False Additives in Canned Meats as a Source of Food Allergens

The introduction of undeclared ingredients into a food product formulation can lead to serious health problems, especially in people with allergic diseases. Identification of the composition of a food product helps to prevent possible negative consequences of the influence of allergic additives. The present study was carried out by the histological method using the example of canned meat as the most frequently falsified product. Plant-based protein products and thickening food additives were found in many samples. Conclusions are made about a high level of counterfeiting of this type of product, including allergens, which is a risk factor for human health.

Morphology and Anatomy of Leaf, Stem and Petiole of Luvunga crassifolia Tanaka (Rutaceae)

Luvunga crassifolia is an underutilized plant in the Citrus family. Other than brief morphological descriptions, there are no published reports on other identification features of this plant. Thus, the current study was aimed to investigate macroscopic and microscopic diagnostic features of L. crassifolia leaves, stems, and petioles. Macroscopic characterization, optimization of histological procedure, and histochemical analyses of differential stains were carried out on the leaves, stems, and petioles of L. crassifolia. The histological method was optimized by modifying the following parameters: number of fixation days, dehydration duration with degraded series of ethanol or butanol, clearing duration, and infiltration duration. After infiltration, embedding and sectioning of the tissues were performed. Histochemical analyses were carried out using differential stains to identify the cellular components in leaf, stem and, petiole tissue sections. This study showed that L. crassifolia leaves are amphistomatic. Pellucid dots were observed on both adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. Secretory cavities, xylem, phloem, and pericyclic fibers were found in the cross-sections of leaf, stem, and petiole. Calcium oxalates were present in the leaf and stem sections, while trichomes were detected in stem and petiole sections. The information obtained from this study will be helpful for the identification and future taxonomic-related studies of this plant species.

Characteristics of Human Myocardial Bridges in Health and in Coronary Atherosclerosis

This paper studies the characteristics of the myocardial bridges and the anterior interventricular artery in people aged 22–75 years using a histological method. Histological sections were made from three segments of the artery: proximal to the bridge, intramural and distal to the bridge. We found no differences in thickness of myocardial bridges, cross-sectional area of the perivascular space, as well as ratio of the cross-sectional areas of the perivascular space and intramural segment between the groups of hearts with coronary atherosclerosis (n = 7) and without it (n = 7). In subjects with coronary atherosclerosis, the cross-sectional area of the artery wall in the segment proximal to the bridge was larger than that in the group without atherosclerosis due to increased intima thickness. However, no changes in the lumen of the artery were observed. For citation: Dmitrieva E.G. Characteristics of Human Myocardial Bridges in Health and in Coronary Atherosclerosis. Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 2021, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 454–458. DOI: 10.37482/2687-1491-Z083

Morphological signs of myopathy in pork that show no drastic decrease in pH after slaughter

High pH value 45 minutes after slaughter (рН45) has so far been the most frequently used indicator to select pig carcasses with normal course of autolysis. However, in practice, this does not provide meat quality homogeneity. Therefore, carcasses with рН45 > 6.0 were examined for signs of myopathy, which are characteristic for PSE meat, using the histological method. To perform the study, we randomly selected 320 individuals for slaughter out of 1,059 individuals of mixed swine grown in the same conditions. After slaughter, we selected 18 fresh carcasses that demonstrated low рН45. The results of the examination of the muscular tissue (L. dorsi) samples revealed that pork varied in microstructural characteristics. Only 44% of the samples had no signs of myopathy: no contracture nodes and destructive changes in the muscle fibers were present. A total of 39% of the samples were identified to the muscular tissue with mildly expressed myopathy, 17% of the samples – to the muscular tissue with acute myopathy. Thus, among the carcasses with рН45 > 6.0, 56% of the carcasses had signs of mild and acute myopathy, which explains quality homogeneity of meat selected using this criterion. Statistical analysis of the results suggested that the increase in the diameter of the muscle fibers of glycolytic type was related to appearance of signs of mild and acute myopathy – “giant fibers”. Increase in the weight of animals is not a risk factor. The obtained results allowed us to conclude the necessity of developing new approaches to assessing meat quality immediately after the slaughter with the purpose of increasing efficiency in predicting technological properties of meat. Promising directions of developing quick methods in histology allow us to hope that such approaches may be based on the data on microstructure of fresh muscular tissue.

Monitoring studies of the qualitative composition of canned meat of domestic producers

Meat-processing enterprises produce a wide range of canned meat in different price categories. Complete information about the composition enables consumers to choose a product that meets their needs. However, the information on the label does not always correspond to the true composition of the canned food, and consumers are deceived in their expectations. Often, food additives that are not permitted by regulatory documents or are not declared on the label are introduced into the recipe. The purpose of this study was to identify the composition of canned meat lumps of popular brands produced from premium beef in accordance with GOST 32125 “Canned meat. Stewed meat”. The study was carried out by histological method. In many canned food samples, vegetable protein products, as well as thickening food additives, such as carrageenan, gums, starch, were found. The conclusions are made about the high level of falsification of this type of product.

