46 research outputs found

    The role of the consumer in the reduction of Listeria monocytogenes in lettuces by washing at home

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    [EN] Lettuce is highly appreciated for its nutritional properties; however microbial contamination through the food chain and its raw consumption may jeopardize these known benefits to the diet. The objective of this study was to determine the role of the consumer at the stage of washing at home, in relation to the probability of illness due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in lettuce. Survival curves of L. monocytogenes after washing (dipping with and without addition of bleach, and washing under a running tap) were studied. A mathematical model for each washing method was calculated by fitting experimental data. The obtained models were used to estimate the probability of illness after washing at home. Results show that although consumers can only deal with low loads of L. monocytogenes, their role is essential to reduce the normal contamination level of lettuces and ensure their safety.This study was supported by the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain (PAID 06-10), which the authors gratefully acknowledge.Doménech Antich, EM.; Botella Grau, MS.; Ferrús Pérez, MA.; Escriche Roberto, MI. (2013). The role of the consumer in the reduction of Listeria monocytogenes in lettuces by washing at home. Food Control. 29(1):98-102. doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2012.05.074S9810229

    Simultaneous Detection of Four Main Foodborne Pathogens in Ready-to-Eat Food by Using a Simple and Rapid Multiplex PCR (mPCR) Assay

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    [EN] The increasing consumption of organic or ready-to-eat food may cause serious foodborne outbreaks. Microbiological culture for detection of food-borne pathogens is time-consuming, expensive and laborious. Thus, alternative methods such as PCR are usually employed for outbreaks investigation. In this work we aimed to develop a rapid and simple protocol for the simultaneous detection of E. coli, L. monocytogenes, S. aureus and S. enterica, by the combination of an enrichment step in a single culture broth and a multiplex PCR (mPCR) assay. The effectiveness of several enrichment media was assessed by culture and PCR. Buffered Peptone Water was selected as the optimum one. Then, mPCR conditions were optimized and applied both, to pure co-cultures and artificially inoculated food samples (organic lettuce and minced meat). In culture medium inoculated at 100 CFU/mL, mPCR was able to detect the four microorganisms. When performed on artificially food samples, the mPCR was able to detect E. coli, S. enterica and L. monocytogenes. In conclusion, Buffered Peptone Water broth can effectively support the simultaneous growth of E. coli, S. aureus, L. monocytogenes and S. enterica and could be, thus, used prior to a mPCR detection assay in ready-to-eat food, therefore considerably reducing time, efforts and costs of analyzes.FundingThis research was funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, Spain, Grant number PID2019-105691RB-I00. Miguel Garcia-Ferrus is the recipient of a PEJ2018- 003746A Grant from Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Spain.Boukharouba, A.; González Pellicer, A.; García-Ferrús, M.; Ferrús Pérez, MA.; Botella Grau, MS. (2022). Simultaneous Detection of Four Main Foodborne Pathogens in Ready-to-Eat Food by Using a Simple and Rapid Multiplex PCR (mPCR) Assay. International Journal of Environmental research and Public Health. 19(3):1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph1903103111819

    Antioxidant Intake and Antitumor Therapy: Toward Nutritional Recommendations for Optimal Results

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    This study was supported by the Regional Government of Andalusia (Project P11-CTS-7651 and assistance to the CTS-107 group).The role of the induction of oxidative stress as the mechanism of action of many antitumor drugs is acquiring an increasing interest. In such cases, the antitumor therapy success may be conditioned by the antioxidants present in our own body, which can be synthesized de novo (endogenous) or incorporated through the diet and nutritional supplements (exogenous). In this paper, we have reviewed different aspects of antioxidants, including their classification, natural sources, importance in diet, consumption of nutritional supplements, and the impact of antioxidants on health. Moreover, we have focused especially on the study of the interaction between antioxidants and antitumor therapy, considering both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this regard, we found that the convenience of administration of antioxidants during cancer treatment still remains a very controversial issue. In general terms, antioxidants could promote or suppress the effectiveness of antitumor treatment and even protect healthy tissues against damage induced by oxidative stress. The effects may depend on many factors discussed in the paper. These factors should be taken into consideration in order to achieve precise nutritional recommendations for patients. The evidence at the moment suggests that the supplementation or restriction of exogenous antioxidants during cancer treatment, as appropriate, could contribute to improving its efficiency.Junta de Andalucia P11-CTS-765

    Antioxidant Intake and Antitumor Therapy: Toward Nutritional Recommendations for Optimal Results

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    The role of the induction of oxidative stress as the mechanism of action of many antitumor drugs is acquiring an increasing interest. In such cases, the antitumor therapy success may be conditioned by the antioxidants present in our own body, which can be synthesized de novo (endogenous) or incorporated through the diet and nutritional supplements (exogenous). In this paper, we have reviewed different aspects of antioxidants, including their classification, natural sources, importance in diet, consumption of nutritional supplements, and the impact of antioxidants on health. Moreover, we have focused especially on the study of the interaction between antioxidants and antitumor therapy, considering both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this regard, we found that the convenience of administration of antioxidants during cancer treatment still remains a very controversial issue. In general terms, antioxidants could promote or suppress the effectiveness of antitumor treatment and even protect healthy tissues against damage induced by oxidative stress. The effects may depend on many factors discussed in the paper. These factors should be taken into consideration in order to achieve precise nutritional recommendations for patients. The evidence at the moment suggests that the supplementation or restriction of exogenous antioxidants during cancer treatment, as appropriate, could contribute to improving its efficiency

