Evaluation of the effect of probiotic cultures added to commercial yogurt over a known population of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7

The effect of probiotic cultures over Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 during yogurt storage was evaluated. Two different yogurt brands, one with additional probiotic cultures (Lactobacillus casei and L. acidophilus) were inoculated with known populations (106 UFC/g) of either L. monocytogenes or E. coli O157:H7 in three different times and stored for 32 days at 5 degrees C. Every four days the count of lactic bacteria, the added pathogens and pH was evaluated, according to the methodology described in the Bacteriological Analytical Manual. The pH and lactic bacteria population were constant during the testing period. Yogurt with additional probiotic cultures reduced the population of L. monocytogenes in 8 days, the population of E. coli O157:H7 in 16; yogurt with no additional probiotics took 20 days to reduce L. monocytogenes to non-detectable levels and even after 28 days of storage, E. coli O157:H7 was cultured. In this work, the beneficial effects of additional probiotic cultures in yogurt is confirmed again.     

Effects of different particle deposition parameters on adhesion of resin cement to zirconium dioxide and phase transformation

This study evaluated the effect of air-abrasion parameters such as particle size, distance, and time on adhesion of resin cement to zirconium dioxide (Y-TZP) and t→m phase transformation. Y-TZP blocks (N = 80) (In-Ceram YZ, Vita) (4 mm^3?×?4 mm^3?×?3 mm³) were assigned into eight groups (n = 10): air-abrasion with 30 μm (CoJet Sand, S30) and 110 μm (Rocatec-Plus, S110) silica-coated alumina particles, applied for either for 10–20 s (T = time), from a distance of 10–20 mm (D = distance), composing the following groups: S₃₀T₁₀D₁₀, S₃₀T₁₀D₂₀, S₃₀T₂₀D₁₀, S₃₀T₂₀D₂₀, S₁₁₀T₁₀D₁₀, S₁₁₀T₁₀D₂₀, S₁₁₀T₂₀D₁₀, and S₁₁₀T₂₀D₂₀. Resin composite (RelyX ARC) was bonded to Y-TZP blocks in polyethylene molds. The specimens were aged (10,000 thermal cycles and water storage for 90 days) prior to shear bond test. Failure types were analyzed under stereomicroscope and SEM, and phase transformation was calculated. Data (MPa) were analyzed using 3-way ANOVA and Tukey’s tests. Air-abrasion with 110 μm silica particles (10.96) presented significantly higher bond strength (p = 0.0149) compared to 30 μm (8.96). Time (p = 0.403) and distance (p = 0.179) parameters did not affect the results significantly. Air-abrasion with 110 μm particles (12.3) promoted higher bond strength than that of 30 μm (6.4) when applied for 10 s from a distance of 10 mm (Tukey’s). Failure types were predominantly adhesive. Phase transformation ranged between 30.3 and 35.9% for 30 μm particles and 23.8–43.7% for 110 μm particles. While the size of silica-coated alumina particles were more relevant parameter for resin cement adhesion to Y-TZP, time (up to 20 s) and distance (up to 20 mm) appear to be less pertinent.     

Use of a new milk-clotting protease from Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae N31 as coagulant and changes during ripening of Prato cheese

Prato cheeses were manufactured using coagulant from Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae N31 or a commercial coagulant. Cheeses were characterised using the following analysis: yield; fat; acidity; moisture; ash; salt; pH; total nitrogen; total protein; NS-pH 4.6/NT*100; NS-TCA 12%/NT*100; casein electrophoresis; and RP-HPLC. The results were statistically analysed and revealed that the proteolytic indices were not significantly different throughout the 60 days of ripening of cheeses made with either coagulant. Even though there were some quantitative differences in the peptide profile of cheeses, the enzyme from T. indicae-seudaticae N31 was used in the production of good quality Prato cheese without having to change the established technological parameters of the process.     

Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in a water maze learn both an egocentric trajectory and landmarks.

