Characteristics of High- and Low-Fat Bologna Sausages as Affected by Final Internal Cooking Temperature and Chilling Storage

A study was made of the effect that final internal processing temperature (63, 70 and 78°C) and chilling storage (2°C) exerted on the characteristics (cooking loss, purge loss, colour, Instron texture profile analysis) of high-fat (242 g kg⁻¹) and low-fat (100 g kg⁻¹) bologna sausage. High-fat sausages were harder and chewier than low-fat sausages. Lower fat contents were accompanied by a significant reduction in the cooking loss and purge loss. Binding properties were not affected ( P> 0·05) by final internal cooking temperature. In general, Hunter colour parameter a values were higher in low-fat samples subjected to a high final internal cooking temperature than in those cooked up to only 63°C. High internal temperatures produced harder meat emulsions, an effect which was more pronounced in high-fat than in low-fat sausages. Cohesiveness and springiness of sausages was not affected ( P> 0·05) by heat treatment. There were no major variations in textural parameters as a result of chilled storage.     

A strategy for the efficient full-wave description of complex waveguide networks

The mode-matching analysis of rectangular waveguide networks requires a complex segmentation of the structure into simple elements. The way these elements are connected has a strong influence on the computing performance of the code. Moreover, for complex structures the size of the coefficient matrix of the main system can easily reach unaffordable dimensions, so that the use of an efficient solving strategy becomes indispensable. A new approach to the optimum automatic choice of the interconnections is presented, leading to a highly stable and outperforming method of analysis. A Butler 4 × 4 matrix, with six branch guide couplers and four phase shifters, containing 336 uniform waveguide sections and bifurcations, has been studied, and the presented strategy has allowed a performance increase up to two orders of magnitude. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

IL-6 Cytokine Family: A Putative Target for Breast Cancer Prevention and Treatment

The IL-6 cytokine family is a group of signaling molecules with wide expression and function across vertebrates. Each member of the family signals by binding to its specific receptor and at least one molecule of gp130, which is the common transmembrane receptor subunit for the whole group. Signal transduction upon stimulation of the receptor complex results in the activation of multiple downstream cascades, among which, in mammary cells, the JAK-STAT3 pathway plays a central role. In this review, we summarize the role of the IL-6 cytokine family—specifically IL-6 itself, LIF, OSM, and IL-11—as relevant players during breast cancer progression. We have compiled evidence indicating that this group of soluble factors may be used for early and more precise breast cancer diagnosis and to design targeted therapy to treat or even prevent metastasis development, particularly to the bone. Expression profiles and possible therapeutic use of their specific receptors in the different breast cancer subtypes are also described. In addition, participation of these cytokines in pathologies of the breast linked to lactation and involution of the gland, as post-partum breast cancer and mastitis, is discussed.     

The Association between Gut Microbiota and Osteoarthritis: Does the Disease Begin in the Gut?

Some say that all diseases begin in the gut. Interestingly, this concept is actually quite old, since it is attributed to the Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, who proposed the hypothesis nearly 2500 years ago. The continuous breakthroughs in modern medicine have transformed our classic understanding of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and human health. Although the gut microbiota (GMB) has proven to be a core component of human health under standard metabolic conditions, there is now also a strong link connecting the composition and function of the GMB to the development of numerous diseases, especially the ones of musculoskeletal nature. The symbiotic microbes that reside in the gastrointestinal tract are very sensitive to biochemical stimuli and may respond in many different ways depending on the nature of these biological signals. Certain variables such as nutrition and physical modulation can either enhance or disrupt the equilibrium between the various species of gut microbes. In fact, fat-rich diets can cause dysbiosis, which decreases the number of protective bacteria and compromises the integrity of the epithelial barrier in the GIT. Overgrowth of pathogenic microbes then release higher quantities of toxic metabolites into the circulatory system, especially the pro-inflammatory cytokines detected in osteoarthritis (OA), thereby promoting inflammation and the initiation of many disease processes throughout the body. Although many studies link OA with GMB perturbations, further research is still needed.     

