Effective preservation of raw goat skins for the reduction of total dissolved solids
Abstract Raw hides and skins serve as the raw material for leather making industries. The main constituent of these raw materials is protein with about 70% of moisture and they are susceptible to microbial attack; it is essential to preserve the protein matrix of skin/hide before converting it into leather. Though the preservation of skin/hide by using common salt to an extent of 40–50% (w/w) is widely practised, this method generates a huge amount of pollution in the form of total dissolved solids (TDS) and chlorides (Cl) during leather processing. Therefore various investigating groups have been involved in alternative curing systems. With this view, an attempt has been made to evolve a less-salt (5% salt with sodium meta-bisulphate) and salt-less (sodium meta-bisulphate only) curing system for pollution abatement. The results obtained are discussed on the basis of TDS reduction, control of microbial population in the raw state during curing, changes in physical, biochemical, microbiological, thermal characteristics of the preserved skin and the mechanical properties of the leather made out of the experimental skins.
Evaluation of New Bacteriocin as a Potential Short-Term Preservative for Goat Skin
Common salt (sodium chloride) and chemical preservatives are used for preservation of skins and leather to protect from microbial attacks, which leads to severe pollution problem. Bacteriocin is an eco-friendly option for skin and leather preservation in leather industry, which contains antimicrobial and antifungal components their fluid. Bacteriocin was extracted from Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from chicken meat by submerged fermentation method. The bacteriocin was tested against the skin putrefying organism Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus putrefaciens by plate assay method, which showed the activity of 200 AU/ml for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 340AU/ml for Bacillus putrefaciens. These two cultures were further analysed by SEM, which showed cleavage of bacterial cell walls due to action of bacteriocin. This study revealed the presence of antimicrobial activity in bacteriocin. Then the bacteriocin was tested for preservation of goat skin infected by skin putrefying organisms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus putrefaciens, and its efficacy was studied. The microbial infected goat skin was preserved with 15% bacteriocin solution and stored for seven days at room temperature, which showed the complete inhibition of microbial growth even after seven days of storage. Then the goat skin was further processed into crust leather and which was analysed by SEM and physical testing data. The SEM analysis and physical testing data revealed no significant changes in the fiber structure of the skin due to preservation by bacteriocin. The pollution load generation (Total Dissolved solvents) has reduced at the level of 94.4% and 95.6% (of chlorides) during soaking process. The overall experiments revealed that the bacteriocin can be used as potential bio preservatives for preservation of skin and leather.
A Public Health Approach to Child Protection: Why Data Matter
In Australia, many researchers and policy makers believe that statutory child protection systems are overburdened and ineffective. The way forward, they suggest, is a public health model of child protection. A public health approach comprises four steps: (1) collecting surveillance data; (2) establishing causes and correlations; (3) developing and evaluating interventions; and (4) disseminating information about the effectiveness of intervention activities to the public health community. However, in Australia there are no reliable surveillance data. There is no information about ‘person’. Information is not collected about the characteristics of children (e.g., ethnicity) and parents (e.g., mental illness) reported to child protection services. Data are not comparable across place. This is because the states and territories have their own child protection legislation, definitions and data recording methods. Data are not comparable over time. This is because many jurisdictions have introduced new data recording systems over recent years. This paper concludes that it is essential to develop an effective child protection surveillance data system. This will ensure that services are located in areas and targeted towards populations in greatest need. It will enable large-scale evaluation of the effectiveness of prevention and intervention activities.