Search

Aim: To report hypoglycaemia, a life-threatening adverse event, associated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. A sulfonylurea-like effect, leading to insulin raise, was investigated. Methods: Two cases of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-associated hypoglycaemia in 2 patients with a diagnosis of new HIV-1-infection presenting with Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia are reported. The patients had no predisposing factors, such as renal or liver impairment, interfering with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole elimination, thus leading to hypoglycaemia. Insulin plasma levels were measured in both patients. Results: Severe hypoglycaemia was associated with increased serum levels of insulin up to 84 µU/ml (normal values <10 µU/ml). Continuous dextrose infusion was necessary, further suggesting the sulfonylurea-like effect of sulfamethoxazole. Interestingly, plasma levels of insulin progressively raised after trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole administration. Conclusions: Only 18 cases of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole associated hypoglycaemia are reported in the literature. Hypoglycaemia is a life-threatening condition, likely underreported, to consider when trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole administration is required, even in the absence of predisposing factors or other hypoglycaemic agents. Physician should bear in mind the potential trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-associated adverse event especially when prolonged treatments and elevated dosage are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals and metalloids in the environment are recognised as a threat to the health of organism. Terrestrial birds are ideal subjects for the examination of these pollutants because of their high mobility and high intra- and interspecific variation in trophic levels. We examined the contents of 6 trace metals (Cd, Pb, Cr, Sb and V) and metalloids (As) in the liver, kidney, muscle, and feathers of woodcocks (Scolopax rusticola) from Southern Italy by a validated ICP-MS method. Significant differences in trace elements were found in all the tissues examined (p < 0.05). The highest Sb and Cr levels were found in feathers samples with mean values of 0.019 mg/Kg and 0.085 mg/Kg, respectively. High Pb levels were found in muscle, with 23 % of the samples exceeding the limits set by the European Union. Cd was predominantly found in the kidney samples (0.76 mg/Kg). Vanadium was the less abundant trace metal, showing the highest concentrations in the liver (0.028 ± 0.011 mg/Kg). Higher As levels were found in muscle (0.02 ± 0.015 mg/Kg). No significant differences between sex and age classes (juveniles vs. adults) were found, nor were there correlations between morphometric parameters and trace metal/metalloid contents. Principal Component Analysis determined differences in metal accumulation between tissues. Feathers were confirmed as useful indicators of metal contamination. The results of this work confirmed that the accumulation of toxic elements in the tissues of woodcocks is primarily influenced by ecological traits such as feeding habits and migration status. Statistical analysis of the tissues would seem to exclude important accumulation phenomena of Pb. The high levels found in the muscle could be due to lead ammunition. This work provides the first data on the accumulation of As, Cr, Sb, and V in woodcocks tissue, providing a more comprehensive insight into the potential impact of these pollutants on birds., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Compared to the large amount of data on wild samples, only a few studies reported microplastic occurrence in store-bought bivalves in which the production chain can be the main contamination route. Microplastic occurrence was herein investigated in 100 samples of store-bought clams sold as fresh or processed (vacuum-frozen or in brine) in Italy. A 10 % KOH was used for soft tissue digestion and FT-IR spectroscopy for polymer identification. A total of 135 potential microplastics ranging in size between 20 μm and 5000 μm were enumerated estimating an annual dietary intake via clam consumption of 59.472 microplastics/person. No significant difference in the average abundance between the two commercial conditions was observed, while a prevalence of smaller particles was detected in processed samples suggesting a detrimental effect of cooking during production. Polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS) were identified posing an overall low risk (class II). Microplastic occurrence in store-bought seafood requires additional and specific attention and future studies should investigate microplastic contribution linked to the production chain., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The genus Aeromonas includes well-known pathogenic species for fishes and humans that are widely distributed in the aquatic environment and foods. Nowadays, one of the main issues related to wild Aeromonas isolates is their identification at the species level, which is challenging using classical microbiological and biomolecular methods. This study aims to test MALDI-TOF MS technology in the identification of Aeromonas strains isolated from n. 60 retail sushi and sashimi boxes using an implemented version of the SARAMIS software V4.12. A total of 43 certified Aeromonas strains were used to implement the SARAMIS database by importing the spectra obtained from their identification. The original SARAMIS version (V4.12) failed to recognize 62.79% of the certified strains, while the herein-implemented version (V4.12 plus ) allowed the identification of all the certified strains at least to the genus level with a match of no less than 85%. Regarding the sushi and sashimi samples, Aeromonas spp. was detected in n. 18 (30%) boxes. A total of 127 colonies were identified at the species level, with A. salmonicida detected as the most prevalent species, followed by A. bestiarum and A. caviae . Based on the results of the present study, we could speculate that MALDI-TOF technology could be a useful tool both for the food industry to monitor product contamination and for clinical purposes to make diagnoses effectively and quickly.

