Spatial patterns of prostate-specific antigen testing in asymptomatic men across Australia: a population-based cohort study, 2017-2018.

OBJECTIVES: In Australia, while prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing rates vary by broad area-based categories of remoteness and socio-economic status, little is known about the extent of variation within them. This study aims to describe the small-area variation in PSA testing across Australia. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective population-based cohort study. METHODS: We received data for PSA testing from the Australian Medicare Benefits Schedule. The cohort included men (n = 925,079) aged 50-79 years who had at least one PSA test during 2017-2018. A probability-based concordance was applied across multiple iterations (n = 50) to map each postcode to small areas (Statistical Areas 2; n = 2,129). For each iteration, a Bayesian spatial Leroux model was used to generate smoothed indirectly standardized incidence ratios across each small area, with estimates combined using model averaging. RESULTS: About a quarter (26%) of the male population aged 50-79 years had a PSA test during 2017-2018. Testing rates among small areas varied 20-fold. Rates were higher (exceedance probability>0.8) compared with the Australian average in the majority of small areas in southern Victoria and South Australia, south-west Queensland, and some coastal regions of Western Australia but lower (exceedance probability<0.2) in Tasmania and Northern Territory. CONCLUSIONS: The substantial geographical variation in PSA testing rates across small areas of Australia may be influenced by differences in access to and guidance provided by clinicians and attitudes and preferences of men. Greater understanding of PSA testing patterns by subregions and how these patterns relate to health outcomes could inform evidence-based approaches to identifying and managing prostate cancer risk.

Long-term unmet supportive care needs of prostate cancer survivors: 15-year follow-up from the NSW Prostate Cancer Care and Outcomes Study.

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence, severity, and baseline associations of self-reported long-term unmet supportive care needs in a population-wide cohort of men with prostate cancer (PC), 15 years post-diagnosis. METHODS: Participants were drawn from the New South Wales (NSW) Prostate Cancer Care and Outcomes Study. Eligible men were diagnosed with PC between 2000 and 2002, aged less than 70 years at diagnosis, and completed a 15-year follow-up survey. Demographic and clinical data were collected at baseline. The validated Cancer Survivors' Unmet Needs (CaSUN) Survey was administered to assess unmet needs. RESULTS: Of 578 eligible men, 351 completed CaSUN. Mean age was 75.8 (range 59-84) with a mean follow-up time of 15.2 years post-diagnosis. Over a third of men (37.4%) reported at least one unmet need at 15 years. Most frequently reported unmet needs pertained to the comprehensive cancer care (34.1%) domain. 87.2% of participants who reported problems with sexual function reported this need as moderate/severe. Higher diagnostic prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels (20+ ng/mL) at diagnosis were associated with future unmet needs (PSA 20+: OR = 4.80, 95% CI [1.33-17.35]). CONCLUSION: Many PC survivors continue to report unmet needs 15 years post-diagnosis. There is a pressing need for clinicians to work together to coordinate PC care, and to proactively, regularly, and openly enquire about men's sexual adjustment to PC. The needs of PC survivors could better be met with more coordinated approaches to multidisciplinary care and timely interventions and support for chronic sexual dysfunction.

"Prostate cancer is far more hidden ": Perceptions of stigma, social isolation and help-seeking among men with prostate cancer.

The purpose of this study was to provide in-depth insight into men's experiences of prostate cancer, specifically: perceived stigma and self-blame, social isolation, unmet need and help-seeking. A qualitative descriptive approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 20 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, and thematic analysis was undertaken. Some participants perceived a stigma associated with prostate cancer and cancer in general, which sometimes acted as a barrier to disclosure. Self-blame and internalisation of cause was not a prominent issue. Participants' descriptions of emotional distress, social isolation and anxiety demonstrated the impact of prostate cancer. Social isolation was most commonly reported as a physical consequence of treatment and/or side effects. Participants felt both support and ongoing care were limited at post-treatment. Most did not seek or receive help for emotional or psychosocial problems from a formal source due to anticipated awkwardness, autonomous coping, not burdening others, unwanted sympathy and retaining privacy. Prostate cancer can cause considerable emotional and social burden for some men, and many are unlikely to seek or receive help. Men, and their support networks, require active encouragement throughout diagnosis, treatment and follow-up to overcome barriers and access additional support, particularly for sexual, emotional and psychosocial issues.

