Ultrasound for improving the preservation of chicken meat

<div><p>Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of power ultrasound on the microbiota of chicken meat. Samples were treated under the following conditions of frequency and power: 20 kHz and 27.6 W/cm2; 40 kHz and 10.3 W/cm2; 850 kHz and 24.1 W/cm 2. Microbial counts were done before the ultrasound treatment, immediately after and following 7 days of aerobic storage at 4 °C. The results indicate that high intensity ultrasound helps inhibit the growth of lactic acid, mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria present in chicken meat at the ultrasound frequency levels used in this study. The number of mesophilic bacteria decreased with the ultrasound probe at 20 kHz and 27.6 W/cm2 in relation to the treatment with higher frequency and less intensity. In conclusion, high-intensity ultrasound has a bactericidal effect. Therefore, it can be useful in the preservation of meat products and thus play an important role in the food industry.</p></div

Persistence of the 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in Water and on Non-Porous Surface

Knowledge of influenza A virus survival in different environmental conditions is a key element for the implementation of hygiene and personal protection measures by health authorities. As it is dependent on virus isolates even within the same subtype, we studied the survival of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic (H1N1pdm) virus in water and on non-porous surface. The H1N1pdm virus was subjected to various environmental parameters over time and tested for infectivity. In water, at low and medium salinity levels and 4°C, virus survived at least 200 days. Increasing temperature and salinity had a strong negative effect on the survival of the virus which remained infectious no more than 1 day at 35°C and 270 parts per thousand (ppt) of salt. Based on modeled data, the H1N1pdm virus retained its infectivity on smooth non-porous surface for at least 7 days at 35°C and up to 66 days at 4°C. The H1N1pdm virus has thus the ability to persist in water and on glass surface for extended periods of time, even at 35°C. Additional experiments suggest that external viral structures in direct contact with the environment are mostly involved in loss of virus infectivity

MELKERSSON-ROSENTHAL SYNDROME

A síndrome de Melkersson-Rosenthal é composta pela tríade: língua plicata, paralisia facial intermitente e edema orofacial. O achado dominante e mais precoce é o edema orofacial. Desta forma, o dermatologista é frequentemente o primeiro profissional a ter contato com o paciente. A condição tem sido pouco descrita em revistas dermatológicas. Apresentamos um caso clássico da tríade completa.The Melkersson-Rosenthal Syndrome is composed of the Triad: linqua plicata, intermittent facial palsy and orofacial swelling. Usually, the dominant and earliest finding of the syndrome is the orofacial swelling. Therefore, it’s frequently the dermatologist the first professional to have contact with the patient. Yet, the condition has been few times described in dermatological literature. We present a classical case of the complete triad

Microtubules restrict F-actin polymerization to the immune synapse via GEF-H1 to maintain polarity in lymphocytes

International audienceImmune synapse formation is a key step for lymphocyte activation. In B lymphocytes, the immune synapse controls the production of high-affinity antibodies, thereby defining the efficiency of humoral immune responses. While the key roles played by both the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons in the formation and function of the immune synapse have become increasingly clear, how the different events involved in synapse formation are coordinated in space and time by actin–microtubule interactions is not understood. Using a microfluidic pairing device, we studied with unprecedented resolution the dynamics of the various events leading to immune synapse formation and maintenance in murine B cells. Our results identify two groups of events, local and global, dominated by actin and microtubules dynamics, respectively. They further highlight an unexpected role for microtubules and the GEF-H1-RhoA axis in restricting F-actin polymerization at the lymphocyte–antigen contact site, thereby allowing the formation and maintenance of a unique competent immune synapse

p53 Efficiently Suppresses Tumor Development in the Complete Absence of Its Cell-Cycle Inhibitory and Proapoptotic Effectors p21, Puma, and Noxa

