The Solvent Effectiveness on Extraction Process of Seaweed Pigment

Eucheuma cottonii seaweed is a species of seaweed cultured in Indonesian waters, because its cultivation is relatively easy and inexpensive. It has a wide variety of colors from green to yellow green, gray, red and brown, indicating photosynthetic pigments, such as chlorophyll and carotenoids. An important factor in the effectiveness of pigment extraction is the choice of solvent. The correct type of solvent in the extraction method of specific natural materials is important so that a pigment with optimum quality that is also benefical to the society can be produced. The target of this research is to obtain a high quality solvent type of carotenoid pigment. This research was conducted using a randomized block design with three (3) replications involving two factors namely solvent type (4 levels: aceton, ethanol, petroleum benzene, hexan & petroleum benzene) and seaweed color (3 levels: brown, green and red). Research results indicated that each solvent reached a peak of maximal absorbance at 410-472 nm, namely carotenoids. The USAge of acetone solvent gave the best pigment quality. Brown, green and red seaweed have pigment content of 1,28 mg/100 g; 0,98 mg/100 g; 1,35 mg/100 g and rendement of 6,24%; 4,85% and 6,65% respectively.&nbsp

Anthocyanin extract of Rosa sp. as a natural preservative in Euthynnus affinis

In southeast Asia, the red rose (Rosa sp.) is among the flowers that can be found in abundance. The rose is primarily utilized for decoration and aroma, meanwhile, it has a lot of medicinal functions. Extract of rose petals has been reported to show antibacterial and antioxidant activity. Red rose as an antioxidant and antibacterial should be equal with its potential as a natural food preservative. This study aimed to develop anthocyanin's antibacterial and antioxidant activity from red rose as a natural preservative. The results of LC-MS (Liquid hromatography-Mass Spectrometry) analyzes showed the presence of pelargonidin 3-O-(6-O-malonyl-β-D-glucoside) and cyanidin 3-(6"-malonylglucoside). Rosa sp.extract, when tested on Pseudomonas sp., is a good bactericide. The MBC analysis showed a bacterial density of 0 CFU mL–1 with all red rose concentrate concentrations (100, 50, 25 and 12.5%). The results of the variance analysis showed that the red rose concentrate had a significant effect on the moisture content, but no significant effect on the protein and fat content of tuna for both 0 and 12 hours of fish storage. In fish treated with rose extract with 2 days shelf life and rose extract with 4 days shelf life there were no bacteria grown for 12 hours, and for the fresh rose extract treatment bacterial colony grew starting from the 6 th hour

Efficiency Evaluation in Two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis under a Fuzzy Environment: A Common-Weights Approach

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been genuinely known as an impeccable technique for efficiency measurement. In practice, since many production systems such as broadcasting companies, banking and R&D activities include two processes connected in series, we have need of utilizing two-stage DEA models to identify the sources of inefficiency and explore in turn appropriate options for improving performance. The lack of the ability to generate the actual weights is not only an ongoing challenge in traditional DEA models, it can have serious repercussion for the contemporary DEA models (e.g., two-stage DEA). This paper presents a common-weights method for two-stage structures that allows us to consider equality of opportunity in a fuzzy environment when evaluating the system efficiency and the component process efficiencies. The proposed approach first seeks upper bounds on factor weights and then determines a set of common weights by a single linear programming problem. We illustrate the approach with a data set taken from the literature

Effect of Bariatric Surgery on Weight Loss, Nutritional Deficiencies, Postoperative Complications and Adherence to Dietary and Lifestyle Recommendations: A retrospective cohort study from Bahrain

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of bariatric surgery on degree of weight loss, as well as the prevalence of nutritional deficiencies, postoperative complications and adherence to dietary and lifestyle recommendations in a cohort of patients from Bahrain. Methods: This retrospective cohort study took place between March and September 2018 at two hospitals in Bahrain. All adult patients who had undergone bariatric surgery between 2012–2017 were included. Sociodemographic and clinical information was collected from the patients’ medical records and during phone interviews. Results: A total of 341 patients participated in the study. The mean age was 39.82 ± 9.95 years and 67.7% were female. There was a significant relationship between postoperative body mass index and both the type of surgery and time since surgery (P = 0.025 and 0.008, respectively). While type of surgery had no significant effect on percent of excess weight loss (EWL) or percent of total weight loss (TWL), time since surgery significantly affected both of these weight loss measures (P = 0.006 and 0.001, respectively). Biochemical tests revealed haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, 25-hydroxy vitamin D, ferritin and iron deficiencies. Commonly reported complications included hair loss (59.5%), flatulence/abdominal pain (39.3%), dry skin (34.3%) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (33.1%). The level of adherence to dietary and lifestyle recommendations was high to moderate. Conclusion: Bariatric surgery was effective in accelerating EWL and TWL; however, it also resulted in complications such as nutritional deficiencies and gastrointestinal side-effects.Keywords: Bariatric Surgery; Obesity Management; Weight Loss; Gastric Bypass; Biliopancreatic Diversion; Avitaminosis; Iron-Deficiency Anemia; Bahrain

Assessment of heavy metal pollution in the Great Al-Mussaib irrigation channel

The Great Al- Mussaib Channel (GMC), in Babylon province, Iraq, has been selected as a case study to measure the concentration of nine heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Zn, Fe, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn and Co) in both water and sediments of the GMC. The latter is used as a raw water source for two cities, which reveals the importance of the current study. Where, any heavy metals pollution could cause significant health problems for the population of these cities. The obtained results revealed that the concentrations of the studied heavy metals in the water of the GMC were less than the pollution levels and followed the order: Pb < Ni < Cu < Cr < Mn < Zn < Fe. It is noteworthy to highlight that the concentrations of Co and Cd were below the detectable limits. Additionally, the results obtained from the analyses of the studied sediment samples showed, according to the values of Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), that the concentrations of studied metals were less than the pollution levels (except for a few cases) and followed the order: Cd < Co < Cu < Pb < Ni < Cr < Zn < Mn < Fe

