Research Publications (Food Safety)

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Volume 66, Issue 5, May 2022. GST-HG131, a novel dihydroquinolizinone (DHQ) compound, has been shown to reduce circulating levels of HBsAg in animals. This first-in-human trial evaluated the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profile of GST-HG131 in healthy Chinese subjects. This was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase Ia clinical trial that was conducted in two parts.

Author(s): Xiaoxia Wang, Xuhong Chang, Haibing Zhan, Chengyun Li, Qiong Zhang, Sheng Li, Yingbiao Sun. Autophagy activation is one of the survival mechanisms of ethanol-induced hepatitis in mammals. Both Curcumin and Baicalin have anti-inflammatory effects, but the mechanism of their combined action in ethanol-induced hepatitis is still unclear.

Author(s): Jiaju Qiao, Mengjiao Zhu, Yun Fan, Zhaoxin Lu, Fengxia Lv, Haizhen Zhao, Xiaomei Bie. Staphylococcus aureus can survive at low temperature which existed a potential risk of food safety. In this paper, the properties of cold-induced small colony variants (SCVs) were investigated including the antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation and virulence.

Author(s): Longfeng Wang, Xiaoxue Kong, Yun Jiang. High pressure processing (HPP) has been demonstrated as an effective technique in reducing E. coli O157:H7 levels on beef. However, an “injure and recover” action of E. coli O157:H7 was found to raise their beef contamination after HPP disinfection. Furthermore, the recovered cell could be miscalculated owing to the complex bacterial community of meat.

Author(s): Jiai Yan, Ruijin Yang, Shuhuai Yu, Wei Zhao. Staphylococcus aureus is a notorious foodborne pathogen capable of producing various toxins including heat-stable enterotoxin, forming biofilm, evolving to multidrug-resistant strains including methicillin-resistant&n

Author(s): Mert Sudagidan, Veli Cengiz Ozalp, Orhan Öztürk, Mediha Nur Zafer Yurt, Orhan Yavuz, Behiye Busra Tasbasi, Samet Ucak, Zehra Seda Mavili, Aysen Coban, Ali Aydin. Biofilm formation is one of the defense mechanisms of bacteria against disinfectants and antimicrobials. The aim of this study was to determine biofilm-forming L.monocytogenes from fish processing and salmon surfaces.

Author(s): Deepika, Anand Kumar Chaudhari, Akanksha Singh, Somenath Das, Nawal Kishore Dubey. The present study explores the practical efficacy of chitosan (CS) nanoemulsion loaded with Petroselinum crispum essential oil (CS-PEO).

Author(s): Ratnika Sharma, Promila Gupta. The objective of this study was to evaluate and identify the components of microgreens harvested from Pennisetum typhoides (Pearl millet) for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities besides finding the possible mechanism of inhibition of 

Parasite Immunology, Accepted Article. Until now, no completely effective parasite-specific drugs or vaccines have been approved for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis. Through the separation and identification of the sporozoite membrane protein of Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum), 20 related proteins were obtained.

Infection and Immunity, Ahead of Print. Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of moderate-to-severe diarrhea in children, which is one of the major causes of death in children under 5 years old. Nitazoxanide is the only FDA-approved treatment for cryptosporidiosis. However, it has limited efficacy in immunosuppressed patients and malnourished children. Therefore, it is urgent to develop novel therapies against this parasite.

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen associated with fresh produce vectors such as leafy greens. Recent outbreaks and recalls associated with red cabbage-containing salads have brought attention to this food commodity. While data on the proliferation of L. monocytogenes is available for different varieties of white cabbage, no information is available on the fate of this pathogen on red cabbage. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the survival of L.

Salmonella is a common cause of foodborne illness in the United States and several strains of Salmonella have been identified as resistant to antibiotics. It is not known whether strains with antibiotics resistance (ABR) and some tolerance to antimicrobial compounds also have the ability to resist the inactivation effects of antimicrobial interventions used in the fresh meat processing.

Outbreaks of enteric pathogens linked to wheat flour have led the wheat milling industry to seek solutions addressing this food safety concern. Chlorinated water at 400-700ppm has been used in the flour milling industry as a tempering aid to control growth of yeast and mold in tempering bins. However, the effectiveness of chlorinated water for inactivating enteric pathogens on wheat kernels remained unknown.

The health and economic burden of foodborne illness is high, with approximately 2.4 million cases occurring annually in the United Kingdom. A survey to understand the baseline microbial quality and prevalence of food-related hazards of fresh beef mince on retail sale could inform risk assessment, management and communication to ensure the safety of this commodity.

This study explored the antibiofilm efficacy of 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) on Staphylococcus aureus and its disinfection on common food-contact surfaces.

Background Epidemiological data indicate an association between cadmium exposure and risk of bone fracture; however, clinical treatment of cadmium-induced fracture is limited.

A portable toolbox based on time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay and immunomagnetic separation was designed for on-site detection of Cronobacter sakazakii in dairy without advanced facilities. In this study, C. sakazakii was recognised and captured in milk by immunomagnetic beads, and europium chelated nanoparticles were used as signal probes in fluoroimmunoassays for quantitative analysis.

Similar to other cnidarians such as stony corals, the upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea spp.) lives in endosymbiosis with dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae. These jellyfish have been described as invasive species and are now found circumtropically in coastal marine environments.

In autumn 2019, the Public Health Agency of Sweden identified a cluster of Salmonella Newport cases by whole genome sequencing (WGS). Cases’ distribution in place and time indicated a nation-wide ongoing outbreak. An investigation was initiated to identify the source and prevent further cases.

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen that can infect almost every organ system, resulting in a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. The msaABCR operon is an important regulator of several staphylococcal phenotypes, including biofilm development, cell wall crosslinking, antibiotic resistance, oxidative stress, and acute and chronic implant-associated osteomyelitis.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the main pathogens causing hospital and community-acquired infections, in particular, infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cause a higher mortality rate than those caused by methicillin-sensitive strains, which poses a serious global public health problem. Therefore, rapid and ultrasensitive detection of patients with clinical MRSA infection and timely control of infection are essential.

In this study, eight rap-related genes were found in the Bacillus cereus 0–9 genome; five rap genes were located on chromosomes and three on large plasmids. A total of five Rap proteins in B. cereus 0–9 were annotated as ‘tetratricopeptide repeat proteins’. SMART Server analysis showed that the eight Rap proteins had typical tetrapeptide repeat sequence (TPR) domains.

A complex virulence-regulatory cascade controls expression of the cholera toxin genes (ctxAB) in Vibrio cholerae, which eventually leads to the production and secretion of choleragen (CT), responsible for rice watery diarrhoea in infected individuals.

Powdery mildew disease caused by Podosphaerapannosa is the most widespread disease in global cut-rose production, as well as a major disease in garden and pot roses. In this study, the powdery mildew resistance of different wild rose varieties was evaluated.

Ivermectin (IVM) is a versatile drug used against many microorganisms. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most devastating microorganisms. IVM sensitive and resistant S. aureus strains were recently reported. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of resistance are unknown. Clinical isolates of S. aureus were used for determination of the sensitivities against IVM by growth curve analysis and time-kill kinetics.