Financial toxicity: a potential side effect of prostate cancer treatment among Australian men.

The purpose of this study was to understand the extent, nature and variability of the current economic burden of prostate cancer among Australian men. An online cross-sectional survey was developed that combined pre-existing economic measures and new questions. With few exceptions, the online survey was viable and acceptable to participants. The main outcomes were self-reported out-of-pocket costs of prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment, changes in employment status and household finances. Men were recruited from prostate cancer support groups throughout Australia. Descriptive statistical analyses were undertaken. A total of 289 men responded to the survey during April and June 2013. Our study found that men recently diagnosed (within 16 months of the survey) (n = 65) reported spending a median AU$8000 (interquartile range AU$14 000) for their cancer treatment while 75% of men spent up to AU$17 000 (2012). Twenty per cent of all men found the cost of treating their prostate cancer caused them 'a great deal' of distress. The findings suggest a large variability in medical costs for prostate cancer treatment with 5% of men spending $250 or less in out-of-pocket expenses and some men facing very high costs. On average, respondents in paid employment at diagnosis stated that they had retired 4-5 years earlier than planned.

An examination of prostate cancer trends in Australia, England, Canada and USA: Is the Australian death rate too high?

PURPOSE: To compare prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates in Australia, USA, Canada and England and quantify the gap between observed prostate cancer deaths in Australia and expected deaths, using US mortality rates. METHODS: Analysis of age-standardised prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates, using routinely available data, in four similarly developed countries and joinpoint regression to quantify the changing rates (annual percentage change: APC) and test statistical significance. Expected prostate cancer deaths, using US mortality rates, were calculated and compared with observed deaths in Australia (1994-2010). RESULTS: In all four countries, incidence rates initially peaked between 1992 and 1994, but a second, higher peak occurred in Australia in 2009 (188.9/100,000), rising at a rate of 5.8 % (1998-2008). Mortality rates in the USA (APC: -2.9 %; 2004-2010), Canada (APC: -2.9 %; 2006-2011) and England (APC: -2.6 %; 2003-2008) decreased at a faster rate compared with Australia (APC: -1.7 %; 1997-2011). In 2010, mortality rates were highest in England and Australia (23.8/100,000 in both countries). The mortality gap between Australia and USA grew from 1994 to 2010, with a total of 10,895 excess prostate cancer deaths in Australia compared with US rates over 17 preceding years. CONCLUSIONS: Prostate cancer incidence rates are likely heavily influenced by prostate-specific antigen testing, but the fall in mortality occurred too soon to be solely a result of testing. Greater emphasis should be placed on addressing system-wide differences in the management of prostate cancer to reduce the number of men dying from this disease.

Marinade with thyme and orange oils reduces Salmonella Enteritidis and Campylobacter coli on inoculated broiler breast fillets and whole wings.

