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This study aimed to evaluate consumer perception and acceptance of non-alcoholic cocktails compared to their traditional alcoholic counterparts in a restaurant setting. Three popular cocktails—gintonic, mojito, and mule—and their non-alcoholic versions (NoLo) were assessed following a three × two experimental design. A total of 600 participants (approximately 100 per cocktail) participated at the Basque Culinary Center's restaurant. Participants rated their liking of the cocktails using a nine-point hedonic scale and provided open-ended responses about the sensory characteristics and the consumption contexts or emotions evoked by the different cocktails. The results showed differences in the acceptance of the six cocktails, but no significant differences between the alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions, suggesting that NoLo alternatives were similarly well-received. Open-ended responses were analyzed using latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) to uncover latent topics, and Fisher's exact test and correspondence analysis were used to identify differences in the mentioned topics per cocktail. Specific sensory attributes, emotions, and contexts were associated with each type of cocktail, but no differences were found between the alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions. These findings demonstrate the viability of non-alcoholic cocktails in real consumption settings, eliciting similar liking scores, sensory attributes, contexts, and emotions in consumers. This study also highlighted the potential of natural language processing techniques for analyzing open-ended questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Opuntia Brava is the property of Universidad de Ciencias Pedagogicas de Las Tunas, Centro de Documentacion e Informacion Pedagogica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Engineering probiotics have emerged as a potential strategy for the treatment of metabolic diseases. However, due to the exceptional complexity of these metabolic disorders and the intricate relationship between gut microbes, it is difficult to achieve an ideal therapeutic effect in a specific metabolic disorder using only a single engineered strain. In this work, we proposed a probiotic cocktail strategy by engineering two cascade metabolic bacteria to treat hyperlysinemia, an inherited lysine metabolic disorder with loss of a-aminoadipate semialdehyde synthase (AASS) activity. A probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 strain EcNT (pTLS) with a heterologous enzyme pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was engineered to metabolize the excess lysine. Another one EcNT (pK25) was engineered to consume the products of lysine metabolism. The bacterial cocktail enables the maintenance of a metabolic cascade with AASS-like functional activity to maintain the blood lysine concentrations and downstream metabolites. In vitro experimental results showed that the cocktail bacteria had a better metabolic capacity and metabolites balance at a ratio of EcNT (pTLS) and EcNT (pK25) of 1:2. Feeding of the cocktail bacteria to the mouse model effectively reduced the concentration of lysine and balanced saccharopine in the plasma of hyperlysinemia-like mice. These findings not only provide a promising strategy of probiotic stains for the treatment of hyperlysinemia but also highlight the potential of engineered cascade cocktails to intervene and even cure other inherited metabolic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is one of the most serious abiotic stresses to land plants. Plants sense and respond to drought stress to survive under water deficiency. Scientists have studied how plants sense drought stress, or osmotic stress caused by drought, ever since Charles Darwin, and gradually obtained clues about osmotic stress sensing and signaling in plants. Osmotic stress is a physical stimulus that triggers many physiological changes at the cellular level, including changes in turgor, cell wall stiffness and integrity, membrane tension, and cell fluid volume, and plants may sense some of these stimuli and trigger downstream responses. In this review, we emphasized water potential and movements in organisms, compared putative signal inputs in cell wall‐containing and cell wall‐free organisms, prospected how plants sense changes in turgor, membrane tension, and cell fluid volume under osmotic stress according to advances in plants, animals, yeasts, and bacteria, summarized multilevel biochemical and physiological signal outputs, such as plasma membrane nanodomain formation, membrane water permeability, root hydrotropism, root halotropism, Casparian strip and suberin lamellae, and finally proposed a hypothesis that osmotic stress responses are likely to be a cocktail of signaling mediated by multiple osmosensors. We also discussed the core scientific questions, provided perspective about the future directions in this field, and highlighted the importance of robust and smart root systems and efficient source‐sink allocations for generating future high‐yield stress‐resistant crops and plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of bacterial inoculants and enzyme-based silage cocktails on the dynamics of fermentation, microbiome, and