The aim of this work is the description and characterization of a severe microsporidian infection in a batch of salted and dried cod. Particularly, the case involves a batch of approximately 800 kg obtained from Gadus macrocephalus (Food and Agriculture Organization Zone 61 - Northwest Pacific Ocean), which, after rehydration and sectioning operations, underwent routine company checks before packaging. In about 20% of the samples, the presence of whitish nodules with a diameter ranging from 1 to 2 mm was observed on the surface of the fillets and in cross-section. The lesions ranged from a few units to 10 per cm 2 . Some samples were subjected to fresh microscopic observation with the stereomicroscope, confirming the nodular nature of the lesions, which were often confluent, alternating with empty spaces, giving the tissue a honeycombing aspect. The histological examination at low magnification allowed us to observe the heavy vacuolization of nodular lesions irregularly surrounded by a spongy-like wall. The observation at higher magnification of other sections allowed us to identify intra-myofibrillar cists containing presumptive microsporidian elements. The tissue damage derived from the technological processes and gravity of lesions did not allow a morphological characterization of presumptive protozoans. The molecular examination of the nodular lesions and the analysis of the sequence of an 897 bp fragment of the small subunit 16S rRNA revealed 100% identity with Microsporidium theragrae (GenBank accession number MT928885-89) first isolated from the skeletal muscles of Gadus chalcogrammus specimens from the Sea of Okhotsk. This finding confirms the importance of selecting suppliers and raw materials in the seafood industry, as well as the usefulness of an effective traceability system., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: the authors confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication., (Copyright © 2024, the Author(s).)

Persistent bacteria (or persisters) can be defined as a microbial subpopulation that, exposed to bactericidal treatment, is killed more slowly than the rest of the population they are part of. They stochastically originate in response to environmental stressors or spontaneously without external signals. When transferred into a fresh medium, persisters can resume active replication although they spend more time adapting to the new conditions remaining in the lag phase longer. They were studied for decades for their ability to survive antibiotic treatments while studies on their formation in food and potential impact on their safety are lacking. The most common food preservation techniques may act as stressors that trigger the formation of persistent bacteria able to survive bactericidal treatments and grow later in foods during storage. This study aimed to investigate a possible relationship between exposure to different salt concentrations (osmotic stress) and the amount of persisters triggered in a strain of Listeria monocytogenes. Furthermore, we described this phenomenon from a mathematical perspective through predictive microbiology models commonly used in the food field. The lag time distribution of a L. monocytogenes ATCC 7644 strain grown in broth with additional 2 %, 4 % and 6 % NaCl was evaluated using the software ScanLag. It uses office scanners to automatically record the colony growth on agar plates and evaluate the frequency distribution of their appearance times (lag phase) by automated image analysis. The same broth cultures were diluted to equalize salt concentration and transferred into a fresh broth to evaluate how the previous salt exposure impacted their growth kinetics. The observed growth curves were reproduced using predictive models in which the mean duration of the lag phase of the whole population took into account the occurrence of persisters with a longer lag phase. The models were solved first using a deterministic approach and then a stochastic one introducing a stochastic term that mimics the variability of lag phase duration due to the persisters occurrence. Results showed that the growth of L. monocytogenes in broth with additional NaCl might trigger the formation of persistent cells whose number increased consistently with salt concentrations. The proposed predictive approach reproduced the observed real curves in strong agreement, especially through the stochastic resolution of the models. Persistence is currently a neglected bacterial defence strategy in the food sector but the persisters' formation during production cannot be excluded; therefore, further insights on the topic are certainly desirable., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Microplastics (MPs) (0.1 µm-5 mm particles) have been documented in oceans and seas. Bivalve molluscs (BMs) can accumulate MPs and transfer to humans through the food chain. BMs (especially mussels) are used to assess MPs' contamination, but the genus Donax has not been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to detect and characterize MPs in D. trunculus specimens collected along the Tuscan coast (Italy), and to assess the potential risk for consumers. The samples (~10 g of tissue and intervalval liquid from 35 specimens) were digested using a solution of 10% KOH, subjected to NaCl density separation, and filtered through 5 μm pore-size filters. All items were morphologically classified and measured, and their mean abundance (MA) was calculated. Furthermore, 20% of them were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and, based on the obtained results, the MA was recalculated (corrected MA) and the annual human exposure was estimated. In the 39 samples analyzed, 85 items fibers ( n = 45; 52.94%) and fragments (n = 40; 47.06%) were found. The MA was 0.23 ± 0.17 items/grww. Additionally, 83.33% of the items were confirmed as MPs (polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate). Based on the correct MA (0.18 MPs/grww), D. trunculus consumers could be exposed to 19.2 MPs/per capita/year. The health risk level of MPs was classified as level III (moderate).

