Food preservation under pressure (hyperbaric storage) as a possible improvement/alternative to refrigeration

Food preservation is highly dependent on refrigeration, which is limited by its high energy costs. Among alternatives being developed, this review focused on hyperbaric storage (food preservation under pressure). This new preservation methodology has as main objective microbial growth inhibition similarly to freezing and refrigeration, showing a great potential to lower energy costs since refrigerated/room temperatures (RT) can be used. This, even at variable (uncontrolled) RT (up to 37 C), has been shown to preserve foods and thus achieving significant energy savings. Covering the earliest up to the more recent studies, this review aimed to gather information about the state of art of hyperbaric storage at refrigerated and RTs, with the primary objective of showing it potential and possible future applications of this new preservation method based on microbial growth inhibition under pressure, using pressure as the main variable to slow down microbial growth

Bioactive and luminescent indole and isatin based gold(i) derivatives

A series of luminescent monometallic [AuL(PPh 3 )] (1-3) and bimetallic [Au 2 (µ-dppe)L 2 ] (4, 6, 8) and [Au 2 (µ-dppp)L 2 ] (5, 7, 9) complexes, where L is either 4-cyano-indole, isatin, or 5, 7-dimethyl-isatin, and dppe and dppp are 1, 2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane and 1, 3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane, respectively, have been synthesised. X-ray diffraction confirmed the tendency to establish aurophillic interations for those complexes containing dppe. Luminescence studies and theoretical calculations revealed a different origin for both families, i.e. indole and isatin species. Thus, indole derivatives presented a ligand-to-ligand-charge-transfer transition (LLCT) from the indole to the PPh 3 fragment, whereas for the isatin derivatives an intraligand-charge-transfer transition (ILCT) within the isatin fragment is proposed. In both cases, the gold centre was slightly implicated as a ligand-to-metal-charge transfer transition (LMCT) (from the indole/isatin to Au(i)). Cell antiproliferative assays in lung cancer cells (A549), leukemia Jurkat-pLVTHM and Jurkat-shBak cells (cisplatin sensitive and resistant, respectively) showed excellent cytotoxic values (10.11-0.28 µM), showing the leukemia cells to be the most sensitive and the bimetallic species to be the most active agents. Preliminary studies associated the cytotoxicity with a combination of different factors, the metallic fragment being mainly responsible. Remarkably, these complexes are able to inhibit the cellular growth of cisplatin resistant Jurkat-shBak cells highlighting their promising future as an alternative anticancer agent

Effect of methylprednisolone on perivascular pulmonary edema, inflammatory infiltrate, VEGF and TGF-beta immunoexpression in the remaining lungs of rats after left pneumonectomy

Pneumonectomy is associated with high rates of morbimortality, with postpneumonectomy pulmonary edema being one of the leading causes. An intrinsic inflammatory process following the operation has been considered in its physiopathology. The use of corticosteroids is related to prevention of this edema, but no experimental data are available to support this hypothesis. We evaluated the effect of methylprednisolone on the remaining lungs of rats submitted to left pneumonectomy concerning edema and inflammatory markers. Forty male Wistar rats weighing 300 g underwent left pneumonectomy and were randomized to receive corticosteroids or not. Methylprednisolone at a dose of 10 mg/kg was given before the surgery. After recovery, the animals were sacrificed at 48 and 72 h, when the pO2/FiO2 ratio was determined. Right lung perivascular edema was measured by the index between perivascular and vascular area and neutrophil density by manual count. Tissue expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry light microscopy. There was perivascular edema formation after 72 h in both groups (P = 0.0031). No difference was observed between operated animals that received corticosteroids and those that did not concerning the pO2/FiO2 ratio, neutrophil density or TGF-β expression. The tissue expression of VEGF was elevated in the animals that received methylprednisolone both 48 and 72 h after surgery (P = 0.0243). Methylprednisolone was unable to enhance gas exchange and avoid an inflammatory infiltrate and TGF-β expression also showed that the inflammatory process was not correlated with pulmonary edema formation. However, the overexpression of VEGF in this group showed that methylprednisolone is related to this elevation

Preservation under pressure (hyperbaric storage) at 25ºC, 30ºC and 37ºC of a highly perishable dairy food and comparison with refrigeration

Hyperbaric storage (HS) under mild pressure of requeijão, a traditional Portuguese whey cheese, as a case study of a highly perishable dairy food, was evaluated as a possible energy costless alternative to refrigeration. Whey cheese was stored for 4 and 8 hours, at different pressure levels (0.1, 100 and 150 MPa) and temperatures (25°C, 30°C and 37°C), and the results were compared with refrigeration (4°C). Microbial analyses showed that storage for 4 hours at 100 MPa was able to maintain microbial counts similar to refrigeration and initial load, ≈3 Log10 CFU/g, at all tested temperatures. By increasing the pressure to 150 MPa and the storage time to 8 hours, microbial loads were reduced to undetectable counts, with the exception for total aerobic mesophiles that were reduced to about ≈1 Log unit. HS in general maintained pH, water activity and lipid oxidation values, at levels similar to that in refrigeration

