Retort processing of traditional chicken biriyani and its microbiological quality

Traditional dishes such as chicken biriyani are relished by many and consumed in almost every celebration. The lifestyle changes and rapid urbanisation calls for the development of readyto- eat processed foods, which are safely processed and neatly packed. Retort processed shelfstable foods are an alternative to such a demand. In the study conducted, the retort processing conditions of traditional chicken biriyani was standardised and commercial sterility of the product was analysed. Microbiological parameters such as aerobic and anaerobic plate counts were assessed on 0th, 30th, 60th, 90th and 120th days of storage. The commercial sterility test was satisfactory and the microbiological analysis revealed an absence of bacterial colonies throughout the storage study. The highly perishable, traditional product was sterile on all days of storage study and was suitable as a shelf-stable product for mass production

Microbial quality of retort processed traditional Kerala chicken curry

The present study was carried out at the Department of Livestock Products Technology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookode and ICAR - Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi to develop retort processed traditional Kerala chicken curry and to evaluate its microbial quality. Traditional Kerala chicken curry was prepared using boneless chicken breast pieces and with a gravy of roasted coconut, spices and condiments. The product was packed in multilayer laminated pouch, which was then hermetically sealed and processed in an over-pressure retort. Accurate time-temperature standardisation was done to maintain sterility. The pouches were checked for commercial sterility after processing. The product was stored at ambient temperature and microbiological evaluation was conducted on days 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 of storage. The curry showed no aerobic and anaerobic growth on different days of storage and did not spoil till day 120

Ixodid Tick Vectors of Wild Mammals and Reptiles of Southern India

Background: We aimed to focus on the ixodid ticks parasitizing wild mammals and reptiles from Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghat, southern India. Methods: The taxonomic identification of ticks collected from wild mammals and reptiles was performed based on the morphology of adults. Results: We revealed eight species of ticks including, Amblyomma integrum, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, Haemaphysalis (Kaiseriana) spinigera, H. (K.) shimoga, H. (K.) bispinosa, H. (Rhipistoma) indica, Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides and R. sanguineus  s.l. collected from nine species of wild mammals while four tick species Ablyomma kraneveldi, A. pattoni, A. gervaisi and A. javanense parasitizing on four species of reptiles. The highest host rich­ness was shown by H. (K.) bispinosa and R. haemaphysaloides parasitizing six and five different host species, re­spectively.  Reports of R. (B.) annulatus on sambar deer, A. javanense and A. kraneveldi on python as well as A. pat­toni on Indian rat snake are the new host records from this region. Conclusion: Eight species of ticks parasitizing on nine species of wild mammals and four species of parasitizing on four species of reptiles were identified. The highest host richness was shown by H. (K.) bispinosa and R. haemaphy­saloides. H. spinigera as the vector of KFD was also identified in this study

Case Reports1. A Late Presentation of Loeys-Dietz Syndrome: Beware of TGFβ Receptor Mutations in Benign Joint Hypermobility

Background: Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) and dissections are not uncommon causes of sudden death in young adults. Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a rare, recently described, autosomal dominant, connective tissue disease characterized by aggressive arterial aneurysms, resulting from mutations in the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) receptor genes TGFBR1 and TGFBR2. Mean age at death is 26.1 years, most often due to aortic dissection. We report an unusually late presentation of LDS, diagnosed following elective surgery in a female with a long history of joint hypermobility. Methods: A 51-year-old Caucasian lady complained of chest pain and headache following a dural leak from spinal anaesthesia for an elective ankle arthroscopy. CT scan and echocardiography demonstrated a dilated aortic root and significant aortic regurgitation. MRA demonstrated aortic tortuosity, an infrarenal aortic aneurysm and aneurysms in the left renal and right internal mammary arteries. She underwent aortic root repair and aortic valve replacement. She had a background of long-standing joint pains secondary to hypermobility, easy bruising, unusual fracture susceptibility and mild bronchiectasis. She had one healthy child age 32, after which she suffered a uterine prolapse. Examination revealed mild Marfanoid features. Uvula, skin and ophthalmological examination was normal. Results: Fibrillin-1 testing for Marfan syndrome (MFS) was negative. Detection of a c.1270G > C (p.Gly424Arg) TGFBR2 mutation confirmed the diagnosis of LDS. Losartan was started for vascular protection. Conclusions: LDS is a severe inherited vasculopathy that usually presents in childhood. It is characterized by aortic root dilatation and ascending aneurysms. There is a higher risk of aortic dissection compared with MFS. Clinical features overlap with MFS and Ehlers Danlos syndrome Type IV, but differentiating dysmorphogenic features include ocular hypertelorism, bifid uvula and cleft palate. Echocardiography and MRA or CT scanning from head to pelvis is recommended to establish the extent of vascular involvement. Management involves early surgical intervention, including early valve-sparing aortic root replacement, genetic counselling and close monitoring in pregnancy. Despite being caused by loss of function mutations in either TGFβ receptor, paradoxical activation of TGFβ signalling is seen, suggesting that TGFβ antagonism may confer disease modifying effects similar to those observed in MFS. TGFβ antagonism can be achieved with angiotensin antagonists, such as Losartan, which is able to delay aortic aneurysm development in preclinical models and in patients with MFS. Our case emphasizes the importance of timely recognition of vasculopathy syndromes in patients with hypermobility and the need for early surgical intervention. It also highlights their heterogeneity and the potential for late presentation. Disclosures: The authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Application of forensic entomology in crime scene investigations in Malaysia / Kavitha Rajagopal

