Browsing by Author "Day L"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Designing a culture of co- learning: Mobilizing knowledge about KMb amongst graduate students
    (5/05/2016) LaMarre A; Bishop-Williams K; Racey M; Day L; Meeks T
    e goal of this Field Note is to outline our experiences developing and maintaining aKnowledge Translation and Transfer-Knowledge Mobilization (KTT-KMb) LearningCircle for graduate students at the University of Guelph. Since the fall of 2013, we haveplanned and held events and training opportunities for graduate students across theuniversity’s colleges and maintained an online presence for our membership of 107students. In this article, we reflect on the successes of the Learning Circle, including asustained presence across an interdisciplinary group, securing funding, and engagingin successful collaborations. We also highlight our challenges, including attendance atevents, staying relevant in a quickly evolving field, and striving toward sustainability.Our hope is that this article provides a non-prescriptive guideline for students wishingto develop similar “by student, for student” initiatives to scaffold graduate studentlearning and engagement in KTT-KMb.
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    Differences in Aroma Metabolite Profile, Microstructure, and Rheological Properties of Fermented Milk Using Different Cultures
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2023-05-02) Nguyen HTH; Gomes Reis M; Wa Y; Alfante R; Chanyi RM; Altermann E; Day L; Božani´c R
    Texture and flavour are the key attributes determining sensory quality and are highly affected by starter cultures. A selection of phenotypic strains is needed to create diverse texture and flavour to meet consumers' preferences. In this study, the use of five lactic acid bacteria strains in the production of fermented milk, along with the metabolite profiles, microstructure, and rheological properties of the fermented milk samples, was investigated. Our results showed that Lactobacillus helveticus (LH) and Streptococcus thermophilus (ST) had a stronger acidification during fermentation but resulted in products with a coarser protein network compared to Lactococcus lactis (BL1) and Leuconostoc mesenteroides (CL3). Milk fermented by LH had the highest viscosity and exopolysaccharide concentration, while milk fermented by ST had the highest concentration of diacetyl. Although Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides (CL3ST) had a minimal acidification capability, it produced high levels of ethyl-derived compounds associated with sweet, fruity, and floral fragrances. The results demonstrated that LH and ST could be used as starter cultures targeting fermented milks with different viscosities, while BL1, CL3, and CL3ST are suitable as adjunct cultures to impact different acidic sharpness and flavour notes.
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    Extensive bacteriocin gene shuffling in the Streptococcus bovis/Streptococcus equinus complex reveals gallocin D with activity against vancomycin resistant enterococci.
    (Springer Nature Limited, 2020-08-10) Hill D; O'Connor PM; Altermann E; Day L; Hill C; Stanton C; Ross RP
    Streptococcus gallolyticus LL009 produces gallocin D, a narrow spectrum two component bacteriocin with potent activity against vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Gallocin D is distinct from gallocin A, a separate two component bacteriocin produced by S. gallolyticus. Although the gene clusters encoding gallocin A and gallocin D have a high degree of gene synteny, the structural genes are highly variable and appear to have undergone gene shuffling with other streptococcal species. Gallocin D was analysed in laboratory-based experiments. The mature peptides are 3,343 ± 1 Da and 3,019 ± 1 Da and could be readily synthesized and display activity against a vancomycin resistant Enterococcus strain EC300 with a MIC value of 1.56 µM. Importantly, these bacteriocins could contribute to the ability of S. gallolyticus to colonize the colon where they have been associated with colorectal cancer.
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    Extracellular Polysaccharide Extraction from Streptococcus thermophilus in Fermented Milk.
    (American Society for Microbiology, 2022-04-27) Wa Y; Chanyi RM; Nguyen HTH; Gu R; Day L; Altermann E; Cocolin L
    Lactic acid bacteria such as Streptococcus thermophilus are known to produce extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) in fermented foods that enhance the creaminess and mouthfeel of the product, such as yogurt. Strains producing larger amounts of EPS are highly sought-after, and therefore, robust and accurate quantification methodologies are important. This study found that two commonly used methodologies significantly underestimated the amount of EPS produced as measured using a milk matrix. To this end, a proteolytic step was implemented prior to EPS extraction (Method C). An initial proteolytic step using xanthan gum-spiked milk significantly increased recovery yield to 64%, compared to 27.8% for Method A and 34.3% for Method B. Method C showed no improvement when assessed using a chemically defined medium. Method C was further validated using three strains of S. thermophilus with varying EPS-production capabilities (STLOW, STMID, STHIGH). Overall, Method C demonstrated significant improvements in the EPS extraction yield for all three S. thermophilus strains in fermented milk. On average, Method C improved isolation yield by ∼3- to 6-fold compared with Method A and by ∼2- to 3-fold compared with method B. There were no significant differences between samples when they were grown in a chemically defined medium, highlighting the importance of a proteolytic step specifically for fermented milk samples. In commercial applications, accurate quantification of EPS-production is an important aspect when finding new strains. IMPORTANCE Extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) production by milk-fermenting microorganisms is a highly sought-after trait in improving the perceived thickness, creaminess, and mouthfeel of yogurt. Streptococcus thermophilus are commonly isolated and their EPS production is quantified in the search for higher-producing strains. In this study, we demonstrated that two commonly used methods for isolating EPS from milk samples significantly underestimated the true amount of EPS present. We demonstrated that the addition of a proteolytic step prior to EPS extraction isolated over 2-fold more EPS than identical samples processed using the traditional protocols. We further validated this method in fermented milk samples from three strains of S. thermophilus that included a low-, mid-, and high-EPS producing strain. Again, we showed significant improvements in EPS isolation using a proteolytic step. In the search for new S. thermophilus strains with enhanced EPS production, accurate quantification in an optimal medium is essential.
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    Lipidomics of Brain Tissues in Rats Fed Human Milk from Chinese Mothers or Commercial Infant Formula
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2019-10-28) Su M; Subbaraj AK; Fraser K; Qi X; Jia H; Chen W; Gomes Reis M; Agnew M; Day L; Roy NC; Young W
    Holistic benefits of human milk to infants, particularly brain development and cognitive behavior, have stipulated that infant formula be tailored in composition like human milk. However, the composition of human milk, especially lipids, and their effects on brain development is complex and not fully elucidated. We evaluated brain lipidome profiles in weanling rats fed human milk or infant formula using non-targeted UHPLC-MS techniques. We also compared the lipid composition of human milk and infant formula using conventional GC-FID and HPLC-ELSD techniques. The sphingomyelin class of lipids was significantly higher in brains of rats fed human milk. Lipid species mainly comprising saturated or mono-unsaturated C18 fatty acids contributed significantly higher percentages to their respective classes in human milk compared to infant formula fed samples. In contrast, PUFAs contributed significantly higher percentages in brains of formula fed samples. Differences between human milk and formula lipids included minor fatty acids such as C8:0 and C12:0, which were higher in formula, and C16:1 and C18:1 n11, which were higher in human milk. Formula also contained higher levels of low- to medium-carbon triacylglycerols, whereas human milk had higher levels of high-carbon triacylglycerols. All phospholipid classes, and ceramides, were higher in formula. We show that brain lipid composition differs in weanling rats fed human milk or infant formula, but dietary lipid compositions do not necessarily manifest in the brain lipidome.