The current study aimed to determine the occurrence and antimicrobial resistance of oral Aerococcus viridans in stray dogs and cats in Algeria. Oral swabs from 200 stray animals (100 dogs and 100 cats) were collected and cultured on Columbia agar medium supplemented with 5% defibrinated sheep blood. Isolates were identified using analytical profile index Rapid 20 Strep commercial kits, and antibiotic susceptibility was determined using the disk diffusion method. Of the 200 animals sampled, 34 carried A. viridans in their oral cavities, with 26 isolates (76.47%) resistant to at least 2 drugs. Multidrug resistance profiles (to more than three different antimicrobials) were observed only in cats (26.08% of isolates). More isolates were resistant to erythromycin and tetracycline (71% and 65%, respectively) than to other antimicrobials. This is the first research study in Algeria detecting antimicrobial resistance in oral A. viridans isolated from dogs and cats and highlights potential public health concerns. Clinical trials registration number: 01/2018.

The application of synthetic pesticides is one of the fastest acting tools at farmers' disposal to prevent and mitigate the threats posed by plant pests in agriculture. However, the effects of these above-ground applications of pesticides are known to be detrimental to some belowground, non-target soil biota. At present, the effects many pesticides have on key functional microbial groups associated with phosphate (P) solubilization in the soil are still largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two herbicides, glyphosate, and paraquat, on phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) with and without pH adjustment (after herbicide addition) since pH is a major indicator of P solubilization. In our assay, two PSB strains (Pantoea agglomerans and Serratia rubidaea) were chosen to assess their ability to solubilize tricalcium phosphate (TCP) by using the vanadate-molybdate method (to measure the amount of P solubilized) in the presence of glyphosate (5.4 g/L and 10.8 g/L) or paraquat (2 g/L and 4 g/L) separately. To assess the effect of PSB treated by the herbicides, a growth experiment using PSB inoculated wheat seedlings was performed under greenhouse conditions (25 °C, light 16 h/8 h dark). After four weeks, wheat above-ground growth parameters were measured. Our results showed that even under recommended doses of glyphosate (5.4 g/L) and paraquat (2 g/L), a decrease in P solubilization activity was observed in P. agglomerans and S. rubidaea. Whilst paraquat affected TCP solubilization more than glyphosate with and without pH adjustment, there was a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in TCP solubilization, up to 39% and 93% in the presence of glyphosate and paraquat, respectively, for S. rubidaea, and up to 45% and 95% in the presence of glyphosate and paraquat, respectively, for P. agglomerans. The effect of the herbicides on the PSB had the same results as in the greenhouse test on wheat seedling growth, confirming that these herbicides have both above and belowground negative effects, despite being used at recommended doses., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Chemical composition and in vitro antimicrobial activity of parsley [ Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss] and ginger ( Zingiber officinale Roscoe) essential oils from store-bought parsley plants and ginger rhizomes were evaluated. A sensory analysis was performed on aged cheese slices treated with a mix of each essential oil and seed oil. Parsley essential oil was selected as the best compromise between sensory influence and antimicrobial activity and tested to evaluate its antifungal effects on cheese slices experimentally contaminated with Aspergillus flavus . Monoterpenes and α-zingiberene were the most abundant compounds in parsley and ginger essential oil, respectively. Both essential oils showed in vitro antimicrobial activity against different fungal species while only a bacterial strain ( Enterococcus faecalis ) was sensible to ginger essential oil. Only the cheese slices treated with parsley essential oil were appreciated by the panellists and its use has been effective in preventing the A. flavus growth in cheese.