Forensic entomology is the application and study of insect biology to criminal matters. One of the most important aspects of forensic entomology is the usage of maggot found in dead human body to determine the post-mortem interval (PMI). Based on the number of maggot sent for PMI determination, the application of forensic entomology in crime scene investigation is still unsatisfactory in Malaysia. Hence the present study was the first to conduct a questionnaire survey to determine the degree of knowledge and awareness of forensic entomology in Malaysia. A total of 402 participants comprising of the crime scene police officers, pathologists who did the post-mortem examination, scientific officers and university students who have taken forensic science as their main subjects were included. Results showed that pathologists, scientific officers and university students have better awareness and knowledge of forensic entomology than the crime scene police officers. Hence more professional training is needed particularly among the crime scene police officers. The survey identified two major obstacles that may hinder the growth of forensic entomology in Malaysia which are the lack of information on the forensically important fly as well as the lack of expertise in species identification. Nevertheless the survey revealed a bright prospect for forensic entomology as evidenced by increased awareness of its importance and interest in the younger generation. The present study was the first to apply both morphological and molecular methods for fly species identification in samples collected from crime scene investigation in Malaysia. A total of 50 cases from December 2008 to March 2010 were included. The present study confirmed the usefulness of molecular method based on cytochrome oxidase genes sequencing as a complementary tool in assisting fly species identification. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the presence of Chrysomya megacephala, Chrysomya rufifacies, Chrysomya nigripes, Hemipyrellia ligurriens and Sarcophaga ruficornis. In addition, one ‘unknown’ species of blow fly was discovered. The application of molecular method has proven to be more advantageous in the case of immature maggot and egg. Due to the lack of experienced entomologist in Malaysia, it is recommended that molecular method should be widely applied. iii Since Chrysomya megacephala and Chrysomya rufifacies was found to be the two most prominent fly species recovered in crime scene investigation, DNA barcoding was done for each life cycle stage of both blow flies namely egg, 1st instar, 2nd instar, 3rd instar, pupae, empty puparium and adult fly. The present study confirms that all life cycle stage of a particular species of fly yield identical DNA barcode and hence all the stages can be used for accurate species identification. The present study represents an initial effort to establish a DNA barcoding for forensically important blow fly in Malaysia. However, the effective use of DNA barcoding would require an expert system of integrated information whereby species names and their respective DNA barcodes are coupled with data of life cycle and geographic distributions

First record in South Asia of deer throat bot fly larvae Pharyngomyia picta (Meigen, 1824) (Diptera: Oesteridae) from Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), a new host record

The Bot fly larvae, identified to be the third instars of the deer throat bot fly Pharyngomyia picta were recovered from the lumen of trachea and secondary bronchi during the necropsy of a female sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) in Kerala, India. This forms the first report of P. picta from India and the whole of South Asia. Sambar deer is a new host record for the larvae of this fly. Morphological description of the third stage larvae with supporting figures are presented

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Not AvailableAn effort was made to find out the suitability of inclusion of powdered chicken meat and jackfruit bulb and seed powder for the development of extruded snack product and to study the effect of inclusion of different levels of ingredients on the nutritional characteristics as well as contents of total phenolics and dietary fibre. One control ( with rice flour and Jackfruit bulb and seed powder in the ratio-80:20) and three treatment formulations (T1 – 62.69% rice flour, 15.62% jackfruit bulb and seed powder and 21.69% powdered chicken meat; T2- 62.23% rice flour, 15.5% jackfruit bulb and seed powder and 22.21% powdered chicken meat; T3- 57.32% rice flour, 14.33% jackfruit bulb and seed powder and 28.35% powdered chicken meat) were extruded employing screw speeds ranging from 230-262 rpm and barrel temperatures ranging from 120 oC to 140 oC. It was observed that the protein content of the extradites was found to improve with the inclusion of powdered chicken meat in the feed mix. The content of fat was also higher for T3 resulting in highest calorific contents. Control samples had significantly higher amounts of ash and moisture in them. Dietary fibre and total phenolics were found to be higher in extrudates with non-meat ingredients with acceptable levels maintained in treatments too. Inclusion of meat had been found to improve the nutritional characteristics and jackfruit bulb and seed powders had been found to confer functional properties to the extruded snacks.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableA study was undertaken to assess the effect of extrusion cooking parameters of an extruded snack incorporated with chicken meat, jackfruit bulb and seed powders and rice flour as base material. One control (With rice flour and Jackfruit bulb and seed powder in the ratio-80:20) and three treatment formulations (T1 – 62.69% rice flour, 15.62% jackfruit bulb and seed powder and 21.69% powdered chicken meat; T2- 62.23% rice flour, 15.5% jackfruit bulb and seed powder and 22.21% powdered chicken meat; T3- 57.32% rice flour, 14.33% jackfruit bulb and seed powder and 28.35% powdered chicken meat) were extruded employing screw speeds ranging from 230-262 rpm and barrel temperatures ranging from 120 °C to 140 °C. The physical characteristics that were studied were expansion ratio, bulk density and water absorption index. The results of the study indicated that with increasing proportions of powdered chicken meat in the feed mix, the extrudates obtained were relatively less expanded, denser and with lesser water absorption capacity. However, T1, T2, T3 were expanded respectively up to 86.0 percent, 88.0 percent and 59.0 percent of that of control. The principal factor that was found to exert an effect was feed composition, i.e. presence of absence of meat. It was shown that chicken meat may be included to produce nutritious extruded snack foods with the right ingredient selection and extrusion processing conditions.Not Availabl