Effect of a nano-silver coating on the quality of fresh turkey meat during storage after modified atmosphere or vacuum packaging

Nano-silver is used in consumer products due to its antibacterial properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a nano-silver-coated film on the quality of turkey meat during vacuum-sealed and modified atmosphere packaging up to 12 days of storage. In the first part of the experiment, turkey breasts were packaged using either vacuum packaging or modified atmosphere packages (MAPs) and contained films with or without a nano-silver coating (control film). Parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, color (lightness L*, redness a*), myoglobin redox forms, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), biogenic amines (BAs), total viable bacterial counts, Pseudomonas species counts, and Enterobacteriaceae species counts were evaluated on storage days 4, 8, and 12. In the second part of the study, the antimicrobial effect of a nano-silver-coated film on turkey breast was evaluated after inoculation with Escherichia coli (E. coli). Turkey meat packaged with the nano-silver film exhibited lower a* values on days 1 (3.15 ± 0.62), 4 (3.90 ± 0.68), and 8 (4.27 ± 0.76) compared to the packaged meat with the control film (3.41 ± 0.73, 4.35 ± 0.94, 4.85 ± 0.89, respectively), indicating special optical properties of nanoparticles. Concerning the BAs, silver packaged meat showed higher values of tyramine on day 12 (1274 ± 392 ng/g meat) and cadaverine on day 4 (1224 ± 435 ng/g meat) compared to the normal packaged products (647 ± 576 and 508 ± 314 ng/g meat, respectively). MAP meat revealed higher L* and TBARS values and lower microbial counts than the vacuum packaged products on all days. The MAP meat also showed lower a* results on days 4 and 8 and higher metmyoglobin (metMb) values on days 8 and 12 compared to th E: vacuum products. In the inoculation study, the microbial counts of the turkey meat were comparable between the two film types. The study showed that the nano-silver coating did not exhibit any advantageous effects on the quality and microbiological parameters of the turkey meat.

Application of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for molecular identification of Trueperella pyogenes isolated from various origins

In the present study 28 Trueperella pyogenes strains isolated from various origins could successfully be identified with a newly designed loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay based on gene cpn60 encoding chaperonin. No cross reaction could be observed with control strains representing four species of genus Trueperella and seven species of closely related genus Arcanobacterium. The present cpn60 LAMP assay might allow a reliable and low cost identification of T. pyogenes also in laboratories with less specified equipment.

The effect of myoglobin crowding on the dynamics of water: an infrared study

Solutions containing 8 and 32 wt% myoglobin are studied by means of infrared spectroscopy, as a function of temperature (290 K and lower temperatures), in the mid- and far-infrared spectral range. Moreover, ultrafast time-resolved infrared measurements are performed at ambient temperature in the O-D stretching region. The results evidence that the vibrational properties of water remain the same in these myoglobin solutions (anharmonicity, vibrational relaxation lifetime…) and in neat water. However, the collective properties of the water molecules are significantly affected by the presence of the protein: the orientational time increases, the solid-liquid transition is affected in the most concentrated solution and the dynamical transition of the protein is observed, from the point of view of water, even in the least concentrated solution, proving that the water and myoglobin dynamics are coupled.

Food Safety Hazards and Microbiological Zoonoses in European Meat Imports Detected in Border Inspection in the Period 2008-2013

Microbiological contaminations and other food safety hazards are omnipresent within the European Union (EU) and a considerable risk for consumers, particularly in imported meat and meat products. The number of rejections at external EU borders has been increasing in recent years. Official authorities in each member state are therefore obliged to notify border rejections of food and animal feed due to a direct or indirect risk to human or animal health. This study explored the trends and temporal and spatial distribution of notifications on food safety hazards between January 2008 and December 2013 with a special emphasis on microbiological zoonoses in meat and meat products including poultry at border checks resulting from the rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF). Results indicated that border rejection notifications are increasing exponentially, frequently due to Salmonella in poultry and shiga-toxin-producing E. coli in meat and meat products.

