Research Publications (Food Safety)

Recent studies suggest histamine and d-lactate may negatively impact host health. As excess histamine is deleterious to the host, the identification of bacterial producers has contributed to concerns over the consumption of probiotics or live microorganisms in fermented food items.

Water chestnut (Trapa bispinosa Roxburg) has short shelf life even after drying due to insect infestations resulting in huge economic losses to farmers. Study was performed including coating with Aloe-vera gel, air drying, LDPE packaging and gamma irradiation (≤ 1 kGy) were evaluated for their efficacy in controlling storage losses. The study was performed with complete randomized design up to 6-month storage period.

In this paper, a simple and effective strategy was designed for colorimetric sensing of benzoyl peroxide (BPO) based on the morphological transition of silver nanoprisms (AgNPRs). The decomposition of O–O bond of BPO generated strong oxidant benzoyl oxide free radical, which could be first oxidized the silver atoms at the corner areas and the {110} facet of AgNPRs.

Fabric-phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) coats organic–inorganic hybrid sorbent materials onto flexible and hydrophilic fabrics through sol–gel sorbent-coating technology. Herein, we explored four different coating chemistries, including those of nonpolar sol–gel poly(dimethylsiloxane), medium polar sol–gel poly(tetrahydrofuran), and polar sol–gel poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)–block-poly(propylene glycol)–PEG, and sol–gel PEG.

Functionalized ceramic microfilters can treat both particulate and ionic heavy metals via simultaneous sorption and filtration capabilities. This study investigated the reactivity of the raw material of the functionalized ceramic microfilter to heavy metal ions (Zn, Cu) by using a MgO-coated ceramic ball. The maximum removal capacities (Qm) of the ceramic ball were calculated using the Langmuir isotherm model, and found to be 4.53 (Zn) and 1.70 (Cu) mg/g.

Abstract

Purpose

Aerenchymous plants are an important control for methane efflux from peatlands to the atmosphere, providing a bypass from the anoxic peat and avoiding oxidation in the oxic peat. We aimed to quantify the drivers of aerenchymous peatland species methane transport and the importance of this process for ecosystem-scale methane efflux.

Abstract

The fumonisins are a group of common mycotoxins found around the world that mainly contaminate maize. As environmental toxins, they pose a threat to human and animal health. Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is the most widely distributed and the most toxic. FB1 can cause pulmonary edema in pigs. However, the current toxicity mechanism of fumonisins is still in the exploratory stage, which may be related to sphingolipid metabolism.

Bacterial biofilms are defined as complex aggregates of bacteria that grow attached to surfaces or are associated with interfaces. Bacteria within biofilms are embedded in a self-produced extracellular matrix made of polysaccharides, nucleic acids, and proteins. It is recognized that bacterial biofilms are responsible for the majority of microbial infections that occur in the human body, and that biofilm-related infections are extremely difficult to treat.

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of surgical site infections and its treatment is challenging due to the emergence of multi-drug resistant strains such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Natural berry-derived compounds have shown antimicrobial potential, e.g., ellagitannins such as sanguiin H-6 and lambertianin C, the main phenolic compounds in Rubus seeds, have shown antimicrobial activity.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. This study investigates the potential of a pin to plate atmospheric plasma on the microbial decontamination of oat milk along with the changes in the physicochemical, rheological, functional, and particle morphology. As cold plasma comprises reactive species, and free radicals tend to rupture the microbial cells, microbial reduction in the oat milk is expected.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. Water activity (aw) influences the growth of fungi as well as the biosynthesis of Ochratoxin A (OTA). The objective of this study was to obtain the critical storage conditions at which coffee beans are not susceptible to deteriorative physical changes and quantification of OTA in dry cherries and green-coffee beans after 60 days of storage at 35°C.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Fish is rich in proteins and lipids, especially those containing polyunsaturated fatty acids, which made them vulnerable to chemical or microbial changes associated with quality loss. Meat color is one of vital criteria indicating the freshness, quality, and acceptability of the meat. Color of meat is governed by the presence of various pigments such as hemoglobin, myoglobin (Mb), and so on.

Cadmium (Cd) speciation ratio in arable land determines the Cd exposure risk and Cd uptake in crops. However, the driving mechanisms of Cd speciation change on the vertical scale of paddy fields remain poorly understood. In this study, the effects of plow layer and plow pan on Cd speciation distribution were investigated in a long-term Cd-contaminated rice ecosystem. The Cd accumulative effect within rice grain was enhanced with high levels of activated Cd speciation ratios in soils.

Laying and reproductive performance, egg quality, and disease resistance of hens decrease during the late laying period. Exogenous enzymes promote nutrient digestibility and utilization and improve the intestinal environment. However, the specific regulation of the gut microbiome and metabolome by exogenous enzymes remains unelucidated.

With global climate change, for evaluating warming effect on subalpine forest distribution, the substantial effects of long-term warming on tree growth and soil nutrients need to be explored. In this study, we focused on different responses in the boundaries of trees and soils to warming. Using the open-top chamber (OTC), a 10-year artificial warming experiment was conducted to evaluate the impacts of warming on Abies faxoniana at three different altitudes.

This research was to explore antibiotic-induced drug resistance of Salmonella enteritidis and its biofilm formation mechanism. Kirby-Bauer (K-B) disk method recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) was used to test drug sensitivity of Salmonella enteritidis to 16 kinds of antibiotics including ß-lactams, aminoglycosides, quinolones, sulfonamides, chloramphenicols, and tetracyclines.

Protozoan parasites continue to cause a significant health and economic burden worldwide. As infectious organisms, they pose unique and difficult challenges due to a level of conservation of critical eukaryotic cellular pathways with their hosts. Gene regulation has been pinpointed as an essential pathway with enough divergence to warrant investigation into therapeutically targeting.

by Junko Nagai, Yoichi Ishikawa

Introduction

Anticholinergic adverse effects (AEs) are a problem for elderly people. This study aimed to answer the following questions. First, is an analysis of anticholinergic AEs using spontaneous adverse drug event databases possible? Second, what is the main drug suspected of inducing anticholinergic AEs in the databases? Third, do database differences yield different results?

Methods

Author(s): Qiandai Shi, Jing Jing Wang, Lu Chen, Zhiyun Peng, Qiao-Hui Zeng, Yongheng Zhu, Yong Zhao Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is an effective alternative to traditional antibiotics to broadly kill bacteria. This study aimed to develop a potent PDI system by coupling calcinated melamine sponges (CMSs) with the Fenton reaction.

Author(s): Josiah Nuhu Jabbo, Noorain Mohd Isa, Ahmad Zaharin Aris, Mohammad Firuz Ramli, Mohammed Bello Abubakar

Author(s): Yingying Zhang, Zhu Zhu, Qiao Liu, Meng Zhang, Hui Yang, Wenzhi Wei

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis has become an essential tool for the enantioselective synthesis of pharmaceuticals, natural products, and agrochemicals (mainly fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and pheromones).

Salmonella enterica is well-known for its ability to survive and persist in low-moisture environments.

Reference methods developed for L. monocytogenes are commonly used for Listeria spp. detection. Improved method performance data are needed, since the genus Listeria has expanded from 6 to 26 species and now includes several Listeria sensu lato species, which can show phenotypes distinct from Listeria sensu stricto .