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

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

Optimization of two-stage production/inventory systems under order base stock policy with advance demand information

It is important to share demand information among the members in supply chains. In recent years, production and inventory systems with advance demand information (ADI) have been discussed, where advance demand information means the information of demand which the decision maker obtains before the corresponding actual demand arrives. Appropriate production and inventory control using demand information leads to the decrease of inventory and backlog costs. For a single stage system, the optimal base stock and release lead time have been discussed in the literature. In practical production systems the manufacturing system has multiple processes. The multiple stage production and inventory system with ADI, however, has been analyzed by simulation or assuming exponential processing time. That is, their theoretical analysis and optimization of release lead time and base stock level have little been obtained because of its difficulty. In this paper, theoretical analysis of a two-stage production inventory system with advance demand information is developed, where the processing time is assumed deterministic and identical; demand arrival process is Poisson, and an order base stock policy is adopted. Using the analytical results, optimal release lead time and optimal base stock levels for minimizing the average cost on the holding and backlog costs are explicitly derived

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

Muscle activities of the lower limb during level and uphill running

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Chiyu extract stimulates antioxidant defense ability in senescence-accelerated mice

The effect of chiyu extract on antioxidant defense alteration in senescence-accelerated mice (SAM) was examined. Comparison with AKR/N Slc mice, a strain consistent with SAM but exhibiting normal aging, showed a lower glutathione (GSH) level and glutathione/glutathione disulfide (GSH/ GSSG) ratio in the kidney and liver of SAM, whereas malondialdehyde (MDA), a lipid peroxidation product, was increased significantly. Administration of chiyu extract increased the GSH level and GSH/ GSSG ratio, and markedly suppressed MDA production. On the other hand, detection of renal enzymes related to the glutathione redox cycle showed that catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities were largely decreased in SAM, whereas chiyu extract reversed this tendency. The reduced activities of hepatic catalase and glutathione reductase were increased significantly by the extract. These findings suggest that a decline of the antioxidant defense system occurs in SAM, and that chiyu extract may have a beneficial effect in ameliorating oxidative stress or damage. 老化促進マウス(SAM)の抗酸化防御機構に対し,地楡エキスがいかなる影響を及ぼしているかについて,SAMと同じ系統ではあるが,通常の老化過程を辿るAKR/N Slcマウスと比較検討した。その結果,SAMの腎,肝グルタチオンレベルとグルクチオン/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有意に上昇していたが,地楡エキスを投与したSAMでは,これらパラメーターがいずれも改善していた。一方,グルタチオン酸化還元サイクルに関係している酵素のうち,腎ではカタラーゼとグルクチオンペルオキシダーゼ活性がSAMで著しく低下し,地楡エキス投与によってこれら酵素の活性が回復していた。肝においても低下していたカタラーゼとグルタチオンレダクターゼ活性がエキス投与により著しく回復していた。これら所見は,SAMで認められる抗酸化防御系の低下が,地楡エキスによって是正されることを示唆するものである

Effect of Luobuma leaves against oxidation of low-density lipoprotein : a cell culture assay

In a previous study, we observed an improvement in the atherosclerosis index, together with a decrease in blood cholesterol, in rats given Luobuma extract orally and fed a high-cholesterol diet. The present study was designed to examine the function of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in atherosclerotic lesions, using cultured cells. When endothelial cells were cultured with LDL in the presence of Cu^, the release of thiobarbituric acid (TBA) -reactive substance and lactic dehydrogenase into the culture medium was increased, with a decrease in cell viability. However, when Luobuma extract was also present in the culture medium, changes in these parameters were more favorable. In another in vitro system using macrophages, the levels of TBA-reactive substance, total cholesterol and esterified cholesterol were all significantly lower in the presence of Luobuma extract than in its absence. There was also morphological evidence that foam cell formation through incorporation of oxidized LDL was suppressed. These findings indicate that Luobuma suppresses the progression of atherosclerosis, in which oxidized LDL is involved. 先に,高コレステロール食投与ラットに羅布麻エキスを経口投与した場合,高コレステロール血症の低下とともに動脈硬化指数の改善作用が認められたので,今回,粥状動脈硬化病変への酸化LDLの機能を細胞を用い検寸寸した。まず内皮細胞にLDLとCu^を添加して培養した場合,培地中へのチオバルビツール酸反応物質,総LDHの放出が増加して,細胞生存率の低下が観察された。しかし羅布麻エキス添加群ではこれらパラメータがいずれも改善し,またマクロファージを用いた系でもチオバルビツール酸反応物質,コレステロールエステル,コレステロールエステル/遊離コレステロール比がいずれも無添加群より有意に低下し,形態学的な変化も酸化LDLのとり込みに伴う泡沫化の形成を抑制する知見が得られた。このことから,羅布麻は酸化LDLが関与する動脈硬化の進展過程を抑制することが明らかとなった

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.