Effect of negative air ionization technology on microbial reduction of food-related microorganisms

Negative air ions (NAI) have been shown to have bactericidal effects on various microbial species. Different concentrations of NAI and ozone (106-7x106 NAI cm-3 s−1, 2.20 mg h-1 of ozone or 8 × 106-2x107 NAI cm−3 s−1, 0.02 mg h−1 of ozone, respectively) were studied to determine whether the effect of these treatments on six food-related microorganisms was due to NAI or also to the ozone that forms. Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes showed a significantly microbial reduction after the treatments of NAI with a low concentration of ozone, while Pseudomonas fluorescens, Penicillium roqueforti, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were affected mainly by NAI and higher ozone concentration. It should be noticed that the reduction of the pathogen L. monocytogenes has been 2.17 Log after 72 h treatment to NAI and low ozone concentration. The results proved that ions (NAI) contribute to microbial killing. However, the sensitivity of microbial species is different and depends on individual parameters of the different microorganisms. NAI technology with low ozone production can be rapid, green, and low-cost and it can represent an alternative to the use of chemicals for the sanitation of air and surfaces in the food sector in order to reduce microbial contamination

Inactivation of Foodborne Bacteria Biofilms by Aqueous and Gaseous Ozone

In this study, the efficacy of treatments with ozone in water and gaseous ozone against attached cells and microbial biofilms of three foodborne species, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes, was investigated. Biofilms formed on AISI 304 stainless steel coupons from a mixture of three strains (one reference and two wild strains) of each microbial species were subjected to three types of treatment for increasing times: (i) ozonized water (0.5 ppm) by immersion in static condition, (ii) ozonized water under flow conditions, and (iii) gaseous ozone at different concentrations (0.1\u201320 ppm). The Excel add-in GinaFit tool allowed to estimate the survival curves of attached cells and microbial biofilms, highlighting that, regardless of the treatment, the antimicrobial effect occurred in the first minutes of treatment, while by increasing contact times probably the residual biofilm population acquired greater resistance to ozonation. Treatment with aqueous ozone under static conditions resulted in an estimated viability reduction of 1.61\u20132.14 Log CFU/cm2 after 20 min, while reduction values were higher (3.26\u20135.23 Log CFU/cm2 ) for biofilms treated in dynamic conditions. S. aureus was the most sensitive species to aqueous ozone under dynamic conditions. With regard to the use of gaseous ozone, at low concentrations (up to 0.2 ppm), estimated inactivations of 2.01\u20132.46 Log CFU/cm2 were obtained after 60 min, while at the highest concentrations a complete inactivation (<10 CFU/cm2 ) of the biofilms of L. monocytogenes and the reduction of 5.51 and 4.72 Log CFU/cm2 of P. fluorescens and S. aureus respectively after 60 and 20 min were achieved. Considering the results, ozone in water form might be used in daily sanitation protocols at the end of the day or during process downtime, while gaseous ozone might be used for the treatment of confined spaces for longer times (e.g., overnight) and in the absence of personnel, to allow an eco-friendly control of microbial biofilms and consequently reduce the risk of cross-contamination in the food industry

Visuospatial and visuoperceptual impairment in relation to global atrophy in Parkinson’s disease*

Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients differed from controls of similar age in visuospatial and visuoperceptual functions at diagnosis moment, and these deficits have been shown to be neuropsychological markers of evolution to dementia. The aim of this study was to relate these dysfunctions with measures of brain. The sample of this study consisted of 92 PD patients and 36 healthy subjects matched by age, sex and education. All subjects were evaluated with Judgment of Line Orientation, Visual Form Discrimination and Facial Recognition Tests and magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla. We found significant differences between patients and controls in all three tests and in the mean of cortical thickness, gray matter volume and ventricular system. All visuospatial and visuoperceptual tests correlated with the measures of global atrophy suggesting that they are reflecting the brain degeneration associated to PD