In the present study, the chemical composition and the in vitro antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of an ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) from Tunisia against different ATCC and wild bacterial strains were evaluated. In situ antimicrobial activity and sensory influence of different EEP concentrations (0.5% and 1%), also in combination with 1% vinegar, were evaluated in chilled vacuum-packed salmon tartare. Furthermore, a challenge test was performed on salmon tartare experimentally contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and treated with the different EEP formulations. The in vitro antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity was observed only against Gram-positive bacteria, such as L. monocytogenes and S. aureus , both ATCC and wild. Results of the in situ analyses revealed significant antimicrobial activity against aerobic colonies, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas spp. only when the EEP was used at 1% and in combination with 1% vinegar. The 1% EEP in combination with 1% vinegar was the most effective treatment also against L. monocytogenes , although 0.5% and 1% EEP used alone also showed antilisterial effects. After 7 days of storage, the sensory influence on odor, taste and color of salmon tartare was negligible for all EEP formulations. In this background, results obtained confirmed the antimicrobial efficacy of propolis which could be proposed as a suitable biopreservative to ensure safety and improve the quality of food.

Persistent bacteria are a microbial subpopulation that, exposed to bactericidal treatment, is killed at a slower rate than the rest of the population they are part of. They can be triggered either following stress or stochastically without external signals. The hallmark of persistent bacteria is the biphasic killing curve, a sign that, within a microbial population, two subpopulations are inactivated at a different rate. Furthermore, when plated into a fresh medium and in the absence of stressors, persistent bacteria typically remain in the lag phase longer before resuming active replication. This study aims to evaluate in vitro whether the formation of persistent cells in a strain of Listeria monocytogenes can be triggered by exposure to osmotic stress and if this phenomenon can increase heat resistance in the bacterial population. In a first experiment, the lag time distribution of a L. monocytogenes strain grown in a 6% NaCl broth was evaluated using the software ScanLag. A stationary phase broth culture was inoculated on agar plates placed on an office scanner inside an incubator at 37°C. The plates were scanned every 20' for 4 days and the acquired images were automatically elaborated with the aid of MatLab software in order to evaluate the appearance times of every single colony. The experiment was also carried out on a control culture obtained by growing the strain in the broth without salt. In a second experiment, the same broth cultures, after proper dilutions to rebalance NaCl concentration, were subjected to a heat treatment at 51°C and the death curves obtained were parameterized using the GinaFit system. Results showed that the lag phase of 31.40% of the salt culture colonies was long enough to suppose the formation of persistent bacteria. Analyses of the thermal survival curves showed that the shoulder and tail model was the one that best represented the inactivation trend of the salt culture, unlike the control culture, whose trend was essentially linear. Results of the present study show how exposure to salt could induce the formation of persistent bacteria in a L. monocytogenes strain. The last raises concerns as persistent cells may not only be undetected with common analytical techniques but they even show a greater heat resistance., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declare no potential conflict of interest., (©Copyright: the Author(s).)

