Insect-based feed in aquaculture: a consumer attitudes study

The aquaculture industry is currently faced with the major challenge of finding alternative protein sources for feeding aquatic species. The goal is to mitigate the environmental impact of conventional feed production in order to satisfy the demand of consumers for sustainable and environmentally friendly food. Fishmeal and fish oil have been the predominant substrates used in the fish farming industry to date, but insects are now emerging as promising feed substitutes. However, the feeding of insects to fish continues to be perceived as unconventional by consumers, although only few studies have actually explored European consumers' attitudes towards animal food products fed with insects. This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating consumer behaviors towards the consumption of fish fillets obtained from fish fed an insect-based feed. The overall goal was to understand the interconnection between sociodemographic variables, namely levels of knowledge, food neophobia, and food consumption sustainability, and attitudes towards feed quality, climate change, shopping sustainability, and the sustainability of insect-based feed. To this end, an online survey was conducted on 303 Italian consumers aged 18–78 years (52.4% men). The analysis of the dataset was conducted by modelling the independent categorical variables with their attitudes towards the four topics studied by Multiple Linear Regression, after having established their effects using the Pearson Chi-Square test and one-way ANOVA. Our results demonstrate that sociodemographic variables, such as gender and age, are strongly correlated with attitudes towards climate change, while diet is associated with attitudes towards shopping sustainability. The measured level of food consumption sustainability correlates with both attitudes. At the same time, a high level of knowledge correlates with a strong attitude towards the sustainability of insect-based feed. Overall, we conclude that providing specific groups of consumers with meaningful information related to the use of insect-based feed in aquaculture will increase the likelihood of their accepting this innovation. Our study also offers insights that can help identify categories of consumers who could be more interested in choosing products from insect-fed animal

Comparison between adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence and aerobic colony count to assess surface sanitation in the hospital environment

Background: Adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence produced by the firefly luciferase has been successfully introduced to verify cleaning procedures in the food industry according to the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point program. Our aim was to evaluate the reliability of bioluminescence as a tool to monitor the effectiveness of sanitation in healthcare settings, in comparison with the microbiological gold standard. Methods: 614 surfaces of various material were randomly sampled in Policlinico University Hospital units in Palermo, Italy, to detect adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence and aerobic colony count. Linear regression model and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to estimate the relationship between the two variables of the study. Results: Aerobic colony count median was 1.71 colony forming units/cm2 (interquartile range = 3.8), whereas adenosine triphosphate median was 59.9 relative light units/cm2 (interquartile range = 128.3). Pearson coefficient R2 was 0.09. Sensitivity and specificity of bioluminescence test with respect to microbiology were 46% and 71%, whereas positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 53% and 65%, respectively. Conclusion: According to our results, there seemed to be no linear correlation between aerobic colony count and adenosine triphosphate values, suggesting that current bioluminescence technology has not any proportional relationships with culturable microbes contaminating environmental surfaces in health-care settings

Del Plan Operativo de Fomento a Netflix. Transformaciones de las narraciones seriadas argentinas en la última década

The production of audiovisual series of limited duration appears as a field for the development of audiovisual stories in Argentina. In the field of professional production there is a shift from the long-running serial narratives (soap operas, comedies, etc.), produced and broadcasted by the main open television channels, to narrative fictions with a limited number of chapters exhibited by cable television and VoD platforms.This transformation occurs internationally. However, the Argentine case has some peculiarities. In coexistence with the beginning of the abandonment of part of the open TV audience and coinciding with the passing of the Audiovisual Communication Services Law during the period 2010 - 2015, the State allowed the opening to a new type of audiovisual fiction. The Operational Plan for the development and Promotion of Digital Audiovisual Content, carried out by the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts, allowed the realization of more than 1500 hours of content that involved the diversification of production companies, production sites and thematic areas. Both for reasons of costs and search for new formats and to ensure the diversity of content, the projects financed by this route had a limited duration between eight and thirteen chapters. In this way it was possible to put into practice a different narrative from the television of the moment which, moreover, did not necessarily coincide with the logic of the cinematographic story. At the same time there was a stylistic opening that in some cases broke the conventions of television programming of commercial networks.La producción de series audiovisuales de duración acotada aparece como un campo para el desarrollo de los relatos audiovisuales en Argentina. En el ámbito de la producción profesional se está produciendo un desplazamiento que va desde las series narrativas de larga duración en continuidad (telenovelas, comedias, etc.), producidas y emitidas por las principales cadenas de televisión abierta, hacia las ficciones narrativas con un número acotado de capítulos exhibidas por la televisión de cable y las plataformas de VoD.Esta transformación se produce a nivel internacional. Sin embargo, el caso argentino tiene algunas peculiaridades. En coexistencia con el comienzo del abandono de parte de la audiencia de la TV abierta y coincidiendo con la vigencia de la Ley de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual durante el período 2010-2015 el Estado nacional posibilitó la apertura a un nuevo tipo de ficciones audiovisuales. El Plan Operativo de Fomento y Promoción de Contenidos Audiovisuales Digital es realizado por el Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales permitió la realización de más de 1500 horas de contenido que implicaron la diversificación de productoras, lugares de producción y temáticas. Tanto por razones de costos y búsqueda de nuevos formatos como para garantizar la diversidad de contenidos, los proyectos financiados por esta vía tuvieron una duración acotada entre ocho y trece capítulos. De esta forma se pudo poner en práctica una narrativa diferente a de la televisión del momento que, además, no coincidía necesariamente con la lógica del relato cinematográfico. Al mismo tiempo se realizó una apertura estilística que en algunos casos quebró las convenciones de la programación televisiva de las cadenas comerciales