Effect of shape, gluten, and mastication effort on in vitro starch digestion and the predicted glycemic index of pasta

Gluten-containing (GC) and gluten-free (GF) pasta consumption has been growing in recent years. The market offers a wide variety of pasta types, with differences in shape and formulation that influence the mastication process and, consequently, their nutritional behaviors (i.e. starch digestibility and glycemic response). This study investigated the effect of shape, gluten, and structural breakdown on in vitro starch digestibility and predicted the glycemic index (pGI) of GC and GF penne, spaghetti, and risoni. Pasta was cooked and minced to mimic short, intermediate, and long mastication efforts. Short mastication led to a higher number of big particles than intermediate and long mastications for all pasta samples, which was reflected in the different starch digestibility and pGI patterns. Multivariate analysis of variance showed that the three studied factors differently affected the in vitro starch digestion of pasta. Mastication effort, shape, and their interaction mainly affected the starch digestion rate and pGI. Gluten was the major factor in affecting the amount of digested starch. The results suggested that small shapes (i.e. risoni), the presence of gluten, and short mastication effort led to a lower pGI. The findings will be useful for the development of pasta products tailored to fulfill the needs of specific consumers following a rational food design approach

The Right to the Sustainable Smart City

Environmental concerns have driven an interest in sustainable smart cities, through the monitoring and optimisation of networked infrastructures. At the same time, there are concerns about who these interventions and services are for, and who benefits. HCI researchers and designers interested in civic life have started to call for the democratisation of urban space through resistance and political action to challenge state and corporate claims. This paper contributes to an emerging body of work that seeks to involve citizens in the design of sustainable smart cities, particularly in the context of marginalised and culturally diverse urban communities. We present a study involving co- designing Internet of Things with urban agricultural communities and discuss three ways in which design can participate in the right to the sustainable smart city through designing for the commons, care, and biocultural diversity

Visuospatial and visuoperceptual impairment in relation to global atrophy in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients differed from controls of similar age in visuospatial and visuoperceptual functions at diagnosis moment, and these deficits have been shown to be neuropsychological markers of evolution to dementia. The aim of this study was to relate these dysfunctions with measures of brain. The sample of this study consisted of 92 PD patients and 36 healthy subjects matched by age, sex and education. All subjects were evaluated with Judgment of Line Orientation, Visual Form Discrimination and Facial Recognition Tests and magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla. We found significant differences between patients and controls in all three tests and in the mean of cortical thickness, gray matter volume and ventricular system. All visuospatial and visuoperceptual tests correlated with the measures of global atrophy suggesting that they are reflecting the brain degeneration associated to PD.Los pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson (EP) comparados con controles de similar edad muestran alteraciones visuoespaciales y visuoperceptivas desde el momento del diagnóstico, y se ha demostrado que estas alteraciones actúan como marcadores neuropsicológicos de la evolución a demencia. El objetivo de este estudio es relacionar estas alteraciones con las medidas globales de atrofia cerebral. La muestra consta de 92 EP y 36 sujetos sanos emparejadospor edad, sexo y educación. Todos los sujetos fueron evaluados mediante el Judgment of Line Orientation, Visual Form Discrimination y Facial Recognition Test y se obtuvieron datos de neuroimagen estructural con un aparato de Resonancia Magnética de 3 tesla. Se observaron diferencias entreblos pacientes y los controles en los tres tests usados y en las medidas de grosor cortical total, volumen de sustancia gris y sistema ventricular. Todos los tests visuoespaciales y visuoperceptivos correlacionaron con medidas de atrofia global, lo cual sugiere que son indicadores útiles de la degeneración cerebral asociada a la EP

Band 3 is an anchor protein and a target for SHP-2 tyrosine phosphatase in human erythrocytes

