Antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus spp. isolated from organic and conventional Minas Frescal cheese producers in São Paulo,Brazil

The genus Staphylococcus is recognized worldwide as a cause of bacterial infections in humans and animals. Antibiotics used in dairy cattle combined with ineffective control can increase antimicrobial resistance. The objective of this study was to characterize 95 Staphylococcus strains isolated from organic and conventional Minas Frescal cheese production regarding antibiotic resistance (phenotype and genotype), presence of sanitizer-resistant genes and biofilm-formation genes, and SCCmec typing. Most strains (25.3%) showed higher resistance to penicillin, followed by oxacillin (21.1%) and clindamycin (11.6%). Among antibiotic resistance genes, the most prevalent were blaZ (25.3%), mecA (13.7%), lsaB (6.3%), msrA (4.2%), ant4 (3.2%), and tetM (2.1%); among sanitizer-resistance genes they were qacA/B (5.3%) and qacC (6.3%); and among biofilm, bap (4.2%), icaA (29.5%), icaD (41.1%). However, there was no statistically significant difference between organic and conventional dairy products, possibly due to the lack of synthetic antibiotic use on conventional farms during the sample collection period. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) had their SCCmec identified as types I and IVc, and the methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci had nontypeable SCCmec. These results suggest that there are antibiotic-resistant strains in both organic and conventional Minas Frescal cheese production in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. This supports the idea that improved quality control is needed from the milking stage up to the final product.     

A model for assisting in the treatment of anxiety disorder

Universal Access in the Information Society - This article presents a model for the therapeutic process and the interaction between the patient and mental health professional, assisting in the...     

Utility of Blended Polymeric Formulations Containing Cellulose Nanofibrils for Encapsulation and Controlled Release of Sweet Orange Essential Oil

The characteristics and encapsulating potential of blended polymeric formulations containing gum arabic (GA), maltodextrin (MD), and cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) for microencapsulation of sweet orange essential oil were evaluated in this study. CNF acted as a thickener, increasing emulsion viscosity. The droplet size was affected by the partial replacement of GA in the formulations without CNF; however, the presence of CNF contributed to decreasing the droplet size. CNF-containing formulations had the best encapsulation efficiency. Images obtained by microscopy showed no cracks on the surface of the microparticles. CNF-containing formulations released more essential oil at 25 °C and presented different behaviors when compared to formulations without CNF at 45 °C. The presence of CNF in the wall material formulations was associated with higher encapsulation efficiency of the particles containing essential oil produced by the spray drying.     

The use of stable isotopes for authentication of gadoid fish species

The rise of processed seafood in international trade has increased the feasibility of fish species substitution. Gadidae fish species are sold commercially as salted fish, and differences in price between fish of different species may lead to falsification. The present study addresses this falsification issue by attempting to discriminate among salted Atlantic cod and salted saithe using isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) as well as the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N). δ¹⁵N in tissues with lower turnover rates (bone and skin) and in tissues with greater turnover rates (muscle) can be used to authenticate the species of salted fish samples when distinguishing between Atlantic cod and saithe.     

Gamification and serious games in depression care: A systematic mapping study

Depression is a common mental disorder that causes sadness and loss of interest. It affects 350 million people in the world and its most severe state can lead to suicide. Many technologies are being used to aid the depression treatment and gamification has been used as an approach to improve adherence and engagement in the treatment. This systematic study aimed at identifying how gamification and serious games have been applied to support the treatment of depression, what technologies are being used currently and what gaps are still left unexplored. Eight scientific repositories were used to search for papers in the area of depression and a filter process was used to remove bias. As a result of this search and filter process, 28 works were completely reviewed, analyzed and categorized in this paper. In the reviewed papers the technologies found for treatment of depression were mobile, computer, wearables and web applications. These technologies are applied in gamification, serious games, virtual reality and speech analysis. Some papers used Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as an intervention and other papers used gamification as a way to promote engagement and adherence to treatment.     

Study of the Sorption and Separation Abilities of Commercial Solid‐Phase Extraction (SPE) Cartridge Oasis MAX Towards Au(III), Pd(II), Pt(IV), and Rh(III)

Abstract

This paper presents a new, simple, and rapid procedure for the separation and preconcentration of Au, Pt, Pd, and Rh based on the adsorption of the metals on a commercial solid‐phase extraction (SPE) cartridge, Oasis MAX, which contains a polymeric resin with quaternary ammonium substituents. Adsorption studies revealed that the metal affinity towards the adsorbent ranked according to Au?Pd>Pt whereas Rh was not retained. The elution of the metals was accomplished by using 0.5 M thiourea in 1 M HCl solution. This sorbent effectively recovered Pd and Pt from a spent car catalyst sample containing large amounts of metals such as Al, Fe, and Ce.     

Microencapsulated ginger oil properties: Influence of operating parameters

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of process conditions on the properties of ginger essential oil microencapsulated by spray drying, using whey protein isolate and inulin as encapsulating agents. The treatment with 30% addition in wall material resulted in the largest droplet size in the emulsion. The wettability, encapsulation efficiency, particle size, and polydispersity index were significantly affected by the two analyzed factors. Through the optimization process, the results indicate that moderate wall material concentrations (22.34%) and high inlet air temperature (170°C) were the best conditions for the ginger essential oil spray drying process.     

Influence of Spray-Drying Conditions on Physical and Morphological Characteristics of Microencapsulated Benzoic Acid

Benzoic acid is widely used as a preservative in the food and feed industry, and microencapsulation is important in the application of this ingredient in various food products. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of benzoic acid concentration and drying air temperature on the physical characteristics of powders produced by spray drying, using maltodextrin and modified starch as the wall materials. A rotatable central composite design was used; the independent variables were inlet air temperature (145–180 °C) and benzoic acid concentration (2–10 %, m/m). Maximum yield was obtained when higher concentrations of benzoic acid and higher inlet air temperatures were applied. The highest microencapsulation efficiency was reached at intermediate temperatures (160 °C) and low concentration of benzoic acid. The particles size (D _[4,3]) ranged from 24.99 to 29.52 μm and, in general, presented amorphous structure, spherical shape with rough surfaces and had no cracks The optimum condition, considering all the response variables together, was drying air temperature 169 °C and benzoic acid concentration 6 % (m/m). Under these conditions, the particles presented solubility of 75.96 g/100 g and wettability of 56.8 s/g. Moreover, the process showed microencapsulation efficiency of 76.77 g/100 g and yield of 40.1 %. Spray drying was considered a potential process to provide microencapsulated benzoic acid.