Assisted ultrasound applications for the production of safe foods.

Ultrasound requires high power and longer treatment times to inactivate micro-organisms when compared to ultrasound combined with other technologies. Previous reports have shown that the effectiveness of ultrasound as a decontamination technology can be increased by combining it with another treatment such as pressure, heat and antimicrobial solutions. Assisted ultrasound, the combination of ultrasound with another technology, is more energy efficient, and it has less impact on the food properties. In this review paper, the power ultrasound antimicrobial mechanisms of action, the antimicrobial effects of ultrasound in combination with other physical processes and antimicrobial solutions are comprehensively discussed. Furthermore, the present interest on using these technologies as alternative processing and decontamination methods is presented. Research outputs on the application of ultrasound combined with physical processes are showcased including applications of thermosonication, manosonication, manothermosonication and osmosonication. Antimicrobial efficacy, energy requirements and optimal operation conditions of the different assisted ultrasound technologies are critically discussed, and their impact on the food industry for future applications is presented. Overall, this review paper highlights the importance and recent developments of assisted ultrasound for enhancing food safety.

Behavioural effects of parafascicular thalamic lesions in an animal model of parkinsonism.

We recently reported that the centromedian-parafascicular thalamic complex (CM-Pf) degenerates in Parkinson's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy. The contribution of such thalamic pathology to disease symptoms has not yet been established. The present study therefore investigated the behavioural impact of lesioning the corresponding thalamic region (termed Pf) on a range of behaviours present in rodents. There were four surgical groups: (1) sham medial forebrain bundle (mfb)+sham Pf, (2) 6-OHDA mfb lesion+sham Pf, (3) sham mfb+NMDA Pf lesion, (4) 6-OHDA+NMDA Pf lesions. Posture, sensory functions and apomorphine-induced rotational asymmetry were assessed before and after each surgery. Other assessments performed including a timed motivational task, grooming behaviours and piloerection. 6-OHDA lesions induced postural (ipsilateral curling and head position biases), sensorimotor (increased latency to respond to tactile stimulation of the contralateral side when eating or grooming) and rotational abnormalities (contralateral circling after apomorphine). The main effects of combined 6-OHDA+Pf lesions were improved performance in a motivational task (decreased latency to retrieve reward) but worsened piloerection, relative to animals with either 6-OHDA or Pf lesions alone. The thalamic zone common to all lesioned animals involved the posterior Pf. Our data suggests that the posterior CM-Pf may be involved in motivational responses and autonomic dysfunction in parkinsonian disorders.