Essential oil nanoemulsions: antibacterial activity in contaminated fruit juices

Many human acid tolerant bacterial and fungal pathogens can be transmitted through the consumption of the contaminated fruit juices. We aim to formulate essential oil nanoemulsions (basil, black seed, turmeric, clove & cinnamon), determine their ability to clear contamination by food borne bacterial pathogens from fruit juices. The antibacterial activity of the optimised formulations was tested in the fruit juices against bacterial pathogens causing gastrointestinal tract infections. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of clove emulsions ranged from 15.6 to 25 μL mL⁻¹. Cinnamon oil emulsion had an MBC ranging between 15 and 31 μL mL⁻¹. At MBC, cinnamon oil emulsions caused a 6log₁₀ decrease in viable counts by 8 h and maintained the sterility of fruit juices for 7 days at ambient temperature. Thus, clove and cinnamon microemulsions can be used as juice additives to control food borne bacterial pathogens and maintain the bacterial sterility of fruit juices.     

Inactivation behaviors of foodborne microorganisms in multi-frequency power ultrasound-treated orange juice

This study established the inactivation kinetic parameters of some pathogenic bacteria including Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica serotypes, and Listeria monocytogenes; and spoilage yeasts namely, Debaryomyces hansenii, Clavispora lusitaniae, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Pichia fermentans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in orange juice subjected to multi-frequency Dynashock power ultrasound treatment. All test organisms exhibited a biphasic inactivation behavior with a sigmoidal inactivation curve consisted of an initial inactivation lag, followed by logarithmic linear inactivation. Injury accumulation in the inactivation lag phase was established in acid-adapted bacteria. The time necessary to reduce initial inoculated populations by 5 log cycles (99.999%), T_5D values, significantly increased with acid adaptation. The T_5D of E. coli, S. enterica, and L. monocytogenes increased from 37.64, 36.87, and 34.59 respectively; to 54.72, 40.38, and 37.83 min respectively after acid exposure. Temperature increase due to sensible heat propagation during ultrasound treatment decreased the resistance of the test bacteria. The cocktail of E. coli O157:H7 had significantly greater resistance towards ultrasound treatment (T_5D = 54.72 min) than any of the individual strain (T_5D = 41.48–47.48 min) in the mix. Similar results were found in the composited (T_5D = 60.02 min) and individual species (T_5D = 20.31–59.04 min). The results established in this work provide baseline information on microbial behavior in multi-frequency ultrasound-treated orange juice for establishment of pasteurization process schedules.     

Ion Exchange Resin Applied to Obtain Clarified Cashew Juice

The condensed tannins present in cashew apple juice provide high astringency, which is undesirable for this product. This study aimed to remove the cashew apple juice tannins by ion exchange for obtaining the clarified cashew apple juice (cajuína). Two strong base resins were used (macroporous and gel type). The effect of the process variables: temperature, resin:juice ratio, and stirring speed were determined. The macroporous resin presented better results with condensed tannins removal up to 80% in optimal conditions (30°C, ratio 1:6, 122 rpm). The cajuína obtained was clear and translucent, with low astringency, acidity, and °Brix according to Brazilian legislation.     

Enhancement of biohydrogen production from sustainable orange peel wastes using Enterobacter species isolated from domestic wastewater

Five facultative anaerobic bacterial isolates were recovered from domestic wastewater. These isolates were identified based on the 16S rRNA as Enterobacter aerogenes (one isolate), Enterobacter cloacae (two isolates), and Cronobacter sakazakii (three isolates). These isolates were examined for their potential to evolve hydrogen on a glucose medium. The most potent hydrogen‐producing isolates, E aerogenes (KY549389) and E cloacae (KY524293), were examined for their capacity to generate hydrogen, acetone, butanol, and ethanol using orange peel (OP) hydrolysate. OP powder was pretreated with n‐hexane to remove the toxicity of d ‐limonene. Different concentrations (4%, 6%, and 8% w/v) of limonene‐free OP were subjected to the boiling water (temperature of 100°C) or acid (HCl) treatments. The maximum fermentative H₂ production of 1700 and 1620 mL/L was obtained from 6% OP hydrolysate extracted with boiling water using facultative anaerobic E aerogenes (KY549389) and E cloacae (KY524293), respectively. Hydrogen production efficiency was 0.99 and 1.19 mol H₂/mol glucose for E aerogenes and E cloacae, respectively. The total fermentative acetone, butanol, and ethanol (ABE) generated by E aerogenes and E cloacae were 0.78 and 0.38 g/L including acetone (0.05 and 0.04 g/L), butanol (0.011 and 0.013 g/L), and ethanol (0.71 and 0.32 g/L), respectively. The maximum ABE productivity was 0.01 and 0.005 g/L/h generated at 60 g/L OP hydrolysate by E aerogenes and E cloacae, respectively. These strains were positive for nitrogen fixation (nitrogenase) capability estimated by the acetylene reduction assay. Application of OP hydrolysate without the addition of any nutritional components or reducing agent is considered an eco‐friendly, economical, and commercial substrate for desired biofuel production.     

北京协和医院急诊科输血现状与对策

目的　分析北京协和医院急诊科输血现状，并提出应对策略。方法　对北京协和医院急诊科2015年1月至10月各病区临床输血情况进行分析，并与2014年同期数据进行比较。结果　本院急诊科用血主要集中在急诊治疗室，其红细胞输注量占急诊科总输注量的65%，血浆输注量占28%，血小板输注量占78%，输血患者多为慢性病患者；2015年1月至10月较2014年同期人均（红细胞、血浆和单采血小板分别为6.02 U比5.10 U、8.26 U比7.37 U、2.48 U比2.08 U）、次均（红细胞、血浆和单采血小板分别为3.07 U比3.04 U、6.80 U比6.23 U、1.21 U比1.16 U）输血量均有所增加。结论　诸多因素造成急诊治疗室用血量大，今后应严格把握输血指征，践行合理用血。     

Effects of nitric oxide on the alleviation of postharvest disease induced by Penicillium italicum in navel orange fruits

The present study evaluated the effects of 15 μL L^-1 nitric oxide (NO) on the fruit defence response of ‘Newhall’ navel orange. The decay rate of NO-treated navel orange fruits was significantly lower than that of control fruits during storage at 20 °C storage (P < 0.05). Treatment with NO suppressed the increase in disease incidence and lesion area in orange fruits inoculated with Penicillium italicum (P. italicum); significantly increased the activities of phenolic metabolism-associated enzymes and pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, including polyphenoloxidase (PPO), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), β-1,3-glucanase (GLU) and chitinase (CHT); and enhanced the activities of key enzymes, including 4-coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL), cinnamate-4-hydroxylase (C4H) and chalcone isomerase (CHI) in the phenylpropanoid pathway. The contents of total phenolics, flavonoids and lignin were also higher in NO-treated fruits than in control fruits. The findings suggest that exogenous NO could induce disease resistance against P. italicum in navel orange fruits.     

Photocatalytic degradation of organic dye using titanium dioxide modified with metal and non-metal deposition

In this study, photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) as an example of organic dye was investigated using different wt% Pd-loaded and N-doped P-25 titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles, as example of metal and nonmetal-doped TiO₂, respectively. The Pd-loaded and N-doped TiO₂ photocatalysts were prepared by post-incorporation method using K₂PdCl₄ and urea, respectively, as precursors. A variety of surface analysis techniques were used for characterization of surface and functional group while using ultraviolet/visible (UV–vis) analysis for monitoring photocatalytic degradation of MO. Kinetic parameters were obtained using Langmuir-Hinshelwood model to determine the degradation rate constants. It was found that the metal-loaded titanium dioxide degraded MO in water at a higher rate than did non-metal-loaded titanium dioxide fabricated by using the post-synthesis method. Also, the pure P25-TiO₂ degraded MO more than N-doped TiO₂ because of decreased surface area by particle agglomeration after being made by the post-incorporation method.     

Lipid‐lowering mechanism of egg yolk in normal rats

The ingestion of egg has been reported to lower blood cholesterol, but the mechanism is unclear. Here, the biochemical metabolic mechanism by which the oral administration of egg yolk affects blood lipid reduction was investigated using normal rats. Blood triglycerides and total cholesterol were lower and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol was higher in an egg yolk‐given group compared to other groups, while low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol was increased in the pork belly oil‐given group. HMG‐CoA reductase activity was higher in the pork belly oil‐given group, compared to an egg yolk‐given group, a weekly alternating administration of pork belly oil and egg yolk‐given group, and the saline‐given normal control group. However, faecal excretions of total sterol, neutral sterol and acid sterol in an egg yolk‐given group were higher compared to the pork belly oil‐given group, a weekly alternating administration of pork belly oil and egg yolk‐given group, and a normal control group. The results suggested that ingestion of egg decreased blood lipids.