Purge Sample Research Articles

Electrochemical determination of Roxarsone using preconcentration-based signal amplification on modified screen-printed electrode

A lab-made screen-printed electrode based on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate modified with a hybrid film containing gold nanoparticles-decorated graphene (AuNPs-GRA/PET-SPE) was employed for the voltammetric determination of Roxarsone (ROX) in chicken purge and river water samples. The electrode exhibited an increased electroactive area and enhanced charge transfer due to the nanostructured matrix. The electrochemical determination involved a preconcentration approach with a reduction step of ROX at a constant potential of −0.6 V, followed by voltammetric sweep towards the oxidation of the adsorbed hydroxylamine at 0.32 V. The methodology achieved a limit of detection of 60 nM and 97 nM for ROX in diluted river water and chicken purge samples, respectively. This effective methodology offers a promising tool for monitoring ROX levels in environmental and food samples.

Groundwater Sampling: Flow-Through Bailer Passive Method Versus Conventional Purge Method

A study was conducted to assess the performance of the flow-through bailer groundwater sampling method against the conventional purge method based on the analysis of inorganic chemistry and total coliform parameters. Sampling was performed at three sites for a total of 43 monitoring wells. Samples were first collected by a bailer from inferred groundwater flow zones followed by the purging method. Analysis of variance of inorganic chemistry parameters measured in the bailered and purged groundwater samples was conducted at 99% confidence interval. Across the three sites, there was no statistically significant difference between all inorganic chemistry parameters measured in the bailered and purged samples. Further analysis was conducted to assess the probability (p) to which the observed difference among groups is attributable to the influence of random factors or the sampling methods (test factor). The probability that the observed differences between the tested groups is rather due to random chance and not to the influence of sampling methods. There are wells that show high influence of the sampling methods on the results and others showing minimum influence. The results suggest that well specific hydrogeology has an influence on the comparison of the sampling methods. Recommendations are therefore made for well specific evaluations prior to the adoption of the bailer passive sampling method. The total coliform counts in the bailered samples are much more elevated than in purged samples, which suggest that, for total coliforms and possibly other microbial analytes, purging is necessary.

Negative Bias and Increased Variability in VOC Concentrations Using the HydraSleeve in Monitoring Wells

AbstractThe HydraSleeve is a sampling device for collecting groundwater from the screened interval of a monitoring well without purging that uses a check valve to take in water over the first 3 to 5 feet of an upward pulling motion. If the check valve does not perform as expected, then the HydraSleeve has the potential to collect water from an incorrect depth interval, possibly above the screened interval of the well. We have evaluated volatile organic chemical (VOC) results from groundwater samples collected with the HydraSleeve sampler compared to other methods for sampling monitoring wells at three sites. At all three sites, lower VOC concentration results were observed for samples collected using the HydraSleeve. At two of these three sites, the low concentration sample results were most strongly associated with monitoring wells with more than 10 feet of water above the monitoring well‐screened interval. At the site with the largest dataset, the median bias for samples collected with HydraSleeve was −20% (p < 0.001). At this site, a bias of −26% (p < 0.001) was observed for the subset of monitoring wells with greater than 10 feet of water above the screened interval compared to a bias of −7% (p = 0.21) for wells screened across the top of the water table. In addition to lower VOC concentrations, the monitoring records obtained using the HydraSleeve were more variable compared to monitoring records obtained using purge sampling methods, a characteristic that would make it more difficult to determine the long‐term concentration trend in the well.

