Urine Metabolomic Profile of Breast- versus Formula-Fed Neonates Using a Synbiotic-Enriched Formula

The aim of this study was to compare the urine metabolic fingerprint of healthy neonates exclusively breastfed with that of neonates fed with a synbiotic-enriched formula (Rontamil^® Complete 1) at four time points (the 3rd and 15th days of life and the 2nd and 3rd months). The determination of urine metabolic fingerprint was performed using NMR metabolomics. Multivariate data analyses were performed with SIMCA-P 15.0 software and R language. Non-distinct profiles for both groups (breastfeeding and synbiotic formula) for the two first time points (3rd and 15th days of life) were detected, whereas after the 2nd month of life, a discrimination trend was observed between the two groups, which was further confirmed at the 3rd month of life. A clear discrimination of the synbiotic formula samples was evident when comparing the metabolites taken in the first days of life (3rd day) with those taken in the 2nd and 3rd months of life. In both cases, OPLS-DA models explained more than 75% of the metabolic variance. Non-distinct metabolomic profiles were obtained between breastfed and synbiotic-formula-fed neonates up to the 15th day of life. Discrimination trends were observed only after the 2nd month of the study, which could be attributed to breastfeeding variations and the consequent dynamic profile of urine metabolites compared to the stable ingredients of the synbiotic formula.     

Outcome Prediction in Critically-Ill Patients with Venous Thromboembolism and/or Cancer Using Machine Learning Algorithms: External Validation and Comparison with Scoring Systems

Intensive care unit (ICU) patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) and/or cancer suffer from high mortality rates. Mortality prediction in the ICU has been a major medical challenge for which several scoring systems exist but lack in specificity. This study focuses on two target groups, namely patients with thrombosis or cancer. The main goal is to develop and validate interpretable machine learning (ML) models to predict early and late mortality, while exploiting all available data stored in the medical record. To this end, retrospective data from two freely accessible databases, MIMIC-III and eICU, were used. Well-established ML algorithms were implemented utilizing automated and purposely built ML frameworks for addressing class imbalance. Prediction of early mortality showed excellent performance in both disease categories, in terms of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC–ROC): VTE-MIMIC-III 0.93, eICU 0.87, cancer-MIMIC-III 0.94. On the other hand, late mortality prediction showed lower performance, i.e., AUC–ROC: VTE 0.82, cancer 0.74–0.88. The predictive model of early mortality developed from 1651 VTE patients (MIMIC-III) ended up with a signature of 35 features and was externally validated in 2659 patients from the eICU dataset. Our model outperformed traditional scoring systems in predicting early as well as late mortality. Novel biomarkers, such as red cell distribution width, were identified.     

The effect of salts on the retention of ethyl butyrate by gellan gels

The effect of gellan gels with different texture on the retention of ethyl butyrate was investigated by Static Headspace Gas Chromatography. Calcium induced gels enriched with 400 ppm of the volatile showed not significantly different aroma release for calcium concentrations up to 40 mM, whereas higher concentrations exhibited greater partition coefficient values not significantly different from each other. Aroma release was not controlled by the mechanical properties when 1000 ppm of ethyl butyrate was added. When mixtures of calcium and potassium chloride, at a total molar concentration of 80 mM, were used to induce gelation, aroma release became greater with increasing calcium concentration in the mixtures. Moreover, elevated concentrations of the aroma compound (400-1000 ppm) added to gellan matrices, gelled by 10 mM calcium chloride, resulted in increased aroma release. For all samples, the percentage of retention was also calculated and both positive and negative values were determined.     

Preparation of yttria-stabilized zirconia nanoplatelets using vacuum roll coating

Roll-to-roll vacuum coating on moving plastic substrates and the subsequent comminuting of the film into a flake or platelet with microscale lateral and thickness dimensions is an industrially mature technology utilized to produce clean, consistent material with high throughput. In this study, we describe the novel preparation of nanoplatelets by top-down vacuum evaporation of yttria-stabilized zirconium dioxides (YSZ) on a nanoembossed, moveable substrate for the purposes of making nanoplatelets. Microscopy and particle size analysis of the resulting YSZ nanoplatelets revealed that use of the nanoembossed substrate results in significant narrowing of the particle size distribution. However, while the YSZ coatings were conformal and successfully replicated the nanopattern of the underlying substrate, the stress in the film was inadequate to fracture the film into platelets that replicated the nanometer dimensions of the underlying pattern. It was determined that this is due to the inherent fracture toughness of the nanoplatelets and the augmented adhesion forces along the increased length scale of nanoparticle contacts. The nanoplatelets were further reduced in average size and size distribution by post-processing techniques of sonication, ball milling, and centrifugation. The nanoplatelet’s stoichiometry and crystallinity were modified by manipulating the source material, deposition parameters, and post-processing steps.     