Essential oils have been reported to possess antimicrobial properties and therefore have potential usage as natural antimicrobials in food. In a previous study, thyme orange essential oil combination (TOC) used at the 0.5% level as a dip application on chicken cut-up parts had a significant antibacterial effect against Salmonella and Campylobacter. A study was designed to evaluate the effect of salt-phosphate marinade solution containing 0.5% TOC to 1) reduce Salmonella Enteritidis and Campylobacter coli numbers on broiler breast fillets and whole wings marinated by vacuum tumbling, and 2) reduce cross-contamination of both pathogens between inoculated and uninoculated parts during marination. A total of 52 skinless breast fillets and 52 whole wings were used for the 2 replications. For each replication, each cut-up part was randomly assigned to 1 of 5 groups: treatment 1: uninoculated parts marinated without TOC; treatment 2: inoculated parts marinated without TOC; treatment 3: uninoculated parts marinated with TOC; treatment 4: inoculated parts marinated with TOC; and control: nonmarinated inoculated parts. Samples were dipped in an inoculum containing a mixture of Salmonella Enteritidis and C. coli. The treatment samples were marinated by vacuum tumbling. All samples were immediately evaluated to determine Salmonella Enteritidis and C. coli numbers. Results indicated that TOC at the 0.5% level in the marinade solution applied by vacuum tumbling significantly reduced (P < 0.05) numbers of viable Salmonella Enteritidis by 2.6 and 2.3 log cfu/mL on broiler breast fillets and C. coli by 3.6 and 3.1 log cfu/mL on whole wings. Cross-contamination was observed as the uninoculated chicken parts marinated with inoculated parts were positive. However, the number of bacterial cells recovered from the TOC treated samples were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than the numbers recovered from the untreated samples. Marination with a salt phosphate formulation containing 0.5% TOC successfully reduced Salmonella and Campylobacter numbers on poultry products.

Survival gains needed to offset persistent adverse treatment effects in localised prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer (LPC) face difficult choices between treatment options that can cause persistent problems with sexual, urinary and bowel function. Controlled trial evidence about the survival benefits of the full range of treatment alternatives is limited, and patients' views on the survival gains that might justify these problems have not been quantified. METHODS: A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was administered in a random subsample (n=357, stratified by treatment) of a population-based sample (n=1381) of men, recurrence-free 3 years after diagnosis of LPC, and 65 age-matched controls (without prostate cancer). Survival gains needed to justify persistent problems were estimated by substituting side effect and survival parameters from the DCE into an equation for compensating variation (adapted from welfare economics). RESULTS: Median (2.5, 97.5 centiles) survival benefits needed to justify severe erectile dysfunction and severe loss of libido were 4.0 (3.4, 4.6) and 5.0 (4.9, 5.2) months. These problems were common, particularly after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT): 40 and 41% overall (n=1381) and 88 and 78% in the ADT group (n=33). Urinary leakage (most prevalent after radical prostatectomy (n=839, mild 41%, severe 18%)) needed 4.2 (4.1, 4.3) and 27.7 (26.9, 28.5) months survival benefit, respectively. Mild bowel problems (most prevalent (30%) after external beam radiotherapy (n=106)) needed 6.2 (6.1, 6.4) months survival benefit. CONCLUSION: Emerging evidence about survival benefits can be assessed against these patient-based benchmarks. Considerable variation in trade-offs among individuals underlines the need to inform patients of long-term consequences and incorporate patient preferences into treatment decisions.

Numbers of Salmonella recovered by sponge or low volume whole carcass rinse sampling of inoculated commercial turkey carcasses.

Processed turkey carcasses are sampled for Salmonella via sponge sampling, whereas broilers are sampled via whole carcass rinses. Because different sampling methods have been reported to produce different results, sponge sampling and whole carcass rinsing (WCR) were performed on turkey hen carcasses inoculated with a known amount of nalidixic acid-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis. Five turkey hen carcasses were collected from the shackle line in a commercial processing plant in each of 4 replicate trials. Carcasses were placed in a cooler with a small amount of ice and transported to the laboratory for approximately 1.5 h. Salmonella inoculum was applied by spreading 0.5 mL on the back and 0.5 mL on the thigh. After 10 min, the carcasses were sampled via a premoistened 4×8-cm sponge, swiping 10 times vertically and 10 horizontally on the back, and then repeating the same sequence on the thigh using a 10×5-cm template. After sponge sampling carcasses were placed in a clean plastic bag, 200 mL of buffered peptone was added, and bags were manually shaken for 60 s for a low volume whole carcass rinse (WCR). Liquid from stomached sponges and from WCR rinsate was serially diluted in 0.85% saline and plated onto Brilliant Green agar with sulfapyridine containing 200 ppm of nalidixic acid. Plates were incubated at 37°C for 24 h and colonies indicative of Salmonella were counted and transformed from cfu/mL to log cfu/cm2. The low volume WCR recovered significantly more Salmonella than sponge sampling in trial 3 (log 3.1 vs. 2.3, respectively) and trial 4 (log 3.1 vs. 2.2, respectively). No differences were observed in trials 1 and 2 due to sample method. Low volume WCR is equal to or more effective than sponge sampling for recovering inoculated Salmonella from turkey carcasses.