nutritional value of silages produced from low-quality biomasses of reed, rice, and corn straw. A 90-day ensiling trial was performed using five distinct combinations of six basal bacterial species (Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus buchneri, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Aspergillus niger, Bacillus subtilis, and Candida utilis) and three basal enzymes (xylanase, β-mannanase, and glucanase). Each type of biomass was ensiled with six different treatments, including the Control treatment without an ensiling agent, the basal silage cocktail treatment (Mesa), and Mesa with a double dose of A. niger (MesaA), B. subtilis (MesaB), C. utilis (MesaC) and glucanase (MesaG). The "Mesa" contained (per kg silage), 1.0 × 106 CFU of L. plantarum, 1.4 × 107 CFU L. buchneri, 3.0 × 105 CFU P. pentosaceus, 8.0 × 108 CFU A. niger, 1.6 × 106 CFU B. subtilis and 1.0 × 109 CFU C. utilis, three enzymes (5.0 × 104 U xylanase, 2.5 × 103 U β-mannanase, and 1.0 × 104 U glucanase), and 20 mL molasses. Addition of the silage cocktails significantly improved the fermentation and nutritional quality of the reed, corn, and rice straw silages. Notably, the silage cocktails increased (P < 0.01) the contents of crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), gross energy (GE), lactic acid (LA), ratio of LA to total acids and ensiling comprehensive evaluation scores, and decreased (P < 0.01) the contents of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and pH of reed, corn, and rice straw silages. Regarding the silage microbiome, silage cocktails decreased the relative abundance of Enterobacter and Rahnella1, and increased the relative abundance of Leuconostoc. A. niger, and B. subtilis had a strong positive correlation with CP, EE, GE and Lactobacillus, and a negative correlation with pH, Rhizobium, and Rahnella1 in reed, corn and rice straw silages. In comparison, C. utilis had a strong positive correlation with EE, and a negative correlation with pH, Rhizobium, Stenotrophomonas, and Rahnella1. Glucanase was positively correlated with LA, EE and GE, and negatively correlated with pH and Rahnella1. Silage quality characteristics and microbiome did not differ (P > 0.05) due to the composition of silage cocktails. Based on the comprehensive membership function analysis, the silage comprehensive evaluation scores were highest for double doses of B. subtilis and glucanase for reed, corn, and rice straw. This study revealed that silage cocktails upgraded straw silage fermentation and nutritional quality, and provided a practical solution for the optimal utilization of low-quality straw biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Baicalin and probiotic cocktails are promising feed additives with broad application prospects. While probiotic cocktails are known to enhance intestinal health, the potential synergistic impact of combining baicalin with probiotic cocktails on the gut health of broiler chickens remains largely unexplored. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the influence of the combined administration of baicalin and probiotic cocktails on the composition of ileal and cecal microbiota in broiler chickens to elucidate the underlying mechanisms responsible for the health-promoting effects. Results: A total of 320 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers were divided into 4 groups, each with 8 replicates of 10 chicks per replicate. Over a period of 42 d, the birds were fed a basal diet or the same diet supplemented with 37.5 g/t baicalin (BC), 1,000 g/t probiotic cocktails (PC), or a combination of both BC (37.5 g/t) and PC (1,000 g/t). The results demonstrated that BC + PC exhibited positive synergistic effects, enhancing intestinal morphology, immune function, and barrier function. This was evidenced by increased VH/CD ratio, sIgA levels, and upregulated expression of occludin and claudin-1 (P < 0.05). 16S rRNA analysis indicated that PC potentiated the effects of BC, particularly in the ileum, where BC + PC significantly increased the α-diversity of the ileal microbiota, altered its β-diversity, and increased the relative abundance of Flavonifractor (P < 0.05), a flavonoid-metabolizing bacterium. Furthermore, Flavonifractor positively correlated with chicken ileum crypt depth (P < 0.05). While BC + PC had a limited effect on cecal microbiota structure, the PC group had a very similar microbial composition to BC + PC, suggesting that the effect of PC at the distal end of the gut overshadowed those of BC. Conclusions: We demonstrated the synergistic enhancement of gut health regulation in broiler chickens by combining baicalin and probiotic cocktails. Probiotic cocktails enhanced the effects of baicalin and accelerated its metabolism in the ileum, thereby influencing the ileal microbiota structure. This study elucidates the interaction mechanism between probiotic cocktails and plant extract additives within the host microbiota. These findings provide compelling evidence for the future development of feed additive combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The cytochrome P450 enzyme subfamilies, including CYP3A4 and CYP1A2, have a major role in metabolism of a range of drugs including several anti-cancer treatments. Many factors including environmental exposures, diet, diseaserelated