Quality assessment of butter produced using traditional and mechanized churning methods

Traditional butter/ghee-making, predominantly done by women, is labor-intensive. To reduce this labor and/or increase incomes among these women, a hand-operated churner was previously developed with the capacity to reduce labor eight-fold. The present study was carried out to compare the quality of butter/ghee made using traditional churning in locally harvested plant containers (gourds and calabashes) and mechanized churning in the new device. As opposed to shaking the whole vessel, churning in the new device is achieved through a hand-operated crank connected to mixing baffles. Butter samples were aseptically collected from four locations (Kiboga1, Kiboga2, Kotido, and Ngoma) along the cattle corridor of Uganda. A “control” butter sample was made under laboratory conditions following standard procedure. The five samples were analyzed with respect to microbial safety, type and concentration of free fatty acids, and sensory attributes. Total viable count (TVC), Total coliforms (TC), Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, yeasts and molds counts were determined using International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards. Fatty acid profile was determined by gas chromatography. Sensory evaluation of aroma, smell, taste, mouth feel, and overall acceptability of the products were also conducted. In the sensory evaluation, two commercially marketed ghee products (Sameer, and Lubega brands) were added. Total viable counts in all the samples were in the range of 102-107 cfu/g. Total coliforms were detected in Kiboga samples in the 101-103cfu/g range while none were detected from other regions’ samples. Yeasts and molds were detected in the 102-105 cfu/g range. Staphylococcus aureus was detected only in butter samples from Kiboga region (102 cfu/g) while Salmonella was not detected in any of the samples. The fatty acid profile consisted of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, omega 3 fatty acids, omega 6 fatty acids, and omega 9 fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids were most dominant in the butter and ghee samples ranging from 70-82% whereas trans-fatty acids were present in the least concentration. From the overall acceptability dimension, the butter/ghee made using traditional churning and the new device scored the highest. However, Student’s t-test analysis showed no significant difference in the organoleptic parameters analyzed in all the samples (p>0.05). Therefore, the butter/ghee produced using mechanized churning is as acceptable and as microbiologically safe as butter/ghee produced using traditional churning and two representative marketed products.Key words: Butter, ghee, microbial safety, churning, traditional processing, human-centered desig

Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 Preferentially Grows as Aggregates in Liquid Batch Cultures and Disperses upon Starvation

In both natural and artificial environments, bacteria predominantly grow in biofilms, and bacteria often disperse from biofilms as freely suspended single-cells. In the present study, the formation and dispersal of planktonic cellular aggregates, or ‘suspended biofilms’, by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in liquid batch cultures were closely examined, and compared to biofilm formation on a matrix of polyester (PE) fibers as solid surface in batch cultures. Plankton samples were analyzed by laser-diffraction particle-size scanning (LDA) and microscopy of aggregates. Interestingly, LDA indicated that up to 90% of the total planktonic biomass consisted of cellular aggregates in the size range of 10–400 µm in diameter during the growth phase, as opposed to individual cells. In cultures with PE surfaces, P. aeruginosa preferred to grow in biofilms, as opposed to planktonicly. However, upon carbon, nitrogen or oxygen limitation, the planktonic aggregates and PE-attached biofilms dispersed into single cells, resulting in an increase in optical density (OD) independent of cellular growth. During growth, planktonic aggregates and PE-attached biofilms contained densely packed viable cells and extracellular DNA (eDNA), and starvation resulted in a loss of viable cells, and an increase in dead cells and eDNA. Furthermore, a release of metabolites and infective bacteriophage into the culture supernatant, and a marked decrease in intracellular concentration of the second messenger cyclic di-GMP, was observed in dispersing cultures. Thus, what traditionally has been described as planktonic, individual cell cultures of P. aeruginosa, are in fact suspended biofilms, and such aggregates have behaviors and responses (e.g. dispersal) similar to surface associated biofilms. In addition, we suggest that this planktonic biofilm model system can provide the basis for a detailed analysis of the synchronized biofilm life cycle of P. aeruginosa

Guinea fowl production: The potential for nutrition and income generation in rural households in Burkina Faso