Test particles behavior in the framework of a lagrangian geometric theory with propagating torsion

Working in the lagrangian framework, we develop a geometric theory in vacuum with propagating torsion; the antisymmetric and trace parts of the torsion tensor, considered as derived from local potential fields, are taken and, using the minimal action principle, their field equations are calculated. Actually these will show themselves to be just equations for propagating waves giving torsion a behavior similar to that of metric which, as known, propagates through gravitational waves. Then we establish a principle of minimal substitution to derive test particles equation of motion, obtaining, as result, that they move along autoparallels. We then calculate the analogous of the geodesic deviation for these trajectories and analyze their behavior in the nonrelativistic limit, showing that the torsion trace potential $\phi$ has a phenomenology which is indistinguishable from that of the gravitational newtonian field; in this way we also give a reason for why there have never been evidence for it.Comment: 12 pages, no figures, to appear on Int. Journ. Mod. Phys.

Plasma-arc-flow technology for sustainable treatment of high-impact fluid waste. A graphene-based material for industrial-wastewater purification

The research presented aimed to address the treatment of fluid waste with significant environmental impact by utilizing plasma technology, specifically plasma arc flow (PAF). The goal was to develop a novel purification material based on graphene for industrial applications and to optimize the treatment process. Analysis and monitoring of a submerged arc plasma reactor were the main goals of this research. This entailed a careful examination of the incoming wastewater that needed to be treated with the goal of identifying its precise composition characteristics with the relative tolerances needed for the reactions that were to follow in the reactor. The focus of the analysis was on input-parameter optimization, production of characteristic curves, and analysis of the factors affecting hydrogen evolution in syngas. Additionally, the study investigated how to determine the best viscosity for a particular input matrix by carrying out an evaluation study. The effects of this parameter were thought to be reduced by preheating the incoming wastewater through heat recovery. The long-term objective of the research is to create filters that can purify the water used and produced in gasification processes as well as to characterize the fixed reside from the gasifier for potential conversion into graphene-based material. In addition, this work acknowledges that additional experiments are required to validate its purifying capacity on wastewater produced by various industrial processes. Moreover, the inclusion of plans to model the evolution of hydrogen in PAF using the CHEMCAD software® and defining guidelines for optimizing parameters for enhanced energy efficiency showcased the research’s ambition to expand and refine its scope. Finding the best plant solutions that can significantly reduce electricity consumption is the ultimate goal. In summary, the study demonstrated significant advancement in the analysis and optimization of fluid-waste treatment with high environmental impact through the use of plasma technology, specifically PAF. A thorough and forward-looking approach was demonstrated by the use of modeling software, experimental studies, and plans for future research. The potential creation of graphene-based filters and the use of the fixed residue as a useful material further highlight the innovativeness of this research

Root internalization of Salmonella Typhimurium in basil plants

Abstract Background Foodborne pathogens present in soil or irrigation water have the potential to internalize via root into edible parts of the plants and survive, representing a serious hazard for consumer's health (1). The present work assesses the ability of Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) to enter basil plants (Ocimum basilicum L., cultivar "Napoletano") from roots. This situation may represent a risk in food safety since that vegetable is largely used raw/undercooked, in the Mediterranean diet. Methods Sixteen basil plants were cultivated in hydroponics, from the seeds. Roots from 14 plants at 4 leaves-stage were individually immersed in liquid media contaminated with a suspension of ST isolated from Aterno river in Abruzzo region, Italy (9 log10 cfu/mL final concentration). Two plants were used as negative controls (no ST challenge); surface swabs were taken from leaves and stems to exclude external contaminations. After 24 hours, plants were tested for detection (UNI EN ISO 6579-1:2017) and enumeration (in-house method) of ST in leaves and stems. Results ST detection gave positive results in 14/14 plants; in particular, ST was present in 14/14 plants in the leaves and for 9/14 plants also in the stems. The internalized ST strains were also enumerated in 10/14 plants. In particular, 3/14 plants gave positive results both in the leaves and stems, 2/14 only in the stems and other 5/14 only in the leaves. The average ST counts were of 4 log10 cfu/g in leaves and stems. All negative ctr/surface swabs were negative to ST. Conclusions Even though antimicrobial properties of basil plants have been described (2), this study demonstrated the potential of ST to internalize, survive and spread to edible parts. The findings highlight the risk of human infections by ST in plant following root uptake, suggesting the importance of applying appropriate preventive pre-harvest strategies. Biblio EFSA. E. Jour. (2014);12(3):3600 Tenore et al. (2017). Natural product research, 31(17), 2067-2071 Key messages The ability of Salmonella Typhimurium to internalize, survive and spread to edible parts of basil plants. Pathogenic bacteria root uptake represents a potential risk for human health

