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Big Issue (big + issue)
Selected AbstractsSimultaneous wet ball milling and mild acid hydrolysis of rice hullJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Jinxiang Zhou Abstract BACKGROUND: Rice hull, an abundant residue but a big issue for the rice processing industry, has the potential to serve as a feedstock for production of ethanol because of its lignocellulosic composition. Simultaneous wet ball milling and mild acid hydrolysis of rice hull was studied in this work. RESULTS: Ball milling with 150 small stainless steel beads and rotation speed of 600 rpm in citrate solvent of pH 4 was the optimal condition for hydrolysis, and the yield of sugar increased with increased milling time. Corresponding structure transformations before and after milling analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and transmission fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) clearly indicate that this hydrolysis could be attributed to the crystalline and chemical structure changes of cellulose in rice hull during ball milling in mild acid solvent. CONCLUSION: This combined treatment of ball milling and citrate solvent greatly changed the crystalline and chemical structure and continuously generated sites accessible to citrate solvent, thus enabling hydrolysis of the rice hull. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Samples: to use or not to use?JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 6 2005K. K. Daugherty PharmD BCPS Summary The United States Prescription Drug Marketing Act makes people think that samples are simply advertisement for the drug companies. However, this is not the only reason that they are used. Samples make up a large part of most drug companies' budgets and are used by many clinics with very little control. We need to ensure that these products are being used appropriately. This is becoming a big issue as reports suggest that over 90% of family practise residency clinics allow personal use of drug samples and 60% of pharmaceutical representatives have either used samples for themselves or have given them to non-physicians. The other disturbing fact is that despite the high use of samples, fewer than 10% of family practise residencies in a Brotzman and Mark study reported having written policies regarding the use of samples. The purpose of this article was to review the literature concerning the reasons for use of drug samples, and the problems associated with such use, and then to discuss possible procedures that offices, especially those that train resident physicians, can implement to ensure good governance, if such use is permitted. [source] Microbial contaminants in food: a big issue for a working group of the MoniQA NoE projectQUALITY ASSURANCE & SAFETY OF CROPS & FOOD, Issue 2 2009A. Hoehl Abstract Introduction The MoniQA Network of Excellence is an EC funded project working towards the harmonization of analytical methods for monitoring food quality and safety along the food supply chain. This paper summarises both the structure and tasks of the working group on microbial contaminants within the MoniQA NoE and specifically focuses on harmonisation strategies important in the microbiological analysis of food. Objectives There is a need for rapid microbiological methods in order to quickly and efficiently identify harmful pathogens in food sources. However, one of the major problems encountered with many new methods is their market acceptance, as they have to pass extensive validation/standardisation studies before they can be declared as official standard methods. Methods The working group on microbiological contaminants aims to contribute towards speeding up these prerequisites by collecting information on food law, quality assurance, quality control, sampling, economic impact, measurement uncertainty, validation protocols, official standard methods and alternative methods. Results The present report provides an overview of currently existing methodologies and regulations and addresses issues concerning harmonisation needs. One of the deliverables of the working group is the development of extended fact sheets and reviews based on relevant ,hot' topics and methods. The selection of food borne analytes for these fact sheets have been selected based on global, local and individual parameters. The working group has identified 5 groups of stakeholders (governmental bodies, standardisation/validation organisations, test kit/equipment manufacturers, food industry and consumers). Conclusion Current challenges of food microbiology are driven by new analytical methods, changes in the food market and altered consumer desires. The MoniQA NoE is contributing in overcoming these risks and challenges by providing a profound platform on microbiological rapid methods in food analysis to all stakeholders and it is expected that strong interaction within the network and beyond will foster harmonization. [source] Application of Polycaprolactone as an Anti-Adhesion Biomaterial FilmARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 8 2010Hsien-Yi Lo Abstract Adhesions are unavoidable consequences of surgery and other trauma. How to prevent the adhesions remains a big issue in healthcare system. The objective of this study is to test the efficacy of polycaprolactone (PCL) films as physical barriers in reducing postoperative intra-abdominal adhesions in the rat cecum-abdominal wall model. PCL is quite cheap compared with the agents recently used in the market. The fabrication method is also very easy to perform. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed multiple pores over upper and bottom surfaces but too small to permit cells to migrate from one surface onto another surface. Those pores were proven to be not interconnected. The PCL film did not show any evidence of cytotoxic effects as it did not induce any significant increase in cytoplasmic lactate dehydrogenase release from the NIH3T3 cells that it came in contact with. In animal studies, the PCL films led to fewer adhesions than Seprafilm in rat adhesion model. PCL films were efficacious in reducing postoperative intra-abdominal adhesion formation in rat cecum-abdominal wall models. [source] | ||||||||||