Screening and characterization of the diversity of food microorganisms and their metabolites

Food is rarely kept in a sterile environment and the composition of microbial associations found in various foodstuffs is widely varied. Microorganisms in food usually originate from the natural microbiota of raw materials and the surrounding environments. Whether a species prevails depends upon its ability to adapt to intrinsic factors associated with foods, such as nutrient content; pH; water activity; oxidation–reduction potential; and antimicrobial properties, with various extrinsic factors playing a role, including temperature, relative humidity, atmosphere, and ambient pressure. Any change to these parameters may cause changes in the present microbial consortia. Therefore, it is important to identify which microbial consortia will thrive in particular foods and conditions. While active, microorganisms undergo many complex mechanisms that affect food quality and safety. Most beneficial food microorganisms belong to lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. Pathogenic and spoilage bacteria are usually Gram-negative, although there are some Gram-positive ones, such as Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium botulinum, and C. perfringens. Some may merely cause spoilage, while others may be related to foodborne illnesses.Thanks to all the authors and reviewers for their excellent contributions to this Special Issue. Additional thanks to the Microorganisms Editorial Office for their professional assistance and continuous support. The authors of this editorial article would also like to acknowledge COST Action 18101 SOURDOMICS—Sourdough biotechnology network towards novel, healthier, and sustainable food and bioprocesses (https://sourdomics.com/; https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA18101/, accessed on 18 March 2023)—where authors B.K. and S.K.V. are members of the working groups 2, 6, and 8; author M.T. is member of the working groups 2 and 3 and author J.M.R. is the Chair and Grant Holder Scientific Representative and is supported by COST (European Co-operation in Science and Technology) (https://www.cost.eu/, accessed on 18 March 2023). COST is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. Author J.M.R. also acknowledges the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina—Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Porto, Portugal, as well as the support made by LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE) and UIDB/00511/2020-UIDP/00511/2020 (LEPABE) funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pharmacology of organoselenium compounds: Emphasis on puzzling mechanistic switching from their glutathione peroxidase mimic in vivo

Organoselenium compounds are a new class of emerging potent antioxidants. Basically, their rational design and synthesis was aimed at mimicking the native glutathione peroxidase enzyme in their reduction of hydroperoxides at the expense of the ubiquitous antioxidant, glutathione. In this review, emphasis was focused on the seemingly antagonistic mechanisms employed by organoseleniums under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Summarily, in vitro evidences clearly demonstrate that the pharmacological effect of organoseleniums strictly depends on their GPx mimic. However, these selenium based compounds evoke an increase in the level of endogenous thiols suggesting a possible switch in their glutathione peroxidase mimic under in vivo conditions. Apparently, this mechanistic switch is puzzling and requires concerted efforts to unravel

Serra da Estrela PDO cheese authentication: RAPD and SCAR approaches for identification of adulterant breed’s milk

Serra da Estrela cheese is a Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) product and is perceived as a unique high-quality food, being the most famous Portuguese cheese and presenting high commercial value. It is legitimately manufactured from raw milk of the autochthonous sheep breed Serra da Estrela; however, the adulteration of production with cheaper and/or lowerquality milks from non-autochthones ovine breeds compromises the quality of the final product and undervalues the original PDO cheese. Considering that these fraudulent productions may lead to serious problems at both social and economic levels, it is urgent to develop low-cost, sensitive, fast and reliable analytical techniques that efficiently allow traceability of the breed origin of milk in Serra da Estrela PDO cheese. Here we describe a Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method capable of efficient detection of adulterant breeds in milk mixtures, containing Serra da Estrela milk, used for fraudulent production of this cheese. Taking this into account, we suggest RAPD to be a valuable tool for identification of sheep breed in a first stage of milk authentication in dairy industry. Furthermore, considering the possible degradation of DNA during milk processing, Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) markers were designed envisioning the detection of milk adulteration in processed dairy foods. RAPD-SCAR techniques have been here used, for the first time, to identify breed origin in milk samples, establishing its applicability for quality control on dairy industry, being capable of milk authentication in the final products. In this sense, our findings will play an important role on the valorization of not only the Serra da Estrela PDO cheese, but also on other high-quality dairy products prone to adulteration, contributing to the further development of the dairy industry.Project “Valor Queijo” (CENTRO-07-0202-FEDER-030372

Flutuação populacional do percevejo Pachycoris torridus Scopoli, 1772 (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae) em pinhão-manso em Porto Velho, Rondônia.