Activation of apoptosis through transcriptional induction of Puma and Noxa has long been considered to constitute the critical (if not sole) process by which p53 suppresses tumor development, although G1/S boundary cell-cycle arrest via induction of the CDK inhibitor p21 has also been thought to contribute. Recent analyses of mice bearing mutations that impair p53-mediated induction of select target genes have indicated that activation of apoptosis and G1/S cell-cycle arrest may, in fact, be dispensable for p53-mediated tumor suppression. However, the expression of Puma, Noxa, and p21 was not abrogated in these mutants, only reduced; therefore, the possibility that the reduced levels of these critical effectors of p53-mediated apoptosis and G1/S-cell-cycle arrest sufficed to prevent tumorigenesis could not be excluded. To resolve this important issue, we have generated mice deficient for p21, Puma, and Noxa (p21−/−puma−/−noxa−/− mice). Cells from these mice were deficient in their ability to undergo p53-mediated apoptosis, G1/S cell-cycle arrest, and senescence. Nonetheless, these animals remained tumor free until at least 500 days, in contrast to p53-deficient mice, which had all succumbed to lymphoma or sarcoma by 250 days. Interestingly, DNA lesions induced by γ-irradiation persisted longer in p53-deficient cells compared to wild-type or p21−/−puma−/−noxa−/− cells, and the former failed to transcriptionally activate several p53 target genes implicated in DNA repair. These results demonstrate beyond a doubt that the induction of apoptosis, cell-cycle arrest, and possibly senescence is dispensable for p53-mediated suppression of spontaneous tumor development and indicate that coordination of genomic stability and possibly other processes, such as metabolic adaptation, may instead be critical

Frequency of specific anti-toxoplasma gondii lgM, lgA and IgE in Colombian patients with acute and chronic ocular toxoplasmosis

We studied the frequency of specific anti-Toxoplasma IgM, IgA and IgE antibodies in serum of 28 immunocompetent Colombian patients, selected by ophthalmologists and with lesions that were compatible with ocular toxoplasmosis. Patients were classified in three groups: (i) group 1 consisted of ten patients with a first episode; (ii) group 2 with seven patients with a recurrence and (iii) group 3, consisted of eleven patients with chronic chorioretinal lesion without uveitis. We found that 10/28 (35%) of Colombian patients with ocular toxoplasmosis possessed at least one serological marker for Toxoplasma infection different from IgG. In group 1 (first episode), we found simultaneous presence of specific IgM plus IgA plus IgE in 1/10 (10%). In group 2 (recurrences) in 1/7(14%) we found IgM and IgA test positives and in 1/7(14%) we found IgM and IgE tests positives. In group 3 (toxoplasmic chorioretinal scar) the IgA serological test was positive in 2/11(18%). These results show that serum IgM or IgA or IgE can be present during recurrences

P004 Retrospective analysis of deceased donor samples for ZIKA virus infection in high-risk population, a three-year study

The recent epidemic of Zika Virus in the United States has necessitated screening for the presence of this agent in high-risk transplant solid organ donors to avoid the transmission to potential recipients. In this study, we performed a retrospective analysis of Cadaver Donors from Auxilio Mutuo Hospital (HAM) in Puerto Rico. One hundred fifty-six (156) serum samples from Deceased Donors were obtained from Puerto Rico. Aliquots of serum, were maintained at −20°C since collection. There were 38 samples from 2014, 62 from 2015, and 56 from 2016. These samples were tested with the RealStar® Zika Virus RT-PCR Kit U.S.® kit (Altona Diagnostics), and Anti-Zika Virus ELISA IgG and IgM kits (EUROIMMUN). These assays were validated with a separate group of freshly obtained Zika-positive samples from an ambulatory clinic at HAM. Of the 156 total deceased donor specimens retrospectively tested, none were positive for PCR, 2 were positive for IgM, and 22 were positive or borderline for IgG. The breakdown over the 3-year period indicated an increase in long-term exposure, as indicated by the increase in IgG positive samples. In 2014, only 5.2% were positive. However, by 2015 19.4% of the samples were positive. This indicates that almost 20% of the Deceased Donors tested had some contact with the Zika Virus (or a related Flavivirus, such as Dengue or West Nile). Of the positive IgG samples, only 2 were positive for IgM, indicating the exposure was likely more than 3months prior. The results of the PCR study were not surprising, as we have seen in our laboratory, the long-term storage of serum for later RNA-based PCR testing has been unsuccessful. Zika testing utilizing PCR-based assays in conjunction with serological assays in areas of known infection is essential, especially when servicing solid organ transplant programs. The use of donors potentially infected with Zika virus could have a significant impact in transplant success as there are some indications that immunocompromised individuals may develop more severe symptoms or illnesses. The correct storage of serum samples is crucial to obtain reliable results of this test