Prevalence of staphylococcal enterotoxins, toxin genes and genetic-relatedness of foodborne Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated in the Marmara Region of Turkey

Staphylococcus aureus is a major foodborne pathogen and it has the ability to produce a number of extracellular toxins. We analyzed 1070 food samples obtained from retail markets and dairy farms in the Marmara Region of Turkey for the presence of S. aureus. Out of 147 isolates, 92 (62.6%) were enterotoxigenic. PCR was used to investigate the presence of staphylococcal enterotoxin genes (sea, seb, sec, sed, see, seg, seh, sei, sej, sek, sel, sem, sen, seo, sep, seq and seu), exfoliative toxin genes (eta and etb) and the toxic − shock syndrome toxin gene (tst). The PCR results showed that 53.3% of the isolates contained staphylococcal enterotoxin-like (SEl) toxin genes (seg, seh, sei, sej, sek, sel, sem, sen, seo, sep, seq and seu) which were more frequent than classical enterotoxin genes (sea to see). Furthermore, seo, sei, sem, seg, seu and sec were found in 37.0, 32.7, 30.4, 29.3, 29.3 and 27.2% of the isolates, respectively. The tst gene was detected and confirmed by DNA sequencing in 9 isolates. The presence of eta and etb were not found in the isolates. Enterotoxigenic capabilities of isolates with SEA-SEE were investigated by ELISA. Enterotoxigenic S. aureus isolates produced one to three enterotoxins, with the most frequently produced types being enterotoxin A and C. There was a correlation of 72.1% between production of a specific toxin and the presence of the respective genes. PFGE analysis was used to identify genetic-relatedness of enterotoxigenic S. aureus isolates and the results revealed that 13 groups of isolates from different or the same origin that contained the same genes showed 100% homology with indistinguishable band patterns. The other enterotoxigenic isolates showed related band patterns with 72-86% homology in sea-, 61-90% homology in sec-, 80-96% homology in seh-, and 69-96% homology in sep-positive isolates. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine enterotoxins and related gene contents of S. aureus food isolates in the Marmara Region of Turkey.     

An investigation of Al2O3–ZrO2 ceramic composite-coated engine parts using plasma spray method on a diesel engine

ABSTRACT

In this study, the surfaces of the piston, cylinder head and valve parts of the combustion chambers for a single-cylinder diesel engine were coated at 250?µm thick ceramic composite Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ (20–80%) main coating material and 100?µm NiCrAl interlayer material. Also, B6 and B12 biodiesel fuels were produced. Fuel blends were tested on a diesel engine with thermal barrier-coated surfaces for 50?h under the same conditions. When the SEM images and the EDS analysis results of the pistons covered with the ceramic composite main coating material are examined, it has been seen that the coating material permeates the surfaces in a very homogeneous manner and allows to work with high performance without causing any deterioration on the surfaces during working. At high temperatures, the working periods of 50?h and the formation of smoke did not cause any damage to the main material and the coating material.     

Rheological and Microscopic Properties of Fat Blends with Similar Solid Fat Content but Different Trans Composition

In this study, two different groups of fat samples were prepared in a way that samples of each group had different trans fatty acid (TFA) composition but similar solid fat content (SFC). Samples of the first group (named group A) had TFA between 0.0 and 56.23 %, while the samples of the second group (group B) contained trans isomers ranging from 0.0 to 44.4 %. A polarized microscope was used to monitor the differences between the samples in terms of crystal size and crystal number during isothermal crystallization. In general, increasing TFA resulted in formation of larger crystals in a shorter time. Similar findings were also observed when small deformation time and frequency sweep experiments were conducted. A higher TFA content led to higher complex modulus values during isothermal crystallization. On the other hand, when the samples were stored at 4 °C for 48 h, the samples with the lower trans isomer had higher hardness values.     

Force Transmission Error Analysis for a High-Pressure Single-Sinker Magnetic Suspension Densimeter

The magnetic suspension densimeter (MSD) is a sophisticated, state-of-the-art device that provides extremely accurate results for density measurements. The MSD uses a magnetic technique to couple a mass inside a measurement cell with an external mass balance for mass measurement. This article presents a force transmission error (FTE) analysis for a high-pressure, single-sinker MSD. Due to the magnetic working principle of the apparatus, magnetic properties of the high-pressure cell and external magnetic fields affect the measurements slightly. For the analysis, McLinden et al. suggest making measurements using two different sinkers, a titanium sinker and a copper sinker, having the same mass. The measurements cover densities for methane, ethane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen over the temperature range from 265 K to 450 K (±5 mK stability) up to 180 MPa (uncertainty of 0.01 % full scale: 200 MPa). Comparing and manipulating the measurements permit determination of apparatus and fluid specific effects that contribute to the FTE. For this MSD, the apparatus effect is about 200 ppm, which effectively masks any fluid specific effect. A comprehensive analysis of the FTE produces a uniform deviation for density values of about 0.05 % at 2σ across the full range of pressure.     