Preservation of sliced cooked ham at 25, 30 and 37°C under moderated pressure (hyperbaric storage) and comparison with refrigerated storage

The feasibility of hyperbaric storage (HS) to substitute refrigeration as a lower energetic cost alternative to refrigeration, for sliced cooked ham preservation was assessed by using temperatures and pressures ranging 25–37◦C and 25–150 MPa for 4 and 8 h. At microbiological level, storage at 25 ◦C, 30 ◦C, and 37 ◦C, showed no effect on microbial growth at 25 MPa reaching levels similar to atmospheric pressure storage, around 5 log CFU/g for both total aerobic mesophiles (TAM) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Nevertheless, the storage at 50 MPa and 30 ◦C resulted in microbial growth inhibition, resulting in TAM and LAB counts similar to refrigeration, of about 3.8 log CFU/g for both the microorganisms. Additionally, the increase of the storage pressure to 100–150 MPa resulted in microbial inacti-vation, leading to microbial loads of almost 1 log CFU/g lower than refrigeration. In general, hyperbaric stored sliced cooked ham showed physicochemical parameters similar to the refrigerated samples. In conclusion, these results show that HS at uncontrolled (naturally variable room tem-perature conditions at 25–37 ◦C) is a promising alternative to refrigeration for cooked ham preservation. To this new preservation technology, no energetic costs are associated throughout storage, compared to refrigeration, needing only energy to generate the pressure and decompress, since no energy is required to maintain the pressure

Mutagenicactivity of glycoallkaloids from Solanum palinacanthum Dunal (Solanaceae) found in the brazilian cerrado

Solanaceous plants are widely distributed around the world and they are traditionally used as drugs for the treatment of cancer and herpes, and include familiar foods such as potato, tomato and eggplant and some berries popular in Brazil. As part of a program of research on pharmacologically active new molecules, the aim in this study was to assess the mutagenic effects of Solanum palinacanthum, known popularly as joá. The crude 95% ethanol extract and purified solamargine obtained from the fruits of S. palinacanthum Dunal were investigated by the Ames test, using the Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA97a, TA100 and TA102 as test organisms, with and without metabolic activation. The concentrations tested ranged from 0.07 to 15.0 mg/plate for the crude ethanolic extract and from 1.25 to 5.0 mg/plate for the solamargine. The results showed a mutagenic effect of both the extract and the solamargine in the TA98 strain (without metabolic activation). The present study showed the potential mutagenicity and suggests confirming this effect in other models, before recommending their indiscriminate consumption by the population.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Effects of Enteral Fluid Therapy in Continuous Flow Administered by Nasogastric Tube in Buffalo Calves

To investigate the employment of enteral fluid therapy in continuous flow administered by a nasogastric tube in buffalo calves; toassesstheeffectsof a hypotonic and an isotonic electrolyte solutionon: vital functions, blood count and serum andurinary biochemistry profile of buffalo calves. Seven buffalo calves, clinically healthy, were submitted to two treatments. The solutions were administered in continuous flow through a nasogastric tube at a dose of 15 mL/kg/hr for 12 hours. The serum biochemistry profile showed an increase in chloride concentration, decrease in serumurea and osmolarity. In urine, anincrease in sodium and chloride concentrations and a decrease in calcium, creatinine and urea were observed. Enteral fluid therapy in continuous flow proved to beeasy to use and effective in maintaining volemia and concentration of electrolytes in buffalo calves

The fraction of cancer attributable to ways of life, infections, occupation, and environmental agents in Brazil in 2020

Many human cancers develop as a result of exposure to risk factors related to the environment and ways of life. The aim of this study was to estimate attributable fractions of 25 types of cancers resulting from exposure to modifiable risk factors in Brazil. The prevalence of exposure to selected risk factors among adults was obtained from population-based surveys conducted from 2000 to 2008. Risk estimates were based on data drawn from metaanalyses or large, high quality studies. Population-attributable fractions (PAF) for a combination of risk factors, as well as the number of preventable deaths and cancer cases, were calculated for 2020. The known preventable risk factors studied will account for 34% of cancer cases among men and 35% among women in 2020, and for 46% and 39% deaths, respectively. The highest attributable fractions were estimated for tobacco smoking, infections, low consumption of fruits and vegetables, excess weight, reproductive factors, and physical inactivity. This is the first study to systematically estimate the fraction of cancer attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in Brazil. Strategies for primary prevention of tobacco smoking and control of infection and the promotion of a healthy diet and physical activity should be the main priorities in policies for cancer prevention in the country. \ua9 2016 Azevedo e Silva et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited