Effects of Staphylococcus Aureus infection on bovine mammary gland plasma cell populations and immunoglobulin concentrations in milk

Mammary tissues, and milk samples from 10 Staphylococcus aureus infected and 5 uninfected quarters were examined to determine numbers of immunoglobulin (Ig)- producing plasma cells in tissue and Ig concentrations in milk. Results of peroxidase-anti-peroxidase staining of tissues showed no significant differences in numbers of plasma cells between infected and uninfected quarters with the exception of increased numbers of IgG1-producing cells at Furstenberg’s rosette. Numbers of plasma cells were highest at Furstenberg\u27s rosette followed by parenchymal and streak canal tissue. In parenchymal tissue from uninfected quarters, IgA-producing plasma cells were observed most frequently, whereas IgG1-producing cells were more numerous in tissue from Staph. aureus infected quarters. No significant differences in concentrations of Ig isotypes in milk from Staph. aureus infected and uninfected quarters were observed. However, concentration of Ig isotypes tended to be higher in milk from infected quarters. Immunoglobulin G1 was highest in concentration in all quarters followed by IgA. High relative indices of occurrence of milk IgA, IgM, And IgG1 were noted in milk from all quarters. A low index of IgG2 in all quarters suggests that IgG2 was nonselectively transferred from serum. Data suggests that the antigenic effect of Staph. aureus infection on the humoral immune response of the bovine mammary gland is minimal. Persistency of Staph. aureus infection may result, in part, from suboptimal stimulation of the immune system

Thin Layer Drying Kinetics of By-Products from Olive Oil Processing

The thin-layer behavior of by-products from olive oil production was determined in a solar dryer in passive and active operation modes for a temperature range of 20–50 °C. The increase in the air temperature reduced the drying time of olive pomace, sludge and olive mill wastewater. Moisture ratio was analyzed to obtain effective diffusivity values, varying in the oil mill by-products from 9.136 × 10−11 to 1.406 × 10−9 m2/s in forced convection (ma = 0.22 kg/s), and from 9.296 × 10−11 to 6.277 × 10−10 m2/s in natural convection (ma = 0.042 kg/s). Diffusivity values at each temperature were obtained using the Fick’s diffusion model and, regardless of the convection, they increased with the air temperature. The temperature dependence on the effective diffusivity was determined by an Arrhenius type relationship. The activation energies were found to be 38.64 kJ/mol, 30.44 kJ/mol and 47.64 kJ/mol for the olive pomace, the sludge and the olive mill wastewater in active mode, respectively, and 91.35 kJ/mol, 14.04 kJ/mol and 77.15 kJ/mol in natural mode, in that order

Determination of Sliced Pineapple Drying Characteristics in a Closed Loop Heat Pump Assisted Drying System

Pineapple (Ananascomosus) slices were dried with the aid of a heat pump assisted dryer (HPD). During this process, air velocity was kept constant at 1m/s, while air temperatures were changed as 37°C, 40°C and 43°C. The drying air was also circulated by using an axial fan in a closed cycle and fresh air was not allowed into the system. The drying rate and drying time were significantly influenced by drying temperature. It was observed that drying temperatures had significant effects on the drying rate and drying time. During the conduct of the study, pineapple slices were dried at 37, 40 and 43°C for 465, 360 and 290 min, respectively. The specific moisture extraction ratio (SMER) values were observed to change as drying temperatures were changed. The drying rate curves indicated that the whole drying process occurred in the falling rate period. Seven well-known thin-layer models (Lewis, Henderson &Pabis, Logarithmic, Page, Midilli & Kucuk, Weibull and Aghbashlo et al.) were employed to make a prediction about drying kinetics through nonlinear regression analysis. The Midilli & Kucuk and Aghbashlo et al. models were consistent with the experimental data. Fick\u27s second law of diffusion was used to determine the moisture diffusivity coefficient ranging from 3.78×10–9 to 6.57×10-9 m2/s the each of the above mentioned temperatures. The dependence of effective diffusivity coefficient on temperature was defined by means a fan Arrhenius type equation. The activation energy of moisture diffusion was found to be 75.24kJ/mol. Article History: Received: July 18th 2017; Received: October 27th 2017; Accepted: January 16th 2018; Available onlineHow to Cite This Article: Tunçkal, C., Coşkun, S., Doymaz, I. and Ergun, E. (2018) Determination of Sliced Pineapple Drying Characteristics in A Closed Loop Heat Pump Assisted Drying System. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 7(1), 35-41.https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.7.1.35-4

Dizajn maske za lice s UVC-LED zračenjem i njezina djelotvornost protiv uobičajenih klica

