Stomach contents of Brazilian non-passerine birds

We report on the stomach contents of 70 individuals belonging to 36 species and 12 families of non-passerine birds of the Ornithological Collection Marcelo Bagno, University of Brasilia, Brazil. The stomachs, mostly collected during the rainy season and in the Cerrado area, were opened and their food items sorted to the nearest taxonomic level. Virtually all stomachs contained food items consistent with the literature. Galbula ruficauda, however, had plant material in its stomach, although it is considered insectivorous. It is interesting to mention that species considered omnivorous, such as Rhynchotus rufescens, Nothura maculosa and Ramphastos toco, contained only animal material in their stomachs. Columbina talpacoti, Leptotila verreauxi and Leptotila rufaxilla, which can supplement their diet with arthropods, ate only vegetable material, reinforcing items of animal origin as unusual in their diet. Geotrygon montana, C. talpacoti, L. verreauxi, N. maculosa, Aratinga aurea and Aratinga cactorum had stones in their stomachs, which can help to macerate food items. This study covers non-passerines poorly sampled in the literature and can assist in improving the knowledge about the diet of these species

Classification Methods of Multiway Arrays as a Basic Tool for Food PDO Authentication

Food chain traceability, identification of adulterations, and the control of labeling compliance are topic that require the evaluation of the foodstuff in its entirety: in this respect, more and more researchers are investigating the possibility of using multidimensional or hyphenated techniques for the fingerprinting of the products. However, these techniques produce data structures that are multidimensional as well and that require proper chemometric approaches for data processing (multi-way data analysis). In this Chapter, the state-of-the-art approaches for the classification of multiway data will be discussed theoretically and compared on case studies coming form the food authenticity context, such as the traceability of extra virgin olive oils of protected denomination of origin and table wines

Fusing NIR and Process Sensors Data for Polymer Production Monitoring

Process analytical technology and multivariate process monitoring are nowadays the most effective approaches to achieve real-time quality monitoring/control in production. However, their use is not yet a common practice, and industries benefit much less than they could from the outcome of the hundreds of sensors that constantly monitor production in industrial plants. The huge amount of sensor data collected are still mostly used to produce univariate control charts, monitoring one compartment at a time, and the product quality variables are generally used to monitor production, despite their low frequency (offline measurements at analytical laboratory), which is not suitable for real-time monitoring. On the contrary, it would be extremely advantageous to benefit from predictive models that, based on online sensors, will be able to return quality parameters in real time. As a matter of fact, the plant setup influences the product quality, and process sensors (flow meters, thermocouples, etc.) implicitly register process variability, correlation trends, drift, etc. When the available spectroscopic sensors, reflecting chemical composition and structure, consent to monitor the intermediate products, coupling process, and spectroscopic sensor and extracting/fusing information by multivariate analysis from this data would enhance the evaluation of the produced material features allowing production quality to be estimated at a very early stage. The present work, at a pilot plant scale, applied multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) charts, obtained by data fusion of process sensor data and near-infrared (NIR) probes, on a continuous styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) production process. Furthermore, PLS regression was used for real-time prediction of the Melt Flow Index and percentage of bounded acrylonitrile (%AN). The results show that the MSPC model was able to detect deviations from normal operative conditions, indicating the variables responsible for the deviation, be they spectral or process. Moreover, predictive regression models obtained using the fused data showed better results than models computed using single datasets in terms of both errors of prediction and R2. Thus, the fusion of spectra and process data improved the real-time monitoring, allowing an easier visualization of the process ongoing, a faster understanding of possible faults, and real-time assessment of the final product quality