systemic inflammation and certain genetic polymorphisms can impact the activity level of these enzymes. As a result, the net activity of each enzyme subfamily can vary widely between individuals and in the same individual over time. This variability has potential major implications for treatment efficacy and risk of drug toxicity, but currently no assays are available for routine use to guide clinical decision-making. Methods: To address this, a mass spectrometry-based method to measure activities of CYP3A4, CYP1A2 was adapted and tested in free-living participants. The assay results were compared with the predicted activity of each enzyme, based on a self-report tool capturing diet, medication, chronic disease state, and tobacco usage. In addition, a feasibility test was performed using a low-volume dried blood spots (DBS) on two different filter-paper supports, to determine if the same assay could be deployed without the need for repeated standard blood tests. Results: The results confirmed the methodology is safe and feasible to perform in free-living participants using midazolam and caffeine as test substrates for CYP3A4 and CYP1A2 respectively. Furthermore, though similar methods were previously shown to be compatible with the DBS format, the assay can also be performed successfully while incorporating glucuronidase treatment into the DBS approach. The measured CYP3A4 activity score varied 2.6-fold across participants and correlated with predicted activity score obtained with the self-report tool. The measured CYP1A2 activity varied 3.5-fold between participants but no correlation with predicted activity from the self-report tool was found. Discussion: The results confirm the wide variation in CYP activity between individuals and the important role of diet and other exposures in determining CYP3A4 activity. This methodology shows great potential and future crosssectional and longitudinal studies using DBS are warranted to determine how best to use the assay results to guide drug treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2002 SARS outbreak, the 2019 emergence of COVID-19, and the continuing evolution of immune-evading SARS-CoV-2 variants together highlight the need for a broadly protective vaccine against ACE2-utilizing sarbecoviruses. While updated variant-matched formulations are a step in the right direction, protection needs to extend beyond SARS-CoV-2 and its variants to include SARS-like viruses. Here, we introduce bivalent and trivalent vaccine formulations using our spike protein nanoparticle platform that completely protect female hamsters against BA.5 and XBB.1 challenges with no detectable virus in the lungs. The trivalent cocktails elicit highly neutralizing responses against all tested Omicron variants and the bat sarbecoviruses SHC014 and WIV1. Finally, our 614D/SHC014/XBB trivalent spike formulation completely protects human ACE2-transgenic female hamsters against challenges with WIV1 and SHC014 with no detectable virus in the lungs. Collectively, these results illustrate that our trivalent protein-nanoparticle cocktail can provide broad protection against SARS-CoV-2-like and SARS-CoV-1-like sarbecoviruses. Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and emergence of other sarbecoviruses are of potential concern. Here, the authors designed a trivalent spike-protein-nanoparticle vaccine that elicits neutralizing antibodies and protects female hamsters against challenges with SARS-CoV-2-like and SARS-CoV-1-like coronaviruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Neutrosophic Computing & Machine Learning is the property of Multimedia Larga and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The agricultural industries generate lignocellulosic wastes that can be modified by fungi to generate high value-added products. This work aimed to analyze the efficiency and the cost-effectiveness of the bioconversion of sugarcane and cassava bagasses using low-cost homemade enzymatic cocktails from Aspergillus niger LBM 134. Both bagasses were pretreated with a soft alkaline solution without any loss of polysaccharides. After the hydrolysis, a 28% of conversion to glucose and 42% to xylose were reached in the hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse while an 80% of saccharification yield, in the hydrolysis of cassava bagasse using the homemade enzymes. Furthermore, a more disorganised surface and no starch granules were observed in the sugarcane and cassava bagasses, respectively. The bioethanol yield from sugarcane and casava bagasses was predicted to be 4.16 mg mL−1 and 2.57 mg mL−1, respectively. A comparison of the cost of the homemade and the commercial enzymes was carried out. Similar hydrolysis percentages were achieved employing any enzyme; however, it was 1000–2000 times less expensive using the homemade cocktails than using the commercial enzymes. Therefore, the cost of obtaining glucose from bagasses was most expensive when applying the commercial enzymes. Moreover, the hydrolysis of the cassava bagasse was most efficient with the homemade cocktails. The importance and novelty of this work lie in the similar performance and the lower cost of the homemade cocktails from the fungus A. niger LBM 134 compared with the commercial enzymes on the hydrolysis of the sugarcane and cassava bagasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In search of a vaccine for the control of human lymphatic filariasis (LF) caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and B. timori, we identified three parasite-specific potential candidates: the disorganized muscle protein-1 (D), calponin (C) and troponin 1 (T) in B. malayi adult worm. In the present study, we investigated the immune response profile of the cocktails of the recombinant D, T and C proteins. Methods: Groups of BALB/c mice were immunized with individual rproteins or their cocktails DT, TC, DC and DTC, and the immunogen-specific IgG and its subclasses and IgE were determined. Cells from the immunized animals were challenged in vitro with the respective rproteins and cocktails and the release of nitric oxide (NO) from macrophages and Th1 and Th2 cytokines from splenocytes were determined. Results: Among the immunized groups, DTC elicited comparatively a stronger response which included augmented release of NO, Th1 (IL-1β, IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α) and Th2 (IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and TGF-β) cytokines, and increased levels of immunogen-specific IgG, IgG1 and IgG2b and low levels of immunogen-specific IgG2a and IgE and the Th2 cytokine IL-13. Conclusion: Immune responses that play important role in host protection were elicited strongly by DTC cocktail compared to the individual rproteins or DT, TC and DC cocktails. The findings provide a sound rationale for further studies on DTC cocktail as a vaccine candidate for the control of LF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteriophage (phage) therapy is being explored as a possible response to the antimicrobial resistance public health emergency. Administering a mixture of different phage types as a cocktail is one proposed strategy for therapeutic applications, but the optimal method for formulating phage cocktails remains a major challenge. Each phage strain has complex pharmacokinetic/ pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) properties which depend on the nano-scale size, target-mediated, self-dosing nature of each phage strain, and rapid selection of resistant subpopulations. The objective of this study was to explore the pharmacodynamics (PD) of three unique and clinically relevant anti-Pseudomonas phages after simulation of dynamic dosing strategies. The Hollow Fiber Infection Model (HFIM) is an in vitro system that mimics in vivo pharmacokinetics (PK) with high fidelity, providing an opportunity to quantify phage and bacteria concentration profiles over clinical time scales with rich sampling. Exogenous monotherapybolus (producing max concentrations of Cmax  =  7 log10 PFU/mL) regimens of phages LUZ19, PYO2, and E215 produced Pseudomonas aeruginosa nadirs of 0, 2.14, or 2.99 log10 CFU/mL after 6  h of treatment, respectively. Exogenous combination therapy bolus regimens (LUZ19  +  PYO2 or LUZ19  +  E215) resulted in bacterial reduction to <2 log10 CFU/mL. In contrast, monotherapy as a continuous infusion (producing a steady-state concentration of Css,avg  =  2 log10PFU/mL) was less effective at reducing bacterial densities. Specifically, PYO2 failed to reduce bacterial density. Next, a mechanism-based mathematical model was developed to describe phage pharmacodynamics, phage–phage competition, and phagedependent adaptive phage resistance. Monte Carlo simulations supported bolus dose regimens, predicting lower bacterial counts with bolus dosing as compared to prolonged phage infusions. Together, in vitro and in silico evaluation of the time course of phage pharmacodynamics will better guide optimal patterns of administration of individual phages as a cocktail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In this study, the safety of an intranasally applied cocktail of Lactococcus lactis was evaluated in new-born pigs. Prior to farrowing, twelve sows were assigned to either a placebo or cocktail group. Immediately after farrowing, either the placebo or cocktail was applied to both nostrils of all piglets in the corresponding group. Piglet health and growth were monitored at regular intervals, and on three occasions piglets were necropsied and samples were collected from the respiratory tract to identify any changes caused by the treatment. The results show that the cocktail did not negatively impact piglet growth or health, nor did it cause histological changes in the nasal conchae, tonsils or lung tissues; but it did alter the gene expression of pBD2, TLR9 and IL-1β in the nasal conchae. These findings indicate the cocktail is safe for administration to pigs. Three Lactococcus lactis strains from the nasal microbiota of healthy pigs were identified as candidates for reducing MRSA in pigs. The safety of nasal administration of a cocktail of these strains was examined in new-born piglets. Six days pre-farrowing, twelve sows were assigned to the placebo or cocktail group (n = 6/group). After farrowing, piglets were administered with either 0.5 mL of the placebo or the cocktail to each nostril. Health status and body weight were monitored at regular time points. Two piglets from three sows/treatment group were euthanised at 24 h, 96 h and 14 d after birth, and conchae, lung and tonsil samples were collected for histopathological and gene expression analysis. Health