Pseudomonas Survive Thermal Processing and Grow during Vacuum Packaged Storage in an Emulsified Beef System

New research has suggested the ability of Pseudomonas, a common spoilage microorganism, to grow in cooked beef products stored under vacuum which challenges the traditional understanding of the role of Pseudomonas during cooked beef spoilage. Understanding the mechanisms of survival and growth of Pseudomonas in these products is crucial for improving shelf life. The objective of this experiment was to determine Pseudomonas survival in a thermally processed, emulsified cooked beef model system. After eight weeks of refrigerated storage, Pseudomonas was recovered from cooked emulsified beef, indicating the potential for Pseudomonas to survive thermal processing and cause spoilage in cooked vacuum packaged beef products

Cost-effectiveness of health care service delivery interventions in low and middle income countries : a systematic review

Background Low and middle income countries (LMICs) face severe resource limitations but the highest burden of disease. There is a growing evidence base on effective and cost-effective interventions for these diseases. However, questions remain about the most cost-effective method of delivery for these interventions. We aimed to review the scope, quality, and findings of economic evaluations of service delivery interventions in LMICs. Methods We searched PUBMED, MEDLINE, EconLit, and NHS EED for studies published between 1st January 2000 and 30th October 2016 with no language restrictions. We included all economic evaluations that reported incremental costs and benefits or summary measures of the two such as an incremental cost effectiveness ratio. Studies were grouped by both disease area and outcome measure and permutation plots were completed for similar interventions. Quality was judged by the Drummond checklist. Results Overall, 3818 potentially relevant abstracts were identified of which 101 studies were selected for full text review. Thirty-seven studies were included in the final review. Twenty-three studies reported on interventions we classed as “changing by whom and where care was provided”, specifically interventions that entailed task-shifting from doctors to nurses or community health workers or from facilities into the community. Evidence suggests this type of intervention is likely to be cost-effective or cost-saving. Nine studies reported on quality improvement initiatives, which were generally found to be cost-effective. Quality and methods differed widely limiting comparability of the studies and findings. Conclusions There is significant heterogeneity in the literature, both methodologically and in quality. This renders further comparisons difficult and limits the utility of the available evidence to decision makers

Spoilage \u3ci\u3ePseudomonas\u3c/i\u3e survive common thermal processing schedules and grow in emulsified meat during extended vacuum storage

Some Pseudomonas species are common meat spoilage bacteria that are often associated with the spoilage of fresh meat. The recently reported ability of these bacteria to also spoil cooked and vacuum packaged meat products has created the need to investigate all potential routes of spoilage they may be able to utilize. The objective of this experiment was to determine if spoilage Pseudomonas spp. survive thermal processing and grow during refrigerated storage under vacuum. Pseudomonas spp. isolates collected from spoiled turkey products were inoculated into a salted and seasoned meat emulsion that was vacuum sealed and thermally treated to final temperatures of 54.4 and 71.1◦C to mimic thermal processes commonly used in the meat industry. Samples were stored for a total of 294 days at 4 and 10◦C and plated using Pseudomonas spp. specific agar plates. Pseudomonas spp. concentrations were below the detection limit (0.18 log10 CFU/g) immediately after thermal processing andwere first recovered from thermally processed samples after 14 days of storage. The final concentrationwas greater than 2 log10 CFU/g (p \u3c 0.05 compared to post-thermal processing) in thermally processed treatment groups at the end of storage, indicating that these Pseudomonas spp. isolateswere able to survive thermal processing and growduring extended vacuum storage. This raises concerns about the ability of spoilage bacteria to survive the thermal processing schedules commonly used in the meat industry and confirms that some Pseudomonas spp. are capable of thriving in products other than aerobically stored fresh meat

Analysis of Spoilage Bacteria Present in Vacuum Packaged Chilled Beef Treated with Organic Acids

Preventing the spoilage of fresh, chilled beef is crucial for maintaining market value. Since organic acids are regularly used in the beef industry for pathogen control, their ability to improve the shelf life of fresh, chilled beef was evaluated. Fresh, chilled beef was individually treated with 4.5% lactic acid, 2.5% Beefxide®, or 380 ppm peroxyacetic acid. After storage, Lactococcus, a genus of lactic acid bacteria, became the most common spoilage organism across all treatment and control samples. Organic acid treatments were not able to slow the growth of this genus and may not be an effective method to control spoilage when lactic acid bacteria are the dominant spoilage organism present

Exploring quercetin and luteolin derivatives as antiangiogenic agents

The formation of new blood vessels from the pre-existing vasculature (angiogenesis) is a crucial stage in cancer progression and, indeed, angiogenesis inhibitors are now used as anticancer agents, clinically. Here we have explored the potential of flavonoid derivatives as antiangiogenic agents. Specifically, we have synthesised methoxy and 4-thio derivatives of the natural flavones quercetin and luteolin, two of which (4-thio quercetin and 4-thio luteolin) had never been previously reported. Seven of these compounds showed significant (P<0.05) antiangiogenic activity in an in vitro scratch assay. Their activity ranged from an 86% inhibition of the vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF)-stimulated migration (observed for methoxyquercetin at 10 µM and for luteolin at 1 µM) to a 36% inhibition (for thiomethoxy quercetin at 10 µM). Western blotting studies showed that most (4 out of 7) compounds inhibited phosphorylation of the VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR2), suggesting that the antiangiogenic activity was due to an interference with the VEGF/VEGFR2 pathway. Molecular modelling studies looking at the affinity of our compounds towards VEGFR and/or VEGF confirmed this hypothesis, and indeed the compound with the highest antiangiogenic activity (methoxyquercetin) showed the highest affinity towards VEGFR and VEGF. As reports from others have suggested that structurally similar compounds can elicit biological responses via a non-specific, promiscuous membrane perturbation, potential interactions of the active compounds with a model lipid bilayer were assessed via DSC. Luteolin and its derivatives did not perturb the model membrane even at concentrations 10 times higher than the biologically active concentration and only subtle interactions were observed for quercetin and its derivatives. Finally, cytotoxicity assessment of these flavonoid derivatives against MCF-7 breast cancer cells demonstrated also a direct anticancer activity albeit at generally higher concentrations than those required for an antiangiogenic effect (10 fold higher for the methoxy analogues). Taken together these results show promise for flavonoid derivatives as antiangiogenic agents