The quality index method (QIM) is a widely accepted solution to establish the state of fish freshness quickly and effectively. The present study aims to determine increasingly reliable freshness parameters for fresh and whole Lophius piscatorius stored in ice. Sensory and microbiological analyses were performed on 148 anglerfishes. Sensory evaluations were performed based on the QIM, updating a previously proposed quality index (QI) scheme. Total viable count and specific spoilage organisms were determined through microbiological analyses of the tail musculature, evaluating their correlations with the QI scores over time. The updated QI scheme included 3 characters, namely appearance, eye, and fin, for a total of 18 demerits points. A positive linear correlation between QI score and storage time was observed such that the sensory rejection time (8th day) can be predicted within ± 1 day with the developed scheme. At the sensory rejection point, loads of the spoilage microbial flora were not high enough to be relatable to the appreciated alterations probably due to the anglerfish morphology in which the tail musculature is isolated from the gills and viscera, the main sources of bacterial contamination. The proposed scheme offers a ready-to-use freshness assessment of the anglerfish although further validations are needed., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestNot applicable., (© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

In this work, the chemical composition of Thymus zygis subsp. gracilis collected from Ifrane, Morocco, along with the evaluation of the antibacterial, anti-biofilm of Listeria monocytogenes activities, larvicidal effect against L3 larvae of Anisakis, and antioxidant properties of its essential oil (TZG-EO), are reported. GC-MS and GC-FID analyses highlighted the presence of 84 volatile components and strong bactericidal and anti-biofilm activities against L. monocytogenes at a concentration of 0.02 % were demonstrated. Also, larvicidal effect against Anisakis larvae at concentrations of 0.01 and 0.005 % was attained leading to the death of all tested larvae within 4 h. The in situ antibacterial activity of TZG-EO (0.01 and 0.005 %) in smoked fish showed high efficiency against L. monocytogenes growth. TZG-EO could be used as potential antibacterial and larvicidal agents for fighting against foodborne pathogens and extending shelf life of food products., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Removal of para-nitrophenol (p-NP) from an aqueous solution was studied under various batch adsorption experiments, using alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) and its composite hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA + -Br - ) as adsorbents. These were later characterized, before and after adsorption of p-NP, by thermal analysis (DSC-TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and UV/Visible spectroscopies. The results show that HDTMA + /Al 2 O 3 adsorbents have a greater affinity toward p-NP than Al 2 O 3 alone. Linear and non-linear forms of kinetics and isotherms were used to analyze the experimental data obtained at different concentrations and temperatures. The results indicate that the pseudo-second order kinetic model provided the best fit to the experimental data for the adsorption of p-NP on both adsorbents, and that the intra-particle diffusion was not only the rate controlling step. Both the Langmuir and Redlich-Peterson (R-P) models were found to fit the sorption isotherm data well, but the Langmuir model was better. Physical adsorption of p-NP onto the adsorbents proved to be an endothermic and spontaneous process at high temperatures, which mainly involves a hydrogen bonding mechanism of interactions between p-NP and functional groups of adsorbents. The antibacterial activity of Al 2 O 3, HDTMA + -Br - and HDTMA + /Al 2 O 3 were evaluated against Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. strains using both disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods. The HDTMA + -Br - and HDTMA + /Al 2 O 3 displayed a bacteriostatic effect against all tested strains of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp., while Al 2 O 3 exhibited no bacterial effect against all bacterial strains tested.

Anisakiasis is a fish-borne zoonotic disease caused by the ingestion of raw/undercooked fishes or cephalopods parasitized by members of the genus Anisakis . Freezing ensures the inactivation of viable Anisakis larvae; however, since it affects the organoleptic properties of food, essential oils and their compounds were proposed as an alternative. In this study, fresh anchovy fillets were experimentally parasitized with L3 Anisakis larvae to test the anisakicidal efficacy of R (+) limonene (LMN) in marinated fishery products. The anisakicidal effectiveness and organoleptic influence of several LMN concentrations (0.5%, 1%, and 5%) were tested during the marinating process (MS) and storage in sunflower seed oil (SO) of marinated anchovy fillets. Double treatment (DT) with 1% LMN was also performed both during marination and subsequent storage in oil. MS treatment resulted only in a reduction in larvae viability after 48 h, while a complete inactivation was observed in SO after 8, 10, and 20 days of treatment with 5%, 1%, and 0.5% LMN, respectively. DT was the most effective with complete larval inactivation after 7 days. Only 5% LMN influenced the sensory characteristics of the fillets, resulting, however, in a pleasant lemon-like odor and taste. Considering the results obtained, LMN might be a suitable natural alternative to manage Anisakis risk in the fishery industry.