Reduction effect of the selected chemical and physical treatments to reduce L. monocytogenes biofilms formed on lettuce and cabbage

As people shift their attention away from unhealthy foods, healthy fresh produce has become popular. However, fresh produce has contributed to many outbreaks of Listeria monocytogenes, which can form a mature biofilm within 24 h. Recent control strategies have proved ineffective in ensuring safe food production. This study focuses on L. monocytogenes biofilms formed on lettuces and cabbages using a viable plate count method and field emission electron microscopy. We investigated the reduction efficacy of treatment with 200 parts per million (ppm) chlorine, 2% each of citric, lactic, and malic acids, 32 Hz ultrasonication (US), 390 mJ/cm² ultraviolet-C (UV-C), or 750 mJ/cm² cold oxygen plasma (COP) on L. monocytogenes biofilms. Following treatment, the quality of the vegetables was analyzed with standard procedures. UV-C and COP showed the best CFU reduction, regardless of the nature of the vegetable surface, while US failed to produce any significant reduction (P > 0.05). Furthermore, chemical treatments reduced count by < 1 log colony forming unit (CFU)/cm² on lettuces, whereas a > 2 log reduction was observed on cabbages. The effect of chemical treatment largely depended on the particular vegetable, while UV-C and COP achieved high reduction regardless of the vegetable, and had no effect on quality. We, therefore, speculate that UV-C and COP show promise in overcoming L. monocytogenes biofilms on food produce.     

海参废渣皂苷通过核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域样受体信号通路抵抗环磷酰胺诱导小鼠的免疫抑制

在我国海参是一种具有多种生物活性的传统滋补品。本实验系统性地研究了2.5、5.0、10.0 mg/（kg mb·d）海参废渣皂苷（saponins extracted from sea cucumber residues，SCRSS）对免疫抑制小鼠的调节作用。结果表明，与模型对照组相比，5.0 mg/（kg mb·d）SCRSS使小鼠的体质量、脾脏指数和胸腺指数分别增加了15.3%、23.8%和39.8%；5.0 mg/（kg mb·d）SCRSS也极显著增加了免疫抑制小鼠的吞噬指数（P＜0.01）。此外，与模型对照组相比，各剂量SCRSS均明显地增加了血清中细胞因子的水平，并促进了脾淋巴细胞和腹腔巨噬细胞的增殖活性。其中，中等剂量（5.0 mg/（kg mb·d））SCRSS可以更有效地上调免疫抑制小鼠核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域蛋白1、核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域蛋白2、受体相互作用蛋白-2和核因子-κB的表达。结论：SCRSS具有作为提高免疫力的功能性食品补充剂的潜力。     

Mechanical,thermal and rheological properties of polylactic acid (PLA)/epichlorohydrin modified pine wood flour (EWF) composites

European Journal of Wood and Wood Products - Polylactic acid (PLA)/epichlorohydrin modified pinewood flour (EWF) composites were prepared with the pinewood flour modified with epichlorohydrin (EWF)...     

Numerical analysis of propagation of thermal disturbances in brass-stabilized REBCO tapes

An extensive characterization of commercially available High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) REBCO tapes has been recently performed at KIT. The main thermo-physical properties of the tapes have been measured, and heat slug and quench propagation have been investigated in vacuum at LN₂ temperature, using a resistive heater as driver and recording the voltage and temperature evolution after the pulse at several locations along the tapes.In this paper, we present a study of thermal disturbance propagation in a HTS tape with brass stabilizer. The experimental data are analyzed first, to identify the phenomena that influence heat propagation in the tape, and namely the heat loss to the sample holder and the non-ideal efficiency of the resistive heater. A numerical tool is then developed, which solves the 1D transient heat conduction equation in each layer of the tape and accounts for the thermal coupling between layers. The heat loss to the sample holder and the non-ideal efficiency of the resistive heater are taken into account in the model.A first validation of the thermal part of the model against an extended database of heat slug propagation tests is then performed: the comparison between simulation and experiment confirms the very good capability of the model to reproduce the measured temperature evolution. Finally, the results of the simulations of quench propagation are compared with experimental data, showing the capability of the model to reproduce the experiment, within the uncertainty in the input parameters.     

Emerging functional nanomaterials for the detection of food contaminants

Along with the progress in nanoscience, a variety of advanced functional nanomaterials were constructed to develop effective and innovative analytical techniques for food safety surveillance. In this review, we summarized the advanced analytical methods that have been developed based upon advanced functional nanomaterials, including plasmonic nanomaterial-based colorimetric methods, fluorescent nanomaterial-based fluorescent methods, advanced functional material-based molecular imprinting technology, advanced functional material-based chromatographic methods, plasmonic nanomaterial-based surface enhanced Raman scattering technology, and advanced functional material-based electrochemical methods. This review provides a progressive roadmap for further development of portable, rapid, and in situ detection technology to promote food safety surveillance from bench to market and eventually reduce the gap between research in the laboratory and industrial applications.     