During the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the best means of personal protection was using face masks. In this context, the World Health Organization has declared the attempts to produce masks inactivating airborne virus species a welcome initiative. This preliminary study aimed to prove that airborne germs passing through a mask filter cartridge can be destroyed by the rays emitted from UVC LEDs placed in such cartridge. We therefore designed such a face mask and tested the efficiency of UVC LEDs placed in its cartridge against common contaminants, gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 virus because of its similarity with SARS CoV-2. Eight UVC LEDs with a total power of 75 mW provided sufficient germicidal effect for all three germs. In terms of safety, ozone production released during UVC LED emission was negligible. Our findings are promising, as they show that well-designed UVC-based face masks can be effective against airborne germs, but further research on a greater sample may help us learn more and optimise such face masks.Tijekom pandemije Covida-19 jedan od najboljih oblika osobne zaštite bilo je nošenje maski za lice. U tom je smislu Svjetska zdravstvena organizacija pozdravila pokušaje izrade maski koje ubijaju virusne vrste koje se prenose zrakom. Cilj je ovoga preliminarnog istraživanja bio dokazati da se zrakom nošene klice koje prolaze kroz filtarske uloške mogu uništiti zračenjem UVC ledica smještenih u takve uloške. Stoga smo osmislili masku za lice s tom namjenom i iskušali djelotvornost UVC ledica protiv uobičajenih izvora zaraza: gram-pozitivnoga Staphylococcus aureus, gram-negativnoga Pseudomonas aeruginosa i virusa influence A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 zbog njegove sličnosti s virusom SARS CoV-2. Osam UVC ledica ukupne snage 75 mW iskazale su dovoljan germicidni učinak protiv svih triju klica. U smislu sigurnosti primjene, ozon proizveden tijekom UVC-LED zračenja pokazao se zanemarivim. Naši su rezultati obećavajući jer pokazuju da dobro osmišljene maske za lice s UVC zračenjem mogu biti djelotvorne protiv zrakom nošenih klica, ali će tek daljnja istraživanja na većem uzorku pomoći da doznamo više i usavršimo takve maske za lice

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Caused by Coxsackievirus A6: A Preliminary Report from Istanbul

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Air-borne ultrasound application in the convective drying of strawberry

The use of non-thermal technologies, such as power ultrasound, is mostly suitable for the drying of thermolabile food materials. Thereby, the air-borne ultrasonic application as a means of improving the convective drying of strawberry has been explored in this work. Experiments were conducted by setting the acoustic power applied (0, 30 and 60 W) and the air temperature (40, 50, 60 and 70 C). The desorption isotherms and the shrinkage pattern were also experimentally determined. In order to describe the drying kinetics, a diffusion model considering both convective transport and shrinkage was used. The increase in both the applied acoustic power and temperature gave rise to a significant reduction of drying time (13 44%). The application of power ultrasound involved a significant (p < 0.05) improvement in the effective moisture diffusivity and the mass transfer coefficient, the effect being less intense at high temperatures. The results reported here highlight the fact that ultrasonic application during convective drying is a promising supporting technology with which to reduce the drying time needed for heat sensitive products, such as strawberryThis work has been funded by MICINN, Projects Fun-c-Food CSD2007-00063 Consolider-INGENIO, DPI2012-37466-C03-03 and Comunidad de Madrid, project ALIBIRD 2009/AGR-1469 and Comunidad Valencia, project PROMETEO/2010/062. J.G.S. also thanks CSIC and the EU for a pre-doctoral JAE Grant.Gamboa-Santos, J.; Montilla, A.; Cárcel Carrión, JA.; Villamiel, M.; García Pérez, JV. (2014). Air-borne ultrasound application in the convective drying of strawberry. Journal of Food Engineering. 128:132-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2013.12.021S13213912

Effect of processing on the drying kinetics and functional value of dried apricot

Apricots can be considered as a good source of phenolic compounds, which are beneficial for human health. Microwaves may be an alternative to the conventional sun or hot air drying techniques used to obtain dried apricot. Nevertheless, their impact on the functional compounds must be taken into account if they are to be recommended as an attractive drying option. This work compares the drying kinetics and the change in the organic acids, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of dried apricot when using hot air drying and microwave energy. Empirical (linear and Page) equations can be used to model the drying kinetics in air, combined air-microwave and microwave processes. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that the industrial processing of dried apricots may be improved by using microwave energy, as the drying time is considerably reduced, and the obtained fruit had a higher phenolic content, particularly of chlorogenic acid, catequin and epicatequin. Nevertheless, as the contribution of these phenols to antioxidant capacity was not significant, microwave dried samples maintained the same antioxidant capacity as the air-dried ones. When sulphite is added previous to the drying processes, care should be taken with the total phenols and the antioxidant capacity quantified as it may interfere with the results depending on the methodology used. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.Igual Ramo, M.; García Martínez, EM.; Martín-Esparza, M.; Martínez Navarrete, N. (2012). Effect of processing on the drying kinetics and functional value of dried apricot. Food Research International. 47(2):284-290. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2011.07.019S28429047

Brewers' spent grains: Drying kinetics and biodiesel production

Enormous amounts of brewers' spent grains (BSGs) per year are generated to produce bear worldwide. BSGs can be used as a carbon source, biofuel to generate energy and as a source of biogas. Typically, BSGs contain >60 mass% of water and, therefore, drying kinetics is a paramount for the development of any of these valorisation processes. In this work, we reveal the main parameters and mechanism of drying kinetics of BSGs at isothermal conditions (60 °C–90 °C), measured by thermogravimetric analysis. Diffusion coefficients ranged from 1.42 × 10−9 m2 s−1 to 2.67 × 10−9 m2 s−1 while the activation energy was 26.6 kJ mol−1. Furthermore, for the first time, biodiesel production from BSGs is reported. We employed acid catalysed in situ transesterification process, at different catalyst concentrations, methanol to BSGs ratios, reaction time and temperature. The outcomes of our study show promise for alternative valorisation of brewers' spent grains, an abundant waste spread around the world