Search

Background: Supply chain management is essential for cold chain medicines since they are temperature-controlled and must be maintained within a specific temperature range to ensure product integrity and quality. In Nigeria, guidelines that address drug distribution do not adequately address the issue of cold chain management in addition to challenges in implementation. Given the chaotic medicines distribution system, this study examined the quality of practice of supply chain management of cold chain products in line with the World Health Organisation's Expert Committee report on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations., Methods: The study was set in Abuja Nigeria and descriptive survey was used to explore cold chain supply management. A checklist developed from regulatory requirements stipulated by the World Health Organisation covering documentations, storage and distribution guidelines was used to assess supply chain management of cold chain medicines across various facilities. Data were analysed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25., Results: The results from this study showed that most of the storage facilities assessed (66.7%) did not meet up to the required standards of quality management for cold chain products. In addition, 50.4% of retail and hospital pharmacy facilities performed poorly in cold chain management practices. Many of aspects of quality management guidelines and regulations were not met by the facilities. Most facilities (66.7%) do not have their equipment calibrated, 43.6% of the hospital and retail pharmacies assessed do not have an automated system to cater for power failure while 37.6% do not perform a temperature check on cold chain products before receiving from suppliers., Conclusion: The study has shown that the levels of the supply chain assessed for quality management and regulatory compliance performed poorly. There was limited availability and use of validated quality monitoring systems for cold chain medicines in these facilities., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Cryopreservation of platelets with dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) at -80°C increases their shelf life from days to years. Once thawed, platelets are stored at room temperature (RT), and the shelf life is limited to 4-6 hours. However, refrigeration (cold storage) may facilitate a prolongation of the shelf life of thawed platelets., Study Design and Methods: ABO-matched buffy coat-derived platelets (30% plasma/70% SSP+) were cryopreserved at -80°C in 5%-6% DMSO. Paired cryopreserved platelet components were thawed, resuspended in 30% plasma/70% SSP+, and then stored at either 20°C-24°C with agitation (RT) or at 2°C-6°C (cold). In vitro platelet quality was assessed over 10 days of postthaw storage., Results: During postthaw storage, the platelet concentration of RT-stored components decreased significantly more than components in cold storage (Day 10 RT 58 ± 10 × 10 9 /unit vs Day 10 cold 142 ± 16 × 10 9 /unit; P < .0001). Cold storage reduced the metabolic rate of thawed platelets. During storage, the surface glycoprotein ([GP] Ibα, GPVI, GPIIb, GPIIIa) and activation marker (P-selectin and phosphatidylserine) profile of cold platelets was closer to freshly thawed platelets (Day 0) than those stored at RT. Thromboelastography (reaction time) demonstrated that the procoagulant nature of cryopreserved platelets was preserved during 10 days of cold storage, while RT-stored thawed platelets displayed a gradual prolongation of the time taken to initiate clot formation., Conclusion: Cold storage of thawed platelets preserves the platelet phenotype and function for up to 10 days, compared to thawed platelets stored at RT. Thus, cold storage of thawed platelets may represent a simple approach to extend the postthaw shelf life., (© 2020 AABB.)