In two experiments we investigated the extent to which rats (Rattus norvegicus) use an egocentric trajectory and landmarks to locate a goal. In Experiment 1 we trained groups to locate the hidden platform in a water maze with either 1 of 3 or 3 of 3 predictive landmarks, and with either a random or fixed egocentric trajectory. A choice test revealed that regardless of the landmark configuration, rats relied on a directional, egocentric trajectory, when it was available, to locate the platform. In Experiment 2 we found that adding four predictive landmarks following training with a constant egocentric trajectory did not alter rats' initial attention to the trajectory. We conclude that the presence of nonpredictive landmarks in a predictive array did not affect the use of landmarks. With a blocking design, rats used initially an egocentric path, then landmarks. These results add to the notion that animals use available spatial cues sequentially. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immunological determination of gliadin 33‐mer equivalent peptides in beers as a specific and practical analytical method to assess safety for celiac patients

BACKGROUND: Cereals used for beer manufacturing contain gluten, which is immunotoxic for celiac patients. The gluten remaining after processes of malting and brewing is mostly hydrolyzed, which makes practical evaluation of the immunotoxicity of the gluten pools challenging. RESULTS: We analyzed the presence of gluten peptides equivalent to the major immunotoxic protease‐resistant gliadin 33‐mer in 100 Belgium beers, using monoclonal antibodies (G12/A1). Immunochromatographic strips and enzyme‐linked immonosorbent assay G12/A1 methods estimated at least 20 ppm gluten equivalents in 90 beers and gluten‐free in 10 beers. The G12/A1 reactivity of beer high‐performance liquid chromatographic fractions correlated to the presence of T‐cell‐reactive epitopes identified by peptide sequencing. CONCLUSION: The determination of equivalent gliadin 33‐mer epitopes in beers has been shown to be practical, specific, and sensitive for the measurement of potential immunotoxicity for celiac patients. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Hydrogen production by co-cultures of Clostridium butyricum and Rhodospeudomonas palustris: Optimization of yield using response surface methodology

Both dark and photo-fermentation can be used for biological hydrogen production; either performed separately, in two-stage systems, or in co-culture. A single stage process is less laborious and costly; however, the two types of microorganisms have different nutritional requirements requiring optimization of culture conditions. Here a response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box-Behnken design was used to optimize microorganism ratio and substrate and buffer concentrations, and to evaluate their interactive effects for maximization of hydrogen yield. Clostridium butyricum and Rhodopseudomonas palustris were grown on a potato starch/glucose base medium at 30 °C under continuous illumination (40 W m^?2 light intensity). The highest hydrogen yield, 6.4 ± 1.3 mol H₂/mol glucose, was obtained with a substrate concentration of 15 g/L, buffer concentration of 50 mM, and microorganism ratio of 3. The observed strong interaction between buffer and substrate concentration is most likely due to the need to optimize the pH for co-cultures.     

Probiotics: An alternative strategy for combating salmonellosis: Immune mechanisms involved

Salmonella produces infections of different nature and severity depending of many factors including the Salmonella serovar involved, strain virulence, infective dose, host animal species, age and immune status of the host. The treatments against Salmonella infections rely on supportive and antibiotic therapy to eliminate the pathogen, but the development of resistance by Salmonella to the antimicrobials most commonly used limits its efficacy. Other disadvantages of antibiotic treatments are that they can lead to acute diarrhea (antimicrobials normally induce an imbalance of intestinal bacterial flora) and may produce chronic toxicity. Considering this undesired consequences of antibiotics and because at the present there are no effective oral vaccines which protect against salmonellosis, scientists have been searching for alternative methods to control enteric infections. In the present review, probiotics are proposed as an attractive possibility to attend this concern. Probiotic are live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host. In vitro and in vivo studies showed the effectiveness of probiotic administration in the prevention or in the treatment against Salmonella infection. There are several mechanisms by which probiotic strains might exert their effects. They include non immune mechanisms (stabilization of the gut mucosal barrier, competition for adhesion, secretion of antimicrobial substances, etc.) and the modulation of the mucosal and systemic immune responses. These mechanisms are species and/or strain specific. There are also evidences that in some cases, a mix of probiotic strains can be more useful than each strain alone against this infection. In addition, the presence of one or more probiotic strains in a fermented product can improve the beneficial properties of the probiotic strains involved. It was also reviewed the security of probiotics administration after Salmonella infection in healthy host and in immunosuppressed or babies hosts. Although, the major part of the researches were performed in animal models through in vivo assays or by in vitro studies using human cell lines, some studies carried out in humans to verify the probiotic effects were also addressed in the present review. Nevertheless, is of critical importance to perform more clinical trials in humans to validate the results obtained with each specific probiotic strain or probiotic product.