发呆,也是一种小美好

正白岩松说,没事儿的时候发发呆。我们疲于追逐成功的路上,发呆成了一种奢侈。是啊,回想一下,在我们每天仅有的24小时中,工作、交际以及各种琐事占据了大半,剩下的注意力又被手机等携带大量娱乐信息的产品夺走。我们每天生活的似乎都很丰满,迈着急促的脚步穿梭于公司、学校、商场、电影院之间,甚至感觉时间不够用,经常熬夜到凌晨,因此,我们没有多余的时间去发呆,或者说,在这个充满娱乐信息的时代,我们不需要去孤独地发呆。     

Influence of meat quality and NaCl percentage on glutathione peroxidase activity and values for acid-reactive substances of raw and dry-cured Longissimus dorsi

Fresh and dry-cured porcine loins (Longissimus dorsi) were analysed for glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activity and acid reactive substances (TBARS) in order to assess the influence of meat quality and salt (NaCl) concentration on oxidative stability. The results showed lower GSHPx activity and higher TBA levels in normal meat than in PSE meat indicating a higher oxidative stress in normal meat quality. GSHPx remained active at the end of the curing process. Higher salt concentration led to lower enzyme activity and TBARS values prompted the thought of a double role of NaCl as an enzyme inhibitor and as an antioxidant molecule     

Characteristics of an environmental strain, Enterococcus faecalis CECT7121, and its effects as additive on craft dry-fermented sausages

Lactic acid bacteria are the most adequate microorganisms for natural preservation of food. In the present work, the strain of Enterococcus faecalis CECT7121 was employed in the manufacture of craft dry-fermented sausages and its performance as a biopreservative was analysed. This strain is devoid of the genes for haemolysin and gelatinase and does not produce biogenic amines. It is sensitive to almost all the antibiotics tested and opsonophagocytic assays showed that it is devoid of a capsule. This strain had a high LD50 (10(11)CFU ml(-1)) in mice. No statistical differences were found between control and sausages inoculated with E. faecalis CECT7121 regarding the production of lactic acid, pH variation over time, reaching a minimum pH value of 5.1, and sensory analysis in both series. Sausages inoculated with E. faecalis CECT7121 had lower viable counts of Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus and other Gram-positive cocci at the end of fermentation and 7 days and no viable enterobacteria and S. aureus were recovered at the end of drying. E. faecalis CECT7121 did not affect the growth of Lactobacillus spp. but it displaced the autochthonous populations of enterococci. E. faecalis CECT7121 was recovered in each time point as assessed by its inhibitory activity on Listeria monocytogenes and S. aureus. These results would indicate that the addition of E. faecalis CECT7121 during the manufacture of craft dry-fermented sausages offers an interesting alternative for biopreservation.     

Production of nanoparticles from natural hydroxylapatite by laser ablation

Laser ablation of solids in liquids technique has been used to obtain colloidal nanoparticles from biological hydroxylapatite using pulsed as well as a continuous wave (CW) laser. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements revealed the formation of spherical particles with size distribution ranging from few nanometers to hundred nanometers and irregular submicronic particles. High resolution TEM showed that particles obtained by the use of pulsed laser were crystalline, while those obtained by the use of CW laser were amorphous. The shape and size of particles are consistent with the explosive ejection as formation mechanism.     

Oregano: properties, composition and biological activity

The oregano spice includes various plant species. The most common are the genus Origanum, native of Europe, and the Lippia, native of Mexico. Among the species of Origanum. their most important components are the limonene, gamma-cariofilene, rho-cymenene, canfor, linalol, alpha-pinene, carvacrol and thymol. In the genus Lippia, the same compounds can be found. The oregano composition depends on the specie, climate, altitude, time of recollection and the stage of growth. Some of the properties of this plant's extracts are being currently studied due to the growing interest for substituting synthetic additives commonly found in foods. Oregano has a good antioxidant capacity and also presents antimicrobial activity against pathogenic microorganisms like Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, among others. These are all characteristics of interest for the food industry because they may enhance the safety and stability of foods. There are also some reports regarding the antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic effect of oregano; representing an alternative for the potential treatment and/or prevention of certain chronic ailments, like cancer.     