Meat quality and sensory attributes of a conventional and a Label Rouge-type broiler strain obtained at retail.

Some consumers have reported preferences for meat from alternative broiler strains as compared with meat from conventional broiler strains relative to taste and texture, but relatively few objective measurements have been conducted on these particular strains. To directly compare meat quality from a Label Rouge-type alternative and a conventional broiler strain available at retail, 4 ready-to-cook conventional and 6 alternative strain carcasses were obtained from retail or a processing plant on each of 6 d. Boneless skinless breast fillets and boneless thighs were taken from each carcass and weighed. Raw meat was then assigned to different testing lots for cooking to evaluate yield, objective texture, meat color, sensory profile, and proximate composition (percentage protein, moisture, fat, and ash). Analyses of data revealed no significant difference (P < 0.05) due to broiler strain for percentage protein, moisture, fat, and ash, for either breast or thigh meat. Conventional breast (raw and cooked) weights were significantly higher than the alternative strain, but there was no difference in cooked yield. There were no differences between strain for thigh weights or yield. Both thigh and breast meat from the conventional broilers was more tender than meat from alternative broilers. Cooked conventional breast meat was darker and yellower, whereas cooked thigh was lighter, less red, and more yellow than alternative meat. Sensory analysis found no difference between strains for breast meat attributes. Conventional thigh meat scored higher than alternative for appearance, tenderness, juiciness, and how well the panelist liked the appearance, but there was no difference in aftertaste or overall liking. Although minimal differences were observed for cooked breast meat due to strain, conventional cooked thigh meat scored higher than the thigh meat from the Label Rouge-type alternative for most of the sensory attributes.

Onsite wastewater nitrogen reduction with expanded media and elemental sulfur biofiltration.

A passive biofiltration process has been developed to enhance nitrogen removal from onsite sanitation water. The system employs an initial unsaturated vertical flow biofilter with expanded clay media (nitrification), followed in series by a horizontal saturated biofilter for denitrification containing elemental sulfur media as electron donor. A small-scale prototype was operated continuously over eight months on primary wastewater effluent with total nitrogen (TN) of 72.2 mg/L. The average hydraulic loading to the unsaturated biofilter surface was 11.9 cm/day, applied at a 30 min dosing cycle. Average effluent TN was 2.6 mg/L and average TN reduction efficiency was 96.2%. Effluent nitrogen was 1.7 mg/L as organic N, 0.93 mg/L as ammonium (NH(4)-N), and 0.03 as oxidized (NO(3) + NO(2)) N. There was no surface clogging of unsaturated media, nitrate breakthrough, or replenishment of sulfur media over eight months. Visual and microscopic examinations revealed substantially open pores with limited material accumulation on the upper surface of the unsaturated media. Material accumulation was observed at the inlet zone of the denitrification biofilter, and sulfur media exhibited surface cavities consistent with oxidative dissolution. Two-stage biofiltration is a simple and resilient system for achieving high nitrogen reductions in onsite wastewater.

Effect of stomaching on numbers of bacteria recovered from chicken skin.

