Research Publications (Food Safety)

To date, no method has been developed to assess the distribution of mycotoxins on the surface of grains, or other plant material, and the depth of their penetration into the interior.

Typhoid fever, caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), is a global health concern and its treatment is problematic due to the rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Rapid detection of patients infected with AMR positive S. Typhi is, therefore, crucial to prevent further spreading. Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and CRISPR-associated genes (CRISPR-Cas), is an adaptive immune system that initially was used for typing purposes.

Pathogenic bacterial contamination is a serious problem for the food industry and in public health. Rapid, accurate and affordable testing for pathogenic bacterial strains is desirable. In this study, a competition visual antigen macroarray (CVAM) for rapid detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) has been developed. This array was able to utilize an HRP‐labeled anti‐E. coli O157:H7 MAb at a concentration of 1:20000 while having a similar sensitivity of 10 5 CFU/ml for E.

This study evaluated the effects of low doses of gamma radiation (up to 2.0 kGy) on the survival and growth of Listeria monocytogenes and on technological characteristics of RTE cooked hams, formulated without and with 50 and 150 mg kg‐1 of sodium nitrite, after 30 days of cold (4 °C) storage. The radiation reduced from 0.33 kGy in uncured and RTE50 to 0.25 kGy in RTE150 and after storage, a reduction (P > 0.05) in the Listeria growth in the cured samples.

The present study aimed to examine the efficiency of ethanolic extract of Capsicum annuum L (CAE) in improving the shelf life and quality of fresh‐cut C. annuum (FCCa). The uniformly sliced FCCa were prewashed with sodium hypochlorite solution (NaOCl) and then treated with 10% of CAE. The foodborne pathogens of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica were patched on the surface of FCCa and stored at 15°C and 4°C for 12 days.

Significance and Impact of the Study: Nowadays chemically synthesized drugs are expensive and create damage to nontarget environment. It creates the demand for low toxic drugs to control and need to achieve immediate results. Microbially derived biosurfactant has been prepared and tried as a drug to various biofilm producers, Anopheles vector and cancer cells. These results confirms the potential ability of rhamnolipid in various toxic environment.

Cadmium (Cd) is an occupational and environmental heavy metal pollutant derived from many sources that is linked to endothelial homeostasis. The endothelium is an important site of Cd deposition, while increasing evidence has revealed there is a close relationship between endothelial dysfunction and abnormal lipid metabolism. However, the effects of the alterations in lipid metabolism on endothelial cells (ECs) after Cd exposure still remain unclear.

Cold plasma technology (CPT) is considered as one of the emerging alternative techniques for preserving food commodities, extending shelf‐life and retaining bioactive compounds in foods. Due to non‐thermal nature, CPT is a useful technology for the sterilization process, especially for heat‐sensitive foods. However, CPT in food is still an emerging process in terms of safety evaluation.

The advent of a new pharmaceutical formulation evokes the need for examining the chemical stability of their constituents and establishing proper stability‐indicating methods. Herein, the stability of the newly co‐formulated Tamsulosin and Tadalafil were examined under different stress conditions. The acidic degradation of Tamsulosin yielded its sulfonated derivative, while Tadalafil was susceptible to both acidic and basic degradation.

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic heavy metal, and the reported effects of exposure on liver function continue to be inconsistent. The objective of our study was to identify correlations between high blood Hg levels and liver enzymes in a pan-India population including adults ≥19 years of age. This retrospective study analyzed the data from 95,398 individuals tested for blood Hg levels and liver enzymes in our national laboratory.

In the past decade, the initial studies of the gut microbiota started focusing on the correlation of the composition of the gut microbiota and the health or diseases of the host, and there are extensive litera...

Patients with traveler’s diarrhea (TD) can acquire extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing members of the Enterobacterales (EPE) during travel to areas of endemicity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of EPE carriage in travelers from southern Sweden who were sampled for bacterial diagnostics of TD compared to those of EPE carriage 10 years ago.

In Australia, cases of shigellosis usually occur in returned travelers from regions of shigellosis endemicity or in men who have sex with men. Resistance to multiple antibiotics has significantly increased in Shigella sonnei isolates and represents a significant public health concern. We investigate an outbreak of multidrug-resistant S. sonnei in Victoria, Australia. We undertook whole-genome sequencing of 54 extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing S.

Extended-spectrum class C β-lactamases have evolved to rapidly inactivate expanded-spectrum cephalosporins, a class of antibiotics designed to be resistant to hydrolysis by β-lactamase enzymes.

by Shilpi Misra, Corina E. van Middelaar, Kieran Jordan, John Upton, Amy J. Quinn, Imke J. M. de Boer, Keelin O’Driscoll

by Akira Sakamaki, Kunihiko Yokoyama, Kyutaro Koyama, Shinichi Morita, Hiroyuki Abe, Kenya Kamimura, Masaaki Takamura, Shuji Terai

The cell morphology of rod-shaped bacteria is determined by the rigid net of peptidoglycan forming the cell wall. Alterations to the rod shape, such as the curved rod, occur through manipulating the process of cell wall synthesis. The human pathogen Vibrio cholerae typically exists as a curved rod, but straight...

Political polarization has intensified in the lead-up to the 2020 US presidential election, with liberal and conservative politicians hurling insults at one another, journalists highlighting ways in which Americans are deeply divided, and parts of the general American public condoning violence if their side does not win the upcoming election....

Toxoplasma gondii is a globally distributed protozoan that mainly causes health issues in the fetuses of pregnant women who have never been exposed to this parasite and patients with deficient immune systems. Except in these vulnerable populations, the primary infection generally goes unnoticed in most healthy individuals.

The enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are among the most common causes of diarrheal illness and death due to diarrhea among young children in low-/middle-income countries (LMICs). ETEC have also been associated with important sequelae including malnutrition and stunting, placing children at further risk of death from diarrhea and other infections....

A strain isolated from the gut of Pantala flavescens was characterized as Trichoderma harzianum QTYC77. The strain was assessed as a potential biocontrol agent against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (FOC). Mycoparasitism and competing abilities of T. harzianum QTYC77 lead to inhibition of the mycelial growth of FOC, with the inhibition rate of 70.99%, in dual culture assays.

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the potential use of metabolic parameters as non-specific biomarkers of pollution. The Igarapé do Quarenta is a small urban river crossing an industrial area in the city of Manaus, Amazon, and receives the city wastewater without treatment. The fish tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) were exposed to water collected from two different sites of that stretch for 96 h.

Tortoise shell is not only an armor, but also an important structure for storing nutrients for tortoise. The shell from one tortoise strain, Chinemys reevesii (CR), has long been used as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Nowadays, massive CR shells are also processed into healthy food in Asian countries. Despite large-scale culture of CR in nowadays, there still exist massive counterfeit CR shells derived from other strains of tortoises in the market of TCM.

Carbapenems are considered to be the last resort antibiotics for the treatment of infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing strains. The purpose of this study was to assess antimicrobial resistance profile of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) isolated from cattle faeces and determine the presence of carbapenemase and ESBL encoding genes. A total of 233 faecal samples were collected from cattle and analysed for the presence of CRE.

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), is one of the leading causes of human deaths globally according to the WHO TB 2019 report. The continuous rise in multi- and extensive-drug resistance in M. tuberculosis broadens the challenges to control tuberculosis. The availability of a large number of completely sequenced genomes of M.