Characterization of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from production lines of fresh and cold-smoked fish

Aims: The aims of this study were to characterize strains of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from cold-smoking fish plants to establish possible routes of contamination through the processing chain. Methods and Results: Listeria monocytogenes from fresh fish suppliers, raw materials, factory sites and finished products isolated in Portugal (162 isolates) and England (28 isolates) were characterized by serotyping, phage typing, tetracycline, cadmium and arsenic resistance, and plasmid profiling. On the basis of serotyping and phage typing, the isolates were categorized into eight groups. Although cultures within some of the groups could be further differentiated on the basis of plasmid profiling and cadmium and arsenite typing, consideration of all typing data predominantly clustered together isolates from a single location. L. monocytogenes strains: from fresh salmon suppliers were not found in the processing lines; from fresh salmon from different locations differed; and from the water where salmon trout were farmed differed from those isolated from the fish samples. Significance and Impact of the Study: No clear source or route of contamination in the cold-smoked processing chain could be established; however, these results highlight the complexity in tracking this bacterium through food chains

A model based on Heisenberg’s theory for the eddy diffusivity in decaying turbulence applied to the residual layer

The problemof the theoretical derivation of a parameterization for the eddy diffusivity in decaying turbulence is addressed. This derivation makes use of the dynamical equation for the energy spectrum density and the classical statistical diffusion theory. The starting point is Heisenberg’s elementary decaying turbulence theory. The main assumption is related to the identification of a frequency, lying in the inertial subrange, characterizing the inertial energy transfer among eddies of different size. The resulting eddy diffusivity parameterization is then applied to the decay of convective turbulence in the residual layer. Besides the intrinsic scientific interest, this topic has relevance for mesoscale transport and diffusion simulations. The resulting expression for the eddy diffusivity cannot be solved analytically. For this reason an algebraic approximated formulation, giving nearly the same results as the exact expression, is also proposed

Modelos matemáticos para ajuste da produção de gases in vitro em diferentes tempos de incubação e cinética ruminal de silagens de milho.

Suplemento 1

Production of annual ryegrass with different doses of nitrogen fertilization in topdressing.

Made available in DSpace on 2019-12-30T18:10:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SeminaCiAgMittelmannProduction.pdf: 363245 bytes, checksum: 39152185b5b3d0a8133d04e3c3e2af64 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019bitstream/item/207926/1/SeminaCiAg-Mittelmann-Production.pd

Internova e-learning platform in an entrepreneurial context

Currently, there is still an opposition of teachers to the implementation of new technologies in an educational context. Although several studies point out the relevance of the use of information and communication technologies in pedagogical practices, providing educational contexts more focused on learning practices and fostering more active and autonomous professionals. In this context, this article emphasizes the purpose of using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), as well as virtual learning environments, in the higher education system, to support the teaching-learning processes. In this article, a state of the art was carried out, in order to demonstrate some advantages of the teaching-learning process, the teacher's and student behaviour profiles and its role in relation to the use of new technologies. The objective of this study was to analyse the impact of using a digital platform on the teaching-learning process in an educational context. An e-learning digital platform, INTERNOVA, developed within the scope of the INTERNOVAMARKET-FOOD project (0437_internovamarket-food_1_E - Internovamarket accelerator program to increase the competitiveness of the food sector in Galicia-Northern), within the curricular unit of Food Safety and Certification of the Master in Food Engineering's curriculum. In order to assess the impact of the training course on the students' learning outcomes, a survey was applied to master's students and Food Engineering research fellows (participants). The same survey was applied before the training and after it in order to compare both results. At the end of each training course, another survey was addressed to all the participants asking about the organization, quality and the easiness of the platform. The results obtained show that the students had no difficulties in using the platform, having revealed that they would like to continue using it more frequently. The data obtained are an evidence of the participants' learning improvement and their involvement in the learning process through the INTERNOVA platform. With this work, it can be concluded that the ICT applied to a curricular program can be a very important support in the teaching-learning process. In this context, it is important to recommend well-designed curricular programs so that teachers can improve their teaching practices, enhancing students' digital skills, and thus contributing to the development of more active and autonomous professionals. © Proceedings of the 14th IADIS International Conference e-Learning 2020, EL 2020 - Part of the 14th Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems, MCCSIS 2020. All rights reserved.This work was supported by INTERREG V-A Espanha-Portugal (POCTEP) 2014-2020 (0437_INTERNOVAMARKET-FOOD_1_E) under the development of the project entitled “INTERNOVAMARKET-FOOD – Programa acelerador para aumentar a competitividade do sector alimentar da Galiza-Norte de Portugal”info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A progressive refinement approach for the visualisation of implicit surfaces

