12,165 research outputs found
Recent advancements in meat traceability, authenticity verification, and voluntary certification systems
No full textThe growing demand for transparency in the food industry has led to significant advancements in meat traceability. Ensuring the authenticity and origin of meat products is critical for consumer trust, public health, and compliance with regulations. This paper reviews recent innovations in meat traceability, with a focus on blockchain technology as a novel approach to ensuring traceability. Additionally, advanced methods for verifying meat authenticity and origin, such as isotope fingerprinting, DNA analysis, and spectroscopic methods, are discussed. The role of voluntary certification schemes in enhancing traceability and authenticity verification in the meat industry is also explored. The findings highlight the importance of integrating cutting-edge technologies and certification schemes to build a robust and transparent meat supply chain
Erythrocytes as carriers of oxalate decarboxylase from Bacillus subtilis: an innovative approach for the treatment of hyperoxaluria
No full textHyperoxaluria is a pathologic condition due to genetic and non-genetic causes that leads to the deposition of calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystals at first in the urinary system and, in the most severe forms, in the whole body. The disease can be due to either an increased endogenous oxalate production (primary hyperoxaluria or PH) or an increased intestinal oxalate absorption (secondary hyperoxaluria or SH). Three forms of PH are known. They are inherited disorders caused by the deficit of enzymes involved in liver glyoxylate metabolism. The most common and most severe form is PH1. Two curative therapies are currently available for the treatment of PH1: pyridoxine administration (PN) and liver transplantation. However, The first is only effective in 10-30% of the patients, while the second is a very invasive and risky procedure. Thus, the development of new therapeutic strategies represents an urgent need. In this regard, we hypothesized that a possible approach could be the use of an oxalate-degrading enzyme, which would reduce plasma oxalate concentration thus counteracting the formation of CaOx. Oxalate Decarboxylase (OxDC) from B. subtilis is an hexameric Mn-dependent enzyme belonging to the bicupin family that catalyses the cleavage of the oxalate C-C bond to give carbon dioxide and formate. A mutated form of the enzyme, called OxDC-DSSN, shows a reduced decarboxylase specific activity, but is endowed with the ability to catalyse an oxalate oxidation reaction. It should be underlined that OxDC displays an optimum pH around 4 and a deep characterization of the enzyme at neutral pH is still lacking. Based on these considerations, the aim of my PhD was the study of the biochemical features of OxDC at neutral pH and their possible improvement by protein engineering techniques. Moreover, since the direct administration of a non-human protein would elicit a remarkable immune reaction, we thought to encapsulate OxDC in red blood cells (RBCs) and use loaded RBCs as oxalate-degrading bioreactors. The data obtained indicate that: 1) OxDC and OxDC-DSSN (i) display optimal activity at pH 4.2 but retain a detectable residual activity at pH 7.2, the intracellular pH of RBCs, (ii) do not undergo major structural changes at neutral pH, (iii) are able to detoxify oxalate endogenously produced in a cellular model of PH1. 2) OxDC can be efficiently encapsulated in human and murine RBCs and does not loose catalytic activity during the encapsulation process. 3) by using directed evolution approaches, a mutated form of OxDC could be engineered that is more resistant to thermal stress and aggregation under physiological conditions as compared with wild-type OxDC. Overall these data provide the proof-of-principle for the feasibility of a therapy for PH based on the administration of RBCs-loaded with an oxalate-degrading enzyme. Future studies will be focused on the testing of the ability of wild-type and engineered OxDC to detoxify oxalate in a mouse model of PH1
Mineral composition of Italian salami and effect of NaCl partial replacement on compositional, physico-chemical and sensory parameters
No full textIn 2008 the European Commission developed an EU framework for dietary sodium chloride (NaCl) reduction
in order to achieve the World Health Organization recommendations for no more than 5 g/day/person. This
initiative is based on four elements: investigate the national data available on NaCl consumption and current
NaCl levels of foods, develop actions to raise public awareness, develop reformulation actions with industry/
catering, monitor and evaluate actions and reformulations. The initiative is working towards a reduction in
NaCl of 16% over 4 years against the 2008 levels and is concentrated on meat products, bread, cheese, and
ready meals.
