Revisiting Mac-2-Binding Protein Glycosylation Isomer (M2BPGi) for Diagnosing High-Risk Liver Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients: A Stepwise Diagnostic Analysis.

Background: The level of liver fibrosis is the basis for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and it is necessary to adapt non-invasive liver fibrosis modalities. We aimed to investigate the use of M2BPGi as a single or combined diagnostic modality for liver fibrosis in CHB patients through a stepwise diagnostic analysis. Methods: Cross-sectional data were taken from patients between October 2021 and August 2022. Demographic data, blood profile, liver function, and liver stiffness were measured in CHB patients over 18 years old, willing to take part in the research, and had complete data. APRI, FIB-4, and AAR were calculated using the well-known formulas. Serum M2BPGi-levels were converted into a cut-off index (COI). The patients were divided into low-risk (LR) and high-risk fibrosis (HR) groups. A cut-off for each predictor variable to differentiate between the LR and HR groups was determined. The obtained cut-off was assessed for its association with the grouping of liver elastography results. Models to diagnose the liver stiffness measurement (LSM) ≥8 kPa were created and compared through multivariate and ROC analyses. Results: The number of patients that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria was 143 (HR = 65, LR = 78). The cut-off for diagnosing LSM ≥8kPa was 0.311, 0.742, 0.635, and 1.434 for APRI, FIB-4, AAR, and M2BPGi, respectively. This cut-off was significantly associated with the results of the HR and LR groupings. A multivariate analysis found that FIB4, AAR, and M2BPGi added significantly to the model. Statistically, the most optimal use of M2BPGi was combined with FIB-4, with an AUC of 0.835. Conclusions: The optimal cut-off of M2BPGi for diagnosing high-risk liver fibrosis in this study was 1.434. M2BPGi should be used with FIB-4 as a diagnostic tool for diagnosing liver fibrosis, especially in the absence of a liver biopsy or elastography.

Impact of hygiene and sanitation in ruminant slaughterhouses on the bacterial contamination of meat in Central Java Province, Indonesia.

Background and Aim: Ruminant slaughterhouse is one of the food-producing units to meet the protein demand of the people in Central Java. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of sanitation and hygiene in ruminant slaughterhouses in Central Java based on their veterinary control number(NKV) certification and the microbiological quality of the meat produced. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted from September 2021 to December 2021. Thirty-three priority slaughterhouses, representing 33 districts/cities in Central Java Province, were assessed for their hygiene and sanitation practices according to the NKV criteria mandated by The Minister of Agriculture Regulation No. 11/2020 on NKV Certification for Animal Production Unit. Sixty-six meat samples from these slaughterhouses were obtained for microbiological analysis. The total plate count (TPC), counts of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and the presence of Salmonella spp. were determined. The microbiological tests followed the standard national testing procedure according to the Indonesian National Standard 2897:2008 on Method of Analysis for Microbiological Contaminants in Meat, Eggs, Milk, and its derived products. Results: The sanitation hygiene assessment of the 33 slaughterhouses showed that seven (21.2%) met the NKV criteria level 3, while the others did not. The average TPC of the meat samples was 1.57 × 105 CFU/g (4.93 log10), the S. aureus count was 7.6 CFU/g, and the E. coli count was 9.2 most probable number/g. Only one sample (1.50%) tested positive for Salmonella spp. A comprehensive assessment comparing the NKV criteria with the level of meat contamination showed that the ruminant slaughterhouses that satisfied the NKV criteria had more meat samples (85.71%), on average, that complied with the Indonesian National Standard for microbial contamination compared with those that did not satisfy the NKV criteria (69.23%). The odds ratio was 2.67. Conclusion: Most of the priority ruminant slaughterhouses in Central Java did not meet the NKV standards. The research only looks at the level of hygiene sanitation according to NKV standards in slaughterhouses, the level of contamination produced does not reflect the level of the consumer; therefore, the level of contamination should continue to be investigated at the post-production stage.

Enhanced adsorption capacity of activated carbon over thermal oxidation treatment for methylene blue removal: kinetics, equilibrium, thermodynamic, and reusability studies.

Activated carbon (AC) is an effective and inexpensive adsorbent material for dye removal, but it cannot always be used repeatedly. Furthermore, the adsorbed dyes with toxicity usually remain on its surface. In this study, a thermal air oxidation process was used to modify the surface of AC and decompose adsorbed methylene blue (MB). The behavior of this process on spent AC was investigated using TGA-DTA, while the degradation of MB before and after the regeneration process was analyzed using a carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur (CHNS) analyzer. It was discovered that thermal air oxidation could promote the formation of oxygenated functional groups on AC produced from steam-activated carbon coconut shell (SACCS), which when treated at 350 °C (denoted as SACCS-350), demonstrated an adsorption capacity 2.8 times higher than the non-air-oxidized AC (SACCS). The key parameters for the MB adsorption of SACCS and SACCS-350, such as kinetics, equilibrium, and thermodynamics, were compared. Moreover, the SACCS-350 could be reused at least 3 times for the adsorption of MB. Based on these results, thermal air oxidation treatment could successfully improve the adsorption performance of AC and regenerate spent AC through a reasonable and environmentally friendly process compared to other regeneration methods.

Diagnoses of two new species of Parosphromenus (Teleostei: Osphronemidae) from Bangka Island and Kalimantan, Indonesia.

We describe two new species of Parosphromenus from Indonesia based on morphological and molecular diagnoses. Parosphromenus juelinae, sp. nov., occurs on Bangka Island. Its unpaired fin coloration is similar to that of P. deissneri, but it differs from the latter in having a rounded caudal fin with a non-filamentous branched median ray and a smaller anal fin. Although the new species has the same caudal fin structure as P. bintan, it can be distinguished from the latter by its distinct unpaired fin coloration and the intense red color on the body flanks. Parosphromenus kishii, sp. nov., is found only in a single river system in Kalimantan Tengah. It is distinguished from all other congeners by the unique coloration of its caudal fin. A phylogenetic tree based on the cytochrome b (cytb) gene indicates that the two new species are distinct monophyletic groups constituting distinct phylogenetic branches from their congeners. Cytochrome b Genetic distances between Parosphromenus juelinae, sp. nov., and Parosphromenus kishii, sp. nov., and the other taxa in the phylogenetic tree range from 2.44% to 19.52% and from 8.65% to 17.28%, respectively.