    ARE WE READY FOR A CHRONIC CRISIS? REFLECTIONS ON THE EXPERIENCE OF TEACHING DURING CONFINEMENT

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    [EN] The lockdown period that started on March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic was a big challenge for students and teachers. Technology made the continuation of the teaching easier, and it also allowed teachers to keep the contact both with colleagues and with students. New teaching and evaluation methodologies and new coordination and cooperation systems had to be quickly implemented. Our previous experience in flipped teaching, active methodologies and validation of online exams, helped us to tackle the transition from face-to-face to fully online teaching. The experience was satisfactory for the theory classes, but some problems in the laboratory classes have emerged. After that, right now, some extra work is needed to overcome these difficulties considering that maybe the situation would become chronic. Once that we got over the shock of the first moment, the question is whether the resilience mechanisms will remain, and if the hybrid teaching (face-to-face & online) can replace effectively face-to-face teaching for a long time. In this work we present the students¿ opinion on this question. The analysis has been performed at the School of Design Engineering of the Universitat Politècnica de València, in different courses of physics of several engineering degrees (all of them, first academic year courses). One example of good practice during confinement was the weekly coordination meetings between teachers of the same course and between teachers of physics courses in different degrees. Another one was the online exams, taking advantage of the automatic correction tests, and including images of the documents written by the students for later review. The academic results were comparable to those of a normal course and student and teachers' surveys were conducted to know their opinion. The good performance during this new situation was due to the collaboration, patience, understanding and trust of the students and teachers that was created in those moments of crisis. Students' opinion on the online teaching during their lockdown was positive. This work shows this students' opinion on the methodology used during the lockdown, and the process from previous flipped teaching methodologies experiences to a completely online teaching. At the same time, the students' opinion on the laboratory practices was also analysed. Finally, this work also shows the reflection of the involved teachers on the additional workload and on the capacity for cooperation and communication between them, during the lockdown period and the subsequent year. After gathering the opinion of teachers and students, we can conclude that the situation of the pandemic has been addressed with reasonable success. Performance of students is not affected, the theoretical classes have been developed normally, while the practical classes seem to need some changes to be adapted to the new situation as far as possible. Given that this situation persists, it is useful to carry out this type of study to be able to adapt teaching to future circumstances.Authors would like to thank the Institute of Education Sciences of the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) for supporting the Teaching Innovation Group e-MACAFI and for the financial support through PIME Project PIME/2018/B25 and PIME Project PIME/2018/B26Tort-Ausina, I.; Vidaurre, A.; Riera Guasp, J.; Gamiz-Gonzalez, M.; Meseguer Dueñas, JM.; Gómez-Tejedor, J.; Quiles Casado, SDLS.... (2021). ARE WE READY FOR A CHRONIC CRISIS? REFLECTIONS ON THE EXPERIENCE OF TEACHING DURING CONFINEMENT. IATED Academy. 359-367. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2021.0117S35936

    Data set on the effectiveness of Flip Teaching on engineering students' performance in the physics lab compared to Traditional Methodology

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    [EN] This paper shows the data of the Flip Teaching and Traditional Methodology on the laboratory practice in two subjects, Physics and Electricity, of a technical degree. The laboratory and final grades of these subjects were shown in four consecutive years. The characteristics of all four years were quite similar, except that the Traditional teaching Methodology (TM) was used in two, while Flip Teaching methodology (FT) was applied in the other two. For further discussion, please refer to the scientific article entitled "Effectiveness of flip teaching on engineering students' performance in the physics lab" [1]. Additional segmentation data in three levels are presented in this data in brief paper.This work was supported by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia [Project PIME/2018/B25 Convocatoria de Proyectos de Innovacion y Convergencia de la UPV].Gómez-Tejedor, J.; Vidaurre, A.; Tort-Ausina, I.; Molina Mateo, J.; Serrano, M.; Meseguer Dueñas, JM.; Martínez Sala, RM.... (2020). Data set on the effectiveness of Flip Teaching on engineering students' performance in the physics lab compared to Traditional Methodology. Data in Brief. 28:1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2019.104915S1728Gómez-Tejedor, J. A., Vidaurre, A., Tort-Ausina, I., Molina-Mateo, J., Serrano, M.-A., Meseguer-Dueñas, J. M., … Riera, J. (2020). Effectiveness of flip teaching on engineering students’ performance in the physics lab. Computers & Education, 144, 103708. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2019.10370

    Características químicas y sensoriales de la carne de cerdo, en función del consumo de dietas con ractopamina y diferentes concentraciones de lisina