Vaccines and diagnostic tools stand out as among the most influential advancements in public health, credited with averting an estimated 6 million deaths annually and substantially alleviating the burden of infectious disease. Despite this progress, the global imperative to prevent, detect, and combat infectious disease persists. Regrettably, hundreds of thousands of lives are still lost due to inadequate access to vaccines and diagnostics. A critical obstacle in accessibility lies in the requirement of reliable cold chain for their transportation and storage, a resource that remains inadequate in many regions, particularly in the developing world. Various factors, including socio-economic disparities, biological complexities, and manufacturing processes, exert significant influence on the availability and integrity of vaccines and diagnostic materials. This review aims to explore the multifaceted issue of inequality in access to disease control tools, examining the vulnerabilities of vaccines and diagnostics while also investigating recent advancements that offer promising solutions to improve thermal stability., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Crown Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A tandem mass tagging-labeled proteomic approach was employed to explore the relationship between quality parameters and protein changes in large yellow croaker fillets refrigerated under carbon dioxide, oxygen, and nitrogen atmospheres. After 96 h, fillets stored in carbon dioxide and nitrogen showed improved texture, water-holding capacity, and color, compared to those stored in oxygen. Functional analysis respectively identified 117 and 65 differentially expressed proteins in carbon dioxide and nitrogen, including key proteins such as troponin, myosin light chain, actin, and collagen types IV and XIII, that were linked to extracellular adhesion, cytoskeleton integrity, energy metabolism, and membrane functions. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen were detrimental to the growth and reproduction of aerobic microorganisms. High concentrations of carbon dioxide can inhibit microbial activity, while nitrogen preserves freshness by regulating the pressure balance within the packaging. These findings provided a theoretical basis for the optimized gas-conditioned preservation of large yellow croaker fillets., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The bacterial community dynamics and metabolomic profiles in raw yak (Y) milk and cattle-yak (CY) milk during refrigeration at 4 °C were investigated, followed by the elucidation of interspecific differences in milk storage. Bacterial communities and succession patterns were significantly different between the two milk types during refrigeration, with Lactococcus and Pseudomonas being the key distinguishing genera. Moreover, higher network complexity and tighter interactions were observed for the microbial community in CY milk than in Y milk. Furthermore, 7 proteases and 1 lipase potentially contributed to milk spoilage. The metabolomic profiles significantly differed between the milk types during refrigeration. Extended storage time decreased the relative abundances of organic nitrogen compounds and lipids and lipid-like molecules, with a concomitant increase in organic acids and derivatives, particularly in Y milk. Moreover, 9 metabolites, whose levels gradually increased with storage time, were strongly correlated with psychrophiles and thus considered potential markers of deterioration in plateau-characteristic milk. These findings offer a theoretical foundation for augmenting the quality and safety of plateau-characteristic milk and its derivatives, while also helping us understand the microbial and metabolic dynamics in raw milk under extreme environments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Although cold storage at 4 °C can effectively prolong the shelf life of raw milk, it cannot prevent its eventual spoilage. In this study, we analyzed the main physicochemical and microbial indexes of raw milk stored at 4 °C for 6 days. The changes in microbial profiles and milk metabolites and their relationship during refrigeration were also explored. Metagenomic analysis performed using the Illumina Hiseq Xten sequencing platform revealed that the dominant genera in raw milk evolved from Acinetobacter, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Anaplasma to Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas, and Lactococcus during cold storage. Using the UHPLC-Q-TOF MS method, 77 significantly different metabolites (p < 0.05) were identified, among which lipids were the most abundant (37). The most significant metabolic changes largely occurred at 3-4 days of refrigeration, coinciding with the rapid increase in dominant psychrotrophic bacteria. Subsequently, correlation analysis demonstrated that these lipid-related metabolites were significantly associated with Acinetobacter, Flavobacterium, and Pseudomonas. Both macro indicators and microanalysis indicated that the key stage of quality changes in raw milk was 3-4 days. Thus, this stage can be targeted for the quality control of raw milk., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Extending the shelf life of fresh beef is essential for meat industry. This study explored the microbial community succession, metabolic profile changes, and their interactions during refrigerated storage of beef under different packaging methods. The results showed that compared with air packaging (AP), vacuum packaging (CV) and vacuum skin packaging (VS) maintained higher microbial diversity over longer periods. Among 1,106 metabolites identified, lipids and lipid-like molecules were most prominent. Unique pathways in VS beef, such as oxidative phosphorylation and calcium signaling pathways, underscored its advantages in maintaining beef flavor and oxidation stability. Moreover, dozens of metabolites were identified as potential biomarkers of the treatment effects of different packaging methods. Correlation analysis presented a significant positive correlation between bacterial genera like Brochothrix, Acinetobacter, Serratia, and metabolites such as lipids, organic acids, and nucleotides. This research offers essential insights for optimizing product safety and extending shelf life in the future meat industry., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Copyright