Pineapple peel extract incorporated poly(vinyl alcohol)-corn starch film for active food packaging: Preparation, characterization and antioxidant activity.

This research study explores the fabrication of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and corn starch (ST) with pineapple peel extract (PPE) as a natural antioxidant agent, which is an abundant by-product from the food processing industry via casting method. The effects of PPEs concentration (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) on the antioxidant capacity, optical, thermal, mechanical, barrier properties, and changes in PVOH-starch molecular structure of PVOH/ST films were investigated. The results revealed that with the increasing concertation of PPEs, prepared films' thickness and water vapor permeability slightly increased. Elongation at break of PVOH/ST films was also enhanced with PPEs concentration. All PPEs incorporated films exhibited enhanced thermal stability as the degradation occurred above 300 °C. The addition of PPE to PVOH/ST films remarkably increased the antioxidant properties. Finally, prepared PVOH/ST/PPE films demonstrated to be a capable material for developing active biodegradable packaging material due to its proven antioxidant activity and mechanical property, which can be helpful in the packaging of food products that gets spoiled due to oxidation reactions.

Development and characterization of PVA-starch incorporated with coconut shell extract and sepiolite clay as an antioxidant film for active food packaging applications.

An active antioxidant film was fabricated by using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and corn starch (ST) and incorporated with and 3, 5, 10, and 20% (v/v) coconut shell extract (CSE) and sepiolite clay (SP) for the first time. The microstructure and physical properties of prepared films were characterized and examined. The addition of sepiolite clay to PVA improved the elongation break 15.57 to 69.24%, and water vapor permeability increased with the addition of CSE. In addition to CSE to films, the antioxidant activity properties of the films were enhanced up to 80%. Further, increasing the amount of CSE slightly affected the color of the active films. The thermal properties of films were enhanced with the addition of CSE and SP. The dispersion of SP in the PVA matrix was affected by an increase in CSE concentration in the PVA matrix. Remarkably, PVA-ST film-based sachets successfully improved the oxidative stability of packaged soybean oil. Our results suggest PVA-ST film containing CSE and sepiolite clay can be utilized as a novel antioxidant packaging material in the food processing industry.

The Effect of Radium-223 Therapy in Agent Orange-Related Prostate Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Radium-223 (Ra-223) radioisotope has been reported to increase median survival in bone metastatic prostate carcinoma. The addition of Ra-223 to abiraterone was associated with an increased risk of bone fractures. There has been no comprehensive data for using Ra-223 in veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange (AO+). METHODS: We present a retrospective study of veterans with bone metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who received standard doses of Ra-223 and other sequential therapies at US Department of Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System in Pennsylvania from January 2014 to January 2019. Veterans were divided into 2 groups: those who were exposed to Agent Orange (AO+) and those who had no exposure (AO-). Time to study was calculated from the initiation of Ra-223. Time to skeletal-related events (SRE), progression of prostate specific antigen (PSA), bone metastasis, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were calculated in months using unpaired t test with 2-tailed P values. Median survival was calculated by Kaplan Meier R log-rank test. RESULTS: There were 34 veterans with bone metastatic CRPC: 17 veterans (50%) were AO+ and 17 veterans (50%) were AO-. The mean age of diagnosis of AO+ veterans was 62 years and 69 years (P = .005) for AO- veterans (the mean Gleason score 8.2 and 8.0, respectively [P = .71]). The median number of Ra-223 cycles was 6 (60%). Ten veterans received Ra-223 as first line (29%) and 24 veterans received Ra-223 later (71%). There were 12 SREs with median survival of 15 months. There was no difference in mean time to SRE between AO+ (8 veterans, 10.6 months) and AO- (4 veterans, 10.3 months) (P = .93). The mean time to PSA progression for AO+ was 5.4 months and AO- was 6.8 months (P = .28). Mean time to bone progression for AO+ was 7.6 months and AO- was 10.1 months (P = .16). Mean time to ALP progression for AO+ and AO- was 6.3 months and 8.7 months, respectively (P = .05). Twenty veterans (58%) had died. Median survival for Ra-223 first was 32 months and for Ra-223 later was 15 months (P = .14; hazard ratio [HR] 0.48; 95% CI, 0.17-1.3). Median survival for AO+ and AO- veterans was 12 months and 18 months, respectively (P = .15; HR, 2.0; 95% CI, 0.77-5.0). CONCLUSIONS: There was no statistical difference between AO+ and AO- veterans in terms of time to SRE, PSA, bone and ALP progression, even though there was a trend of shorter duration in AO+ veterans. There was no median survival difference between Ra-223 first vs Ra-223 later as well as between AO+ and AO- but there is a trend of worse survival in AO+ veterans.

StreptomycesInforSys: A web-enabled information repository.

UNLABELLED: Members of Streptomyces produce 70% of natural bioactive products. There is considerable amount of information available based on polyphasic approach for classification of Streptomyces. However, this information based on phenotypic, genotypic and bioactive component production profiles is crucial for pharmacological screening programmes. This is scattered across various journals, books and other resources, many of which are not freely accessible. The designed database incorporates polyphasic typing information using combinations of search options to aid in efficient screening of new isolates. This will help in the preliminary categorization of appropriate groups. It is a free relational database compatible with existing operating systems. A cross platform technology with XAMPP Web server has been used to develop, manage, and facilitate the user query effectively with database support. Employment of PHP, a platform-independent scripting language, embedded in HTML and the database management software MySQL will facilitate dynamic information storage and retrieval. The user-friendly, open and flexible freeware (PHP, MySQL and Apache) is foreseen to reduce running and maintenance cost. AVAILABILITY: www.sis.biowaves.org.