O presente trabalho objetivou determinar a flutuação populacional do percevejo P. torridus em plantio de pinhão-manso, em Porto Velho, Rondônia.bitstream/item/65100/1/ct121-pinhaomanso.pd

Visceral Abdominal and Subfascial Femoral Adipose Tissue Have Opposite Associations with Liver Fat in Overweight and Obese Premenopausal Caucasian Women

Abdominal obesity has been associated with liver fat storage. However, the relationships between other body composition depots and metabolic syndrome features with hepatic fat are still unclear. We examined abdominal and thigh adipose tissue (AT) compartments associations with liver fat in 140 overweight and obese premenopausal Caucasian women. Blood lipids and, proinflammatory and atherothrombotic markers associations with hepatic fat were also analyzed. A larger visceral AT (VAT) was related with liver fat (P < 0.05). Contrarily, thigh subfascial AT was inversely related to liver fat (P < 0.05). Increased fasting insulin, triglycerides, PAI-1 concentrations, and a higher total-cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio were also associated with hepatic fat, even after adjustment for VAT (P < 0.05). Thigh subfascial adiposity was inversely associated with liver fat, suggesting a potential preventive role against ectopic fat storage in overweight and obese women. These results reinforce the contribution of an abdominal obesity phenotype associated with a diabetogenic and atherothrombotic profile to liver lipotoxicity

Ocorrência e monitoramento de cigarrinha-verde Empoasca sp. (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) em pinhão-manso no Município de Porto Velho, Rondônia.

O presente trabalho objetivou constatar a ocorrência e monitorar a incidência de cigarrinha-verde Empoasca sp. em plantio de pinhão-manso, em Porto Velho, Rondônia.bitstream/item/57069/1/ct118-cigarrinhaverde.pd

CONSTRUCTAL DESIGN APPLIED TO A FINNED CHANNEL UNDER FORCED CONVECTION FLOWS WITH DIFFERENT IMPOSED PRESSURE DROPS

This paper aims to numerically study the heat transfer in a two dimensional finned channel under laminar, incompressible and forced convective flow with adiabatic walls. The main purpose is to maximize the convection heat transfer by changing the fin’s dimensions by means of Constructal Design. Numerical computations are performed for different Bejan numbers ranging from 0.182 up to 18.2. For all simulations the Prandlt number is kept constant, Pr = 0.71. The fluid motion throughout the channel is caused by imposition of pressure difference between inlet/outlet surfaces. Concerning heat transfer, it is caused by the difference of temperature between the inlet stream of fluid and the heated fins placed at the channel surfaces. The first fin is positioned in the lower surface of the channel while the second one is placed in the upper one. The problem is submitted to three constraints, the channel area (H × L), area of two fins and occupancy areas for the fins. It is considered here that both fins have the same fraction area (ratio between the fins and occupancy areas) f = 0.2. The problem is submitted to three degrees of freedom: H/L (ratio between height and length of channel), H3/L3 and H4/L4 which represent the ratio between the height and length of the first and second fin, respectively. Here, the second fin remains unchanged, being its dimensions H4/L4 = 2.0, whereas the first one is free to modify its dimensions, H3/L3. The channel dimensions are also constant. The solutions are sought using the conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy being these ones discretized through the Finite Volume Method (FVM). Results showed the importance of Constructal Design application for thermal improvement of the problem. Thermal efficiency differences of 5 times where achieved when comparing the best and worst cases. Other important observation is concerned with the effect of ratio H3/L3 over heat transfer ratio (q) which varied significantly from a case where a pressure drop is imposed in the channel to other case where the driven force is caused by imposition of velocity field at the channel inlet

C+L band gain equalization for extended reach WDM-ring PON using hybrid Raman/in line EDFA amplification

“Copyright © [2010] IEEE. Reprinted from ICTON 2010. ISBN 978-1-4244-7798-2. This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to [email protected]. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.”In this paper, we investigate by simulation the feasibility of gain enlargement and equalization on extended reach WDM-ring PON by means of hybrid Raman/EDFA amplification. The system under analysis is composed by a bidirectional pump at 1480 nm and 16 channels (8 C band + 8 L band). The simulation describes an 80 km WDM ring with 8 nodes in which 2 channels are added/dropped. The results demonstrate gain equalization with a ripple of 2.54 dB over a bandwidth of 50 nm by using a 1480 nm bidirectional pump with 1 W and spans of EDF with a total length of 22 m

Characterization of beverage quality in Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner.

Caracterização da qualidade da bebida de Coffea Canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner: o objetivo neste trabalho foi caracterizar a qualidade da bebida de C. canephora discriminando as variedades botânicas Conilon, Robusta e híbridos intervarietais