Growth and Gas Formation by Lactobacillus wasatchensis, a Novel Obligatory Heterofermentative Nonstarter Lactic Acid Bacterium, in Cheddar-style Cheese Made Using a Streptococcus thermophilus Starter

A novel slow-growing, obligatory heterofermentative, nonstarter lactic acid bacterium (NSLAB) Lactobacillus wasatchensis WDC04 was studied for growth and gas production in Cheddar-style cheese made using Streptococcus thermophilus as the starter culture. Cheesemaking trials were conducted using St. thermophilus alone or in combination with Lb. wasatchensis deliberately added to cheese milk at a level of ~104 cfu/ml. Resulting cheeses were ripened at 6 or 12°C. At d 1, starter streptococcal numbers were similar in both cheeses (~109 cfu/g) and fast-growing NSLAB lactobacilli counts were below detectable levels (\u3c102 cfu/g). As expected, Lactobacillus wasatchensis counts were 3 x 105 cfu/g in cheeses inoculated with this bacterium and below enumeration limits in the control cheese. Starter streptococci decreased over time at both storage temperatures but declined more rapidly at 12°C, especially in cheese also containing Lb. wasatchensis. Populations of fast-growing NSLAB and the slow-growing Lb. wasatchensis reached 5 x 107 and 2 x 108 cfu/g, respectively, after 16 wk of storage at 12°C. Growth of NSLAB coincided with a reduction in galactose concentration in the cheese from 0.6% to 0.1%. Levels of galactose at 6°C had similar decrease. Gas formation and textural defects were only observed in cheese with added Lb. wasatchensis ripened at 12°C. Use of St. thermophilus as starter culture resulted in galactose accumulation that Lb. wasatchensis can utilize to produce CO2, which contributes to late gas blowing in Cheddar-style cheeses, especially when the cheese is ripened at elevated temperature

Growth and gas production of a novel obligatory heterofermentative Cheddar cheese nonstarter lactobacilli species on ribose and galactose

An obligatory heterofermentative lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus wasatchii sp. nov., isolated from gassy Cheddar cheese was studied for growth, gas formation, salt tolerance, and survival against pasteurization treatments at 63°C and 72°C. Initially, Lb. wasatchii was thought to use only ribose as a sugar source and we were interested in whether it could also utilize galactose. We conducted experiments to determine the rate and extent of growth and gas production in carbohydraterestricted (CR) de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) medium under anaerobic conditions with various combinations of ribose and galactose at 12, 23, and 37°C, with 23°C being the optimum growth temperature of Lb. wasatchii among the three temperatures studied. When Lb. wasatchii was grown on ribose (0.1, 0.5, and 1%), maximum specific growth rates (μmax) within each temperature were similar. When galactose was the only sugar, compared with ribose, μmax was 2 to 4 times lower. At all temperatures, the highest final cell densities (optical density at 640 nm) of Lb. wasatchii were achieved in CR-MRS plus 1% ribose, 0.5% ribose and 0.5% galactose, or 1% ribose and 1% galactose. Similar μmax values and final cell densities were achieved when 50% of the ribose in CR-MRS was substituted with galactose. Such enhanced utilization of galactose in the presence of ribose to support bacterial growth has not previously been reported. It appears that Lb. wasatchii co-metabolizes ribose and galactose, utilizing ribose for energy and galactose for other functions such as cell wall biosynthesis. Co-utilization of both sugars could be an adaptation mechanism of Lb. wasatchii to the cheese environment to efficiently ferment available sugars for maximizing metabolism and growth. As expected, gas formation by the heterofermenter was observed only when galactose was present in the medium. Growth experiments with MRS plus 1.5% ribose at pH 5.2 or 6.5 with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5% NaCl revealed that Lb. wasatchii is able to grow under salt and pH conditions typical of Cheddar cheese (4 to 5% salt-in-moisture, pH ~5.2). Finally, we found that Lb. wasatchii cannot survive low-temperature, long-time pasteurization but survives high-temperature, short-time (HTST) laboratory pasteurization, under which a 4.5 log reduction occurred. The ability of Lb. wasatchii to survive HTST pasteurization and grow under cheese ripening conditions implies that the presence of this nonstarter lactic acid bacterium can be a serious contributor to gas formation and textural defects in Cheddar cheese

