The fourth industrial revolution in the food industry—part II: Emerging food trends

The food industry has recently been under unprecedented pressure due to major global challenges, such as climate change, exponential increase in world population and urbanization, and the worldwide spread of new diseases and pandemics, such as the COVID-19. The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) has been gaining momentum since 2015 and has revolutionized the way in which food is produced, transported, stored, perceived, and consumed worldwide, leading to the emergence of new food trends. After reviewing Industry 4.0 technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, smart sensors, robotics, blockchain, and the Internet of Things) in Part I of this work (Hassoun, Aït-Kaddour, et al. 2022. The fourth industrial revolution in the food industry—Part I: Industry 4.0 technologies. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 1–17.), this complimentary review will focus on emerging food trends (such as fortified and functional foods, additive manufacturing technologies, cultured meat, precision fermentation, and personalized food) and their connection with Industry 4.0 innovations. Implementation of new food trends has been associated with recent advances in Industry 4.0 technologies, enabling a range of new possibilities. The results show several positive food trends that reflect increased awareness of food chain actors of the food-related health and environmental impacts of food systems. Emergence of other food trends and higher consumer interest and engagement in the transition toward sustainable food development and innovative green strategies are expected in the future.The fourth industrial revolution in the food industry—part II: Emerging food trendssubmittedVersio

Virulence, phenotype and genotype characteristics of invasive group B Streptococcus isolates obtained from Swedish pregnant women and neonates

Group B streptococci (GBS) are bacteria that can cause preterm birth and invasive neonatal disease. Heterogeneous expression of virulence factors enables GBS to exist as both commensal bacteria and to become highly invasive. A molecular epidemiological study comparing GBS bacterial traits, genotype and host characteristics may indicate whether it is possible to predict the risk of perinatal invasive GBS disease and more accurately target intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis. A total of 229 invasive GBS isolates from Swedish pregnant women or neonates were assessed for virulence and phenotypic traits: hemolysis zone, hemolytic pigment (Granada agar), Streptococcus B Carrot Broth (SBCB) assay, CAMP factor, and hyaluronidase activity. Genes regulating hemolytic pigment synthesis (covR/covS, abx1, stk1, stp1) were sequenced. Of the virulence factors and phenotypes assessed, a Granada pigment or SBCB score ≥ 2 captured more than 90% of EOD isolates with excellent inter-rater reliability. High enzyme activity of hyaluronidase was observed in 16% (36/229) of the invasive GBS isolates and notably, in one case of stillbirth. Hyaluronidase activity was also significantly higher in GBS isolates obtained from pregnant/postpartum individuals versus the stillbirth or neonatal invasive isolates (p < 0.001). Sequencing analysis found that abx1 (g.T106I), stk1 (g.T211N), stp1 (g.K469R) and covS (g.V343M) variants were present significantly more often in the higher (Granada pigment score ≥ 2) versus lower pigmented isolates (p < 0.001, each variant). Among the 203 higher Granada pigment scoring isolates, 22 (10.8%) isolates had 3 of the four sequence variants and 10 (4.9%) had 2 of the four sequence variants. Although heterogeneity in GBS virulence factor expression was observed, the vast majority were more highly pigmented and contained several common sequence variants in genes regulating pigment synthesis. High activity of hyaluronidase may increase risk for stillbirth and invasive disease in pregnant or postpartum individuals. Our findings suggest that testing for GBS pigmentation and hyaluronidase may, albeit imperfectly, identify pregnant people at risk for invasive disease and represent a step towards a personalized medical approach for the administration of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis

Determination of bioactive properties of food grade extracts from Icelandic edible brown seaweed sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) with in vitro human cell cultures (THP-1)

Background: Sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima, formerly known as Laminaria saccharina) is a brown seaweed which naturally occurs in the North Atlantic. Seaweeds may be one of the last natural food resources abundantly available. They are known to contain many compounds which may have additional functional benefits. This edible seaweed is characterized by high content of nutrients including carbohydrates and polyphenols, which are recognized antioxidants. Because their natural environment is a 3% saline solution, they are very resistant to mild extraction methods. However, extracts from solvent extractions usually contain residual solvents, making them unacceptable for high quality functional foods and high end cosmetics. The objective of this study was to test the biological properties of three extracts from sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima). Methods: Cold water, hot water, and ethanol: water (70:30 v/v) extracts were prepared. Total Carbohydrate Content (TCC) was determined by the phenol – sulphuric acid method and values were expressed as mg of fucose/g of dry extract. Total Polyphenol Content (TPC) was determined and expressed as mg of Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE)/100g of dry extract. Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assay was performed for all extracts and values were expressed as µM of Trolox® Equivalent/g of dry extract. Human leukemia monocytic cell line (THP-1) was used to investigate the bioactivity of Saccharina extracts. Extracts were applied to PMA differentiated THP-1 cells. Cytotoxicity of derived extracts was assessed by light microscopy followed by XTT proliferation assay. Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were performed to determine secretion of interleukin – 10 (IL-10), tumor necrosis factor – α (TNF-α) and interleukin – 6 (IL-6). Results: The cold water extract exhibited very toxic properties toward macrophages and was thereby excluded from the experimental proceedings with use of the macrophages. Among all the tested extracts, the hot water extract was richest in sugars (682±243 mg fucose/g dry extract) and polyphenols (96.5±5.6 mg GAE/g dry extract), which was correlated to the determined ORAC values (1686±99 μM TE/g dry extract). The addition of hot water and ethanol extracts at concentrations 100 μg/ml triggered secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α suggesting immunomodulatory properties of Saccharina extracts toward macrophages. Conclusions: The present study suggests that carbohydrate enriched extracts from Icelandic edible seaweed Saccharina latissima have antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties towards human THP–1 derived macrophages. The carbohydrate and polyphenol correlated with ORAC values confirming antioxidant properties of the derived extracts. The hot water extract affected the pro–inflammatory (TNF–α) and anti–inflammatory (IL–10) cytokine secretion in macrophages, suggesting their bioactivity through immunomodulatory actions and can be considered for practical applications in functional foods and cosmetics

