Sensory quality and physicochemical evaluation of two brine pickled cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) varieties

Ajax and Vlasset gherkin (Cucumis sativus L.) varieties used in brine pickling were analyzed for its sensory attributes and physicochemical changes within 6 month of brine fermentation. Sensory characteristics (colour, texture, odour and overall acceptability) of brine fermented fruits were determined using five point hedonic scale. Uronic acid content (UA) and moisture variation were determined within 6 months. Ca and Na ion absorption was done for the fruits within fermentation and after de-brining. The results revealed that sensory perception of texture attribute among cultivars have apparent impact after brining. In view of all sensory parameters of varieties, 1st and 6th month Vlasset were obtained the highest sensory quality while the least preferred were obtained within 1st, 3rd and 6th month of Ajax. A positive correlation (0.829) between Calcium and Sodium ion absorption were noted irrespective to the variety. The data obtained from the de-bring process showed lower retention of both Calcium and Sodium ion in Ajax than Vlasset which may lead to lower sensory quality. Calcium ion level of Ajax and Vlasset varieties have declined from 54% and 16.47% respectively while Sodium level of Ajax and Vlasset have declined from 84.13% and 55.547% respectively compared to before de-brining process. Irrespective to the variety UA was continuously decreased up to 3 months while it increased in both varieties up to 6month. Vlasset was noted to have higher UA content than Ajax before and after the fermentation period. Moreover a positive correlation was observed (0.858) between moisture and UA content

Challenges in Applying Circular Economy Concepts to Food Supply Chains

In recent years, Circular Economy (CE) has captured vast global attention with regard to its potential in mitigating contemporary economic, social, and environmental challenges. This study aims to present the barriers that impede the application of CE concepts in the food supply chain (FSC) which received limited literature recognition. A systematic literature review is utilized to scrutinize challenges, resulting in 17 factors that burden CE adoption. The challenges were categorized under six subsets and were prioritized based on two perspectives: literature importance and empirical importance. A combination of literature frequency analysis and Field-Weighted Citation Impact was employed to derive the rankings related to literature importance. The pragmatic importance of challenging factors is derived using the Fuzzy Best-Worst method. Both rankings reveal that cost efficiency consideration is the most critical barrier that hinders the transition to CE in FSC. Thus, this paper highlights similarities and differences in the perspectives of academia and practicality by comparing the two prioritizations. The findings can be used to remove obstacles, create policies and strategies, and assist governments in implementing circular practices throughout FSC

Protein-retention expansion microscopy of cells and tissues labeled using standard fluorescent proteins and antibodies

Expansion microscopy (ExM) enables imaging of preserved specimens with nanoscale precision on diffraction-limited instead of specialized super-resolution microscopes. ExM works by physically separating fluorescent probes after anchoring them to a swellable gel. The first ExM method did not result in the retention of native proteins in the gel and relied on custom-made reagents that are not widely available. Here we describe protein retention ExM (proExM), a variant of ExM in which proteins are anchored to the swellable gel, allowing the use of conventional fluorescently labeled antibodies and streptavidin, and fluorescent proteins. We validated and demonstrated the utility of proExM for multicolor super-resolution (~70 nm) imaging of cells and mammalian tissues on conventional microscopes.United States. National Institutes of Health (1R01GM104948)United States. National Institutes of Health (1DP1NS087724)United States. National Institutes of Health ( NIH 1R01EY023173)United States. National Institutes of Health (1U01MH106011

Cytotoxic and Pathogenic Properties of Klebsiella oxytoca Isolated from Laboratory Animals

Klebsiella oxytoca is an opportunistic pathogen implicated in various clinical diseases in animals and humans. Studies suggest that in humans K. oxytoca exerts its pathogenicity in part through a cytotoxin. However, cytotoxin production in animal isolates of K. oxytoca and its pathogenic properties have not been characterized. Furthermore, neither the identity of the toxin nor a complete repertoire of genes involved in K. oxytoca pathogenesis have been fully elucidated. Here, we showed that several animal isolates of K. oxytoca, including the clinical isolates, produced secreted products in bacterial culture supernatant that display cytotoxicity on HEp-2 and HeLa cells, indicating the ability to produce cytotoxin. Cytotoxin production appears to be regulated by the environment, and soy based product was found to have a strong toxin induction property. The toxin was identified, by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy, as low molecular weight heat labile benzodiazepine, tilivalline, previously shown to cause cytotoxicity in several cell lines, including mouse L1210 leukemic cells. Genome sequencing and analyses of a cytotoxin positive K. oxytoca strain isolated from an abscess of a mouse, identified genes previously shown to promote pathogenesis in other enteric bacterial pathogens including ecotin, several genes encoding for type IV and type VI secretion systems, and proteins that show sequence similarity to known bacterial toxins including cholera toxin. To our knowledge, these results demonstrate for the first time, that animal isolates of K. oxytoca, produces a cytotoxin, and that cytotoxin production is under strict environmental regulation. We also confirmed tilivalline as the cytotoxin present in animal K. oxytoca strains. These findings, along with the discovery of a repertoire of genes with virulence potential, provide important insights into the pathogenesis of K. oxytoca. As a novel diagnostic tool, tilivalline may serve as a biomarker for K oxytoca-induced cytotoxicity in humans and animals through detection in various samples from food to diseased samples using LC-MS/MS. Induction of K. oxytoca cytotoxin by consumption of soy may be in part involved in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disease

STUDY ON MODERN METHODS OF CONSTRUCTIONS USED IN SRI LANKA

With the end of world war two, the demand for building construction increased together with inadequate supply of traditional constructions. To cater the increased demand the modern methods of constructions (MMC) came to practice as it yields high quality and less construction time. Nowadays the off-site MMC play a significant role in construction industry worldwide in terms clients’ fundamental needs by restraining problems in traditional brick, block constructions. However, the application of MMC seems limited and few building constructions have used MMC in the Sri Lankan construction industry. This research therefore aims to explore current practice of off-site MMC in Sri Lankan construction industry and identify the barriers in adopting MMC. Questionnaire survey has been carried out among 33 respondents including engineers, quantity surveyors and project managers to identify the applicability of off-site MMC and barriers in using off-site MMC. Data which have been gathered through the questionnaire survey have been analysed through statistical analysis and investigated that volumetric constructions are mostly used for single storey temporary buildings, hybrid constr uctions are mostly used for single storey office and temporary buildings while panelised constructions are highly used for single storey industrial and temporary buildings and sub-assemblies are mostly used single storey office and commercial buildings. Furthermore main barriers in implementing all above mentioned methods are public perception and poor awareness

Transimination of Quinone Imines: A Mechanism for Embedding Exogenous Redox Activity into the Nucleosome

Aminophenols can redox cycle through the corresponding quinone imines to generate ROS. The electrophilic quinone imine intermediate can react with protein thiols as a mechanism of immobilization in vivo. Here, we describe the previously unkown transimination of a quinone imine by lysine as an alternative anchoring mechanism. The redox properties of the condensation product remain largely unchanged because the only structural change to the redox nucleus is the addition of an alkyl substituent to the imine nitrogen. Transimination enables targeting of histone proteins since histones are lysine-rich but nearly devoid of cysteines. Consequently, quinone imines can be embedded in the nucleosome and may be expected to produce ROS in maximal proximity to the genome.Agilent Technologie