The mitigation hierarchy upside down – a study of nature protection measures in Danish infrastructure projects

This paper presents a Danish study of mitigation directed at nature protection in environmental impact assessment (EIA) of infrastructure projects. The study is based on a document analysis of EIA reports, a workshop held with EIA professionals, and a study of two cases. The paper takes a point of departure in the mitigation hierarchy as a central conceptual framework, identifies which mitigation measures have been suggested in the EIA reports, and compares this to the mitigation hierarchy. Further, the paper explores the dynamics behind which mitigation measures are chosen and later implemented. The findings point to a discrepancy between the prevention principle embedded in the mitigation hierarchy and the actual EIA practice with increased use of nature compensation. Further, the research reveals significant variation in the design of mitigation measures, e.g. in the level of detail used in describing them and the level of clarity as to aims and actions.     

Willingness to pay for red wines in China

China's rapidly expanding wealthy population has expressed a new desire for imported red wines. Using data collected in China's major red wine consumption region of Beijing, this study analyzes the impact of country of origin, price, wine age, and brand on consumer-derived utility and willingness to pay for red wines. Findings from a conditional logit model and a mixed logit model indicate that price remains the key factor in Chinese consumers' red wine choices. For gift purchases, consumers are willing to pay an additional $20 to move from a US wine to a French wine. For own consumption, French wines are preferable if their price is within a reasonable range of $13–20 above Chinese or US wines. Chinese consumers also strongly favor branded and matured red wines. China's rapid and sustainable economic growth and its stronger integration to the global economy have led to greater disposable income and the expanding consumer demand for luxury beverage of red wines.     

基于FPGA的I/O控制器的设计和实现

对于计算机信息系统受到攻击基本上可以分为基于CPU和I/O控制器这两种。对于CPU的攻击已经被深入研究,各种成熟的对策也被广泛的应用。但是对于I/O控制器攻击的研究非常缺乏有效的保护机制。为了研究关于I/O控制器的攻击,使用FPGA可编程技术设计和实现了一款PCI Express总线的平台。平台能产生任意种类的关于PCI Express事务层的信息包,为研究各类I/O控制器的攻击提供了基础。     

Reduction of Campylobacter jejuni by natural antimicrobials in chicken meat-related conditions

Nowadays it is essential to test new preservation and decontamination procedures using naturally occurring chemicals against important pathogenic bacteria in meat. We tested the antimicrobial effect of rosemary extracts and the bacteriocin nisin against Campylobacter jejuni at a low storage temperature (8 °C) with or without short-term pre-freezing. The antimicrobial effect of rosemary extract was four times greater in laboratory media than in chicken meat juice. Furthermore, low temperature storage conditions prolonged the survival of C. jejuni in chicken meat juice. Nisin, with an approximately 1.0 log reduction was neither effective alone nor in combination with the extract. Pre-freezing with plant extract addition proved to be effective treatment by more than 3.0 log reduction in 48 h. The results in chicken meat food model again showed the synergistic effect of freezing and plant extract antimicrobial activity. As the combination of pre-freezing and plant extract treatment reduced the cell number by more than 2.0 log reduction, studies should be conducted to further evaluate this promising treatment for Campylobacter reduction in the poultry meat supply.     

Pressure effects on acid-catalysed autoxidation of oxymyoglobin

 Two opposing factors have been found to affect the rate of autoxidation of the fresh meat pigment oxymyoglobin, MbFe(II)O₂, in air-saturated aqueous acetate buffer with increasing hydrostatic pressure to yield metmyoglobin, MbFe(III): (1) expansion in the transition state, corresponding to a volume of activation of ΔV# = +12.7±0.6 ml mol^–1 (25.0°C, 0.16 M NaCl), in effect decreasing the rate; and (2) an increased specific acid catalysis resulting from a decrease in solution pH and increasing the rate. In the pressure range investigated (up to 250 MPa) and at the pH relevant to traditionally deboned meat (pH = 5.65 at ambient pressure investigated, together with pH = 5.21 in order to obtain mechanistic information), the pressure/pH effect was found almost to negate the kinetic effect of expansion in the transition state. Red-to-brown discoloration during pressure treatment of meat is accordingly expected to be less significant for hot-deboned and other high-pH meats. Received: 7 April 1997 / Revised version: 2 June 1997     

Potassium lactate combined with sodium diacetate can inhibit growth of Listeria monocytogenes in vacuum-packed cold-smoked salmon and has no adverse sensory effects

Growth of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat fish products such as cold-smoked salmon is an important food safety issue. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antilisterial activity of potassium lactate (PL) in combination with sodium acetate (SA) or sodium diacetate (SDA) in cold-smoked salmon and to determine whether these compounds could be incorporated easily into the formulations and technology currently used by processors. A commercial brine injector was used to inject salmon filets with either saturated saline brine or saturated saline brine supplemented with combinations of PL and SA (PURASAL Opti.Form PA 4) or PL and SDA (PURASAL Opti.Form PD 4). In the brine-injected cold-smoked salmon, 2.1% (water phase) PL and 0.12% (water phase) SDA delayed the growth of L. monocytogenes for up to 42 days of vacuum-packaged storage at 10 degrees C. Storage at 25 degrees C for 6 h resulted in only a 1-log CFU/g increase in L. monocytogenes. Treatments with lower concentrations of PL and SDA or similar concentrations of PL and SA resulted in an extended lag phase and slower growth of L. monocytogenes. It was not possible to incorporate more than 2% (water phase) PL while ensuring a minimum of 3% (water phase) NaCl in the finished product because PL decreased the solubility of NaCl. Sensory analyses revealed that the preservatives did not negatively affect flavor or odor. The combination of PL and SDA is therefore a viable technology for preventing L. monocytogenes growth on cold-smoked salmon.