scholarly journals Electrochemical Peptide-Based Sensors for Foodborne Pathogens Detection

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 3200
Author(s):  
Mihaela Tertis ◽  
Oana Hosu ◽  
Bogdan Feier ◽  
Andreea Cernat ◽  
Anca Florea ◽  
...  

Food safety and quality control pose serious issues to food industry and public health domains, in general, with direct effects on consumers. Any physical, chemical, or biological unexpected or unidentified food constituent may exhibit harmful effects on people and animals from mild to severe reactions. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), unsafe foodstuffs are especially dangerous for infants, young children, elderly, and chronic patients. It is imperative to continuously develop new technologies to detect foodborne pathogens and contaminants in order to aid the strengthening of healthcare and economic systems. In recent years, peptide-based sensors gained much attention in the field of food research as an alternative to immuno-, apta-, or DNA-based sensors. This review presents an overview of the electrochemical biosensors using peptides as molecular bio-recognition elements published mainly in the last decade, highlighting their possible application for rapid, non-destructive, and in situ analysis of food samples. Comparison with peptide-based optical and piezoelectrical sensors in terms of analytical performance is presented. Methods of foodstuffs pretreatment are also discussed.

2020 ◽  
pp. 281-288
Author(s):  
Marcella Longo ◽  
Cristiana Valerio

Chronic diseases are the main cause of death and hospitalizations in the world. In 2005 World Health Organization estimated that over 60% of all annual deaths were due to chronic diseases, even with a high neconomic impact. For these reasons chronic illness care is one of the most difficult challenge for the health service: the management of chronic patients needs a different set-ting, as compared with the “hospital – based model” used for acute conditions. In this work, we described the first data of a Hub cardiology out-patient clinic of Azienda Socio Sanitaria Milano Nord, of Lombardia region. Between August 1, 2015 and August 31, 2016, we evaluated 2956 clinical examinations and 4364 instrumental tests. The five main diagnoses were: hypertension (25%), diabetes (17%), chronic coronary syndromes (12%), atrial fibrillation (14%), chronic heart failure (4%). Our results show the high volume of activities of cardiology service and demonstrate the important role of territorial cardiology for chronic cardiovascular disease management.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Clua-Espuny ◽  
M. A. González-Henares ◽  
M. L. L. Queralt-Tomas ◽  
W. Campo-Tamayo ◽  
E. Muria-Subirats ◽  
...  

Aims/Introduction. Determining the prevalence of diabetes and its cardiovascular complications and all-cause mortality in older chronic complex patients. Materials and Methods. We carried out a multicenter retrospective study and included a randomized sample of 932 CCP people. We assessed the prevalence of diabetes according to World Health Organization criteria. Data included demographics and functional, comorbidity, cognitive, and social assessment. Results. The prevalence of diabetes was 53% and average age 81.16±8.93 years. There were no significant differences in the survival of CCP patients with or without DM, with or without ischaemic cardiopathy, and with or without peripheral vascular disease. The prognostic factors of all-cause mortality in patients with DM were age ≥ 80 years [HR 1.47, 95% CI 1.02–2.13, p  0.038], presence of heart failure [HR 1.73, 95% CI 1.25–2.38, p  0.001], Charlson score [HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.06–1.36, p  0.003], presence of cognitive impairment [HR 1.73, 95% CI 1.24–2.40, p  0.001], and no treatment with statins [HR 1.49, 95% CI 1.08–2.04, p  0.038]. Conclusions. We found high prevalence of DM among CCP patients and the relative importance of traditional risk factors seemed to wane with advancing age. Recommendations may include relaxing treatment goals, providing family/patient education, and enhanced communication strategies.


Parasite ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angélique Rousseau ◽  
Stéphanie La Carbona ◽  
Aurélien Dumètre ◽  
Lucy J. Robertson ◽  
Gilles Gargala ◽  
...  

Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are protozoan parasites that have been highlighted as emerging foodborne pathogens by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization. According to the European Food Safety Authority, 4786 foodborne and waterborne outbreaks were reported in Europe in 2016, of which 0.4% were attributed to parasites including Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Trichinella. Until 2016, no standardized methods were available to detect Giardia, Cryptosporidium and Toxoplasma (oo)cysts in food. Therefore, no regulation exists regarding these biohazards. Nevertheless, considering their low infective dose, ingestion of foodstuffs contaminated by low quantities of these three parasites can lead to human infection. To evaluate the risk of protozoan parasites in food, efforts must be made towards exposure assessment to estimate the contamination along the food chain, from raw products to consumers. This requires determining: (i) the occurrence of infective protozoan (oo)cysts in foods, and (ii) the efficacy of control measures to eliminate this contamination. In order to conduct such assessments, methods for identification of viable (i.e. live) and infective parasites are required. This review describes the methods currently available to evaluate infectivity and viability of G. duodenalis cysts, Cryptosporidium spp. and T. gondii oocysts, and their potential for application in exposure assessment to determine the presence of the infective protozoa and/or to characterize the efficacy of control measures. Advantages and limits of each method are highlighted and an analytical strategy is proposed to assess exposure to these protozoa.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margot Morgiève ◽  
Déborah Sebbane ◽  
Bianca De Rosario ◽  
Vincent Demassiet ◽  
Soraya Kabbaj ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND For the World Health Organization, electronic health (eHealth) is seen as an effective way to improve therapeutic practices and disease prevention in health. Digital tools lead to major changes in the field of mental medicine, but specific analyses are required to understand and accompany these changes. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to highlight the positions of the different stakeholders of the mental health care system on eHealth services and tools, as well as to establish professional and user group profiles of these positions and the uses of these services. METHODS In order to acquire the opinions and expectations of different categories of people, we carried out a qualitative study based on 10 focus groups (n=70, from 3-12 people per group) composed of: general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, nurses, caregivers, mental health services users, user representatives, and the general public. The analyses of focus group discussions were performed independently by four investigators through a common analysis grid. The constant comparative method was adopted within this framework. RESULTS The interviewees expressed different problems that new technologies engender in the field of mental health. What was previously strictly under the jurisdiction of physicians now tends to be fragmented and distributed over different groups and locations. New technologies reposition care in the field of domestic, rather than therapeutic, activities, and thus the conception of care as an autonomous activity in the subject’s life is questioned. The ideal of social autonomy through technology is part of the new logic of health democracy and empowerment, which is linked to a strong, contemporary aspiration to perform. Participants emphasized that there was the potential risk of a decrease in autonomy for the digitally engaged patient, while personal empowerment could become a set of obligations. CONCLUSIONS This qualitative research highlights the heterogeneity of opinions among the groups and within each group. It suggests that opinions on electronic mental health devices are still far from being stabilized, and that a change management process should be set up to both regulate the development and facilitate the use of these tools.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manik Vohra ◽  
Anu Radha Sharma ◽  
Kapaettu Satyamoorthy ◽  
Padmalatha S Rai

Immunomodulatory and analgesic effects of dexamethasone are clinically well established, and this synthetic corticosteroid acts as an agonist of glucocorticoid receptors. Early results of the RECOVERY Trial from the United Kingdom and others suggest certain benefits of dexamethasone against COVID-19 chronic patients. The efforts have been acknowledged by World Health Organization with an interim guideline to use in patients with a severe and critical illness. The inherent genetic variations in genes such as CYP3A5, NR3C1, NR3C2, etc., involved in the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes may influence dexamethasone’s effects as an anti-inflammatory drug. Besides, the drug may influence transcriptome or metabolic changes in the individuals. In the present review, we summarize the reported genetic variations that impact dexamethasone response and discuss dexamethasone-induced changes in transcriptome and metabolome that may influence potential treatment outcome against COVID-19.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
D. Sanchez-Rodriguez ◽  
C. Annweiler ◽  
S. Gillain ◽  
B. Vellas

The COVID-19 pandemic due to a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019 has rapidly spread worldwide. The mortality rate is about 2.3% in general population, with high human-to-human transmission of 0.41 (credible interval [0.27, 0.55]), and nasopharyngeal asymptomatic carriers act as vectors within the population (1). The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the pandemic on March 2020, and established objectives and action plan. First, WHO aimed at limiting the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, which required large isolation actions (country borders lockdown and individual quarantine). Second, WHO aimed at guiding and supporting the different health care systems across countries. Finally, developing therapeutic interventions appeared as a global priority as available evidence were still scarce (1). More than 860 clinical trials are ongoing worldwide.


