP treatment at 250, 350, 450, and 550 MPa for 5 min, and the changes in bacterial count, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) content, pH, and histamine content during storage at 4 and 15 °C were analyzed. The results indicate that the bacterial counts of the HFB species decreased significantly with increasing pressure, and HFB became undetectable in the samples treated at 450 and 550 MPa. At a storage temperature of 15 °C, the bacterial counts of both HFB species in the control group and samples subjected to HPP treatment at 250 and 350 MPa increased significantly with storage time. The bacterial counts of M. morganii in the samples stored at 4 °C decreased, whereas those of P. phosphoreum increased gradually owing to its psychrophilic nature. HPP treatment (>250 MPa) inhibited the increases in pH and TVBN content of the samples stored at 15 °C and delayed histamine formation in the samples during storage; these effects were more significant as the pressure during HPP treatment was increased.

First adult record, redescription and distribution of Stemonosudis elongata (Aulopiformes: Paralepididae).

The original description of Macroparalepis elongatus Ege, 1933 (family Paralepididae) was based on a young specimen taken from Sri Lanka. No adult information is available since it was described. Six additional specimens, including three adults and three young specimens, were found in the museum collections. The adult morphology is described for the first time and its distribution range is now extended to South Pacific Ocean off New Caledonia and Australia, and the Western Indian Ocean off Madagascar. Detailed description and comparison of these specimens and the holotype, as well as a revised diagnosis for the species, are provided.

First adult record of the barracudina Lestidiops extremus (Ege, 1953), based on a specimen from the Philippines (Teleostei: Paralepididae).

The adult morphology of Lestidiops extremus (Ege, 1953), a barracudina originally described based on postlarvae from Indonesia, has long been a mystery. An adult specimen collected from off the Philippines represents the first confirmed record of an adult of this species. Observations on the holotype and a detailed description of the adult are provided. The location of the pelvic-fin origin in the adult, clearly behind the posterior end of the dorsal-fin base, is unique within this genus and the entire subfamily Lestidiinae. The present find extends the known range of the species from northwestern New Guinea, Indonesia, to seas east of the Philippines.

Realizing high-efficiency omnidirectional n-type Si solar cells via the hierarchical architecture concept with radial junctions.

Hierarchical structures combining micropyramids and nanowires with appropriate control of surface carrier recombination represent a class of architectures for radial p-n junction solar cells that synergizes the advantageous features including excellent broad-band, omnidirectional light-harvesting and efficient separation/collection of photoexcited carriers. The heterojunction solar cells fabricated with hierarchical structures exhibit the efficiency of 15.14% using cost-effective as-cut Czochralski n-type Si substrates, which is the highest reported efficiency among all n-type Si nanostructured solar cells. We also demonstrate the omnidirectional solar cell that exhibits the daily generated power enhancement of 44.2% by using hierarchical structures, as compared to conventional micropyramid control cells. The concurrent improvement in optical and electrical properties for realizing high-efficiency omnidirectional solar cells using as-cut Czochralski n-type Si substrates demonstrated here makes a hierarchical architecture concept promising for large-area and cost-effective mass production.

Effect of translucency on transparency and symbol learning for children with and without cerebral palsy.

Based on the concept of iconicity, the iconicity hypothesis was emphasized for decades. The aims of this study were to explore the effect of translucency on transparency and symbol learning for children with and without cerebral palsy. Twenty children with cerebral palsy and forty typical peers participated in the study. Ten symbols with high translucency and ten with low translucency were used as experimental material. The results of transparency testing demonstrated the positive relationship between translucency and transparency. The effect of translucency on symbol learning was supported partially, all children with and without CP could learn the low translucent symbols only after two teaching sessions, or three sessions at most. The authors also provided some suggestions for further study based the results of this study.