Research Publications (Food Safety)

New O-antigen-based vaccines against Shigella are in clinical development. Historical efficacy studies identify serum O-antigen immunoglobulin G as a correlate of protection, leading to the suggestion that accelerated licensure could be achieved using the Shigella-controlled human infection model (CHIM).

Continue to hypothesize that honey is a storehouse of beneficial bacteria, and the majority of these isolates are levansucrase producers. Accordingly, ten bacterial strains were isolated from different honey sources. Four honey isolates that had the highest levansucrase production and levan yield were identified by the partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene as Achromobacter sp.

The efficacy and safety of botulinum toxin injection have made it a popular aesthetic procedure worldwide. A cross-sectional survey was performed in order to determine the pattern of type A botulinum toxin injections in cosmetic practice, for which an 18-item questionnaire was distributed to dermatologists.

Prosthetic joint infections are a devastating complication of joint replacement surgery. Consequently, novel therapeutics are needed to thwart the significant morbidity and enormous financial ramifications that are associated with conventional treatments. One such promising adjuvant therapeutic is bacteriophage therapy given its antibiofilm activity and its ability to self-replicate.

Healthcare-associated infections caused by Staphylococcus, particularly Staphylococcus aureus, represent a high risk for human and animal health. Staphylococcus can be easily transmitted through direct contact with individual carriers or fomites, such as medical and non-medical equipment. The risk increases if S. aureus strains carry antibiotic resistance genes and show a phenotypic multidrug resistance behavior.

Journal of Food Process Engineering, EarlyView. This study investigated the efficacy of integrated electron beam (e-beam) irradiation and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) aqueous solution treatments to inactivate mixed strains of Salmonella inoculated in grape tomatoes.

Journal of Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. Aims To evaluate the role of starter inoculums to reduce total fermentation time as well as improve safety and quality of Sheedal, a fermented fish-product of India. Methods and Results Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Staphylococcus piscifermentans were isolated from the Sheedal and used as starter inoculums.

Journal of Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article.  Aim To assess the biofilm-producing capacities of S. aureus strains isolated from hospitalized patients in Israel. Methods and Results A total of 163 S. aureus (80 MRSA and 83 MSSA) screening (nasal swab) and clinical samples (blood and wounds) were characterized.

Chinese consumers (n = 604) were asked three times to rate their acceptance of traditional thermal processing and a range of newer technologies (high-pressure processing, irradiation, bacteriophages, antimicrobial packaging, pulsed electric fields, and rinsing meat carcasses with antimicrobial solutions) designed to control foodborne bacteria in food. First, based on their existing knowledge, secondly after the provision of information about L.

by Michelle Gende, Martina Schmeling In this work, an analytical method was developed for the determination of lead and cadmium in biological samples using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Escherichia coli (E. coli) was chosen as model substance for this purpose as it is readily available in most laboratories and can be quickly and easily prepared with a high turnaround rate.

Diarrheic shellfish poison produced by toxic algae (e.g., Dynophysis sp.) adversely affects humans and marine ecosystems. Contamination occurs mainly from bivalve mollusks like mussels, but contamination from fishes (e.g., flatfish) has also recently been reported.

This study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial activity and mechanism of (4-[(4′-O-acetyl-α-L-rhamnosyloxy)benzyl] isothiocyanate) (RBITC) from Moringa oleifera seeds at the molecular level against Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) and Cronobacter sakazakii (C. sakazakii) and to further analyze the application of RBITC in goat milk.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different doses (0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0 mM) of putrescine treatments on the postharvest weight loss, decay, firmness, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, pH, respiration rate, L*, a*, b*, Chroma and Hue angle and phenolic compounds, organic acids and vitamin C content of kiwi (cv. Hayward.

The residue of pesticides in bee products such as beebread and honey threaten the survival of pollinators and human health. Apis cerana cerana is one of the leading managed honey bees in China. However, little is known about the residues of pesticides in hive products of A. c. cerana in China.

The impact of the protease from Staphylococcus carnosus on the structural characteristics, hydrolysis and flavour development of pork myofibrillar protein (MP) and sarcoplasmic protein (SP) were assessed. Hydrolysis altered the surface hydrophobicity and secondary structure of MP and SP, as measured by surface hydrophobicity, intrinsic fluorescence and Fourier transform infrared spectra.

The incidence of foodborne diseases ranks at the forefront of the total incidence of various diseases. High-specificity and high-sensitivity detection and reporting of foodborne pathogens have become the core of preventing and solving food safety problems.

Maize is an important food crop and its fungal disease has become a limiting factor to improve the yield and quality of maize. In the control of plant pathogens, commercial fungicides have no obvious effect on corn diseases due to the emergence of drug resistance. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop new fungicides with novel structure, high efficiency, and low toxicity to control maize diseases.

The continuous increase in the heavy metals concentration in the soil due to anthropogenic activities has become a global issue. The chromium, especially hexavalent chromium, is highly toxic for living organisms due to high mobility, solubility, and carcinogenic properties.

Most motile bacteria utilize the flagellar type III secretion system (fT3SS) to construct the flagellum, which is a supramolecular motility machine consisting of basal body rings and an axial structure. Each axial protein is translocated via the fT3SS across the cytoplasmic membrane, diffuses down the central channel of the growing flagellar structure and assembles at the distal end.

At present, foodborne diseases (FBDs) caused by bacteria are gradually increasing every year, and the development of new antibiotics is an urgent necessity for human beings. To find novel antibacterial compounds, three sponge-derived fungal strains (SCSIOS02F40, F46, and F49) were investigated. As a result, Alternaria sp.

The susceptibility of mice to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection depends on their genetic background. The gut microbiota modulates the antiviral immune response in the liver and plays a protective role against HBV infection. However, whether HBV infection outcomes depend on the gut microbiota remains unclear. In this study, we assessed the gut microbiota composition in naïve BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of plague, a deadly infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths throughout history. Obtaining iron from the host is very important for bacterial pathogenicity. Y. pestis possesses many iron uptake systems. Yersiniabactin (Ybt) plays a major role in iron uptake in vivo and in vitro, and in virulence toward mice as well. FyuA, a β-barrel TonB-dependent outer membrane protein, serves as the receptor for Ybt.

Efficient plastid transformation in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) requires genetic lines that are hypersensitive to spectinomycin due to the absence of a chloroplast acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) encoded in the acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase 2 (ACC2) nuclear gene. To obtain plastid transformation-competent oilseed rape (Brassica napus), we inactivated all nuclear encoded, chloroplast targeted ACCase copies using CRISPR–Cas9.

Plectasin is a promising and potent antimicrobial peptide isolated from the fungus Pseudoplectania nigrella which has been heterologously expressed in various hosts. In this study, a four-copy cassette of plectasin was constructed via 2A peptide assembly to further increase its expression level in recombinant Pichia pastoris.

Stryphnodendron adstringens is a medicinal plant that has a broad spectrum of action, including antibacterial activity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of S. adstringens alone and in combination with potassium sorbate (PS) against foodborne bacteria.