Chipped Ice Research Articles

Outbreak of Norovirus Gastroenteritis Associated With Ice Cream Contaminated by Frozen Raspberries From China-Minnesota, United States, 2016.

Norovirus is the etiology for about 60% of foodborne outbreaks identified in Minnesota. Contamination of food during preparation by food handlers is by far the most common cause of these outbreaks. Norovirus outbreaks due to commercially distributed foods are rarely reported in the United States, and only 2 have been previously identified in Minnesota, both due to oysters. In August 2016, we investigated an outbreak of norovirus gastroenteritis in Minnesota that was linked to consumption of commercially distributed ice cream at multiple venues. Sanitarians from local public health agencies visited the facilities involved for follow-up, and case-control studies were conducted. The outbreak was identified by linking multiple independent illness reports to a centralized foodborne illness complaint system and subsequently confirmed though genotyping of stool specimens. A total of 15 cases from 4 venues were reported. Raspberry chocolate chip ice cream was statistically associated with illness in 2 analytic studies (6 of 7 cases vs 0 of 7 controls; odds ratio, undefined; P = .005). Norovirus GII.17[P17] (GII.17 Kawasaki) strains from case stool specimens matched norovirus found in frozen raspberries imported from China that were used to make the implicated ice cream. To our knowledge, this is the first norovirus outbreak due to commercially distributed frozen berries identified in the United States. To detect norovirus outbreaks associated with commercially distributed food vehicles, investigators should thoroughly investigate all norovirus outbreaks (including stool testing and genotyping), coordinate complaint and response activities across agencies and jurisdictions, and consider testing food for norovirus when appropriate.

Gaping and loss of fillet firmness in farmed salmon (Salmo salarL.) closely correlated with post-slaughter cleaning of the abdominal cavity

This study analysed the effect of cleaning intensity of the abdominal cavity and storage temperature from slaughter to the end of processing on the quality of farmed salmon (Salmo salar L.) fillets. These two parameters were manipulated in an experimental setup using in total thirty salmon with an average weight of 4.2 kg. The experiment was designed to imitate realistic scenarios in a normal production process in the Faroe Islands. The salmon stored at low temperatures had an average muscle temperature of 4.65°C, whereas the salmon stored at ambient temperature had an average muscle temperature of 11.27°C. After the salmon were gutted to remove all viscera except the kidney, the abdominal cavity was either rinsed lightly or meticulously cleansed of kidneys, all blood and bodily fluids. A wide range of quality and production parameters were measured either straight after cleaning or after the salmon had been stored in chipped ice at 1.5°C for 7 days. All measured parameters were analysed for possible correlations by principal component analysis (PCA). Blood and remains left in the abdominal cavity were shown to have a significant negative effect on fillet firmness (P < 0.01) and gaping (P < 0.01). The different storage temperatures between slaughter and gutting, tested in this experiment, did not significantly affect fillet firmness or gaping. However, the fillet colour showed significant negative correlation (P < 0.01) with the storage temperatures applied.

Characterization of fish hold effluent discharged from commercial fishing vessels into harbor waters

Fish hold effluent and the effluent produced from the cleaning of fish holds may contain organic material resulting from the degradation of seafood and cleaning products (e.g., soaps and detergents). This effluent is often discharged by vessels into near shore waters and, therefore, could have the potential to contribute to water pollution in bays and estuaries. We characterized effluent from commercial fishing vessels with holds containing refrigerated seawater, ice slurry, or chipped ice. Concentrations of trace heavy metals, wet chemistry parameters, and nutrients in effluent were compared to screening benchmarks to determine if there is a reasonable potential for effluent discharge to contribute to nonattainment of water quality standards. Most analytes (67%) exceeded their benchmark concentration and, therefore, may have the potential to pose risk to human health or the environment if discharges are in significant quantities or there are many vessels discharging in the same areas.