Small-scale poultry keeping is a common practice particularly among low-income households in sub-Saharan African countries. Due to the limited resources of these households, the flock is raised on a free-range basis, where the birds are left to fend for themselves, mostly affecting their performance. Well-structured poultry farming among these low-income households has the potential to improve not only the financial standing, but also the nutrition and health of the households. The purpose of this survey was to understand existing household food practices and aspirations for expanded poultry business among mothers of young children involved in smallholder guinea fowl farming in Burkina Faso. This was a cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of women engaged in small-scale poultry. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Questionnaire for data collection was administered in a face-to-face interview format by trained research assistants. All interviews were conducted in MORE, the predominant language spoken in the study area. Descriptive analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel and reported as frequencies and percentages for categorical variables, and means for continuous variables. One hundred and fifty women with children under 5 years of which 98.7% were the biological mothers participated in the study. About 68% of participants were 28 years or older, 45% have no formal education and 30% had 6 or more children in the household. Although over 58% of participants reported household income from agriculture, only 8.7% was livestock related. About half of the participants reported they would market/sell products from expansion of guinea fowl farming to raise additional income to support the household, while another half would use some of the meat and eggs to improve the nutrition of the household. Findings from this study suggest mothers from low-income rural households are interested in income-generating avenues, particularly, expansion in their smallholder guinea fowl farming to improve the socio-economic standing and nutritional health of their household

INSECT-BASED PROTEIN FEED FOR GUINEA FOWL: GROWTH AND EGG LAYING PERFORMANCE UNDER DIFFERENT FEED REGIMES

Expansion of guinea fowl flock has been a challenge and one of the reasons is the low feed availability, especially in the dry season. The objective of this study was to contribute to the improvement of the nutritional situation of local guinea fowl with house fly larvae as a protein source. A total of 144 guinea fowls (Numida meleagris) of approximately 16 weeks old were grouped in batches of 12 and randomly distributed to four feeding treatments with three replications per treatment. Pre-egg laying and egg laying feed rations were formulated with different levels of sun-dried fly larvae and standard pre-egg laying and egg laying ration containing fishmeal as controls. The pre-egg-laying rations were served for 11 days, while the egg-laying rations were served for 58 days. The chemical composition of the formulated rations, individual Daily Feed Intake (DFI), Average Daily Gain (ADG), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), and number of eggs and eggs characteristics (weight, large diameter and shape index) were recorded for each treatment. The dried larvae-based feed showed the highest crude protein content compared to the control feed that was fishmeal-based. In addition, the results showed a relationship between the incorporated quantities of dried fly larvae and the resulting guinea fowl performances. For example, the highest DFI (63.35 g/bird; p≤0.05) and FCR (11.94; p≤0.05) were obtained in the group fed the preegg laying and egg-laying rations containing 25 % and 13 % fly larvae, respectively. However, the group fed the ration containing 16.67 % and 12.94 % of fly larvae in the pre-egg laying and egg laying phases, respectively, showed a DFI of 57.05 g/bird and an FCR of 9.09. These were similar to the values obtained for the control group (57.19 g/bird/day and 11.94, respectively), with a better ADG (2.91 g against 1.71 g). Egg laying performance (number of eggs) and egg characteristics (large diameter) were significantly improved (p <0.05) in favor of treatments including dried fly larvae with values proportional to incorporation quantities. Findings from the current study suggest that the incorporation of fly larvae in pre-egg-laying and egg-laying feeds significantly increased the performance of guinea fowls

