Research Publications (Food Safety)

Heavy metals are continuously released into the oceans from both natural and anthropogenic sources. They are serious threats to both ecosystem and human health because of their toxicity, persistence, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification. We present metal concentrations in the economically important bluefish from Iskenderun Bay, providing valuable information on Northeastern Mediterranean aquatic ecosystem health, as well as the human health risk.

River water-column and bottom-sediments samples were screened for 160 pesticide compounds to compare the types of pesticides present in the water-column versus bottom-sediments, and between segments of rivers flowing through intensively-managed versus semi-natural habitats. Of the 35 pesticide compounds detected, current-use pesticides accounted for 96% (water) and 76% (bottom sediments). Pesticide mixtures were present in 72% (water) and 51% (sediment) of the total samples.

The visualization of the human body has frequently been groundbreaking in medicine. In the last few years, the use of ultrasound (US) imaging has become a well-established procedure for botulinum toxin therapy in people with cervical dystonia (CD). It is now undisputed among experts that some of the most relevant muscles in this indication can be safely injected under visual US guidance.

Sweet sorghum has potential for phytoextraction of cadmium (Cd) owning to its large biomass and relatively high Cd tolerance. Nitrogen affects both growth and Cd concentrations in plants. However, different forms of nitrogen effects on Cd accumulation in sweet sorghum to improve efficiency of Cd phytoremediation is still elusive.

Wood ash as a soil amendment has gained wide spread acceptance in the recent years as a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers, although information regarding the effects of its application on maize growth and yield in the context of climate change and increasing drought severity is lacking till date.

High demand for food and water encourages the exploration of new water reuse programs, including treated municipal wastewater usage. However, these sources could contain high contaminant levels posing risks to public health.

Phages, such as those infecting Bacteroides spp., have been proven to be reliable indicators of human fecal contamination in microbial source tracking (MST) studies, and the efficacy of these MST markers found to vary geographically. This study reports the application and evaluation of candidate MST methods (phages infecting previously isolated B.

Pine needles are used in several East Asian countries as food or traditional medicine. It contains functional components that exhibit a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory activities. We determined and characterized the novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) isolated from Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc.

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is an important pathogen for both humans and animals. It can infect livestock, as well as pets and wild animals. During recent years, a number of reports have described the isolation of Y. pseudotuberculosis from zoo animals, mainly birds and mammals, for which the infection was mostly lethal. Between 2005 and 2019, there were at least 17 cases of deceased mammals, belonging to five different species, which suffered from a Y.

Picornaviruses, including Enterovirus species A to D (EV) and Parechovirus species A (PeV-A), are the leading reported causes of pediatric central nervous system infections in the United States. We investigated the molecular epidemiology of EV and PeV-A over 10 years in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collected from children seen at Children’s Mercy-Kansas City (CMKC) from 2007 through 2016. The overall prevalence for EV was 16% (862/5,362) and 7% (271/4,016) for PeV.

Bartonella spp., mostly Bartonella quintana and B. henselae, are a common cause of culture-negative endocarditis. Serology using immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and PCR performed on cardiac tissues are the mainstays of diagnosis. We developed an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and a novel multiplex real-time PCR assay, utilizing Bartonella genus-specific, B. henselae-specific, and B. quintana-specific SimpleProbe probes, for diagnosis of Bartonella endocarditis.

Understanding bacterial species at greatest risk for harboring blaCTX-M genes is necessary to guide antibiotic treatment. We identified the species-specific prevalence of blaCTX-M genes in Gram-negative clinical isolates from the United States. Twenty-four microbiology laboratories representing 66 hospitals using the GenMark Dx ePlex blood culture identification Gram-negative (BCID-GN) panel extracted blood culture results from April 2019 to July 2020.

The increasing frequency of macrolide resistance is an emerging issue in the treatment of Mycoplasma genitalium infection. Because evaluation of new commercial kits detecting M.

by Louisa F. Ludwig-Begall, Constance Wielick, Olivier Jolois, Lorène Dams, Ravo M. Razafimahefa, Hans Nauwynck, Pierre-Francois Demeuldre, Aurore Napp, Jan Laperre, Etienne Thiry, Eric Haubruge

Background

Author(s): Yingli Liu, Huijia Mao, Kalekristos Woldemariam Yohannes, Zhen Wan, Yating Cao, Thierry Tron, Junfang Lin, Yixuan Jiang, Hongyan Li, Jing Wang

Author(s): Francis Aboagye-Nuamah, Charles Kodia Kwoseh, Dirk E. Maier

Author(s): Tanya J. Laird, Sam Abraham, David Jordan, John R. Pluske, David J. Hampson, Darren J. Trott, Mark O’Dea

Author(s): Ge Chen, Guangyang Liu, Huiyan Jia, Xueyan Cui, Yuanshang Wang, Dongyang Li, Weijia Zheng, Yongxin She, Donghui Xu, Xiaodong Huang, A.M. Abd El-Aty, Jianchun Sun, Haijin Liu, Yuting Zou, Jing Wang, Maojun Jin, Bruce D. Hammock

Author(s): Jessica M. van Loben Sels, Luke W. Meredith, Stanislav V. Sosnovtsev, Miranda de Graaf, Marion P.G. Koopmans, Lisa C. Lindesmith, Ralph S. Baric, Kim Y. Green, Ian G. Goodfellow

Author(s): Guofeng Xu, Shuang Liu, Mingquan Huang, Xue Jiang, Meng Yang

Author(s): T.R. Kannaki, E. Priyanka, Santosh Haunshi

Using a recently developed genetically modified microorganisms (GMM) detection strategy, unexpected contaminations of unauthorized GMM in commercialized microbial fermentation products have been reported. A first-line real-time PCR screening analysis was initially performed to determine the presence of key targets frequently found in genetically modified (GM) bacteria.

Phthalic acid ester (PAE), a plasticizer, is increasingly being detected in different environments. These compounds can gravely affect the human endocrine system. The present study aims to prepare adsorbents that can effectively adsorb PAE pollutants. To fabricate a better carbon structure than conventional biochar, the sodium hydroxide solution was used as a hydrolyzing agent to pretreat the biomass in order to weaken the bonds in lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose.