Quality assessment of fish burgers from deep flounder (Pseudorhombus elevatus) and brushtooth lizardfish (Saurida undosquamis) during storage at -18ºC

Microbiological, chemical and sensory changes of fish burgers prepared from deep flounder (Pseudorhombus elevatus) and brushtooth lizardfish (Saurida undosquamis) were determined during storage at -18ºC for 5 months. Microbiological counts were including total plate count (TPC), total coliform (TC), Staphylococcus aureus, Psychotropic and Escherichia coli decreased throughout the frozen storage . Reduction of microbial load in brushtooth lizardfish was higher than that in deep flounder, except for Staphylococcus aureus counts that was almost equal in both groups. There was a significant increase in pH value in both groups (P<0.05) in first and second months of storage only. Moisture content increased in both groups at the end of 5th month, with increase of moisture in deep flounder fish burgers being higher than that in brushtooth lizardfish burgers. TVB-N values in both groups increased significantly (P<0.05 and P<0.008 for deep flounder and brushtooth lizardfish burgers, respectively) at the end of the second month, however, there was a decrease or no significant change afterward. TBA value of deep flounder fish burgers had a significant decrease (P<0.05) as storage time continued, however, it increased significantly in brushtooth lizardfish burgers at the end of second month (P<0.006) following by a decrease at the end of storage period. Peroxide value (PV) in both groups increased significantly (P<0.05 and P<0.002 in deep flounder and brushtooth lizardfish burgers, respectively) during storage time but a significant decrease was observed at the end of third and fourth months (P<0.005 and P<0.001 in deep flounder and brushtooth lizardfish burgers, respectively). Sensory parameters (color, texture, taste and general acceptability) for two groups decreased significantly (P<0.003 for all parameters in 2 groups) during storage with deep flounder fish burgers receiving higher scores than brushtooth lizardfish burgers at the beginning and end of the storage period

Evaluation and comparison of SYBR Green I Real-Time PCR and TaqMan Real-Time PCR methods for quantitative assay of Listeria monocytogenes in nutrient broth and milk

Specific traditional plate count method and real-time PCR systems based on SYBR Green I and TaqMan technologies using a specific primer pair and probe for amplification of iap-gene were used for quantitative assay of Listeria monocytogenes in seven decimal serial dilution series of nutrient broth and milk samples containing 1.58 to 1.58×107 cfu /ml and the real-time PCR methods were compared with the plate count method with respect to accuracy and sensitivity. In this study, the plate count method was performed using surface-plating of 0.1 ml of each sample on Palcam Agar. The lowest detectable level for this method was 1.58×10 cfu/ml for both nutrient broth and milk samples. Using purified DNA as a template for generation of standard curves, as few as four copies of the iap-gene could be detected per reaction with both real-time PCR assays, indicating that they were highly sensitive. When these real-time PCR assays were applied to quantification of L. monocytogenes in decimal serial dilution series of nutrient broth and milk samples, 3.16×10 to 3.16×105 copies per reaction (equals to 1.58×103 to 1.58×107 cfu/ml L. monocytogenes) were detectable. As logarithmic cycles, for Plate Count and both molecular assays, the quantitative results of the detectable steps were similar to the inoculation levels

Tetranuclear Zn/4f coordination clusters as highly efficient catalysts for Friedel-Crafts alkylation

A series of custom-designed, high yield, isoskeletal tetranuclear Zn/4f coordination clusters showing high efficiency as catalysts with low catalytic loadings in Friedel-Crafts alkylation are described for the first time. The possibility of altering the 4f centers in these catalysts without altering the core topology allows us to further confirm their stability via EPR and NMR, as well to gain insights into the plausible reaction mechanism, showcasing the usefulness of these bimetallic systems as catalysts

Aging of dissolved copper and copper-based nanoparticles in five different soils: short-term kinetics vs long-term fate

With the growing availability and use of copper based nanomaterials (Cu-NMs), there is increasing concern regarding their release and potential impact on the environment. In this study, the short term (≤ 5 days) ageing profile and the long term (4 months) speciation of dissolved Cu, copper oxide (CuO-) and copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS-NPs) were investigated in five different soils using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Soil pH was found to strongly influence the short term chemistry of the Cu-NMs added at 100 mg/kg above background. Low pH soils promoted rapid dissolution of CuO-NPs that effectively aligned their behaviour to that of dissolved Cu within 3 days. In higher pH soils, CuO-NPs persisted longer due to slower dissolution in the soil and resulted in contrasting short term speciation compared to dissolved Cu, which formed copper hydroxides and carbonates that were reflective of the soil chemistry. Organic matter appeared to slow the dissolution process but in the long term, the speciation of Cu added as dissolved Cu, CuO-NPs and CuS-NPs were found to be same for each soil. The results imply that in the short term Cu-NMs may exhibit unique behaviour in alkaline soils compared to their conventional forms (e.g. in the event of an adverse leaching event), but in the long term (≥ 4 months), their fates are dictated by the soil properties and are independent of the initial Cu form, and are likely to present minimal risk of nano-specific Cu-NM impact in the soil environment for the concentration studied here

Radiotherapy to the primary tumour for newly diagnosed, metastatic prostate cancer (STAMPEDE): a randomised controlled phase 3 trial