INSECT-BASED PROTEIN FEED FOR GUINEA FOWL: GROWTH AND EGG LAYING PERFORMANCE UNDER DIFFERENT FEED REGIMES

Expansion of guinea fowl flock has been a challenge and one of the reasons is the low feed availability, especially in the dry season. The objective of this study was to contribute to the improvement of the nutritional situation of local guinea fowl with house fly larvae as a protein source. A total of 144 guinea fowls (Numida meleagris) of approximately 16 weeks old were grouped in batches of 12 and randomly distributed to four feeding treatments with three replications per treatment. Pre-egg laying and egg laying feed rations were formulated with different levels of sun-dried fly larvae and standard pre-egg laying and egg laying ration containing fishmeal as controls. The pre-egg-laying rations were served for 11 days, while the egg-laying rations were served for 58 days. The chemical composition of the formulated rations, individual Daily Feed Intake (DFI), Average Daily Gain (ADG), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), and number of eggs and eggs characteristics (weight, large diameter and shape index) were recorded for each treatment. The dried larvae-based feed showed the highest crude protein content compared to the control feed that was fishmeal-based. In addition, the results showed a relationship between the incorporated quantities of dried fly larvae and the resulting guinea fowl performances. For example, the highest DFI (63.35 g/bird; p≤0.05) and FCR (11.94; p≤0.05) were obtained in the group fed the preegg laying and egg-laying rations containing 25 % and 13 % fly larvae, respectively. However, the group fed the ration containing 16.67 % and 12.94 % of fly larvae in the pre-egg laying and egg laying phases, respectively, showed a DFI of 57.05 g/bird and an FCR of 9.09. These were similar to the values obtained for the control group (57.19 g/bird/day and 11.94, respectively), with a better ADG (2.91 g against 1.71 g). Egg laying performance (number of eggs) and egg characteristics (large diameter) were significantly improved (p <0.05) in favor of treatments including dried fly larvae with values proportional to incorporation quantities. Findings from the current study suggest that the incorporation of fly larvae in pre-egg-laying and egg-laying feeds significantly increased the performance of guinea fowls

YAIKUULA (WIND-DRIVEN EVAPORATIVE COOLING) SAVES MOST GUINEA FOWL EGGS FOR HATCHING IN THE SUDANO-SAHELIAN BELT

Guinea fowl meat and eggs are highly prized by consumers in the Sudan-Sahelian belt countries such as Burkina Faso and Niger. However, compared to chicken, guinea fowl stocks in these countries are low. One of the reasons for the low stock holdings is that guinea fowl in captivity are poor at being broody hens. They do not sit on their eggs for the hatching of their keets. This problem has been addressed using synchronized surrogate chicken hens for brooding. Many chicken hens are provided with dummy eggs until they begin to brood, at which time the dummy eggs are switched to fertile guinea fowl eggs. The challenge with this solution is storing the guinea fowl eggs at room or ambient temperatures until the surrogate brooders are ready. The high room temperatures during storage initiates preembryo development that results in hatching unhealthy keets. Refrigerated storage is not an option, as most smallholder farmers in rural settings do not have access to electricity. The purpose of this study was to address the storage problem by introducing wind-driven evaporative cooling (YaiKuula); “Yai” is a Swahili word for “egg.” YaiKuula lowers the storage temperature ~15oC below ambient temperature during the day. Viable guinea fowl eggs were stored using YaiKuula for 0-3, 4-7, and 8-14 days. Ambient temperature and refrigerated (8oC) storage were done in parallel as negative and positive controls, respectively. Twenty-four surrogate brooders with six eggs each were used to hatch the stored eggs. Early and late embryo mortality, in addition to healthy hatching were monitored. The Student’s ttest was used to compare results. The highest rate (p<0.05) of early embryonic mortality (65%) was obtained with refrigerated storage for 8-14 days versus 37 and 12%, respectively, for ambient and YaiKuula storage for the same length of time. The hatching rates of eggs from 0-3 days of storage showed no significant difference between the three storage methods. However, YaiKuula storage yielded significantly (p<0.05) higher hatching rates of 80% versus 37 and 22% from ambient and refrigeration storage at 8-14 days, respectively, and 84% versus 65 and 61% for ambient and refrigeration storage at 4-7 days, respectively. YaiKuula has the potential to increase the number of guinea fowl among smallholder poultry farmers for increased incomes/resilience and better nutrition

