Microbial pathogens are the cause of many foodborne diseases after the ingestion of contaminated food. Several preservation methods have been developed to assure microbial food safety, as well as nutritional values and sensory characteristics of food. However, the demand for natural antimicrobial agents is increasing due to consumers’ concern on health issues. Moreover, the use of antibiotics is leading to multidrug resistant microorganisms reinforcing the focus of researchers and the food industry on natural antimicrobials. Natural antimicrobial compounds from plants, animals, bacteria, viruses, algae and mushrooms are covered. Finally, new perspectives from researchers in the field and the interest of the food industry in innovations are reviewed. These new approaches should be useful for controlling foodborne bacterial pathogens; furthermore, the shelf-life of food would be extended.

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University students are characterized by having inadequate eating habits, along with an unhealthy lifestyle, which, among other factors, can affect the perception they have of their state of health. The aim of the study was to evaluate the health perception of a group of university students according to lifestyle. A cross-sectional observational study was carried out on 214 university students from different universities and branches of knowledge. Anthropometric data were collected. Three questionnaires were administered: PREDIMED (Mediterranean Diet (MD) adherence), SF-36 (perception of health state) and GPAQ (physical activity (PA)). The differences between variables were analyzed using Student-t or Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis and Pearson Chi-Square tests. Statistical significance was reached at p < 0.05. Most students were found to be normal weighted. The subjects presented an moderate MD adherence, this being better in Health Sciences students. 75.7% practiced light PA. The health perception is worse for most of the subscales analyzed than that of the reference population (except physical-function, physical-role, and emotional-role). There is an association between PA and health perception: students with intense PA have less body pain and better physical function; the less active, the less vitality. The more physically active subjects the greater MD adherence. Lifestyle and eating habits of health sciences students are healthier than that of students from other branches of knowledge. The physically active subjects have a better perception of quality of life-related to health and greater MD adherence.

In clinical practice, geriatric nutritional assessment usually includes nutritional screening, a simple anthropometric assessment, measurement of various biochemical parameters, such as serum albumin, and sometimes (not always) body composition analysis (BCA). However, there is a high prevalence of undiagnosed malnutrition in patients with dementia. Several factors contribute to this situation; probably, the most notable is the methodology used to assess body composition (BC). In this regard, for BCA, techniques are needed that are noninvasive, affordable, safe, simple and that require the minimum possible collaboration by the elderly patient. Consequently, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) are widely used as indicators of overall and central adiposity, respectively; however, there is no consensus on the cutoffs for the elderly, and changes in BC (especially muscle-mass depletion) are masked by normal values of BMI and WC. Bioimpedance analysis is a simple, cost-effective and precise method for BCA, provided that cross-validated equations are used. Its main disadvantage is that it is highly sensitive to changes in body water (overhydration or dehydration), leading to substantial errors in BC estimates. However, using Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis errors are minimized, as there is no need for the subject to be normally hydrated and it does not require the use of predictive models.

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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) is increasingly used in clinical research to assess soft tissue hydration. It Q2 is known that physical characteristics of electrodes, such as low intrinsic impedance, low electrode/skin contact impedance and type of gel, affect the reliability of noninvasive bioimpedance assessments. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of intrinsic impedance of electrode on the bioimpedance vector displacement in RXc graph. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The intrinsic impedance is measured in nine pregelled disposable Ag/AgCl electrodes usually used for bioimpedance measures. The BIVA method is performed on 35 healthy volunteers using a 50 kHz phase-sensitive bioimpedance analyzer (BIA 101 Anniversary) with the lowest intrinsic impedance electrode and highest. The individual bioimpedance vector is plotted on the bivariate normal interval of reference population. The differences in the mean bioimpedance vectors obtained with each electrode are plotted, with their 95% confidence ellipses, on the dRXc graph. The paired one-sample Hotelling's T 2 -test is used to compare the differences of the mean bioimpedance vectors. RESULTS: We found large variability in intrinsic resistance (11-665 Ω) and reactance (0.25-2.5 Ω) values of the electrodes analyzed and significant displacement (P o0.05) of bioimpedance vector positions in healthy adults according to the paired one-sample Hotelling's T 2 -test. CONCLUSIONS: A robust study of all physical characteristics of commercial Ag/AgCl electrodes is necessary to reach consensus on pregelled Ag/AgCl electrodes valid for bioimpedance measurement. This information will enable BIVA users to avoid systemic errors when performing BIVA assessments, specifically when these measurements are used for clinical interpretations.