Geopolitics of European natural gas demand: Supplies from Russia, Caspian and the Middle East

This paper addresses issues of natural gas which raise questions about European energy security. It first focuses on the rising gas demand of the EU27 and elaborates alleged risks of dependence on Russia such as Gazprom's disagreement with Ukraine, which became an international gas crisis in January 2006 and also more recently in January 2009. Incentives and barriers of Europe's further cooperation with selected Caspian (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) and Middle Eastern (Iran, Iraq and Egypt) countries are discussed. Supplies from Caspian are analyzed with a particular focus on Russia's role and the vested interests in the region. Supplies from the Middle East are elaborated with regard to Iran's huge and Iraq's emerging potentials in terms of natural gas reserves and foreign direct investments in the energy sector. The geopolitical analysis leads to a conclusion that the best strategy, and what seems more likely, for the EU is to include at least two countries from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Iraq within its natural gas supply system.     

SNR bounds of FSO links and its evaluation for selected beams

We formulate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for free-space optical links. Upon inserting typical operating parameters, it is seen that SNR well approximates to the inverse of aperture averaged scintillation parameter. By adopting a common source beam power of 10 mW, we select three different source sizes of Gaussian, annular Gaussian (AG), and cosh-Gaussian beams. We then evaluate the SNR of these beams. Our results indicate that when fixed aperture opening is used, fully and partially coherent beams yield almost the same SNR performance. On the other hand, however, focusing and lowering wavelength of operation appear to be quite instrumental in improving the SNR performance. In this context, medium-sized AGB seems to exhibit the best performance.     

On disconjugacy and stability criteria for discrete Hamiltonian systems

By making use of new Lyapunov type inequalities, we establish disconjugacy and stability criteria for discrete Hamiltonian systems. The stability criteria are given when the system is periodic.     

超音速火焰喷涂与激光重熔Al0.2CrFeNi(Co,Cu)合金的干滑动磨损及氧化性能对比研究

用超音速火焰喷涂(HVOF)法在316L不锈钢基体上沉积Al0.2CrFeNiCo和Al0.2CrFeNiCu两种高熵合金涂层,然后对涂层进行激光重熔(LR)以改善其显微组织.研究LR工艺对涂层干滑动磨损和氧化行为的影响.结果表明,将粉末与单体元素混合导致HVOF涂层中形成内氧化物.LR消除了氧化物和气孔.LR后,两种...     

Identification of major ADH genes in ethanol metabolism of Pichia pastoris

The methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris (syn. Komagataella phaffii) is a successful host widely used in recombinant protein production. The widespread use of a methanol-regulated alcohol oxidase 1 (AOX1) promoter for recombinant protein production has directed studies particularly about methanol metabolism in this yeast. Although there is comprehensive knowledge about methanol metabolism, there are other mechanisms in P. pastoris that have not been investigated yet, such as ethanol metabolism. The gene responsible for the consumption of ethanol ADH2 (XM_002491337, known as ADH3) was identified and characterized in our previous study. In this study, the ADH genes (XM_002489969, XM_002491163, XM_002493969) in P. pastoris genome were investigated to determine their roles in ethanol production by gene disruption analysis. We report that the ADH900 (XM_002491163) is the main gene responsible for ethanol production in P. pastoris. The ADH2 gene, previously identified as the only gene responsible for ethanol consumption, also plays a minor role in ethanol production in the absence of the ADH900 gene. The investigation of the carbon source regulation mechanism has also revealed that the ADH2 gene exhibit similar expression behaviours with ADH900 on glucose, glycerol, and methanol, however, it is strongly induced by ethanol.     

Biogenic Amine Content of Beers Consumed in Turkey and Influence of Storage Conditions on Biogenic Amine Formation

The biogenic amine content of beers available in Turkey, both domestic production and imported products, was investigated. A total of 17 domestic and 13 imported beers were evaluated in terms of 8 different biogenic amines (histamine, tyramine, spermine, spermidine, 2‐phenylethylamine, putrescine, tryptamine and cadaverine). HPLC methodology with pre‐column derivatization and photodiode array detection after derivatization with dansyl chloride was used for quantification. In addition, the evolution of important amines such as histamine, tyramine, putrescine and cadaverine were investigated during different storage conditions by response surface methodology. The results indicated that both storage temperature and storage time were important factors affecting biogenic amine content. Histamine and putrescine increased during storage, but then decreased after reaching a maximum level after six weeks. With the biogenic amines tyramine and cadaverine, the amounts increased during the entire storage period. At higher storage temperatures, the formation of biogenic amines increased.