The Risk of Undeclared Allergens on Food Labels for Pediatric Patients in the European Union

The dietary avoidance of allergens has been widely recognized as the key intervention in the management of food allergies, but the presence of undeclared allergens makes compliance difficult. The aim of this study was to analyze the presence of undeclared allergens in food labeling through RASFF notifications in the European Union, focusing on those allergens that frequently affect the pediatric population and the implicated products, so as to provide useful information for its risk evaluation and the development of educational materials for patients. The results showed milk (20.5%), gluten (14.8%), and nuts (10.9%) to be the pediatric allergens with higher presences. In 80% of the notifications concerning milk and milk derivatives, the specific compound present (lactose or lactoprotein) was not identified. They were mainly present in cereal and bakery products, prepared dishes and snacks, and cacao and confectionery products, all of which are frequently consumed by the pediatric population. The large quantity (7.6%) of undeclared allergens in “free-from-allergen” products was also remarkable, especially in regard to the supposedly not-present allergens. Undeclared allergens in food products pose an evident risk for allergic patients and knowledge of them should take a relevant role in a patient’s nutritional education. It is also necessary to raise awareness among manufacturers and safety authorities. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Directed Random Markets: Connectivity determines Money

Boltzmann-Gibbs distribution arises as the statistical equilibrium probability distribution of money among the agents of a closed economic system where random and undirected exchanges are allowed. When considering a model with uniform savings in the exchanges, the final distribution is close to the gamma family. In this work, we implement these exchange rules on networks and we find that these stationary probability distributions are robust and they are not affected by the topology of the underlying network. We introduce a new family of interactions: random but directed ones. In this case, it is found the topology to be determinant and the mean money per economic agent is related to the degree of the node representing the agent in the network. The relation between the mean money per economic agent and its degree is shown to be linear.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

How batter formulation can modify fried tempura-battered zucchini chemical and sensory characteristics?

Tempura-fried vegetables are widely consumed and are greatly appreciated because of their characteristic dry and crispy crust, flavor and a golden–brown color. This study examined the effect of slice thickness, frying time and partial ingredient substitution in tempura batter with maltodextrin, ethanol, baking powder and cornflour on the rheological characteristics, moisture, oil uptake, color, texture and sensory characteristics of tempura-fried zucchini. The results showed an improved golden–brown coloring of the crust without affecting oil uptake when maltodextrin was included in the batter formulation. Moreover, dough viscosity and % pick-up lowered with maltodextrin addition. The partial substitution of water and wheat flour with ethanol, cornflour and baking powder resulted in a crispier and rougher crust that remained more stable over time but with less moisture and higher oil uptake. The substitution of certain tempura batter ingredients depending on the desired purpose could represent an interesting strategy to improve the quality of battered fried vegetables

Ciencia sobre ruedas en Granada. Una experiencia de actualización científica y tecnológica en el aula

Describimos una experiencia de colaboración entre el Parque de las Ciencias de Granada y el centro educativo Ciencias sobre Ruedas de Puerto Rico para llevar a siete centros educativos de Andalucía la tecnología de experimentación asistida por ordenador, EXAO, conectándola con temas de investigación real en el área de química. El proceso comenzó con la formación del profesorado en el uso de esta tecnología dentro de un enfoque de enseñanza orientado hacia la investigación en el aula. La actividad ha estado a cargo de profesores universitarios de Puerto Rico que desarrollan actualmente sus investigaciones de doctorado. Se ofrece la experiencia como un modelo de actualización y formación del profesorado no universitario de ciencias

Mechanistic insights into the oxidative dehydrogenation of amines to nitriles in continuous flow

Mechanistic investigations including in situ infrared spectroscopy and Hammett investigations of the oxidative dehydrogenation of amine compounds using RuO2/Al2O3 catalysts.</p

High-level quinolone resistance is associated with the overexpression of smeVWX in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia clinical isolates

AbstractStenotrophomonas maltophilia is the only known bacterium in which quinolone-resistant isolates do not present mutations in the genes encoding bacterial topoisomerases. The expression of the intrinsic quinolone resistance elements smeDEF, smeVWX and Smqnr was analysed in 31 clinical S. maltophilia isolates presenting a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) range to ciprofloxacin between 0.5 and > 32 μg/mL; 11 (35.5%) overexpressed smeDEF, 2 (6.5%) presenting the highest quinolone MICs overexpressed smeVWX and 1 (3.2%) overexpressed Smqnr. Both strains overexpressing smeVWX presented changes at the Gly266 position of SmeRv, the repressor of smeVWX. Changes at the same position were previously observed in in vitro selected S. maltophilia quinolone-resistant mutants, indicating this amino acid is highly relevant for the activity of SmeRv in repressing smeVWX expression. For the first time SmeVWX overexpression is associated with quinolone resistance of S. maltophilia clinical isolates

Lysosomal Cholesterol Accumulation Sensitizes to Acetaminophen Hepatotoxicity by Impairing Mitophagy

The role of lysosomes in acetaminophen (APAP) hepatotoxicity is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the impact of genetic and drug-induced lysosomal cholesterol (LC) accumulation in APAP hepatotoxicity. Acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase) mice exhibit LC accumulation and higher mortality after APAP overdose compared to ASMase littermates. ASMase hepatocytes display lower threshold for APAP-induced cell death and defective fusion of mitochondria-containing autophagosomes with lysosomes, which decreased mitochondrial quality control. LC accumulation in ASMase hepatocytes caused by U18666A reproduces the susceptibility of ASMase hepatocytes to APAP and the impairment in the formation of mitochondria-containing autolysosomes. LC extraction by 25-hydroxycholesterol increased APAP-mediated mitophagy and protected ASMase mice and hepatocytes against APAP hepatotoxicity, effects that were reversed by chloroquine to disrupt autophagy. The regulation of LC by U18666A or 25-hydroxycholesterol did not affect total cellular sphingomyelin content or its lysosomal distribution. Of relevance, amitriptyline-induced ASMase inhibition in human hepatocytes caused LC accumulation, impaired mitophagy and increased susceptibility to APAP. Similar results were observed upon glucocerebrosidase inhibition by conduritol β-epoxide, a cellular model of Gaucher disease. These findings indicate that LC accumulation determines susceptibility to APAP hepatotoxicity by modulating mitophagy, and imply that genetic or drug-mediated ASMase disruption sensitizes to APAP-induced liver injury.The work was supported by grants SAF-2011-23031, SAF-2012-34831 from Plan Nacional de I+ D, Spain, Fundació Marató de TV3, La Mutua Madrileña, PI11/0325 (META) grant from the Instituto Salud Carlos III, and by the support of CIBEREHD; the center grant P50-AA-11999 Research Center for Liver and Pancretic Diseases funded by NIAAA/NIH; R01 DK067215 and Liver Center P30DK48522 Cell Culture, Analytical/Metabolic Intstrumentation and Cell and Tissue Imaging Cores.Peer Reviewe