This article reports on a new composite gypsum binder (CGB) with nanostructured silica-based admixture (NSS). NSS is obtained by a wet ultrafine milling of quartz sand resulting in the formation of an inorganic polydisperse binding system, which has a high concentration of active nanoscale phase (about 10%). Developed CGB contains hemihydrate gypsum and nano-component based on quartz sand. It is observed that the addition of 15–20 % of NSS improves the rheological properties of gypsum systems through the formation of solvate shells hindering the access of water to gypsum particles; this process also retards the setting of binder.

The experimental program used infrared IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to reveal the contribution of NSS. The porosity of CGB is analyzed by the kinetics of water adsorption and BET. The XRD and IR investigations determined the formation of a new sulfosilicate phase, hydroxyellestadite during the hydration of CGB. With the addition of NSS an overall reduction in pore volume, as well as the shifts in macro-, meso- and nano- porosity values are observed.

Analysis of CGB microstructure reveals that in the presence of the NSS the size and morphology of crystals are changed contributing to the formation of dense fine-grained structure. Experimental studies have demonstrated that the composite gypsum binders with NSS are characterized by reduced water absorption and increased density, as well as improved mechanical performance especially, higher compressive strength.

Factors such as breed, sex, stage of maturity, stage of reproduction and nutrition are known to affect the amount and distribution of fat in different body depots of sheep. Between-breed differences may occur in fat distribution between different body regions, or between different depots (e.g. carcass / internal fat). For example, breeds selected for milking or maternal traits tend to deposit relatively large proportions of internal fat, whilst meat breeds deposit more carcass fat (Wood et al., 1980; Thompson and Ball, 1997). The aim of this study was to compare levels of fat in different body depots between Scottish Blackface and Texel lambs at finishing.

Computed Tomography (CT) is a non-invasive method used to provide accurate information on body composition of breeding animals. It is being applied in sheep breeding programmes in the UK to predict whole carcass composition in terms of muscle, fat, and bone. Previous studies established the equations to predict the total weights of muscle, fat and bone in different breeds from conventional CT scans. The average prediction accuracies were 92, 96 and 81% for muscle, fat and bone, respectively, in meat sheep and hill breed lambs (Young et al., 2001). Spiral CT scans provide a means of assessing directly the composition of the whole body and its different regions, in addition to muscularity and conformation. Although an automatic procedure to quantify the carcass components in cross-sectional images was developed previously, new software to segment images from spiral CT scans is now being evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of the automated image analysis in the estimation of total muscle volume of the hind leg, which is the most valuable joint.

A total of 74 pigs representing three commercially available crossbred types, Landrace (50%), Pietrain (50%) and Meishan (25%), were given food ad libitum over a 25- to 115-kg growth period and serially slaughtered for physical and chemical analysis in five groups at 32, 42, 63, 82 and 114 kg live weight (W). Results are presented in the order of pig type as above. Pig types grew at similar overall rates of live body gain, but the Meishan type ate more food and had greater back fat depth. The Pietrain type was least fat. Dissected fatty tissue grew substantially faster than the carcass as a whole; allometric exponents being 1·64, 1·34 and 1·52 (P < 0·05) for the Landrace, Pietrain and Meishan types respectively. Dissected lean tissue gains were 0·419, 0·427 and 0·308 kg daily (P < 0·01), and dissected fatty tissue gains were 0·251, 0·158 and 0·218 kg daily (P < 0·05); the Meishan type being slowest for lean gain and the Pietrain type slowest for fatty tissue gain. The Pietrain type had the largest cross-sectional area of the longissimus dorsi muscle, and the Meishan type the smallest. The pelvic limb of the Meishan type lost density (as measured by specific gravity) fastest, and that of the Pietrain slowest as the pigs grew. The Meishan type had a lower proportion of its carcass lean and a higher proportion of its carcass fat in the pelvic limb than did the other two types. For each kg of live-weight gain, 0·037, 0·041 and 0·032 kg (P < 0·05) of chemical protein was deposited in the pelvic limb of the three types respectively. Equivalent values for chemical lipid were 0·041, 0·035 and 0·041 (P < 0·05). The Meishan type retained protein at a relatively slower rate in the pelvic limb than in the body as a whole. The Pietrain type had the greatest ultimate protein mass in the pelvic limb. Estimation of whole body protein content as a linear function of pig live weight gives coefficients of 0·154, 0·178 and 0·168 kg (P < 0·05) for the three types respectively. Equivalent values for whole body lipid content were 0·269, 0·214 and 0·274 (P < 0·05). Best estimates of the daily rates of protein retention in the body of the whole live pig were 0·152, 0·197 and 0·142 kg/day for the Landrace, Pietrain and Meishan types respectively.

