Safety of Food Oral Immunotherapy: What We Know, and What We Need to Learn.

Oral immunotherapy (OIT) for food allergy entails a risk of adverse reactions, including anaphylaxis. This safety concern is the major barrier for OIT to become a therapeutic option in clinical practice. The high heterogeneity in safety reporting of OIT studies prevents setting the safety profile accurately. An international consensus is needed to facilitate the analysis of large pooled clinical data with homogeneous safety reporting, that together with integrated omics, and patients/families' opinions, may help stratify the patients' risk and needs, and help developing safe(r) individualized care pathways. This will give OIT the right place in the food allergy therapy

Preparing a personalized meal by using soy, cricket, and egg albumin protein based on 3D printing

Recently, personalized meals and customized food design by means of 3D printing technology have been considered over traditional food manufacturing methods. This study examined the effects of different proteins (soy, cricket, and egg albumin protein) in two concentrations (3% and 5%) on rheological, textural, and 3D printing characteristics. The textural and microstructural properties of different formulations were evaluated and compared. The addition of soy and cricket protein induced an increase in yield stress (t0), storage modulus (G'), and loss modulus (G¿) while egg albumin protein decreased these parameters. The textural analysis (back extrusion and force of extrusion) demonstrated the relationship between increasing the amount of protein in the formula with an improvement in consistency and index of viscosity. These values showed a straight correlation with the printability of fortified formulas. 3D printing of the different formulas revealed that soy and cricket proteins allow the targeting of complex geometry with multilayers.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Antioxidant and Immunomodulatory Properties of Chia Protein Hydrolysates in Primary Human Monocyte–Macrophage Plasticity

Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seed has high potential in the development of functional food due to its protein content with a special amino acid profile. Among the hematopoietic-derived cells, monocytes are endowed with high plasticity, responsible for their pro- and anti-inflammatory function in M1 and M2 phenotype polarization, respectively. Indeed, monocytes are involved in several oxidative- and inflammatory-associated disorders such as cancer, obesity, and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. This study was designed to investigate the role of chia protein hydrolysates (CPHs) in primary human monocyte–macrophage plasticity response using biochemical, RT-qPCR, and ELISA assays. Our results showed that CPHs reduce ROS and nitrite output, as pro inflammatory cytokine secretion, and enhance the expression and release of anti-inflammatory cytokines. In addition, CPHs reverse LPS-associated M1 polarization into M2. These findings open new opportunities for developing nutritional strategies with chia as a dietary source of biopeptides to prevent the development and progression of oxidative- and inflammatory-related diseases.Programa Iberoamericano de Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo 119RT056

Eficacia de diversas pruebas serológicas para el diagnóstico de la brucelosis porcina

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Towards standardisation of contact and contactless electrical measurements of CVD graphene at the macro-, micro- and nano-scale

Graphene has become the focus of extensive research efforts and it can now be produced in wafer-scale. For the development of next generation graphene-based electronic components, electrical characterization of graphene is imperative and requires the measurement of work function, sheet resistance, carrier concentration and mobility in both macro-, micro- and nano-scale. Moreover, commercial applications of graphene require fast and large-area mapping of electrical properties, rather than obtaining a single point value, which should be ideally achieved by a contactless measurement technique. We demonstrate a comprehensive methodology for measurements of the electrical properties of graphene that ranges from nano- to macro- scales, while balancing the acquisition time and maintaining the robust quality control and reproducibility between contact and contactless methods. The electrical characterisation is achieved by using a combination of techniques, including magneto-transport in the van der Pauw geometry, THz time-domain spectroscopy mapping and calibrated Kelvin probe force microscopy. The results exhibit excellent agreement between the different techniques. Moreover, we highlight the need for standardized electrical measurements in highly controlled environmental conditions and the application of appropriate weighting functions

Detección de Defectos en Carrocerías de Vehículos Basado en Visión Artificial: Diseño e Implantación