of FME Transactions is the property of University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The incorporation of ejectors into heat pump and refrigeration cycles has been the subject of growing interest, largely due to their simple structure, high reliability, and cost-effectiveness. This paper investigates the recent advancements in novel design concepts of ejector-enhanced vapor compression heat pump and refrigeration cycles. An overview of novel single-stage and two-stage compression cycles utilizing a single or multiple ejectors is provided. First, the system setup, operational principles, description, and figures of the existing schemes are provided. Second, the main results, such as the coefficient of performance (COP), volumetric heating capacity and exergy destruction, are discussed. In conclusion, the paper presents a coherent summary of the current developments, future prospects, and the current knowledge gap. A plethora of research is present in developing theoretical systems with high efficiency. However, experimental tests for real-life implementations are limited. This review aims to provide the reader with an overview of recent theoretical and experimental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed quality declines during storage depending on relative humidity, temperature, and oxygen concentration. Low-oxygen atmospheres significantly enhanced the germination and vigor of seeds during storage in laboratory-scale experiments. Low-oxygen atmospheres include self-modified atmospheres, where gas composition changes due to microbial respiration and oxidative processes, as well as modified atmospheres, where gas composition is initially altered from an external source without further adjustments. However, the potential of low-oxygen atmospheres to preserve the quality of maize (Zea mays) seeds in bags of 25–50 kg capacity, like those employed by seed companies and small-scale farmers, remains underexplored, hindering a broader adoption of this storage technology. Our study assessed the feasibility of applying low-oxygen atmospheres for seed storage on the pilot scale, i.e., hermetic containers of 25 kg capacity made of polyethylene and polyamide, under controlled conditions. We first evaluated the ability of the hermetic containers to maintain low oxygen levels over time. Then, we compared the germination and vigor of seeds stored in the hermetic containers under modified and self-modified atmospheres with those stored in traditional poly-paper bags under normal atmospheric conditions. The seeds had 14% moisture content (wet basis) and were stored at 25 °C and 10 °C. Maintaining low oxygen levels in polyethylene–polyamide bags was feasible. Moreover, at 25 °C, modified and self-modified atmospheres maintained higher germination values (95.8% and 94.4%, respectively) compared to traditional storage (68.3%), and both were as effective as refrigeration (97.6%). However, refrigeration was better for preserving seed vigor, with radicle emergence values of 85.2% in self-modified atmospheres and 78.9% in modified atmospheres, compared to 65.0% and 61.2%, respectively, at 25 °C. In conclusion, the advantages of modified atmospheres observed in laboratory-scale studies are achievable on a larger scale with a proper container design, advancing the prospects for the practical application of this technology for the seed industry and small farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alterations in microbiotas and endogenous enzymes have been implicated in meat deterioration. However, the factors that mediate the interactions between meat quality and microbiome profile were inadequately investigated. In this study, we collected pork samples throughout the refrigeration period and employed metaproteomics to characterize both the pork and microbial proteins. Our findings demonstrated that pork proteins associated with the catabolic process are upregulated during storage compared to the initial stage. Pseudomonas, Clostridium, Goodfellowiella, and Gonapodya contribute to the spoilage process. Notably, we observed an elevated abundance of microbial proteins related to glycolytic enzymes in refrigerated pork, identifying numerous proteins linked to biogenic amine production, thus highlighting their essential role in microbial decay. Further, we reveal that many of these microbial proteins from Pseudomonas are ribosomal proteins, promoting enzyme synthesis by enhancing transcription and translation. This study provides intrinsic insights into the underlying mechanisms by which microorganisms contribute to meat spoilage., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Meat quality (MQ) is unstable during cold chain logistics (CCL). Different technologies have been developed to enhance MQ during the CCL process, while most of them cannot cover all the links of the cold chain because of complex environment (especially transportation and distribution), compatibility issues, and their single effect. Electric fields (EFs) have been explored as a novel treatment for different food processing. The effects and potential advantages of EFs for biological cryopreservation have been reported in many publications and some commercial applications in CCL have been realized. However, there is still a lack of a systematic review on the effects of EFs on their quality attributes in meat and its applications in CCL. In this review, the potential mechanisms of EFs on meat physicochemical properties (heat and mass transfer and ice formation and melting) and MQ attributes during different CCL links (freezing, thawing, and refrigeration processes) were summarized. The current applications and limitations of EFs for cryopreserving meat were also discussed. Although high intensity EFs have some detrimental effects on the quality attributes in meat due to electroporation and electro-breakdown effect, EFs present good applicability opportunities in most CCL scenes that have been realized in some commercial applications. Future studies should focus on the biochemical reactions of meat to the different EFs parameters, and break the limitations on equipment, so as to make EFs techniques closer to usability in the production environment and realize cost-effective large-scale application of EFs on CCL., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper introduces the refrigeration cycle process