Visualising implicit surfaces with the ray casting method is a slow procedure. The design cycle of a new implicit surface is, therefore, fraught with long latency times as a user must wait for the surface to be rendered before being able to decide what changes should be introduced in the next iteration. In this paper, we present an attempt at reducing the design cycle of an implicit surface modeler by introducing a progressive refinement rendering approach to the visualisation of implicit surfaces. This progressive refinement renderer provides a quick previewing facility. It first displays a low quality estimate of what the final rendering is going to be and, as the computation progresses, increases the quality of this estimate at a steady rate. The progressive refinement algorithm is based on the adaptive subdivision of the viewing frustrum into smaller cells. An estimate for the variation of the implicit function inside each cell is obtained with an affine arithmetic range estimation technique. Overall, we show that our progressive refinement approach not only provides the user with visual feedback as the rendering advances but is also capable of completing the image faster than a conventional implicit surface rendering algorithm based on ray casting

Effect of protective cultures and different modified atmosphere packaging on Listeria innocua growth and on sensory properties in sliced cured-smoked pork loin

This study aims to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of two protective cultures combined with different modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) systems on Listeria innocua growth in sliced ready-to-eat pork loin, a Portuguese traditional cured-smoked product (Lombo). Two protective lactic acid (LAB) cultures - Lactobacillus sakei ST153 and BLC35 (CHR Hansen) were tested for their ability against L. innocua 20130c growth (as a surrogate for L. monocytogenes) in sliced “lombo” packed in two MAP conditions, (20%CO2/80%N2 and 40%CO2/60%N2) and stored at 5oC. The influence of MAP and protective cultures in the sensory characteristics of the product was also evaluated by semi-trained panel of fifteen judges. The MAP affected the growth of L. innocua, the Listeria population decreasing 3 log CFU/g after 120 days of storage at 5oC. In samples containing protective cultures a reduction of 1–2 log CFU/g in counts of L. innocua was observed after 12 hours. At the end of storage results indicated that L. sakei ST 153 was more efficient than BLC35 culture on inhibiting L. innocua growth and this inhibition was enhanced by MA (40%CO2/60%N2). Results of sensory evaluation showed that oiliness, hardness, succulence, and characteristic taste attributes of “lombo” decreased during storage whereas the bitter taste increased in both LAB applications and no significant differences between LAB cultures or MAP conditions were found

Cross sections for proton induced high energy γ-ray emission (PIGE) in reaction 19F(p,αγ)16O at incident proton energies between 1.5 and 4 MeV

Plan I2C 2013 by Xunta de Galicia (ES) PEstOE/Fis/UI0275/2014 Sem PDF conforme despacho.We have studied the high energy gamma-rays produced in the reaction 19F(p,αγ)16O for incident proton energies from 1.5 to 4.0 MeV over NaF/Ag and CaF2/Ag thin targets in two different sets of data. Gamma-rays were detected with a High Purity Ge detector with an angle of 130° with respect to the beam axis. The cross-sections for the high energy gamma-rays of 6.129, 6.915 and 7.115 MeV have been measured for the whole group between 5 and 7.2 MeV with accuracy better than 10%. A new energy range was covered and more points are included in the cross-sections data base expanding the existing set of data. Results are in agreement with previous measurements in similar conditions.preprintpublishe

S100P is a molecular determinant of E-cadherin function in gastric cancer

Background: E-cadherin has been awarded a key role in the aetiology of both sporadic and hereditary forms of gastric cancer. In this study, we aimed to identify molecular interactors that influence the expression and function of E-cadherin associated to cancer. Methods: A data mining approach was used to predict stomach-specific candidate genes, uncovering S100P as a key candidate. The role of S100P was evaluated through in vitro functional assays and its expression was studied in a gastric cancer tissue microarray (TMA). Results: S100P was found to contribute to a cancer pathway dependent on the context of E-cadherin function. In particular, we demonstrated that S100P acts as an E-cadherin positive regulator in a wild-type E-cadherin context, and its inhibition results in decreased E-cadherin expression and function. In contrast, S100P is likely to be a pro-survival factor in gastric cancer cells with loss of functional E-cadherin, contributing to an oncogenic molecular program. Moreover, expression analysis in a gastric cancer TMA revealed that S100P expression impacts negatively among patients bearing Ecad- tumours, despite not being significantly associated with overall survival on its own. Conclusions: We propose that S100P has a dual role in gastric cancer, acting as an oncogenic factor in the context of E-cadherin loss and as a tumour suppressor in a functional E-cadherin setting. The discovery of antagonist effects of S100P in different E-cadherin contexts will aid in the stratification of gastric cancer patients who may benefit from S100P-targeted therapies.This work was financed by FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors (COMPETE 2020), Programa Operacional de Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI), Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (Norte 2020) and by National Funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), under the projects PTDC/BIMONC/0171/2012, PTDC/BIM-ONC/0281/2014, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000029, PTDC/MED-GEN/30356/2017, PTDC/BTM-SAL/30383/2017; doctoral grant SFRH/BD/114687/2016-AMM; post-doctoral grant SFRH/BPD/87705/2012-JF. We acknowledge the IFCT Program for funding JP and SV