Determination of ethanol in foods and beverages by magnetic stirring-assisted aqueous extraction coupled with GC-FID: A validated method for halal verification.

An in-house method, employing magnetic stirring-assisted aqueous extraction combined with gas chromatography-flame ionization detector, for determination of ethanol in different foods and beverages was validated according to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard. Validation parameters, including selectivity, method limits of detection (approx. 0.006 mg/g) and quantification (approx. 0.02 mg/g), linearity (R2 of >0.999), trueness (relative biases of <3%), accuracy (recoveries of 96-105%), and precision (relative standard deviations of <5%), were satisfactory. The proposed method was as accurate and precise as and more sensitive than the AOAC method 2016.12, with estimated relative expanded uncertainties of around 8% for all samples. The validated method was successfully applied for determination of ethanol in 108 commercially processed foods and beverages, and it could be used for halal verification. Accordingly, this study provided a reliable method for routine quantitative analysis of ethanol in processed foods and beverages to ensure their halal integrity prior to halal certification.

Characteristics of physiological data during asymmetric gait of healthy subjects using a two-belt treadmill.

BACKGROUND: Mobile rehabilitation systems for patients with gait disorder are being developed. Safety functions to prevent patients from falling are considered during product development; however, few studies have been conducted on systems that have been prevalidated for healthy adults prior to application to patients. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed the characteristics of lower extremity muscles and foot pressure in healthy adults during unbalanced walking with differences in the speed of left and right speed using a two-belt treadmill. METHODS: Twenty subjects performed gait motions with a difference in the weight support conditions (0% and 30%) and the left and right lower limb speeds (1-3 km/h). Each subject's muscular activities and foot pressure signals were collected. The gait patterns of the faster side exhibit similar characteristics to the paralyzed leg, and the slower side is similar to the non-paralyzed leg. RESULTS: Weight-supporting healthy subjects showed asymmetric gait patterns, similar to hemiplegic patients, because of the difference in the speed of the left and right side. CONCLUSIONS: The quantitative results can be used to develop a training protocol for two-belt treadmills with differently controlled left and right speeds for gait rehabilitation in hemiplegic patients.

Blood eosinophils may predict radiographic sinus opacification in patients with chronic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: The association between chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and chronic rhinitis remains unclear. The aim of this study was to estimate the predictive factors for sinus opacification in chronic rhinitis patients without obvious CRS. METHODS: We retrospectively studied a total of 332 adult patients with chronic rhinitis who visited our clinic from January 2015 to December 2017. All of the patients underwent endoscopic examination, allergy test, and osteomeatal-unit computed tomography. The subjects were assigned to the normal sinus (NS) group (Lund-Mackay score [LMS] <5) and sinus opacification (SO) group (LMS ≥5). RESULTS: A total of 288 patients were eligible for this study. Of them, 183 (63.5%) were classified in the NS group and 105 (36.5%) in the SO group. Total immunoglobulin E (IgE) level and peripheral blood eosinophil count were significantly higher in the SO than NS group (p = 0.031 and p < 0.0001, respectively). Using Pearson correlation coefficients, we determined that eosinophil count had a positive correlation with the LMS (r = 0.282). In logistic analysis, the interquartile range increase (0.19 × 109 /L) of the eosinophil count was significantly associated with SO (odds ratio [OR] 1.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30 to 2.39). After adjusting for age, gender, smoking, drinking, and underlying disease, the interquartile range increase of the eosinophil count increased the odds of SO to 1.69-fold; this increase was statistically significant (p = 0.007; 95% CI, 1.17 to 2.43). CONCLUSION: Peripheral blood eosinophil count is an independent predictor of CRS in patients with chronic rhinitis.

Potential of anaerobic digestion for material recovery and energy production in waste biomass from a poultry slaughterhouse.

This study was carried out to assess the material and energy recovery by organic solid wastes generated from a poultry slaughterhouse. In a poultry slaughterhouse involving the slaughtering of 100,000 heads per day, poultry manure & feather from the mooring stage, blood from the bleeding stage, intestine residue from the evisceration stage, and sludge cake from the wastewater treatment plant were discharged at a unit of 0.24, 4.6, 22.8, and 2.2 Mg day(-1), consecutively. The amount of nitrogen obtained from the poultry slaughterhouse was 22.36 kg 1000 head(-1), phosphate and potash were 0.194 kg 1000 head(-1) and 0.459 kg 1000 head(-1), respectively. As regards nitrogen recovery, the bleeding and evisceration stages accounted for 28.0% and 65.8% of the total amount of recovered nitrogen. Energy recovered from the poultry slaughterhouse was 35.4 Nm(3) 1000 head(-1) as CH4. Moreover, evisceration and wastewater treatment stage occupied 88.1% and 7.2% of the total recovered CH4 amount, respectively.

Detection of antibodies against the rabies virus in Korean raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides koreensis).

Rabies has been reported in dogs, cattle, and raccoon dogs in Korea, especially in the provinces of Gyeonggi and Gangwon. The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of the rabies in wild Korean raccoon dogs by using 50 blood samples collected in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces. Antibodies against rabies were measured by using a fluorescent antibody virus neutralization test. Of the 50 blood samples tested, 20 raccoon dogs (40%) tested positive. Seropositive animals were distributed in Paju, Yangpyeong, Goyang, Yangju, Yanggu, and Hoengseong cities.