Author(s):  
Fredrick Wawire Otike ◽  
Asmaa Bouaamri ◽  
Agnes Hajdu Barát ◽  
Péter Kiszl

This chapter highlights the challenges and opportunities that have and will arise as a result of the epidemic. When the spread of CoronaVirus 2019 (COVID-19) was announced by the World Health Organization (WHO), most schools, colleges, and tertiary institutes around the world were ordered to close so as to contain the spread. Currently, most learning institutions are experiencing challenges related to how to provide critical services; the most critical ones are linked to the library services. With the COVID-19 pandemic still in place, it is evident that libraries will greatly be affected in their service delivery. This chapter, therefore, brings into perspective the eminent changing roles of libraries and the challenges and opportunities that did and will emerge as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides different library case studies and how the COVID-19 pandemic is being handled in Kenya, Morocco, and Hungary. The chapter puts into perspective new insights that will enable libraries to adapt quickly to the new technologies substituting the obsolete and redundant ones.


2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 635-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Viotti ◽  
B. Alarcón de Noya ◽  
T. Araujo-Jorge ◽  
M. J. Grijalva ◽  
F. Guhl ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTTreatment for Chagas disease with currently available medications is recommended universally only for acute cases (all ages) and for children up to 14 years old. The World Health Organization, however, also recommends specific antiparasite treatment for all chronic-phaseTrypanosoma cruzi-infected individuals, even though in current medical practice this remains controversial, and most physicians only prescribe palliative treatment for adult Chagas patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. The present opinion, prepared by members of the NHEPACHA network (Nuevas Herramientas para el Diagnóstico y la Evaluación del Paciente con Enfermedad de Chagas/New Tools for the Diagnosis and Evaluation of Chagas Disease Patients), reviews the paradigm shift based on clinical and immunological evidence and argues in favor of antiparasitic treatment for all chronic patients. We review the tools needed to monitor therapeutic efficacy and the potential criteria for evaluation of treatment efficacy beyond parasitological cure. Etiological treatment should now be mandatory for all adult chronic Chagas disease patients.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (16) ◽  
pp. 4055-4059 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Bloom ◽  
Steven Black ◽  
Rino Rappuoli

Infectious diseases are now emerging or reemerging almost every year. This trend will continue because a number of factors, including the increased global population, aging, travel, urbanization, and climate change, favor the emergence, evolution, and spread of new pathogens. The approach used so far for emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) does not work from the technical point of view, and it is not sustainable. However, the advent of platform technologies offers vaccine manufacturers an opportunity to develop new vaccines faster and to reduce the investment to build manufacturing facilities, in addition to allowing for the possible streamlining of regulatory processes. The new technologies also make possible the rapid development of human monoclonal antibodies that could become a potent immediate response to an emergency. So far, several proposals to approach EIDs have been made independently by scientists, the private sector, national governments, and international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO). While each of them has merit, there is a need for a global governance that is capable of taking a strong leadership role and making it attractive to all partners to come to the same table and to coordinate the global approach.


2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Vojir ◽  
Erwin Schübl ◽  
Ibrahim Elmadfa

In the second half of the 19th century the incidence of food adulterations increased very rapidly, prompting many European countries to put into force food laws to fight these practices. A number of parallel attempts were undertaken to establish a collection of instructions for the assessment of food samples to warrant the comparability of results obtained and interpreted by different experts. The first official steps towards such a standardization was made in 1891 at an international meeting of food chemists and microscopic scientists in Vienna. As a consequence, Austria installed a “Scientific Commission” in 1891, which drafted chapters for a future Codex Alimentarius Austriacus. In 1907, a Codex Commission was installed by the Ministry of Interior, but it took about four years, from 1907 to 1911, before the first edition of this compendium was published. So far, four editions have followed. The Codex Alimentarius Austriacus is a set of standards and guidelines for stakeholders, authorities, and law courts as a base for their activities. It has evolved over the past 100 years to become a flexible instrument, which has become indispensable for Austria. After 1945, attempts were made in different parts of the world to develop standardized rules for the testing of food samples to prevent trade barriers within the respective region. In Europe for instance, the development of a Codex Alimentarius Europaeus initiated by the Austrian Hans Frenzel, and based upon the model of the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus, made good progress. A number of other European countries were involved in this project. However, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations were intent on impeding such regional activities to prevent trade barriers at a global level. Between 1960 and 1963, steps were taken to install a FAO/WHO Codex partly in close cooperation with the Codex Alimentarius Europaeus. Since 1963, the FAO/WHO Codex Commission has issued the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius, which took its name and some organizational aspects from Codex Alimentarius Europaeus, that was itself modeled after the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus. The Codex Alimentarius Europaeus was incorporated into the Codex Alimentarius Commission as the regional coordinating committee for Europe, thus providing a model for the six regional coordination committees of the Codex Alimentarius Commission existing today.


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