Experimental Design Factorial Parameters of Honey Water Content Levels to Improve Honey Processing Productivity

In producing honey products, must meet all SNI quality standards (8665:2018), one of which is honey water content of less than 22%. Honey from farmers has a moisture content of more than 22% so the water content must be reduced. On of the technique that use in a company to meet those standard uses a dehumidification system combined with air conditioning and a honey rain device. With the current machine configuration, the required honey moisture reduction process time is 11 days. This study focuses on finding a combination of degrees Celsius temperature factor and relative humidity percentage factor that results in the optimal rate of reduction in water content. The results showed that temperature and relative humidity each had an effect on the rate of decrease in the water content of honey and no interaction effect was found between the factors of temperature and relative humidity on the rate of decrease in the water content of honey. The combination of selected temperature and relative humidity factors, namely 27℃ and 40%, in the most optimal rate of decrease in water content with an average of 0.416667% per hour. When compared with the combination of temperature and relative humidity in the company, namely 30°C and 60%, the selected treatment combination can reduce the processing time for reducing the honey moisture content and increases productivity by 50%

Kesan orientasi pengurusan strategik terhadap kecekapan firma pembuatan halal

Peningkatan permintaan produk halal di peringkat global mendorong perkembangan pesat Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana (PKS) halal. PKS halal mengadaptasi konsep pengurusan rantaian bekalan pembuatan halal (HSCM) sebagai satu langkah proaktif di dalam usaha meningkatkan kecekapan firma (FP). Walaubagaimanapun, manfaat HSCM tidak dapat dicapai sepenuhnya tanpa pengurusan pembuatan strategik (PBS) yang berkesan. Berdasarkan konsep ini, hubungkait antara PBS, HSCM, dan FP masih menjadi perdebatan. Justeru, satu kajian menyeluruh wajar dijalankan bagi mengenalpasti faktor dan implikasi PBS terhadap HSCM dan juga FP. Objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk mengenalpasti amalan PBS dan HSCM di dalam sektor PKS halal serta impak PBS terhadap FP. Kajian ini menggunapakai metodologi kaji selidik kuantitatif, dan soalselidik telah diperincikan berdasarkan konsep teoretikal yang telah disahkan. Sebanyak 211 salinan borang soal selidik telah diedarkan kepada eksekutif dan pengurus firma PKS halal. Kajian ini menggunapakai kaedah pensampelan bertujuan. Permodelan Persamaan Struktur (SEM)berasaskan Kuasa Dua Separa (PLS) digunapakai bagi menganalisis data kajian yang diperolehi. Orintasi pasaran (MO) dikenalpasti mempunyai kesan yang signifikan terhadap kecekapan firma (FP) di dalam konteks industry halal. Disamping itu, orientasi rantaian bekalan (SCO) dilihat mempunyai impak yang minima terhadap FP walau analisis statistikal menunjukkan perhubungan yang signifikan. Kajian ini Berjaya membangunkan sebuah model untuk dijadikan kepada pengamal industri halal di dalam meningkatkan kecekapan operasi perniagaan melalui pendekatan prinsip orientasi strategi

Evaluation and comparison of the ergonomics, performance and economics of battery-powered and engine-powered palm oil harvesting tools:cantas elektro

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has introduced an engine-powered palm oil harvesting tool called CANTAS that can double the conventional harvesting output. However, there are several issues that are affecting the endurance and comfort of the harvesters. This paper discusses the comparison in the context of ergonomics, performance, and ecconomics of a battery-powered CANTAS called CANTAS Elektro, which could overcome the issues of the engine-powered CANTAS. The prototype was tested in the laboratory and the field to investigate its ergonomic factors. Test results revealed that CANTAS Elektro was more ergonomic than CANTAS as the deflection, configuration, temperature, noise, and vibration levels of the former were 38%, 42%, 59.8%, 12.7%, and 45.8–65.2% less than those of the latter, respectively. The harvesting productivity increased by 26.5% from 5.63 to 7.04 t/day, with an estimated saving of operational cost of RM1013/machine/yr. The take-home pay of workers was increased by 29% from RM81 to RM107/man-day, apart from other fringe benefits. It was proven that the battery-powered machine was more cost-effective than the engine-powered machine, in addition to other advantages such as being carbon emission-free, clean, easy to maintain, less complicated and easy to handle