Tailoring chitosan/lta zeolite hybrid aerogels for anionic and cationic dye adsorption

Chitosan (CS) is largely employed in environmental applications as an adsorbent of anionic dyes, due to the presence in its chemical structure of amine groups that, if protonated, act as adsorbing sites for negatively charged molecules. Efficient adsorption of both cationic and anionic dyes is thus not achievable with a pristine chitosan adsorbent, but it requires the combination of two or more components. Here, we show that simultaneous adsorption of cationic and anionic dyes can be obtained by embedding Linde Type A (LTA) zeolite particles in a crosslinked CS‐based aerogel. In order to optimize dye removal ability of the hybrid aerogel, we target the crosslinker concentration so that crosslinking is mainly activated during the thermal treatment after the fast freezing of the CS/LTA mixture. The adsorption of isotherms is obtained for different CS/LTA weight ratios and for different types of anionic and cationic dyes. Irrespective of the formulation, the Langmuir model was found to accurately describe the adsorption isotherms. The optimal tradeoff in the adsorption behavior was obtained with the CS/LTA aerogel (1:1 weight ratio), for which the maximum uptake of indigo carmine (anionic dye) and rhodamine 6G (cationic dye) is 103 and 43 mg g−1, respectively. The behavior observed for the adsorption capacity and energy cannot be rationalized as a pure superposition of the two components, but suggests that reciprocal steric effects, chemical heterogeneity, and molecular interactions between CS and LTA zeolite particles play an important role

The distinct clinical profile of chronically critically ill patients: a cohort study

INTRODUCTION: Our goal was to describe the epidemiology, clinical profiles, outcomes, and factors that might predict progression of critically ill patients to chronically critically ill (CCI) patients, a still poorly characterized subgroup. METHODS: We prospectively studied all patients admitted to a university-affiliated hospital intensive care unit (ICU) between 1 July 2002 and 30 June 2005. On admission, we recorded epidemiological data, the presence of organ failure (multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (MODS)), underlying diseases (McCabe score), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and shock. Daily, we recorded MODS, ARDS, shock, mechanical ventilation use, lengths of ICU and hospital stay (LOS), and outcome. CCI patients were defined as those having a tracheotomy placed for continued ventilation. Clinical complications and time to tracheal decannulation were registered. Predictors of progression to CCI were identified by logistic regression. RESULTS: Ninety-five patients (12%) fulfilled the CCI definition and, compared with the remaining 690 patients, these CCI patients were sicker (APACHE II, 21 ± 7 versus 18 ± 9 for non-CCI patients, p = 0.005); had more organ dysfunctions (SOFA 7 ± 3 versus 6 ± 4, p < 0.003); received more interventions (TISS 32 ± 10 versus 26 ± 8, p < 0.0001); and had less underlying diseases and had undergone emergency surgery more frequently (43 versus 24%, p = 0.001). ARDS and shock were present in 84% and 83% of CCI patients, respectively, versus 44% and 48% in the other patients (p < 0.0001 for both). CCI patients had higher expected mortality (38% versus 32%, p = 0.003), but observed mortality was similar (32% versus 35%, p = 0.59). Independent predictors of progression to CCI were ARDS on admission, APACHE II and McCabe scores (odds ratio (OR) 2.26, p < 0.001; OR 1.03, p < 0.01; and OR 0.34, p < 0.0001, respectively). Lengths of mechanical ventilation, ICU and hospital stay were 33 (24 to 50), 39 (29 to 55) and 55 (37 to 84) days, respectively. Tracheal decannulation was achieved at 40 ± 19 days. CONCLUSION: CCI patients were a severely ill population, in which ARDS, shock, and MODS were frequent on admission, and who suffered recurrent complications during their stay. However, their prognosis was equivalent to that of the other ICU patients. ARDS, APACHE II and McCabe scores were independent predictors of evolution to chronicity