Research Publications (Food Safety)

Mature lysostaphin (mLst) is a glycineglycine endopeptidase, capable of specifically cleaving penta-glycine crosslinker in the peptidoglycan of Staphylococcus aureus cell wall. It is a very effective therapeutic enzyme to kill the multidrug-resistant S. aureus often encountered in hospital acquired infections. Fusing cellulose binding domain (CBD) to mLst significantly reduced the insoluble expression of mLst in E.

Organic residue is a good resource of organic matter and nutrients to improve soil physico-chemical properties, but the toxic trace elements, including cadmium (Cd), borne with it may limit its suitability for arable land. This study aimed to develop regression models for Cd critical concentration in the soils amended with Cd-containing organic residue in view of food safety.

Prorocentrum lima is a global benthic dinoflagellate that produces diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins, which can be ingested by filter-feeding bivalves, and eventually pose a great threat to human health through food chain. After being exposed to P. lima, different bivalves may accumulate various levels of DSP toxins and display different toxic responses. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear.

Botulinum neurotoxin injections near the lateral canthal rhytids are commonly used in cosmetic settings; however, there is a lack of thorough anatomical knowledge, and an effective way to treat them with accumulating knowledge is needed. The anatomical characteristics concerning the injection of botulinum neurotoxin into the orbicularis oculi muscle were evaluated in this review.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most important diseases of barley in Manitoba province (western Canada), and other major barley producing regions of the world. Little is known about the Fusarium species and mycotoxin spectra associated with FHB of barley in Manitoba.

Staphylococcus aureus is a very common Gram-positive bacterium, and S. aureus infections play an extremely important role in a variety of diseases. This paper describes the types of virulence factors involved, the inflammatory cells activated, the process of host cell death, and the associated diseases caused by S. aureus. S.

Antibiotic resistance is increasing worldwide making it necessary to search for alternative antimicrobials. Sodium bituminosulfonate is a long-known substance, whose antimicrobial inhibitory activity has recently been re-evaluated. However, to the best of our knowledge, the bactericidal mode of action of this substance has not been systematically characterized.

Coralmycins, such as coralmycin A and DH-coralmycin A, have novel molecular skeletons and have been reported to exhibit potent antibacterial activity against standard Gram-positive bacterial strains. Here, the in vitro antibacterial activity against an extensive clinical isolate collection, time-kill kinetics, pharmacokinetics (PK), and in vivo efficacy of coralmycins were studied.

Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clonal lineages have been classified based on sequence type (ST) and pulsotype associated with human infection. Providing rapid and accurate epidemiological insight is important to address proper infection control in both community-acquired and nosocomial hospital settings. In this regard, this study was performed to evaluate the IR Biotyper® (IRBT®) for strain typing of S. aureus clinical isolates on three media.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an important foodborne pathogen with diverse serotypes. In May 2021, we investigated a gastroenteritis outbreak that occurred in China, caused by V. parahaemolyticus O10:K4 infection. Based on the epidemiological curve, this outbreak was identified as a homologous exposure event.

mSystems, Ahead of Print. Staphylococcus aureus is a major human and animal pathogen, colonizing diverse ecological niches within its hosts. Predicting whether an isolate will infect a specific host and its subsequent clinical fate remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the S. aureus pangenome using a curated set of 356 strains, spanning a wide range of hosts, origins, and clinical display and antibiotic resistance profiles.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Ahead of Print. Vibrio spp. and phytoplankton are naturally abundant in marine environments. Recent studies have suggested that the co-occurrence of phytoplankton and the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus is due to shared ecological factors, such as nutrient requirements.

International Journal of Dairy Technology, EarlyView. This study focused on the measurement of non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (NDL-PCBs) in cheese samples (traditional and commercial cheese) by a modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) method by gas chromatography (GC) coupled with triple-quadrupole (QqQ) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS).

Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are considered an important source of parasitic zoonoses. A study in 2010 revealed high prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in free-ranging rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in a public park in Guiyang, southwestern China, which called for the control of disease in animals and long-term epidemiological tracking of Cryptosporidium spp.

This study aims to elucidate the inhibitory activity of nisin alone or in combination with gilaburu (Viburnum opulus L.) against the foodborne Staphylococcus aureus. The effect of nisin and gilaburu on the growth of S. aureus was investigated under different pH (5–7) and salt concentrations (NaCl, 0.5–4.5% w/v) at 30 °C.

Lead (Pb) is a naturally occurring heavy metal, which can damage the brain and affect learning and memory. Sodium para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS-Na), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, can readily cross the blood-brain barrier. Our previous studies have found that PAS-Na alleviated Pb-induced hippocampal ultrastructural damage and neurodegeneration, but the mechanism has yet to be defined.

Cadmium (Cd) damages plant photosynthesis, affects roots and leaves growth, and triggers molecular responses. Riluzole (RIL), which protected neuronal damage via inhibiting excess Glu release in animals, has been found to improve Cd tolerance in duckweed in this study.

Contamination of agro-ecosystems with heavy metals can affect the development and reproduction of insect natural enemies.

The growth performance, immunological status, and intestinal microbiology of white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, were evaluated after dietary administration of the commercial probiotic SYNSEA.

Boron (B) is an essential microelement for plant growth and has been shown to reduce cadmium (Cd) toxicity in wheat through modulating gene expression. However, there is not enough information about the effects of different applications of B fertilizer on the accumulation of Cd, particularly throughout the wheat growth period. This experiment employed two different B fertilization methods.

Cadmium (Cd), as one of the heavy metals with biological poisonousness, seriously suppresses plant growth and does harm to human health. Hence, phytoremediation was proposed to mitigate the negative effects from Cd and restore contaminated soil. However, the internal mechanisms of detoxification of Cd used in phytoremediation are not completely revealed. In this study, we cloned the cytochrome P450 gene PscCYP716A1 from hybrid poplar “Chuanxiang No.

Escherichia coli belonging to the enterohemorrhagic (EHEC), Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) and atypical enteropathogenic (aEPEC) pathotypes are significant foodborne zoonotic pathogens posing serious health risks, with healthy cattle as their main reservoir. A representative sampling of Hungarian cattle farms during 2017–2018 yielded a prevalence of 6.5 and 5.8% for STEC and aEPEC out of 309 samples.

Salmonella is one of the leading causes of foodborne illnesses worldwide. The rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains has increased global concern for salmonellosis.

The influence of alginate edible coatings enriched with black cumin (BC) extract was investigated to preserve the quality of guava fruits for 16 days at 11 ± 1 °C and 85 ± 2% relative humidity. The analysis of polyphenolic compounds in BC extract confirmed the TPC (28.43 ± 1.11 mg GAE/g DM) and TFC (4.83 ± 0.17 mg QE/g DM) with strong antioxidant activity (161.69 ± 2.31 µM Trolox/g DM in DPPH and 889.19 ± 36.45 µM Fe (II)/g DM in FRAP assays).

Molecular Microbiology, Accepted Article. Some prokaryotes compartmentalize select metabolic capabilities. Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 (hereafter S. Typhimurium) catabolizes ethanolamine (EA) within a proteinaceous compartment that we refer to as the ethanolamine utilization (Eut) metabolosome.