POTENSI WISATA HALAL TEPI SUNGAI TERHADAP PEREKONOMIAN MASYARAKAT DI DESA SUKA JAYA BATUBARA

Potensi wisata itu adalah memiliki sumber alam yang banyak dan memiliki sungai yang luas. Desa tersebut memiliki sumber laut yang banyak, sehingga memiliki peluang yang banyak. Permasalahan yang dihadapin oleh desa  tersebut adalah Angka Kemiskinan. Angka kemiskinan di desa-desa tersebut sekitar 75 % dari Jumlah penduduk di kabupaten Batubara. Dari jumlah itu angka kemiskinan desa tersebut menjadi permasalahan yang utama. Selain itu juga ada masalah yang lain yaitu adalah jumlah pengangguran di desa tersebut tergolong banyak, sebab Potensi Alam di desa tidak dimanfaatkan dan mata Pencaharian sangat sulit sehingga menyebabkan tingkat pengangguran yang tinggi. Permasalahan lain yang dihadapi bagi kaum anak muda adalah penyalahgunaan narkoba didesa tersebut tergolong tinggi dari Jumlah Penduduk. Dari permasalahan ini bisa dilihat bahwa sumber alam yang dimiliki desa ini bisa menyelesaikan masalah yang ada. Desa tersebut memiliki sumber daya alam yang baik sehingga bisa dimanfaatkan oleh penduduknya tersebut. Dengan luasnya mata pencarian masyarakat disekitar kawasan wisata tepi sungai, maka pendapatan masyarakat pun akan bertambah dan mengakibatkan peningkatan perekonomian masyarakat. kawasan pariwisata merupakan salah satu bidang usaha yang dapat memberikan kontribusi terhadap peningkatan ekonomi masyarakat. Pentingnya penelitian dilaksanakan untuk mengembangkan desa wisata dkabupaten Batubara dan memberikan peluang untuk masyarakat desa meningkatkan perekonomian. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengembangkan desa wisata untuk meningkatkan perekonomian masyarakat desa di Kabupaten Batubara. Metode penelitian yaitu dengan menggunakan Sumber data dalam penelitian ini diperoleh melalui observasi atau pengamatan langsung, studi literatur, dan dokumentasi berupa pemotretan dan catatan lapanga

Aerobic Training Affects Fatty Acid Composition of Erythrocyte Membranes

The effect of exercise training on the fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membranes was evaluated in an experimental animal model where rats were subjected to a ten-wk aerobic training. Five groups of rats were compared: sedentary rats at 19 or 23 wks of age, rats trained at moderate or high intensity sacrificed at 19 wks of age, and rats trained at high intensity, and sacrificed following 4 weeks of sedentary life. We had already demonstrated that cardioprotection correlates with training intensity and partially persists in detrained rats. Main findings are that rats trained at higher intensity display consistent signs of lipid peroxidation but a lower ω6/ω3 ratio and a lower content of trans fatty acids when compared to rats trained at lower intensity and to older sedentary rats. Trans fatty acids negatively affect cell membrane fluidity and permeability. Detrained rats showed intermediate values. Gene expression evaluation of selected enzymes involved in lipid biosynthesis revealed some of the adaptive mechanisms leading to the maintenance of membrane fatty acid homeostasis following exercise. The decrease in the amount of trans fatty and in the inflammatory pathways (i.e. ω6/ω3 ratio) in high-intensity trained rats underscores the protective effect of high intensity aerobic training

Sequential events of apoptosis involving docetaxel, a microtubule-interfering agent: A cytometric study

BACKGROUND: Despite the great advances in the understanding of programmed cell death, little attention has been paid to the sequence of the events that characterise it. In particular, the course of apoptotic events induced by microtubule-interfering agents such as taxanes is poorly understood. In order to increase such knowledge, we studied a number of independent biochemical and cytological modifications using cytometric methods in a bladder cancer cell line treated with the second generation taxane, docetaxel. RESULTS: Within a few hours, drug treatment had induced mitochondrial membrane transition, cell shrinkage and a decrease in granularity. Cell cycle was almost completely blocked in G(2)/M phase within 24 hours. The hypodiploid peak started to become prominent 48 hours after the treatment. At the same time, the appearance of a DNA ladder demonstrated caspase-dependent chromatin fragmentation. Concurrently, specific cell surface modifications took place, involving at first glycoprotein syalilation and later phospholipid asymmetry. DNA fragmentation was subsequently detected by TUNEL assay. Over time, cell membranes became permeable to propidium iodide. A very similar time-course of apoptotic events was found after treatment of a myelomonocytic cell line with the same drug. CONCLUSION: After discussing some characteristics of the methods employed and their limitations, a succession of apoptotic events over time is suggested, in which the collapse of mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Δψm) is the earliest sign of apoptosis

Pharmacokinetics of tramadol and its major metabolite after intramuscular administration in piglets

Tramadol (T) is a centrally acting atypical opioid used for treatment of dogs. Piglets might experience pain following castration, tooth clipping and tail docking and experimental procedures. The aim of this study was to assess the pharmacokinetics of T and its active metabolite M1 in male piglets after a single intramuscular injection. Six healthy male piglets were administered T (5 mg/kg) intramuscularly. Blood was sampled at scheduled time intervals and drug plasma concentrations evaluated by a validated HPLC method. T plasma concentration was quantitatively detectable from 0.083 to 8 h. M1 was quantified over a shorter time period (0.083–6 h) with a Tmax at 0.821 h. The study demonstrated that piglets produce a larger amount of M1 compared with dogs, horses and goats. The human minimum effective concentration of M1 (40 ng/mL) was exceeded for over 3 h in piglets. If it is assumed to also apply to piglets, it could be speculated that the drug efficacy might exert its action over 3 h or longer. This assumption has to be confirmed by further specific pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies