Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): Aleksandra M. Kocot, Magdalena A. Olszewska

Foodborne Enterobacteriaceae pathogens, especially Salmonella, still seriously threaten food safety.

Acrylamide is a toxic compound and a thermal marker of food, deriving from Maillard reaction. A recent European Regulation established mitigation measures and benchmark levels for its reduction in many products encouraging the use of colourimetric scales providing a statistical correlation between colour intensity and acrylamide content.

In order to trace the source of Pb pollution in wheat, the contribution ratio of soil and atmospheric fallout source was quantified based on stable isotope ratios. Results showed that the average Pb content of soil was significantly lower than that of fallout, and Pb in the fallout had a higher weak acid fraction than soil. Pb in wheat had a distinct distribution in its tissues and the content of Pb in wheat roots was significantly higher than it in shoots.

Climate change is expected to alter hydrological cycles on global and regional scales, impacting groundwater and surface water inputs to stream habitats. In the midwestern United States, the volume and frequency of inputs are expected to become increasingly variable. This region has a high incidence of agriculture, creating enormous potential for transport of pesticides and herbicides into aquatic ecosystems.

Author(s): Annie von Eyken, Swaroopini Ramachandran, Stéphane Bayen

Microplastic presence in seafood and foodstuff have been documented globally in recent studies. Consequently, human exposure to microplastics through the ingestion of contaminated food is inevitable and pose a risk to food security and human health.

Here we evaluate the potential of heavy metal accumulation of Proteocephalus macrophallus parasitizing the Butterfly Peacock Bass (Cichla ocellaris). A total of 19 fish specimens were collected. From the hosts, samples of intestine, liver, muscle, and parasites were taken. Heavy metal concentrations (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Fe, Hg, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Ti, and Zn) were obtained using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.

Captive breeding has been used as an effective approach to protecting endangered animals but its effect on the gut microbiome and the conservation status of these species is largely unknown. The giant panda is a flagship species for the conservation of wildlife. With integrated efforts including captive breeding, this species has been recently upgraded from “endangered” to “vulnerable” (IUCN 2016).

Giardia lamblia is usually cultured axenically in TYI-S-33, a complex medium which does not permit survival and growth of mammalian cells. Likewise, medium commonly used to maintain and grow mammalian cells does not support healthy trophozoite survival for more than a few hours. The inability to coculture trophozoites and epithelial cells under optimal conditions limits studies of their interactions as well as interpretation of results.

Author(s): Paul M. Bartley, Alison Burrells, Julio Benavides, German Canton, Joao L. Garcia, Jackie Thomson, Fransesca Chianini, Elisabeth A. Innes, Frank Katzer

by Claudia Silva, Edmundo Calva, Marcos Fernández-Mora, José L. Puente, Pablo Vinuesa

Salmonella infection can cause gastroenteritis in healthy individuals or a serious, systemic infection in immunocompromised patients and has a global impact. CD4 Th1 cells represent the main lymphocyte population that participates in bacterial clearance during both primary and secondary infections in mice of the H-2b haplotype. Previous studies have used congenic mice to examine the function of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules in elimination of this pathogen from the host.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a major cause of infectious diarrhea in children, travelers, and deployed military personnel. As such, development of a vaccine would be advantageous for public health. One strategy is to use subunits of colonization factors combined with antigen/adjuvant toxoids as an ETEC vaccine.

Coxiella burnetii is an intracellular bacterium that causes query, or Q fever, a disease that typically manifests as a severe flu-like illness. The initial target of C. burnetii is the alveolar macrophage. Here, it regulates vesicle trafficking pathways and fusion events to establish a large replication vacuole called the Coxiella-containing vacuole (CCV). Similar to a phagolysosome, the CCV has an acidic pH and contains lysosomal hydrolases obtained via fusion with late endocytic vesicles.

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium which causes human Q fever. An acidified citrate cysteine medium (ACCM-2) has been developed which mimics the intracellular replicative niche of C. burnetii and allows axenic growth of the bacteria. To determine if C. burnetii cultured in ACCM-2 retains immunogenicity, we compared the protective efficacies of formalin-inactivated C.

To date, the implications of interleukin 6 (IL-6) for immune responses in the context of Brucella infection are still unknown. In the present study, we found that Brucella abortus infection induced marked production of IL-6 in mice that was important for sufficient differentiation of CD8+ T cells, a key factor in Brucella clearance.

Author(s): Lukas Kornher, Matthias Kalkuhl

Author(s): Vadim Y. Kryukov, Marsel R. Kabilov, Natalia Smirnova, Oksana G. Tomilova, Maksim V. Tyurin, Yuriy B. Akhanaev, Olga V. Polenogova, Viktor P. Danilov, Saule K. Zhangissina, Tatiana Alikina, Olga N. Yaroslavtseva, Viktor V. Glupov

Author(s): Linlin Zhao, Hanzhi Fan, Min Zhang, Bimal Chitrakar, Bhesh Bhandari, Bin Wang

Author(s): Zeyuan Liu, Jizhi Zhou, Jia Zhang, Yanbing Mao, Xin Huang, Guangren Qian

Author(s): Yifei Chen, Qiwu Wen, Shan Chen, Du Guo, Yunfeng Xu, Sen Liang, Xiaodong Xia, Baowei Yang, Chao Shi

Author(s): Aida T. Ardebili, Kyrre Rickertsen

Author(s): Akbar Bahrami, Rana Delshadi, Seid Mahdi Jafari, Leonard Williams

Author(s): Aida Pérez-Baltar, Alejandro Serrano, Raquel Montiel, Margarita Medina