Ultraviolet light and Ultrasound as non-thermal treatments for the inactivation of microorganisms in fresh ready-to-eat foods

The effects of two non thermal disinfection processes, Ultraviolet light (UV 254 nm) and Ultrasound (US) on the inactivation of bacteria and color in two freshly cut produces (lettuce and strawberry) were investigated. The main scope of this work was to study the efficacy of UV and US on the decontamination of inoculated lettuce and strawberries with a cocktail of four bacteria, Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua, Salmonella Enteritidis and Staphylococcus aureus. Treatment of lettuce with UV reduced significantly the population of E. coli, L. innocua, S. Enteritidis and S. aureus by 1.75, 1.27, 1.39 and 1.21 log CFU/g, respectively. Furthermore, more than a 2-log CFU/g reduction of E. coli and S. Enteritidis was achieved with US. In strawberries, UV treatment reduced bacteria only by 1–1.4 log CFU/g. The maximum reductions of microorganisms, observed in strawberries after treatment with US, were 3.04, 2.41, 5.52 and 6.12 log CFU/g for E. coli, S. aureus, S. Enteritidis and L. innocua, respectively. Treatment with UV and US, for time periods (up to 45 min) did not significantly (p > 0.05) change the color of lettuce or strawberry. Treatment with UV and US reduced the numbers of selected inoculated bacteria on lettuce and strawberries, which could be good alternatives to other traditional and commonly used technologies such as chlorine and hydrogen peroxide solutions for fresh produce industry. These results suggest that UV and US might be promising, non-thermal and environmental friendly disinfection technologies for freshly cut produce.     

Solution viscosity and structural modification of pumpkin biopectin

Solutions of ‘biopectin’ obtained from pumpkin pulp by digestion with the multi-enzyme culture supernatant from Bacillus polymyxa (strain 88A) were prepared in 0.10 M NaCl and characterised by rotational viscosity measurements at 20 °C. The resulting double-logarithmic plot of specific viscosity versus the product of concentration (c) and intrinsic viscosity ([η], from combined Huggins and Kraemer extrapolation to c=0) showed a sharp increase in slope at c[η]≈1 in comparison with the normal value of c[η]≈4 for disordered coils, suggesting a branched structure, possibly arising from Ca²⁺-mediated association of constituent chains.Pumpkin biopectin is non-gelling, in marked contrast to the pectin obtained from the same source by conventional extraction with acid, although the yield is more than doubled. Attempts to induce gelation (with 70 wt% solids at low pH or with stoichiometric Ca²⁺ at neutral pH) by removing the high content of divalent cations naturally present in the biopectin and by chemical deacetylation under acidic conditions (pH 1.2; 4 days; 40 °C) proved unsuccessful. Further research using enzymic deacetylation is suggested.     

Microstructural Phenomena Controlling Losses in NiCuZn-Ferrites as Studied by Transmission Electron Microscopy

The magnetic losses of NiCuZn-ferrites with the chemical formula (Ni_0.37−δZn_0.63Cu_δ)Fe_1.93O₄ (0<δ<0.22) are found to exhibit a minimum as a function of the copper content. This minimum corresponds to a certain sintering temperature, which is also a function of the copper content. At sintering temperatures lower than the optimum, insufficient densification is considered to be the reason for increased losses. At sintering temperatures higher than the optimum, the increased losses are caused by the presence of copper segregation to the grain boundaries and by some identified microstructural defects such as subgrain boundaries and compositional modulations. Internal stress relaxation is believed to be the reason for those chemical and morphological imperfections. In contrast to the power losses, the magnetic permeability does not show the previous dependency and increases monotonically with increased density or grain size.     

Retention of ethyl butyrate by gellan gels in the presence of potassium ions

The air/biopolymer partition coefficient (K) and percentage of retention (R%) of ethyl butyrate (400 ppm) added to gellan gels were determined, using static headspace gas chromatography. Potassium chloride (40–120 mM) was used to induce gellan gelation. When 5 g of sample were left to equilibrate at 37 °C for 2 and 24 h, the coefficient values initially decreased with salt concentration to a certain value after which they raised again. The lower coefficient values, for the 24 h period, were observed at higher salt concentration than for the 2 h. Moreover, for both time periods, the lower coefficient values were found for the gellan gels with the greater strength and rigidity and were accompanied by positive percentages of retention. When 15 g of sample were used, after equilibration at 37 °C for 24 h, no significant changes in aroma release were observed. Moreover, negative percentages of retention values were calculated for all salt concentrations.