Ricerca della sostenibilità di carne tacchina confezionata nell’atmosfera modificata

Sažetak Za potrebe našeg istraživanja održivosti purećeg mesa pakiranog u modificiranoj atmosferi, istraživani su uzorci svježeg purećeg mesa i to: pureći file, odrezak, zabatak, mljeveni batak i pureći file tretiran s mješavinom aditivom. Meso je pakirano u kontroliranim uvjetima uz uporabu gotove smjese BIOGON OC 30 s odnosom plinova 70% O2 : 30% CO2 . Uzorci mesa pohranjeni su na temperaturi od 4°C do 6 °C. Mikrobiološka i senzorička pretraga pakiranog mesa učinjena je 1., 4., 8. i 12. dana, a za tretirani pureći file s mješavinom aditiva na bazi acetata, citrata i antioksidansa (E 262, E331, E500, E301) i 15.dan. Rezultati su pokazali da se pureće meso pakirano u MAP-u s udjelom kisika od 70% može u optimalnim uvjetima pohrane održati ispravnim za ljudsku prehranu u preporučenom roku od 8 dana, u kojem su uzorci mesa i dalje u dopuštenim granicama parametara za ocjenu higijenske ispravnosti istih. Preporučen rok trajanja za tretirano pureće meso s mješavinom aditiva na bazi acetata, citrata i antioksidansa je do 12 dana.For the needs of our research on sustainability of turkey meat packed in modified atmosphere, samples of fresh turkey meat were researched and they were: turkey fillet, steak, thigh, ground leg and turkey fillet treated with mixture of additives. The meat was packed in controlled conditions by using BIOGON OC 30 mixture with 70% O2 : 30% CO2 gas ratio. Meat samples were stored at temperatures from 4°C to 6°C. Microbiological and sensory research on packed meat was performed on the 1st, 4th, 8th and 12th day, and the research on turkey fillet treated with mixture of additives based on acetate, citrate and antioxidant (E 262, E331, E500, E301) on the 15th day as well. The results have shown that the meat packed in MAP with 70% oxygen share under optimal conditions can be kept safe for human nutrition in recommended shelf life of 8 days, in which meat samples are still within the allowed limits of parameters for evaluation of their safety. The recommended shelf life for turkey meat treated with mixture of additives based on acetate, citrate and antioxidant is up to 12 days.Zusammenfassung Zu Zwecken unserer Untersuchungen hinsichtlich Erhaltbarkeit von Putenfleisch gepackt in der modifizierten Atmosphäre wurden Musterproben des frischen Putenfleisches untersucht, u.zw: Putenfilet, Schnitzel, Hinterkeule, gehackte Keule, sowie Putenfilet behandelt mit Additivmischung. Das Fleisch wurde in kontrollierten Bedingungen gepackt, unter Anwendung der fertigen Mischung BIOGON OC 30 mit Gasverhältnis 70 % O2 : 30 % CO2. Die Fleischmuster wurden auf Temperatur von 4° C bis 6° C gelagert. Mikrobiologische und sensorische Untersuchung wurde am 1., 4., 8., und 12. Tag durchgeführt, und für das behandelte Fleisch mit Additivmischung auf Basis von Azetat, Zitrat und Antioxidans (E262, E331, E500, E301) auch am 15. Tag. Die Resultate haben gezeigt, dass Putenfleisch gepackt in MAP mit Sauerstoffanteil von 70 % in optimalen Lagerbedingungen, für Nahrungszwecke der Menschen in der empfohlenen Frist von 8 Tagen als richtig gesehen werden kann. Die empfohlene Frist für das behandelte Fleisch mit Mischung von Azetat, Zitrat und Antioxidans beträgt bis zu 12 Tagen.Sommario A causa della nostra ricerca della sostenibilità di carne tacchina confezionata nell’atmosfera modificata, sono stati ricercati i campioni di carne tacchina fresca, come segue: filetto di tacchino, petto, sopracoscia, fuso di tacchino e filetto trattato con la miscella di aditivi. La carne è stata confezionata nelle condizioni controllate, con uso contemporaneo di una miscella già preparata BIOGON OC 30 con interrelazione di gas del 70% di O2 e del 30% di CO2. I campioni di carne sono stati immagazinati sulla temperatura tra 4°C e 6°C. La ricerca microbiologica e sensorica è stata fatta il primo, il quarto, l’ottavo ed il dodicesimo giorno, e per il filetto tacchino trattato con la miscella di aditivi a base di acetati, citrati e antiossidanti (E 262, E331, E500, E301) è stata fatta il quindicesimo giorno. I risultati hanno rivelato che la carne tacchina, confezionata nel MAP con la percentuale di ossigeno del 70% può essere mantenuta nelle condizioni ottimali di immagazinamento e sostenersi accettabile per l’alimentazione umana nell’ambito di 8 giorni raccomandati, in cui i campioni di carne continuano essere nei limiti di parametri per la valutazione di correttezza igienica. La raccomandata data di scadenza per la carne tacchina trattata con la miscella di aditivi a base di acetati, citrati e antiossidanti è fino a 12 giorni

