Screening of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria strains from artisanal soft cheese: probiotic characteristics and prebiotic metabolism

Today's growing interest in functional foods is due to their positive impacts on human health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the probiotic properties and prebiotic metabolism of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria from artisanal Serpa cheese. Twenty strains presented better tolerance to stress conditions found in the gastrointestinal tract, highlighting Lactobacillus brevis C1Lb21 for its adequate auto-aggregating ability and significantly higher hydrophobicity. However, eight strains were discarded for their antibiotic resistance and biogenic amine production. Finally, prebiotic fermentation study showed that lactulose supported better growth of lactobacilli and induced the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). During lactulose fermentation, Lb. pentosus G4Lb7 produced statistically more SCFA, and Lb. plantarum G1Lb5 lactic acid. Thus, Lb. brevis C1Lb21, Lb. plantarum G1Lb5 and Lb. pentosus G4Lb7 are promising probiotic candidates, and in combination with lactulose could be used for developing a symbiotic cheese

A novel gene cluster allows preferential utilization of fucosylated milk oligosaccharides in Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum SC596

La microbiota intestinal infantil es a menudo colonizada por dos subespecies de Bifidobacterium longum: subsp. infantis (B. infantis) y subsp. longum (B. longum). El crecimiento competitivo de B. infantis en el intestino del neonato ha sido vinculado a la utilización de oligosacáridos (HMO) en la leche humana. Sin embargo, poco se sabe sobre cómo B. longum en el consumo de HMO. En este estudio, las cepas B. longum transmitidas mostraron diferentes fenotipos de crecimiento de HMO. Mientras que todas las cepas utilizadas eficientemente con lacto-N-tetraosa, focalizaron ciertas cepas, que, además, metabolizaron el HMO. El B. longum SC596 creció vigorosamente en el HMO, y la glycocaracterización reveló una preferencia por el consumo de HMO fucosilados. El transcriptomes SC596 durante la etapa temprana de crecimiento sobre HMO se asemeja más al crecimiento de la fucosilactosa, pasando más tarde a un patrón similar al crecimiento en el HMO neutro. El B. longum SC596 contiene un gen novedoso cerrado dedicado a la utilización de HMO fucosilado, incluyendo los genes para la importación de moléculas fucosiladas, metabolismo fucoso y dos α-fucosidasas. Este grupo mostró una inducción modular durante el crecimiento temprano de HMO y fucosilactosa. Este trabajo aclara el genoma y la variabilidad fisiológica del bebé portador de B. longum en el consumo de HMO, que se asemeja a B. infantis. La capacidad de consumir preferentemente HMO fucosilado sugiere una ventaja competitiva para estas singulares de las cepas de B. longum en el lactante alimentado con tripa.The infant intestinal microbiota is often colonized by two subspecies of Bifidobacterium longum: subsp. infantis (B. infantis) and subsp. longum (B. longum). Competitive growth of B. infantis in the neonate intestine has been linked to the utilization of human milk oligosaccharides (HMO). However, little is known how B. longum consumes HMO. In this study, infant-borne B. longum strains exhibited varying HMO growth phenotypes. While all strains efficiently utilized lacto-N-tetraose, certain strains additionally metabolized fucosylated HMO. B. longum SC596 grew vigorously on HMO, and glycoprofiling revealed a preference for consumption of fucosylated HMO. Transcriptomes of SC596 during early-stage growth on HMO were more similar to growth on fucosyllactose, transiting later to a pattern similar to growth on neutral HMO. B. longum SC596 contains a novel gene cluster devoted to the utilization of fucosylated HMO, including genes for import of fucosylated molecules, fucose metabolism and two α-fucosidases. This cluster showed a modular induction during early growth on HMO and fucosyllactose. This work clarifies the genomic and physiological variation of infant-borne B. longum to HMO consumption, which resembles B. infantis. The capability to preferentially consume fucosylated HMO suggests a competitive advantage for these unique B. longum strains in the breast-fed infant gut.• National Institutes of Health Awards AT007079, HD065122 y AT008759 • Peter J. Shields Endowed Chair in Dairy Food Science • Conicyt Fondecyt: Beca de iniciación 11130518 • Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia y Universidad de Extremadura.peerReviewe

