Biomedical subjects

Pilar Mañas

Publications and source records attributed to Pilar Mañas.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Predicting heat inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus under nonisothermal treatments at different pH.

The aim was to assess whether heat resistance data obtained from isothermal treatments allow the estimation of survivors of Staphylococcus aureus under nonisothermal conditions and to find a model that accurately predicts its heat inactivation at constantly rising heating rates (0.5-9 degrees C/min) in media of different pH (4.0-7.4). S. aureus showed a higher heat resistance under isothermal treatments at pH 4.0 than at pH 5.5-7.4. However, under nonisothermal treatments S. aureus increased its heat resistance at pH 5.5-7.4 and became more thermotolerant than at pH 4.0. Estimations of survival curves under nonisothermal treatments obtained from heat resistance parameters of isothermal treatments did not adequately fit experimental values. Whereas the number of survivors was much higher than estimated at pH 5.5-7.4, that obtained at the slower heating rates at pH 4.0 was lower. An equation based on the Weibullian-like distribution (log10 S(t) = (t/delta)p) accurately described survival curves obtained under nonisothermal conditions. A nonlinear relationship was observed among the scale parameter (delta) and the heating rate which allowed the development of two equations capable of predicting the inactivation rate of S. aureus under nonisothermal treatments. This study might contribute to prevent public health risks in foods requiring long heating lag phases during their processing.

Food Handling↗

PubMed2005

Effects of several applications of digested sewage sludge on soil and plants.

Sewage sludge production has significantly increased during the last years in European Union (EU) countries, being primarily used for agricultural purposes. In this study, digested sewage sludge was applied to greenhouse soil over a three-year period (2001--2003), with three sludge treatments in the first two years (2, 4, and 6 kg m(-2)) and three more applications using a greater quantity in the last year (6, 8, and 10 kg m(-2)). The effects of sewage sludge application on soil and on a leafy crop (Lactuca sativa L.) were studied. Mineral elements, organic matter, pH, and heavy metals were measured in soil and plant tissues. Pathogen and indicator microorganism dynamics in soil were also determined after each sludge application. Results showed that sewage sludge applications increased organic matter, P, and N Ca content in soil. Furthermore, Zn, Pb, Ni, and Cu content increased in soils, primarily after high doses of sludge. The highest yield value was obtained in the second-year harvest, since the last sludge application did not increase yield. Fecal coliform numbers decreased significantly one month after sludge application. However, total coliforms, Clostridium sulphite-reducers and Salmonella, were present in soils three months after sludge application.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2004

Morphological and physiological changes induced by high hydrostatic pressure in exponential- and stationary-phase cells of Escherichia coli: relationship with cell death.

The relationship between a loss of viability and several morphological and physiological changes was examined with Escherichia coli strain J1 subjected to high-pressure treatment. The pressure resistance of stationary-phase cells was much higher than that of exponential-phase cells, but in both types of cell, aggregation of cytoplasmic proteins and condensation of the nucleoid occurred after treatment at 200 MPa for 8 min. Although gross changes were detected in these cellular structures, they were not related to cell death, at least for stationary-phase cells. In addition to these events, exponential-phase cells showed changes in their cell envelopes that were not seen for stationary-phase cells, namely physical perturbations of the cell envelope structure, a loss of osmotic responsiveness, and a loss of protein and RNA to the extracellular medium. Based on these observations, we propose that exponential-phase cells are inactivated under high pressure by irreversible damage to the cell membrane. In contrast, stationary-phase cells have a cytoplasmic membrane that is robust enough to withstand pressurization up to very intense treatments. The retention of an intact membrane appears to allow the stationary-phase cell to repair gross changes in other cellular structures and to remain viable at pressures that are lethal to exponential-phase cells.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed2003

Predicting thermal inactivation in media of different pH of Salmonella grown at different temperatures.

The influence of the growth temperature and the pH of the heating medium on the heat resistance at different temperatures of Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 13311 was studied and described mathematically. The shift of the growth temperature from 10 to 37 degrees C increased heat resistance of S. typhimurium fourfold. The pH of the heating medium at which heat resistance was maximum was pH 6 for cells grown at 37 degrees C, but changed with growth temperature. The alkalinization of the heating medium from pH 6 to pH 7.7 decreased the heat resistance of cells grown at 37 degrees C by a factor of 3. Neither the growth temperature nor the pH modified the z values significantly (4.9 degrees C). The decimal reduction times at different treatment temperatures, in buffers of different pH of cells of S. typhimurium grown at different temperatures, were accurately described by a mathematical equation (correlation coefficient of 0.97). This equation was also tested for Salmonella senftenberg 775W (ATCC 43845) and Salmonella enteritidis ATCC 13076, strains in which the correlation coefficients between the observed and the theoretically calculated values were 0.91 and 0.98, respectively.

Culture Media↗