Duckietown: An Innovative Way to Teach Autonomy

Teaching robotics is challenging because it is a multidisciplinary, rapidly evolving and experimental discipline that integrates cutting-edge hardware and software. This paper describes the course design and first implementation of Duckietown, a vehicle autonomy class that experiments with teaching innovations in addition to leveraging modern educational theory for improving student learning. We provide a robot to every student, thanks to a minimalist platform design, to maximize active learning; and introduce a role-play aspect to increase team spirit, by modeling the entire class as a fictional start-up (Duckietown Engineering Co.). The course formulation leverages backward design by formalizing intended learning outcomes (ILOs) enabling students to appreciate the challenges of: (a) heterogeneous disciplines converging in the design of a minimal self-driving car, (b) integrating subsystems to create complex system behaviors, and (c) allocating constrained computational resources. Students learn how to assemble, program, test and operate a self-driving car (Duckiebot) in a model urban environment (Duckietown), as well as how to implement and document new features in the system. Traditional course assessment tools are complemented by a full scale demonstration to the general public. The “duckie” theme was chosen to give a gender-neutral, friendly identity to the robots so as to improve student involvement and outreach possibilities. All of the teaching materials and code is released online in the hope that other institutions will adopt the platform and continue to evolve and improve it, so to keep pace with the fast evolution of the field.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award IIS #1318392)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award #1405259

Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing in intensive care unit patients

Aspiration in critically ill patients frequently causes severe co-morbidity. We evaluated a diagnostic protocol using routine FEES in critically ill patients at risk to develop aspiration following extubation. We instructed intensive care unit physicians on specific risk factors for and clinical signs of aspiration following extubation in critically ill patients and offered bedside FEES for such patients. Over a 45-month period, we were called to perform 913 endoscopic examinations in 553 patients. Silent aspiration or aspiration with acute symptoms (cough or gag reflex as the bolus passed into the trachea) was detected in 69.3% of all patients. Prolonged non-oral feeding via a naso-gastric tube was initiated in 49.7% of all patients. In 13.2% of patients, a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy was initiated as a result of FEES findings, and in 6.3% an additional tracheotomy to prevent aspiration had to be initiated. In 59 out of 258 patients (22.9%), tracheotomies were closed, and 30.7% of all 553 patients could be managed with the immediate onset of an oral diet and compensatory treatment procedures. Additional radiological examinations were not required. FEES in critically ill patients allows for a rapid evaluation of deglutition and for the immediate initiation of symptom-related rehabilitation or for an early resumption of oral feeding

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

Effect of malaria on placental volume measured using three-dimensional ultrasound: a pilot study

Background: The presence of malaria parasites and histopathological changes in the placenta are associated with a reduction in birth weight, principally due to intrauterine growth restriction. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of studying early pregnancy placental volumes using three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound in a malaria endemic area, as a small volume in the second trimester may be an indicator of intra-uterine growth restriction and placental insufficiency. Methods: Placenta volumes were acquired using a portable ultrasound machine and a 3D ultrasound transducer and estimated using the Virtual Organ Computer-aided AnaLysis (VOCAL) image analysis software package. Intraobserver reliability and limits of agreement of the placenta volume measurements were calculated. Polynomial regression models for the mean and standard deviation as a function of gestational age for the placental volumes of uninfected women were created and tested. Based on these equations each measurement was converted into a z -score. The z-scores of the placental volumes of malaria infected and uninfected women were then compared. Results: Eighty-four women (uninfected = 65; infected = 19) with a posterior placenta delivered congenitally normal, live born, single babies. The mean placental volumes in the uninfected women were modeled to fit 5th, 10th, 50th, 90th and 95th centiles for 14-24 weeks’ gestation. Most placenta volumes in the infected women were below the 50th centile for gestational age; most of those with Plasmodium falciparum were below the 10th centile. The 95% intra-observer limits of agreement for first and second measurements were ± 37.0 mL and ± 25.4 mL at 30 degrees and 15 degrees rotation respectively. Conclusion: The new technique of 3D ultrasound volumetry of the placenta may be useful to improve our understanding of the pathophysiological constraints on foetal growth caused by malaria infection in early pregnancy

Systematic review of studies examining transtibial prosthetic socket pressures with changes in device alignment