Latent-Class Methods to Evaluate Diagnostics Tests for Echinococcus Infections in Dogs

BackgroundThe diagnosis of canine echinococcosis can be a challenge in surveillance studies because there is no perfect gold standard that can be used routinely. However, unknown test specificities and sensitivities can be overcome using latent-class analysis with appropriate data.MethodologyWe utilised a set of faecal and purge samples used previously to explore the epidemiology of canine echinococcosis on the Tibetan plateau. Previously only the purge results were reported and analysed in a largely deterministic way. In the present study, additional diagnostic tests of copro-PCR and copro-antigen ELISA were undertaken on the faecal samples. This enabled a Bayesian analysis in a latent-class model to examine the diagnostic performance of a genus specific copro-antigen ELISA, species-specific copro-PCR and arecoline purgation. Potential covariates including co-infection with Taenia, age and sex of the dog were also explored. The dependence structure of these diagnostic tests could also be analysed.Principle findingsThe most parsimonious result, indicated by deviance-information criteria, suggested that co-infection with Taenia spp. was a significant covariate with the Echinococcus infection. The copro-PCRs had estimated sensitivities of 89% and 84% respectively for the diagnoses of Echinococcus multilocularis and E. granulosus. The specificities for the copro-PCR were estimated at 93 and 83% respectively. Copro-antigen ELISA had sensitivities of 55 and 57% for the diagnosis of E. multilocularis and E. granulosus and specificities of 71 and 69% respectively. Arecoline purgation with an assumed specificity of 100% had estimated sensitivities of 76% and 85% respectively.SignificanceThis study also shows that incorporating diagnostic uncertainty, in other words assuming no perfect gold standard, and including potential covariates like sex or Taenia co-infection into the epidemiological analysis may give different results than if the diagnosis of infection status is assumed to be deterministic and this approach should therefore be used whenever possible.

Microcrystal Particles Behaviour in Inkjet Printing of Reactive Nylon Materials

A novel process using inkjet printing of molten materials to produce nylon 6 for additive layer manufacturing applications was investigated. Different reactive mixtures of molten caprolactam with activator and catalyst were characterized for physical properties to understand their jettability in an inkjet system. Although it was found that the surface tension and viscosity of all materials were within the range suitable for inkjet technology according to the literature, microcrystals of undissolved salt of the catalyst complex (caprolactam magnesium bromide) were found to influence melt supply behavior. The influence of the process on the catalyst microcrystal consistency and agglomeration beyond the jetting system was investigated for purged, deposited multiple droplets and also individual droplet samples using hot-stage polarized light microscopy. Quantitative image analysis showed that although microcrystal agglomeration occurred within the accumulated droplets due to kinetics of droplet impact, this however was much less than with the purged samples. A generally consistent content and dispersion of the microcrystals existed within the consecutively deposited droplets.

Evaluation of the Method for Analyzing Chromium, Cobalt and Titanium Ion Levels in the Blood Following Hip Replacement with a Metal-on-Metal Prosthesis

High-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR-ICP-MS) can be used to measure metal ion levels in whole blood, although the accuracy and repeatability of this method is not yet known in the clinical setting. In this study, chromium, cobalt and titanium ion levels were measured in three whole blood samples, each collected at the same moment from 101 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty with a metal-on-metal (MoM) bearing. The first sample (purge sample) had direct contact with the metal needle used during insertion of the catheter, whereas the second sample (reference sample) and the third sample (reserve sample) did not. The absolute difference between reference samples and reserve samples was greater than the limit of quantification of the HR-ICP-MS device for all three ions (0.84 versus 0.35 µg/L for chromium, 0.74 versus 0.07 for cobalt, and 0.88 versus 0.70 µg/L for titanium), although the levels were very small in most cases, they exceeded the clinical significant threshold in 19 to 31% of the cases. No clinically significant difference was observed between reference samples and purge samples. Therefore, HR-ICP-MS is a clinically acceptable method to evaluate metal ion levels in blood following hip replacement with an MoM prosthesis, and it is not necessary to discard the purge sample to obtain repeatable results.

