Proximate Composition and Sensory Evaluation Between Artificially Ripened and Naturally Ripened Pineapples (Ananas comosus)

The number of artificially ripened pineapples is outnumbered than the naturally ripened pineapples. However, there is a lack of understanding between artificially ripened and naturally ripened pineapples. Thus the inquiry was anticipated to explore the physicochemical changes and organoleptic acceptability of the naturally ripened and artificially ripened pineapples. Farmers used different chemicals such as calcium carbide, ethylene, besides growth hormones to reduce production loss. Here we evaluated the content of moisture, ash, protein, fat, crude fiber, reducing sugar, total sugar, titratable acidity, sucrose, and vitamin C in both naturally ripened and artificially ripened pineapples. Artificially ripened pineapples showed a significantly lower vitamin C than naturally ripened ones, but arsenic content was nil in both samples. In the case of color and appearance, there was no significant difference between the two samples, but in case of the other organoleptic properties, such as flavor, sweetness, sourness, the natural one was more acceptable. Thus naturally ripened pineapples are more beneficial to consumers than artificially ripened ones.

The Effect of Adding Protected Amino Acids in the Rumen (Methionine and Lysine and their Mixtures) on Some Physiological Characteristics of Male Arabi Lambs

This study was conducted at the animal field of the Agriculture College / University of Basra / Karma Ali site for the period from 7/10/2019 to 1/5/2020 to investigation the effect of adding protected amino acids (methionine and lysine and their mixtures) on some physiological trails of male Arabi lambs. Sixteen male lambs with an average weight of (27.95) kg and an age of 5-6 months were selected, and randomly divided into four group (4 animals per group). The results indicated that there were no significant differences in the concentration of hemoglobin, packed cell volume, the number of red and white blood cells, cholesterol, triglycerides and the activity of the liver enzyme (ALT and AST) between the different treatments, while there was a significant (p <0.05) increase in the total protein and albumin concentration in the fourth treatment compared with the first treatment (control), while, there was a significant decrease (p <0.05) in the urea concentration for the fourth, third and second treatments compared with the first treatment. The concentrations of glucose, thyroxine and growth hormone increased significantly (p <0.05) in the fourth and second treatment compared with the first treatment. However, it can be concluded from the study that feeding the male lambs with 5g methionine or mixing it with lysine by 5g raises the concentration of glucose, growth hormones and thyroxine in the blood. Also, the levels of methionine and lysine used did not change the concentration of the studied biochemical parameters

An Overview of Microneedles: Types, Materials, Processes, Emerging Approach and Applications in Dermatology

Drug delivery through the skin by transdermal patches has a long history. Subsequent growth of transdermal science proved prominent utility of transdermal systems meant for passive diffusion of the drug. It was followed by the development of Iontophoresis and Sonophoresis based transdermal delivery systems. Microneedle array has now caught attention of the investigators owing to its immense utility in transdermal delivery of very large molecules with ionic and hydrophilic nature. In this technical note, we present the current scenario, applications, and recent advances in microneedle array-based delivery of the most critical molecules through the skin. The application of microneedle has widely been investigated, and these technologies are being developed for the delivery of bio-therapeutics, biomacromolecules, insulin, growth hormones, immunobiologicals, proteins, siRNA and peptides. Potential of microneedles to transform the global transdermal market is highlighted in terms of the success rate of the microneedle technologies in clinical trials reaching to the global market. The arrival of the commercial microneedle-based products in the market is highly anticipated as they have potential to portray remarkable impact on clinical medicine in near future.

SECONDARY METABOLITES WITH ANTIBIOTIC ACTIVITY OF MARINE ACTINOBACTERIA

Marine actinobacteria are active producers and an unused rich source of various biologically active secondary metabolites, such as antibiotics, antitumor, antiviral and antiinflammatory compounds, biopesticides, plant growth hormones, pigments, enzymes, enzyme inhibitors.In this review describes data from current literature sources for the period from 2017 to 2021 about various bioactive compounds that produce marine actinobacteria, their antibiotic activity and biotechnological potential, the main groups of secondary metabolites and their producers.

A possible case of Gigantism and/or Acromegaly in a 15th-17th century woman from Đurine Ćelije, Serbia

Endocrine disorders during growth and development that occur due to the secretion of excessive growth hormones are very rare in archaeological and modern populations. The human skeletal remains analyzed in this paper belong to an unusually tall woman, approximately 35-40 years of age, buried at the Đurine ćelije site (15th-17th century) in Serbia, who may have suffered from overgrowth syndrome. Individuals with this condition have an unusually tall stature and accompanying pathological changes related to organ systems and joint diseases. The aim of this paper is to show how the aforementioneddisorder affected the health status of an individual (grave No. 7a) and the performance of daily activities, but also the attitude of the community towards deformities during life and after death. Differential diagnosis was performed since otherdiseases tend to lead to similar skeletal changes. During the analysis, changes in growth were noticed, and her stature was determined to be 186.42 cm. Compared to the documented stature of post-medieval population from this period, theskeletal remains show a significant deviation from the average, especially when it comes to female individuals. Other pathological changes observed in this woman are osteoarthritis, spondyloarthropathy, and periosteal new bone formation.

Obesity, Diabetes, and Increased Cancer Progression

Rates of obesity and diabetes have increased significantly over the past decades and the prevalence is expected to continue to rise further in the coming years. Many observations suggest that obesity and diabetes are associated with an increased risk of developing several types of cancers, including liver, pancreatic, endometrial, colorectal, and post-menopausal breast cancer. The path towards developing obesity and diabetes is affected by multiple factors, including adipokines, inflammatory cytokines, growth hormones, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia. The metabolic abnormalities associated with changes in the levels of these factors in obesity and diabetes have the potential to significantly contribute to the development and progression of cancer through the regulation of distinct signaling pathways. Here, we highlight the cellular and molecular pathways that constitute the links between obesity, diabetes, cancer risk and mortality. This includes a description of the existing evidence supporting the obesity-driven morphological and functional alternations of cancer cells and adipocytes through complex interactions within the tumor microenvironment.

Effect of Vacuum Impregnation with Sucrose and Plant Growth Hormones to Mitigate the Chilling Injury in Spinach Leaves

Vacuum impregnation (VI) has been immensely used in modifying the physicochemical properties, nutritional values and sensory attributes of fruits and vegetables. However, the metabolic consequences of the plant tissue upon impregnation have not been profoundly explored although shelf life is strongly dependent on this factor. In this study, spinach leaves were impregnated with salicylic acid (SA), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and sucrose to improve its quality and storage ability by reducing the chilling injury through the improvement of proline content. The spinach leaves were stored at 4 °C for 7 days and were analyzed at 12 h interval. Upon 1 day of impregnation, the proline content in GABA, sucrose and SA impregnated leaves was increased by 240%, 153% and 103%, respectively, while in non-impregnated leaves, the proline content was decreased by 23.8%. The chlorophyll content of GABA impregnated leaves exhibited the lowest reduction (49%) followed by sucrose (55%) and SA (57%); meanwhile, non-impregnated leaves reduced 80% of chlorophyll content at the end of storage. Sensory evaluation showed that GABA, sucrose and SA impregnated leaves respectively, obtained higher score in terms of freshness, color, texture and overall appearance as compared to non-impregnated leaves.

Endocrinology and ageing

Ageing causes changes in many hormonal areas. This chapter begins with an overview of these changes, and goes on to bone disease in the elderly, changes in growth hormones and IGF-1, differences in gonadal function and adrenal function, and then thyroid and pituitary disease in the ageing patient.