Expertsysteem voor het ontwerpen van spuitgietmatrijzen met standaardcomponenten

SIGLEKULeuven Campusbibliotheek Exacte Wetenschappen / UCL - Université Catholique de LouvainBEBelgiu

Accumulation and detoxification of metals and arsenic in tissues of cattle (**Bos taurus**), and the risks for human consumption

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Burkholderia (Pseudomonas) cepacia and cystic fibrosis: The epidemiology in Belgium

SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

A 4-years eel research proposal submitted to the Belgian research Programme "Science for a sustainable development

The European eel (Anguilla anguilla (L).) is a widespread species in decline and current fisheries are considered outside sustainable limits. The European Commission has proposed that the primary instrument for management of European eel should be the development by Member States of "Eel Management Plans" including putting in place monitoring actions for the EU Data Collection Regulation. A research project proposal has been submitted to the Belgian Research programme “Science for a Sustainable Development”. Partners involved are institutes and universities in Flanders and Wallonia. The project is entitled “Progressive extinction of the eel: biological basis for a national recovery plan” and has the acronym ”EELBASE”. The objective is setting the scientific base for the development of the national Eel Management Plans by developing an eel database (EELBASE), designing a Belgian eel restocking programme and collecting new data about the key factors affecting the eel stocks throughout Belgium. Field studies in selected basins will focus on ecological aspects including habitat evaluation of yellow eel, silver eel escapement and impact of turbines and pumps. Another objective is to evaluate interactions between the different environmental and physiological parameters by means of an extensive assessment of physiological traits of eels of polluted and unpolluted sites. For this, several aspects of health and condition of local pre-silver and silver eel populations will be studied (a series of physiological parameters, quality of gametes, parasitological and viral agents, …).Keywords: European eel, Anguilla anguilla, management, stocks, migration, physiolog

Characterisation of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from bloodstream infections, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Staphylococcus aureus is known worldwide as an invasive pathogen, but information on S. aureus from bloodstream infections in Central Africa remains scarce. A collection of S. aureus blood culture isolates recovered from hospitals in four provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2009–2013) was assessed. A total of 27/108 isolates were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), of which >70% were co-resistant to aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, macrolides and lincosamides. For MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates, resistance to chloramphenicol and trimethoprim–sulphamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) was <10%. However, 66.7% (72/108) of all isolates harboured the trimethoprim resistance gene dfrG. More than three-quarters (84/108, 77.8%) of isolates belonged to CC5, CC8, CC121 or CC152. Genetic diversity was higher among MSSA (31 spa types) compared to MRSA (four spa types). Most MRSA (23/27, 85.2%) belonged to CC8-spa t1476-SCCmec V and 17/23 (73.9%) MRSA ST8 were oxacillin susceptible but cefoxitin resistant. Among MRSA and MSSA combined, 49.1% (53/108) and 19.4% (21/108) contained the genes encoding for Panton–Valentine leucocidin (lukS-lukF PV, PVL) and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (tst, TSST-1), respectively. PVL was mainly detected among MSSA (51/53 isolates harbouring PVL were MSSA, 96.2%) and associated with CC121, CC152, CC1 and CC5. TSST-1 was associated with CC8-spa t1476-SCCmec V. The immune evasion cluster (IEC) genes scn, sak and chp were detected in 81.5% of isolates (88/108, equally represented among MSSA and MRSA). The present study confirms the occurrence of MRSA with high levels of multidrug co-resistance and PVL-positive MSSA among invasive S. aureus isolates in Central Africa.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage among healthcare workers in Kisangani, the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a global health concern, but there are few data from Central Africa. The objective of our study was to characterise S. aureus colonisation isolates from healthcare-exposed professionals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Healthcare workers and medical students (n = 380) in Kisangani, DRC were screened for S. aureus nasal carriage in a single-centre cross-sectional study in the University Hospital of Kisangani. The isolates were identified and characterised using phenotypic and genotypic methods. The nasal carriage rate of S. aureus was 16.6 % and 10 out of 63 isolates (15.9 %) were MRSA. We found 28 different spa types. Most MRSA isolates belonged to ST8-spa t1476-SCCmec V. The majority of MRSA were multidrug-resistant to non-beta-lactam antibiotics. Overall, 28.5 % of S. aureus carried Panton–Valentine leucocidin (PVL)-encoding genes (all methicillin-sensitive) and 17.5 % carried toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1)-encoding genes. The finding of MRSA carriage among healthcare workers in a setting with limited access to diagnostic microbiology and appropriate therapy calls for improved education on infection control practices and supports the introduction of surveillance programmes.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe