Research Publications (Food Safety)

Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued emergency use authorization (EUA) for convalescent plasma (CP) for the treatment of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 based on a non–peer-reviewed, open-label, observational study.

Background Shigella is a leading cause of childhood diarrhea and target for vaccine development. Microbiologic and clinical case definitions are needed for pediatric field vaccine efficacy trials.

Background New drug development for hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP) and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP) is critical. Challenges remain in the conduct of HABP/VABP trials, especially in the contexts of enrollment, endpoints, nonstudy antibacterial drug therapy, and antimicrobial resistance.

Background Diarrheal pathogens have been associated with linear growth deficits. The effect of diarrheal pathogens on growth is likely due to inflammation, which also adversely affects neurodevelopment. We hypothesized that diarrheagenic pathogens would be negatively associated with both growth and neurodevelopment.

To extend previous simulations on the performance of propensity score (PS) weighting and trimming methods to settings without and with unmeasured confounding, Poisson outcomes, and various strengths of treatment prediction (PS c statistic), we simulated studies with a binary intended treatment T as a function of 4 measured covariates.

Author(s): Camille Cavestri, Patricia Savard, Ismail Fliss, Jean-Guillaume Emond-Rhéault, Jérémie Hamel, Irena Kukavica-Ibrulj, Brian Boyle, France Daigle, Danielle Malo, Sadjia Bekal, Linda J. Harris, Roger C. Levesque, Lawrence Goodridge, Gisèle LaPointe

Author(s): G. Amendola, B. Bocca, V. Picardo, P. Pelosi, B. Battistini, F. Ruggieri, D. Attard Barbini, D. De Vita, V.N. Madia, A. Messore, R. Di Santo, R. Costi

Robot-assisted training (RT) combined with a Botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injection has been suggested as a means to optimize spasticity treatment outcomes. The optimal schedule of applying RT after a BoNT-A injection has not been defined. This single-blind, randomized controlled trial compared the effects of two predefined RT approaches as an adjunct to BoNT-A injections of spastic upper limbs in chronic post-stroke subjects.

Aiming to reveal the humification process of organic waste and its contribution to the heavy metal behaviour affected by earthworm activity, it was studied about the variation of humic acid (HA) and heavy metal behaviour during vermicomposting of the mixed pig manure and 13C-labelled rice straw.

Author(s): Yiying Huang, Steve H. Flint, Jon S. Palmer

Author(s): E. Wemmenhove, M.H.J. Wells-Bennik, M.H. Zwietering

Author(s): Xin Zhao, Hanghang Zhao, Xunrong Huang, Lu Wang, Fuhao Liu, Xiongfei Hu, Jingtian Li, Guibin Zhang, Puhui Ji

Author(s): Jun Xian Wong, Suzita Ramli, Shakinaz Desa, Sook Ngoh Chen

Lasso peptides, a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) secreted by bacteria, have antimicrobial activity. Here, a novel lasso peptide, microcin Y (MccY), was discovered and characterized. The gene cluster for MccY synthesis was cloned for expression in Escherichia coli. This peptide was purified by HPLC and characterized by Q-TOF.

Heavy metals (As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, Hg) in soil of a typical overlapped area of farmland and coal resources (OAFCR) in Xuzhou were investigated, meanwhile the pollution levels and risks of there were discussed.

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Accepted Article. Abstract

Abstract
Background
Bovine mastitis is the most common infectious disease in dairy cattle with major economic implications for the dairy industry worldwide. Continuous monitoring for the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among bacterial isolates from dairy farms is vital not only for animal husbandry but also for public health.

by Hakan Adanacioglu

Cordyceps, a kind of precious natural crude drugs and edible mushrooms, were used as tonic food in East Asia area and enjoyed an extensive praise for its medicinal functions. Cordycepin exhibits various bio-activities, including anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral and immune regulation activities, and it’s been a significant focus of research. However, the preparation of high‑purity cordycepin remains challenging.

Author(s): Shuhong Zhang, Yuanbin Huang, Guangzhu Yang, Tao Lei, Moutong Chen, Qinghua Ye, Juan Wang, Qihui Gu, Xianhu Wei, Jumei Zhang, Qingping Wu

Despite contributing to the large disease burden in West Africa, little is known about the genomic epidemiology of Streptococcus pneumoniae which cause meningitis among children under 5 years old in the region.

Few data are available on the genetic identity of enteric protists Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi in humans in Thailand. In this study, 254 stool samples were collected from primary school children from Ratchaburi Province at the Thai-Myanmar border and examined for Cryptosporidium spp., G. duodenalis, E. bieneusi and Cyclospora cayetanensis using PCR techniques.

Fish contaminant studies with human health protection objectives typically focus on muscle tissue, recognizing that fillets are the commonly consumed tissue fraction. Muscle biopsy punch sampling for mercury analysis has recently been used as an alternative to harvesting fish for fillets; however, there is limited information comparing fillet plug results to whole fillet results.

Microplastics (MPs) can pose ecological risk to the environment and have the potential to negatively affect human health, raising serious public concerns. It is recognized that MPs could act as a vector for various environmental pollutants including heavy metals and potentially influencing their mobility, fate, and bioavailabilty in the environment. However, knowledge on the mechanisms underpinning the interaction processes between MPs and heavy metals is far from clear.