Elemental composition of vegetables cultivated over coal-mining waste

ABSTRACT We assessed elemental composition of the liver in mice subjected to one-time or chronic consumption of the juice of vegetables cultivated in a vegetable garden built over deposits of coal waste. Lactuca sativa L. (lettuce), Beta vulgaris L. (beet), Brassica oleracea L. var. italica (broccoli) and Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala (kale) were collected from the coal-mining area and from a certified organic farm (control). Elemental composition was analyzed by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) method. Concentrations of Mg, S, and Ca of mice subjected to one-time consumption of broccoli and concentrations of these same elements plus Si of mice receiving kale were higher in the coal-mining area. Concentrations of P, K, and Cu were increase after chronic consumption of lettuce from the coal-mining area, whereas the levels of Si, P, K, Fe, and Zn were higher in the group consuming kale from the coal-mining area. Our data suggests that people consuming vegetables grown over coal wastes may ingest significant amounts of chemical elements that pose a risk to health, since these plants contain both essential and toxic metals in a wide range of concentrations, which can do more harm than good

Improving microbial growth prediction by product unit neural networks

This article presents a new approach to the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) modeling of bacterial growth; using Neural Network models based on Product Units (PUNN) instead of on sigmoidal units (multilayer perceptron type [MLP]) of kinetic parameters (lag‐time, growth rate, and maximum population density) of Leuconostoc mesenteroides and those factors affecting their growth such as storage temperature, pH, NaCl, and NaNO2 concentrations under anaerobic conditions

Risk assessment for the consumption of fresh meat products for certain population groups in relation to the modification made in the Royal Decree 1376.2003, which establishes the health conditions for

Royal Decree 728/2011 (Real Decreto, 2011), of 20 May, amends article 4 of Royal Decree 1376/2003 (Real Decreto, 2003), dated 7 November, establishing the sanitary conditions for the production, storage and marketing of fresh meats and derived products at retail establishments; an exception is established in this article concerning the supply of fresh meat preparations to authorised catering establishments. This paper assesses the risk derived from these fresh meat preparations to the consuming population visiting bars and restaurants, and those people staying in geriatric nursing homes, hospitals, schools and nurseries to which the supply of fresh meat preparations is restricted. The results obtained revealed the existence of differences in the health response of the subpopulations studied to specific doses of pathogenic microorganisms. The estimated number of ill people is greater in the case of groups from geriatric nursing homes, nurseries, schools and hospitals in comparison with the groups from bars and restaurants, for both Salmonella and L. monocytogenes