Comparison of Automated Ribotyping,spa Typing,and MLST in 108 Clinical Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from Orthopedic Infections

108 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, belonging to six large ribogroups according to the automated Ribo-Printer^® system, were studied with two highly used molecular methods for epidemiological studies, namely multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and spa typing, followed by BURP and eBURST v3 analysis for clustering spa types and sequence (ST) types. The aim was to evaluate whether automated ribotyping could be considered a useful screening tool for identifying S. aureus genetic lineages with respect to spa typing and MLST. Clarifying the relationship of riboprinting with these typing methods and establishing whether ribogroups fit single clonal complexes were two main objectives. Further information on the genetic profile of the isolates was obtained from agr typing and the search for the mecA, tst genes, and the IS256 insertion sequence. Automated ribotyping has been shown to predict spa clonal complexes and MLST clonal complexes. The high cost and lower discriminatory power of automated ribotyping compared to spa and MSLT typing could be an obstacle to fine genotyping analyzes, especially when high discriminatory power is required. On the other hand, numerous advantages such as automation, ease and speed of execution, stability, typeability and reproducibility make ribotyping a reliable method to be juxtaposed to gold standard methods.     

Validation of a Cleanroom Compliant Sonication-Based Decellularization Technique: A New Concept in Nerve Allograft Production

Defects of the peripheral nervous system are extremely frequent in trauma and surgeries and have high socioeconomic costs. If the direct suture of a lesion is not possible, i.e., nerve gap > 2 cm, it is necessary to use grafts. While the gold standard is the autograft, it has disadvantages related to its harvesting, with an inevitable functional deficit and further morbidity. An alternative to autografting is represented by the acellular nerve allograft (ANA), which avoids disadvantages of autograft harvesting and fresh allograft rejection. In this research, the authors intend to transfer to human nerves a novel technique, previously implemented in animal models, to decellularize nerves. The new method is based on soaking the nerve tissues in decellularizing solutions while associating ultrasounds and freeze–thaw cycles. It is performed without interrupting the sterility chain, so that the new graft may not require post-production γ-ray irradiation, which is suspected to affect the structural and functional quality of tissues. The new method is rapid, safe, and inexpensive if compared with available commercial ANAs. Histology and immunohistochemistry have been adopted to evaluate the new decellularized nerves. The study shows that the new method can be applied to human nerve samples, obtaining similar, and, sometimes better, results compared with the chosen control method, the Hudson technique.     

Characterization of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Southern Brazil

Six olive oils extracted from the cultivars Arbequina, Arbosana, Coratina, Frantoio, Koroneiki, and Picual from 2017 and 2018 harvests, cultivated in Pinheiro Machado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, are evaluated for standard oil composition parameters and bioactive constituents (pigments, tocopherols, and phenolic compounds). Multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) and univariate ANOVA and Fisher's LSD test are used to verify the effect of cultivar and harvest year on oil composition. Olive oil composition met extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) standard parameters and is influenced by both cultivar and harvest year. EVOO produced in 2018 has greater chlorophyll, caffeic acid, ligstroside aglycone, hydroxyoleuropein aglycone, syringic acid, and hydroxytyrosol acetate contents than the EVOOs from 2017. Linoleic acid, ferulic acid, ligstroside aglycone, and hydroxytyrosol acetate are the variables whose contents most contributed to the differentiation of oils by cultivar in both harvest years. Chemical characterization analyses allow for the differentiation of oil composition based on harvest year and cultivar. Metabolic quality data obtained here support the establishment of a local EVOO profile and the compounds that most contributed to treatment differentiation may serve as markers that can be utilized in determining origin, cultivar, and harvest year. Practical Applications: Olive production in Brazil is recent and is based on European cultivars which have not been bred for the local environmental conditions. Therefore, the measurement of olive oil metabolic quality will determine cultivar adaptability to local edaphoclimatic conditions as well as assist in the establishment of a standard of identity for the product and promote the development of its market. Olive oil produced in Southern Brazil shows high quality, and is especially rich in phenolic compounds. Although harvest year influences oil composition, oil from both harvests meet EVOO standards and cultivar specific metabolic markers are observed. This study provides the foundation for olive producers in Southern Brazil to seek authentication of the geographical origin of olive oil.     

