Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): Steffen F. Hansen, Sean A. Hogan, John Tobin, Jan T. Rasmussen, Lotte B. Larsen, Lars Wiking

Author(s): Mengyue Guo, Wenjun Jiang, Meihua Yang, Xiaowen Dou, Xiaohui Pang

An incident of sudden deaths in the breeding stock was reported from a farrow‐to‐finish commercial pig farm in Greece. The 8·4% of sows during lactation and gestation period presented anorexia, fever, hematuria, return‐to‐oestrus, and sudden deaths (mortality rate: 2·3%). Blood and urine samples were collected from 4 diseased sows. Furthermore, swabs from urine bladders were collected from 2 dead sows and 4 culled sows at the slaughterhouse.

by Diana Hooker-Romero, Erin Mettert, Leah Schwiesow, David Balderas, Pablo A. Alvarez, Anadin Kicin, Azuah L. Gonzalez, Gregory V. Plano, Patricia J. Kiley, Victoria Auerbuch

by Dhritiman Samanta, Tatiana M. Clemente, Baleigh E. Schuler, Stacey D. Gilk

by Rui Duarte, Angela Stainthorpe, James Mahon, Janette Greenhalgh, Marty Richardson, Sarah Nevitt, Eleanor Kotas, Angela Boland, Howard Thom, Tom Marshall, Mark Hall, Yemisi Takwoingi

Background

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with increased risk of stroke and congestive heart failure. Lead-I electrocardiogram (ECG) devices are handheld instruments that can detect AF at a single-time point.

Purpose

by Warren Chanda, Mespa Manyepa, Ephraim Chikwanda, Victor Daka, Justin Chileshe, Mathias Tembo, Joseph Kasongo, Allen Chipipa, Ray Handema, John A. Mulemena

by Jiajun Li, Wanqiang Li, Jianzhen Li, Zhenhua Wang, Dan Xiao, Yufei Wang, Xueqin Ni, Dong Zeng, Dongmei Zhang, Bo Jing, Lei Liu, Qihui Luo, Kangcheng Pan

Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) of clonal complex (CC) 398 has become a rising issue for public health. While it is known that >80% of pig farmers are colonized with LA-MRSA, only a few studies have assessed the situation for humans with occasional livestock contact. Recently it was shown that over 75% of scientific fieldworkers visiting pigsties were temporarily carrying LA-MRSA.

Hybrid Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) strains of multilocus sequence type 141 (ST141) cause both urinary tract infections and diarrhea in humans and are phylogenetically positioned between STEC and UPEC strains. We used comparative genomic analysis of 85 temporally and spatially diverse ST141 E. coli strains, including 14 STEC/UPEC hybrids, collected in Germany (n = 13) and the United States (n = 1) to reconstruct their molecular evolution.

Meropenem-vaborbactam (MEV) is a novel carbapenem–beta-lactamase inhibitor combination antibiotic approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, including pyelonephritis, in adults. In this study, we evaluated the performance of Etest MEV (bioMérieux, Marcy l’Etoile, France) compared to that of broth microdilution for 629 Enterobacterales and 163 Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates.

The intrinsic resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to many antibiotics limits treatment options for pseudomonal infections. P. aeruginosa's outer membrane is highly impermeable and decreases antibiotic entry into the cell. We used an unbiased, high-throughput approach to examine mechanisms underlying outer membrane-mediated antibiotic exclusion. Insertion Sequencing (INSeq) identified genes that altered fitness in the presence of linezolid, rifampicin, and vancomycin, antibiotics to which P.

Quorum Sensing (QS) are mechanisms of synthesis and detection of signaling molecules to regulate gene expression and coordinate behaviors in bacterial populations. In Bacillus subtilis (Bs), multiple paralog Rap-Phr QS systems (receptor-signaling peptide) are highly redundant and multifunctional, interconnecting the regulation of differentiation processes such as sporulation and competence. However, their functions in the B. cereus group are largely unknown.

Non‐typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) are a significant source of foodborne illness worldwide, with disease symptoms most often presenting as self‐limiting gastroenteritis; however, occasionally the infection spreads and becomes invasive, frequently requiring anti‐microbial treatment. The cattle‐adapted Dublin serovar of NTS has commonly been associated with invasive illness and anti‐microbial resistance (AMR).

Shiga toxin‐producing Escherichia coli (STEC) can cause diarrhoea and severe diseases in humans, such as haemolytic uraemic syndrome. STEC virulence is considered to correlate with the amount of Shiga toxins (Stx) produced, especially Stx2, whose subtype Stx2a is most frequently associated with high virulence. Stx are encoded in prophages, which play an important role in STEC pathogenesis.

Enzymatic treatment is capable of removing the biofilm matrix so that the subsequent disinfection can be more effective. Abstract Bacterial biofilms are highly difficult to control, hence significant economic resources have been allocated to develop strategies to eradicate them. This study evaluated the effect of an enzymatic treatment to be used as a cleaning product to control the presence of biofilms.

Considering the importance of developing a new analytical approach for pesticide residue detection for the sake of ensuring food safety, a beta‐cyclodextrin based molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared for selective determination of carbendazim. The polymers consist of a porous and hollow structure demonstrating the selective abundant adsorption sites for carbendazim molecule.

Vibrio cholerae is a waterborne bacterium responsible for worldwide outbreaks of acute and fatal cholera. Recently, small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) have become increasingly recognized as important regulators of virulence gene expression in response to environmental signals. In this study, we determined that two component system EnvZ/OmpR was required for intestinal colonization in V. cholerae O1 EI Tor strain E12382.

Bacteria in nature are widely exposed to differential fluid shears which are often a trigger for phenotypic switches. The latter mediates transcriptional and translation remodeling of cellular metabolism impacting among others virulence, antimicrobial resistance and stress resistance.

Aims This study evaluated the antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella enterica strains from layer poultry farms in central Ecuador isolated during 2017. This geographical area is responsible for around 60% of total domestic egg production, yet, as of 2019, no reports had been published on the phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic resistance patterns of Salmonella in the layer poultry farms of this area.

Aim Identification and enumeration of foodborne pathogens in food stuffs are valuable concerns. In the present study, starch‐blood‐egg yolk‐polymyxin B‐trimethoprim‐ceftazidime (SBYPTC) agar was established to isolate and specify the number of B. cereus in food products. Methods and results The effectiveness of the developed medium in selecting for B.

Increasing levels of pollution in Galveston Bay, TX, are of significant concern for populations that directly depend on fishing activities. Efforts to evaluate contaminant levels in commercial fish have been largely limited to the quantification of chemical mixtures in fish tissue, but little information exists about the toxicological potential of these chemicals on consumption of contaminated seafood.

Biomarkers are applied as early warning indicators of organisms’ exposure to pollutants. The aim of this study was to utilise a multi-biomarker approach in the freshwater shrimp Caridina nilotica (Decapoda: Atyidae) as indicators of persistent pollutant exposure. A suite of biomarkers was selected to cover oxidative stress and damage, and energetics of the organisms.

Cross-linking of polymer hydrogels can be achieved by exposing the polymer to gamma radiation that induces production of polymer chain radicals resulting in cross-linking of chains. The present study was focused on fabrication of hydrogel by gamma irradiation for immobilization of bacterial cells. Hydrogels were prepared using 30 and 40% acrylamide at gamma irradiation dose of 5 kGy.

Aflatoxin (AF) B1 is a potent hepatotoxic, mutagenic, teratogenic mycotoxin and may cause immune suppression/dysregulation in humans and animals. Toxic effects of AFB1 on key mammalian immune cells (ie, leukocytes) needs to be mechanistically elucidated.