Suitable lower-limb prosthetic sockets must provide an adequate distribution of the pressures created from standing and ambulation. A systematic search for articles reporting socket pressure changes in response to device alignment perturbation was carried out, identifying 11 studies. These were then evaluated using the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists guidelines for a state-of-the-science review. Each study used a design where participants acted as their own controls. Results were available for 52 individuals and 5 forms of alignment perturbation. Four studies were rated as having moderate internal and external validity, the remainder were considered to have low validity. Significant limitations in study design, reporting quality and in representation of results and the suitability of calculations of statistical significance were evident across articles. Despite the high inhomogeneity of study designs, moderate evidence supports repeatable changes in pressure distribution for specific induced changes in component alignment. However, there also appears to be a significant individual component to alignment responses. Future studies should aim to include greater detail in the presentation of results to better support later meta-analyses

Systems Biology: A Therapeutic Target for Tumor Therapy

Tumor-related activities that seem to be operationally induced by the division of function, such as inflammation, neoangiogenesis, Warburg effect, immune response, extracellular matrix remodeling, cell proliferation rate, apoptosis, coagulation effects, present itself from a systems perspective as an enhancement of complexity. We hypothesized, that tumor systems-directed therapies might have the capability to use aggregated action effects, as adjustable sizes to therapeutically modulate the tumor systems’ stability, homeostasis, and robustness. We performed a retrospective analysis of recently published data on 224 patients with advanced and heavily pre-treated (10% to 63%) vascular sarcoma, melanoma, renal clear cell, cholangiocellular, carcinoma, hormone-refractory prostate cancer, and multivisceral Langerhans’ cell histiocytosis enrolled in nine multi-center phase II trials (11 centers). Each patient received a multi-targeted systems-directed therapy that consisted of metronomic low-dose chemotherapy, a COX-2 inhibitor, combined with one or two transcription modulators, pioglitazone +/− dexamethasone or IFN-alpha. These treatment schedules may attenuate the metastatic potential, tumor-associated inflammation, may exert site-specific activities, and induce long-term disease stabilization followed by prolonged objective response (3% to 48%) despite poor monoactivity of the respective drugs. Progression-free survival data are comparable with those of reductionist-designed standard first-line therapies. The differential response patterns indicate the therapies’ systems biological activity. Understanding systems biology as adjustable size may break through the barrier of complex tumor-stroma-interactions in a therapeutically relevant way: Comparatively high efficacy at moderate toxicity. Structured systems-directed therapies in metastatic cancer may get a source for detecting the topology of tumor-associated complex aggregated action effects as adjustable sizes available for targeted biomodulatory therapies

Congenital bovine spinal dysmyelination is caused by a missense mutation in the SPAST gene

Bovine spinal dysmyelination (BSD) is a recessive congenital neurodegenerative disease in cattle (Bos taurus) characterized by pathological changes of the myelin sheaths in the spinal cord. The occurrence of BSD is a longstanding problem in the American Brown Swiss (ABS) breed and in several European cattle breeds upgraded with ABS. Here, we show that the disease locus on bovine chromosome 11 harbors the SPAST gene that, when mutated, is responsible for the human disorder hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). Initially, SPAST encoding Spastin was considered a less likely candidate gene for BSD since the modes of inheritance as well as the time of onset and severity of symptoms differ widely between HSP and BSD. However, sequence analysis of the bovine SPAST gene in affected animals identified a R560Q substitution at a position in the ATPase domain of the Spastin protein that is invariant from insects to mammals. Interestingly, three different mutations in human SPAST gene at the equivalent position are known to cause HSP. To explore this observation further, we genotyped more than 3,100 animals of various cattle breeds and found that the glutamine allele exclusively occurred in breeds upgraded with ABS. Furthermore, all confirmed BSD carriers were heterozygous, while all affected calves were homozygous for the glutamine allele consistent with recessive transmission of the underlying mutation and complete penetrance in the homozygous state. Subsequent analysis of recombinant Spastin in vitro showed that the R560Q substitution severely impaired the ATPase activity, demonstrating a causal relationship between the SPAST mutation and BSD

A search for the decay modes B+/- to h+/- tau l

We present a search for the lepton flavor violating decay modes B+/- to h+/- tau l (h= K,pi; l= e,mu) using the BaBar data sample, which corresponds to 472 million BBbar pairs. The search uses events where one B meson is fully reconstructed in one of several hadronic final states. Using the momenta of the reconstructed B, h, and l candidates, we are able to fully determine the tau four-momentum. The resulting tau candidate mass is our main discriminant against combinatorial background. We see no evidence for B+/- to h+/- tau l decays and set a 90% confidence level upper limit on each branching fraction at the level of a few times 10^-5.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.