Determination of temperature variation during the individual steps of the production of hospital diets of modified consistency

Background & aim: Many disease outbreaks of food origin are caused by foods prepared in Food Service and Nutrition Units of hospitals, affecting hospitalized patients who, in most cases, are immunocompromised and therefore at a higher risk of severe worsening of their clinical status. The aim of this study was to determine the variations in temperature and the time-temperature factor of hospital diets. Methods: The time and temperature for the preparation of 4 diets of modified consistency were determined on 5 nonconsecutive days in a hospital Diet and Nutrition Unit at the end of preparation and during the maintenance period, portioning and distribution at 3 sites, i.e., the first, the middle and the last to receive the diets. Results and discussion: All foods reached an adequate temperature at the end of cooking, but temperature varied significantly from the maintenance period to the final distribution, characterizing critical periods for microorganism proliferation. During holding, temperatures that presented a risk were reached by 16.7% of the meats and 59% of the salads of the general diet, by 16.7% of the garnishes in the bland diet and by 20% of the meats and garnishes in the viscous diet. The same occurred at the end of distribution for 100% of the hot samples and of the salads and for 61% of the desserts. None of the preparations remained at risk temperature for a time exceeding that established by law. Conclusion: The exposure to inadequate temperature did not last long enough to pose risks to the patient.

Knowledge and Practice of Prechewing/Prewarming Food by HIV-Infected Women

OBJECTIVE: HIV transmission has been associated with offering a child food prechewed by an HIV-infected caregiver. We assessed awareness of prechewing and oral prewarming of food by an adult before offering it to a child among HIV-infected pregnant women and clinical investigators in 3 Latin American countries. METHODS: HIV-infected pregnant women at 12 sites (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development International Site Development Initiative Perinatal Longitudinal Study in Latin American Countries, a prospective cohort trial) in Argentina, Brazil, and Peru were administered a screening survey about prechewing/prewarming of infant foods and cautioned against these feeding practices. Survey responses were analyzed, overall, and stratified according to country. RESULTS: Of the 401 HIV-infected pregnant women interviewed, 34% had heard about prechewing (50% from Argentina, 32% from Brazil, and 36% from Peru), 23% knew someone who prechewed food for infants, and 4% had prechewed food in the past. Seventeen percent had heard about oral prewarming of food, 13% knew someone who prewarmed food for infants, and 3% had prewarmed food for an infant in the past. Women who reported knowing someone who prechewed were more likely to also know someone who prewarmed food (P < .0001). Few site investigators anticipated that their patients would be aware of these practices. CONCLUSIONS: Prechewing food, a potential risk factor for HIV transmission, and orally prewarming food, which has not been associated with HIV transmission but might expose a child to blood from an HIV-infected adult, are not uncommon practices in Latin America. Both practices should be further investigated. Site investigator responses underscore that health care providers could be missing information about cultural practices that patients may not report unless specifically asked. Pediatrics 2011;127:e1206-e1211

Validation of a food frequency questionnaire for assessing dietary nutrients in Brazilian children 5 to 10 years of age

Objective: This study aimed to assess the relative validity of a food frequency questionnaire.(FFQ), previously validated to measure usual intakes in adults, for measuring dietary intakes in children 5 to 10 y of age. Methods: Dietary intakes were measured using an FFQ and a 3-d dietary record. Healthy children, 5 to 10 y old (n = 151), were recruited from public schools and asked to answer the questions in the FFQ and to provide non-consecutive 3-d dietary records based on reported estimated portion sizes. Paired sample t tests and Pearson`s correlation coefficients were conducted to determine whether the two instruments reported similar values for energy and nutrients. The agreement of quartile categorization between the two instruments was also examined. Results: Estimated energy and nutrient intakes derived from the FFQ were significantly higher than those derived from 3-d dietary records. As expected, Pearson`s correlations increased after adjusting for residual measurement error, presumably due to exclusion of the high within-person variability in intake of these nutrients. Moderate to high (r > 0.50) correlation coefficients were verified for some nutrients such as calcium, folate, vitamin 132, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Conclusion: This FFQ, originally developed for use in adults, appears to overestimate usual energy and nutrient intakes in children 5 to 10 y of age. Further work is necessary to conduct a calibration study to establish adequate portion sizes before instrument adoption in this population. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exposure to maternal smoking during fetal life affects food preferences in adulthood independent of the effects of intrauterine growth restriction