Toxicity of ammonia to surf clam ( Spisula solidissima) larvae in saltwater and sediment elutriates

Ammonia is a natural component of sediments and has been identified as a common contributor to toxicity in marine sediment, elutriate and porewater testing. In our study, the role of ammonia as a possible toxicant in sediment toxicity tests was evaluated using larvae of the surf clam, Spisula solidissima. Elutriates were prepared and tested using six baseline sediment samples. Ammonia was then purged from aliquots of the baseline sediment samples prior to elutriate preparation. Finally, ammonia was spiked into aliquots of the purged elutriates to mimic ammonia concentrations measured in the baseline elutriates. Toxicity was present in all of the baseline samples and was removed in the ammonia purged samples. In most cases, toxicity was comparable in the ammonia spiked samples to levels measured in the baseline samples. Water only toxicity tests revealed that larvae of the surf clam are one of the more ammonia sensitive marine species. The LC50 for survival was 10.6 mg/L total ammonia (.53 mg/L unionized ammonia) and the EC50 for shell development was 2.35 mg/L total ammonia (.12 mg/L unionized ammonia). Toxicity endpoints calculated from the water only ammonia toxicity test were good predictors of effects observed in the sediment elutriate tests.

A CASE OF “BLOWN PACK” MEAT LINKED TO CLOSTRIDIUM ESTERTHETICUM IN IRELAND

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to determine whether Clostridium estertheticum can be linked to the “blown pack” of vacuum‐packed beef and lamb. Vacuum‐packed chilled beef and lamb samples that had been spoiled by gross gas distension were obtained from two Irish meat processing plants. A sample of purged liquid from each sample was removed from the each meat pack and divided into 3 replicate samples. Both polymerase chain reaction amplification and conventional culturing methods was used to detect C. estertheticum in each purge sample. DNA sequencing was used to confirm its detection. C. estertheticum DNA was detected in beef but not detected in lamb. C. estertheticum was not isolated from the beef or lamb purge samples. This study represents the first confirmed link between C. estertheticum and the blown pack vacuum‐packed beef in Ireland.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSBlown pack spoilage of vacuum packed meat is a significant problem in the meat industry and has the potential to cause considerable economic loss to meat processors. This study found, the first evidence of Clostridium estertheticum in vacuum packed meat in Ireland. This research will contribute to a better understanding of blown pack spoilage of vacuum packed meat caused by C. estertheticum.

Click chemistry for photonic applications: triazole-functionalized platinum(ii) acetylides for optical power limiting

Three different triazole-containing platinum(II) acetylide compounds were synthesized by click chemistry and evaluated for their use in optical power limiting (OPL) applications. The triazole unit was incorporated at three different positions within, or at the end of, the conjugation path of the chromophore. The aim is to explore the possibilities of using click chemistry to prepare dendronized chromophores, and to evaluate how the triazole structure affects the photophysical properties and the optical power limiting abilities of these acetylide compounds. It is shown that the concept of click chemistry can be used to attach branched monomer units to ethynyl-phenyl arms by Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, forming triazole units within the chromophore. Photophysical characterization of these triazole-containing materials shows an absorption maximum within the UV-A region and emission through both fluorescence and phosphorescence. Bright phosphorescence was emitted from argon purged samples, and decay measurements thereof showed triplet lifetimes of up to 100 µs. The results from the photophysical characterization suggest that the triazole does break the conjugation path, and in order to gain maximum optical limiting the triazole needs to be placed at the end of the conjugation. All three investigated triazole-containing platinum(II) acetylides show good optical power limiting at 532 nm (10 ns pulse, f/5 set-up, 2 mm cells). The most efficient compound, with the triazole positioned at the end of the conjugation, reaches a defined clamping level of 2.5 µJ for a sample with a concentration of 50 mM in THF and a linear transmission above 80% at 532 nm. These data can be compared to the OPL properties of Zn-based porphyrins or derivatized thiophenes, reaching clamping levels of 6–15 µJ.