In this context, NaCl content and mineral composition of commercial Italian salami were investigated to
provide information on their current mineral levels. Moreover, a technological intervention based on NaCl
partial replacement by other chloride salts was investigated on Cacciatore salami, a typical Italian dry
fermented sausage, as a strategy to decrease the sodium (Na) content of cured meat products. The effect of
NaCl partial replacement by KCl, MgCl2, and CaCl2 in some compositional, physicochemical, and sensory
properties of Cacciatore salami was evaluated. A 50% reduction of NaCl used for salami manufacture and its
replacement by a mixture of KCl, CaCl2, and MgCl2 allowed a 40% lowering of Na content with limited
detrimental effects on sensory attributes. Although no effects were observed on pH, water activity,
proximate, and free fatty acid composition in reduced sodium Cacciatore salami formulation compared to the
traditional one, the NaCl partial replacement induced a significant increase of lipid oxidation
SOPRANOISE: toward a quick measurement method to verify and monitor the acoustic performance of noise barriers on site
No full textThe European standards EN 1793-5 and EN 1793-6 allow measurements of sound absorption/reflection and airborne sound insulation of noise barriers in-situ, an essential activity for approving noise barriers installed alongside roads. However, the EN methods require a careful application by expert users, which may limit their use to few locations. The main objective of the project SOPRANOISE (2019-2022), funded by CEDR, was the development of a new method that should be quickly applicable to a larger part of the installed noise barriers in a more manageable way. This paper presents the main results of SOPRANOISE WP4, dealing with the conception, design, and validation of such simplified quick method. It was necessary to design a completely new equipment, simpler and lighter than the one for full tests, allowing the use by normal operators after a short training. The new quick method was validated in the laboratory and under real on-site conditions, applying both the new quick method and the full EN methods on real noise barriers installed along motorways. The systematic application of the quick method allows to identify the weak points of the noise barrier and the appropriate noise barrier fields to be tested with the full EN methods
Conter (raconter)/réciter/narrer
No full textL’article étudie les trois familles de mots conter (raconter) et conte, réciter et récit, narrer et narration et montre que les verbes à l’exception de raconter qui, assez tôt remplace conter, sortent de l’usage courant, sont supplantés par des périphrases (faire le récit) ou comme réciter, subissent une forte restriction de sens. Ce sont les noms – conte, récit et narration – qui endossent la valeur « technique » qu’on leur connaît aujourd’hui et qui perdurent.The article examines the three word families conter (raconter) and conte, réciter and récit, narrer and narration, and shows that verbs other than raconter, which replaced conter fairly early on, fell out of common usage, were supplanted by periphrases (faire le récit) or, like réciter, underwent a sharp reduction in meaning. It's the nouns —conte, récit and narration— that take on the “technical” value we know today, and which endure
Lipid oxidation of irradiated pork products
No full textThe effect of irradiation (2, 5 and 8 kGy) and vacuum storage for 60 days on fatty acid and cholesterol
oxidation was determined in three Italian cured pork products (salame Milano, coppa and pancetta).
A significant increase in the degree of fatty acid oxidation was observed starting from 8 kGy irradiation
dose. Unlike the unirradiated samples, the vacuum storage was not sufficient to curb fatty acid oxidation
in the irradiated pork products.
The cholesterol oxidation of all of the pork products investigated was affected by the highest dose of
irradiation and sometimes by storage. The effect induced by the ionising radiation was different
depending on the type of pork product. The cholesterol oxide molecules were qualitatively similar in
both irradiated and unirradiated pork products and the levels detected were about 100 times lower than
the toxic level for in vitro and in vivo experiments
Evaluation of 2-alkylcyclobutanones in irradiated cured pork products during vacuum-packed storage
No full textThe 2-Alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs) content was determined in three Italian cured pork products
(salame Milano, coppa, and pancetta) irradiated at different targeted irradiation doses (2, 5, and 8
kGy) during vacuum-packed storage. Among 2-ACBs, three different compounds were investigated,
namely, 2-dodecylcyclobutanone, 2-tetradecylcyclobutanone, and 2-(tetradec-5¢-enyl)cyclobutanone.
2-ACBs were absent from the nonirradiated samples, whereas their content increased with irradiation
dose. Their presence was recorded occasionally at 2 kGy and constantly at higher irradiation doses
(5 and 8 kGy). The plot of 2-ACBs content against targeted irradiation doses showed an exponential
relationship. The effect of vacuum-packed storage time on the 2-ACBs content was dependent on
the irradiation dose. During vacuum-packed storage for up to 60 days, the 2-ACBs content remained
unchanged in the cured pork products irradiated at 2 and 5 kGy, whereas a significant increase was
observed in the pork products irradiated at 8 kGy
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