Physical and antimicrobial properties of starch-PVA blend films as affected by the incorporation of natural antimicrobial agents

This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Coatings[EN] In this work, active films based on starch and PVA (S:PVA ratio of 2:1) were developed by incorporating neem (NO) and oregano essential oils (OEO). First, a screening of the antifungal effectiveness of different natural extracts (echinacea, horsetail extract, liquid smoke and neem seed oil) against two fungus (P. expansum and A. niger) was carried out. The effect of NO and OEO incorporation on the films¿ physical and antimicrobial properties was analyzed. Only composite films containing OEO exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activity. Antibacterial activity occurred at low OEO concentration (6.7%), while antifungal effect required higher doses of OEO in the films. Incorporation of oils did not notably affect the water sorption capacity and water vapor barrier properties of S-PVA films, but reduced their transparency and gloss, especially at the highest concentrations. The mechanical response of the S-PVA films was also negatively affected by oil incorporation but this was only relevant at the highest oil ratio (22%). S-PVA films with 6.7% of OEO exhibited the best physical properties, without significant differences with respect to the S-PVA matrix, while exhibiting antibacterial activity. Thus, the use of OEO as a natural antimicrobial incorporated into starch-PVA films represents a good and novel alternative in food packaging applications.The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad throughout the project AGL2013-42989-R. Amalia Cano also thanks the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte for the FPU grant.Cano Embuena, AI.; Cháfer Nácher, MT.; Chiralt, A.; González Martínez, MC. (2016). Physical and antimicrobial properties of starch-PVA blend films as affected by the incorporation of natural antimicrobial agents. Foods. 5(3):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods5010003S1175

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Not AvailableConjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a naturally occurring bioactive fatty acid in meat and fats of ruminant animals. CLA is gaining much attention due to its nutritional and therapeutic properties. In this study, the presence of CLA in fat and muscle tissues of sheep, goat, and buffalo was established. The CLA content of a large number of fat samples (N=140) was analyzed by measuring the UV-VIS absorbance at 233 nm and comparing with the standard CLA absorbance curve. GC/FID and GC/MS were used for further used for quantification and confirmation. Results showed a CLA concentration of 2.5 to 8.5 mg/g fat and 1.4 to 3.7 mg/g of meat in different ruminant species. Further, rendered fat had a significantly (P<0.05) higher CLA than meat and fat samples. Gas chromatography and mass-spectrometry studies confirmed the presence of CLA in the samples analyzed.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableAn experiment was conducted in Deccani ram lambs to study the effect of supplementing different levels of zinc (Zn) in the diet on growth performance, feed intake, carcass characteristics and meat quality. Twenty-four weaned native Deccani ram lambs weighing around 12-15 kg were divided into four groups of six each. They were fed with adlib finely chopped maize straw and concentrate feed @ 1% of body weight for 120 days. Concentrate feed offered to different groups differed in the zinc content which was supplemented in the form of ZnSO4.7H2O. Group 1 was used as negative control where no mineral mixture was added in the concentrate mixture. In Group 2 (control), mineral mixture was used @ 2%. In group 3 and 4, in addition to mineral mixture, ZnSO4.7H2O was added @ 70g and 140g per 100 kg concentrate mixture respectively. Feed intake and body weights of animals were recorded during the entire experimental period. After the feeding trial, animals were slaughtered to study the carcass characteristics and meat quality parameters. The results indicated that additional zinc supplementation did not show any effect (P>0.05) on feed intake or body weight gain between groups. Carcass characteristics were also similar (P>0.05) between the groups There was significant (P<0.01) decrease in shear force value with increased Zn level in the diet indicating that tenderness of meat was influenced by Zn supplementation in sheep diets.Institut