[ES] Este artículo describe el diseño e implementación de un novedoso sistema de inspección basado en visión artificial para detectar defectos en carrocerías de vehículos automóviles. El sistema ha sido implantado en la factoría Ford de Almussafes (Valencia) como consecuencia de varios proyectos de I+D entre Ford España, S.A. y el Instituto de Diseño y Fabricación de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia que han derivado en dos patentes internacionales. El sistema se basa en la detección de defectos mediante un barrido de iluminación, estando el sistema de visión fijo, al igual que el objeto a inspeccionar. Tras la adquisición de las imágenes, los defectos se detectan como consecuencia de las transiciones generadas por el barrido de iluminación al verse deformado el patrón de reflexión. La alta sensibilidad del sistema permite detectar defectos milimétricos de 0.2 mm de diámetro, gracias al efecto de amplificación causado por el propio barrido de iluminación. La principal innovación introducida por este proyecto industrial reside en el hecho del que el sistema es capaz de detectar casi el 100% de los defectos detectados mediante inspección humana. Esto ha supuesto mejoras significativas en la reducción del número de vehículos rechazados, además de una reducción del consumo energético, pintura utilizada, del menor impacto medioambiental y por supuesto una reducción en los costes de producción. El sistema también ha supuesto una mejora de las condiciones laborales de los trabajadores al reducirse los problemas como la fatiga ocular. En la actualidad el sistema está siendo rediseñado para su implantación y explotación en otras factorías Ford a nivel mundial con varios modelos de vehículos.Esta investigación, financiada por Ford-España, ha contado con las siguientes subvenciones públicas: Programa Nacional de Fomento de la Investigación Técnica (PROFIT), Sector Automoción, Ref. FIT-110200-2001-30 y FIT-110200-2003-33, (2001 y 2003) y PROGRAMA NOEMI-GESTA. La solución industiral quedó Finalista con Mención de Honor en los 7º Premios a las "Mejores Innovaciones Tecnológicas en Automoción Salón Inter. del Automóvil" (Barcelona, 2009).Tornero Montserrat, J.; Armesto, L.; Mora Aguilar, MC.; Montés Sánchez, N.; Herraez Martínez, A.; Asensio, JM. (2012). Detección de Defectos en Carrocerías de Vehículos Basado en Visión Artificial: Diseño e Implantación. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática Industrial (RIAI). 9(1):93-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riai.2011.11.010S9310491Alders, K., M. Lehe and G. Wan (2000). Method for the automatic recognition of surface defects in body shells and device for carrying out said method. Patent PCT/EP98/04291 Audi AG.Aluze, Denis, Fred Merienne, Christophe Dumont and Patrick Gorria (2002). Vision system for defect imaging, detection, and characterization on a specular surface of a 3d object. Image and Vision Computing 20(8), 569-580.Azorín López, Jorge (2007). Modelado de sistemas para visión de objetos especulares: inspección visual automática en producción industrial. PhD thesis. Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Tecnología Informática y Computación.Balzer, Jonathan, Sebastian Höfer and Jürgen Beyerer (2011). Multiview specular stereo reconstruction of large mirror surfaces. In: CVPR. pp. 2537-2544.Clarke, D.A. (1990). Panel surface flaw inspection. Patent US4920385 Diffracto Ltd.IDF (2009). Video ford. http://idf.webs.upv.es/descargas/quality control based on artificial vision.mpg y http://idf.webs.upv.es/descargas/ford spanish.mpg.Imanishi, M., K. Yoshida, T. Asaeda, Y. Suzuki S. Chida and M. Watanabe (1998). Surface defect inspection apparatus. Patent US5726705 Nissan Motor, CO.Kammel, S. and F. Puente Leon (2003). Head-mounted display for interactive inspection of painted free-form surfaces. In: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series (C. E. Rash & C. E. Reese, Ed.). Vol. 5079 of Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series. pp. 254-264.Kammel, S. and F. Puente Leon (2005a). Deflectometric measurement of specular surfaces. In: Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference. pp. 531-536.Kammel, S. and F. P. Leon (2005b). Deflectometric measurement of specular surfaces. In: Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference, 2005. IMTC 2005. Proceedings of the IEEE. Vol. 1. pp. 531-536.Kammel, Soeren (2002). Automated optimization of measurement setups for the inspection of specular surfaces. Vol. 4567. SPIE. pp. 199-206.Kuhlmann, L. (1995). On automatic visual inspection of reflective surfaces. PhD thesis. University of Denmark.Leon, F. Puente and S. Kammel (2003). Image fusion techniques for robust inspection of specular surfaces. In: Multisensor, Multisource Information Fusion: Architectures, Algorithms, and Applications. Vol. 5099. pp. 77-86.Leon, F. Puente and S. Kammel (2006). Inspection of specular and painted surfaces with centralized fusion techniques. Measurement 39(6), 536-546.Li, J., J.M. Parker and Z. Hou (2005). An intelligent system for real time automatic defect inspection on specular coated surfaces. In: Proc. SPIE Visual Communications and Image Processing.Li, Jinhua (2006). A, Intelligent System for Defect Inspection of Specular Painted Ceramic Tiles. PhD thesis. University of Kentucky.Lu, Feng and Evangelos Milios (1994). Robot pose estimation in unknown environments by matching 2d range scans. Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems 18, 249-275.Martinez, Silvia Satorres, Juan Gomez Ortega, Javier Gamez Garcia and Alejandro Sanchez Garcia (2010). A machine vision for automated headlamp lens inspection. In: Vision Sensors and Edge Detection. pp. 63-80. InTech.Perard, Denis and Juergen Beyerer (1997). Three-dimensional measurement of specular free-form surfaces with a structured-lighting reflection technique. Vol. 3204. SPIE. pp. 74-80.Pernkopf, Franz and Paul O’Leary (2003). Image acquisition techniques for automatic visual inspection of metallic surfaces. NDT&E International 36, 609-617.Prior, Miguel A., Jose Simon, Alvaro Herraez, Jose M. Asensio, Josep Tornero, Ana V. Ruescas and Leopoldo Armesto (2010). Inspection system and method of defect detection on specular surfaces. PCT/IB2010/052193 Ford España, S.A.Seulin, R, F. Merienne and P. Gorria (2001). Dynamic lighting system for specular surface inspection. In: Proc. Of SPIE. pp. 199-206.Seulin, R., F. Merienne and P. Gorria (n.d.). Machine vision system for specular surface inspection: Use of simulation process as a tool for design and optimization.Seulin, R., N. Bonnot, F. Merienne and P. Gorria (2002a). Simulation process for the design and optimization of a machine vision system for specular surface inspection. In: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series (K. G. Harding & J. W. Miller, Ed.). Vol. 4567 of Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series. pp. 129-140.Seulin, Ralph, Frederic Merienne and Patrick Gorria (2002b). Simulation of specular surface imaging based on computer graphics: application on a vision inspection system. EURASIP J. Appl. Signal Process. 2002, 649-658