[Importance of complementary medicine approaches for patients with prostate cancer]

BACKGROUND

In Germany, many prostate cancer patients use complementary medicine (CM) or have an interest in these treatment approaches; however, the information and consultation situation of cancer patients is insufficient and therefore the Competence Network Complementary Medicine in Oncology (COCON) was launched by the German Cancer Aid Society. One of the projects of the COCON examines the use of CM and the information and counseling needs regarding these topics in various groups of cancer patients. The focus of this article is on the qualitative study reporting selected results for the subgroup of prostate cancer patients.

STUDY DESIGN AND STUDY METHODS

A total of 19 semi-structured qualitative interviews with prostate cancer patients were conducted regarding the use of CM as well as their information and consultation needs.

RESULTS

It was found that the patients interviewed discussed various issues surrounding nutrition, particularly a healthy diet, the selective use of certain foods and the use of dietary supplements. Additional themes mentioned by interviewees were physical exercise, psychological well-being, mistletoe therapy, homeopathy and traditional Chinese medicine. Patients indicated that they wanted more information and counseling opportunities with regards to CM. They also expressed a desire for more holistic care.

CONCLUSION

The results show that prostate cancer patients use a range of CM and have a need for information about CM. Prostate cancer patients are in a special situation because of a regular feedback on the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value. This should be taken into consideration in consultation with prostate cancer patients regarding CM.

Benefits of neutral electrolyzed oxidizing water as a drinking water additive for broiler chickens

In the wake of discussion about the use of drugs in food-producing farms, it seems to be more and more important to search for alternatives and supportive measures to improve health. In this field trial, the influence of electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water on water quality, drug consumption, mortality, and performance parameters such as BW and feed conversion rate was investigated on 2 broiler farms. At each farm, 3 rearing periods were included in the study. With EO water as the water additive, the total viable cell count and the number of Escherichia coli in drinking water samples were reduced compared with the respective control group. The frequency of treatment days was represented by the number of used daily doses per population and showed lower values in EO-water-treated groups at both farms. Furthermore, the addition of EO water resulted in a lower mortality rate. In terms of analyzed performance parameters, no significant differences were determined. In this study, the use of EO water improved drinking water quality and seemed to reduce the drug use without showing negative effects on performance parameters and mortality rates.

ECG machine QTc intervals are inaccurate in hemodialysis patients

BACKGROUND

Nephrologists need effective screening tools to identify hemodialysis patients at elevated risk for sudden cardiac death, the leading cause of death in this population. QTc intervals longer than 450 ms in males and 470 ms in females, measured by the gold standard tangent method (trueQTc), are prolonged and increase sudden cardiac death in healthy populations and patients with long QT syndrome.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective ECG and chart review of hemodialysis patients. Our first objective was to determine if machine-measured QTc intervals (macQTc) could be used to identify dialysis patients with prolonged trueQTc. Our second objective was to determine at what macQTc could prolonged trueQTc be confidently diagnosed.

RESULTS

macQTc differed from the trueQTc by an average of 16.54 ms, and by at least 20 ms in 46.8, 36.1, 53.6, 50.0 and 57.1% of all, short-hours daily hemodialysis, intermittent conventional hemodialysis, frequent nocturnal hemodialysis and intermittent nocturnal hemodialysis patients, respectively. The positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity and specificity of prolonged macQTc predicting prolonged trueQTc was 57.6, 92.6, 79.1 and 81.8%, respectively. Thus, macQTc is inaccurate at predicting the gold standard trueQTc in hemodialysis patients. macQTc greater than 480 ms in hemodialysis patients predicts trueQTc prolongation with a positive predictive value of 95.2%, but with a low sensitivity of 32.3%.

CONCLUSION

In hemodialysis patients, ECG macQTc intervals are insufficiently sensitive or specific to predict prolonged trueQTc intervals, unless >480 ms.