A participatory physical and psychosocial intervention for balancing the demands and resources among industrial workers (PIPPI): study protocol of a cluster-randomized controlled trial

Background: Need for recovery and work ability are strongly associated with high employee turnover, well-being and sickness absence. However, scientific knowledge on effective interventions to improve work ability and decrease need for recovery is scarce. Thus, the present study aims to describe the background, design and protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce need for recovery and improve work ability among industrial workers. Methods/Design: A two-year cluster randomized controlled design will be utilized, in which controls will also receive the intervention in year two. More than 400 workers from three companies in Denmark will be aimed to be cluster randomized into intervention and control groups with at least 200 workers (at least 9 work teams) in each group. An organizational resources audit and subsequent action planning workshop will be carried out to map the existing resources and act upon initiatives not functioning as intended. Workshops will be conducted to train leaders and health and safety representatives in supporting and facilitating the intervention activities. Group and individual level participatory visual mapping sessions will be carried out allowing team members to discuss current physical and psychosocial work demands and resources, and develop action plans to minimize strain and if possible, optimize the resources. At all levels, the intervention will be integrated into the existing organization of work schedules. An extensive process and effect evaluation on need for recovery and work ability will be carried out via questionnaires, observations, interviews and organizational data assessed at several time points throughout the intervention period. Discussion: This study primarily aims to develop, implement and evaluate an intervention based on the abovementioned features which may improve the work environment, available resources and health of industrial workers, and hence their need for recovery and work ability

Synthesis and characterisation of Mānuka and rosemary oil-based nano-entities and their application in meat

Mānuka (MO) and rosemary oils (RO) -containing nanoemulsions and nanocapsules made of sodium alginate and whey protein, were designed and compared for their antioxidant effect. Mānuka oil-nanoemulsions and nanocapsules had smaller particle sizes (343 and 330 nm), less negative zeta potential (-12 mV and -10 mV), higher phenolic content, and antiradical characteristics than RO-nano-entities. However, nano-entities of both oils showed more thermostability and sustained release than free oils. Further, the antioxidant effect of essential oils and their nano-entities was compared against sodium nitrite (SN)-added and without antioxidants-added (controls) and Wagyu and crossbred beef pastes (14 days refrigerated storage). No significant difference among MO, RO and their nano-entities was noticed in crossbred pastes, while in Wagyu, nanoemulsions showed the lowest oxidation values than controls and SN-added pastes. Hence, nano-entities can be alternatives to chemical preservatives as natural antioxidants in meat preservation, along with improved thermal stability and release than free oils.fals

Multitarget preservation technologies for chemical-free sustainable meat processing

Due to the growing consumer demand for safe and naturally processed meats, the meat industry is seeking novel methods to produce safe-to-consume meat products without affecting their sensory appeal. The green technologies can maintain the sensory and nutritive characteristics and ensure the microbial safety of processed meats and, therefore, can help to reduce the use of chemical preservatives in meat products. The use of chemical additives, especially nitrites in processed meat products, has become controversial because they may form carcinogenic N-nitrosamines, a few of which are suspected as cancer precursors. Thus, the objective of reducing or eliminating nitrite is of great interest to meat researchers and industries. This review, for the first time, discusses the influence of processing technologies such as microwave, irradiation, high-pressure thermal processing (HPTP) and multitarget preservation technology on the quality characteristics of processed meats, with a focus on their sensory quality. These emerging technologies can help in the alleviation of ingoing nitrite or formed nitrosamine contents in meat products. The multitarget preservation technology is an innovative way to enhance the shelf life of meat products through the combined use of different technologies/natural additives. The challenges and opportunities associated with the use of these technologies for processing meat are also reviewed.fals

Antibacterial efficacy and possible mechanism of action of 2-hydroxyisocaproic acid (HICA)

The exploitation of natural antimicrobial compounds that can be used in food preservation has been fast tracked by the development of antimicrobial resistance to existing antimicrobials and the increasing consumer demand for natural food preservatives. 2-hydroxyisocaproic acid (HICA) is a natural compound produced through the leucine degradation pathway and is produced in humans and by certain microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria and Clostridium species. The present study investigated the antibacterial efficacy of HICA against some important bacteria associated with food quality and safety and provided some insights into its possible antimicrobial mechanisms against bacteria. The results revealed that HICA was effective in inhibiting the growth of tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria including a multi-drug resistant P. aeruginosa strain in this study. The underlying mechanism was investigated by measuring the cell membrane integrity, membrane permeability, membrane depolarisation, and morphological and ultrastructural changes after HICA treatment in bacterial cells. The evidence supports that HICA exerts its activity via penetration of the bacterial cell membranes, thereby causing depolarisation, rupture of membranes, subsequent leakage of cellular contents and cell death. The current study suggests that HICA has potential to be used as an antibacterial agent against food spoilage and food-borne pathogenic bacteria, targeting the bacterial cell envelope.fals

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

High Rate of Hypothyroidism in Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients Co-Infected with HIV in Mumbai, India.

Adverse events (AEs) among HIV-infected patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) receiving anti-TB and antiretroviral treatments (ART) are under-researched and underreported. Hypothyroidism is a common AE associated with ethionamide, p-aminosalicylic acid (PAS), and stavudine. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of and risk factors associated with hypothyroidism in HIV/MDR-TB co-infected patients

Non-Targeted Metabolomic Profiling Identifies Metabolites with Potential Antimicrobial Activity from an Anaerobic Bacterium Closely Related to Terrisporobacter Species.

This work focused on the metabolomic profiling of the conditioned medium (FS03CM) produced by an anaerobic bacterium closely related to Terrisporobacter spp. to identify potential antimicrobial metabolites. The metabolome of the conditioned medium was profiled by two-channel Chemical Isotope Labelling (CIL) LC-MS. The detected metabolites were identified or matched by conducting a library search using different confidence levels. Forty-eight significantly changed metabolites were identified with high confidence after the growth of isolate FS03 in cooked meat glucose starch (CMGS) medium. Some of the secondary metabolites identified with known antimicrobial activities were 4-hydroxyphenyllactate, 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, acetic acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, and tryptamine. Our findings revealed the presence of different secondary metabolites with previously reported antimicrobial activities and suggested the capability of producing antimicrobial metabolites by the anaerobic bacterium FS03.fals