PCR-RFLP Using BseDI Enzyme for Pork Authentication in Sausage and Nugget Products

A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) using BseDI restriction enzyme had been applied for identifying the presence of pork in processed meat (beef sausage and chicken nugget) including before and after frying. Pork sample in various levels (1%, 3%, 5%, 10%, and 25 %) was prepared in a mixture with beef and chicken meats and processed for sausage and nugget. The primers CYTb1 and CYTb2 were designed in the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene and PCR successfully amplified fragments of 359 bp. To distinguish existence of porcine species, the amplified PCR products of mitochondrial DNA were cut by BseDI restriction enzyme. The result showed pig mitochondrial DNA was cut into 131 and 228 bp fragments. The PCR-RFLP species identification assay yielded excellent results for identification of porcine species. It is a potentially reliable technique for pork detection in animal food processed products for Halal authentication

Upper body balance control strategy during continuous 3D postural perturbation in young adults

We explored how changes in vision and perturbation frequency impacted upright postural control in healthy adults exposed to continuous multiaxial support-surface perturbation. Ten subjects were asked to maintain equilibrium in standing stance with eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) during sinusoidal 3D rotations at 0.25 (L) and 0.50 Hz (H). We measured upper-body kinematics – head, trunk, and pelvis – and analyzed differences in horizontal displacements and roll, pitch, and yaw sways. The presence of vision significantly decreased upper-body displacements in the horizontal plane, especially at the head level, while in EC the head was the most unstable segment. H trials produced a greater segment stabilization compared to L ones in EO and EC. Analysis of sways showed that in EO participants stabilized their posture by reducing the variability of trunk angles; in H trials a sway decrease for the examined segments was observed in the yaw plane and, for the pelvis only, in the pitch plane. Our results suggest that, during continuous multiaxial perturbations, visual information induced: (i) in L condition, a continuous reconfiguration of multi-body-segments orientation to follow the perturbation; (ii) in H condition, a compensation for the ongoing perturbation. These findings were not confirmed in EC where the same strategy – that is, the use of the pelvis as a reference frame for the body balance was adopted both in L and H

Denervation-induced activation of the standard proteasome and immunoproteasome

The standard 26S proteasome is responsible for the majority of myofibrillar protein degradation leading to muscle atrophy. The immunoproteasome is an inducible form of the proteasome. While its function has been linked to conditions of atrophy, its contribution to muscle proteolysis remains unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if the immunoproteasome plays a role in skeletal muscle atrophy induced by denervation. Adult male C57BL/6 wild type (WT) and immunoproteasome knockout lmp7-/-/mecl-1-/- (L7M1) mice underwent tibial nerve transection on the left hindlimb for either 7 or 14 days, while control mice did not undergo surgery. Proteasome activity (caspase-, chymotrypsin-, and trypsin- like), protein content of standard proteasome (β1, β5 and β2) and immunoproteasome (LMP2, LMP7 and MECL-1) catalytic subunits were determined in the gastrocnemius muscle. Denervation induced significant atrophy and was accompanied by increased activities and protein content of the catalytic subunits in both WT and L7M1 mice. Although denervation resulted in a similar degree of muscle atrophy between strains, the mice lacking two immunoproteasome subunits showed a differential response in the extent and duration of proteasome features, including activities and content of the β1, β5 and LMP2 catalytic subunits. The results indicate that immunoproteasome deficiency alters the proteasome's composition and activities. However, the immunoproteasome does not appear to be essential for muscle atrophy induced by denervation.T32 AG029796 - NIA NIH HH

La disciplina italiana del contrato de red entre empresas: elementos esenciales de contenido