Effects of UV-C treatment on inactivation of Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on grape tomato surface and stem scars,microbial loads,and quality

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light inactivation as affected by the location of pathogens on the surface and at stem scars of whole grape tomatoes. A mixed bacterial cocktail containing a three strain mixture of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (C9490, E02128 and F00475) and a three serotype mixture of Salmonella enterica (S. Montevideo G4639, S. Newport H1275, and S. Stanley H0558) were used. Tomatoes were spot inoculated using approximately 100 μL of inocula to achieve a population of about 10^7±1 CFU/tomato. Additionally, the effects of treatment on color, texture, lycopene content, and background microbial loads during post UV-C storage at 4 °C for 21 days were determined. Results showed that UV-C doses of 0.60–6.0 kJ/m² resulted in 2.3–3.5 log CFU per fruit reduction of E. coli O157:H7 compared to 2.15–3.1 log CFU per fruit reduction for Salmonella on the surfaces. Under the same conditions, log reductions achieved at stem scar were 1.7–3.2 logs CFU for E. coli O157:H7 and 1.9–2.8 logs CFU for Salmonella. The treatment was effective in controlling native microbial loads during storage at 4 °C as the total aerobic mesophilic organisms (PCA) and anaerobic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts of treated tomatoes were significantly (p < 0.05) lower during storage compared to the control group and the yeast and mold populations were reduced significantly below the detection limit. Furthermore, the firmness of tomato and its color was not affected by the UV-C doses during storage. UV-C radiation could potentially be used for sanitizing fresh tomatoes and extending shelf-life. The results of this study indicate that the specific location of pathogens on the produce influences the effectiveness of UV-C treatment, which should be taken into consideration for the design of UV-C systems for produce sanitization.     

BMS在数据中心冷冻站系统中的应用

随着国家"十二五"产业规划中经济结构转型政策的出台,云计算作为一种新兴产业得到国家的大力支持。最近几年,其发展速度异常迅猛。数据中心作为云计算的基础设施,也相应得到了快速发展。随着数据中心的规模越来越大,服务器的发热密度越来越高,能源消耗的问题日益突出。针对目前数据中心工程中被大量应用的冷冻水系统,详细描述建筑管理系统(BMS)在系统设计时应着重考虑的要点,并详细分析其控制逻辑,使得一套完整的BMS控制方案可在系统运行时发挥其巨大的作用。     

Dynamic response of underground gas storage salt cavern under seismic loads

A dynamic elastoplastic damage constitutive model is proposed based on the failure characteristic of rock salt under seismic loads. The coding of the proposed model is achieved by the embedded FISH (short for FLACish) language of FLAC^3D (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua). Numerical models of bedded salt cavern gas storage facilities in China are developed by using FLAC^3D, and the proposed constitutive model is used in the simulations. The effects of seismic input angle, seismic acceleration, seismic moment, types of seismic waves, and gas pressure on the dynamic response, stress, displacement, plastic zone, and safety factor (SF) of rock masses that surround salt cavern gas storage facilities are studied. Results show that the seismic wave perpendicular to the surface poses the greatest risk to the safety of the cavern. With an increase in seismic acceleration, the cavern’s SF decreases and that of the lower structure of the cavern decreases more than that of the upper section. Plastic zones propagate from the cavern’s internal surface to the pillar, and then to the pillar and floor along the right and left corners of the cavern bottom. Higher internal gas pressure improves cavern safety. The acceleration and duration of seismic waves are critical factors in ensuring the safety of the cavern. The SF of the cavern’s lower structure is more sensitive to changes in seismic parameters than that of the other locations, which makes the cavern bottom more likely to be destroyed during an earthquake. Therefore, the lower structure should be the study target in the seismic design for a salt cavern gas storage facility. Results have been used in the seismic design of salt cavern gas storage facilities in China.     

Study on optical nonlinearity and optical limiting property of porphyrin-oxygenated carbon nanomaterial blends

The goal of Optoelectronics Letters is to rapidly report original,new and important results in the fields of photonics and optoelec-tronics in English,to advance the international academic exchanges.Optoelectronics Letters pays a particularly attention to the cross topics between photonics and electronics.The scope of Optoelectronics Letters is as follows:Novel OEdevices and applications;New materials and functional components;Nano-structures and OE integration;Nano-quantum optoelectronics;Optoelectronic information technology;Sensing,measurement and inspection;Storage and display;Image and information processing;Biomedical photonics,etc.     

细菌纤维素/聚乳酸互穿网络复合材料的结晶与熔融

为了研究细菌纤维素(BC)网络结构对聚乳酸(PLA)结晶与熔融过程的影响,以PLA为基体,BC为增强体,通过PLA-三氯甲烷溶液与BC-无水乙醇分散液的共混扩散制备了具有互穿网络结构的BC/PLA生物复合材料。采用SEM、偏光显微镜(POM)、DSC和莫志深(MO)模型研究了复合材料的微观形态、球晶形貌、非等温结晶动力学和熔融行为。结果表明:采用溶液共混扩散法可得到以BC为骨架、PLA缠绕其表面的互穿网络结构的复合材料。随降温速率增加,BC/PLA复合材料的结晶温度、熔融温度和相对结晶度均下降。BC可作为异相成核剂,适量添加可同时提高BC/PLA复合材料的结晶速率和相对结晶度,细化球晶尺寸。MO模型可较好地描述BC/PLA复合材料的非等温结晶动力学行为。