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Notes: The objective of this research was to determine which strawberry germplasm could be used to combine late flowering with reduced susceptibility to the strawberry blossom weevil, Anthonomus rubi. Seven cultivars and three breeding lines were compared for their susceptibility to A. rubi, by introducing adult weevils onto detached inflorescences. No consistent differences were detected but this contradicted observations from field trials. Five late-flowering strawberry genotypes were crossed in a half-diallel programme and progeny were tested for their susceptibility to A. rubi by using detached inflorescences and in a field trial where plants were exposed to a natural infestation. There was good correspondence between the results from the two methods and heritable differences were detected in both experiments, with the additive genetic variance being the more important. The cultivars ‘Idea’ and ‘Alice’ were identified as promising parents for reduced susceptibility while progeny from ‘Sophie’ were most likely to be susceptible.

Notes: Neuroendocrine differentiation and prognosis in breast adenocarcinoma Aims: Neuroendocrine differentiation has been detected, and its prognostic value studied, in a number of common human carcinomas. To date there are few detailed studies examining its relevance in breast carcinoma. In this study we evaluate the frequency and prognostic importance of neuroendocrine differentiation in breast adenocarcinoma. Methods and results: The presence of neuroendocrine differentiation, defined as positive reactivity for three markers, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), chromogranin A and/or synaptophysin, has been evaluated in 99 patients with primary operable breast cancer using standard immunocytochemical techniques. A consecutive cohort of patients were selected from the Nottingham/Tenovus series. Comprehensive patient and tumour records have been maintained, and patients were followed up according to a defined protocol. Eighteen cases were positive for NSE, 10 for chromogranin A and 13 for synaptophysin. Eleven percent were positive with more than one neuroendocrine marker. No significant association was found between neuroendocrine differentiation and tumour size, grade, stage or the prevalence of vascular invasion. There was no significant difference in either overall or disease-free survival between patients with or without neuroendocrine differentiation. Conclusions: In this study we confirm that neuroendocrine differentiation can be identified in a subset (10–18%) of human breast carcinomas. This phenomenon appears to have no relationship to established prognostic factors or patient outcome.

Notes: In order to enhance growth, survival and quality during early juvenile stages of marine fish it is important to avoid lipid oxidation problems that are known to cause pathologies and disease. The aim of the present study was to characterize and compare the antioxidant systems in juvenile marine fish of commercial importance in European aquaculture, namely turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) and gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). The experiment investigated the interaction of the dietary antioxidant micronutrient, vitamin E, with antioxidant defence systems. Fish were fed with diets of identical unsaturation index supplemented with graded amounts of vitamin E. The relationships between dietary and subsequent tissue vitamin E levels were determined as well as the effects of vitamin E supplementation on lipid and fatty acid compositions of both liver and whole fish, on the activities of the liver antioxidant defence enzymes, and on the levels of liver and whole body lipid peroxidation products, malondialdehyde (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS) and isoprostanes. Growth and survival was only significantly affected in sea bream where feeding the diet with the lowest vitamin E resulted in decreased survival and growth. A gradation was observed in tissue vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)/vitamin E levels in response to dietary vitamin E levels in all species. The activities of the main radical scavenging enzymes in the liver, catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase generally reflected dietary and tissue vitamin E levels being highest in fish fed with the lowest level of vitamin E. The indicators of lipid peroxidation gave consistent results in all three species, generally being highest in fish fed with the unsupplemented diet and generally lowest in fish fed with the diet with highest vitamin E. In this respect, isoprostane levels generally paralleled TBARS levels supporting their value as indicators of oxidative stress in fish. Overall the relationships observed were logical in that decreased dietary vitamin E led to decreased levels of tissue vitamin E, and generally higher activities of the liver antioxidant enzymes and higher levels of lipid peroxides.

Notes: Mass loss of precooked tuna muscle during retorting and storage in cans impacts cannery yield and throughput. Changes in moisture content and mass of frozen, thawed, precooked tuna muscle chunks, canned in water, were determined after retorting and through five weeks of subsequent storage. Canned tuna pieces were retorted to equivalent lethality (Fo-value of four) for different time and temperature processes. Retorting at a lower temperature, longer time resulted in less mass loss than higher temperature, shorter time processes. Canned storage of up to five weeks had no effect on muscle mass or moisture content.