Desmostrada la naturaleza no imperativa de los vínculos de 'forma-contrato' impuestos por la nueva disciplina del contrato de red, introducidos por el 3, párrafo 4 ter, de la Ley núm. 33 del 2009, el estudio se propone verificar si los standards de contenido exigidos por el legislador son, todos ellos, indefectibles. La conclusión a la que se llega es que el contrato de red debe indicar solamente los elementos considerados 'caracterizadores', en cuanto instrumentales para la inscripción en el registro de las empresas y el sucesivo control administrativo al que está subordinado el acceso a los beneficios legales. Por el contrario, la omisión de otros requisitos legales que no tienen esta significación caracterizadora del esquema negocial desde el punto de vista causal y objetivo, como regla general, no da lugar a consecuencias invalidantes.Once demonstrated the non-imperative nature of the constraints of 'form-content' imposed by the Italian regulation of Network Contract introduced by article 3, comma 4 ter, l. no. 33 of 2009, this paper proposes to verify if the standard contents demanded by legislator are all equally indefectible. The conclusion is that the Network Contract must indicate only the 'characterizing' elements, in that they are instrumental for the registration in the Business Register and for the subsequent administrative control which the agreement is subjected to access to the law benefits. On the contrary, the omission of other legal requisites which are not appropriate for defining the contractual pattern under the causal and objective profile does not generally bring about invalidating consequences

Interfacial shear in adiabatic downward gas/liquid co-current annular flow in pipes

Interfacial friction is one of the key variables for predicting annular two-phase flow behaviours in vertical pipes. In order to develop an improved correlation for interfacial friction factor in downward co-current annular flow, the pressure gradient, film thickness and film velocity data were generated from experiments carried out on Cranfield University’s Serpent Rig, an air/water two-phase vertical flow loop of 101.6 mm internal diameter. The air and water superficial velocity ranges used are 1.42–28.87 and 0.1–1.0 m/s respectively. These correspond to Reynolds number values of 8400–187,000 and 11,000–113,000 respectively. The correlation takes into account the effect of pipe diameter by using the interfacial shear data together with dimensionless liquid film thicknesses related to different pipe sizes ranging from 10 to 101.6 mm, including those from published sources by numerous investigators. It is shown that the predictions of this new correlation outperform those from previously reported studies

Species specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for identification of pig (Sus domesticus) meat

A highly specific single step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is described for the detection of pig (Sus  domesticus) meat. A PCR assay was successfully optimized for amplification of 629 and 322-bp DNA fragment extracted from pig meat using designed species-specific primer pairs based on mitochondrial D-loop and 12S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene, respectively. The optimized PCR assay was subsequently validated for its specificity with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extracted from cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pig. PCR amplification of target DNA with pig-specific primers was repeated 15 times, with consistent results  observed. The specificity of pig-specific PCR provides a valuable tool for identification of pig meat and to avoid its fraudulent substitution and adulteration.Key words: Pig meat, adulteration, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), mitochondrial D-Loop, 12S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene

Effect of bio-inoculants on growth and yield of betel vine (Piper betle)

Betel vine (Piper betel) cultivation and the consumption of betel leaves is a very traditional and widespread practice in India and many South-East Asian countries. The marginal and small farmers generally cultivate betel vine in their small holdings which provide them with a means of alternative cash earning to meet their day to day livelihood. Chewing betel leaves is an old habit of the people residing in subtropical countries. It is used in several traditional remedies for the treatment of stomach ailments, infections and as a general tonic. As betel leaf is directly chewed, there is a need to improve the leaf yield and to optimize the usage of manures for the leaf production. A study was taken up to assess the efficacy of some of the bio-inoculants in combination with inorganic fertilizers in betel vine cv. SGM 1 under an open system of deep trench method. Among the various treatments, Azospirillum @ 5 kg coupled with 100 kg each of P and K ha-1 had recorded the highest vine length (195.6 cm), more number of laterals per vine (22.3) and highest leaf yield ha-1 (44.7 lakh)

Mislabelling in megrims: implications for conservation

Mislabelling of fish catch and commercial seafood products is relatively frequent worldwide and can affect fisheries management exploitation when stock estimates are based on landings. In this study we have analyzed genetically 239 commercial lots of two morphologically similar species of megrims (genus Lepidorhombus) that are caught together in mixed fisheries. A high proportion of mislabelling was detected, suggesting enormous underreported exploitation of one of the species, which can be endangered if the problem persists. These results highlight the urgency of applying currently available species-specific molecular tools in fisheries sciences for preventing biodiversity losses in exploited species