Legumes, such as red and white clover, are potentially important constituents of low input, environmentally friendly beef production systems. However, the effects of grazing clover on the quality of beef have not been assessed fully. Important aspects of meat quality are shelf-life (colour and lipid stability), flavour and human nutritional value, all of which are affected by components of the animals diet such as antioxidants and fatty acids. Tissues from lamb finished on swards containing white clover were reported to contain more linoleic and a-linolenic acid and less eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 n-3) (Vipond et al., 1993) compared to animals grazing grass. The objective of this study was to determine the quality of meat from two beef breeds raised on grass or grass plus white or red clover.

Replacing grass silage with maize silage in the diets of finishing beef cattle can improve DM intake and performance even when starch content of the maize silage is low (McCabe, O'Mara and Caffery, 1995). The objective of this experiment was to investigate the response of beef cattle fed diets containing different proportions of maize silage and grass silage with the same level of concentrate supplementation.

Concerns regarding levels of fat consumption and particularly saturated fatty acids (FA) (Department of Health, 1994), has resulted in closer scrutiny of the FA composition of ruminant products. The FAs deposited in beef tissues are relatively saturated, leading to a low polyunsaturated:saturated FA ratio (P:S) in the meat (approximately 0.1, the ideal being about 0.4), whilst the n-6:n-3 ratio is beneficially low at approximately 2. Feeding strategies for raising the P:S ratio whilst keeping n-6:n-3 ratio low are required. This experiment has investigated the impact of feeding different sources of long chain polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) on animal performance and the FA composition of muscle.

The recent increase in slaughter weights and a wider range of genotypes in the UK might be increasing the risk of abnormal odours and flavours due to taints. This study investigated the role of skatole in the control of pigmeat odour characteristics and examined differences between genotypes based on the Large White - Landrace type or including some Meishan genes.

Twenty-four pigs were slaughtered at each of 100,110, 120 and 130 kg live weight comprising 6 entire male and 6 female progeny from Manor Hybrid (MH) or Manor Meishan (MM) gilts, both crossed with Large White boars. The animals were grouped together in a straw yard at 39 kg live weight and given a diet containing 13.8 MJDE and 11g lysine per kg.

Winter inappetance in farmed deer affects the growth and development of carcass tissues and dictates the time of year when stock can be finished to standards of carcass weight and fleshing desired by the meat industry. Artificial winter daylight may be a means of overcoming some of these restrictions, allowing fresh venison to be supplied throughout the year. The objectives of this study, carried out over two consecutive years, were to compare the effects of artificially extended winter daylength with those of normal light on carcass composition and the quality of meat from red deer stags.

Continuation of arterial blood supply to the head following slaughter of certain ruminant meat animal species can lead to delays in loss of sensibility and present welfare problems. This sometimes occurs in cattle due to an anastomosis linking the vertebral arteries to the carotid rete. The arterial supply to the head of the ox was found to differ from that of the sheep. In the ox the vertebral arteries can supply blood to the carotid rete via the basi-occipital plexus (Baldwin and Bell, 1963). This additional anastomosis means that there is still a potential blood supply to the head after the carotids have been severed by neck sticking Anil et al, 1995). Blood clots on the severed carotid arteries following neck sticking can occur in up to 40% of cases to varying degrees and sometimes lead to occlusions for a number of reasons. This phenomenon of carotid occlusion means the occipital-vertebral anastomosis and the vertebral-carotid rete anastomosis take on more importance when neck sticking is used. This is especially true for religious slaughter and neck sticking where electrical stunning is used. It is not clear whether such an anastomosis exists in the head of red deer. The traditional and still legal method of slaughter of farmed deer is by head shot in the field, however, there has been an increase in the number of deer being culled in abattoirs. In addition, there have been recent suggestions that religious slaughter without stunning may be initiated in the U.K. abattoirs. This possibility and and the increased number of abattoirs slaughtering deer have prompted this study to look at the arterial blood supply in the head of the deer. This increase combined with the problems of arterial supply found in cattle has prompted this study.

Purchasing specifications for beef carcasses have been aimed at reducing carcass variability and elevating the visual and keeping qualities of retail cuts. But more recently, the Meat and Livestock Commission's blueprint for improved consistent quality beef has incorporated a number of post-mortem treatments aimed at improving tenderness. Do these treatments which include electrical stimulation, pelvic bone suspension, slow chilling and prolonged ageing, exert an influence on quality which masks the intrinsic variation due to the primary production factors of feed, age, sex and possibly breed, or are the production and post-mortem effects additive? To what extent are the post-mortem treatments themselves additive?

Since the early 1980's there has been a growing interest in the Italian Piemontese breed as a crossing sire breed for use on dairy cows in the United Kingdom. Early interest was centred on ease of calving, growth performance and carcass yields but more recently there have been claims that the Piemontese breed produces meat which ranks highly for tenderness. The aim of this study was to evaluate carcass and meat qualities of Piemontese - sired cattle out of the British dairy herd by comparing these characteristics with similar and contemporaneous Charolais - sired cattle.

