Food fraud: A menace to public health

Food is a basic requirement of people that helps in providing proper nutrition and energy for growth and repair of tissues. However, food which provides numerous health benefits now comes in adulterated form. Some of the most frequent products to be fraudulent are common to many households – olive oil, cheese, honey, herbs and spices etc. The greed of industries to gain higher profits within short period of time makes them to indulge in malpractices such as food fraud and involves such techniques for food fraud which go undetected even after using laboratory techniques. There are manifold analytical techniques to detect food fraud in laboratory but consumers are not able to detect it at home scale. Moreover, no one bothers to do that after buying it. Consuming a fraudulated food product can prove harmful for human body as it may have short term or long-term effects. It is only consumer awareness that can protect them from food fraud. The purpose of this review is to study the food fraud that is deliberately affecting the health of consumers.

Ginkgo biloba L. drought resistance assessment in the conditions of introduction in the National Dendrological Park “Sofiyivka” of NAS of Ukraine

Introduction of an important importance acquires issues of drought resistance of plants that are closely linked to the problems of studying the water regime. The main negative consequence of modern warming is drought. Therefore, we have been conducted by drought resistance to G. biloba and its varieties of G. biloba 'Mariken' and 'Troll', which were compared with the indicators of the water mode of the aboriginal leaves for the Right-Bank of Forest-Steppe of Ukraine species Carpinuз betuluз L. and Acer platanoideз L. Determination of the actual and potential drought resistance of the plant studied was carried out with the help of field and laboratory techniques. It is found that all G. biloba plants are characterized by high actual drought resistance. G. biloba plants by most of the water regime exceeds the value of aboriginal species C. betuluз and A. platanoideз. This indicates a high degree of acclimatization and wide plasticity G. biloba to the conditions of introduction.

3Shape Digital Design Software in Splints Creation—A Pilot Study

Objectives Digital technologies have widened their horizons into the world of dental medicine and now further expanding to cover all branches. This new modern technology replaces traditional laboratory techniques allowing effective patient care. Patients who suffer from bruxism—the act of involuntary habitual grinding of teeth—have widely been benefited by splint treatments. The aim of this article is to display the variety of occlusal splints that can be created by the 3Shape Digital Design Software and their application in specific clinical situations. Materials and Methods Six variations in the splints were created digitally—three with uncombined designs and the remaining three with a combination of two of the main options available. During this study, 36 splints were made for patients aged 24 to 55 inclusively. Results The largest number of splints according to the clinical picture were made of “raise to antagonist cusp tips” (14 pieces) and the remaining were of combined type “raise to antagonist cusp tips + raise to antagonist plane” (12 pieces). There thickness was within the range of 1.5 and 5 mm. Conclusion 3Shape Digital Design Software—Splint Studio is a suitable system for designing and creating occlusal splints with respect to certain clinical situations. It is possible to combine the three main types in a separate section of the dental arch according to the case.

How Can We Predict Success in Poor Responders?

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate how can we predict success in poor responder patients in terms of pregnancy rate and live birth rate. Material and method: This study is a review of the newest papers that have in the center the poor responders undergoing treatment involving assisted reproductive techniques (ART). Outcomes: The results show that the most reliable factors when counseling a poor responder patient are age and Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level. Conclusions: The most important factors that influence pregnancy rate are age and ovarian reserve, but other factors such as male pathology and laboratory techniques must be studied deeper.

New Insight regarding Legionella Non- Pneumophila Species Identification: Comparison between the Traditional mip Gene Classification Scheme and a Newly Proposed Scheme Targeting the rpoB Gene

Legionella spp. are a widely spread bacteria that cause a fatal form of pneumonia. While traditional laboratory techniques have provided valuable systems for Legionella pneumophila identification, the amplification of the mip gene has been recognized as the only useful tool for Legionella non- pneumophila species identification both in clinical and environmental samples.

Addressing Fouling by Qualifying Chemical Additives Using Novel Technologies

Fouling of heat exchangers and production of stable emulsions in desalting units can present significant challenges in refinery operations. Often these difficulties occur due to the concurrent processing of two or more crude oils that are incompatible under process conditions. This paper describes a significant development in laboratory techniques for studying these issues and evaluating mitigation strategies. Asphaltenes compatibility was evaluated for oil mixtures that may be co-processed in the refinery using a deposition flow rig, and the results were compared with those obtained with more conventional tests: blending stability analysis by light scattering and various screening methods. The flow rig mimics the process conditions (elevated pressure, high temperature, flow-induced shear) and identifies whether deposition or precipitation will occur. The former can cause fouling of heat exchangers whereas the latter produces solids that can stabilize emulsions in the desalter. By varying the proportions of oils that were co-injected into the deposition flow rig, the range within which mixtures were unstable was found. By flowing through a capillary (to mimic a heat exchanger) and in-line filter, it was possible to identify whether precipitation of suspended flocs or fouling of the heat exchanger itself was the likely issue for each mixture. Emulsion-stability tests were conducted using a pressurized rig with an ersatz separator to mimic the desalting unit; results were compared with those obtained in conventional, ambient-pressure bottle tests. Oil(s) and refinery wash water were injected, mixed under representative shear, and allowed to separate within the typical residence time of the desalter. Chemical additives were tested to identify those that were effective at controlling any observed problems. Results obtained in either flow rig (using representative pressure, temperature, and shear) did not always match those obtained using conventional methods. Asphaltenes fouling occurred under conditions where it was not predicted by screening tests that were conducted at conditions not representative of the process and did not occur under conditions where it was predicted. Differences were also observed between the emulsion stability observed in bottle versus rig tests, though these should be viewed as complementary techniques. This paper presents new laboratory techniques for the prediction and prevention of refinery fouling and emulsion stability. They mimic conditions in the facilities much better than those typically used to date.

Current methods and future directions in avian diet analysis

Identifying the composition of avian diets is a critical step in characterizing the roles of birds within ecosystems. However, because birds are a diverse taxonomic group with equally diverse dietary habits, gaining an accurate and thorough understanding of avian diet can be difficult. In addition to overcoming the inherent difficulties of studying birds, the field is advancing rapidly, and researchers are challenged with a myriad of methods to study avian diet, a task that has only become more difficult with the introduction of laboratory techniques to dietary studies. Because methodology drives inference, it is important that researchers are aware of the capabilities and limitations of each method to ensure the results of their study are interpreted correctly. However, few reviews exist which detail each of the traditional and laboratory techniques used in dietary studies, with even fewer framing these methods through a bird-specific lens. Here, we discuss the strengths and limitations of morphological prey identification, DNA-based techniques, stable isotope analysis, and the tracing of dietary biomolecules throughout food webs. We identify areas of improvement for each method, provide instances in which the combination of techniques can yield the most comprehensive findings, introduce potential avenues for combining results from each technique within a unified framework, and present recommendations for the future focus of avian dietary research.