Estimation of quality in frozen fish by low field NMR

This chapter addresses the potential of LF 1H NMR relaxometry to estimate the quality of fish products during freezing and frozen storage. This technique has shown to be, at least for some fish species, sensitive to changes occurring at subzero temperatures and the variation in the relaxation times kept a relationship with documented effects on the morphological and biochemical alterations of fish muscle. Moreover, the dependency of the relaxometry data on the freezing time and temperature has allowed the identification of indicators suitable for the estimation of shelf life, thus contributing to the increasing range of applications of the T2 decay signals.This work has been partly financed by Spanish ANIRISK (AGL2015–68248-C1) MINECO/FEDERPeer Reviewe

Permanent Electrochemical Doping of Quantum Dot Films through Photopolymerization of Electrolyte Ions

Quantum dots (QDs) are considered for devices like light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodetectors as a result of their tunable optoelectronic properties. To utilize the full potential of QDs for optoelectronic applications, control over the charge carrier density is vital. However, controlled electronic doping of these materials has remained a long-standing challenge, thus slowing their integration into optoelectronic devices. Electrochemical doping offers a way to precisely and controllably tune the charge carrier concentration as a function of applied potential and thus the doping levels in QDs. However, the injected charges are typically not stable after disconnecting the external voltage source because of electrochemical side reactions with impurities or with the surfaces of the QDs. Here, we use photopolymerization to covalently bind polymerizable electrolyte ions to polymerizable solvent molecules after electrochemical charge injection. We discuss the importance of using polymerizable dopant ions as compared to nonpolymerizable conventional electrolyte ions such as LiClO4 when used in electrochemical doping. The results show that the stability of charge carriers in QD films can be enhanced by many orders of magnitude, from minutes to several weeks, after photochemical ion fixation. We anticipate that this novel way of stable doping of QDs will pave the way for new opportunities and potential uses in future QD electronic devices. ChemE/Opto-electronic MaterialsDelft Energy InitiativeChemE/Advanced Soft Matte

Tuning and Probing the Distribution of Cu⁺ and Cu²⁺ Trap States Responsible for Broad-Band Photoluminescence in CuInS₂ Nanocrystals

The processes that govern radiative recombination in ternary CuInS2 (CIS) nanocrystals (NCs) have been heavily debated, but recently, several research groups have come to the same conclusion that a photoexcited electron recombines with a localized hole on a Cu-related trap state. Furthermore, it has been observed that single CIS NCs display narrower photoluminescence (PL) line widths than the ensemble, which led to the conclusion that within the ensemble there is a distribution of Cu-related trap states responsible for PL. In this work, we probe this trap-state distribution with in situ photoluminescence spectroelectrochemistry. We find that Cu2+ states result in individual "dark" nanocrystals, whereas Cu+ states result in "bright" NCs. Furthermore, we show that we can tune the PL position, intensity, and line width in a cyclic fashion by injecting or removing electrons from the trap-state distribution, thereby converting a subset of "dark" Cu2+ containing NCs into "bright" Cu+ containing NCs and vice versa. The electrochemical injection of electrons results in brightening, broadening, and a red shift of the PL, in line with the activation of a broad distribution of "dark" NCs (Cu2+ states) into "bright" NCs (Cu+ states) and a rise of the Fermi level within the ensemble trap-state distribution. The opposite trend is observed for electrochemical oxidation of Cu+ states into Cu2+. Our work shows that there is a direct correlation between the line width of the ensemble Cu+/Cu2+ trap-state distribution and the characteristic broad-band PL feature of CIS NCs and between Cu2+ cations in the photoexcited state (bright) and in the electrochemically oxidized ground state (dark).ChemE/Opto-electronic MaterialsApplied SciencesBN/Technici en Analiste

The fourth industrial revolution in the food industry—part II: Emerging food trends

The food industry has recently been under unprecedented pressure due to major global challenges, such as climate change, exponential increase in world population and urbanization, and the worldwide spread of new diseases and pandemics, such as the COVID-19. The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) has been gaining momentum since 2015 and has revolutionized the way in which food is produced, transported, stored, perceived, and consumed worldwide, leading to the emergence of new food trends. After reviewing Industry 4.0 technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, smart sensors, robotics, blockchain, and the Internet of Things) in Part I of this work (Hassoun, Aït-Kaddour, et al. 2022. The fourth industrial revolution in the food industry—Part I: Industry 4.0 technologies. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 1–17.), this complimentary review will focus on emerging food trends (such as fortified and functional foods, additive manufacturing technologies, cultured meat, precision fermentation, and personalized food) and their connection with Industry 4.0 innovations. Implementation of new food trends has been associated with recent advances in Industry 4.0 technologies, enabling a range of new possibilities. The results show several positive food trends that reflect increased awareness of food chain actors of the food-related health and environmental impacts of food systems. Emergence of other food trends and higher consumer interest and engagement in the transition toward sustainable food development and innovative green strategies are expected in the future