Excessive human consumption of saturated fatty acids and possibly cholesterol is thought to increase the risk of occlusive vascular disease. This has focused attention on ruminant tissues which tend to contain high proportions of saturated fatty acids compared with other meat species, although their cholesterol contents are reported to be quite similar. However, there have been claims, apparently unsubstantiated, that vension has a low cholesterol content and is a healthy food. The aims of this study were to determine the cholesterol contents of muscle and adipose tissue of deer and to investigate their relationship to carcass fatness and tissue fatty acid composition, particularly as venison lipids are reported to be very high saturated.

There is a need for objective measurement of the carcass composition of sheep to apply to live animals (selection) and to the carcass itself (classification). Ultrasonic scanning of live sheep has generally produced disappointing results, and tissue depths measured by automatic probes on carcasses have not been as precise as the best visual scores for fatness. The application of the velocity of sound (VOS) technique to lamb carcasses in a previous study (Fisher and Page, 1986) measured composition at a hindlimb and neck site but was not as precise as fat scores in predicting lean proportion. A recent patent describes a method for determining the speed of ultrasound through soft tissues in the vicinity of bone (Miles, Fursey and Page, 1989), allowing measurements to be made across the back through M longissimus thoracis et lumborum and between the spinous processes of the vertebrae. This study uses that method to examine VOS measurements made at sites along the vertebral column in live sheep and carcasses.

There is a belief, held by many in the meat industry, in catering, and by consumers alike, that meat from leaner carcasses is inferior in eating quality to that from fatter ones. In addition, meat from leaner continental breeds has been suggested by some to be inferior to that from the more traditional British beef breeds which fatten more readily at lighter weights, and meat from bulls has been similarly implicated. This may be an extrapolation of the belief in the role of fat, or it may be a separate issue concerned with other underlying genetic or physiological differences. Other factors known to influence meat quality are pre-slaughter handling and post-mortem chilling rates and conditioning. Rapid chilling of beef carcasses has economic advantages through a faster turnover and lower evaporative losses, but may impair eating quality by inducing muscle cold-shortening. Chill rate may be influenced by carcass type, in particular by the amount of fat present and by the thickness of the tissues. It is possible that the role of fatness (and conformation) in eating quality of meat may be manifested indirectly through its effect on rate of cooling.

It is well recognised that heifers, which are the source of approximately 0.35 of all clean cattle slaughtered for beef in Britain, yield carcasses that are different from those of steers in several commercially important aspects: they are lighter, are scored fatter than steers and have poorer conformation. Live and carcass wholesale prices for heifers are, on average, lower than for steers.

In the USA, studies have shown that yield grade equations, deveoped to predict the ‘cutability’ of carcasses, overestimate this in heifers compared with steers, ie. heifers yield less of the defined primal cuts than steers at the same levels of fat thickness over the rib, rib eye area, kidney + pelvic + heart fat proportion, and carcass weight (predictor variables). However, it has recently been shown that this bias is apparently the result of differences between the sexes in the relation between the fat depth measurement and the total amount of fat trim. In Britain, estimates of yield are based on visual scores of fatness and conformation, but there Is little information on the relations between carcass morphology and composition in the two sexes, differences in which may have important commercial implications.

Carcass classification essentially has two functions: to provide information on aspects of carcass value which are of importance in subsequent marketing operations, and to provide a formal basis for a producer payment system which would thus encourage the production of carcass types demanded by the trade. There are examples of characteristics which have a market value unjustified in the light of objective analytical data, carcass conformation in sheep, and particularly cattle, being a prominent example. Idealistic carcass classification schemes would convey estimates of the amount of lean meat in a carcass and of the proportions of lean and fat in different carcass parts. They would include measurements of meat quality, not only extremes such as pale, soft, exudative (PSE) or dark, firm, dry muscle, (DFD) and soft, oily fat, but also measures indicative of eating quality, particularly texture, within the range of ‘normal’ meat.

It is well documented for cattle that there are distinct differences between breed types in the partitioning of carcass fat, the dairy breeds having relatively more intermuscular (IF) and kidney knob and channel fat (KKCF), and less subcutaneous fat (SF) than the British beef breeds at the same level of total fatness. Many of the simpler methods for predicting the fat content of an animal or carcass are based on measurement of the subcutaneous fat depot only (some ultrasonic techniques; carcass classification and fat depth probes) and would be expected to suffer from breed bias because of these different relations. This study examines a second aspect of the effect of breed type on fat deposition, namely the relative variability within the different depots among beef and dairy breeds. If the variability within the subcutaneous depot differs between types, this would lead to differences in the stability of prediction methods.