of the gas wave oscillation tube (GWOT). Aiming at the problem that the strong reverse compression waves generated during the refrigeration process affect the performance, this paper proposes a variable-section GWOT that weakens the reverse compression waves and a variable-section structure designed using a numerical method. Results showed that the variable-section structure could reduce the intensity of the incident shock wave by approximately 7% and the total entropy production in the refrigeration cycle by approximately 8% under the design condition. Moreover, the variable-section structure can effectively weaken the strength of the reverse compression waves and improve the refrigeration efficiency by approximately 4% under the same working conditions. The variable-section structure can also widen the high-performance working range of the GWOT. The experimental results reveal that the high-performance working range can be expanded by more than two times under the design condition. The research can guide the subsequent development of gas wave refrigeration technology and a reference for other wave rotor application technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood analysis is an important tool for monitoring the health status of fish, but the time between collection and analysis can affect the outcome of the analysis. This study sought to determine the maximum time refrigerated blood and frozen plasma samples of the tambaqui, Colossoma macropomum, can be stored without affecting analysis. Samples from 12 fish were obtained, stored under refrigeration at 4 °C and evaluated after 0, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h, while samples from 14 fish were centrifuged, and the resulting plasma was frozen at -20 °C and then evaluated after 0, 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks. The parameters analyzed were hematocrit (Ht), hemoglobin content (Hb), total erythrocytes (RBC), total (WBC) and differential leukocytes, total thrombocytes (TC), glucose content (Glc), total protein (TP), triglyceride content (TG), total cholesterol (CoT), and the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). For refrigerated whole blood samples, mean corpuscular hemoglobin content (MCHC) showed a transient decline in 24 h, and there were decreases in WBC, TC, Glc and TG that persisted until the 72 h sample point (for Glc and TG) or persisted until the 96 h sample point (for WBC and TC). A decrease in RBC was noted from 48 h on, while ALT was significantly higher in the 96 h sample. Significant decreases in lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils and eosinophils were noted from 48 h of storage on, while a significant decline in basophil counts were noted over the last two sampled timepoints. The coefficient of variation was greatest at the 96 h timepoint, indicating increased variability in measured parameters after 4 d of refrigeration. Plasma samples frozen at -20 °C showed a significant variation in ALT after 8 weeks, and increases in TP and TG after 20 weeks. Therefore, it is recommended that refrigerated tambaqui whole blood samples be analyzed within 24 h and frozen tambaqui plasma samples analyzed within 8 weeks., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study isolated and identified autochthonous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from mandacaru fruit and evaluated their potential probiotic and technological aptitudes in vitro, as well as the protective effects of freeze-dried mandacaru fruit on the most promising LAB isolate during lyophilization and refrigeration storage. Initially, 212 colonies were isolated from mandacaru fruit, and 34 were preliminarily identified as LAB. Thirteen isolates identified by 16S-rRNA sequencing as Pediococcus pentosaceus were negative for DNase, gelatinase, hemolytic, and biogenic amine production. The selected isolates showed proteolytic activity, diacetyl and exopolysaccharide production, and good tolerance to different NaCl concentrations while having low cellular hydrophobicity and antagonistic activity against pathogens. The survival of isolates sharply decreased after 3 h of exposure to pH 2 and had a good tolerance to 1 % bile salt. A principal component analysis selected P. pentosaceus 57 as the most promising isolate based on the examined technological and probiotic-related physiological properties. This isolate was lyophilized with mandacaru fruit and stored under refrigeration for 90 days. P. pentosaceus 57 lyophilized with mandacaru fruit had high viable cell counts (9.69 ± 0.03 log CFU/mL) and >50 % of physiologically active cells at 90 days of refrigeration storage. The results indicate that mandacaru fruit is a source of P. pentosaceus with aptitudes to be explored as potential probiotic and technological characteristics of interest for the food industry, besides being a good candidate for use in lyophilization processes and refrigeration storage of LAB due to its cryoprotective effects., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite continual development over more than two centuries there is still great scope for significant development in the realms of mechanical cooling and heating. This paper reviews the nature of the historical development and identifies key motivations for technical development. It seeks to highlight where there is greatest need for future development in this ubiquitous technology. The story of the development of mechanical refrigeration is dominated by the choices made with regard to the working fluid used in the system. These choices dictate the operating parameters of temperature and pressure that the system must withstand as well as introducing constraints related to material compatibility, so the agenda for the mechanical development of systems is set by the selection of the refrigerant. All of these systems are classed as heat pumps because they extract heat from one location and deliver it to another. The commercial demand for mechanical cooling in the 19th century meant that all of these early heat pump systems were used for cooling. The concept of using the same cycle to deliver useful heat was not commercialised until the mid-twentieth century and in some ways this application of the heat pump is still in the early stages of development, particularly with regard to market penetration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]