髋关节整体替代陶瓷材料

许多材料在医学领域应用广泛,例如,整体替换硬组织或软组织的元件(如骨盆、骨头、关节、植牙等)、修补、诊断或矫正仪器(如起搏器、心脏阀等)。这些材料不仅要有好的力学性能,还要保持长期稳定,不能与人体相排斥。由于陶瓷材料在生理环境中具有强度高、生物相容性强和稳定性好的优点,人们研究用陶瓷材料替换骨骼。从20 世纪70 年代起,欧洲人用陶瓷组件置换整个髋关节。这些组件主要由氧化铝和氧化锆单体制成。然而,在有水环境中,氧化锆会发生低温降解。目前人们的研究重点在于提高陶瓷组件的强度和耐磨性,同时缩小其尺寸并延长其使用寿命。研究中使用的材料是氧化锆增韧的氧化铝复合陶瓷和其它氧化铝复合陶瓷,不再是单体陶瓷。另外,还可以使用氧化铝和氧化锆功能梯度复合材料。该梯度材料可以利用电泳沉积法(EPD)制得,其表面为纯氧化铝,中心部分为均匀的氧化铝、氧化锆复合材料,中间过渡部分是呈连续梯度渐变的氧化铝、氧化锆复合材料,烧成后会产生剩余热应力。设计这样的梯度结构是为了使复合材料具有最大表面压应力和最小内部张应力,与纯氧化铝组件相比,提高了强度和耐磨性。     

Sources of enterococci in Idiazábal-type cheese

Enterococci are a ubiquitous group and are natural constituents of the intestinal flora of nearly all animals and humans and can reach high levels in a variety of farmhouse cheeses. The purpose of this study was to determine the origin of the different enterococcal strains present in cheeses at different stages of ripening by typing the enterococci isolated from the raw milk, the cheeses, the cheesemaking environment, and from the faecal matter of the ewes and humans associated with cheese production. The potential presence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) at all stages of the process and in the cheeses was also considered. The study was carried out at two separate cheesemaking dairy plants, and samples of the ewes' faeces, the shepherds' and cheesemakers' stools, teat cups, vat, brine, holding tank milk, vat milk, and the cheeses after brining and after 1, 15, and 60 days of ripening were collected. Cheesemaking procedures at the two plants were similar, yet the enterococcal levels and species observed differed at all the sample collection points, though E. faecalis predominated in all the milk and cheese samples. The traceability study performed for the species E. faecalis present at all the sample collection points suggested that the cheesemaker and the cheesemaking equipment were the source of the enterococci in the cheeses, though other possible non-faecal sources remain to be determined. VanC1 and vanC2/C3 enterococcal strains were isolated from the ovine faeces, teat cup, brine, and vat samples at cheesemaking dairy plant A, while only two vanC2/C3 strains were isolated from ovine faeces samples at dairy plant B. No VRE strains were detected in any of the milk or cheese samples.     

Analysis of bacterial community during the fermentation of pulque, a traditional Mexican alcoholic beverage, using a polyphasic approach