Brucella ceti infection in dolphins from the Western Mediterranean sea

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Spatial distribution and risk factors of Brucellosis

Background: The role of wildlife as a brucellosis reservoir for humans and domestic livestock remains to be properly established. The aim of this work was to determine the aetiology, apparent prevalence, spatial distribution and risk factors for brucellosis transmission in several Iberian wild ungulates. Methods: A multi-species indirect immunosorbent assay (iELISA) using Brucella S-LPS antigen was developed. In several regions having brucellosis in livestock, individual serum samples were taken between 1999 and 2009 from 2,579 wild bovids, 6,448 wild cervids and4,454 Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa), and tested to assess brucellosis apparent prevalence. Strains isolated from wild boar were characterized to identify the presence of markers shared with the strains isolated from domestic pigs. Results: Mean apparent prevalence below 0.5% was identified in chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica), Iberian wild goat (Capra pyrenaica), and red deer (Cervus elaphus). Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), fallow deer (Dama dama), mouflon (Ovis aries) and Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) tested were seronegative. Only one red deer and one Iberian wild goat resulted positive in culture, isolating B. abortus biovar 1 and B. melitensis biovar 1, respectively. Apparent prevalence in wild boar ranged from 25% to 46% in the different regions studied, with the highest figures detected in South-Central Spain. The probability of wild boar being positive in the iELISA was also affected by age, age-by-sex interaction, sampling month, and the density of outdoor domestic pigs. A total of 104 bacterial isolates were obtained from wild boar, being all identified as B. suis biovar 2. DNA polymorphisms were similar to those found in domestic pigs. Conclusions: In conclusion, brucellosis in wild boar is widespread in the Iberian Peninsula, thus representing an important threat for domestic pigs. By contrast, wild ruminants were not identified as a significant brucellosis reservoir for livestock