Revising ethical guidance for the evaluation of programmes and interventions not initiated by researchers

Public health and service delivery programmes, interventions and policies (collectively, ‘programmes’) are typically developed and implemented for the primary purpose of effecting change rather than generating knowledge. Nonetheless, evaluations of these programmes may produce valuable learning that helps determine effectiveness and costs as well as informing design and implementation of future programmes. Such studies might be termed ‘opportunistic evaluations’, since they are responsive to emergent opportunities rather than being studies of interventions that are initiated or designed by researchers. However, current ethical guidance and registration procedures make little allowance for scenarios where researchers have played no role in the development or implementation of a programme, but nevertheless plan to conduct a prospective evaluation. We explore the limitations of the guidance and procedures with respect to opportunistic evaluations, providing a number of examples. We propose that one key missing distinction in current guidance is moral responsibility: researchers can only be held accountable for those aspects of a study over which they have control. We argue that requiring researchers to justify an intervention, programme or policy that would occur regardless of their involvement prevents or hinders research in the public interest without providing any further protections to research participants. We recommend that trial consent and ethics procedures allow for a clear separation of responsibilities for the intervention and the evaluation

Doesn\u27t Your Work Just Re-Center Whiteness? The Fallen Impossibilities of White Allyship

Our purpose is to engage performative dialogue incorporative of currere on a central question in critical White studies (CWS). After precautionary notes and positionalities, we frame our dialogue within second-wave CWS. As its main section, six CWS scholars respond to the central question: Doesn’t research on White identities re-center whiteness? Analyzing the scholars’ responses, the performative dialogue is followed by an analytical discussion of CWS’ epistemological, ontological, and axiological convolutions. Via these convolutions, we recognize the impossibilities of facile “White allyship” within antiracist scholarship, curriculum and pedagogy, and related social movements. Instead of White allyship, we propose situated, relational, and process-oriented notions of alliance-oriented antiracist work

Fate of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes During Curing and Drying of Beef Bresaola

Manufacturing dry-cured meat products without a thermal lethality step is a growing trend for charcuterie companies in the United States. The United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service requires that hazards for ready-to-eat meat products be addressed with a scientifically valid Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system. Because little validation literature exists for these products, an experiment was designed to investigate the safety of beef bresaola. The objective of this study was to determine the reduction of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes during curing and drying of bresaola.Prior to curing, whole beef semitendinosus muscle was inoculated with a mixed culture containing 3 strains each of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and L. monocytogenes, allowed to air dry (30 min at 23°C), sprayed with a 2.5% Beefxide antimicrobial treatment (Birko Corp., Henderson, CO), and allowed to sit overnight in a walk-in cooler (2°C–4°C). Cure (NaNO3and NaNO2) and salt were applied to the beef surface 24 h after the antimicrobial treatment, and the beef was cured for 28 d (2°C–4°C). Following curing, a proprietary spice mixture was surface coated, and each piece was stuffed into beef casings (115–130 mm). The stuffed bresaola pieces were hung and allowed to dry for 35 d to a target water activity &lt; 0.92 (13.63°C ± 2°C; relative humidity 68% ± 7%). Pathogen populations and water activity were analyzed on days 0, 1, and 2 and then weekly until day 65 of the study. Final reductions of 5.97, 5.98, and 5.44 log10 colony-forming units (CFU)/cm2 were achieved on day 65 for E. coli, Salmonella spp., and L. monocytogenes, respectively. During the entire curing and drying process, populations of each species never increased by more than 0.5 log10 CFU/cm2. The critical parameters used to cure and dry this product are sufficient to achieve the minimum 5 log10 CFU/cm2 reduction of each pathogen as required by the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service to validate process safety

Lack of Artemisinin Resistance in Plasmodium falciparum in Uganda Based on Parasitological and Molecular Assays

We evaluated markers of artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum isolated in Kampala in 2014. By standard in vitro assays, all isolates were highly sensitive to dihydroartemisinin (DHA). By the ring-stage survival assay, after a 6-h DHA pulse, parasitemia was undetectable in 40 of 43 cultures at 72 h. Two of 53 isolates had nonsynonymous K13-propeller gene polymorphisms but did not have the mutations associated with resistance in Asia. Thus, we did not see evidence for artemisinin resistance in Uganda

Lack of resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to dihydroartemisinin in Uganda based on parasitogolgical and molecular assays

Artemisinin-­‐based combination therapy is now standard treatment for falciparum malaria. However, this regimen is threatened by resistance to artemisinins, manifest as delayed clearance of parasitemia after therapy, in southeast Asia. Artemisinin resistance in southeast Asia is associated with increased parasitemias in culture, compared to those in sensi0ve parasites, 72 hours a=er a 6 hour pulse with 700 nM dihydroartemisinin (DHA), and with propeller domain polymorphisms in the Plasmodium falciparum kelch (K13; PF3D7_1343700) gene Given that artemether/lumefantrine has been adopted as standard therapy for malaria within the last decade in Uganda, we characterized artemisinin sensiBvity in fresh P. falciparum isolates from Kampala using ex vivo ring-­‐stage survival and IC50 assays. We also assessed the K13 gene for polymorphisms