Death of Salmonella,Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes in garlic butter as affected by storage temperature

Garlic is known to have antimicrobial activity against several spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. However, the fate of Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes in garlic butter has not been reported. This study was undertaken to determine the viability of these organisms in garlic butter as affected by the type of raw minced garlic added to the butter, storage temperature, and storage time. Unsalted butter at 40 degrees C was combined with raw minced jumbo, elephant, or small-cloved garlic at a 4:1 butter/garlic ratio (wt/wt), inoculated with mixed-strain suspensions of Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, or L monocytogenes, and stored at 4.4, 21, or 37 degrees C for up to 48 h. All pathogens retained their viability at 4.4 degrees C, regardless of the presence of garlic. The addition of garlic to butter enhanced the rates of inactivation of all three pathogens at 21 and 37 degrees C. The most rapid decline in pathogen populations was observed at 37 degrees C. The inactivation of L. monocytogenes occurred more slowly than did that of Salmonella or E. coli O157:H7. The inactivation of Salmonella and L. monocytogenes was more rapid in jumbo garlic butter than in elephant or small-cloved garlic butter. It is concluded that Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and L. monocytogenes did not grow in unsalted butter, with or without garlic added (20%, wt/wt), when inoculated products were stored at 4.4, 21, and 37 degrees C for up to 48 h.     

Gastrointestinal metabolism of phytoestrogens in lactating dairy cows fed silages with different botanical composition

Dietary phytoestrogens are metabolized or converted in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants, only limited knowledge exists on the extent and location of this conversion in vivo. The objective of this study was to quantify the gastro-intestinal metabolism of phytoestrogens in lactating dairy cows fed silages with different botanical composition. Four lactating rumen cannulated Norwegian Red cattle were assigned to a 4 × 4 Latin square with 1 cow per treatment period of 3 wk. The 4 treatment silages were prepared from grasslands with different botanical compositions: organically managed short-term timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) ley (2 yr old: ORG-SG); organically managed long-term grassland with a high proportion of unsown species (6 yr old; ORG-LG); conventionally managed perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) ley (CON-PR); and conventionally managed timothy ley (CON-TI). The herbages were cut, wilted, and preserved with additive in round bales, fed as a mix of the first and third cut at 90% of ad libitum intake, and contributed to 70% of the total dry matter intake. Milk, feed, omasal digesta, urine, and feces were collected at the end of each period and analyzed for the concentrations of phytoestrogens by using a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry technique. Concentration of total isoflavones was highest in ORG-SG and lowest in CON-TI silage, whereas the content of total lignans was highest in the grass silages. The isoflavones were extensively metabolized in the rumen on all diets, and the recovery of formononetin and daidzein in omasum, mainly as equol, averaged 0.11 mg/mg. The apparent intestinal metabolism was less severe as, on average, 0.29 mg/mg of the omasal flow was recovered in feces. The plant lignans were also strongly degraded in the rumen. However, the flow of lignans to omasum and excretion in feces were, on average, 7.2- and 5.2-fold higher, respectively, than the intake of the plant lignans matairesinol and secoisolariciresinol, known as precursors of mammalian lignans. Thus, excretion to milk could not be directly related to intake, implying that plant lignans other than matairesinol and secoisolariciresinol in forage are precursors for enterolactone production in the rumen and for its content in milk. Equol followed mainly the flow of large particles out of the rumen, whereas the mammalian lignans were distributed between phases proportional to dry matter flow. The main metabolism of phytoestrogens occurred in the rumen and the main route of excretion was through feces and urine, with only a small part being excreted in milk. The concentration of phytoestrogens in milk can be manipulated through intake but the intermediate transfer capacity to milk appears to be limited by saturation.     

Investigation of citrus flavor adsorption during debittering of grapefruit juice using kinetic modeling and response surface methodology

Reconstituted grapefruit juice was debittered with XAD-7HP adsorbent resin in batch experiments and the adsorption rate constants of the bitter principal naringin and the volatile flavor compounds α-pinene, β-myrcene, dlimonene, α-terpineol, and β-caryophyllene were determined using a pseudo-first order kinetic model. The highest rate constants were observed consistently for the off-flavor α-terpineol, followed by naringin and the other flavor compounds. The rate constant of each substance was influenced significantly by temperature, ratio of adsorbent/juice, and, except for α-terpineol, by the interaction of both factors (p<0.05). Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied for the development of regression models to predict the adsorption rate constants of all substances. On the basis of the regression models for d-limonene and naringin, a factor combination that minimized loss of flavor and maximized bitterness reduction during the debittering procedure was determined to be a combination of low temperature (13.9°C) and high adsorbent/juice ratio (3.6%).     

Sex and sodium intake in the rat.

