Research Publications (Food Safety)

Globally, India has a high burden of pneumococcal disease, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) has been rolled out in different phases across the country since May 2017 in the national infant immunization programme (NIP). To provide a baseline for assessing the impact of the vaccine on circulating pneumococci in India, genetic characterization of pneumococcal isolates detected prior to introduction of PCV would be helpful.

Mercury (Hg) is a ubiquitous heavy metal grouped with the top ten most toxic pollutants affecting both human and environmental health. Consequently, mercury contamination due to anthropogenic interference has become a rising global concern. The bacterial strain MTD10A was isolated from soil samples collected over the Darjeeling hills.

Postharvest losses and quality changes of fruit and vegetables, along the value chain, are a result of microbial activity and negative impacts of ethylene. It has become important to develop technologies that can remove ethylene while simultaneously resisting bacteria to reduce postharvest losses.

The poultry industry in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is faced with feed insecurity, associated with high cost of feeds, and feed safety, associated with locally produced feeds often contaminated with mycotoxins. Mycotoxins, including aflatoxins (AFs), fumonisins (FBs), trichothecenes, and zearalenone (ZEN), are common contaminants of poultry feeds and feed ingredients from SSA.

Ciguatoxins (CTXs) are polyether marine biotoxins that can cause ciguatera poisoning (CP) after the consumption of fish or invertebrates containing sub ppb levels; concentrations that present a challenge for current extraction and analysis methods. Here, a newly developed and (partly) validated single-day extraction protocol is presented. First, the fish sample is broken-down by enzymatic digestion, followed by extraction and extract clean-up by defatting and two solid-phase extractions.

Knee septic arthritis is a devastating complication following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. To prevent this issue, intraoperative soaking of ACL grafts with vancomycin is often performed before implantation. Although vancomycin cytotoxicity has been reported several times, little is known about its biological effect on tenocytes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro effects of vancomycin on human primary tenocytes (hTCs).

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. Antimicrobials are commonly used in prevention of infections including in aquaculture, agriculture and medicine. Subinhibitory concentrations of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can modulate resistance, virulence and persistence effectors in Gram-negative pathogens.

Resveratrol has been reported as an ideal medicine in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Meanwhile, cadmium could affect the occurrence and development of tumors in various ways. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition is a major progress regulated with colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed to determine the effect and mechanism of resveratrol on the Cd-promoted EMT in CRC cells.

Clostridium perfringens causes a variety of human and animal enteric diseases including food poisoning, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and necrotic enteritis. Yet, the reservoirs of enteropathogenic enterotoxin-producing strains remain unknown. We conducted a genomic comparison of 290 strains and a heat resistance phenotyping of 30 C. perfringens strains to elucidate the population structure and ecology of this pathogen. C.

Copper (Cu) is an important trace element with a two-sided effect on the growth performance of animals, which depends on the timing and dosage of Cu addition, etc. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of oral copper sulfate (CuSO4, 350 ppm) on growth performance, cecal morphology, and its microflora of chickens (n = 60) after 30, 60, and 90 days.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) may cause severe disease mainly due to the ability to produce Shiga toxins (Stx) encoded on bacteriophages. In Norway, more than 30% of the reported cases with STEC O145:H25 develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and most cases, with known travel history, acquired the infection domestically.

Gastrointestinal (GI) infections in sheep have significant implications for animal health, welfare and productivity, as well as being a source of zoonotic pathogens. Interactions between pathogens and epithelial cells at the mucosal surface play a key role in determining the outcome of GI infections; however, the inaccessibility of the GI tract in vivo significantly limits the ability to study such interactions in detail.

Group B streptococcus (GBS) or Streptococcus agalactiae is an opportunistic pathogen that causes serious illness in newborns, pregnant women, and adults. However, insufficient detection methods and disease prevention programs have contributed to an increase in the incidence and fatality rates associated with this pathogen in non-neonatal patients.

Widespread antimicrobial resistance among bacterial pathogens is a serious threat to public health. Thus, identification of new targets and development of new antibacterial agents are urgently needed. Although cell division is a major driver of bacterial colonization and pathogenesis, its targeting with antibacterial compounds is still in its infancy.

by Fiona Curran, Catherine Blake, Caitriona Cunningham, Carla Perrotta, Hidde van der Ploeg, James Matthews, Grainne O’Donoghue

Background

by Yiyang Zhang, Hui Liao

by Bhumi Bhusal, Jason Stockmann, Bastien Guerin, Azma Mareyam, John Kirsch, Lawrence L. Wald, Mark J. Nolt, Joshua Rosenow, Roberto Lopez-Rosado, Behzad Elahi, Laleh Golestanirad

Abstract

Author(s): Laís Mariano Zanin, Elke Stedefeldt, Pieternel A. Luning

Abstract
Background
Food safety culture (FS-culture) is recognised as an important phenomenon that drives food handlers’ behaviours. Various tools and approaches have been developed to assess FS-culture.

Author(s): Chuanjie Gong, Yunxiang He, Yao Tang, Rong Hu, Yuanping Lv, Qisheng Zhang, Blaise L. Tardy, Joseph J. Richardson, Qiang He, Junling Guo, Yuanlong Chi

Author(s): Gopaiah Talari, John O'Brien, Cronan McNamara, Enda Cummins

Author(s): Fiona K. McDougall, Kelly L. Wyres, Louise M. Judd, Wayne S.J. Boardman, Kathryn E. Holt, Michelle L. Power

Author(s): Irene Racchi, Nicoletta Scaramuzza, Alyssa Hidalgo, Massimo Cigarini, Elettra Berni

Murine norovirus (MNV) is widely used as a model for studying norovirus biology. While MNV isolates vary in their pathogenesis, infection of immunocompetent mice mostly results in persistent infection. The ability of a virus to establish a persistent infection is dependent on its ability to subvert or avoid the host immune response. Previously, we described the identification and characterization of virulence factor 1 (VF1) in MNV, and demonstrated its role as an innate immune antagonist.

Abstract