Experimental animal studies have shown that nicotine exposure during gestation alters the expression of fetal hypothalamic neuropeptides involved in the control of appetite. We aimed to determine whether the exposure to maternal smoking during gestation in humans is associated with an altered feeding behavior of the adult offspring. A longitudinal prospective cohort study was conducted including all births from Ribeirao Preto (Sao Paulo, Brazil) between 1978 and 1979. At 24 years of age, a representative random sample was re-evaluated and divided into groups exposed (n = 424) or not (n = 1586) to maternal smoking during gestation. Feeding behavior was analyzed using a food frequency questionnaire. Covariance analysis was used for continuous data and the chi(2) test for categorical data. Results were adjusted for birth weight ratio, body mass index, gender, physical activity and smoking, as well as maternal and subjects` schooling. Individuals exposed to maternal smoking during gestation ate more carbohydrates than proteins (as per the carbohydrate-to-protein ratio) than non-exposed individuals. There were no differences in the consumption of the macronutrients themselves. We propose that this adverse fetal life event programs the individual`s physiology and metabolism persistently, leading to an altered feeding behavior that could contribute to the development of chronic diseases in the long term.

The role of nutritional profile in the orexigenic neuropeptide secretion in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease obese adolescents

Background Little progress has been made to identify the central neuroendocrine pathway involved in the energy intake control in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. Objective To assess the influence of orexigenic neuropeptides in the nutritional aspects of NAFLD obese adolescents submitted to a long-term interdisciplinary approach. Methods Fifty adolescents aged 15-19 years, with body mass index at least 95th percentile, consisting of 25 patients without NAFLD and 25 with NAFLD. The NAFLD diagnosis was determined by ultrasonography. Blood samples were collected to analyze glycemia, hepatic transaminases, and lipid profile. Insulin resistance was estimated by Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance Index. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti related protein concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Analyses of food intake were made by 3 days recordatory inquiry. Results At baseline conditions, the patients with NAFLD had significantly higher values of body mass, body mass index, visceral fat, triglycerides, VLDL-C, and hepatic transaminases. After the long-term intervention, they presented a significant reduction in these parameters. In both the groups, it was observed a significant decrease in energy intake, macronutrients and dietetic cholesterol. Only the patients with NAFLD presented a positive correlation between the saturated fatty acids intake and the orexigenic neuropeptides NPY and agouti related protein, and carbohydrate with NPY. Indeed, it was observed a positive correlation between energy intake, lipid (%) and saturated fatty acids with visceral fat accumulation. Conclusion Our findings showed an important influence of diet composition in the orexigenic system, being essential consider that the excessive saturated fatty acids intake could be a determinant factor to increase nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 22:557-563 (C) 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Loss of samples in the tissue microarray technique: comparison between slides using adhesive tape and silanized slides

The tissue microarray (TMA) technique allows multiple tissue samples in a single block. Commercial adhesive tape is used to avoid the loss of tissue samples during the immunostaining process. Few reports exist in the literature comparing the use of these adhesive tapes to other adhesive techniques. The objective of this study was to compare loss of sections adhered to slides using commercial adhesive tapes versus using silanized only slides. TMA was constructed with varying tissues using a fixed-base device (Beecher Instruments), placing 108 cylinders of 1 mm diameter in duplicate, spaced 1.2 mm apart. Section of 4 mu m were cut from the TMA block and adhered to 30 silanized slides and 30 commercial glass slides using adhesive tape, according to manufacturer`s recommendations. Vimentin immunoexpression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Antigenic recovery was realized in citrate buffer using a microwave oven. Cylinder loss in the immunohistochemical process was quantified and expressed as: total (>80%), almost complete (75-79%), or partial (50-74%). The commercial adhesive tape group presented lesser total loss (1.1 versus 6.4%), almost complete loss (2.2 versus 3.5%), and partial loss (2.1 versus 3.8%) than the silanized slide group (ANOVA, P < 0.05). The sum of total and almost complete losses in the silanized slide group was 9.9%, greater than the losses in slides using commercial adhesive tapes (3.3%) and less than reported and considered acceptable in the literature (10-30%). In conclusion, the use of silanized only slides presents very satisfactory results, requires less training, and reduces costs significantly, thus justifying their use in research.