Female rats drink more 3% NaCl solution than do males, both when they need sodium (need-induced sodium intake or sodium appetite) and when they do not (need-free sodium intake). The sexual dimorphism of sodium intake is a secondary sexual characteristic because after castration at 1 day of age, male rats drank 3% NaCl in adulthood in a manner similar to that of females in both the need-free and need-induced state, and females given long-term neonatal testosterone drank low, malelike volumes of 3% NaCl on a daily need-free basis, but their response to sodium depletion was unchanged. This sexual dimorphism of sodium intake seems to be governed by testosterone that has been converted in the brain to estrogen because treatment of Day 1 castrated females with a nonaromatizable androgen, dihydrotestosterone, did not change either their need-free or their need-induced 3% NaCl intake. Castration in adulthood of male and female rats did not change their sodium consumption… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Towards an early‐warning system for global landslides triggered by rainfall and earthquake

Drawing upon the recent advances of satellite remote‐sensing technology and landslide modelling techniques, a framework is proposed to attempt an early‐warning system for landslide hazards after heavy rainfall and/or earthquake, the two major triggers for landslides. This framework includes three major components: (1) a landslide susceptibility information database, including geology, elevation, topography, soil, and land‐cover types; (2) a real‐time space‐borne precipitation estimation system (http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov); and (3) a near‐real‐time ground‐shaking prediction system after earthquakes (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/shakemap/). The ultimate goal of this framework is to rapidly predict landslide potential after large earthquakes and/or heavy rainfall by combing the dynamic triggers with landslide susceptibility information derived from high‐resolution geospatial datasets. However, the challenge for integrating these real‐time systems into an operational landslide prediction network and quickly disseminating alerts around the world is tremendous. It requires continued efforts and interdisciplinary collaboration in the next 2–5 years in order to realize such a system, providing early warning for landslides around the globe in a day‐to‐day decision‐making operation.     

Comparing the Fried frailty phenotype versus the Veterans Affairs frailty index among dialysis dependent patients

Introduction

Frailty in dialysis patients is a modifiable disease state which can increase mortality if left untreated but remains underdiagnosed as frailty evaluations can be arduous or time consuming. We evaluate the agreement between a clinical frailty construct (Fried frailty phenotype, FFP) against and an electronic health record-based Veterans Affairs Frailty Index (VAFI) and their association with mortality.

Methods

A r etrospective cohort analysis of 764 participants from the ACTIVE/ADIPOSE study was performed. Frailty as measured by VAFI and FFP was obtained and Kappa statistic estimating concordance between the two scores were calculated. Differences in mortality risk were analyzed according to presence or absence of frailty.

Findings

When assessing agreement between the VAFI and FFP, the kappa statistic was 0.09 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02–0.16) suggesting a low level of agreement. Frailty was independently associated with higher mortality risk (hazards ratio [HR] 1.40–1.42 in fully adjusted models depending upon frailty construct). Discordantly frail patients by construct had a higher risk of mortality though this was not statistically significant after adjustment. However, concordantly frail patients had much higher mortality risk compared to concordantly nonfrail (adjusted HR 2.08, 95% CI 1.44–3.01).

Discussion

Poor agreement between constructs is likely reflective of the multifactorial definition of frailty. While further longitudinal studies are needed to determine if the VAFI would be beneficial in the reassessment of frailty, it may be beneficial as a cue for further frailty testing (e.g., with FFP) with the combination of multiple frail constructs providing improved prognostic information.     

Functionalized Fullerene for Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Variants

As virus outbreaks continue to pose a challenge, a nonspecific viral inhibitor can provide significant benefits, especially against respiratory viruses. Polyglycerol sulfates recently emerge as promising agents that mediate interactions between cells and viruses through electrostatics, leading to virus inhibition. Similarly, hydrophobic C₆₀ fullerene can prevent virus infection via interactions with hydrophobic cavities of surface proteins. Here, two strategies are combined to inhibit infection of SARS-CoV-2 variants in vitro. Effective inhibitory concentrations in the millimolar range highlight the significance of bare fullerene's hydrophobic moiety and electrostatic interactions of polysulfates with surface proteins of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, microscale thermophoresis measurements support that fullerene linear polyglycerol sulfates interact with the SARS-CoV-2 virus via its spike protein, and highlight importance of electrostatic interactions within it. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the fullerene binding site is situated close to the receptor binding domain, within 4 nm of polyglycerol sulfate binding sites, feasibly allowing both portions of the material to interact simultaneously.     

Tetragonal Kondo Insulator EuCd2Sb2 Discovered via High Pressure High Temperature Synthesis

Magnetic and electronic properties of quantum materials heavily rely on the crystal structure even in the same chemical compositions. In this study, it is demonstrated that a layered tetragonal EuCd₂Sb₂ structure can be obtained by treating bulk trigonal EuCd₂Sb₂ under high pressure (6 GPa) and high temperature (600 °C). Magnetization measurements of the newly formed layered tetragonal EuCd₂Sb₂ confirm an antiferromagnetic ordering with Neel temperature (T_N) around 16 K, which is significantly higher than that (T_N ≈ 7 K) of trigonal EuCd₂Sb₂, consistent with heat capacity measurements. Moreover, bad metal behavior is observed in the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity and the resistivity shows a dramatic increase around the Neel temperature. Electronic structure calculations with local density approximation dynamic mean–field theory (LDA+DMFT) show that this material is strongly correlated with well-formed large magnetic moments, due to Hund's coupling, which is known to dramatically suppress the Kondo scale.