Minimally processed fruits as vehicles for foodborne pathogens

The consumption of minimally processed fruit (MPF) has increased over the last decade due to a novel trend in the food market along with the raising consumers demand for fresh, organic, convenient foods and the search for healthier lifestyles. Although represented by one of the most expanded sectors in recent years, the microbiological safety of MPF and its role as an emergent foodborne vehicle has caused great concern to the food industry and public health authorities. Such food products may expose consumers to a risk of foodborne infection as they are not subjected to prior microbial lethal methods to ensure the removal or destruction of pathogens before consumption. A considerable number of foodborne disease cases linked to MPF have been reported and pathogenic strains of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, as well as Norovirus accounted for the majority of cases. Microbial spoilage is also an issue of concern as it may result in huge economic losses among the various stakeholders involved in the manufacturing and commercialization of MPF. Contamination can take place at any step of production/manufacturing and identifying the nature and sources of microbial growth in the farm-to-fork chain is crucial to ensure appropriate handling practices for producers, retailers, and consumers. This review aims to summarize information about the microbiological hazards associated with the consumption of MPF and also highlight the importance of establishing effective control measures and developing coordinated strategies in order to enhance their safety.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Resposta fisiológica e bioquímica ao jejum na dourada (sparus aurata)

Dissertação de Mestrado, Aquacultura, Unidade de Ciências e Tecnologias dos Recursos Aquáticos, Universidade do Algarve, 1997O presente trabalho teve por objectivo estudar os efeitos fisiológicos do jejum na dourada, uma das espécies com maior potencial para cultivo nos países mediterrâneos. Pretendeu-se investigar os efeitos da privação alimentar e da realimentação sobre o metabolismo hepático, sob duas temperaturas de cultivo diversas.The present study was performed in order to investigate the effects of starvation on the physiology of seabream, one of the marine species with highest production potential in the mediterranean countries. The effects of food deprivation and refeeding on the liver were studied under two different rearing temperatures

Does each bead count? A reduced-cost approach for recovering waterborne protozoa from challenge water using immunomagnetic separation

Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. are two of the most prominent aetiological agents of waterborne diseases. Therefore, efficient and affordable methodologies for identifying and quantifying these parasites in water are increasingly necessary. USEPA Method 1623.1 is a widely used and validated protocol for detecting these parasites in water samples. It consists of a concentration step, followed by parasite purification and visualization by immunofluorescence microscopy. Although efficient, this method has a high cost particularly due to the immunomagnetic separation (IMS) step, which is most needed with complex and highly contaminated samples. Based on this, the present study aimed to determine whether it is possible to maintain the efficiency of Method 1623.1 while reducing the amount of beads per reaction, using as a matrix the challenge water recommended by the World Health Organization. As for Giardia cysts, a satisfactory recovery efficiency (RE) was obtained using 50% less IMS beads. This was evaluated both with a commercial cyst suspension (56.1% recovery) and an analytical quality assessment (47.5% recovery). Although RE rates obtained for Cryptosporidium parvum did not meet Method 1623.1 criteria in any of the experimental conditions tested, results presented in this paper indicated the relevance of the described adaptations, even in challenge water. HIGHLIGHTS The high cost of current protozoa detection methods limits their widespread use in limited settings.; Immunomagnetic separation improves detection by cleaning the sample.; Recovery efficiency is maintained for Giardia duodenalis with 50% less beads.; Organisms adhering to beads after dissociation may impact recovery levels.