FabLab en Educación: propuesta formativa y práctica para la creación de recursos didácticos dirigida a la docencia del profesorado universitario

El proyecto de innovación docente FabLab (laboratorios de fabricación digital) en educación pretende dotar al profesorado de una serie de competencias tecnológicas y pedagógicas que le permita ofrecer al alumnado una formación mucho más rica, integradora de contenidos, inclusiva, y que facilite el empoderamiento del alumnado para el emprendimiento profesional. El objetivo principal del proyecto es promover un cambio pedagógico en el profesorado para que sea capaz de adaptarse a las exigencias de una sociedad cada vez más tecnológica y en la que se demanda unos tipos de competencias que claramente no pueden adquirirse en la Universidad si no se tiene acceso, mínimamente, a unos recursos y dispositivos tecnológicos. En este sentido, la creación del FabLab permite crear un espacio creativo y productivo relacionado con la tecnología que favorece el acceso a ella y la adquisición de unas competencias tecnológicas y didácticas que, por la salida profesional del alumnado, permitiría acercar las materias denominadas STEM a las chicas de las etapas educativas no universitarias para que continúen estudios superiores relacionadas con estas asignaturas. El proyecto se articula en torno a cuatro fases: formación y sensibilización, diseño y desarrollo de materiales docentes, implementación en el estudiantado y la evaluación. Para el desarrollo del mismo se ha necesitado dos cursos académicos en los que el profesorado ha recibido una formación tanto virtual como presencial por diferentes especialistas. Para la formación y asesoramiento se ha contado con dos profesores de centros de secundaria de Granada que ya manejan algunos de los recursos y dispositivos tecnológicos en sus aulas. Además, han recibido formación sobre la gamificación de la docencia y el diseño de insignias para cuando se las tengan que otorgar al alumnado. Se han conseguido realizar diversos proyectos tecnológicos utilizando la placa Arduino y los diferentes componentes y accesorios como, por ejemplo, un vehículo sigue líneas con sensores de proximidad y un ascensor de vehículos automatizado al detectar el vehículo en el interior. También se ha elaborado un material digital con Inkscape, GIMP y Tinkercad para la para la impresión en 3D de ficha para la gamificación de diversos juegos elaborados para el aprendizaje de, por ejemplo, los mitos griegos. Para la docencia habitual, la formación recibida, así como los dispositivos utilizados y los materiales realizados, son un elemento innovador que les permite al profesorado ofrecer unos recursos atractivos para los aprendizajes de los contenidos de las diferentes materias que imparten.The FabLab (digital fabrication laboratories) teaching innovation project in education aims to provide teachers with a series of technological and pedagogical skills that will enable them to offer students a much richer, more inclusive and inclusive education that integrates content and facilitates the empowerment of students for professional entrepreneurship. The main objective of the project is to promote a pedagogical change in the teaching staff so that they are able to adapt to the demands of an increasingly technological society that demands certain types of skills that clearly cannot be acquired at the University if they do not have access, minimally, to technological resources and devices. In this sense, the creation of the FabLab makes it possible to create a creative and productive space related to technology that favours access to it and the acquisition of technological and didactic skills that, due to the students' professional opportunities, would bring STEM subjects closer to girls in non-university educational stages so that they can continue higher studies related to these subjects. The project is structured around four phases: training and awareness-raising, design and development of teaching materials, implementation among students and evaluation. It has taken two academic years to develop the project, during which the teaching staff have received both virtual and face-to-face training from different specialists. Two teachers from secondary schools in Granada, who already use some of the technological resources and devices in their classrooms, have been involved in the training and assessment. In addition, they have received training on the gamification of teaching and the design of badges for when they have to award them to students. They have managed to carry out various technological projects using the Arduino board and the different components and accessories, such as a vehicle that follows lines with proximity sensors and an automated vehicle lift when it detects the vehicle inside. Digital material has also been developed with Inkscape, GIMP and Tinkercad for the 3D printing of cards for the gamification of various games developed for the learning of, for example, Greek myths. For regular teaching, the training received, as well as the devices used and the materials produced, are an innovative element that allows teachers to offer attractive resources for learning the contents of the different subjects they teach.Unidad de Calidad, Innovación Docente y Prospectiva de la Universidad de Granad

