Research Publications (Food Safety)

The recently published study by Truong and Pessah (2018) raised severe food safety concerns about the application of the diamide pesticides chlorantraniliprole and flubendiamide. In the present letter we wish to share our thoughts provoked by their paper and provide important future research perspectives.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Several neurotoxic congeners display axial chirality and atropselectively affect cellular targets implicated in PCB neurotoxicity. Only limited information is available regarding the atropselective metabolism of these congeners in humans and their atropselective effects on neurotoxic outcomes.

Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental pollutant of considerable interest throughout the world and potentially a neurotoxicant. Our recent data indicate that Cd exposure induces impairment of hippocampus-dependent learning and memory in mice. However, the underlying mechanisms for this defect are not known. The goal of this study was to determine if Cd inhibits adult neurogenesis and to identify underlying signaling pathways responsible for this impairment.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enclosed nanostructures released by cells into the extracellular environment. As major actors of physiological intercellular communication, they have been shown to be pathogenic mediators of several liver diseases. Extracellular vesicles also appear to be potential actors of drug-induced liver injury but nothing is known concerning environmental pollutants.

Three deaths have been reported in the biggest ever outbreak of listeriosis in Spain, which was first reported on Aug 16. As of Sept 6, 204 cases of listeria infection have been reported in Andalusia, with most cases reported in Seville (n=162). The outbreak has been linked to a pork product made by a company based in Seville. The factory has been closed and the pork products recalled from shops. Five women have also had miscarriages due to their illness.

Considering the growing consumption of artisanal foods worldwide, we aimed to evaluate the microbial safety of Serro artisanal cheese (SAC), produced in Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

by Sangay Tenzin, Abiodun David Ogunniyi, Manouchehr Khazandi, Sergio Ferro, Jonathon Bartsch, Simon Crabb, Sam Abraham, Permal Deo, Darren J. Trott

by Phuc Pham-Duc, Meghan A. Cook, Hanh Cong-Hong, Hang Nguyen-Thuy, Pawin Padungtod, Hien Nguyen-Thi, Sinh Dang-Xuan

Author(s): Pattrathip Rodsamran, Rungsinee Sothornvit

Cardiovascular drug toxicity is responsible for 17% of drug withdrawals in clinical phases, half of post-marketed drug withdrawals and remains an important adverse effect of several marketed drugs. Early assessment of drug-induced cardiovascular toxicity is mandatory and typically done in cellular systems and mammals. Current in vitro screening methods allow high-throughput but are biologically reductionist.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) remains a major challenge in drug development. Although numerous mechanisms for DILI have been identified, few studies have focused on loss of hepatocyte polarization as a DILI mechanism. The current study investigated the effects of valproate (VPA), an antiepileptic drug with DILI risk, on the cellular mechanisms responsible for loss of hepatocyte polarization.

Drug hepatotoxicity is often delayed in onset. An exemplar case is the chronic nature of fialuridine hepatotoxicity, which resulted in the deaths of several patients in clinical trials as preclinical studies failed to identify this human-specific hepatotoxicity. Conventional preclinical in vitro models are mainly designed to evaluate the risk of acute drug toxicity.

2,4,6-Tribromophenol (TBP, CAS No. 118-79-6) is a brominated chemical used in the production of flame-retardant epoxy resins and as a wood preservative. In marine environments, TBP is incorporated into shellfish and consumed by predatory fish. Food processing and water treatment facilities produce TBP as a byproduct. 2,4,6-Tribromophenol has been detected in human blood and breast milk.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of low-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma on microwave-assisted hydrodistillation of lemon peel oil extraction. Microwave pre-treated lemon peel powder was exposed to plasma treatment (1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 kV) for 10 min. The treated lemon peel powders were subjected to hydrodistillation to extract the essential oil and the extraction yields were calculated.

Feeding pasteurized milk to suckling calves is a popular practice used increasingly on dairy farms. Waste milk is frequently fed to calves because of its high nutritional value and economic benefits compared to milk replacement products. However, one of the disadvantages of feeding waste milk is the potential for exposure to a high number of bacterial contaminants, which may lead to serious illnesses or infections in calves. One of these contaminants is Mycobacterium avium ssp.

Blood culture bottles containing antibiotic binding resins are routinely used to minimize artificial sterilization in the presence of antibiotics. However, the resin binding kinetics can differ between antibiotics and concentrations.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and the STEC subgroup enterohemorrhagic E. coli cause intestinal infections with symptoms ranging from watery diarrhea to hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). A key tool for the epidemiological differentiation of STEC is serotyping. The serotype in combination with the main virulence determinants gives important insight into the virulence potential of a strain.

Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) is the most common causative pathogen of health care-associated gastrointestinal infections; however, due to the overlap of clinical symptoms with those of other causes of acute gastroenteritis, the selection of the most appropriate laboratory test is difficult. From April to October 2018, 640 stool samples requested for CDI testing were examined using the mariPOC CDI and Gastro test (ArcDia), which allows the detection of C.

With multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterobacterales on the rise, a nontoxic antimicrobial agent with a unique mechanism of action such as fosfomycin seems attractive. However, establishing accurate fosfomycin susceptibility testing for non-Escherichia coli isolates in a clinical microbiology laboratory remains problematic.

Colistin has become increasingly important in the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Resistance to colistin has emerged globally, necessitating the need for an accurate method to detect colistin resistance. The colistin NP test has shown promise as a rapid screening assay for colistin resistance.

Due to the atypical serological profile of some patients with primary Q fever infection who do not develop IgM against Coxiella burnetii, we developed an avidity test to distinguish recent or past infections. We tested 39 serum samples by immunofluorescence with conventional assay and after urea treatment from 26 patients at different stages of the disease.

Author(s): Cassandra Suther, Matthew D. Moore

Author(s): Mengyao Mu, Hongjing Zhao, Yu Wang, Juanjuan Liu, Dongxue Fei, Mingwei Xing

Author(s): Aneta Spyra, Anna Cieplok, Małgorzata Strzelec, Agnieszka Babczyńska

Author(s): He Xiao, Asfandyar Shahab, Jieyue Li, Beidou Xi, Xiaojie Sun, Huijun He, Guo Yu