Engineering Comfort Foods

It is a cold and rainy afternoon. You decide that a bowl of chicken soup would hit the spot. While eating the soup, you smile as you are reminded of a rainy day when you were young and your mother made you the same soup.Ever had a craving for a pint of Double Chocolate Chip ice cream when you were sad? A turkey sandwich when you were happy? These are comfort foods; A specific food consumed under a specific situation. In essence, a comfort food is a food a person eats to obtain a degree of psychological comfort. This may be a bowl of soup on a cold day, a pint of ice cream when we are sad, or a turkey sandwich when we are happy. Fifteen years of my research can be summarized in saying "People’s tastes are not formed by accident." The more we know behind the psychology of foods, the more we can know about how to help people consciously control what they eat. At the Food and Brand Lab at the University of Illinois, we have been studying comfort foods to better understand the answers to three key questions: 1) What are comfort foods?, 2) When do people eat comfort foods?, and 3) How are comfort foods formed?To begin to answer these questions three major studies were conducted. In the first, in-depth phone interviews of 411 randomly selected individuals (63% female) from across the US was conducted. Besides being asked their favorite comfort foods, these individuals were also asked open-ended questions as to how these foods became comfort foods. The resulting insights were then used to generate a quantitative 20 minute phone survey that was conducted with a stratified sample of 1005 other individuals from across the US. A third study involved in-depth laddering interviews of snack food fanatics. In combination, these three studies give us some early insights into the engineering of comfort foods.

Polymorphic corneal amyloidosis: A disorder due to a novel mutation in the Transforming Growth Factor β–Induced (BIGH3) gene

Purpose To characterize the clinicopathologic phenotype as well as the molecular genetic basis of an autosomal dominant form of corneal amyloidosis. Design Clinicopathologic and molecular genetic study of a family with a form of corneal amyloidosis. Participants Forty-nine individuals from one family were studied. Methods The medical records of affected family members were reviewed, and corneal tissue from those who had undergone penetrating keratoplasty (PK) was examined. Several family members were examined clinically, and corneas were photographed. Deoxyribonucleic acid from blood or buccal swabs was extracted from each consenting family member to determine the status of their transforming growth factor β–induced (TGFBI) gene. The coding region of the TGFBI gene was analyzed for mutations in the proband's DNA, and compared with the nucleotide sequences of normal individuals. This was performed by amplifying and sequencing all exons of the TGFBI gene. In all other family members, only exons 4, 8, 11, and 12 of the gene were amplified, sequenced, and analyzed for mutations. Main outcome measures Clinicopathologic manifestations in relation to mutational status of the TGFBI gene. Results Slit-lamp biomicroscopy revealed bilateral multiple polymorphic, polygonal, refractile, chipped ice–appearing gray and white opacities. There were also occasional deep filamentous lines that did not form a distinct lattice pattern. Corneal tissue of affected individuals who underwent PK contained widespread deposits of amyloid within the corneal stroma, particularly in the deep central stroma. Twelve members of the family were found to have a heterozygous single mutation in the TGFBI gene leading to a predicted amino acid substitution of aspartic acid for alanine (A546D). Nine of these individuals had ophthalmologist-documented corneal disease. The remaining 3, who were 11, 14, and 15 years old, were asymptomatic. In addition, 4 inconsequential polymorphisms with the nucleotide changes 387 G/A (R129R), 981 G/A (V327V), 1416 T/C (L472L), and 1620 C/T (F540F) were found. Conclusion A distinct, progressive form of corneal amyloidosis with an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance is characterized clinically by the presence of refractile polymorphic corneal opacities. We have designated this entity, which is caused by an A546D mutation in the TGFBI gene, polymorphic corneal amyloidosis.