BACKGROUND: Local treatment of the prostate might not only improve local control, but also slow the progression of metastatic disease. We hypothesised that radiotherapy (RT) to the prostate would improve overall survival in men presenting with metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) and that the survival benefit would be greater in men with a lower metastatic burden. METHOD: STAMPEDE is a multi-arm multi-stage platform protocol that included a randomised phase III comparison to test the above hypotheses. Standard-of-care (SOC) was lifelong ADT, with up-front docetaxel permitted from Dec-2015. Stratified randomisation within 12 weeks on ADT allocated pts 1:1 to SOC or SOC+RT. Men allocated to RT received daily (55Gy/20f over 4 weeks) or weekly (36Gy/6f over 6 weeks) RT, started ≤8 weeks after randomisation or completion of docetaxel. The RT schedule was nominated before randomisation. The primary outcome measure was death from any cause; secondary outcome measures included failure-free survival (FFS). Comparison of SOC vs SOC+RT for survival had 90% power at 2.5% 1-sided alpha for hazard ratio (HR) of 0.75, requiring approximately 267 control arm deaths. Analyses used Cox proportional hazards & flexible parametric models, adjusted for stratification factors. A pre-specified subgroup analysis tested the effects of prostate RT by baseline metastatic burden. RESULTS: 2061 men with newly-diagnosed M1 PCa were randomised from Jan 2013 to Sep 2016. Randomised groups were well balanced: median age 68yrs; median PSA 97ng/ml; 18% early docetaxel; metastatic burden: 40% lower metastatic burden, 54% higher metastatic burden, 6% unknown in the group as a whole. Prostate RT improved FFS (HR=0.76, 95%CI 0.68, 0.84; p=3.36x10-7 60 ) but not overall survival (HR=0.92, 95%CI 0.80, 1.06; p=0.266). Pre-specified subgroup analysis showed 62 improved overall survival for prostate RT in 819 men with a lower metastatic burden 63 (HR=0.68, 95%CI 0.52, 0.90; p=0.007) but not in 1120 men with a higher metastatic burden (HR=1.07, 95%CI 0.90, 1.28; p=0.300). RT was well-tolerated during (G3-4 5% SOC+RT) and after treatment (G3-4 <1% SOC, 4% SOC+RT). CONCLUSIONS: Radiotherapy to the prostate did not improve survival for unselected patients with newly-diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer, but, in a pre-specified subgroup analysis, did improve survival in men with a lower metastatic burden. Therefore, prostate radiotherapy should be a standard treatment option for men with oligometastatic disease

Radiotherapy to the primary tumour for newly diagnosed, metastatic prostate cancer (STAMPEDE): a randomised controlled phase 3 trial.

Based on previous findings, we hypothesised that radiotherapy to the prostate would improve overall survival in men with metastatic prostate cancer, and that the benefit would be greatest in patients with a low metastatic burden. We aimed to compare standard of care for metastatic prostate cancer, with and without radiotherapy.This article is freely available via Open Access

Soybean and canola oils induced changes in fatty acids’ profile of chicken Lyoner during storage

Chicken sausage is among popular meat products which in turn, has a share in daily diets.Accordingly, study on meat products and the variation of their characteristics during processing and storage conditions are of the uppermost importance. In this study, chicken sausages containing 90% chicken meat were manufactured under similar conditions except for the added oil type. That is to say, the two batches of chicken sausages were manufactured by the addition of canola and soybean oils in their formula. The samples were stored at 4 to 5 °C for 45 days. With 15-day interval, the samples were analyzed for the fatty acid profile (palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids), microbial (total psychrotrophic bacteria and lactobacillus) and chemical [moisture content, pH, peroxide and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values as well as free fatty acid (FFA)] properties. Except for the peroxide value, all parameters showed statistically significant (

A Comprehensive Mathematical Model for the Design of a Dynamic Cellular Manufacturing System Integrated with Production Planning and Several Manufacturing Attributes

Dynamic cellular manufacturing systems,   Mixed-integer non-linear programming,   Production planning, Manufacturing attributes   This paper presents a novel mixed-integer non-linear programming model for the design of a dynamic cellular manufacturing system (DCMS) based on production planning (PP) decisions and several manufacturing attributes. Such an integrated DCMS model with an extensive coverage of important design features has not been proposed yet and incorporates several manufacturing attributes including alternative process routings, operation sequence, processing time, production volume of parts, purchasing machine, duplicate machines, machine depot, machine capacity, lot splitting, material flow conservation equations, inflation coefficient, cell workload balancing, budget constraints for cell construction and machine procurement, varying number of formed cells, worker capacity, holding inventories and backorders, outsourcing part-operations, warehouse capacity, and cell reconfiguration. The objective of the integrated model is to minimize the total costs of cell construction, cell unemployment, machine overhead and machine processing, part-operations setup and production, outsourcing, backorders, inventory holding, material handling between system and warehouse, intra-cell and inter-cell movements, purchasing new machines, and machine relocation/installation/uninstallation. A comprehensive numerical example taken from the literature is solved by the Lingo software to illustrate the performance of the proposed model in handling the PP decisions and to investigate the incorporated manufacturing attributes in an integrated DCMS

Optimization of prebiotic sausage formulation: Effect of using β-glucan and resistant starch by D-optimal mixture design approach

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. The objective of this study was optimization of prebiotic sausage formulation by resistant starch (RS), β-glucan (BG) and starch (ST) according to D-optimal mixture design approach. Results demonstrated RS, BG and ST had noticeable effect on physical and sensory properties of sausage, RS had a negative effect on cooking yield, but it's interaction with BG and ST showed positive effect. Also a positive correlation was found between cooking yield and frying loss. RS increased hardness but RS/BG had antagonistic effect and produced a softer texture. The sensory evaluation of color and texture were correlated to instrumental color and texture analysis. Optimum formulation obtained according to overall acceptability, cooking yield, frying loss and hardness contained 2.216% RS, 1.328% BG and 2.456% ST with desirability equals to 0.878. The obtained results suggest that production of prebiotic sausage by using combination of RS and BG is possible.Authors acknowledge the financial support of National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute (NNFTRI) of Iran (25/47/4715190)Peer Reviewe