Comparative Study of Morphology and Histology on Papuan Jellyfish Mastigias papua in Kakaban Lake and Sea

Jellyfish are marine invertebrates belonging to the phylum Cnidaria. Mastigias papua is a jellyfish from the Scyphozoa class. This study investigates differences in environmental parameters, morphology, and shape of nematocyte cells using the histological method with (SEM) Scanning Electron Microscopy on M. papua jellyfish Kakaban Lake and Sea. Environmental parameters in Kakaban Lake and Kakaban Sea were measured for salinity, temperature, and pH. The t-test analysis results showed significant differences in environmental parameters in Kakaban Lake and Kakaban Sea (p < 0.05). Body diameter and length of jellyfish tentacles were measured and analyzed using SPSS 16 with a t-test. The t-test analysis showed that for M. papua jellyfish in Kakaban Lake and jellyfish in the Kakaban Sea showed a significant difference in the diameter and length of the body tentacles (p < 0.05). The SEM results of jellyfish in the Kakaban Sea showed that the tentacles of M. papua in the Kakaban Sea had nematocytes consisting of three forms, namely microbasic isorhiza, atrichouz isorhiza, and merotrichous isorhiza. M. papua in Kakaban Lake has nematocyst cells, which comprise of one type, namely Microbasic mastigophoran, where the number of nematocytes is minimal and has a smaller size than the Papuan Mastigias jellyfish that live in the Kakaban Sea. Nemeatocyte cells are stinging cells in jellyfish. SEM results show that the jellyfish in Kakaban Lake cannot sting because the size of the jellyfish tentacles is reduced to smaller, fewer nematocyte cells and different shape nematocytes. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that there are differences in environmental parameters, body dimensions, tentacle length, and the size and number of nematocytes between M. papua jellyfish in Dunau and in the Kakaban Sea.

Pathomorphological features of clinical forms of ulcerative colitis in children

Background. Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown origin, characterized by a clinically recurrent course with periods of bloody diarrhea and pathomorpholo­gical-diffuse inflammatory process in the colon. The problem of ulcerative colitis requires further study of the clinical features of the disease, taking into account the localization, degree of activity of the inflammatory process, changes in the structure of the mucous membrane that will help increase the efficiency of ulcerative colitis diagnosis in childhood. Materials and methods. On the basis of clinical and statistical analysis of 116 case histories of children aged 4–18 years with ulcerative colitis, the features of its clinical forms — total, segmental and distal — were studied during the period of exacerbation of the disease. Four hundred and forty-five biopsy specimens obtained during colonoscopy were histologically examined. After biopsy sampling, specimens were fixed in 10% formalin and were processed according to the generally accepted histological method with section staining using hematoxylin-eosin and according to Van Gieson. Results. Changes in the architecto­nics of the large intestine mucosa, which reduce the resistance of the mucous barrier, as well as impaired blood supply — a factor in the development of hemic hypoxia — are significant for the mechanisms of ulcerative colitis exacerbation.

Histologis Perkembangan Embrio Ayam pada Masa Inkubasi Satu sampai Tujuh Hari

ABSTRAK. Penelitian ini bertujuan melihat perkembangan embrio ayam secara histologi pada waktu 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, dan 7 hari inkubasi. Sampel yang digunakan adalah telur fertil yang didapat dari teaching farm Fakultas Pertanian Jurusan Peternakan Universitas Syiah Kuala. Pengamatan secara makroskopis dilakukan pada setiap sampel embrio ayam, sementara pengamatan mikroskopis struktur embrio ayam dilakukan dengan pembuatan preparat histologi. Hasil penelitian ini menampilkan data perkembangan embrio ayam secara spesifik dari umur inkubasi hari ke-1 sampai hari ke-7. Secara makroskopik dan mikroskopis, gambaran umum perkembangan embrio ayam selaras dengan informasi tabel pertumbuhan embrio ayam. Secara histologis, gambaran perkembangan struktur embrio ayam baru dapat diamati dengan baik yaitu pada umur inkubasi hari ke-3 sampai hari ke-7. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa secara histologi perkembangan embrio ayam baru dapat diamati pada masa inkubasi hari ke-3. Penelitian ini juga dapat dijadikan sebagai bahan acuan dasar untuk penelitian lanjutan terutama terhadap organogenesis pada embrio ayam. (Histological evaluation on the development of chicken embryo during the incubation periodfrom 1st to 7th days) ABSTRACT. The aim of this study was to find out the development of chicken embryos at day 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th of incubation by histological method. The samples used were the fertile eggs obtained from the teaching farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry, Syiah Kuala University. Macroscopic observations were made on each embryos sample, while microscopic observations of the embryos structure were carried out by histological preparations procedure. The results of this study presented the specific data of chicken embryos development from day 1st to day 7th of incubation. The macroscopic and microscopic data showed the general description of chicken embryos development similar to the information on the chicken embryo growth table. The microscopic results showed the structure description of the chicken embryos can be well observed at day 3rd to the day 7th of incubation. It can be seen the development of chicken embryos can be observed by histology method on day 3rd of incubation. This research can also be used as a basic reference for further research, especially on organogenesis of chicken embryos.

Assessment of Testicular Lhcgr mRNA Expression Correlated with Testis and Seminal Vesicle Activities in the Libyan jird (Meriones libycus, Rodentia: Muridae) during Breeding Season Compared with Nonbreeding Season

The Libyan jird (Meriones libycus, 1823) is a wild desert rodent that is a seasonal breeder species adapted to breed when the environmental conditions can satisfy the energy and hydrous requirements of pregnant and nursing females to ensure that births occur at the most favorable time of the year. We assessed gene expression of testicular luteinizing hormone receptor (Lhcgr) correlated to testis activity. The expression of Lhcgr was evaluated using quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR and the testis activity by a histological method in adult male Libyan jirds during the nonbreeding and breeding seasons. Our results showed that Lhcgr mRNA expression increased in autumn during the nonbreeding season and decreased in spring during the breeding season. This expression varied in contrast to testicular structure or function and plasma testosterone levels. These results help to elucidate this desert rodent’s seasonal sexual activity, which is correlated with central regulation.