Stomaching of skin samples releases only slightly more bacteria than a single rinse. Successive rinses, however, continue to remove almost as many bacteria as the first rinse. One hypothesis to explain this observation is that relatively violent treatment of skin generates smaller pieces of skin, thus increasing the net surface area and effectively sequestering bacteria in a water film on the skin pieces so that numbers of bacteria suspended in the rinsate do not increase. An experiment was conducted to determine whether inoculated marker bacteria are removed from the rinse liquid as skin pieces are stomached and naturally occurring bacteria are released. In each of 4 replications, 5 prechill broiler carcasses were collected from a commercial processing plant. Two 5-g pieces (n = 40) of breast skin were removed from each carcass and placed in a stomacher bag. An inoculum of 30 mL of 0.85% saline solution containing approximately 10(4) of nalidixic acid-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium per milliliter was added to each sample. Skin samples were hand-massaged for 30 s to mix the inoculum, after which a 1-mL aliquot was removed for enumeration of bacteria. A similar sample was taken after 4 min of vigorous stomaching of the skin sample. Bacterial counts recovered from the 30-s hand-massage were 4.3, 2.7, 2.6, and 3.7 log(10) cfu/mL of rinsate for aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella, respectively. After stomaching, counts were 4.3, 2.9, 2.8, and 3.8, respectively. There was no difference in aerobic plate counts, but mean coliform and E. coli counts were significantly higher (P < 0.05) after stomaching. Numbers of inoculated Salmonella did not decrease. Breaking up the skin into smaller pieces by stomaching did not reduce the number of inoculated bacteria suspended in the rinsate.

Effect of Feeding a Postbiotic Derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fermentation as a Preharvest Food Safety Hurdle for Reducing Salmonella Enteritidis in the Ceca of Layer Pullets.

ABSTRACT: Salmonella Enteritidis is responsible for a significant proportion of foodborne salmonellosis in the United States and continues to be attributable to table eggs despite increased federal oversight. Technologies, including feed additives, continue to be evaluated for preharvest application and their potential food safety benefits. Diamond V Original XPC, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation-based postbiotic (SCFP), was evaluated for its effectiveness in reducing Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) colonization in young layer pullets. A total of 40 day-old Hy-Line W-36 layer pullets were equally divided and randomly assigned to one of two dietary treatments, with SCFP or without SCFP (PCON), and orally gavaged on day 28 with SE at 106 CFU/mL. Another 20 day-old pullets were fed the same control feed without SCFP and blank inoculated on day 28 with 1 mL of sterile phosphate-buffered saline to serve as a negative control. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of cecal contents for Salmonella were performed for all birds on day 32. The prevalence of SE in the ceca of all directly challenged birds was 100%; however, the SE concentration in birds fed SCFP diet (3.35 log CFU/g) was significantly lower (P < 0.0001) than that of the PCON birds not fed SCFP (4.49 log CFU/g). The proportion of birds with enumerable SE concentrations was lower in SCFP-fed pullets (57.9%) than in the PCON pullets (95.0%). These data suggest that inclusion of SCFP in the diet may aid in the reduction of SE within the ceca of commercial laying hens and could serve as an additional preharvest food safety hurdle.

The presence of the glycolysis operon in SAR11 genomes is positively correlated with ocean productivity.

Bacteria in the SAR11 clade are highly abundant in marine surface waters, but currently little is known about the carbon compounds that support these large heterotrophic populations. To better understand the carbon requirements of these organisms, we conducted a multiphasic exploration of carbohydrate utilization among SAR11 isolates from the Northeast Pacific Ocean and the Sargasso Sea. A comparison of three SAR11 genomes showed they all lacked a recognizable PTS system, the oxidative portion of the pentose phosphate shunt (zwf-, pgl-), genes for the Embden-Meyerhoff-Parnas (pfk-, pyk-) and Entner-Doudoroff (eda-) pathways of glycolysis. Strain HTCC7211, isolated from an ocean gyre, was missing other glycolysis genes as well. Growth assays, radioisotopes, metagenomics and microarrays were used to test the hypothesis that these isolates might be limited in their abilities to transport and oxidize exogenous carbohydrates. Galactose, fucose, rhamnose, arabinose, ribose and mannose could not serve as carbon sources for the isolates tested. However, differences in glucose utilization were detected between coastal and ocean gyre isolates, with the coastal isolates capable of transporting, incorporating and oxidizing glucose while the open ocean isolate could not. Subsequent microarray analysis of a coastal isolate suggested that an operon encoding a variant of the Entner-Doudoroff pathway is likely responsible for the observed differences in glucose utilization. Metagenomic analysis indicated this operon is more commonly found in coastal environments and is positively correlated with chlorophyll a concentrations. Our results indicated that glycolysis is a variable metabolic property of SAR11 metabolism and suggest that glycolytic SAR11 are more common in productive marine environments.

