Thermal and photochemical degradation of myoglobin pigments in relation to colour stability of sliced dry-cured Parma ham and sliced dry-cured ham produced with nitrite salt

Lipophilic and hydrophilic extracts of the red pigments from Parma ham and nitrosylated pigment of dry-cured ham produced with nitrite salt were prepared with acetone/water (75/25 v/v %) solution and aqueous phosphate buffer, respectively. The spectral characteristics differed for both the lipophilic and the hydrophilic Parma ham pigment compared with the dry-cured ham produced with nitrite salt. The red lipophilic pigment(s) extractable from Parma ham was(were) found to be very stable towards thermal degradation in acetone/water (75/25 v/v %) solution for temperatures up to 70 °C in contrast to the lipophilic pigment(s) extractable from dry-cured ham produced with nitrite salt, which was(were) found to have an energy of activation of 99 kJ/mol for thermal degradation. In contrast, quantum yields for photodegradation of the lipophilic ham pigments exposed to 366 nm (420 nm) monochromatic light were larger for Parma ham than for nitrite-cured ham [1.6×10–5 (6.9×10–6) versus 1.6×10–6 (2×10–6) mol einstein–1] as determined for acetone/water (75/25 v/v %) solution. In agreement with these findings for the extracted lipophilic pigments, sliced Parma ham showed better colour stability than sliced dry-cured ham produced with nitrite salt, when stored in the dark at low oxygen concentration, in contrast to a faster initial discolouration for Parma ham when exposed to light, as shown for chilled storage for 35 days under retail conditions for the two products each packed at two oxygen levels (0.4 and 21%)

Perancangan Sistem Pemantauan Surat Izin Praktik Tenaga Kesehatan di Dinas Kesehatan Pringsewu Lampung

The design of monitoring system of health workers' practice license in health office in Pringsewu LampungPurposeThe purpose of this study was to design a prototype of a monitoring system of health practice licenses (SIP) of health workers in Pringsewu's local government. MethodsAn action research was conducted with 15 subjects. Data collection was done through in-depth interviews, observations and focus group discussions.ResultsBy order of priority issues, value urgency showed 70%, seriousness 75% and growth 75%, and the ultrasound matrix (urgency, seriousness and growth) showed that it is necessary to design a prototype monitoring SIP (100%), access to online or offline (66.66%), mapping of health workers (60%), and integration and communication with professional organizations and the Ministry of Health of Indonesia (60%). One of the functional testing systems that can be used is the SIP monitoring system. Furthermore, considering the system functional testing system the results showed 58% strongly agreed and 42% agreed with the use of the SIP designed monitoring system. The evaluation of the feasibility of the system shows that the aspect ratio before and after using the prototype was 5 times faster than before using the system. This system provides a positive effect on employee performance and can simplify management of managerial data licensing health professionals. ConclusionThe designed prototype system for monitoring practice licenses has overcome one of the problems in the regulatory process concerning the licensing of health personnel, although it is not developed fully, but the prototype is enough to give change and improved performance at the district health office in Pringsewu

A Critical Review on Population Synthesis for Activity- and Agent-Based Transportation Models

Traditional four-step transportation planning models fail to capture novel transportation modes such as car/ridesharing. Hence, agent-based models are replacing those traditional models for their scalability, robustness, and capability of simulating nontraditional transportation modes. A crucial step in developing agent-based models is the definition of agents, e.g., household and persons. While model developers wish to capture typical workday travel patterns of the entire study population of travelers, such detailed data are unavailable due to privacy concerns and technical and financial feasibility issues. Hence, modelers opt for population syntheses based on travel diary surveys, land use data, and census data. The most prominent techniques are iterative proportional fitting (IPF), iterative proportional updating (IPU), combinatorial optimization, Markov-based and fitness-based syntheses, and other emerging approaches. Yet, at present, there is no clear guideline on using any of the available techniques. To bridge this gap, this chapter presents a comprehensive synthesis of practice and documents available successful studies

(R, S) conjugate solution to coupled Sylvester complex matrix equations with conjugate of two unknowns

In this work, we are concerned with (R, S) – conjugate solutions to coupled Sylvester complex matrix equations with conjugate of two unknowns. When the considered two matrix equations are consistent, it is demonstrated that the solutions can be obtained by utilizing this iterative algorithm for any initial arbitrary (R,S) – conjugate matrices V1,W1. A necessary and sufficient condition is established to guarantee that the proposed method converges to the (R,S) – conjugate solutions. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the efficiency of the described iterative technique

Immunofluorescence microscopy-based detection of ssDNA foci by BrdU in mammalian cells

