Aim:The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of deep litter housing and fermented feed on carcass characteristics and meat quality of crossbred Hampshire pigs.Materials and Methods:Forty-eight weaned crossbred Hampshire piglets of 2 months age (24 males and 24 females) were selected for the experiment. The piglets were randomly assigned into 4 homogenous experimental groups with 6 males and 6 females each: E1; reared on a conventional housing and fed with a fermented diet, E2; reared on a deep litter housing system and fed with a fermented diet, E3; reared on a deep litter housing system and fed with a conventional diet and C; reared on a conventional housing system and fed with a conventional diet. The study was continued up to 32 weeks of age and at the end of this period, 6 animals (3 males and 3 females) from each experimental group were slaughtered to evaluate carcass traits and meat quality characteristics.Results:Pre-slaughter weight, hot carcass weight, and dressing percentage were significantly (p<0.01) affected by feeding fermented diet and deep litter housing while carcass traits, i.e., carcass length, backfat thickness, and loin eye area were not affected. The edible offal; liver and heart weight (p<0.05) differed significantly while kidney weight showed no difference. The inedible offal; head weight (p<0.01) and lung weight revealed a significant difference (p<0.05) while spleen and stomach weight showed no difference among the experimental groups. The wholesale cuts and meat: bone ratio of pigs also differed significantly among the groups. Morphometry of small and large intestine also showed a significant difference. Chemical composition of pork viz., moisture and total ash content was influenced by the treatment, while crude protein and ether extract content were not affected. Mineral composition of pork also showed no significant difference. Color characteristics of Longissimus dorsi muscle showed a significant difference in L* and a* value while parameter b* was not affected. The tenderness of meat showed significant difference among the groups (p<0.01).Conclusion:Crossbred Hampshire pigs being reared on fermented feed and deep litter housing could produce highlygraded carcass and improvement in meat quality.

Wet cured pork hams were inoculated with a mixed starter cultures comprising of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Micrococcus varians M483 at the dose level of 106 cfu/g and the un inoculated hams served as controls. The amino acid profile of hams of the treated and the control groups stored at 4oC under MAP and VP and evaluated on 60th day of storage revealed that treated hams liberated higher concentration of free amino acids except for proline and methionine which were found in higher concentration (P < 0.01) in the MAP control samples. The MAP control samples liberated glutamic acid (85.65 ± 1.40 ppm), cystine (21.56 ± 1.14 ppm) and tyrosine (16.63 ± 1.94 ppm) whereas, the treated samples did not release these amino acids. The VP control samples too liberated cystine (6.98 ± 1.36 ppm) and arginine (42.70 ± 2.78 ppm) but the treated ham of the VP did not liberate these amino acids. The VP hams had higher concentration (P < 0.01) of free proline, glycine, alanine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, lysine and histidine than the MAP samples. Colour analysis of ham using CIE Lab colour system revealed that the treated samples had significantly higher concentrations of L*, a* and b* components. The L* and a* values were higher in the MAP than under VP systems while the b* values were higher in the VP samples than the MAP samples. Neither the bacterial cultures nor the packaging system influenced the textural property of ham. Starter cultures inoculated hams were rated superior (P < 0.05) in terms of their sensory properties. Hams packaged under MAP were rated superior (P < 0.05) than those packaged under VP in terms of appearance, colour, taste, tenderness, flavour, juiciness and overall acceptability.

The effect of age of slaughter and sex on productive performance, carcass and meat quality characteristics was studied in 4 different age groups viz., T 1 (7-8 months), T 2 (9-10 months), T 3 (11-12 months) and T 4 (13-14 months). Each group consisted of 15 barrows and 15 gilts. With the advancement of age, feed conversion efficiency decreased significantly; however, sex did not seem to influence the feed conversion efficiency of crossbred pigs. Hot carcass weight increased linearly with the advancement of age. Carcass length increased with age but was not influenced by sex. The dressing percentage, back fat thickness, loin eye area were not affected by age and sex of the animal. Proximate composition and colour of pork Longissimus dorsi was not affected by the age and sex of the animal. Pork tenderness decreased with age.

Photo‐actively modified natural amino acids have served as lucrative probes for precise mapping of the dynamics, interaction networks, and turnover of cytosolic proteins both in vivo and ex vivo. In our attempts to extend the utility of photoreactive reporters to map the molecular characteristics of vital membrane proteins, we carried out site‐selective incorporation of 7‐fluoro‐indole in the human mitochondrial outer membrane protein VDAC2 (voltage‐dependent anion channel isoform 2), with the aim of generating Trp−Phe/Tyr cross‐links. Prolonged irradiation at 282 nm provided us with a surprisingly unusual fluorophore that displayed sizably red‐shifted excitation (λex‐max=280 nm→360 nm) and emission (λem‐max=330 nm→430 nm) spectra that was reversible with organic solvents. By measuring the kinetics of the photo‐activated cross‐linking with a library of hVDAC2 variants, we demonstrate that formation of this unusual fluorophore is kinetically retarded, independent of tryptophan, and is site‐specific. Using other membrane (Tom40 and Sam50) and cytosolic (MscR and DNA Pol I) proteins, we additionally show that formation of this fluorophore is protein‐independent. Our findings reveal the photoradical‐mediated accumulation of reversible tyrosine cross‐links, with unusual fluorescent properties. Our findings have immediate applications in protein biochemistry and UV‐mediated protein aggregation and cellular damage, opening avenues for formulating therapeutics that prolong cell viability in humans.