Protease activity and the ultrastructure of broiler chicken PSE (pale, soft, exudative) meat

The biological cause of broiler PSE meat seems to be an excessive release of Ca(2+), promoted by a genetic mutation of ryanodine receptors located in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle cells. Excessive Ca(2+), associated with protein denaturation in meat, enhances protease activity and influences the functional properties of PSE meat. Twenty-four-hour post-mortem Pectoralis major m. samples exhibited lower values for pH, water-holding capacity, and shear force than did control samples, in contrast to colour (L*) and cooking loss values. Protease activity, measured as myofibril fragmentation index, presented higher values in PSE meat than in control samples. Ultrastructural examination revealed shrinking and depolymerisation of myofilaments and Z-lines disorganisation within the sarcomere in PSE meat. Intense calpain activity was also observed, indicating that the process may initiate at the filaments, because of protein denaturation, and spread through Z-lines, resulting in the collapse of the sarcomere structure. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of beta-lactoglobulin polymorphism and seasonality on bovine milk composition

The objective was to evaluate the effect of beta-lactoglobulin (beta-lg) polymorphism and seasonality on milk composition (fat, lactose, total solids, milk urea nitrogen, total protein, true protein, casein and somatic cell counts) of Holstein and Girolando cows. Milk and blood samples from 278 Holsteins cows and 156 Girolando cows were taken during two dry seasons and two rainy seasons, for milk composition analysis and to determine beta-lg genotypes, respectively. BB genotype was the most frequent for both breeds, followed by AA genotype for Holstein (BB>AA>AB) and by AB for Girolando cows (BB>AB>AA). No differences were found in milk compositional characteristics among genetic variants of beta-lg (AA, AB and BB) either between Holstein or Girolando cows. No association between milk composition and beta-lg genetic polymorphism was observed. During the dry season, independently of the breed considered, higher contents of lactose, true protein, casein and casein :true protein ratio were found.

Use of lignin extracted from different plant sources as standards in the spectrophotometric acetyl bromide lignin method

A nongravimetric acetyl bromide lignin (ABL) method was evaluated to quantify lignin concentration in a variety of plant materials. The traditional approach to lignin quantification required extraction of lignin with acidic dioxane and its isolation from each plant sample to construct a standard curve via spectrophotometric analysis. Lignin concentration was then measured in pre-extracted plant cell walls. However, this presented a methodological complexity because extraction and isolation procedures are lengthy and tedious, particularly if there are many samples involved. This work was targeted to simplify lignin quantification. Our hypothesis was that any lignin, regardless of its botanical origin, could be used to construct a standard curve for the purpose of determining lignin concentration in a variety of plants. To test our hypothesis, lignins were isolated from a range of diverse plants and, along with three commercial lignins, standard curves were built and compared among them. Slopes and intercepts derived from these standard curves were close enough to allow utilization of a mean extinction coefficient in the regression equation to estimate : lignin concentration in any plant, independent of its botanical origin. Lignin quantification by use of a common regression equation obviates the steps of lignin extraction, isolation, and standard curve construction, which substantially expedites the ABL method. Acetyl bromide lignin method is a fast, convenient analytical procedure that may routinely be used to quantify lignin.

