Cells in the umbilical cord stroma have gained attention in recent years; however, differentiation to certain lineages in humans has been demonstrated in few studies. Unlike bone marrow MSCs, human umbilical cord stroma cells (HUCSCs) are far from being well characterized. This study attempts to describe proliferation, structural, and differentiation properties of these cells to account for their exceptional nature in many aspects. Cellular dynamics, cellular structure, and the degree of transformations during expansion and differentiation into mesenchymal and neuronal lineages were examined in vitro over a 10-month period. Comparisons with human bone marrow MSCs regarding differentiation were performed. HUCSCs in culture revealed two distinct cell populations, type 1 and type 2 cells, that possessed differential vimentin and cytokeratin filaments. Corresponding cells were encountered in cord sections displaying region-specific localization. α-Smooth muscle actin and desmin filaments, which were evident in cord sections, diminished through passages. No difference was noted regarding type 1 and type 2 cells in differentiation to chondrogenic, adipogenic, and osteogenic lineages, whereas a preferential differentiation was noted in neuronal lineage. Relative success was achieved by production of chondrocytic spheres and osteogenic monolayers, whereas adipocytes were immature compared with bone marrow MSCs. The presence of neuronal markers suggests that they transform into a certain state of maturity under neurogenic induction. Conclusively, HUCSCs retain their original phenotype in culture without spontaneous differentiation, have a limited lifespan, and bear multipotent stem cell characteristics. Given these characteristics, they may be generally considered progenitor cells if manipulated under appropriate conditions and deserve further study to be potentially used in cell-based therapies.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used as a tool to identify adulterated beef in raw meat mixtures, incorporating chicken or turkey meat in different proportions, 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 40%, and 100%. Six regions with characteristic bands were determined where significant differences were observed depending on the proportion of the substitution. In hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), dendrograms for wavenumbers between 2,980–2,800 cm⁻¹ and 1,140–1,020 cm⁻¹ provided effective differentiation for chicken meat adulteration, while for 1,290–1,210 cm⁻¹ and 2,880–2,800 cm⁻¹ were distinctive for turkey meat. In principal component analysis (PCA), whole spectrum, fingerprint (1,500–900 cm⁻¹), 1,290–1,210 cm⁻¹, and 1,480–1,425 cm⁻¹ were used in the discrimination of turkey and chicken meats. Furthermore, the 1,760–1,710 cm⁻¹ was significantly robust in chicken meat identification. PCA provided better classification than HCA in both adulterated mixtures. Our results showed that FTIR spectroscopy is a valuable tool to detect chicken or turkey meat adulteration in beef mixtures. Practical applications Fraudulent substitution in meat products is a growing concern that affects consumers, international and regional trade, and the meat industry at large. This exploratory study demonstrates that FTIR spectroscopy coupled with chemometric methods that facilitate the analysis of chemical data could become a robust, reliable technique to help in the detection of food fraud in the meat sector and beyond. This method is sensitive to meat composition variations, accurately reproduces results; and it is easy to use and low cost in comparison to traditional methods. The results demonstrated that FTIR spectroscopy brings specificity at the time of analyzing the kind of substitution that takes place because of the characteristics bands that help identify the added foreign meat material.

A total of 161 Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains isolated from children with urinary tract infection (UTI) were analysed for the genes encoding the virulence factors such as pyelonephritis (pap), s fimbriae (sfa), afimbrial adhesin I (afaI), haemolysin (hly), cytotoxic necrotising factor I (cnf I) and aerobactin (aer) by multiplex PCR. Ninety-four E. coli strains were found to carry at least one virulence factor. Therefore, 58.38% of total population was positive for one virulence gene at least. Percentage of genes within the total population for pap, sfa, afaI, hly, cnf I and aer was found as 22.98, 6.21, 9.94, 1.24, 9.94 and 39.75, respectively. Our analysis showed that sfa-pap (p < 0.001); pap-aer, afaI-aer and cnf I-pap (P < 0.05) and hly-sfa (p < 0.01) significantly co-occurred in their respective samples. In the light of these findings, we suggest an important role of pap causing UTI.