Glycerin as a factor for moderating quality changes in table eggs during storage

Glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel production, is non-toxic to humans and the environment. With the current increase in the demand for fuels obtained from biomass, the amount of glycerine waste production is increasing. There are many ways to dispose this substance (in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and in chemical industry), but its utilization is still insufficient. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the possibility of limiting quality changes in table eggs during storage by coating the shells with a glycerol solution. The material used in this research consisted of 270 table chicken eggs collected on the same day. On the first day of the experiment, quality traits of 30 eggs were evaluated (initial control group). The remaining 240 eggs were divided into two equal groups: control (eggs that were not subjected to any treatment) and experimental (eggs that were coated with a 5&thinsp;% aqueous solution of glycerol). The eggs were placed on transport trays and stored at 14&thinsp;°C and 70&thinsp;% humidity. Quality evaluations were carried out after 14 and 28 days of storage. The depth of the air cell, mass and specific gravity of the egg, the shell characteristics (water vapour conductance, strength, mass, thickness, and density), and the content traits (pH of the albumen and yolk, Haugh units, and colour and weight of the yolk) were evaluated. The results obtained suggest that the use of glycerine may contribute to slowing adverse changes in egg quality during storage by limiting CO2 removal from the egg content, which allows the egg to maintain albumen structure. Due to the fact that glycerine is a safe, cheap, and easy-to-apply substance, its large-scale use in poultry raw material storage seems to be a very real possibility.</p

New Insight into Organomineral Interactions in Soils. The Impact of Clay-Size Peat-Derived Organic Species on the Structure and the Strength of Soil Silt Aggregates

Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to requiring specific software to view the data files. Most of the data are presented within this publication in the figures.Knowledge of the effects of different organic species on soil structure and strength is gained mostly from experiments on natural soils amended with organic substances of various particle sizes, pH, ionic composition, and inorganic impurities. It greatly diversifies the experimental results and shadows individual effects of organic amendments. Therefore, to look for a clearer view, we examined the impact of HCl-washed clay-size organic species: peat, humic acids, residue after humic acid extraction, and two biochars, all derived from the same peat and having similar particles, on the structure and strength of artificial soil silt aggregates using mercury intrusion porosimetry, bulk density measurements, SEM, and uniaxial compression. Bulk density increased due to humic acid addition and decreased for the other amendments. The total pore volumes behaved oppositely. All organic substances except humic acid decreased the pore surface fractal dimension, indicating a smoothening of the pore surface. Humic acid appeared to occupy mostly the spaces between the silt grains skeleton, while the other species were also located upon silt grains. The latter effect was most evident for 600 °C heated biochar. Humic acid, peat, and the residue after humic acid extraction improved mechanical stability, whereas both biochars weakened the aggregates, which means that bulk density plays a smaller role in the mechanical stability of granular materials, as it is usually considered. A new equation relating maximum stress and the amount of the organic additives was proposed.Funded in part by the National Science Centre, Poland within an Opus 15 Project 2018/29/B/ST10/01592 Effect of minerals and different forms of organic carbon on structure, porosity and mechanical and water stability of soil aggregates—model studies. The full APC waiver for this paper was granted and approved by the editorial office of “Agriculture” MDPI Journal

The Review of Ophthalmic Symptoms in COVID-19

Aleksander Robert Stawowski,1 Joanna Konopi&nacute;ska,2 Sylwester Szymon Stawowski,3 Justyna Adamczuk,4 Monika Groth,5 Anna Moniuszko-Malinowska,4 Piotr Czupryna4 1Department of Ophthalmology, University Clinical Hospital in Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland; 3Non-Public Health Care Facility MEDIX, Bialystok, Poland; 4Department of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfectious, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland; 5Department of Allergology and Internal Diseases, University Clinical Hospital in Bialystok, Bialystok, PolandCorrespondence: Aleksander Robert Stawowski, Department of Ophthalmology, University Clinical Hospital in Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland, Tel +48-668101778, Email [email protected]: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 had a significant impact on the health of the global human population, affecting almost every human organ, including the organ of vision. Research focus on understanding the pathophysiology, identifying symptoms and complications of the disease. Eye-related pathologies are important foci of research due to the potential for direct impact of the virus. Ophthalmologists around the world are reporting various symptoms of eye infections and ocular pathologies associated with SARS-CoV-2. The review of ophthalmic symptoms was conducted to help physicians of various specialties recognize possible ophthalmic manifestations of this viral disease. A literature review was conducted from January 2020 to July 2023 in the PubMed, MEDLINE, Science Direct, Scopus, Scielo and Google Scholar databases. The review of the literature showed that conjunctivitis is the most common ophthalmic symptom observed during the course of COVID-19 and can occur at any stage of the disease. Changes in the eye may result from the direct effect of the virus, immune response, prothrombotic states, comorbidities, and medications used. Symptoms related to the organ of vision can be divided into: changes affecting the protective apparatus of the eye, the anterior eye segment, the posterior eye segment, neuro-ophthalmic, and orbital changes. Ocular symptoms may suggest COVID-19 infection or appear several weeks after recovery. Following COVID-19 vaccinations, a diverse range of ophthalmic symptoms was observed in various locations and at different times, mirroring the ocular symptoms experienced throughout the course of the COVID-19 illness. It is important for physicians of all specialties to be aware of possible potential connections between eye diseases and SARS-CoV-2, in order to effectively diagnose and treat patients.Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, ocular symptom

