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Through the last years consumers have shown a growing interest in minimally processed foods with clean labels that not only satisfy basic nutrition but also provides health-benefits. This has motivated scientists and technologists to find optimal combination of ingredients and novel technologies to produce functional products with attractive sensory properties. Red prickly pears (RPP) and soymilk (SM) have been recognized as rich sources of antioxidant compounds with health properties. Moderate intensity pulsed electric fields (MIPEF) application in plant-based foods increases phytochemicals content through stress induction or improved extraction yields. Hence, the aim of this work was to enhance the bioactive compounds content of RPP and SM by MIPEF and use them for the development of a plant-based beverage with potential health-benefits. Results indicated that MIPEF-processing increased the bioactive compounds content of RPP and SM, resulting in a plant-based beverage with higher concentration of total phenolic compounds (16%), betalains (7.2%) and isoflavones (7.4%) than the control-beverage. Furthermore, MIPEF application to the ingredients did not affect physicochemical attributes of the beverage, obtaining an appealing product with potential health-attributes. Pulsed electric fields processing at moderate intensities (<5 kV/cm) might be a potential way to enhance the phytochemicals concentration of plant-based ingredients used for the development of beverages with clean-labels, minimally processed and potential health benefits. This kind of products could satisfy current consumers' demand in special situations of health. However, further research must continue to better understand the mechanisms occurred during processing and to find the best processing parameters for different raw materials. • MIPEF process of red prickly pears or soymilk enhance bioactive compounds content. • MIPEF-ingredients can be used in plant-based beverages formulation with clean labels. • Plant-based bevearges represent a potential way to include health compounds in diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global shipment of embryos has become commonplace, yet universal warming protocols for various vitrification systems (devices and solutions) are not widely used. The aim of our study is to validate effective protocols that can ease concerns regarding the warming of vitrified blastocysts sent to outside laboratories when alternatives to their typical commercial products are needed. Prospective, randomized study of patient consented research discard blastocysts (>2BB quality). An apriori arrangement of 4 sugar solution treatments was applied post-warming: A) fresh I.C.E. solutions; B) frozen-thawed I.C.E. solutions (i.e., stored in LN2); C) sucrose; and D) honey (commercial grade, multi-floral). Research consented blastocysts vitrified by the microSecure method in I.C.E. non-DMSO solutions (>7.9m glycerol/EG) were rapidly warmed in 1 of 4 solution treatment groups. The initial pilot study included 10 blastocysts per group accounting evenly for quality and batch effects before randomly assigning the treatment. Solutions A and B were a commercial I.C.E. product (T1-T4), whereas C and D were lab-made, filtered stock H-HTF+additive solutions (1M sucrose w/v and 10% honey v/v, respectively). The latter solutions both required heating and agitation over a 30 min period to completely mix into suspension. All treatments involved a 4-step dilution (3 min/step, 50% reduction/step, 21°C) prior to isotonic equilibration (LG-H+additives; 5 min at 37°C), followed by 18-24 hr in vitro group culture/microdroplet (5 embryos/drop). Survival, based on osmotic responsiveness and cellular integrity/fullness was visually assessed at 0 and +2 hr, followed by overnight blastocyst expansion and continued development. There was no difference in blastocyst survival (100%) or in-vitro development (90-95%) between treatments. Additional validation replicates are planned, but we do not anticipate any treatment effect. This study proves that non-permeating sugar-based dilution solutions can be effectively used to elute concentrated cryoprotective agents from blastomeres independent of source. We, and others, have previously advocated the use of 1M sucrose as a universal diluent. Furthermore, we have now proven that a natural product, honey, composed predominantly of fructose and glucose, is an efficient low-cost, readily available option for any lab around the world to safely extract potentially toxic cryoprotectants from cells. Finally, we have validated that thaw solutions stored in cryovials can be frozen in LN 2 and maintain functionality, thus facilitating the potential shipment of vitrified material with procedurally compliant thaw solutions transported in the same LN 2 dry-shipper. JJS is the owner of I.C.E., LLC and MCS is one of his scientific advisors. None [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in cattle and pigs as a possible STEC reservoir in Lima, Peru. One hundred and fourteen cattle and 112 pigs from 10 and 4 farms, respectively, were studied. Five E. coli colonies per culture were studied by a multiplex real-time PCR to identify Shiga toxin-producing (stx1, stx2, eaeA), enterotoxigenic (lt, st), enteropathogenic (eaeA), enteroinvasive (ipaH), enteroaggregative (aggR), and diffusely adherent E. coli (daaD). Shiga toxin-producing E. coli were isolated from 16 cattle (14%) but none from pigs. stx1 was found in all bovine isolates, 11 of which also carried eaeA genes (69%); only 1 sample had both stx1 and stx2. Thirteen stxpositive strains were classified as Shiga-toxigenic (81%) using an enzymatic immunoassay, 2 STEC strains were from serogroup O157 (13%), and 7 were sorbitol negative (44%). Enteropathogenic E. coli were detected more frequently in cattle (18%, 20/114) than in pigs (5%, 6/112). To our knowledge, this is the first study on the prevalence of STEC in farms animals in Peru using molecular methods. Further studies are needed in a large number of farms to determine the relevance of these findings and its consequences for public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Pneumonia and diarrhoea are leading causes of death in children. There is a need to develop effective interventions. Objective: We present the design and baseline findings of a community-randomised controlled trial in rural Peru to evaluate the health impact of an Integrated Home-based Intervention Package in children aged 6 to 35months. Methods: We randomised 51 communities. The intervention was developed through a community-participatory approach prior to the trial. They comprised the construction of improved stoves and kitchen sinks, the promotion of hand washing, and solar drinking water disinfection (SODIS). To reduce the potential impact of non-blinding bias, a psychomotor stimulation intervention was implemented in the control arm. The baseline survey included anthropometric and socio-economic characteristics. In a sub-sample we determined the level of faecal contamination of drinking water, hands and kitchen utensils and the prevalence of diarrhoegenic Escherichia coli in stool specimen. Results: We enrolled 534 children. At baseline all households used open fires and 77% had access to piped water supplies. E. coli was found in drinking water in 68% and 64% of the intervention and control households. Diarrhoegenic E. coli strains were isolated from 45/139 stool samples. The proportion of stunted children was 54%. Conclusions: Randomization resulted in comparable study arms. Recently, several critical reviews raised major concerns on the reliability of open health intervention trials, because of uncertain sustainability and non-blinding bias. In this regard, the presented trial featuring objective outcome measures, a simultaneous intervention in the control communities and a 12-month follow up period will provide valuable evidence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]