Public health risks from illegally imported African bushmeat and smoked fish

Large-scale importation of bushmeat from West and Central Africa into Europe was reported in 2010. We sampled 18 illegal African bushmeat consignments seized at Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris, France and tested for the presence of bacteria. Additionally, five smuggled smoked fish were analysed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known carcinogens. All bushmeat samples had viable counts of aerobic bacteria above levels considered safe for human consumption. We also identified zoonotic bacterial pathogens in bushmeat and unsafe levels of carcinogens in fish. The illegal importation of meat is a potential risk for the introduction of pathogens

Biomass extraction using non-chlorinated solvents for biocompatibility improvement of polyhydroxyalkanoates

An economically viable method to extract polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from cells is desirable for this biodegradable polymer of potential biomedical applications. In this work, two non-chlorinated solvents, cyclohexanone and -butyrolactone, were examined for extracting PHA produced by the bacterial strain Cupriavidus necator H16 cultivated on vegetable oil as a sole carbon source. The PHA produced was determined as a poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) homopolyester. The extraction kinetics of the two solvents was determined using gel permeation chromatography (GPC). When cyclohexanone was used as the extraction solvent at 120 C in 3 min, 95% of the PHB was recovered from the cells with a similar purity to that extracted using chloroform. With a decrease in temperature, the recovery yield decreased. At the same temperatures, the recovery yield of -butyrolactone was significantly lower. The effect of the two solvents on the quality of the extracted PHB was also examined using GPC and elemental analysis. The molar mass and dispersity of the obtained polymer were similar to that extracted using chloroform, while the nitrogen content of the PHB extracted using the two new solvents was slightly higher. In a nutshell, cyclohexanone in particular was identified as an expedient candidate to efficiently drive novel, sustainable PHA extraction processes

Molecular level structure of biodegradable poly(delta-valerolactone) obtained in the presence of boric acid

In this study, low molecular weight poly(δ-valerolactone) (PVL) was synthesized through bulk-ring openings polymerization of δ-valerolactone with boric acid (B(OH)₃) as a catalyst and benzyl alcohol (BnOH) as an initiator. The resulting homopolymer was characterized with the aid of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) techniques to gain further understanding of its molecular structure. The electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) spectra of poly(δ-valerolactone) showed the presence of two types of homopolyester chains-one terminated by benzyl ester and hydroxyl end groups and one with carboxyl and hydroxyl end groups. Additionally, a small amount of cyclic PVL oligomers was identified. To confirm the structure of PVL oligomers obtained, fragmentation of sodium adducts of individual polyester molecules terminated by various end groups was explored in ESI-MSn by using collision induced dissociation (CID) techniques. The ESI-MSn analyses were conducted both in positive- and negative ion mode. The comparison of the fragmentation spectra obtained with proposed respective theoretical fragmentation pathways allowed the structure of the obtained oligomers to be established at the molecular level. Additionally, using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), it was proven that regardless of the degree of oligomerization, the resulting PVL samples were a mixture of two types of linear PVL oligomers differing in end groups and containing just a small amount of cyclic oligomers that tended to be not visible at higher molar masses

Transitivity of hereditarily metacompact spaces

[EN] We prove that each regular hereditarily metacompact (monotonic) β-space has the property that the third power of any neighbornet belongs to its point-finite quasi-uniformity.The authors adkowledges support by Swiss National Science Foundation (under grant 20-63402.00) during stays at the University of Berne, SwitzerlandKünzi, HA. (2003). Transitivity of hereditarily metacompact spaces. Applied General Topology. 4(2):217-221. https://doi.org/10.4995/agt.2003.2027SWORD2172214

WIZUALIZACJA PARAMETRÓW ANTEN SYMULOWANYCH PROGRAMEM NEC-2

Article presents information about visualization of data output from NEC-2. Authors describes their own tools used for visualization of antenna's parameters like radiation pattern, wave impedance, ?11 parameter.Artykuł prezentuje informacje dotyczące wizualizacji danych wyjściowych symulacji programem NEC-2. Autorzy opisują własne narzędzia służące do generowania wizualizacji parametrów modelowanych anten takich jak charakterystyka promieniowania, impedancja falowa anteny, parametr ?11

Project Jobs: Reagan, the INS, and Undocumented Workers in 1982

Using digitized archival material, newspaper articles, and court documents, this thesis examines a 1982 federal deportation campaign in the United States called “Project Jobs,” which resulted in the apprehension of an estimated 5,400 undocumented workers, and the ultimate deportation of 4,000 of them. The operation targeted nine major U.S. cities with the goal of freeing up jobs for unemployed U.S. citizens during a recession. While Operation Wetback targeted undocumented workers in the agricultural sector, Project Jobs targeted high-paying urban jobs that were intended to be desirable for U.S. citizens. Although the operation received substantial publicity at the time, it has since been forgotten, and is virtually absent from the current historiography. By linking the operation to the economic recession in 1981, the suffering reputation of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and the Reagan administration’s four-year struggle to get the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 passed through Congress, this thesis argues that Project Jobs was a significant event in U.S. history, with substantial consequences for undocumented workers in urban America

PORÓWNANIE NUMERYCZNYCH MODELI PORTÓW LINII PASKOWEJ

The aim of the article is to describe different ways to model ports of structures like striplines or antennas. It also shows a practical realization of the models described, prepared with the use of COMSOL suite. Both, strong and weak points have been analyzed for each of the five versions, focusing on the factors as: complexity of the definition, time complexity and potential possibilities. In order to compare the accuracy each of the models had been used to calculate reflection coefficient, which in turn was compared to the data obtained from the measurements of the real stripline.Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie różnych sposobów modelowania portów struktur takich jak linie paskowe albo anteny. Przedstawiono też praktyczną realizację opisywanych modeli, wykonaną przy użyciu pakietu COMSOL. Przeanalizowano mocne i słabe strony każdej z pięciu wersji, biorąc pod uwagę czynniki takie jak: poziom skomplikowania opisu, czas obliczeń i możliwości. W celu zbadania dokładności każdy z modeli posłużył do wyznaczenia charakterystyki współczynnika odbicia, która została porównana z charakterystyką otrzymaną podczas pomiarów modelowanej linii