Evaluation of IFA, MAT, ELISAs and immunoblotting for the detection of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in paired serum and aqueous humour samples from experimentally infected pigs

The study evaluated the efficiency of diagnostic laboratory methods to detect anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in paired serum and aqueous humour samples from experimentally infected pigs. 18-mixed breed pigs were used during the experiment; these were divided into two groups, G I (infected group, n = 10) and G2 (uninfected group, n = 8). Infection was performed with 4 x 10(4) VEG strain oocysts at day 0 by the oral route in G1 animals. All pigs were euthanized at day 60, when retina, aqueous humour, and blood samples were collected. Anti-T gondii antibody levels were assessed in serum (s) and aqueous humour (ah) by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), modified agglutination test (MAT), m-ELISA (using crude membranes from T gondii tachyzoites as antigen) and r-ELISA (using rhoptries from T gondii tachyzoites as antigen). Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) of samples from the retina were performed by using Tox4 and Tox5 primers. Antibody titers of G1 animals ranged from 128 to 1024 and from 16 to 256 in serum and aqueous humour, respectively. There were differences in the correlation coefficients between IFA(s) x IFA (ah) (r = 0.62, P = 0.05), MAT(s) x MAT (ah) (r = 0.97, P < 0.0001); however, there was no significant difference between r-ELISA(s) x r-ELISA (ah) (r = 0. 14, P = 0.7). Antibodies present in serum and aqueous humour recognized similar antigens. Samples of retina were positive by PCR in 30% (3/10) of infected pigs. G2 animals remained without antibody levels and were PCR negative throughout the experiment. These results suggest that the use of a combination of tests and immunoblotting for paired aqueous humour and serum samples could improve the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of ocular toxoplasmosis. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Risk factors associated with leptospirosis in dairy goats under tropical conditions in Brazil

Serum samples from 248 adult dairy goats from 13 flocks with lowered fertility farmed in the Rio de Janeiro region of Brazil were examined for Leptospira antibodies by MAT with 24 serovars, cut off 100. A questionnaire was completed for each herd. Antibodies were detected in 20.8% of these goats, mainly to serovar Hardjo. Risk factors associated with seroprevalence to leptospirosis were the frequency of professional veterinary supervision (OR = 2.35), climate (OR = 2.63) and grazing for more than 2 h a day. Flock factors as size, type of milking and offering of food supplementation, as well as the location and topography, the type of animal housing or the presence of silos did not significantly affect seroprevalence. We suggest that a successful control program for goat leptospirosis should include a complete investigation of herd management practices, which could influence in the occurrence of the infection. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of trace elements in fishes of Japanese foods marketed in Sao Paulo (Brazil)

In recent years, there has been increasing fish consumption in Brazil, largely due to the popularity of Japanese cuisine. No study, however, has previously assessed the presence of inorganic contaminants in species used in the preparation of Japanese food. In this paper, we determined total arsenic, cadmium, chromium, total mercury, and lead contents in 82 fish samples of Tuna (Thunnus thynnus), Porgy (Pagrus pagrus), Snook (Centropomus sp.), and Salmon (Salmo salar) species marketed in Sao Paulo (Brazil). Samples were mineralized in HNO(3)/H(2)O(2) for As, Cd, Cr and Pb, and in HNO(3)/H(2)SO(4)/V(2)O(5) for Hg. Inorganic contaminants were determined after the validation of the methodology using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP OES); and for Hg, an ICP-coupled hydride generator was used. Concentration ranges for elements analyzed in mg kg(-1) (wet base) were as follows: Total As (0.11-10.82); Cd (0.005-0.047); Cr (0.008-0.259); Pb (0.026-0.481); and total Hg (0.0077-0.9681). As and Cr levels exceeded the maximum limits allowed by the Brazilian law (1 and 0.1 mg kg(-1)) in 51.2 and 7.3% of the total samples studied, respectively. The most contaminated species were porgy (As = 95% and Cr = 10%) and tuna (As 91% and Cr = 10%). An estimation of As, Cd, Pb, and Hg weekly intake was calculated considering a 60 kg adult person and a 350 g consumption of fish per week, with As and Hg elements presenting the highest contribution on diets reaching 222% of provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) for As in porgy and 41% of PTWI for Hg in tuna. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.