Ingesta dietética y adherencia a la dieta mediterránea en un grupo de estudiantes universitarios en función de la práctica deportiva AbstractIntroduction: University students eating habits are moving away increasingly from the Mediterranean Diet (MD) Both nutrition and physical activity are essential to preserve an appropriate health. Objective: To compare food intake between athletes and sedentary University students. Subjects and methods: Cross-sectional study conducted on 49 students from the University of Valladolid. The weight and height were determined. The physical activity was evaluated by the GPAQ questionnaire. A food frequency questionnaire and a three-day food record were completed for the food intake analysis. The MD adherence was estimated by the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). Differences by sex and sport practice were analyzed with the T-test or with the Mann-Whitney-test. Statistical signifi cance was reached at p < 0.05. Results: All subjects had normal weight with no signifi cant differences depending on the sports practice. Women had a lower physical activity level than men. The diet in the whole sample was slightly hyperproteic, rich in fats and cholesterol, with an inadequate fat profi le and poor in carbohydrates and fi ber. Generally, the students covered the micronutrients requirements. There was a scarce consumption of fruits and vegetables, cereals, olive oil, fi sh and nuts; and an excessive intake of meat, butter, processed bakery foods, sweets, snacks and soft drinks. Around 50% of the sample had a low or very low MD adherence. Conclusion: The University student food pattern does not accomplish the nutritional objectives within the Spanish population and have a medium-low Mediterranean diet adherence, and there are no differences depending on the sports practice. ResumenIntroducción: la alimentación de los jóvenes universitarios se aleja cada vez más de la dieta mediterránea (DM). El binomio alimentación-actividad física es fundamental para mantener un adecuado estado de salud. Objetivo: comparar la ingesta en un grupo de estudiantes universitarios deportistas frente a otro que no realiza deporte habitualmente. Sujetos y métodos: estudio observacional transversal realizado en 49 voluntarios de la Universidad de Valladolid. Se determinaron peso, talla y actividad física (cuestionario GPAQ). La ingesta se evaluó a partir de un cuestionario de frecuencia de consumo y un registro de alimentos de 3 días. La adherencia a la DM se estimó con el Mediterranean Diet Score. Las diferencias entre las variables en función del sexo y la práctica deportiva se analizaron con la t de Student o la U-Mann-Whitney. Signifi cación estadística: p < 0,05. Resultados: todos los sujetos presentaron normopeso, sin diferencias en función de la práctica deportiva. El nivel de actividad física fue inferior en las mujeres. En todos los estudiantes la dieta fue ligeramente hiperproteica, rica en grasas y colesterol, con un inadecuado perfi l lipídico y defi ciente en hidratos de carbono y fi bra. Se cubren los r...

a b s t r a c tObjective: Although dementia and nutritional status have been shown to be strongly associated, differences in body composition (BC) among older people with dementia have not yet been firmly established. The aim of this study was to assess BC through conventional and vector bioimpedance analysis (BIA and BIVA, respectively) in a sample of institutionalized older men with and without dementia, in order to detect dementia-related BC changes. Methods: Forty-one institutionalized men ages 65 y (23 without dementia [CG] and 18 with dementia [DG]) were measured with BIA and interpreted with BIVA and predictive equations. Results: Age (74.4 and 75.7 y) and body mass index (22.5 and 23.6 kg/m 2 ) were similar for DG and CG, respectively. Resistance and ratio of resistance to height did not differ significantly between the two groups. Reactance and ratio of reactance to height were 21.2% and 20.4% lower in DG than in CG. Phase angle was significantly lower in DG (mean ¼ 4.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.6 -4.3 ) than in CG (mean ¼ 4.7; 95% CI, 4.3 -5.1 ). Mean fat mass index (6 and 7 kg/m 2 ), and mean fat-free mass index (16.4 and 16.6 kg/m 2 ) were similar in both groups. BIVA showed a significant downward migration of the ellipse in DG with respect to CG (T 2 ¼ 15.1; P < 0.01). Conclusion: Conventional BIA showed no significant differences in BC between DG and CG, although reactance and ratio of reactance to height were about 21% lower in DG. Nevertheless, a body cell mass depletion and an increase in the ratio of extracellular to intracellular water were identified in DG using BIVA. BIVA reflects dementia-related changes in BC better than BIA.