Multisimplex Optimisation of the Purge-and-Trap Preconcentration of Volatile Fatty Acids, Phenols and Indoles in Cow Slurries

In this work the simultaneous purge-and-trap (P&T) preconcentration of volatile fatty acids (acetic acid, propanoic acid, butanoic acid, iso-butanoic acid, pentanoic acid, iso-pentanoic acid, hexanoic acid and heptanoic acid), phenols (phenol, 4-methylphenol and 4-ethylphenol) and indoles (indole and 3-methylindole) from cow slurries was carried out in order to quantify them by gas chromatography flame ionisation detection (GC–FID). The optimisation of the preconcentration was performed using spiked cow slurries and the variables studied were the nature of the trap, the purge and heating time and the amount of inert salt (NaCl) added. Other parameters such as purge flow, sample volume, desorption time and temperature and baking time and temperature were kept constant. The first variable studied was the nature of the preconcentration trap. Four different commercially available traps (Vocarb 4000, Vocarb 3000, BTEXTRAP and Tenax/silica gel/carbon) were studied and Vocarb 3000 gave best results. Once the optimum trap was chosen, appearance of possible memory peaks were studied and significant signals were observed for 4-methylphenol, 4-ethylphenol, indole and 3-methylindole. In order to improve the blanks after each analysis the following actions were taken: (1) the needle sparger was located in the headspace of the sample and (2) all the replaceable parts of the P&T (sample tube, needle sparger, Teflon ferrules, nuts, etc.) were washed, sonicated in acetone for 15 min and dried in an oven at 350 °C. Once the blank problems were minimised, the remaining variables (purge and heating time and the amount of NaCl) were optimised using the MultiSimplex® program, which enabled the study of several variables and responses simultaneously. Optimum conditions for the simultaneous preconcentration were obtained after 24 experiments and the final optimised preconcentration conditions were as follows: 0.4 g of NaCl were added to 10 mL sample which was heated at 80 °C for 10 min and purged for 20 min while the Vocarb 3000 trap remained at room temperature. Once the purge step was over, the trap was desorbed at 250 °C for 6 min and baked at 260 °C for 10 min. After the optimisation of the P&T based preconcentration, the precision (within and among days), accuracy and detection limits of the method were studied.

Surface photochemistry: benzophenone as a probe for the study of silica and reversed-phase silica surfaces

This work reports the use of benzophenone, a very well characterized probe, to study new hosts: two reversed-phase silicas. Laser-induced room temperature luminescence of argon purged solid powdered samples of benzophenone adsorbed onto the two different reversed-phase silicas, RP-18 and RP-8, revealed the existence of a low energy emission band in contrast with the benzophenone adsorbed on 60 A pore silica, where only triplet benzophenone emits. This low energy emission band was identified as the fluorescence of the ketyl radical of benzophenone, which is formed as the result of a hydrogen atom abstraction reaction of the triplet excited benzophenone from the alkyl groups of the surface of the reversed silicas. Such emission does not exist for benzophenone adsorbed onto 60 A pore silica. Room temperature phosphorescence was obtained in argon purged samples for all the surfaces under use. The decay times of the benzophenone emission vary greatly with the alkylation of the silica surface when compared with "normal" silica surface. A lifetime distributions analysis has shown that the shortest lifetimes for the benzophenone emission exist in the former case. Triplet-triplet absorption of benzophenone was detected in all cases and is the predominant absorption in the case of 60 A pore silica, while benzophenone ketyl radical formation occurs in the case of the reversed silicas. Diffuse reflectance laser flash photolysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques provided complementary information, the former about transient species and the latter regarding the final products formed after laser irradiation, both at 266 nm or 355 nm. Product analysis and identification show that the degradation photoproducts are dependent on the excitation wavelength, the photochemistry being much more rich and complex in the 266 nm excitation case, where an alpha-cleavage reaction occurs. A detailed mechanistic analysis is proposed.