In this study, the characterization of the bacterial community present during the fermentation of pulque, a traditional Mexican alcoholic beverage from maguey (Agave), was determined for the first time by a polyphasic approach in which both culture and non-culture dependent methods were utilized. The work included the isolation of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), aerobic mesophiles, and 16S rDNA clone libraries from total DNA extracted from the maguey sap (aguamiel) used as substrate, after inoculation with a sample of previously produced pulque and followed by 6-h fermentation. Microbiological diversity results were correlated with fermentation process parameters such as sucrose, glucose, fructose and fermentation product concentrations. In addition, medium rheological behavior analysis and scanning electron microscopy in aguamiel and during pulque fermentation were also performed. Our results showed that both culture and non-culture dependent approaches allowed the detection of several new and previously reported species within the alpha-, gamma-Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Bacteria diversity in aguamiel was composed by the heterofermentative Leuconostoc citreum, L. mesenteroides, L. kimchi, the gamma-Proteobacteria Erwinia rhapontici, Enterobacter spp. and Acinetobacter radioresistens. Inoculation with previously fermented pulque incorporated to the system microbiota, homofermentative lactobacilli related to Lactobacillus acidophilus, several alpha-Proteobacteria such as Zymomonas mobilis and Acetobacter malorum, other gamma-Proteobacteria and an important amount of yeasts, creating a starting metabolic diversity composed by homofermentative and heterofermentative LAB, acetic and ethanol producing microorganisms. At the end of the fermentation process, the bacterial diversity was mainly composed by the homofermentative Lactobacillus acidophilus, the heterofermentative L. mesenteroides, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and the alpha-Proteobacteria A. malorum. After a 6-h fermentation, 83.27% of total sugars detected after inoculation were consumed (228.4 mM hexose equivalents) and a carbon (C) recovery of 66.18% in fermentation products was estimated. They were produced 284.4 mM C as ethanol, 71.5 mM C as acetic acid and 19 mM C as lactic acid, demonstrating the presence of homo- and heterofermentative, acetic and alcoholic metabolisms in the final product. It was also found, after hydrolysis, that the exopolysaccharide produced during the fermentation was mainly composed by fructose residues, probably inulin or levan.     

Effect of environmental factors and cell physiological state on Pulsed Electric Fields resistance and repair capacity of various strains of Escherichia coli

The aim was to determine the resistance variation of four strains of Escherichia coli to Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF), the role of the sigma factor RpoS in PEF resistance, as well as the influence of several environmental factors and the cell physiological state on the PEF resistance and repair capacity. The rpoS null mutant, E. coli BJ4L1, exhibited decreased PEF resistance as compared with its wild-type parent, BJ4. W3110 and O157:H7 were the most PEF-resistant strains: whereas 2 and more than 3 Log10 cycles of BJ4 and BJ4L1 cells, respectively, were inactivated after 50 pulses at 35 kV/cm, only 0.5 Log10 cycle of inactivation of W3110 and O157:H7 was attained. A different pattern was observed and the resistance variation among strains was largely reduced, when selective recovery media were used. At exponential growth phase, the resistance of the four strains was lower, and more than 4 Log10 cycles of inactivation of all strains tested were attained at 30 kV/cm. Previous heat and cold shock treatments scarcely influenced cell PEF resistance. PEF survival increased with the reduction in water activity of the treatment medium to 0.94: the occurrence of sublethally injured cells was negligible, and less than 1 Log10 cycle of inactivation was attained at 35 kV/cm. PEF-treated cells were sensitive to a subsequent storage at pH 4.0 or in the presence of sorbic acid, attaining a final inactivation of 4-5 Log10 cycles after 24 hour-incubation. In conclusion, the work confirms the role of rpoS in PEF resistance. E. coli strains exhibit large differences in PEF resistance. These differences were less important when cells were recovered under selective conditions. Both resistance variation among strains and occurrence of sublethal damage were noticeably influenced by the environmental factors tested.     

Contribution of starter culture to the sensory characteristics of fermented Almagro eggplants

Trial fermentations were performed using three experimental starter cultures with a view to selecting the most appropriate starter for use in the manufacture of Almagro eggplants. The lactic acid bacterial strains used in the starters had previously been isolated from spontaneous fermentations. The combined action of the obligate heterofermentative species Lactobacillus brevis and the facultative heterofermentative species L. plantarum yielded Almagro eggplants with sensory properties preferred by panelists. Conversely, another obligate heterofermentative species, namely, L. fermentum, present in certain starter formulations tested, appeared to encounter difficulty growing during fermentation and exerted little influence on the sensory characteristics of the eggplants produced.