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Abstract: Spanish dry-fermented sausages with three concentrations (0, 1 and 2%) of orange fiber (juice industry by-product) were prepared and studied. Fermentation and dry-curing processes were followed by physico-chemical (pH and water activity), chemical (moisture, lactic acid and residual nitrite level) and microbiological (aerobic mesophilic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Micrococcaceae and molds and yeasts counts) analysis. Sensory analyses were conducted on the finished products. Only residual nitrite level and counts of micrococcus were affected by fiber addition during fermentation. pH, water activity, residual nitrite level and counts of Micrococcaceae were affected by fiber addition during dry-curing. Orange fiber decreases residual nitrite levels and favours micrococcus growth. Both effects have a positive impact on sausage safety and quality. The reduction in residual nitrite level decreases the risk of nitrosamine formation. For all sensorial attributes evaluated sausages containing 1% fiber showed similar scores to controls. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this work was to determine the following characteristics of the essentials oils (EOs) obtained from two Thymus endemic species such as Thymus moroderi and Thymus piperella: (i) their chemical composition and (ii) their effect on the growth of several bacteria related to food spoilage, such as Listeria innocua, Serratia marcenscens, Pseudomonas fragi, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Aeromonas hydrophila, Shewanella putrefaciens, Achromobacter denitrificans, Enterobacter amnigenus, Enterobacter gergoviae, Alcaligenes faecalis and Leuconostoc carnosum. The EOs were chemically analysed and identified by GC and GC–MS, while the agar disc diffusion method was used to determine their antibacterial activities. The concentration effect was also determined. The major constituents of T. moroderi EO were camphor (26.74%), 1,8-cineol (24.99%) and myrcene (5.63%). In the T. piperella EO the main constituents were carvacrol (31.92%), para-cymene (16.18%) and γ-terpinene (10.11%). T. piperella EO was much more effective than T. moroderi EO, and had a much greater effect on the Gram-positive bacteria than on the Gram-negative bacteria. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this study was to obtain further knowledge on electrical conductivity (EC) of milk as a tool for detecting mastitis in goats. The effect of farm, parity, stage of lactation, and health status of the glands on EC, and the somatic cell count (SCC) of milk was analyzed. Additionally, relationships between EC and chemical composition and SCC were studied. Finally, characteristics of EC and SCC (sensitivity and specificity) as diagnostic tests used to detect mastitis were studied. One hundred and five Murciano-Granadina goats were enrolled in the study. Milk samples (by gland) were collected monthly for 7 mo on 3 farms in the southeastern Spain. To establish the health status, milk samples were aseptically collected before milking by gland. Foremilk (by gland) was collected to analyze EC, SCC, and chemical composition. Glands were classified according to the health status as free of mastitis, bacterial mastitis, or unspecific mastitis. The effects of farm, parity, and stage of lactation, as well as the interactions between health status and parity, parity and stage of lactation, and health status and stage of lactation were associated with EC. Changes in the milk's chemical composition (particularly of chloride ions) explained most of the variance in EC (R = 0.91). The strongest association between EC and SCC was found at SCC >2 x 106 cells/mL (r = 0.42). The use of a single EC threshold for all animals and farms for detecting mastitis led to limited results for mastitis detection, which, in any case, favors negative predictive values over positive predictive values. This study revealed that factors, other than the health status, affecting EC hamper the use of an EC threshold for mastitis detection with sufficient specificity on all animals. Any detection system based on EC of milk should consider these factors, as well as specific variations for each of the animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global burden associated with antimicrobial resistance is of increasing concern., Aim: To evaluate risk factors associated with multidrug-resistant (MDR) infection and its clinical impact in a cohort of patients with healthcare-associated bacteraemic urinary tract infections (BUTIs)., Methods: This was a prospective, multicentre, post-hoc analysis of patients with healthcare-associated-BUTI (ITUBRAS-2). The primary outcome was MDR profile. Secondary outcomes were clinical response (at 48-72 h and at hospital discharge) and length of hospital stay from onset of BUTI. Logistic regression was used to evaluate variables associated with MDR profile and clinical response. Length of hospital stay was evaluated using multivariate median regression., Findings: In all, 443 episodes were included, of which 271 (61.17%) were classified as expressing an MDR profile. In univariate analysis, MDR profile was associated with E. coli episodes (odds ratio (OR): 3.13; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.11-4.69, P < 0.001) and the extensively drug-resistant (XDR) pattern with P. aeruginosa aetiology (7.84; 2.37-25.95; P = 0.001). MDR was independently associated with prior use of fluoroquinolones (adjusted OR: 2.43; 95% CI: 1.25-4.69), cephalosporins (2.14; 1.35-3.41), and imipenem or meropenem (2.08; 