Heme Distortion Modulated by Ligand-Protein Interactions in Inducible Nitric-oxide Synthase

The catalytic center of nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) consists of a thiolate-coordinated heme macrocycle, a tetrahydrobiopterin (H4B) cofactor, and an l-arginine (l-Arg)/N-hydroxyarginine substrate binding site. To determine how the interplay between the cofactor, the substrates, and the protein matrix housing the heme regulates the enzymatic activity of NOS, the CO-, NO-, and CN(-)-bound adducts of the oxygenase domain of the inducible isoform of NOS (iNOS(oxy)) were examined with resonance Raman spectroscopy. The Raman data of the CO-bound ferrous protein demonstrated that the presence of l-Arg causes the Fe-C-O moiety to adopt a bent structure because of an H-bonding interaction whereas H4B binding exerts no effect. Similar behavior was found in the CN(-)-bound ferric protein and in the nitric oxide (NO)-bound ferrous protein. In contrast, in the NO-bound ferric complexes, the addition of l-Arg alone does not affect the structural properties of the Fe-N-O moiety, but H4B binding forces it to adopt a bent structure, which is further enhanced by the subsequent addition of l-Arg. The differential interactions between the various heme ligands and the protein matrix in response to l-Arg and/or H4B binding is coupled to heme distortions, as reflected by the development of a variety of out-of-plane heme modes in the low frequency Raman spectra. The extent and symmetry of heme deformation modulated by ligand, substrate, and cofactor binding may provide important control over the catalytic and autoinhibitory properties of the enzyme.

Microbiological contamination of raw beef trimmings and ground beef

To survey the microbiological quality of beef trimmings and final-ground beef, samples were collected from eight commercial grinding facilities, including trimmings from fed-cattle, culled-beef cows, culled-dairy cows, imported-beef trimmings and finished-ground products. Trim samples (core and purge) and ground product samples ( n=586) were evaluated for aerobic plate (APC), total coliform (TCC), Escherichia coli (ECC) and Staphylococcus aureus counts and the presence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. As fat content in the trimmings increased, APC also increased. Trimmings from fed-cattle had higher ( P<0.05) APC and TCC than trimmings from culled-beef cows, culled-dairy cows and imported trimmings. Purge samples produced higher ( P<0.05) APC, TCC and ECC than core samples, but there were no difference ( P>0.05) across fat percentages in APC, TCC, ECC or S. aureus counts. Final-ground beef samples had a 13.6 and 1.5 % incidence of L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp., respectively. The results of this study indicate specific areas of potential that ground beef processors could capitalize upon to further improve the microbiological quality of their finished product. Ground beef processors should focus their efforts on reducing the microbial counts on incoming raw materials, especially those containing large proportions of subcutaneous fat, and processors should no longer incorporate the purge component of raw materials into ground beef. From this study, it is also apparent that ground beef processors should implement sanitation and manufacturing procedures that address L. monocytogenes contamination.

Epidemiological study of Taenia solium taeniasis/cysticercosis in a rural village in Yucatan state, Mexico.

A survey to detect human taeniasis and cysticercosis was conducted in a community in Yucatan state, Mexico, an area endemic for Taenia solium. Information on the environmental, demographic and risk factors associated with transmission of T. solium within the community was recorded on questionnaires. Although no Taenia eggs or proglottides were found in the initial faecal samples collected from each of the 475 subjects, the results of a capture-ELISA for T. solium coproantigen were positive for 10 of the subjects (of both genders and various ages). After treatment with niclosamide, proglottides were detected in purge samples from seven of these 10 subjects. The prevalence of parasitologically confirmed taeniasis was therefore 1.5% (seven in 475). The other three ELISA-positive cases delayed supplying faecal material post-treatment, and it is nuclear whether they had expelled proglottides before providing the samples. All 10 ELISA-positive subjects became ELISA-negative after treatment. Seroprevalence of human cysticercosis, based on the detection in immunoblots of antibodies to antigens of 8- and 26-kDa from a crude saline extract of T. solium metacestodes, was 3.7% (i.e. five positives out of 134 subjects). None of the seropositive cases demonstrated clinical symptoms of infection. Again, the positive cases were of both genders and various ages. Although tongue palpation indicated that 17 (23%) of 75 pigs kept within the community had T. solium cysticercosis, the results of immunoblotting demonstrated antibodies to the 8- and/or 26-kDa antigens of T. solium in 26 (35%). The pigs allowed to roam throughout the community were far more likely to have cysticercosis than those kept in pens (odds ratio = 42, with a 95% confidence interval of 5.05-920.2; P < 0.00001). Not surprisingly, the risk factors associated with human taeniasis and cysticercosis included the eating of infected pork and close proximity to a carrier of T. solium. The main risk factor identified for porcine cysticercosis was free-range husbandry, permitting access to human faeces. This is the first comprehensive report of taeniasis and cysticercosis in a rural population from the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico.

