Human and Canine Echinococcosis Infection in Informal, Unlicensed Abattoirs in Lima, Peru

Echinococcus granulosus infections are a major public health problem in livestock-raising regions around the world. The life cycle of this tapeworm is sustained between dogs (definitive host, canine echinococcosis), and herbivores (intermediary host, cystic hydatid disease). Humans may also develop cystic hydatid disease. Echinococcosis is endemic in rural areas of Peru; nevertheless, its presence or the extension of the problem in urban areas is basically unknown. Migration into Lima, an 8-million habitant's metropolis, creates peripheral areas where animals brought from endemic areas are slaughtered without veterinary supervision. We identified eight informal, unlicensed abattoirs in a peripheral district of Lima and performed a cross-sectional study in to assess the prevalence of canine echinococcosis, evaluated by coproELISA followed by PCR evaluation and arecoline purge. Eight of 22 dogs (36%) were positive to coproELISA, and four (18%) were confirmed to be infected with E. granulosus tapeworms either by PCR or direct observation (purge). Later evaluation of the human population living in these abattoirs using abdominal ultrasound, chest X-rays and serology, found 3 out of 32 (9.3%) subjects with echinococcal cysts in the liver (two viable, one calcified), one of whom had also lung involvement and a strongly positive antibody response. Autochthonous transmission of E. granulosus is present in Lima. Informal, unlicensed abattoirs may be sources of infection to neighbouring people in this urban environment

Body Pedagogics: Embodiment, Cognition and Cultural Transmission

This paper contributes to the growing sociological concern with body pedagogics; an embodied approach to the transmission and acquisition of occupational, sporting, religious and other culturally structured practices. Focused upon the relationship between those social, technological and material means through which institutionalized cultures are transmitted, the experiences of those involved in this learning, and the embodied outcomes of this process, existing research highlights the significance of body work, practical techniques, and the senses to these pedagogic processes. What has yet to be explicated adequately, however, is the embodied importance of cognition to this incorporation of culture. In what follows, I address this lacuna by building on John Dewey’s writings in proposing an approach to body pedagogics sympathetic to the prioritization of physical experience but that recognizes the distinctive properties and capacities of thought and reflexivity in these processes

Physico-Chemical, antioxidant activities, textural, and sensory properties of yoghurt fortified with different states and rates of pomegranate seeds (Punica granatum L.)

This study examines the effects of incorporating fresh, frozen, osmodehydrated, and dried pomegranate seeds, at different concentrations (5, 10, and 20%) on the physicochemical, antioxidant, textural, and sensory properties of yoghurt. Antioxidant activity, pH, acidity, syneresis, and color of yoghurt were also evaluated during the storage (28 days) at 4°C. The principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to assess the correlations between different yoghurt formulation and their sensory attributes. Data showed that the addition of pomegranate seeds reduced pH and modified the chromatics coordinate (L*, a*, b*, C*, h°) and firmness of the yoghurt samples. In addition, acidity, °Brix, and syneresis increased compared to the control. Thanks to their high anthocyanin content, pomegranate seeds considerably improved the antioxidant activity essentially for yoghurt enriched with frozen seeds. In addition, the supplementation of 20% of frozen seeds into yoghurt was the most appreciated by panelists and improved the sensory properties in comparison to other formulation. According to PCA, taste and appearance were the main criteria for the overall acceptability of yoghurt. After 28 days of storage, the reddish color was reinforced; however, the antioxidant activity of yoghurts was reduced. Overall, it can be concluded that pomegranate seeds can be used as a natural ingredient to develop a novel yoghurt with high nutritional properties. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Design and optimization of an OR gate all optical circuit based on silicon photonic crystals

In this paper we investigate and optimize the design of an OR gate all optical circuit based on silicon photonic crystals. The OR gate is formed by two ring resonators placed between three waveguides, obtained by removing specific rods from the photonic-crystal structure. To optimize the design parameters, the fill factor (r/a), corresponding to the ratio between the rod radius “r”’ and the inter-rod lattice “a’’, was varied using the plane wave expansion method. The Q-factor has been determined to achieve the optimal performance of the ring resonators. The optical properties and the normalized transmission spectra for the proposed gate based on the photonic-crystal ring resonators have been calculated by the finite difference time domain (FDTD) technique. We have noted that the two rings must be symmetric to the central waveguide to obtain the OR gate function in the output

