Mispa count X; The first indigenous indian hematology 3-part analyzer

: Impedance technology was a revolution in the history of Hematology. Mispa Count X is the first indigenous 3-part hematology analyzer in India, which works on the principle of impedance technology. : Performance evaluation of Mispa Count X.: The analyzer produces the measurement results of 18 parameters with throughput of 60 samples per hour. Mispa Count X was compared with benchmark analyzers Coulter DxH 800 and Sysmex XN 1000 to validate its performance. : Mispa Count X exhibited a wide linearity range for WBC, RBC, platelet and hemoglobin. The carry over for WBC, RBC, PLT and Hb was estimated and found to be well within the acceptable limits. The r values (> 0.90) and bias estimation of Mispa Count X on comparing with Coulter DxH 800 and Sysmex XN 1000 were acceptable, except for mid cell counts and for MPV. Mispa Count X exhibited good precision with an acceptable CV% (< 10%). The primary parameters of the stored samples were stable at room temperature for 24 hours. : So we conclude our study by proving that the Mispa Count X would be an affordable-reliable alternative for Indian healthcare sector instead of expensive imported hematology analyzers.

Welcome to the Dark Side: Partial Nighttime Illumination Affects Night-and Daytime Foraging Behavior of a Small Mammal

Differences in natural light conditions caused by changes in moonlight are known to affect perceived predation risk in many nocturnal prey species. As artificial light at night (ALAN) is steadily increasing in space and intensity, it has the potential to change movement and foraging behavior of many species as it might increase perceived predation risk and mask natural light cycles. We investigated if partial nighttime illumination leads to changes in foraging behavior during the night and the subsequent day in a small mammal and whether these changes are related to animal personalities. We subjected bank voles to partial nighttime illumination in a foraging landscape under laboratory conditions and in large grassland enclosures under near natural conditions. We measured giving-up density of food in illuminated and dark artificial seed patches and video recorded the movement of animals. While animals reduced number of visits to illuminated seed patches at night, they increased visits to these patches at the following day compared to dark seed patches. Overall, bold individuals had lower giving-up densities than shy individuals but this difference increased at day in formerly illuminated seed patches. Small mammals thus showed carry-over effects on daytime foraging behavior due to ALAN, i.e., nocturnal illumination has the potential to affect intra- and interspecific interactions during both night and day with possible changes in personality structure within populations and altered predator-prey dynamics.

Applications of a “Carry-Over” Enhanced DSBM Intertemporal Technical Efficiency Model on the Taiwanese 5G Industry

Taiwan has proven itself successful at both inventing the key technologies leading to the development of 5G (fifth generation wireless technology)-related industries and serving as an indispensable link in the burgeoning 5G-industrial global supply chain. This study analyzes the current state of Taiwan’s 5G industry via the utilization the purpose of this study is to the Dynamic Slacks-Based Measure (DSBM). To achieve this purpose, a dynamic-data production process model was developed to analyze the 5G industry’s overall relative efficiency. Results indicate that (1) key chip-producing companies typically experience increased efficiency following 5G R&D industry development investment, and that said companies’ relative efficiency is, indeed, affected positively by R&D investment; and (2) key chip companies’ relative increases of efficiency were higher than those of brand terminal and downstream-industry-category companies, while companies with higher levels of R&D investment exhibited relatively higher and more significant levels of efficiency. Finally, it was discovered that the relative efficiency of Taiwan's 5G-related industries’ R&D investment was, indeed, statistically significant in terms of the Taiwanese government’s industrial policies regarding 5G R&D investment. Keywords: Dynamic Slacks-Based Measure (DSBM), 5G Industry, R&D Inputs.