1.03-4.20) but not with prior ertapenem. In terms of outcomes, MDR profile was not associated with lower frequency of clinical cure, but was associated with longer hospital stay., Conclusion: MDR profile was independently associated with prior use of fluoroquinolones, cephalosporins, imipenem, and meropenem, but not with prior ertapenem. MDR-BUTI episodes were not associated with worse clinical cure, although they were independently associated with longer duration of hospital stay., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Tools for the evaluation of COVID-19 severity would help clinicians with triage decisions, especially the decision whether to admit to ICU. The aim of this study was to evaluate SeptiCyte RAPID, a host immune response assay (Immunexpress, Seattle USA) as a triaging tool for COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization and potentially ICU care. SeptiCyte RAPID employs a host gene expression signature consisting of the ratio of expression levels of two immune related mRNAs, PLA2G7 and PLAC8, measured from whole blood samples. Blood samples from 146 adult SARS-CoV-2 (+) patients were collected within 48 h of hospital admission in PAXgene blood RNA tubes at Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain, between July 28th and December 1st, 2020. Data on demographics, vital signs, clinical chemistry parameters, radiology, interventions, and SeptiCyte RAPID were collected and analyzed with bioinformatics methods. The performance of SeptiCyte RAPID for COVID-19 severity assessment and ICU admission was evaluated, relative to the comparator of retrospective clinical assessment by the Hospital del Mar clinical care team. In conclusion, SeptiCyte RAPID was able to stratify COVID-19 cases according to clinical severity: critical vs. mild (AUC = 0.93, p < 0.0001), critical vs. moderate (AUC = 0.77, p = 0.002), severe vs. mild (AUC = 0.85, p = 0.0003), severe vs. moderate (AUC = 0.63, p = 0.05). This discrimination was significantly better (by AUC or p-value) than could be achieved by CRP, lactate, creatine, IL-6, or D-dimer. Some of the critical or severe cases had "early" blood draws (before ICU admission; n = 33). For these cases, when compared to moderate and mild cases not in ICU (n = 37), SeptiCyte RAPID had AUC = 0.78 (p = 0.00012). In conclusion, SeptiCyte RAPID was able to stratify COVID-19 cases according to clinical severity as defined by the WHO COVID-19 Clinical Management Living Guidance of January 25th, 2021. Measurements taken early (before a patient is considered for ICU admission) suggest that high SeptiScores could aid in predicting the need for later ICU admission., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Reducing water consumption on agriculture is a worldwide goal toward sustainability. In this scenario, two experiments of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) were carried out on olive trees, cultivar Manzanilla. With regard to experiment A, three RDI techniques were applied during the olive pit hardening period (stage II), while in experiment B, two RDI treatments were applied during the rehydration phase (stage III). Table olives under RDI are so-called hydroSOStainable. The effect of water deficit and Spanish-style processing was studied on the polyphenol profile, antioxidant capacity, and total polyphenol content (TPC) of both raw olives (RO) and table olives (TO). The TPC decreased after processing of TO. It could be due to osmotic mechanisms. However, many individual polyphenols, such as oleuropein (main polyphenol) or oleoside diglucoside, increased their concentrations in hydroSOStainable TO. Additionally, the TPC content was correlated to the phenological stage of the fruit when the stress is applied. A moderate stress during pit hardening and an intense stress during the rehydration phase were the treatments that best improved the polyphenol profile.

Objectives: Verification of the following in two different geographical location populations (seashore and mountain) with cardiovascular symptomatology: 1) the prevalence of hyperfibrinogenemia and possible correlation with cholesterolemia; 2) the differences between both populations in the profiles of these parameters., Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study., Context: Primary Care., Participants: Three hundred and seventy five patients who went to two hospitals between May 1995 and July 1998. In the seashore center 256 patients and in the mountain center 119 patients., Main Measurements: Clinical history and analytical parameters. Fibrinogen (FBG), indirect prothrombin time, enzymatic cholesterol (CLT) Utachi 717. The patients were sorted out into 4 groups: 1) high FBG > 300 mg/dl and high CLT > 240 mg/dl; 2) high FBG > 300 and low CLT < 240; 3) low FBG < 300 and high CLT > 240, and 4) low FBG < 300 and low CLT < 240., Results: Levels of FBG: homogeneous between groups 1 and 2 (high) and 3 and 4 (low), and different between upper and lower groups. Cholesterol showed the same behavior. Group 1 with a similar number of patients in mountain and seashore (40% and 41%). Group 2 with 42.8% of patients from mountain and 26.9% from seashore. Groups 3 and 4 are presented with lower percentages. We did not find correlation between the levels of FBG and those of CLT., Conclusions: Predominance of patients with high FBG and normal CLT (group 2) in the mountain cohort, in contrast with a higher prevalence of normal FBG and high CLT (group 3) in the seashore cohort. In participants with normal levels or with high risk the variations of the FBG were not dependent nor related to those of CLT.