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    Pork chemical and sensory characteristics of 48 barrows were used to evaluate the effect of ractopamine (5 PPM, Paylean, Elanco México) in diets formulated to three standardized ileal digestible-lysine (SID-Lys) levels. All diets had 3.3 Mcal EM/kg, and 14.5 % crude protein (CP), this represent a 10 % lower CP content than that recommended by the laboratory and the literature. Pigs (initial BW 77.2±3.42 and final BW 110.0±3.0 kg) were randomly alloted to one of four treatments: C) Control diet, 0.65 % SID-Lys; RHL) ractopamine, high lysine level, 1 % SID-Lys; RNL) ractopamine, normal lysine level, 0.8 % SID-Lys; RLL) ractopamine, low lysine level, 05 % SID-Lys. After 28 d of ad libitum intake, pigs were killed; from each pig, four 2.5 cm thick chops were used for chemical and sensory analyses. Adding RAC in diets with 14.5 % CP increases (P0.17), but they detected a higher juiciness (P0.17), pero sí detectó una mayor jugosidad de carne de cerdo (P<0.02) de animales que consumieron la dieta RBL. Es factible mejorar la calidad de la carne de cerdo mediante el uso de RAC y dietas bajas en proteína y lisina

    Effect of the use of videos in the pre-class preparation of laboratory sessions taught by flip teaching

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    [EN] Nowadays, it is well stablished the effectiveness of flip teaching in different areas. Video is widely used as a pre-class learning material and it is progressively replacing text-document materials. The students, 70 in total, are enrolled in the laboratory practice of the subject of Physics (Bachelor¿s Degree: Industrial Electronics and Automation Engineering) at the Universitat Politècnica de València. Student¿s perception data were collected from the results of a survey. Students were asked about the usefulness of the videos and the in-class work, paying special attention to the roll of the instructor in relation to the flip teaching methodology and the pre-class material. The students were divided into two groups. In one of them, the videos were recorded by the same instructor present at the lab session, whereas the other group, the videos used were recorded by instructors different from the instructor present at the lab. The results indicate that students feel that the videos are very useful, rather than the written documents. They attribute a high value to the instructor in the lab session as they feel more confident with their work and they can ask for help when needed. They value positively the possibility of work autonomously. Small differences have been found in the opinion of both groups being the higher in the question that concerns the preference of the videos respect to the text.This work has been supported by the Universitat Politècnica de València through the Project of Innovation and Educational Improvement Program (Projects PIME/2018/B26 and PIME/2018/B25 Convocatoria de Proyectos de Innovación y Convergencia).Meseguer Dueñas, JM.; Quiles Casado, SDLS.; Sabater I Serra, R.; Serrano, M.; Gómez-Tejedor, J.; García-Sánchez, TM.; Tort-Ausina, I.... (2020). Effect of the use of videos in the pre-class preparation of laboratory sessions taught by flip teaching. Iated. 6107-6112. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2020.1654S6107611

    Active methods in electricity and magnetism courses: Influence of degree, academic level and gender on student performance

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    [EN] The performance of first-year students in electromagnetism (E&M) courses of different engineering degrees at a Spanish public university was measured using the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA), a standard research-based instrument to assess students' understanding after attending introductory courses in electricity and magnetism. In all cases, Flipped classroom (FC) built on information and communications technology was used. The objective of this paper is to analyse if the gain in the BEMA pre and post-test results is influenced by several factors such as the degree, the students' academic grade, and gender. Moreover, as some studies have shown that the students' retention of the concepts was significantly stronger in active learning than in traditional approaches, a third BEMA test was performed by the students to analyse the long-term retention gain dependence on the same factors. Students from different engineering degree programs were asked to complete two BEMA tests during the course and a third one after a few months. ANOVA tests were used to analyse the existence of significant differences in gain between student degree programs, student academic level and student gender. Results have shown no differences in the BEMA performance by degree program, but significant differences were found by academic level and gender. Retention did not depend on the degree course but on the academic level. Mean gain value by academic level, and gender was obtained and concluded that the best students presented the best gain results and that gain depends on the students' gender: males outperformed females in the BEMA tests, although there were no significant differences in the course grades. It is thus necessary to understand these differences and to implement measures in daily teaching work to improve women's performance.Authors would like to thank the Instituto de Ciencias de la Educacion (ICE) in the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for their help, through the Innovation and Educational Quality Program and for supporting the team of the Innovacion en Metodologias Activas para el Aprendizaje de la Fisica (e-MACAFI) . This work has been supported by the UPV through the Project of Innovation and Educational Improvement Program (Projects PIME/18-19/76, PIME/18-19/88 and PIME/20-21/220 Convocatoria de Proyectos de Innovacion y Convergencia de la UPV) .Serrano, M.; Vidaurre, A.; Meseguer-Dueñas, JM.; Tort-Ausina, I.; Quiles Casado, SDLS.; Sabater I Serra, R.; García-Sanchez, T.... (2023). Active methods in electricity and magnetism courses: Influence of degree, academic level and gender on student performance. Heliyon. 9(10):1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e2049011591
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