Research Publications (Food Safety)

The appearance of multi-resistant strains has contributed to reintroducing polymyxin as the last-line therapy. Although polymyxin resistance is based on bacterial envelope changes, other resistance mechanisms are being reported. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are nanosized proteoliposomes secreted from the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria.

A novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in China in December 2019, causing an ongoing, rapidly spreading global pandemic. Worldwide, vaccination is now expected to provide containment of the novel virus, resulting in an antibody-mediated immunity. To verify this, serological antibody assays qualitatively as well as quantitatively depicting the amount of generated antibodies are of great importance.

Background During 2017, in response to a physician’s report, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health, began investigating an outbreak of febrile illness among attendees of a retreat where never frozen, intentionally undercooked, locally harvested venison was served. Preliminary testing tentatively identified the illness as toxoplasmosis.

Background Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is increasingly common in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Little is known about factors that drive S. maltophilia infection. We evaluated the microbiome and cumulative antibiotic use as predictors of S. maltophilia infection in AML patients receiving remission induction chemotherapy (RIC).

We report the first case of brucellosis caused by an isolate whose genome is identical that of a frog isolate from Texas, demonstrating the zoonotic potential of amphibian-type Brucella. Importantly, with such atypical Brucella, correct diagnosis cannot be performed using routine serological tests or identification methods.

Background The diversity of individuals at risk for Trypanosoma cruzi infection in the United States poses challenges for diagnosis. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared tests in the Washington Metropolitan area (WMA). Methods In total, 1514 individuals were evaluated (1078 from Mexico, Central and northern South America [TcI-predominant areas], and 436 from southern South America [TcII/V/VI-predominant areas]).

ABSTRACT

Author(s): H. Chen, J.K. Ellett, R. Phillips, Y. Feng

Author(s): Paolo Bonilauri, Mattia Ramini, Lia Bardasi, Federico Tomasello, Giuseppe Merialdi, Federica Savini, Federica Giacometti, Silvia Piva, Andrea Serraino

Increasing antimicrobial resistance and limited alternative treatments have led to fluoroquinolone-resistant Shigella strain inclusion on the WHO global priority pathogens list.

Metagenomics is a valuable diagnostic tool for enhancing microbial food safety because (i) it enables the untargeted detection of pathogens, (ii) it is fast since primary isolation of micro-organisms is not required, and (iii) it has high discriminatory power allowing for a detailed molecular characterization of pathogens. For shotgun metagenomics, total nucleic acids (NAs) are isolated from complex samples such as foodstuff.

Understanding the dynamics and mechanisms of acquired drug resistance across major classes of antibiotics and bacterial pathogens is of critical importance for the optimization of current anti-infective therapies and the development of novel ones. To systematically address this challenge, we developed a workflow combining experimental evolution in a morbidostat continuous culturing device with deep genomic sequencing of population samples collected in time series.

Vaginal dysbiosis-induced by an overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria is referred to as bacterial vaginosis (BV). The dysbiosis is associated with an increased risk for acquisition of sexually transmitted infections. Women with symptomatic BV are treated with oral metronidazole (MET), but its effectiveness remains to be elucidated. This study used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to determine the changes in the microbiota among women treated with MET.

In this study, the occurrence of heavy metals including cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) was investigated in indoor dust samples collected from 33 urban and rural areas in 11 provinces, China. The concentrations of the selected heavy metals were determined by an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Agricultural drainage ditches help remove excess water from fields and provide habitat for wildlife. Drainage ditch management, which includes various forms of vegetation clearing and sediment dredging, can variably affect the ecological function of these systems.

In this paper, the efficient magnetic dummy molecular imprinted polymers were firstly synthesized by dummy template (raffinose). The dummy molecularly imprinted layer was polymerized on the surface of Fe3O4 nanoparticles modified with NH2 group. The micromorphology and chemical composites of prepared polymers were detailed characterized.

3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) monoesters are a form of 3-MCPD esters known as potential food contaminant that may occur in a variety of food samples. A dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) was developed to provide clean-up and pre-concentration in the determination of 1-palmitoyl-3-MCPD and 1-oleoyl-3-MCPD prior to gas chromatography-flame ionization detector analysis (GC-FID).

Intractable chronic occipital neuralgia (ON) is an uncommon type of headache often experienced by patients in outpatient neurological clinics. Among patients unresponsive to oral neuralgia medications, needling or injections with several drugs were suggested alternatives for treating chronic ON.

The study aims to evaluate the infection prevalence, virulence gene distribution and antimicrobial resistance of Aeromonas hydrophila associated in diseased outbreaks of cultured freshwater fish in Northern Vietnam. The confirmed A.

In Belgium, linezolid is indicated for pneumonia and skin and soft tissue infections, but is more broadly used, due to its oral bioavailability and activity against multiresistant organisms. This could increase the risk of adverse drug reactions (ADR), notably hematological disorders (anemia, thrombocytopenia), neuropathy, or lactic acidosis.

Proteolysis is a fundamental property of all living cells. In the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium), the HspQ protein controls the specificities of the Lon and ClpAP proteases. Upon acetylation, HspQ stops being a Lon substrate and no longer enhances proteolysis of the Lon substrate Hha.

by Xiaoping Wang, Fengzhi He, Limin Zhang, Ang Yu

by Yaraymi Ortiz, Alam García-Heredia, Angel Merino-Mascorro, Santos García, Luisa Solís-Soto, Norma Heredia