A Representative Microbial Sampling Method for Large Commercial Containers of Raw Beef Based on Purge

The purge from beef combos (a boxed collection of beef trimmings) was tested as a means of representatively sampling the microbial content of this raw product. In the first experiment, purge was sampled from model beef combos that had been inoculated with bovine feces. Data from this experiment indicated a strong correlation (r = 0.94) between the total aerobic bacteria counts derived from the purge samples of a model beef combo and the total aerobic bacteria present in a rinse sample of the entire model beef combo. In a second experiment, two 500-g meat pieces were inoculated with an antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli O157:H7 and placed at various levels within a 75-cm meat column. The marked bacteria were retrievable from the purge of the meat column after 24 h, showing that bacteria are carried downward into the purge. During the third part of the study, 90 beef combos (~900 kg beef/combo) were randomly selected at the receiving dock of a commercial grinding facility and sampled using both purge and concurrently used 11-g core samples. Purge samples from these combos recovered significantly greater numbers of mesophilic and psychrotrophic aerobic bacteria, coliforms, and E. coli than core samples from the same combos. Additionally, coliforms and E. coli were recoverable from 100% and 80%, respectively, of the purge samples taken, whereas core samples were only able to recover 60% and 40%, respectively, from the same combos. These findings indicate that a purge sample from a beef combo is a more efficacious sampling method for determining the general bacterial profile and identifying the presence of coliforms and E. coli than randomly taken core samples.

Elemental speciation and coupled techniques—towards faster and reliable analyses

Various procedures for accelerated and simplified sample preparation and analyte introduction into a plasma source spectrometer are developed and evaluated for speciation analysis of organometallic compounds using the example of alkyl and arylmetals and cyanocobalamin analogues. The topics discussed include microwave-assisted chemistry in three phase systems (solid–liquid–liquid and solid–liquid–gas), purge and capillary trap sample preparation and fast chromatography (multicapillary GC and microparticulate stationary phase reversed-phase LC) as a sample introduction technique for MIP-AES and ICP-MS, respectively. Integration of the sample preparation and of the chromatographic separation steps into a single instrumental module (as an accessory for atomic spectrometry) is evaluated. Attention is given to the reliability of information obtained in the case when standards are not available and when the target analytes are poorly defined (speciation of Cd bound to metallothionein isoforms). The utility of a dual orthogonal approach (complementary separation and complementary detection techniques) is demonstrated.

High resolution GC : MS analysis of VOCs in wastewater and sludge

High resolution gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been widely used in the field of environmental sample analysis for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (Gryder-Boutet, et al., 1988). Such a technique was applied to the analysis of VOCs at a local municipal wastewater treatment plant. The combination of purge and trap sample preparation and thermal desorption with cryofocusing technology, allows for the detection of a wide range of volatiles in wastewater and sludge samples. Results show that a large variety of organics present in samples are aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Their concentrations are in part per billion levels between 10 to 150 μg/L. Others identified using this method are chlorinated hydrocarbons, sulfides and organic acids. By comparing the chromatograms of different wastewater and sludge samples collected from various treatment process units, it can be seen that most volatiles were removed or degraded after the aeration or digestion process. Information that provides an insight to the measurement of organic compounds in sludges is also discussed in this paper.