4to. Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad. Memoria académica

Este volumen acoge la memoria académica de la Cuarta edición del Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad, CITIS 2017, desarrollado entre el 29 de noviembre y el 1 de diciembre de 2017 y organizado por la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (UPS) en su sede de Guayaquil. El Congreso ofreció un espacio para la presentación, difusión e intercambio de importantes investigaciones nacionales e internacionales ante la comunidad universitaria que se dio cita en el encuentro. El uso de herramientas tecnológicas para la gestión de los trabajos de investigación como la plataforma Open Conference Systems y la web de presentación del Congreso http://citis.blog.ups.edu.ec/, hicieron de CITIS 2017 un verdadero referente entre los congresos que se desarrollaron en el país. La preocupación de nuestra Universidad, de presentar espacios que ayuden a generar nuevos y mejores cambios en la dimensión humana y social de nuestro entorno, hace que se persiga en cada edición del evento la presentación de trabajos con calidad creciente en cuanto a su producción científica. Quienes estuvimos al frente de la organización, dejamos plasmado en estas memorias académicas el intenso y prolífico trabajo de los días de realización del Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad al alcance de todos y todas

Evaluation of the effect of high pressure on total phenolic content, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of citrus peels

This study aimed to assess the effect of high pressure at 300 and 500 MPa for 3 and 10 min on the phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activity of citrus peel extracts. Total phenolic contents (TPC) and antioxidant properties of extracts were determined as free radical-scavenging ability of DPPH and using the ABTS radical cation decolorization assay. Additionally, extracts were tested for antimicrobial activity against twenty different strains of bacteria representing both Gram-positive and Gram-negative types. Citrus peel extracts demonstrated antimicrobial activity against a wide range of bacteria. The maximum level of TPC as well as antioxidant capacity were observed at 300 MPa for 3 min. Citrus peels extracts demonstrated antimicrobial activity against a wide range of microorganisms. The antimicrobial activity of orange peel extract was the highest among the four citrus peels studied. Generally, bacteria Acinetobacter and the strain Listeria innocua were more sensitive to the peel extracts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Variation in Consumption of Human Milk Oligosaccharides by Infant Gut-Associated Strains of Bifidobacterium breve

Human milk contains a high concentration of complex oligosaccharides that influence the composition of the intestinal microbiota in breast-fed infants. Previous studies have indicated that select species such as Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis and Bifidobacterium bifidum can utilize human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) in vitro as the sole carbon source, while the relatively few B. longum subsp. longum and Bifidobacterium breve isolates tested appear less adapted to these substrates. Considering the high frequency at which B. breve is isolated from breast-fed infant feces, we postulated that some B. breve strains can more vigorously consume HMO and thus are enriched in the breast-fed infant gastrointestinal tract. To examine this, a number of B. breve isolates from breast-fed infant feces were characterized for the presence of different glycosyl hydrolases that participate in HMO utilization, as well as by their ability to grow on HMO or specific HMO species such as lacto-N-tetraose (LNT) and fucosyllactose. All B. breve strains showed high levels of growth on LNT and lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT), and, in general, growth on total HMO was moderate for most of the strains, with several strain differences. Growth and consumption of fucosylated HMO were strain dependent, mostly in isolates possessing a glycosyl hydrolase family 29 α-fucosidase. Glycoprofiling of the spent supernatant after HMO fermentation by select strains revealed that all B. breve strains can utilize sialylated HMO to a certain extent, especially sialyl-lacto-N-tetraose. Interestingly, this specific oligosaccharide was depleted before neutral LNT by strain SC95. In aggregate, this work indicates that the HMO consumption phenotype in B. breve is variable; however, some strains display specific adaptations to these substrates, enabling more vigorous consumption of fucosylated and sialylated HMO. These results provide a rationale for the predominance of this species in breast-fed infant feces and contribute to a more accurate picture of the ecology of the developing infant intestinal microbiota