A study of Salmonella prevalence in pork value chain from pig slaughterhouses to markets in Hung Yen, Vietnam

Salmonella which exists in livestock intestine is one of important hazardous pathogens causing food poisoning, and most salmonellosis cases in humans occur due to consumption of contaminated animal origin foods such as meat and eggs. In Vietnam, pork is the most consumed meat and contamination of pork with Salmonella spp. is serious public health problem. This study aimed to trace the value chain forward from pig slaughterhouses to the markets in order to elucidate the dynamics of Salmonella contamination on pork value chain in Hung Yen, Vietnam. This survey was conducted in February 2014 in two slaughterhouses which were randomly selected from the list of slaughterhouses in Hung Yen province and swab samples were collected from 88 carcasses after split there. Out of them, 21 carcasses were traced to the markets and pork samples were collected. Microbial tests were performed for the presence of Salmonella from carcass samples at slaughterhouses. MPN was determined in addition to the presence of Salmonella for pork in markets. For comparison of two slaughterhouses, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of pig carcass samples between them (22.2% (10/45), and 27.9% (12/43), x2=0.18, df=1, p=0.71). In addition, there was also no significant difference between the prevalence on carcasses and pork (25.0% (22/88), and 28.6% (6/21), x2=0.0034, df=1, p=0.95). There was transition of status of Salmonella contamination on pork but kappa value was 0.53 which means there was substantial agreement between the prevalence in slaughterhouses and in markets. MPN of positive pork samples was in the range of <3.0 to 15 MPN/g. In Hung Yen, Salmonella prevalence on pork was high and it was suggested that the level of hygiene at meat processing was not adequate. The prevalence was kept in the same level at between slaughterhouse and market, and it was found that contamination mainly occurred before the end of slaughtering. In this study, only the slaughterhouses processing pig carcasses on the floor were studied. In considering effective improvement of hygiene, a comparison of microbiological study with the other type of slaughterhouses using hanging style, maybe needed, to examine its efficacy in hygiene, as contamination of pork with Salmonella can easily occur on the floor of slaughterhouses

International Transfer of Kaizen: Japanese Manufacturers in the Netherlands

Kaizen, the synonym for continuous improvement, is an essential component of Japanese management system. Kaizen programs have long been employed with great success in Japanese companies. Due to their origin in Japanese organisations, and their embeddedness in Japanese context, applicability of kaizen to countries with different cultures and different management styles still remains to be understood. The purpose of the research is to investigate the international transfer of kaizen. \ud Case study research was conducted among 15 Japanese manufacturers in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has been a biggest recipient of Japanese FDI since 2003 in Europe. It was found that the kaizen was transferred through four stages: preparation, communication, implementation, and integration. \ud • The first-level analysis confirms the conclusion from the literature that the major issues are low top management commitment, communication difficulties, and high labour turnover. However, the second-level analysis reveals that the use of Japanese expatriates itself turns out to be the root cause of those major problems. This study suggests that the effective approach for successful kaizen transfer is placing the local managing director who is experienced and committed to kaizen implementation. \ud • Wu and Chen (2006) state that any activity has its life cycle: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Proper regenerative inputs need to be injected before an activity declines, so that the firm’s improvement level can be moved up to a higher level. The finding suggests that a new area for improvement (e.g. quality, productivity, and delivery time) could be used as a proper regenerative input as it can provide motivation for improvement. By properly sequentially timing activity cycles, the organisation can improve overall and while maintaining employee morale. \ud • Two main external factors, not previously identified in the literature, were found: the level of eagerness of employees and the level of discipline of employees. It was also found that, based on these two factors, transferring kaizen to the Netherlands is very challenging. \ud Companies benefit from this research because it contributes to understanding how easy it will be to transfer kaizen. Having this understanding allows companies to set more realistic expectations with regard to kaizen implementation

Self-organization of hierarchical structures in nonlocally coupled replicator models

We study a simple replicator model with non-symmetric and nonlocal interactions. Hierarchical structures with prey-predator relations are self-organized from a homogeneous state, induced by the dynamical instability of nonlinear interactions.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

First-Principles Study on Leakage Current through Si/SiO2_2 Interface

The relationship between the presence of defects at the stacking structure of the Si/SiO$_2$ interface and leakage current is theoretically studied by first-principles calculation. I found that the leakage current through the interface with dangling bonds is 530 times larger than that without any defects, which is expected to lead to dielectric breakdown. The direction of the dangling bonds is closely related to the performance of the oxide as an insulator. In addition, it is proved that the termination of the dangling bonds by hydrogen atoms is effective for reducing the leakage current.Comment: 11 pages. to be published in Phys. Rev.