Comparison of neck skin excision and whole carcass rinse sampling methods for microbiological evaluation of broiler carcasses before and after immersion chilling.

Sampling protocols for detecting Salmonella on poultry differ among various countries. In the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service dictates that whole broiler carcasses should be rinsed with 400 ml of 1% buffered peptone water, whereas in the European Union 25-g samples composed of neck skin from three carcasses are evaluated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a whole carcass rinse (WCR) and a neck skin excision (NS) procedure for Salmonella and Escherichia coli isolation from the same broiler carcass. Carcasses were obtained from three broiler processing plants. The skin around the neck area was aseptically removed and bagged separately from the carcass, and microbiological analysis was performed. The corresponding carcass was bagged and a WCR sample was evaluated. No significant difference (alpha

Sampling method and location affect recovery of coliforms and Escherichia coli from broiler carcasses.

Two experiments were conducted, the first to determine whether numbers of recovered bacteria differed due to sampling method used or due to location on carcass sampled (breast or leg quarters) and the second to determine if numbers of bacteria differed between the front (ventral) and back (dorsal) side of the carcass. In both experiments, eviscerated broiler carcasses were obtained from a commercial processing plant just before the final inside-outside bird washer. In experiment 1, carcasses (3 in each of 4 replicate trials) were separated into leg quarters and breast quarters (n = 48) and either rinsed or ground and stomached for microbiological sampling. In experiment 2, for 3 replicate trials of 4 carcasses each, necks, wings, and legs were manually removed; the remaining trunks were cut through the sides to produce front (ventral) and back (dorsal) halves (n = 24); and then rinsed. For both experiments, coliforms and Escherichia coli were enumerated. In experiment 1, significantly higher numbers (P < 0.05) of coliforms and E. coli were recovered by rinsing than by grinding from both breast and leg quarters. Leg quarters were found to have higher bacterial numbers than breasts from grind samples, but no quarter differences were found for rinse samples. In experiment 2, higher (P < 0.05) numbers of coliforms and E. coli were recovered from the dorsal carcass half compared with the ventral half. Bacterial counts of broiler carcasses are affected by both the sampling method used and by carcass location sampled.

Quantum point contact switches.

Switching behavior between electron tunneling and ballistic transport states was induced by repeatedly bringing a sharpened nickel wire into contact with a gold surface. The high-conductivity ballistic state had a quantized conductance of 0.977 +/- 0.015 (2e(2)/h). Switching was accomplished by moving the electrodes with a piezoelectric actuator over a distance of 2 angstroms. The two electrodes and the actuator form a three-terminal device that is demonstrated to be a reliable digital and analog switch; it shows good discrimination between high and low states and possesses the important property of power gain. The conductance channel is most likely only one atom wide and possibly consists of a single atom.

Smectic liquid crystal monolayers on graphite observed by scanning tunneling microscopy.

By means of scanning tunneling microscopy, it is observed that molecules of the form n-alkylcyanobiphenyl, where n = 8 to 12, form two-dimensional crystalline domains when adsorbed onto graphite. The layer spacings measured by tunneling microscopy are 20% larger than those measured previously on bulk material by x-ray diffraction. The structure of the adsorbed molecules is quite different from that of the bulk.

Photoreceptor deactivation and retinal degeneration mediated by a photoreceptor-specific protein kinase C.