Exploring challenges in Giardia cyst visualisation by common microscopy methods

Giardia spp. is an intestinal parasite responsible for worldwide disease outbreaks. Guiding researchers and practitioners to choose among current methods for microscopy detection of the infectious forms may be directly beneficial to public health and the environment. This study provides an overall comparison of brightfield (BF), fluorescence and darkfield (DF) microscopies for detecting Giardia duodenalis and Giardia muris cysts, by illustrating micrographs of such protocols applied to purified samples, as well as discussing advantages and constraints based on secondary information and collected data. BF analysis included Lugol's iodine staining. In fluorescence microscopy, samples were processed by immunofluorescence assay (IFA) with DAPI and by standalone DAPI dye. Cyst suspensions were also analysed by DF microscopy using a recently developed low-cost system. The three techniques enabled detecting Giardia spp. cysts, although they did not provide species identification by morphology. The overview of each method points out some relevant aspects to consider when selecting common optical microscopy techniques, and includes challenges and advantages regarding each of them. HIGHLIGHTS Comparisons of BF, DF, standalone DAPI and IFA-combined are provided.; BF and DF may be alternatives for low-cost detection of Giardia cysts.; Combinations of at least two diagnostic methods are recommended to minimise inherent errors.

Gene Expression Patterns of Dengue Virus-Infected Children from Nicaragua Reveal a Distinct Signature of Increased Metabolism

Dengue is a widespread viral disease for which over 3 billion people are at risk. There are no drug treatments or vaccines available for this disease. It is also difficult for physicians to predict which patients are at highest risk for the severe manifestations known as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). We used genome-wide transcriptional profiling analysis to study peripheral blood responses to dengue among patients from Nicaragua. We found that patients with severe manifestations involving shock had very different transcriptional profiles from dengue patients with mild and moderate illness. We then compared our results with other microarray experiments on dengue patients available from public databases and confirmed that dengue is often associated with large changes to the metabolic processes within cells. This approach could identify prognostic markers for severe dengue as well as provide a better understanding of the pathophysiology associated with different grades of disease severity

GJ 367b: A dense, ultrashort-period sub-Earth planet transiting a nearby red dwarf star

Ultrashort-period (USP) exoplanets have orbital periods shorter than 1 day. Precise masses and radii of USP exoplanets could provide constraints on their unknown formation and evolution processes. We present the work from Lam et al. 2021 (Science, 374, 1271) and report the detection and characterization of the USP planet GJ 367b using high-precision photometry and radial velocity observations. GJ 367b orbits a bright (V-band magnitude of 10.2), nearby, and red (M-type) dwarf star every 7.7 hours. GJ 367b has a radius of 0.718 ± 0.054 Earth-radii and a mass of 0.546 ± 0.078 Earth-masses, making it a sub-Earth planet. The corresponding bulk density is 8.106 ± 2.165 grams per cubic centimeter - close to that of iron. An interior structure model predicts that the planet has an iron core radius fraction of 86 ± 5%, similar to that of Mercury's interior

The proteomic response of Listeria monocytogenes to cheese matrix and gastrointestinal stress

The foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes has the ability to survive and grow under a wide range of adverse conditions encountered both in food, processing environment and during the host passage. Listeriosis outbreaks are often associated with the ingestion of contaminated dairy products, mainly soft cheese. During cheese manufacturing this pathogen can experience sublethal stresses such as low pH and high salt content, which may induce tolerance responses and potentially increase its survival during gastrointestinal passage. The present study aimed to: a) evaluate how two dairy isolates mount their tolerance responses to a sublethal pH and salt content in a defined medium; b) investigate the impact of low pH and salt adaptation in a cheese-simulated medium on the survival of cheese and dairy isolates during gastric stress and ultimately c) determine the influence of low pH and salt adaptation in a cheese-based medium on the survival of cheese and dairy isolates during gastrointestinal stress. The intracellular proteomes of adapted (pH 5.5 and 3.5% (w/v) NaCl) and non-adapted cultures (pH 7.0, no NaCl added) were evaluated via 2-DE gel electrophoresis. In the defined medium acid and salt tolerance were different. All strains were able to successfully survive the gastric and the gastrointestinal challenge and both adapted and non-adapted cells were equally able (P>0.05) to overcome the gastric and the gastrointestinal stress. However, the proteome profiles revealed a significant intra-strain variation, both in defined medium and when challenge with the gastric and gastrointestinal fluids. In each protein functional group a distinct set of proteins was observed. Also adapted and non-adapted cells beat the gastrointestinal stress with a different proteome. This study provides information that may contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying tolerance responses of L. monocytogenes in acidic foods and their effect on coping the gastrointestinal stress.Universidade do Algarve, Departamento de Ciências Biomédicas e Medicin