DNA-PKcs modulates progenitor cell proliferation and fibroblast senescence in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Published online: 29 August 2019BACKGROUND: Recent studies have highlighted the contribution of senescent mesenchymal and epithelial cells in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), but little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms that regulate the accumulation of senescent cells in this disease. Therefore, we addressed the hypothesis that the loss of DNA repair mechanisms mediated by DNA protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) in IPF, promoted the accumulation of mesenchymal progenitors and progeny, and the expression of senescent markers by these cell types. METHODS: Surgical lung biopsy samples and lung fibroblasts were obtained from patients exhibiting slowly, rapidly or unknown progressing IPF and lung samples lacking any evidence of fibrotic disease (i.e. normal; NL). The expression of DNA-Pkcs in lung tissue was assessed by quantitative immunohistochemical analysis. Chronic inhibition of DNA-PKcs kinase activity was mimicked using a highly specific small molecule inhibitor, Nu7441. Proteins involved in DNA repair (stage-specific embryonic antigen (SSEA)-4+ cells) were determined by quantitative Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of transcriptomic datasets (GSE103488). Lastly, the loss of DNA-PKc was modeled in a humanized model of pulmonary fibrosis in NSG SCID mice genetically deficient in PRKDC (the transcript for DNA-PKcs) and treated with Nu7441. RESULTS: DNA-PKcs expression was significantly reduced in IPF lung tissues. Chronic inhibition of DNA-PKcs by Nu7441 promoted the proliferation of SSEA4+ mesenchymal progenitor cells and a significant increase in the expression of senescence-associated markers in cultured lung fibroblasts. Importantly, mesenchymal progenitor cells and their fibroblast progeny derived from IPF patients showed a loss of transcripts encoding for DNA damage response and DNA repair components. Further, there was a significant reduction in transcripts encoding for PRKDC (the transcript for DNA-PKcs) in SSEA4+ mesenchymal progenitor cells from IPF patients compared with normal lung donors. In SCID mice lacking DNA-PKcs activity receiving IPF lung explant cells, treatment with Nu7441 promoted the expansion of progenitor cells, which was observed as a mass of SSEA4+ CgA+ expressing cells. CONCLUSIONS: Together, our results show that the loss of DNA-PKcs promotes the expansion of SSEA4+ mesenchymal progenitors, and the senescence of their mesenchymal progeny.David M. Habiel, Miriam S. Hohmann, Milena S. Espindola, Ana Lucia Coelho, Isabelle Jones, Heather Jones, Richard Carnibella, Isaac Pinar, Freda Werdiger and Cory M. Hogaboa

The IKK\ua0-Dependent NF-\ua0B p52/RelB Noncanonical Pathway Is Essential To Sustain a CXCL12 Autocrine Loop in Cells Migrating in Response to HMGB1

HMGB1 is a chromatin architectural protein that is released by dead or damaged cells at sites of tissue injury. Extracellular HMGB1 functions as a proinflammatory cytokine and chemoattractant for immune effector and progenitor cells. Previously, we have shown that the inhibitor of NF-kappa B kinase (IKK)beta- and IKK alpha-dependent NF-kappa B signaling pathways are simultaneously required for cell migration to HMGB1. The IKK beta-dependent canonical pathway is needed to maintain expression of receptor for advanced glycation end products, the ubiquitously expressed receptor for HMGB1, but the target of the IKK alpha non-canonical pathway was not known. In this study, we show that the IKK alpha-dependent p52/RelB noncanonical pathway is critical to sustain CXCL12/SDF1 production in order for cells to migrate toward HMGB1. Using both mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages and mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs), it was observed that neutralization of CXCL12 by a CXCL12 mAb completely eliminated chemotaxis to HMGB1. In addition, the HMGB1 migration defect of IKKa KO and p52 KO cells could be rescued by adding recombinant CXCL12 to cells. Moreover, p52 KO MEFs stably transduced with a GFP retroviral vector that enforces physiologic expression of CXCL12 also showed near normal migration toward HMGB1. Finally, both AMD3100, a specific antagonist of CXCL12's G protein-coupled receptor CXCR4, and an anti-CXCR4 Ab blocked HMGB1 chemotactic responses. These results indicate that HMGB1-CXCL12 interplay drives cell migration toward HMGB1 by engaging receptors of both chemoattractants. This novel requirement for a second receptor-ligand pair enhances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating HMGB1-dependent cell recruitment to sites of tissue injury