YAIKUULA (WIND-DRIVEN EVAPORATIVE COOLING) SAVES MOST GUINEA FOWL EGGS FOR HATCHING IN THE SUDANO-SAHELIAN BELT

Guinea fowl meat and eggs are highly prized by consumers in the Sudan-Sahelian belt countries such as Burkina Faso and Niger. However, compared to chicken, guinea fowl stocks in these countries are low. One of the reasons for the low stock holdings is that guinea fowl in captivity are poor at being broody hens. They do not sit on their eggs for the hatching of their keets. This problem has been addressed using synchronized surrogate chicken hens for brooding. Many chicken hens are provided with dummy eggs until they begin to brood, at which time the dummy eggs are switched to fertile guinea fowl eggs. The challenge with this solution is storing the guinea fowl eggs at room or ambient temperatures until the surrogate brooders are ready. The high room temperatures during storage initiates preembryo development that results in hatching unhealthy keets. Refrigerated storage is not an option, as most smallholder farmers in rural settings do not have access to electricity. The purpose of this study was to address the storage problem by introducing wind-driven evaporative cooling (YaiKuula); “Yai” is a Swahili word for “egg.” YaiKuula lowers the storage temperature ~15oC below ambient temperature during the day. Viable guinea fowl eggs were stored using YaiKuula for 0-3, 4-7, and 8-14 days. Ambient temperature and refrigerated (8oC) storage were done in parallel as negative and positive controls, respectively. Twenty-four surrogate brooders with six eggs each were used to hatch the stored eggs. Early and late embryo mortality, in addition to healthy hatching were monitored. The Student’s ttest was used to compare results. The highest rate (p<0.05) of early embryonic mortality (65%) was obtained with refrigerated storage for 8-14 days versus 37 and 12%, respectively, for ambient and YaiKuula storage for the same length of time. The hatching rates of eggs from 0-3 days of storage showed no significant difference between the three storage methods. However, YaiKuula storage yielded significantly (p<0.05) higher hatching rates of 80% versus 37 and 22% from ambient and refrigeration storage at 8-14 days, respectively, and 84% versus 65 and 61% for ambient and refrigeration storage at 4-7 days, respectively. YaiKuula has the potential to increase the number of guinea fowl among smallholder poultry farmers for increased incomes/resilience and better nutrition

Responsiveness of voltage-gated calcium channels in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells on quasi-three-dimensional micropatterns formed with poly (l-lactic acid)

Ze-Zhi Wu,1 Zheng-Wei Wang,1 Li-Guang Zhang,1 Zhi-Xing An,1 Dong-Huo Zhong,1 Qi-Ping Huang,1 Mei-Rong Luo,1 Yan-Jian Liao,1 Liang Jin,1 Chen-Zhong Li,2 William S Kisaalita31Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology of the State Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, People&amp;rsquo;s Republic of China; 2Nanobioengineering/Bioelectronics Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 3Cellular Bioengineering Laboratory, College of Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USAIntroduction: In this study, quasi-three-dimensional (3D) microwell patterns were fabricated with poly (l-lactic acid) for the development of cell-based assays, targeting voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs).Methods and materials: SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells were interfaced with the microwell patterns and found to grow as two dimensional (2D), 3D, and near two dimensional (N2D), categorized on the basis of the cells&amp;rsquo; location in the pattern. The capability of the microwell patterns to support 3D cell growth was evaluated in terms of the percentage of the cells in each growth category. Cell spreading was analyzed in terms of projection areas under light microscopy. SH-SY5Y cells&amp;rsquo; VGCC responsiveness was evaluated with confocal microscopy and a calcium fluorescent indicator, Calcium GreenTM-1. The expression of L-type calcium channels was evaluated using immunofluorescence staining with DM-BODIPY.Results: It was found that cells within the microwells, either N2D or 3D, showed more rounded shapes and less projection areas than 2D cells on flat poly (l-lactic acid) substrates. Also, cells in microwells showed a significantly lower VGCC responsiveness than cells on flat substrates, in terms of both response magnitudes and percentages of responsive cells, upon depolarization with 50 mM K+. This lower VGCC responsiveness could not be explained by the difference in L-type calcium channel expression. For the two patterns addressed in this study, N2D cells consistently exhibited an intermediate value of either projection areas or VGCC responsiveness between those for 2D and 3D cells, suggesting a correlative relation between cell morphology and VGCC responsiveness.Conclusion: These results suggest that the pattern structure and therefore the cell growth characteristics were critical factors in determining cell VGCC responsiveness and thus provide an approach for engineering cell functionality in cell-based assay systems and tissue engineering scaffolds.Keywords: replica molding, cell spreading, confocal microscopy, microwell pattern