High-Density Flexible Parylene-Based Multielectrode Arrays for Retinal and Spinal Cord Stimulation

Novel flexible parylene-based high-density electrode arrays have been developed for functional electrical stimulation in retinal and spinal cord applications. These electrode arrays are microfabricated according to single-metal-layer and, most recently, dual-metal-layer processes. A new heat-molding process has been implemented to conform electrode arrays to approximate the curvature of canine retinas, and chronic implantation studies have been undertaken to study the mechanical effects of parylene-based prostheses on the retina, with excellent results to date. Electrode arrays have also been implanted and tested on the spinal cords of murine models, with the ultimate goal of facilitation of locomotion after spinal cord injury; these arrays provide a higher density and better spatial control of stimulation and recording than is typically possible using traditional fine-wire electrodes. Spinal cord stimulation typically elicited three muscle responses, an early (direct), a middle (monosynaptic), and a late (polysynaptic) response, classified based on latency after stimulation. Stimulation at different rostrocaudal levels of the cord yielded markedly different muscle responses, highlighting the need for such high-density arrays

Liver PPARα is crucial for whole-body fatty acid homeostasis and is protective against NAFLD.

OBJECTIVE: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) is a nuclear receptor expressed in tissues with high oxidative activity that plays a central role in metabolism. In this work, we investigated the effect of hepatocyte PPARα on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). DESIGN: We constructed a novel hepatocyte-specific PPARα knockout (Pparα(hep-/-)) mouse model. Using this novel model, we performed transcriptomic analysis following fenofibrate treatment. Next, we investigated which physiological challenges impact on PPARα. Moreover, we measured the contribution of hepatocytic PPARα activity to whole-body metabolism and fibroblast growth factor 21 production during fasting. Finally, we determined the influence of hepatocyte-specific PPARα deficiency in different models of steatosis and during ageing. RESULTS: Hepatocyte PPARα deletion impaired fatty acid catabolism, resulting in hepatic lipid accumulation during fasting and in two preclinical models of steatosis. Fasting mice showed acute PPARα-dependent hepatocyte activity during early night, with correspondingly increased circulating free fatty acids, which could be further stimulated by adipocyte lipolysis. Fasting led to mild hypoglycaemia and hypothermia in Pparα(hep-/-) mice when compared with Pparα(-/-) mice implying a role of PPARα activity in non-hepatic tissues. In agreement with this observation, Pparα(-/-) mice became overweight during ageing while Pparα(hep-/-) remained lean. However, like Pparα(-/-) mice, Pparα(hep-/-) fed a standard diet developed hepatic steatosis in ageing. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, these findings underscore the potential of hepatocyte PPARα as a drug target for NAFLD

Guidance on Noncorticosteroid Systemic Immunomodulatory Therapy in Noninfectious Uveitis : Fundamentals Of Care for UveitiS (FOCUS) Initiative

Supplemental material available at www.aaojournal.org. Supported by AbbVie, Inc., and the Fundamentals of Care for Uveitis Initiative National Faculty. This manuscript was developed subsequent to an AbbVie-sponsored literature review of noninfectious, nonanterior uveitis. The meeting was conducted to understand the available literature regarding the management of patients with noninfectious, nonanterior uveitis. The program involved a total of 139 experts from 28 countries, who were selected for participation by AbbVie. However, AbbVie was not involved in the development of the manuscript. The authors maintained complete control over the content and this manuscript reflects the opinions of the authors. AbbVie selected the discussion participants and reviewed the final manuscript draft for scientific accuracy, but the authors determined the final content. All authors made substantial contributions to the article or critically revised it for important intellectual content and approved the final manuscript. AbbVie provided funding to invited participants, including honoraria for their attendance at the meetings. Travel to and from the meetings was reimbursed. No payments were made to the authors for the development of this manuscript. Dhinakaran Sambandan, PhD, and Shula Sarner, PhD, of Lucid Partners, Burleighfield House, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, provided medical writing and editorial support to the authors in the development of this manuscript; financial support for these services was provided by AbbVie. AbbVie reviewed the manuscript, but was not involved in the methodology, data collection and analysis, or completion of this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

PCR clonality detection in Hodgkin lymphoma

B-cell clonality detection in whole tissue is considered indicative of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). We tested frozen tissue of 24 classical Hodgkin lymphomas (cHL) with a varying tumor cell load with the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer sets for IGH and IGK gene rearrangement (BIOMED-2). A clonal population was found in 13 cases with the IGH FR1 and/or FR2/FR3 PCRs. Using the IGK-VJ and IGK-DE PCRs, an additional six cases had a dominant clonal cell population, resulting in a detection rate of 79% in frozen tissue. Of 12 cases, also the formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue was tested. Surprisingly, in eight of the 12 FFPE cases with acceptable DNA quality (allowing PCR amplification of >200 nt fragments), the IGK multiplex PCRs performed better in detecting clonality (six out of eight clonal IGK rearrangements) than the IGH PCRs (four out of nine clonal rearrangements), despite a rather large amplicon size. There was no evidence of B-cell lymphoma during follow-up of 1 to 6 years and no correlation was found between the presence of a clonal result and Epstein–Barr virus in the tumor cells. Our results indicate that the present routine PCR methods are sensitive enough to detect small numbers of malignant cells in cHL. Therefore, the presence of a clonal B-cell population does not differentiate between cHL and NHL