Concept Design of a District Cooling System Utilizing Ice/Water Mixture Flow and Development of the Storage Tank

A new cold energy transportation system utilizing ice/water mixture flow is under development for the purpose of raising cold energy density in large-scale district cooling system in the future. In this work, basic policies of the new system were discussed from a viewpoint of energy conservation, environmental conservation and economical efficiency, and a practical system was designed conceptually based on them. The proposed system has an additional advantage that it is easily applicable to conventional cold water transportation systems now operating to increase their capacity. Since a technology to supply ice/water mixture corresponding to the cold energy demand is needed, a prototype storage tank with functions to control the flow-rate and ice-fraction in take-out of ice/water mixture was made and its performance was tested. Two kinds of ice particles were used in the performance test: chip ice made by the commercial ice making machine as coarse particles and natural granulated snow as fine particles. For the chip ice, it was confirmed that all the stored ice in the tank was taken out and that the take-out rate of ice was well controlled. However, for granulated snow, the takeout device did not work effectively since the particles in the tank coalesced like a solid body due to the adhesive property of the ice particles. This result of performance test suggests that a device should be developed to control the flow-rate and ice-fraction in take-out of ice/water mixture taking the property of ice particles into consideration.

Dioxins, dibenzofurans, dioxin-like PCBs, and DDE in U.S. fast food, 1995

Food, especially dairy products, meat, and fish, is the primary source of environmental exposure to dioxins in the general population. Little data exists on dioxin levels in the popular and widely consumed “fast foods”. Data presented in a previously published pilot study was limited to measuring only the levels of dioxins and dibenzofurans in three types of U.S. fast food. This study adds to the previous paper by presenting data, in addition to dioxins and dibenzofurans, on the closely related dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and the persistent metabolite of DDT, 1,1-dichloro-2,2- bis ( p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (DDE), in four types of popular U.S. fast food. These include McDonald's Big Mac Hamburger®, Pizza Hut's Personal Pan Pizza Supreme®, Kentucky Fried Chicken® (KFC) three piece original recipe mixed dark and white meat luncheon package, and Häagen-Daz® chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream. Dioxin plus dibenzofuran dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQ) ranged from 0.03 to 0.28 TEQ pg/g wet or whole weight for the Big Mac, from 0.03 to 0.29 for the Pizza, from 0.01 to 0.31 for the KFC, and from 0.03 to 0.49 TEQ pg/g for the ice cream. Daily TEQ consumption per kilogram body weight (kg/BW), assuming an average 65 kg adult and a 20 kg child, from one serving of each of these fast food ranged between 0.046 and 1.556 pg/kg in adults whereas in children the values were between 0.15 and 5.05 pg/kg. Total measured PCDD/Fs in the Big Mac, Personal Pan Pizza, KFC, and the Häagen-Daz ice cream varied from 0.58 to 9.31 pg/g. Measured DDE levels in the fast foods ranged from 180 to 3170 pg/g. Total mono-ortho PCB levels ranged up to 500 pg/g or 1.28 TEQ pg/g for the KFC and for di-ortho PCBs up to 740 pg/g or 0.014 TEQ pg/g for the pizza sample. Total PCB values in the four samples ranged up to 1170 pg/g or 1.29 TEQ pg/g for the chicken sample.

Effects of very-long-range forces on filament formation in india ink particle preparations in water

The expected diffusion phase of a drop of india ink layered on water is interrupted by the appearance of straight 0.5-mm-diameter filaments of carbon particles when two experimental conditions are imposed. First, the water is derived from ice melted near a lead mass and, second, the ink suspension is inserted into space surrounding a cylindrical vessel of chipped ice containing calcium chloride. Equilibrium between the phases, respectively diffuse and filamentary can be disturbed by placing objects in this space to the left-hand side of the ice-containing vessel. When a thin film of oil-on-water is so placed the filament disappears within 15 s. Its disappearance is prevented by the solution of a prostaglandin in the same oil. Reasons are discussed for viewing the observations as indirectly derived from a coherent air flow surrounding the ice-calcium mixture, a coherence induced in turn in its contained gas molecules by a force described by Casimir. The observations can then be seen as macroscopic quantal in nature.

