Research Publications (Food Safety)

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile genetic elements found in the majority of eukaryotic genomes. Genomic studies of protozoan parasites from the phylum Apicomplexa have only reported a handful of TEs in some species and a complete absence in others.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a common food mycotoxin that can cause various diseases. Therefore, reliable detection methods are required to ensure food safety against mycotoxins. In this study, we design a liquid–crystal (LC)-based assay for rapid detection of AFB1 in food samples. The surface-anchored LC droplets on glass (5CBSADrop) are obtained via a solvent evaporation method.

Mycotoxins contamination, especially aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in edible oils, is a health hazard. Therefore, AFB1 trace analysis methods are urgently needed. Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is a popular sensing method because of its low background interference and high sensitivity. However, existing ECL assays for AFB1 detection are based on aqueous rather than oil systems.

Arsenic is a persistent environmental contaminant that humans are exposed to primarily through contaminated water supplies. Arsenic has been shown to have numerous immunomodulatory effects, including deleterious effects on T cell function. However, the effect of arsenic on human T cell function in the context of influenza infection remains poorly characterized.

The investigation of chemical speciation of primary toxic metal(loid)s (Cd, Pb, and As) in soil profile in nonferrous metal smelting site is a key to the assessment of their mobility ch

Arsenic (As) stress provokes various toxic effects in plants that disturbs its photosynthetic potential and hampers growth. Ethylene and selenium (Se) have shown regulatory interaction in plants for metal tolerance; however, their synergism in As tolerance through modification of the antioxidant enzymes and hormone biosynthesis needs further elaboration.

Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) in children remains a growing burden on public health and often causes children to be hospitalized with diarrheic symptoms. In this work, 260 strains of human Salmonella isolated from Jilin, China were characterized by serotypes and antimicrobial resistance using whole genome sequencing (WGS). The most prevalent serotype was Salmonella enteritidis (47.3%), followed by S. I 4,[5],12:i:- (33.1%), and Salmonella Typhimurium (7.3%).

During a cruise from October to November 2019, along the West Antarctic Peninsula, between 64.32 and 68.37°S, we assessed the diversity and composition of the active microbial eukaryotic community within three size fractions: micro- (> 20 μm), nano- (20–5 μm), and pico-size fractions (5–0.2 μm).

Biofilm-associated implant infections represent a major challenge for healthcare systems around the world due to high patient burden and enormous costs incurred. Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) is the most prevalent enterococcal species identified in biofilm-associated infections. The steadily growing areas of application of implants demand a solution for the control of bacterial infections.

Several strains of lactic acid bacteria are potent probiotics and can cure a variety of diseases using different modes of actions. These bacteria produce antimicrobial peptides, bacteriocins, which inhibit or kill generally closely related bacterial strains and other pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria, Clostridium, and Salmonella. Bacteriocins are cationic peptides that kill the target cells by pore formation and the dissipation of cytosolic contents, leading to cell death.

Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) is one of the major food and waterborne bacteria that causes several health outbreaks in the world. Although there are few antibiotics against this bacterium, some of these drugs are challenged with resistance and toxicity. To mitigate this challenge, our group explored the ethnomedicinal/herbalism knowledge about a certain spice used in Northern Ghana in West Africa against bacterial and viral infection. This plant is Capsicum chinense (C. chinense).

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Accepted Article. Background Soil dwelling human pathogens like Salmonella are transmitted by fresh produce like tomato, spinach, onion, cabbage etc. With >2600 serovars, it is difficult to classify the good plant colonizers from the non-colonizers. Generally, soil microbiota is classified as autochthonous or zymogenous organisms, based on their ability to survive in soil.

As a kind of environmental pollutant, heavy metal Cadmium (Cd) exists widely in the environment. It is well known that Cd can accumulate and cause damage in liver, kidney and other organs. However, there are few studies on the immune cytotoxicity of Cd to fish. In particular, there are few studies on the toxicity of Cd to the head kidney lymphocytes of common carp. In order to further explore these mechanisms, we established an Cd exposure model in vitro.

The aim of the study was to describe the heterogeneity of the humoral immune response and pregnancy outcomes in infected women during an outbreak of toxoplasmosis. Forty-two pregnant women referred to the University Hospital of Santa Maria (HUSM), RS, Brazil in 2018 and 2019, were evaluated. Clinical symptoms were reported in 33.3% of the patients. The majority (64.3%) of symptomatic pregnant women had anti T. gondii IgM antibodies index >7.0.

Campylobacteriosis is a significant public health concern with Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli as main causative agents. Moreover, there is an increasing recognition of other pathogenic Campylobacter species and Campylobacter-like organisms as Arcobacter.

Okadaic acid (OA, C₄₄H₆₈O₁₃) is a neurotoxin and phosphatase inhibitor produced by several 

Environmental pH is a critical parameter for maintenance of the gut microbiota. Here, the impact of pH on the gut microbiota luminal and mucosal community structure and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production was evaluated in vitro, and data compiled to reveal a donor-independent response to an increase or decrease in environmental pH. The results found that raising environmental pH significantly increased luminal community richness and decreased mucosal community evenness.

by Batbold Batsaikhan, Ching-I. Huang, Ming-Lun Yeh, Chung-Feng Huang, Yi-Hung Lin, Po-Cheng Liang, Ming-Yen Hsieh, Yi-Ching Lin, Jee-Fu Huang, Wan-Long Chuang, Jin-Ching Lee, Ming-Lung Yu, Hsing-Tao Kuo, Chia-Yen Dai Background High dosage and longer duration of antiviral treatment has been suggested to treat cryoglobulinemia patients.

As a pathogenic microorganism, Listeria monocytogenes is widely used in the research of bacterial pathogenesis and host defense. The phagosomal escape of Listeria monocytogenes is essential for its replication in the cytoplasm of the host.

This study was aimed to examine the membrane damage mechanism of gallic acid (GA) on Yersinia enterocolitica BNCC 108930, and to explore whether GA can prolong the shelf life of pork. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of GA against Y. enterocolitica was determined by adopting the broth microdilution method. Second, an investigation was conducted on the morphological and physiological variations of Y.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution has detrimental effects on the ecological environment and human health. Currently, phytoremediation is considered an environmentally friendly way to remediate Cd pollution.

Duck salmonellosis is a common acute septic infectious disease that spreads rapidly, with serious harm to the duck breeding industry and public health. To date, there are few reports about the epidemiological characteristics of drug resistance in Salmonella from ducks.

In 2020, a new serotype of Vibrio parahaemolyticus O10:K4 emerged and caused several outbreaks and sporadic cases in Guangxi, China. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that those strains are new variants of the sequence type 3 pandemic clone. The new serotype may become dominant, warranting enhanced investigations and surveillance.

Previously, authors reported that individual volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by non-aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus could act as a mechanism of biocontrol to significantly reduce aflatoxins and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) produced by toxigenic strains.

Partition systems are widespread among bacterial chromosomes. They are composed of two effectors, ParA and ParB, and cis acting sites, parS, located close to the replication origin of the chromosome (oriC). ParABS participate in chromosome segregation, at least in part because they serve to properly position sister copies of oriC. A fourth element, located at cell poles, is also involved in some cases, such as HubP for the ParABS1 system of Vibrio cholerae chromosome 1 (ch1).