AbstractTyr phosphorylation of the multifunctional transmembrane protein band 3 has been implicated in several erythrocyte functions and disorders. We previously demonstrated that pervanadate treatment of human erythrocytes induces band-3 Tyr phosphorylation, which is catalyzed by the sequential action of tyrosine kinase Syk and tyrosine kinase(s) belonging to the Src family. In this study, we show that Tyr phosphorylation of band 3, elicited by pervanadate, N-ethylmaleimide, or diamide, greatly increases band-3 interaction with the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2 in parallel with the translocation of SHP-2 to erythrocyte membranes. These events seem to be mediated by Src-like catalyzed phosphorylation of band 3 because both SHP-2 translocation to cellular membranes and its interaction with Tyr-phosphorylated protein are greatly counteracted by PP2, a specific inhibitor of Src kinases. Binding-competition experiments demonstrate that SHP-2 recruitment to band 3 occurs via its SH2 domain(s). In particular, our data support the view that SHP-2 docks specifically with P-Y359 of band 3. Experiments performed with intact erythrocytes in the presence of the SHP-2 inhibitor calpeptin suggest that, once recruited to Tyr-phosphorylated band 3, the tyrosine phosphatase dephosphorylates the protein. P-Y8, 21, and 904 are the residues affected by SHP-2, as judged by 32P-peptide mapping of band 3 digested with trypsin. These results indicate that in treated erythrocytes, recruitment of cytosolic SHP-2 to band 3 is a prerequisite for the subsequent dephosphorylation of the transmembrane protein

Visuospatial and visuoperceptual impairment in relation to global atrophy in Parkinson's diseas

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients differed from controls of similar age in visuospatial and visuoperceptual functions at diagnosis moment, and these deficits have been shown to be neuropsychological markers of evolution to dementia. The aim of this study was to relate these dysfunctions with measures of brain. The sample of this study consisted of 92 PD patients and 36 healthy subjects matched by age, sex and education. All subjects were evaluated with Judgment of Line Orientation, Visual Form Discrimination and Facial Recognition Tests and magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla. We found significant differences between patients and controls in all three tests and in the mean of cortical thickness, gray matter volume and ventricular system. All visuospatial and visuoperceptual tests correlated with the measures of global atrophy suggesting that they are reflecting the brain degeneration associated to PD

Brown rice and pulses for the development of shelf-stable and low glycemic index ready-to-eat meals

Shelf-stable low glycemic index ready-to-eat (RTE) risotto meals (in pouches) containing brown rice and pulses (recipe A = chickpeas; recipe B = lentils, and beans) were developed, stored for 12-months at room temperature, and characterized over time. RTE meals were heated in microwave (replicating home consumption procedure), and analyzed for in vitro starch digestibility, textural attributes, and consumer acceptability. Digestible starch fractions were similar in the formulations during storage, and in vivo testing demonstrated low glycemic indexes (recipe A = 43.5 ± 6.8; recipe B = 31.8 ± 6.5) for the two meals. Hardness of risotto components increased during storage and microwave heating did not fully recover textural attibutes characteristic of the fresh product. Consumers’ (50) acceptability remained high (&gt;5.5 out of 9) until the end of storage. This study demonstrates brown rice with pulses can be used for developing stable and accepted ready-to-eat meals having low glycemic indexes

RECEPÇÃO E TRABALHADORES DA AGROINDÚSTRIA: um panorama do acesso e consumo de informações rurais no norte do Rio Grande do Sul

Este artigo investiga como os pequenos agricultores do ramo da agroindústria acessam informações rurais, bem como busca compreender quais veículos locais da região do Médio Alto Uruguai atuam junto a esse público. A análise é fruto de trajeto metodológico no campo da recepção e dos estudos culturais, de modo privilegiar a análise pelo viés dos sujeitos, de suas formações socioculturais. Dos resultados, após nosso levantamento de dados, a internet aparece em primeiro lugar na predileção dos entrevistados como meio para buscar informações sobre o rural, refletindo o crescimento desse meio nas áreas rurais do país