Assessment of a serological test for the detection of Echinococcus granulosus infection in dogs in Kenya

Specific diagnosis of Echinococcus granulosus infection in dogs has played a significant role in implementing hydatid control programs. Most programs have relied on purging dogs with arecoline hydrobromide and examining purge samples for worms to diagnose infection. This technique is time consuming and suffers from limitations including poor sensitivity, particularly in dogs with light infections, risk of hydatid infection to control personnel and severe side-effects of the arecoline in some dogs. Also, availability of praziquantel in several countries has further limited the value of the technique as owners can treat their dogs to eliminate worms prior to presenting them for purging. Application of a simple and sensitive immunological or serological detection system would overcome these problems and be a useful adjunct in control programs. Reports have described alternative techniques which show promise for accurate diagnosis of E. granulosus infection in the definitive host (Jenkins and Rickard, 1985, 1986; Craig et al., 1988). Recently, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using E. granulosus protoscolex antigen was developed (Gasser et al., 1988), and its sensitivity was higher than the level achieved in studies using arecoline testing (Gemmell, 1968; Trejos et al., 1975). The aim of the present study was to assess the performance of the ELISA in an endemic area of Kenya for detecting dogs with E. granulosus infection, and comparing serological data with parasitological data obtained from the dogs by necropsy. Dogs shot in north-western Turkana (Oropoi, Nanam, Lokichoggio, Lakankai,

Production of Hydrogen Sulphide in Milkfat-Coated Microcapsules Containing Brevibacterium Linens and Cysteine

Milkfat-coated microcapsules containing Brevibacterium linens and cysteine were used to produce hydrogen sulphide, one of Cheddar cheese flavour compounds. Hydrogen sulphide production was substantially reduced and delayed in the encapsulated system as compared with that of the unencapsulated system. Hydrogen sulphide was not produced aerobically whereas substantial amounts of hydrogen sulphide were produced in a nitrogen purged system. The inhibitory effect of the initial aerobic condition disappeared after 8 days of incubation. In spite of the lag in hydrogen sulphide production under aerobic conditions almost the same amount of hydrogen sulphide was produced in oxygen purged samples as in the nitrogen purged samples after 10 days of incubation. Moderate heat treatment (2 min at 58 degrees C) of cell suspension-milkfat-emulsion increased subsequent hydrogen sulphide production. The optimum pH and temperature for hydrogen sulphide production from cysteine by Brevibacterium linens were 6 degrees C and 32 degrees C, respectively. Antioxidants BHT, BHA and ascorbic acid had negligible effects on production of hydrogen sulphide in the encapsulated system.

Echinococcus granulosus in farm dogs and dingoes in south eastern Queensland.

Twenty-nine farms with a prevalence of greater than 20% of hydatidosis in cattle were visited in south eastern Queensland between August and December 1982. All farms carried beef cattle but none sheep. Twenty-four had dingoes and wallabies but only 8 had feral pigs. On 17 farms either macropods were killed for dog food or dogs were suspected of hunting macropods or scavenging their carcases. Purge samples were collected from 45 dogs from 23 of the 29 farms visited. The Australian sylvatic strain of Echinococcus granulosus was found in low numbers in purged intestinal content from one dog from each of 2 farms. Also, 50 intestinal tracts from dingoes from southern Queensland were examined between October 1981 and November 1983. The sylvatic strain of E. granulosus was found in 36 dingoes, the Australian mainland domestic strain in 4, and a further 5 dingoes were infected but the strain was not identified. This work indicates that domestic dogs are probably not important definitive hosts for E. granulosus in south eastern Queensland but could be an occasional source of infection for man. Dingoes are the major definitive host and worm numbers can be very high. Small foci of the domestic strain of E. granulosus may be maintained in a cycle involving dingoes, macropods and possibly feral pigs in cattle raising areas of coastal Queensland.