S-Index and APRI Score to Predict Liver Fibrosis Chronic in Hepatitis B and C Patients

Background: A great interest has been dedicated to the development of non invasive predictive models in recent years to substitute liver biopsy for fibrosis assessment and follow-up. The aim of this study was to comparethe accuracy between S-index and aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) to FibroScan for predicting liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B and C patients.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 40 patients with chronic hepatitis B and C between January 2010 - May 2011 at Division of Gastroentero-hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Adam Malik Hospital, Medan. Patients underwent laboratory examination and FibroScan, then used predictive values to assess the accuracy of S-index scores and APRI compared to FibroScan. The analysis was performed using SPSS 15.0.Results: S-index identified significant fibrosis in 87.5% patients with sensitivity (Se) 87.5% and specificity (Sp) 100%. About 67.5% of 40 patients could be identified correctly. S-index also could accurately predict the absence or presence of cirrhosis in 87.5% of the total 40 patients, with NPV 91.7% and PPV 81.25%, respectively. APRI for significant fibrosis has Se 85.7%, Sp 88%, PPV 88.8%, NPV 69.2%; while Se 53%, Sp 88%, PPV 72.7%, NPV 75.8% for liver cirrhosis. AUROC value for S-index was higher than APRI in predicting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis, i.e. 0.938 vs. 0.917 and 0.873 and 0.707, respectively.Conclusion: The S-index has a higher accuracy than APRI in predicting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infection

Global trends in milk quality: implications for the Irish dairy industry

The quality of Irish agricultural product will become increasingly important with the ongoing liberalisation of international trade. This paper presents a review of the global and Irish dairy industries; considers the impact of milk quality on farm profitability, food processing and human health, examines global trends in quality; and explores several models that are successfully being used to tackle milk quality concerns. There is a growing global demand for dairy products, fuelled in part by growing consumer wealth in developing countries. Global dairy trade represents only 6.2% of global production and demand currently outstrips supply. Although the Irish dairy industry is small by global standards, approximately 85% of annual production is exported annually. It is also the world's largest producer of powdered infant formula. Milk quality has an impact on human health, milk processing and on-farm profitability. Somatic cell count (SCC) is a key measure of milk quality, with a SCC not exceeding 400,000 cells/ml (the EU milk quality standard) generally accepted as the international export standard. There have been ongoing improvements in milk quality among both established and emerging international suppliers. A number of countries have developed successful industry-led models to tackle milk quality concerns. Based on international experiences, it is likely that problems with effective translation of knowledge to practice, rather than incomplete knowledge per se, are the more important constraints to national progress towards improved milk quality

Level of Gastrin Serum and Ulcer Size on Gastric Ulcer Correlated to Helicobacter Pylori Infection

Background: Previously has been defined that peptic ulcer has strongly correlated to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. But it hasn\u27t determined about correlation of gastrin serum level to the ulcer severity on H. pylori infection. The aims of this study were to find the percentage of H. pylori infection on peptic ulcer cases and its correlation to the gastrin serum level. Method: This is analytic cross sectional study in 50 patients with gastric ulcer who came to Adam Malik hospital from February to October 2007. The correlation between gastrin serum level and the size of ulcer with positive and negative Urea Breath Test (UBT) group was analyzed by unpaired student t- test. The correlation between gastrin serum level and ulcer size were investigated with Pearson correlation test and linier regression. Result: Fifty eligible patients, 33 (66%) had positive UBT and 17 (34%) were negative. There were statistically significant difference on gastrin serum level in positive UBT and negative respectively (p = 0.017). There were also significant difference between mean of ulcer size in positive UBT and negative respectively (p = 0.025). There were correlation between gastrin serum level and ulcer size (r = 0.315; p = 0.026). It can predict the increasing ulcer size in 0.012 mm every 1 pg/mL of gastrin serum elevated. Conclusion: Patients with positive UBT has greater ulcer size and higher gastrin level as compared to the negative group. There were positive correlation between gastrin serum level to the size of ulcer in peptic ulcer patients and increase of ulcer size followed with elevated of gastrin serum level

Profile of Colorectal Cancer Patients in Endoscopic Unit at Dr. Pirngadi Hospital - Medan