Acknowledgments This work was funded by the MRC Program grant MC_PC 12001/1 and MC_UU_00001/1 to K.R., and S.K. was supported by the MRC Oxford Institute of Radiation Oncology (OIRO) Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Studentship. We thank Dr. Rhodri Wilson from the microscopy imaging core (University of Oxford, Department of Oncology) for his technical advice and assistance. Graphical abstract was created with BioRender.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Parameter Genetik Sifat Pertumbuhan Dan Kerapatan Kayu Klon Eucalyptus Pellita F. Muell. Di Dua Tapak Yang Berbeda Di Kalimantan Timur

Industrial forest plantations have an important role in fulfilling the wood demand. Based on global industrial development, the forest plantations industry will increase in the following years. Eucalyptus pellita has become main species in Indonesia forest plantations because it has a short cycle and wood products are suitable to forest industry. The average productivity of E. pellita plantations in Indonesia is still low and high variation. In an effort to increase the productivity, the first step is a better understanding of genetic control on growth and basic density. This study aims to determine the genetic parameters for growth and basic density of E. pellita clones on two different sites. The clonal trials was conducted at two different sites. Both clonal trial are designed using RCBD. The number of clones tested in both trial was 30, 5 blocks and 25 tree/plot. The result of the study showed that the effects of clones vary greatly according the enviromental conditions. The clones- environemntal interaction of growth trait is higher than the basic density. This is in line with genetic parameters of growth trait that are less stable than the basic density. The expected genetic gain of growth trait is higher than the basic density and at the same time there was a weak genetic correlation (there is even a negative) between growth trait and basic density. Therefore carefulness is needed in selecting clones when the two traits are used as selection parameters

Assessment of serum magnesium level in patients with bronchial asthma

AbstractBackgroundAsthma is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide and has been increasing in prevalence over the last few decades. Magnesium ion has an inhibitory action on smooth muscle contraction, histamine release from mast cells and acetylcholine release from cholinergic nerve terminals. Magnesium has been shown to relax bronchial smooth muscles and influence the function of respiratory muscles. Hypomagnesemia have been associated with diminished respiratory muscle power.AimTo assess the serum Mg levels in bronchial asthma patients during stable and exacerbating clinical conditions.Subjects and methods60 Subjects were enrolled, 40 patients diagnosed as bronchial asthma and 20 healthy individuals as a control group. The asthmatic patients were divided into group (I) chronic stable bronchial asthma and group (II) acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma.ResultsSerum Mg levels were significantly lower in asthmatic patients compared with healthy controls and significantly lower in asthmatic patients during exacerbation compared with stable asthmatics. There was a positive correlation between serum Mg levels and each of FEV1/FVC ratio and FEV1.ConclusionHypomagnesemia was found in patients with chronic stable asthma and also in those with acute asthma exacerbation compared to control. Serum mg levels were significantly lower in asthmatic patients during exacerbations compared with stable asthmatics

Identification, Genotyping and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Brucella spp. Isolated from Livestock in Egypt

Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis worldwide with economic and public health impacts. The aim of the present study was to identify Brucella (B.) spp. isolated from animal populations located in different districts of Egypt and to determine their antimicrobial resistance. In total, 34-suspected Brucella isolates were recovered from lymph nodes, milk, and fetal abomasal contents of infected cattle, buffaloes, sheep, and goats from nine districts in Egypt. The isolates were identified by microbiological methods and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Differentiation and genotyping were confirmed using multiplex PCR for B. abortus, Brucella melitensis, Brucella ovis, and Brucella suis (AMOS) and Bruce-ladder PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing against clinically used antimicrobial agents (chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, gentamicin, imipenem, rifampicin, streptomycin, and tetracycline) was performed using E-Test. The antimicrobial resistance-associated genes and mutations in Brucella isolates were confirmed using molecular tools. In total, 29 Brucella isolates (eight B. abortus biovar 1 and 21 B. melitensis biovar 3) were identified and typed. The resistance of B. melitensis to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, imipenem, rifampicin, and streptomycin were 76.2%, 19.0%, 76.2%, 66.7%, and 4.8%, respectively. Whereas, 25.0%, 87.5%, 25.0%, and 37.5% of B. abortus were resistant to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, imipenem, and rifampicin, respectively. Mutations in the rpoB gene associated with rifampicin resistance were identified in all phenotypically resistant isolates. Mutations in gyrA and gyrB genes associated with ciprofloxacin resistance were identified in four phenotypically resistant isolates of B. melitensis. This is the first study highlighting the antimicrobial resistance in Brucella isolated from different animal species in Egypt. Mutations detected in genes associated with antimicrobial resistance unravel the molecular mechanisms of resistance in Brucella isolates from Egypt. The mutations in the rpoB gene in phenotypically resistant B. abortus isolates in this study were reported for the first time in Egypt