An outbreak of salmonella chester infection in Canada: rare serotype, uncommon exposure, and unusual population demographic facilitate rapid identification of food vehicle

Salmonella Chester infection has rarely been reported in the literature. In 2010, 33 case patients were reported in 2 months in four Canadian provinces. We conducted an outbreak investigation in collaboration with public health agencies, food safety specialists, regulatory agencies, grocery store chains, and the product distributor. We used case patient interviews, customer loyalty cards, and microbiological testing of clinical and food samples to identify nationally distributed head cheese as the food vehicle responsible for the outbreak. The rare serotype, a limited affected demographic group, and an uncommon exposure led to the rapid identification of the source. Control measures were implemented within 9 days of notification of the outbreak.     

Dried fruits: phytochemicals and their fate during in vitro digestion

Mediterranean dried fruits that are cultivated and produced in Greece; that is, Corinthian currants, figs, prunes, cherries, apricots and peaches were evaluated in terms of total polar phenols, individual simple phenolics, anthocyanins and antioxidant capacity in vitro. The potential release of dried fruit polar phenols among the different fractions of an in vitro digestion model was also determined. Total polar phenol, flavanol, flavone/flavonol content and antioxidant capacity was in the range 86–551 mg GAE/100g, 0.2–57 mg CE/100g, 9–71 mg RE/100g and 6–47 mg AAE/100g, respectively. A 12–82% release of total phenolics was observed post-mastication, which further increased post-gastric digestion. The same trend was also followed in the case of total flavanols and flavones/flavonols. Total polar phenols and flavones/flavonols were found to enter the simulated epithelial cell wall. Simple polar phenolics and anthocyanins were identified and quantified in all dried fruit extracts and in some of the digestion fractions.     

The effect of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) on soil organic matter biodegradation and other soil chemical properties

The effects of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) on soil organic matter biodegradation, nutritional mineral elements and bacterial colonies were studied in the laboratory. The air‐dried basil plant tissues incorporated at five different rates (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 g per 50 g of soil) resulted in increases in organic carbon mineralization, mineral nitrogen forms in organic phosphorus and available potassium. The level of available forms of manganese and zinc was increased at all the rates of added basil whereas copper was increased at the two upper rates. Also, the addition of basil resulted in a decrease in soil bacterial colonies. The results of this study indicated that the basil could be used as a cover crop for suppressing weed or pathogens in organic soils, with a positive effect on soil productivity. In addition, the incorporation of basil in soil could reduce the number of bacterial colonies. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Multi‐responsive polymeric microcontainers for potential biomedical applications: synthesis and functionality evaluation

Temperature and pH responsive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐methacrylic acid) (P(NIPAAm‐co‐MAA)) microcontainers with encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles in the shell were prepared by a two‐stage distillation precipitation polymerization. PMAA@Fe₃O₄/P(NIPAAm‐co‐MAA) core–shell nanoparticles were synthesized by the second‐stage polymerization of NIPAAm, MAA and N, N′‐methylenebisacrylamide as crosslinker in the presence of magnetic nanoparticles and PMAA as core. These novel triple‐functional microcontainers were prepared by selective removal of the PMAA core in water. Daunorubicin hydrochloride (DNR) was loaded into the microcontainers and the release profile was studied by UV–visible spectroscopy. The synthesized nanostructures were characterized with transmission and scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The magnetic properties were evaluated by vibrating sample magnetometry. The shrink and swelling behavior was studied by dynamic light scattering. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Early Signs of Atherogenic Features in the HDL Lipidomes of Normolipidemic Patients Newly Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of death in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), although the factors that accelerate atherosclerosis in these patients are poorly understood. The identification of the altered quantity and quality of lipoproteins, closely related to atherogenesis, is limited in routine to a pattern of high triglycerides and low HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and in research as dysfunctional HDLs. We used the emerging NMR-based lipidomic technology to investigate compositional features of the HDLs of healthy individuals with normal coronary arteries, drug-naïve; recently diagnosed T2DM patients with normal coronary arteries; and patients with recent acute coronary syndrome. Patients with T2DM and normal serum lipid profiles even at diagnosis presented significant lipid alterations in HDL, characterized by higher triglycerides, lysophosphatidylcholine and saturated fatty acids; and lower cholesterol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingomyelin, plasmalogens and polyunsaturated fatty acids, an atherogenic pattern that may be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. These changes are qualitatively similar to those found, more profoundly, in normolipidemic patients with established Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). We also conclude that NMR-based lipidomics offer a novel holistic exploratory approach for identifying and quantifying lipid species in biological matrixes in physiological processes and disease states or in disease biomarker discovery.     

Modeling oral reading fluency development in Latino students: A longitudinal study across second and third grade.

This study examines growth in oral reading fluency across 2nd and 3rd grade for Latino students grouped in 3 English proficiency levels: students receiving English as a second language (ESL) services (n = 2,182), students exited from ESL services (n = 965), and students never designated as needing services (n = 1,857). An important focus was to learn whether, within these 3 groups, proficiency levels and growth were reliably related to special education status. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the authors compared proficiency levels and growth in oral reading fluency in English between and within groups and then to state reading benchmarks. Findings indicate that oral reading fluency scores reliably distinguished between students with learning disabilities and typically developing students within each group (effect sizes ranging from 0.96 to 1.51). The growth trajectory included a significant quadratic trend (generally slowing over time). These findings support the effectiveness of using oral reading fluency in English to screen and monitor reading progress under Response to Intervention models, but also suggest caution in interpreting oral reading fluency data as part of the process in identifying students with learning disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey on the 3D printing technology readiness to use

3D printing technology redesigns the production chain and contributes to the production of customised products, or products with specific characteristics. The evolution of this production technology and its various applications improve our daily life and lead to important changes in economic and social level. The aim of this dissertation is to examine the attitude of people towards 3D printing technological innovation and their intention to use it at their workplace. A new conceptual model has been designed and empirically tested using primary data collected using a structured questionnaire. The sample consists of 258 respondents from a number of European countries. The findings highlight the importance of perceived usefulness, output usability, compatibility and attitude towards understanding respondents’ intention to use 3D printing technology.