Exchange of Cadaveric Kidneys for Transplantation in Australia and New Zealand*

In the period from March 1970 to April 1978, 176 kidneys from 137 cadaver donors were exchanged, on the basis of HLA matching, between transplant centres throughout Australia and New Zealand. The kidneys were preserved by simple ice storage or machine perfusion, and transported by air in chipped ice. Total ischaemia times ranged from 3.5 to 28.6 hours and immediate function occurred in 52% of cases. Graft survival was 62% at one year, 51% at three years and 47% at five years, the corresponding patient survival rates being 86%, 74% and 71%. An average of 1.4 antigens mismatched was achieved, and 59% of recipients received kidneys with zero or one antigen mismatched. These kidneys survived better than those with two or more antigens mismatched, the difference being 12% at one year, and rising to more than 20% at five years. The results confirm the practicability and potential value of the Organ Sharing Scheme, and indicate that effective sharing of kidneys on the basis of zero HLA mismatches could substantially improve the current success rate of clinical cadaveric renal transplantation.

A SIMPLIFIED KIDNEY PRESERVATION SYSTEM: DEVELOPMENT AND INITIAL RESULTS

A new and greatly simplified continuous perfusion system has been developed for kidney preservation. The apparatus consists basically of a pneumatically driven combined pump and oxygenator, together with an organ chamber and perfusate reservoir, all immersed in chipped ice. Much of the complexity of conventional systems required for pH, temperature and pulse pressure control has been eliminated. Preliminary results in experimental animals suggest that this perfusion circuit, because of its simplicity and reliability, may find wide application for cadaveric kidney storage and transportation.

Sub-Surface Melt Pools in the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica

AbstractSub-surface melt pools were discovered during construction of an airfield located on glacier ice in the western part of the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica. The melt pools occur beneath areas of blue glacier ice and they are impossible to detect by visual examination. They vary in size and shape but are usually 1.0 to 1.5 m deep and span circular areas 10 to 15 m in diameter. Sub-surface melting starts in mid-December at depths of 40 cm or more and it progresses until late January when refreezing begins. The ice cover over melt pools may thin to as little as 7 cm and this creates a serious hazard to aircraft operations.The melt pools are caused by the greenhouse effect of intense solar radiation, low albedo of the blue glacier ice and heat absorption by rock particles and dust. The high-albedo layer of chipped ice and powdered ice that was produced during runway construction was completely successful in preventing sub-surface melting. The thickness of this protective layer appeared to be of little importance, providing it exceeded 3 cm.

Sub-Surface Melt Pools in the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica

AbstractSub-surface melt pools were discovered during construction of an airfield located on glacier ice in the western part of the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica. The melt pools occur beneath areas of blue glacier ice and they are impossible to detect by visual examination. They vary in size and shape but are usually 1.0 to 1.5 m deep and span circular areas 10 to 15 m in diameter. Sub-surface melting starts in mid-December at depths of 40 cm or more and it progresses until late January when refreezing begins. The ice cover over melt pools may thin to as little as 7 cm and this creates a serious hazard to aircraft operations.The melt pools are caused by the greenhouse effect of intense solar radiation, low albedo of the blue glacier ice and heat absorption by rock particles and dust. The high-albedo layer of chipped ice and powdered ice that was produced during runway construction was completely successful in preventing sub-surface melting. The thickness of this protective layer appeared to be of little importance, providing it exceeded 3 cm.

Confinement of Honeybee Colonies to Avoid Pesticide Losses

SUMMARYFour methods of confining colonies of honeybees for up to 12 hours (with and without water) were tested: (1) black or white-painted polythene sheeting, (2) wet or dry burlap (jute sacking), (3) entrance screen, (4) chipped ice over the hive entrance. Colony temperatures and reactions were nearest to normal when wet burlap or ice was used. In 1960, when external air temperatures reached about 36°C., all colonies beneath plastic were killed, as well as one with an entrance screen.

Observing Plant Roots

was drawn lightly over the streak until that area was as light as the rest of the section. In order that many sections could be stained at one time, plastic ice trays with 60 slots for chipped ice were used as staining vessels. Identical results were obtained in control sections stained in glass vessels. The slots were numbered and the serial arrangement was thus maintained. At one point in the process a fairly rapid change of solutions must take place. Transferral of 60 sections to another vessel is time consuming, so a well-fitting screen with spaces smaller than the slots was procured.