Insights into the Transposable Mobilome of Paracoccus spp. (Alphaproteobacteria)

Several trap plasmids (enabling positive selection of transposition events) were used to identify a pool of functional transposable elements (TEs) residing in bacteria of the genus Paracoccus (Alphaproteobacteria). Complex analysis of 25 strains representing 20 species of this genus led to the capture and characterization of (i) 37 insertion sequences (ISs) representing 9 IS families (IS3, IS5, IS6, IS21, IS66, IS256, IS1182, IS1380 and IS1634), (ii) a composite transposon Tn6097 generated by two copies of the ISPfe2 (IS1634 family) containing two predicted genetic modules, involved in the arginine deiminase pathway and daunorubicin/doxorubicin resistance, (iii) 3 non-composite transposons of the Tn3 family, including Tn5393 carrying streptomycin resistance and (iv) a transposable genomic island TnPpa1 (45 kb). Some of the elements (e.g. Tn5393, Tn6097 and ISs of the IS903 group of the IS5 family) were shown to contain strong promoters able to drive transcription of genes placed downstream of the target site of transposition. Through the application of trap plasmid pCM132TC, containing a promoterless tetracycline resistance reporter gene, we identified five ways in which transposition can supply promoters to transcriptionally silent genes. Besides highlighting the diversity and specific features of several TEs, the analyses performed in this study have provided novel and interesting information on (i) the dynamics of the process of transposition (e.g. the unusually high frequency of transposition of TnPpa1) and (ii) structural changes in DNA mediated by transposition (e.g. the generation of large deletions in the recipient molecule upon transposition of ISPve1 of the IS21 family). We also demonstrated the great potential of TEs and transposition in the generation of diverse phenotypes as well as in the natural amplification and dissemination of genetic information (of adaptative value) by horizontal gene transfer, which is considered the driving force of bacterial evolution

Factors associated with acquisition of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify possible risk factors for acquisition of Enterobacterial strains with a marker for resistance to carbapenems. Methods: exploratory case-control study performed in hospital settings. The study sample consisted of patients with biological specimens that tested positive for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (cases), with the disk diffusion test and Etest, and controls with biological samples testing negative for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. In all, 65 patients were included: 13 (20%) cases and 52 (80%) controls. Results: the microorganisms isolated were Serratia marcescens (6), Klebsiella pneumoniae (4), and Enterobacter cloacae (3). Univariate analysis revealed that length of hospitalization prior to sample collection (p=0.002) and having a surgical procedure (p=0.006) were statistically significant. In the multivariable logistic regression model, both were still significant, with odds ratios of 0.93 (p = 0.009; 95% CI: 0.89 to 0.98) for length of hospitalization prior to sample collection, and 9.28 (p = 0.05; 95% CI: 1.01 to 85.14) for having a surgical procedure. Conclusion: shorter hospitalization times and increased surveillance of patients undergoing surgery could play a decisive role in reducing the spread of carbapenem-resistant microorganisms in hospital settings

The comparative analysis of lubricant properties of machine oil AN-46 before and after the process of exploitation

W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badań własności smarnych oleju maszynowego AN-46 stosowanego do smarowania lekko obciążonych części maszyn przemysłowych (łożysk, prowadnic, przekładni mechanicznych, wrzecion itp.) oraz pomocniczych węzłów tarcia. W Zakładzie Poszukiwań Nafty i Gazu DIAMENT w Zielonej Górze ww. olej jest stosowany do smarowania kół zębatych skrzynki suportowej i posuwowej automatu tokarskiego oraz do smarowania łoża i prowadnic tokarki sterowanej numerycznie.This paper presents the results of research of the lubricating properties machine oil An-46. It is applied to smearing the part of industrial machines. In the institution of the research of oil in Zielona Góra it is applied to the smearing toothed wheel

The study of tribological properties of bronze CuSn12Ni2 in the presence of the exploational preparation

W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań właściwości tribologicznych brązu cynowo-niklowego CuSn12Ni2 smarowanego olejem handlowym maszynowym i modyfikowanym preparatem eksploatacyjnym (PE) o działaniu chemicznym. Do badań właściwości tribologicznych wykorzystano tester T-05. Wykazano celowość modyfikowania oleju handlowego AN-68 PE MOTOR LIFE PROFESSIONAL, który korzystnie wpłynął na własności smarne oleju handlowego, a tym samym na właściwości tribologiczne.This paper presents the results of research on the tribological properties of bronze CuSn12Ni2 lubricating machine oil AN-68 and modified PE MLP. A Tester T-05 was used for investigation. The tests demonstrated the desirability of modifying AN-68 by PE MLP. The tribological properties were advantageous

The study of tribological properties of polyamide PA6 and Modar

W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań właściwości tribologicznych skojarzeń trących poliamid PA6/ stal C45 i Modar/ stal C45 w warunkach tarcia suchego oraz w obecności smarów plastycznych M11, M16 oraz ŁT4-S3. Badania właściwości tribologicznych wykonano za pomocą maszyny tarciowo-zużyciowej typu Amsler. Wyznaczono wpływ rodzaju skojarzenia trącego i rodzaju środka smarowego na właściwości tribologiczne.This paper presents the results of the associations of tribological properties on the friction of polyamide PA6 / steel and Modar C45 / C45 steel in dry friction conditions, and greases in the presence of M11, M16 and ŁT4-S3. Studies of tribological properties were performed using the friction-wear machine Amsler type. The study determined the impact of such associations between friction and the choice of lubricant on tribological properties