Diagnostic Accuracy of CT Texture Analysis in Adrenal Masses: A Systematic Review

Adrenal incidentalomas (AIs) are incidentally discovered adrenal neoplasms. Overt endocrine secretion (glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, and catecholamines) and malignancy (primary or metastatic disease) are assessed at baseline evaluation. Size, lipid content, and washout characterise benign AIs (respectively, <4 cm, <10 Hounsfield unit, and rapid release); nonetheless, 30% of adrenal lesions are not correctly indicated. Recently, image-based texture analysis from computed tomography (CT) may be useful to assess the behaviour of indeterminate adrenal lesions. We performed a systematic review to provide the state-of-the-art of texture analysis in patients with AI. We considered 9 papers (from 70 selected), with a median of 125 patients (range 20–356). Histological confirmation was the most used criteria to differentiate benign from the malignant adrenal mass. Unenhanced or contrast-enhanced data were available in all papers; TexRAD and PyRadiomics were the most used software. Four papers analysed the whole volume, and five considered a region of interest. Different texture features were reported, considering first- and second-order statistics. The pooled median area under the ROC curve in all studies was 0.85, depicting a high diagnostic accuracy, up to 93% in differentiating adrenal adenoma from adrenocortical carcinomas. Despite heterogeneous methodology, texture analysis is a promising diagnostic tool in the first assessment of patients with adrenal lesions.     

A bacteriocin-like substance produced from Lactobacillus pentosus 39 is a natural antagonist for the control of Aeromonas hydrophila and Listeria monocytogenes in fresh salmon fillets

We studied the ability of Lactobacillus pentosus 39, a BLS (Bacteriocin-like substance)-producing strain, to control the growth of Aeromonas hydrophila ATCC 14715 and Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19117 artificially added to fresh salmon fillets at refrigeration temperatures and under simulated cold-chain break conditions.At refrigeration temperatures, Lb. pentosus 39 protective culture and its putative bacteriocin significantly reduced A. hydrophila counts compared with the control (2.1 and 1.4 log CFU/g reductions, respectively). Similar behaviour was observed for L. monocytogenes (3.6 and 1.3 log CFU/g reductions, respectively).Under simulated cold-chain break conditions, an increase in temperature (30°C for 12h) produced an evident increase in the development of A. hydrophila, L. monocytogenes, but also of Lb. pentosus 39, with a consequent increase in BLS production. This condition resulted in a greater reduction of both pathogens compared with samples stored at 4°C throughout the experiment (2.8 log CFU/g reduction for A. hydrophila, 5.8 log CFU/g reduction for L. monocytogenes). In samples treated with the putative bacteriocin alone, a less marked decrease was observed.Our study demonstrates the capability of Lb. pentosus 39 to control the growth of psychrotrophic bacteria in an experimental seafood model system. A similar biopreservation technology could provide more prolonged shelf-life during storage of ready-to-eat seafood, ensuring safety, even under extreme conditions.     

Strain-specific polyketide synthase genes of Aspergillus niger

In silico comparison of 34 putative pks genes in Aspergillus niger strain CBS 513.88 versus A. niger strain ATCC 1015 genome revealed significant nucleotide identity (>95% covering a minimum of 99% of the gene sequence) for 31 of these genes (approximately 91%). A. niger CBS 513.88 harbors three putative pks genes (An01g01130, An11g05940, and An15g07920), for which nucleotide identity was not found in A. niger ATCC 1015. To compare the results of the in silico analysis with the in vivo situation, experimental data were obtained for a large number of A. niger strains obtained from different substrates and geographical regions. Three putative pks genes that were found to be variable between the two A. niger strains using bioinformatics tools were in fact strain-specific genes based on experimental data. The PCR amplification signals for the An01g01130, An11g05940, and An15g07920 pks genes were detected in only 97%, 71%, and 26% of the strains, respectively. Southern blot analyses confirmed the PCR data. Because one of the strain-specific pks genes (An15g07920) is located in a putative ochratoxin cluster, we focused our investigation on that region. We assessed the ochratoxin production capability of the 119 A. niger strains and found a positive association between the presence of this pks gene and the capability of the respective strain to produce ochratoxin.