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Not AvailableAn experiment was conducted on 24 male growing Nellore lambs with uniform body weight (15.75 ± 0.47 kg) which were randomly divided into four groups of six animals each. These animals were supplemented with 0, 0.45, 0.9 and 1.8 ppm Selenium, respectively by adding inorganic selenium in the form of sodium selenite in concentrate mixture .The humoral immune response against enterotoxaemia was higher in the selenium supplemented lambs than the unsupplemented lambs. There was a significant difference (p<0.05) among the groups for the humoral immune response. The titre values were highest in the group supplemented with selenium at 1.8 ppm (T4). The cell mediated immune response was significantly different (p<0.05) among the groups and the skin fold thickness (mm) was highest in the group supplemented with selenium at 1.8 ppm (T4) after 24 h of injection. (PDF) Effect of different dietary levels of selenium on immunity in growing Nellore ram lambs. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280804944_Effect_of_different_dietary_levels_of_selenium_on_immunity_in_growing_Nellore_ram_lambs [accessed Sep 24 2018].Not Availabl

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Not AvailableSUMMARY A field study was conducted in the Nellore sheep breeding tract on growth parameters of 447 Nellore (jodipi) ram lambs, out of which 30 lambs were fed on traditional grazing (control) and 417 lambs on natural grazing along with nutrient supplementation (treated) i.e. feeding of balanced concentrate feed. Average initial body weight of the lambs under control group and treated group were 13.60 ± 0.58 kg and 13.38 ± 0.07 kg, respectively. After 90 days of rearing, lambs under treated group showed better growth rates with significantly (P < 0.01) heavier final average body weight (23.11±0.19 g) as compared to those of control group (22.05±0.11 kg). Growth studies revealed that ram lambs fed on natural grazing along with nutrient supplementation (treated) showed significantly higher average daily gain. Carcass studies also revealed that dressing percentage, cut up parts yield and byproducts yield were also better in lambs under treated group compared to those of control group due to better nutritional status in supplemented lambs. This study was part of field demonstration trials to farmers on benefits of growing ram lambs to optimum weight and nutritional intervention for getting higher growth rate.Not Availabl

Experience and perspectives of infection prevention staff of the COVID-19 response in Australian hospitals

BACKGROUND: Hospital infection prevention and control (IPC) staff have played a key role in adapting and implementing jurisdictional COVID-19 policy during the current pandemic. We aimed to describe the experiences of IPC staff in Australian hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform future pandemic preparedness plans. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving an online survey distributed to IPC practitioners employed in Australian hospitals. Survey content was informed by in-depth interviews, and addressed work conditions, redeployed workforce, personal protective equipment, communication, and guidelines. Participants were recruited through the mailing lists of Australasian College of Infection Prevention and Control and the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases. RESULTS: We received fully or partially completed responses from 160 participants, including 38 (24%) and 122 (76%) with nursing and medical backgrounds, respectively. Respondents reported access to sufficient information about PPE (75%, 114/152), PPE was of sufficient quantity (77%, 117/152) and was of sufficient quality (70%, 106/152). Barriers to infection prevention guideline implementation included frequently changing guidelines (57%, 84/148), timing of updates (65%, 96/148) and contradictory sources of information (64%, 95/148). Respondents described a need for better communication channels from government authorities to hospital IPC teams. All respondents described an increase in workload leading to difficulty completing work (63%, 97/154) and feeling burnt out (48%, 74/154). CONCLUSIONS: These data identify avoidable barriers to implementation of COVID-19 infection prevention guidance in Australian hospitals. These findings can inform future national preparedness strategies

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Comparative performance analysis and complementary triode based CMFB circuits for fully differential class AB symmetrical OTAs with low power consumption

In this paper we extend the figures of merit for class AB symmetrical OTAs to the fully differential case and compare topologies from the literature. This analysis shows that the power consumption of the CMFB can have a significant role in determining the efficiency of the OTA, but on the other hand a CMFB is needed both to set the desired output common mode voltage and to improve the CMRR. We propose the complementary triode CMFB, i.e. a triode CMFB applied both at the NMOS and PMOS current mirrors, as suitable for class AB symmetrical OTAs, and show some case studies in deep submicron CMOS technology to assess the effectiveness of the proposed solution