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most prevalent cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide every year. Rates of this Malignancy vary by country. In Indonesia, the prevalence is estimated to have an increased tendency. The objectives of this sudy was to examine the prevalence and profile of colorectal cancer, which are diagnosed by endoscopic examination. Method: The study was conducted retrospectively, by examining the Result of endoscopic findings of patients with rectal bleeding, altered bowel habit, chronic diarrhea, unexplain abdominal pain, and other signs and symptoms at The Endoscopic Unit Department of Internal Medicine, Dr. Pirngadi hospital from January 2004 to June 2008. Results: We found 197 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) from 760 patients examined by colonoscopy (25.9%). One hundred and one patients (51.3%) out of 197 CRC patients were female. Most were in the group of age 51-60 years (28.9%). The most frequent ethnic of the patients were Bataknese (46.2%). The most common symptom was rectal bleeding (70.6%). The most common location of CRC was in the rectum (74.6%). Histopathologic Result was adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: The prevalence of colorectal cancer in this study were twenty six percents. Rectal bleeding appeared to be the most common sign in this study. Rectum was the most common site of the cancer. Most of patients were Bataknese. Patients were at advanced stage and most of them were having well-differentiated adenocarcinoma

Insights into udder health and intramammary antibiotic usage on Irish dairy farms during 2003-2010

By international standards, Ireland is a relatively small dairy producer. However, the industry plays a critical role to the national economy, accounting for approximately 3% of national gross domestic product. This paper presents insights into udder health and intramammary antibiotic usage on Irish dairy farms during 2003-2010, based on data from several sources. Three data sources were used, including data on milk recording data, intramammary antibiotic sales and animal health assessment. The milk recording data included a single unadjusted herd-level somatic cell count (SCC) value for each herd at each milk recording, being the arithmetic mean of cow-level SCC of each cow at that recording, weighted by cow-level yield. These data were used to calculate the percentage of herds each month where the unadjusted herd SCC exceeded 200,000 and 400,000 cells/mL. Two logistic generalised estimating-equations (GEE) models were developed, the outcome variable being either the probability that the monthly SCC of a herd was greater than 400,000 cells/mL or less than or equal to 200,000 cells/mL. Spring herds had a lower probability of a high SCC (> 400,000 cells/mL) during February to October compared to non-Spring herds but a higher probability between November to January. The odds of a high SCC were greater in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010 but less in 2007 and 2008 compared to 2004. Smaller herds had higher odds of having a high SCC compared to larger herds. We present the number of intramammary tubes and the quantity of active substance (kg) sold annually in Ireland during 2003-2010. We infer an incidence of clinical mastitis of 54.0 cases per 100 cow-years at risk, assuming 4 tubes per treatment regime, one affected quarter per cow, tubes restricted to clinical cases only and 100% of treated cases considered new cases, based on data collected on sales of in-lactation intra-mammary antibiotics. With differing assumptions, this estimate varied between 25.8 and 77.0 cases per 100 cow-years at risk. Using data on sales of dry cow therapy intra-mammary antibiotics, we also infer that most Irish dairy farmers use blanket dry cow therapy. It is important that Ireland has an objective understanding of current levels of udder health, to facilitate benchmarking and improvement into the future. Udder health is a concern on a number of Irish dairy farms. High SCC results were present throughout the year, but more marked towards the start and end of each milking season. Animal Health Ireland recently commenced a major national programme, CellCheck, in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders, to support national SCC improvement. In this paper, relevant European and national legislation is also reviewed

Dairy consumption and cardiometabolic diseases: systematic review and updated meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies

Purpose of Review Dairy products contain both beneficial and harmful nutrients in relation to cardiometabolic diseases. Here, we provide the latest scientific evidence regarding the relationship between dairy products and cardiometabolic diseases by reviewing the literature and updating meta-analyses of observational studies. Recent Findings We updated our previous meta-analyses of cohort studies on type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke with nine studies and confirmed previous results. Total dairy and low-fat dairy (per 200 g/d) were inversely associated with a 3–4% lower risk of diabetes. Yogurt was non-linearly inversely associatedwith diabetes (RR = 0.86, 95%CI: 0.83–0.90 at 80 g/ d). Total dairy and milk were not associated with CHD (RR~1.0). An increment of 200 g of daily milk intake was associated with an 8% lower risk of stroke. Summary The latest scientific evidence confirmed neutral or beneficial associations between dairy products and risk of cardiometabolic diseases