The protein kinase C (PKC) family of serine-threonine kinases has been implicated in the regulation of a variety of signaling cascades. One member of this family, eye-PKC, is expressed exclusively in the Drosophila visual system. The inaC (inactivation-no-afterpotential C) locus was shown to be the structural gene for eye-PKC. Analysis of the light response from inaC mutants showed that this kinase is required for the deactivation and rapid desensitization of the visual cascade. Light adaptation was also defective in inaC mutant flies. In flies carrying the retinal degeneration mutation rdgB, absence of eye-PKC suppressed photoreceptor cell degeneration. These results indicate that eye-PKC functions in the light-dependent regulation of the phototransduction cascade in Drosophila.

Pale poultry muscle syndrome.

Muscle that exhibits a pale color, soft texture, and exudative nature (PSE) was first described by the swine industry. Some turkey breast muscle has been found to be lighter or paler than what is considered normal. A comparable phenomenon has also been observed in broiler chicken breast muscle. Similar to PSE pork, pale poultry muscles may have reduced water-holding capacity and higher drip loss than normal muscles. However, the lighter color poultry may also have normal water-holding and drip loss. Based on these findings, researchers have adopted the PSE term to describe pale avian muscle. The scientific literature describes porcine PSE as a much more severe meat quality defect than the poultry version. The genetic basis for the PSE syndrome between turkey and pork muscle also appears to differ. Finally, the halothane screening method used to detect PSE-susceptible live swine does not work when used to screen suspect turkeys or chickens. Most of the PSE-like avian muscle is usually chosen by researchers based on the color of the muscle. However, many factors affect muscle color and the literature shows substantial differences in research relative to the definition of pale and normal avian muscles. Therefore, we propose using other terminology than PSE when describing avian breast muscle that exhibits some degree of paleness, reduced water-holding capacity, and increased drip loss. Two recommendations are: pale chicken muscle or pale poultry muscle syndrome. Continued use of PSE to describe pale poultry meat may be misleading because the conditions in swine and avian resulting in the defect are not the same.

Effect of dry-air chilling on sensory descriptive profiles of cooked broiler breast meat deboned four hours after the initiation of chilling.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a dry air-chilling (AC) method on sensory texture and flavor descriptive profiles of broiler pectoralis major (fillet) and pectoralis minor (tender). The profiles of the muscles immersion-chilled and deboned at the same postmortem time and the profiles of the muscles hot-boned (or no chill) were used for the comparison. A total of 108 eviscerated carcasses (6-wk-old broilers) were obtained from a commercial processing line before the chillers. Carcasses were transported to a laboratory facility where they were either i) chilled by a dry AC method (0.7 degrees C, 150 min in a cold room), ii) chilled by immersion chilling (IC; 0.3 degrees C, 50 min in a chiller), or iii) not chilled (9 birds per treatment per replication). Both IC and AC fillets and tenders were removed from the bone at 4 h after the initiation of chilling (approximately 4.75 h postmortem) in a processing area (18 degrees C). The no-chill muscles were removed immediately upon arrival. The sensory properties (21 attributes) of cooked broiler breast meat were evaluated by trained panelists using 0- to 15-point universal intensity scales. The average intensity scores of the 9 flavor attributes analyzed ranged from 0.9 to 4.0. Regardless of breast muscle type, there were no significant differences in sensory flavor descriptive profiles between the 3 treatments. The average intensity scores of the 12 texture attributes ranged from 1.5 to 7.5 and there were no significant differences between the AC and IC samples. The average intensity scores of the texture attributes, cohesiveness, hardness, cohesiveness of mass, rate of breakdown, and chewiness of the no chill fillets and tenders were significantly higher than those of either of the chilled samples. These results demonstrate that chicken breast meat from AC retains sensory flavor profile characteristics but AC results in sensory texture profile differences when compared with no-chill meat. Sensory flavor and texture profiles of AC broiler breast meat do not differ from those of IC samples when the muscles are deboned at the same time after the initiation of chilling.