scores were improved in the cocktail group between d1–5. Body weight and daily gains did not differ between groups. Both groups displayed histological indications of euthanasia and inflammation in the lungs, signifying the findings were not treatment related. The expression of pBD2, TLR9 and IL-1β in the nasal conchae differed between groups, indicating the cocktail has the potential to modulate immune responses. In summary, the L. lactis cocktail was well tolerated by piglets and there was no negative impact on health scores, growth or lung histopathology indicating that it is safe for administration to new-born piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella contamination in poultry meat is an important food safety issue as this pathogen can lead to serious illness and economic losses worldwide. In poultry meat processing, a variety of strong bacteriostatic agents has been introduced for controlling Salmonella including bacteriophages (phages), organic acids, and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). In our study, two selected phages including vB_SenM_P7 and vB_SenP_P32 were used in combination with propionic acid (PA) and MAP for controlling Salmonella of multiple serovars on chicken meat under storage at 4 °C. The two phages showed strong lytic activity against over 72 serovars of Salmonella tested (25.0 to 80.6%). Phages, vB_SenM_P7 and vB_SenP_P32 showed 40% and 60% survival rates, respectively, after the exposure to temperatures up to 70 °C. Both phages remained active, with nearly 100% survival at a wide range of pH (2 to 12) and 15% NaCl (w/v). The available chlorine up to 0.3% (v/v) led to a phage survival rate of 80–100%. A combination of Salmonella phage cocktail and 0.5% PA could reduce Salmonella counts in vitro by 4 log CFU/mL on day 3 whereas a phage cocktail and 0.25% PA showed a 4-log reduction on day 5 during storage at 4 °C. For the phage treatment alone, a 0.3-log reduction of Salmonella was observed on day 1 of storage at 4 °C. In the chicken meat model, treatment by a phage cocktail and PA at both concentrations in MAP conditions resulted in a complete reduction of Salmonella cells (4–5 log unit/g) on day 2 of storage whereas each single treatment under MAP conditions showed a complete cell reduction on day 4. For the meat sensory evaluation, chicken meat treated with a phage cocktail-PA (0.5%) in MAP condition showed the highest preference scores, suggesting highly acceptability and satisfactory. These findings suggest that a combined treatment using a phage cocktail and PA in MAP conditions effectively control Salmonella in poultry meat during storage at low temperature to improve the quality and safety of food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The real-time monitoring of food freshness in refrigerators is of significant importance in detecting potential food spoiling and preventing serious health issues. One method that is commonly reported and has received substantial attention is the discrimination of food freshness via the tracking of volatile molecules. Nevertheless, the ambient environment of low temperature (normally below 4 °C) and high humidity (90% R.H.), as well as poor selectivity in sensing gas species remain the challenge. In this research, an integrated smart gas-tracking device is designed and fabricated. By applying pump voltage on the yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) membrane, the oxygen concentration in the testing chamber can be manually tailored. Due to the working principle of the sensor following the mixed potential behavior, distinct differences in sensitivity and selectivity are observed for the sensor that operated at different oxygen concentrations. Typically, the sensor gives satisfactory selectivity to H2S, NH3, and C2H5OH at the oxygen concentrations of 10%, 30%, and 40%, respectively. In addition, an acceptable response/recovery rate (within 24 s) is also confirmed. Finally, a refrigerator prototype that includes the smart gas sensor is built, and satisfactory performance in discriminating food freshness status of fresh or semi-fresh is verified for the proposed refrigerator prototype. In conclusion, these aforementioned promising results suggest that the proposed integrated smart gas sensor could be a potential candidate for alarming food spoilage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrinsic 40 K radioactive backgrounds from impurities of natural K in liquid scintillation cocktails have previously been demonstrated to limit their use in ultra-sensitive applications. This work explores two methodologies in parallel for the reduction of 40 K backgrounds in the cocktails, and lays the groundwork for use in ultra-sensitive applications. In one method, alternative low-K liquid scintillation matrix constituents were identified and in the other, a simple purification method for single components and finished cocktails was developed. Both methods were verified via ICP-MS analysis. Liquid scintillation counting of selected purified cocktails demonstrated background reduction, improved stability, and enhanced performance. The best performing purified cocktail was also counted on a custom-built ultra-low background liquid scintillation counter, with results below the detector background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]