Efficiency of osmotic dehydration of pomegranate seeds in polyols solutions using response surface methodology

This study investigates the influence of polyol compounds (sorbitol and erythritol) on the osmotic dehydration process of pomegranate seeds. The efficacy of the osmotic dehydration process was estimated based on the determination of water loss, weight reduction, solid gain, and effective diffusivity and also through a comparison of the results obtained between sucrose and polyol osmotic solutions. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the osmotic process. Quality attributes of pomegranate seeds were determined through the assessment of physical (texture and color) characteristics. This innovative research applies alternative solutions in the osmotic process, which until now, have not been commonly used in the osmotic dehydration of pomegranate seeds processing by researchers worldwide. Results revealed the excellent correlation of experimental values with the model. Erythritol and sorbitol exhibit stronger efficiency than sucrose. However, erythritol was not satisfactory due to the high solid gain. Therefore, the sorbitol osmotic agent seems to be the most suitable for the osmotic dehydration of pomegranate seeds. The optimal condition for maximum water loss (38.61%), weight reduction (37.77%), and effective diffusivity (4.01 × 10−8 m2/s) and minimum solid gain (−0.37%) were 13.03 min, 27.77◦Brix, and 37.7◦C, using a sorbitol solution. Results of texture and color revealed the major impact of erythritol and sorbitol osmotic agents on seed characteristics during the osmotic dehydration process. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Chemical composition and biological activities assessment of olive fruit volatiles from different varieties grown in Tunisia

Volatile compounds, present in olives, are responsible for the olive fruit flavor and oil aroma, influencing the consumer’s preference. These compounds have a biological activity to fight off pathogens. The aim of this work is to characterize volatiles in pulps and cores of Chemlali, Arbequina and Koroneiki olives, collected from Menzel Mhiri-Kairouan, and to test both the efficiency of these compounds against two bacteria and six phytopathogenic fungal species, by diffusion and dilution methods, and their antioxidants activities. The analyzis of volatiles were determined by GC-FID and GC-MS in three cultivars at the full ripening stage. Thirty five compounds were identified, such us an assortment of phenol, alcohol, hydrocarbon, aldehyde and terpenes derivatives. A high changes in volatiles was noted between cultivars and fruit organs. In fact, the major compounds in the pulps and the cores, of different cultivars, are (E)-2-decenal (46.9%), nonanal (19.6%), 1-hexadecene (16.3%), 7-methyl-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene 7-methyl-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene (15.47%), (E,E)-2,4-decadienal (14.5%) and 1-tetradecene (14.6%). Also, the cores volatiles illustrated more richness in aldehydes than the pulps for all cultivars. Volatile fractions exhibited a moderate to important antibacterial activities against bacteria. However, Arbequina cores volatiles and both Chemlali and Koroneiki pulps volatiles established a moderate to higher activities against tested fungi. The DPPH and ABTS˙⁺ tests demonstrated that the highest antioxidant capacity of volatiles were assigned to Arbequina cores and Koroneiki pulps. The Principal Components Analysis showed a significant relationship between antioxidants and/or antimicrobial properties and the levels of the main volatile compounds (limonene, methyldecane, nonanal, E-2-decenal, camphor, geranic acid, tetradecene, hexadecane, tetradecane) in different fruit organs

Effect of sonication pretreatment on physico-chemical, surface and thermal properties of date palm pollen protein concentrate

Sonication assisted isoelectric precipitation protein extraction was investigated, to determine the effect of sonication pretreatment (20 KHz, 2 s pulse on and 1 s pulse off for 30 min) on the physico-chemical, surface and thermal properties of date palm pollen concentrate. Concentrates obtained only by isoelectric precipitation and with the addition of sonication pretreatment were compared on the basis of their structure and their functional properties. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in surface properties, where sonicated sample exhibited a better capacity of reducing the surface tension at pH 7 even at low protein concentration (0.5 g/100 mL) reaching 40.7 mN/m. It was also deduced that thermal properties are strongly influenced by the sonication treatment since the temperature and enthalpy of protein's denaturation decreased significantly (P < 0.05). These differences were attributed to the induced modifications in protein's structure caused by sonication. Deductions align with what has been observed in the scanning electron microscopy that showed sonication leads to the modification of protein's structure. © 2019 Elsevier Lt