In Vivo Kinetics and Biotransformation of Aflatoxin B1 in Dairy Cows Based on the Establishment of a Reliable UHPLC-MS/MS Method

The in vivo kinetics of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and its carry-over as aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk as well as the toxin loads in the tissue of dairy cows were assessed through a repetitive feeding trial of an AFB1-contaminated diet of 4 μg kg−1 body weight (b.w.) for 13 days. This was followed by a clearance period that ended with a single dose trial of an AFB1-contaminated diet of 40 μg kg−1 b.w. An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and successfully validated by the determination of linearity (R2 ≥ 0.990), sensitivity (lower limit of quantification, 0.1–0.2 ng ml−1), recovery (79.5–111.2%), and precision relative standard deviation (RSD) ≤14.7%) in plasma, milk, and various tissues. The repetitive ingestion of AFB1 indicated that the biotransformation of AFB1 to AFM1 occurred within 48 h, and the clearance period of AFM1 in milk was not more than 2 days. The carry-over rate of AFM1 in milk during the continuous ingestion experiment was in the range of 1.15–2.30% at a steady state. The in vivo kinetic results indicated that AFB1 reached a maximum concentration of 3.8 ± 0.9 ng ml−1 within 35.0 ± 10.2 min and was slowly eliminated from the plasma, with a half-life time (T1/2) of 931.1 ± 30.8 min. Meanwhile, AFM1 reached a plateau in plasma (0.5 ± 0.1 ng ml−1) at 4 h after the ingestion. AFB1 was found in the heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys at concentrations of 1.6 ± 0.3, 4.1 ± 1.2, 3.3 ± 0.9 and 5.6 ± 1.4 μg kg−1, respectively. AFM1 was observed in the spleen and kidneys at concentrations of only 0.7 ± 0.2 and 0.8 ± 0.1 μg kg−1, respectively. In conclusion, the in vivo kinetics and biotransformation of AFB1 in dairy cows were determined using the developed UHPLC-MS/MS method, and the present findings could be helpful in assessing the health risks to consumers.

Designing, Conducting, and Documenting Human Nutrition Plant-Derived Intervention Trials

Best practices for designing, conducting, documenting, and reporting human nutrition randomized controlled trials were developed and published in Advances in Nutrition. Through an example of the randomized clinical trial on blueberries and bone health funded by the National Institutes of Health, this paper will illustrate the elements of those best practices that apply specifically to plant-based intervention clinical trials. Unique study design considerations for human feeding interventions with bioactive plant compounds include the difficulty of blinding the intervention, background nutritional status of participants, carry-over effects of the intervention, benefits of a run-in period, lack of safety/tolerability data, and nutrition-specific regulatory policies. Human nutrition randomized controlled trials are the gold standard for establishing causal relations between an intervention and health outcome measures. Rigorous studies and documentation define the quality of the evidence-base to inform public health guidelines and to establish personalized dietary recommendations for the health-promoting plant components.

Evaluation of antimicrobial compounds to inhibit growth of select Gram-positive pathogenic or antimicrobial resistant bacteria in air-exposed silage

Spoiled silages can harbor pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant microbes. The potential of some antimicrobial additives to inhibit certain pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in air-exposed silage was measured using pure and mixed bacterial cultures. With pure cultures, laurate and monolaurin (5 mg·mL−1) caused decreases (P < 0.05) of 4 to >7 log10 colony-forming units (CFU)·mL−1 in Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus faecalis compared to controls. Ten-fold higher amounts of these inhibitors were needed to equivalently decrease staphylococci. 2-Nitropropanol (1 mg·mL−1) decreased (P < 0.05) E. faecalis and L. monocytogenes 2.9–3.8 and 2.4–7.2 log10 CFU·mL−1 after 6 and 24 h incubations, respectively. In air-exposed whole-plant corn silage the inhibitors caused decreases, although not necessarily significant, of 0.7–2.2 log10 CFU·mL−1 in L. monocytogenes, staphylococci and culturable aerobes after 24 h incubation, with modest yet significant (P < 0.05) inhibition (<0.1–0.3 log10 CFU·mL−1) of yeasts and molds. Tests for carry-over effects against ruminal microbes revealed laurate, monolaurin, and 2-nitropropanol inhibited methanogenesis by >50% (P < 0.05) after 24 h incubation and inhibited L. monocytogenes and enterococci. The antimicrobial activities exhibited by these compounds may yield opportunities to optimize their use to rescue spoiled silages.