The estrogenic effect of butylparaben was investigated in a rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss test system. Butylparaben was administered orally to sexually immature rainbow trout every second day for up to 10 days in doses between 4 and 74 mg kg(-1) 2 d(-1) and in the water at 35 and 201 microgram l(-1) for 12 days. Plasma vitellogenin was measured before and during the exposures and the concentrations of butylparaben in liver and muscle were determined at the end of experiments. Increases in average plasma vitellogenin levels were seen at oral exposure to 9 mg butylparaben kg(-1) 2 d(-1). The ED50 values for increase in vitellogenin synthesis were 46, 29 and 10.5 mg butylparaben kg(-1) 2 d(-1), respectively, at day 3, 6 and 12. Exposure to 201 microgram butylparaben l(-1) increased vitellogenin synthesis, but exposure to 35 microgram l(-1) did not. Butylparaben showed little tendency to bioaccumulation in rainbow trout; less than 1 per thousand of the total amount of butylparaben administered orally at 51 mg kg(-1) 2 d(-1) over the 12 days experimental period was retained in liver at the end of the experiment. After 12 days exposure to 35 and 201 microgram butylparaben l(-1), plasma concentrations were 9 and 183 microgram l(-1), respectively, and for the fish exposed to 201 microgram l(-1) there was a positive correlation between concentrations of vitellogenin and butylparaben in the plasma. On the assumption that butylparaben removed from the water phase during water exposure were taken up into the fish, butylparaben uptake rates in the fish exposed to 35 and 201 microgram butylparaben l(-1) were 13 and 78 mg kg(-1) day(-1), respectively.

This document was prepared in response to the questions posted by County Extension FCS faculty in Florida. Consumers in Florida counties frequently asked these questions during the 2004 hurricane season. Answers for each question have been prepared by using resources from UF/IFAS, federal agencies and other reputable sources including Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages (National Disaster Education Coalition, NDEC, 2004). This is an initial compilation of questions and answers which does not cover every single item related to emergency or hurricane situations. We welcome additional questions from those who use this document. They will be included, along with answers, in the next version of this publication. This document is FCS8789, one of a series of the Family, Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date July 6, 2005.

Curcumin is a fat soluble yellow pigment present in turmeric. The water soluble form of curcumin has been applied onto expanded extruded balls, made from corn and defatted soybean flours. The stability of this natural turmeric colourant has been examined and compared with that of the permitted synthetic colour like tartrazine. The products are packed in polypropylene pouches and subjected to storage studies at ambient (27 degrees C, 65% relative humidity), and are tested for moisture content, and colour and pigment retention. Brightness of the sample reduces markedly up to 30% during storage. After 10 weeks of storage, the retention of curcumin is about 77%, and the effective shelf life of the product is 6 weeks at ambient condition with 83 and 93% retention of curcumin and tartrazine, respectively. The retention of both colours follows first order kinetics (0.86 less than or equal to r less than or equal to 0.98, p less than or equal to 0.01) while curcumin showing a faster rate of degradation compared to tartrazine. Turmeric colourant may be a viable alternative for tartrazine for using it onto extruded products.

This document was prepared in response to the questions posted by County Extension FCS faculty in Florida. Consumers in Florida counties frequently asked these questions during the 2004 hurricane season. Answers for each question have been prepared by using resources from UF/IFAS, federal agencies and other reputable sources including Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages (National Disaster Education Coalition, NDEC, 2004). This is an initial compilation of questions and answers which does not cover every single item related to emergency or hurricane situations. We welcome additional questions from those who use this document. They will be included, along with answers, in the next version of this publication. This document is FCS8789, one of a series of the Family, Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date July 6, 2005.

In this paper we are concerned with adsorption, structure, topography, and dynamic properties (relaxation phenomena and surface dilatational rheology) of food dairy proteins (beta-casein, caseinate, and whey protein isolate, WPI), water-insoluble lipids (monopalmitin, monoolein, and monolaurin) and phospholipids (dipalmitoyl-phosphatidyl-choline, DPPC, and dioleoyl-phosphatidyl-choline, DOPC) at the air-water interface. Combined surface chemistry (surface film balance and static and dynamic tensiometry) and microscopy (Brewster angle microscopy, BAM) techniques have been used to determine the static and dynamic characteristics of these emulsifiers and their mixtures at the air-water interface. The derived information shows that biopolymer (proteins) and low-molecular-weight-emulsifier (LMWE, monoglycerides and phospholipids) type and their mixtures affect the interfacial characteristics of adsorbed and spread films. Important functional differences have been established between proteins, lipids and phospholipids. The static and dynamic characteristics of mixed films depend on the interfacial composition and the surface pressure (pi). At higher surface pressures, collapsed protein residues may be displaced from the interface by LMWE molecules with important repercussions on the interfacial characteristics of the mixed films.

This document was prepared in response to the questions posted by County Extension FCS faculty in Florida. Consumers in Florida counties frequently asked these questions during the 2004 hurricane season. Answers for each question have been prepared by using resources from UF/IFAS, federal agencies and other reputable sources including Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages (National Disaster Education Coalition, NDEC, 2004). This is an initial compilation of questions and answers which does not cover every single item related to emergency or hurricane situations. We welcome additional questions from those who use this document. They will be included, along with answers, in the next version of this publication. This document is FCS8789, one of a series of the Family, Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date July 6, 2005.

Non-irrigated (rainfed) agriculture is the major crop production system worldwide. It occupies large proportion of total land areas in Asia (88 %) and Africa (99 %). In some important food legume growing countries in South Asia, r