MUSCLE ACTIVITIES OF THE SUPPORT LEG DURING SIDE JUMP TEST FOR SPEED SKATERS

INTRODUCTION: Speed skaters often use side jump training on the ground to strengthen lower limb muscles and simulate speed skating motion. However, there were few studies on muscular loading in the side jump. The purpose of this study was to identify muscle activities of the support leg during the side jump test for speed skaters

Probing Rotation of Core-collapse Supernova with Concurrent Analysis of Gravitational Waves and Neutrinos

The next time a core-collapse supernova (SN) explodes in our galaxy, vari- ous detectors will be ready and waiting to detect its emissions of gravitational waves (GWs) and neutrinos. Current numerical simulations have successfully introduced multi-dimensional effects to produce exploding SN models, but thus far the explosion mechanism is not well understood. In this paper, we focus on an investigation of progenitor core rotation via comparison of the start time of GW emission and that of the neutronization burst. The GW and neutrino de- tectors are assumed to be, respectively, the KAGRA detector and a co-located gadolinium-loaded water Cherenkov detector, either EGADS or GADZOOKS!. Our detection simulation studies show that for a nearby supernova (0.2 kpc) we can confirm the lack of core rotation close to 100% of the time, and the presence of core rotation about 90% of the time. Using this approach there is also po- tential to confirm rotation for considerably more distant Milky Way supernova explosions.Comment: 31pages, 15figures, submit to Ap

Confirmation that Luobuma ameliorates the deterioration of antioxidant defense in senescence-accelerated mice

To determine whether Luobuma extract ameliorates the deterioration in antioxidant defense with aging, the effect of Luobuma extract was investigated in senescence-accelerated mice (SAM). In comparison with AKR/N Slc mice, a strain consistent with SAM but exhibiting normal aging, SAM treated with extract showed a lower glutathione (GSH) and glutathione/glutathione disulfide (GSH/GSSG) ratio in the liver and kidney, and increased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), a lipid peroxidation product. Administration of Luobuma extract increased the GSH level and GSH/GSSG ratio, and suppressed MDA production. On the other hand, the reduced activities of hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase participating in the glutathione redox cycle were increased significantly by administration of Luobuma extract. A significant increase in renal SOD activity was also observed. In addition, the increased level of MDA in hepatic tissue was reduced in SAM given Luobuma extract. These findings indicate that Luobuma extract helps to ameliorate oxidative stress in SAM. 羅布麻エキスが老化における酸化防御機構にいかなる影響を及ぼしているかについて,老化促進マウス(SAM)を用い検討した。SAMと同じ系統ではあるが,通常の老化過程を辿るAKR/N Slcマウスに比べ,SAMでは肝,腎組織中のグルタチオンレベルとグルタチオン/グルタチオンジスルフィド比は低下し,脂質過酸化物のマロンジアルデヒドは逆に増加していた。一方,羅布麻エキスを投与したSAMでは,これらパラメーターがいずれも改善し,グルタチオン酸化還元サイクルに関係している肝組織中のスーパーオキシドジスムターゼ,グルタチオンペルオキシダーゼ,グルタチオンレダクターゼ活性と腎組織中のスーパーオキシドジスムターゼ活性が有意に上昇していた。また肝組織中のマロンジアルデヒドも低下し,SAMで認められた酸化的ストレス状態を羅布麻エキスが緩和していた

Evaluation of Oriental medicines using a cultured renal epithelial cell line, LLC-PK_1 : Effects of Carthami Flos, Rhei Rhizoma and Astragali Radix

The effects of Carthami Flos，Rhei Rhizoma and Astragali Radix extract，which have been proved to ameliorate renal failure in rats with glycerol-induced renal failure，were examined in cell culture under three different culture conditions．Rhei Rhizoma　extract showed the most potent effect among the three crude drugs under any of the routine，hypoxia-reoxygenation and cisplatin exposure conditions employed，suggesting that its favorable effect on proximal tubule function is due to suppression　of lipid peroxidation via free radicals．In contrast，this anti-cytotoxic activity was low in Astragali Radix extract，and almost nil in Carthami Flos extract．These results indicate that Rhei Rhizoma，Astragali Radix and Carthami Flos exert their actions on different sites in the kidney