Microbial quality of edible seeds commercially available in southern Portugal

In the present work, the microbiological quality of sesame, flaxseed, chia, pumpkin sunflower seeds, a mix of seeds, as well as flaxseed flour, marketed in southern Portugal, were studied through the counting of aerobic microorganisms at 30 degrees C (AM), molds and yeast (M&Y), Escherichia coli (beta-glucuronidase positive) (beta-GP E. coli), Staphylococcus coagulase positive, and detection of Salmonella spp. The persistence of AM and M&Y populations were also counted in organic and non-organic flaxseed at 20 degrees C for 11 months. The seeds with the highest average of AM were flaxseed (1,3 x 10(6) CFU/g) followed by flaxseed flour (1,1 x 10(6) CFU/g) while the lowest level was found in chia (2,9 x 10(4) CFU/g). This seed also presented the lowest average values of filamentous fungi (9,8 x 10(2) CFU/g), whereas sunflower seeds had the highest levels (1,7 x 10(5) CFU/g). Flaxseed flour had the highest yeast counts (1,5 x 10(4) CFU/g). Although some samples had high levels of AM and fungi, beta-GP E. coli and Salmonella were not detected, therefore, they complied with the microbiological criteria of the European Union. The organic flaxseed contained higher numbers of AM and M&Y than the non-organic ones (p 10(6) and 10(4) CFU/g respectively), alert to the need of improving processing practices, storage/distribution conditions of edible seeds and derivatives, as well as the requirement of implementing adequate decontamination techniques.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Effect of Neck Proprioceptive Exercise on Recovery from Cervical Whiplash-Associated Disorders (WAD)

MPT Systematic Reviews and Research Projects.Medicine, Faculty ofPhysical Therapy, Department ofUnreviewedGraduat

Studies with butterfly bait traps: an overview

Made available in DSpace on 2019-09-12T16:57:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)BIOTA-FAPESPIn the last decades, there has been a considerable increase in literature concerning ecological studies employing bait traps to capture butterflies. The growing interest in this kind of studies has given rise to a demanding group of young students and researchers looking for information and standardized protocols. Due to such growing interest in bait trap studies, this review aims to discuss (i) the basic aspects of the main technique of collection and sampling methods, and (ii) alternative solutions of different bait trap surveys in the Neotropics. Common mistakes that could undermine the quality and comparability of obtained data are also discussed.[Lucci Freitas, Andre Victor; Santos, Jessie Pereira; Oliveira Carreira, Junia Yasmin; Batista Rosa, Augusto Henrique; Accacio, Gustavo Mattos] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Biol Anim, CP 6109, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP, Brazil[Iserhard, Cristiano Agra] Univ Fed Pelotas, Dept Ecol Zool & Genet, Pelotas, RS, Brazil[Santos, Jessie Pereira; Ribeiro, Danilo Bandini] Univ Fed Mato Grosso do Sul, Ctr Ciencias Biol & Saude, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil[Alves Melo, Douglas Henrique] Univ Fed Pernambuco, Dept Zool, Recife, PE, Brazil[Batista Rosa, Augusto Henrique] , Inst Basico Biociencias, Dept Biol, Sao Paulo, Brazil[Marini-Filho, Onildo Joao] Inst Chico Mendes Conservacao Biodiversidade ICMB, Ctr Nacl Pesquisa Conservacao Biodiversidade Cerr, Brasilia, DF, Brazil[Uehara-Prado, Marcio] Inst Neotrop Pesquisa & Conservacao, Curitiba, Parana, Brazi