Physical exercise and cardiac death due to pneumonia in male teenagers [Iznenadna smrt zbog upalće pluća za vrijeme tjelovježbe u trojice mladića]

From 1998 to 2008 we noticed 3 cardiac deaths in male teenagers aged 18-19 during or after physical exercise. The first was working at the site recreatively, the second was engaged in soccer recreatively and the third was professional soccer player. One felt general tiredness and was exhausted of a heavily physical effort, the other after physical exercise became septic and the third was without symptoms. One died suddenly during physical exercise at the field and two died in the hospital. At the forensic autopsy the first had bilateral bacterial pneumonia, possible high-altitude non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema and cerebral edema. The second had bilateral bacterial pneumonia, adult respiratory distress syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulation, suprarenal bleeding, cerebral edema, hypoplastic right coronary artery and myocardial fibrosis. The third had bilateral bacterial pneumonia, fibrinous pericarditis, cerebral contusion with edema, thickenning of the left ventricle 20 mm and hypoplastic ascending aorta. In Croatia the death rate among athletes reached 0.15/ 100,000, in athletes suffered of acute pneumonia 0.28/ 100,000, in others who practice exercise recreatively 0.57/ 100,000 (p = 0.0068), in all males who practice exercise recreatively 0.75/ 100,000 (p = 0.0014). Physical exercise is contraindicated in acute respiratory tract infections. Every such case has to be treated by physician. When to start with physical training after bacterial pneumonia depends on disappearing of clinical and X-ray signs of pneumonia, normalization of erythrocite sedimentation rate and of white cell count

Physical Exercise and Cardiac Death Due to Pneumonia in Male Teenagers

From 1998 to 2008 we noticed 3 cardiac deaths in male teenagers aged 18–19 during or after physical exercise. The first was working at the site recreatively, the second was engaged in soccer recreativelyand the third was professional soccer player. One felt general tiredness and was exhausted of a heavily physical effort, the other after physical exercise became septic and the third was without symptoms. One died suddenly during physical exercise at the field and two died in the hospital. At the forensic autopsy the first had bilateral bacterial pneumonia, possible high-altitude non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema and cerebral edema. The second had bilateral bacterial pneumonia, adult respiratory distress syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulation, suprarenal bleeding, cerebral edema, hypoplastic right coronary artery and myocardial fibrosis. The third had bilateral bacterial pneumonia, fibrinous pericarditis, cerebral contusion with edema, thickenning of the left ventricle 20 mm and hypoplastic ascending aorta. In Croatia the death rate among athletes reached 0.15/100 000, in athletes suffered of acute pneumonia 0.28/100 000, in others who practice exercise recreatively 0.57/100 000 (p=0.0068), in all males who practice exercise recreatively 0.75/100 000 (p=0.0014). Physical exercise is contraindicated in acute respiratory tract infections. Every such case has to be treated by physician. When to start with physical training after bacterial pneumonia depends on dissapearing of clinical and X-ray signs of pneumonia, normalization of erythrocite sedimentation rate and of white cell count

Aflatoxin Accumulation During the Growth of Mould Aspergillus flavus ATCC 26949 on Corn in Pure and Mixed Culture as Related to Various Temperature and Moisture Content

The relationship between mould biomass and the biosynthesis of afl atoxin B1 and G1 on solid substrates (whole and crushed maize grain) at temperatures from 15-40oC and a water content in the substrate of 20-38% has been investigated. The experiments have been carried out with the mould Aspergillus flavus ATCC 26949 in pure culture and in mixed culture respectively, the latter with the mould Trichothecium roseum ZMPBF 1226. The biomass growth during cultivation was measured by the chitin content, and the concentration of aflatoxins was determined by means of a ELISA. It has been established that the biosynthesis of the examined afl atoxins and their ratio primarily depend on the temperature of cultivation, rather than on the growth of the mycelium. The biomass of the mixed culture of A. flavus and T. roseum after 35 days of cultivation reduces the amount of aflatoxin B1 by 19-40%, and the amount of aflatoxin G1 by 30-45%. The decrease of concentration of both toxins is more pronounced in the substrate with a higher initial water content and at a higher temperature of cultivation

The effect of fungal competition on colonization of soybeans by moulds of the genus Aspergillus, Trichothecium and Fusarium and the ochratoxin A accumulation as related to temperature and moisture content

The relationship between mould biomass and accumulation of ochratoxin A (OTA) on solid substrate (slightly cracked soybeans) at temperatures from 15 to 35°C and a water content in the substrate of 20 to 38% was been investigated. The experiments were carried out with the mould Aspergillus ochraceus NRRL 3174 in pure culture and in mixed culture, respectively; the latter with the moulds Trichothecium roseum ZMPBF 1226 and Fusarium graminearum ZMPBF 1244. The biomass growth during cultivation was monitored by measuring the analysis of chitin as glucosamine, and the concentration of OTA was measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using Hewlett-Packard instrument with fluorescence detector. It was established that the accumulation of the examined OTA primarily depend on the temperature of cultivation rather than on the growth of the biomass. Thebiomass of the mixed culture of A. ochraceus, T. roseum and F. graminearum after 35 days of cultivation reduced the amount of OTA by 48, 72 and 85%, respectively. The decrease of concentration of OTA is more pronounced in the substrate with a higher initial water content and at higher temperature of cultivation.Keywords: Moulds, mycotoxins, ochratoxin A, chitin, HPL

Microbial Communities and Biofilms

Sve do godine 1960. mnoga stajališta okolišne mikrobiologije bila su postupci na osnovi promatranja. U novije doba bilo je izvrsnih prosudbi za razumijevanje ekonomski važnih neobičnih pojava, poput simbiotskih odnosa između bakterija iz roda Rhizobium i leguminoznih biljaka, dok je osnova bila temeljno razumijevanje odnosa između mikrobnoga rasta i fizičkih parametara, poput temperature i različitih tipova međudjelovanja između različitih mikroba u danome okolišu. Sveukupno, međutim, velik broj opažanja ostao je slabo objašnjen i po mnoge mikrobiologe činilo se da su različiti primjeri upotrijebljeni radi objašnjenja i interpretacije ponašanja mikroba u prirodnome okolišu bili manjkavi. U protekla tri desetljeća situacija se bitno promijenila i svo vrijeme, na sreću okolišnih mikrobiologa, mnogi slabo razumljivi zaostaci, sada ponovo egzistiraju kao poredak razumljiv koji je iznimno proširio razumijevanje odnosa između mikroba i njihova okoliša. Dva primjera za to jesu razumijevanje tvorbe biofilma i njegova okolišna važnost i strategija preživljavanja mikroba koji ne tvore endospore.Until the 1960s many aspects of environmental microbiology were dealt with on an observational basis. Certainly there was a good measure of understanding of economically important phenomena, such as the symbiotic relationship between Rhizobium and leguminous plants, while there was a basic understanding of the relationship between microbial growth and physical parameters, such as temperature and of the various types of interaction between different microorganisms in the same environment. Overall, however, many observations remained poorly explained and, to many microbiologists, it appeared that the various paradigms used to explain and interpret the behaviour of microorganisms in natural environments were defi cient. Over the past two decades, the situation has changed and while, happily for environmental microbiologists, much remains less than fully understood, there now exists a framework of knowledge which has greatly expanded the understanding of the relationship between microorganisms and their environments. Two examples are an understanding of biofi lm formation and its environmental importance and of the survival strategies of non-endospore forming microorganisms

Adhesion of Zearalenone to the Surface of Lactic Acid Bacteria Cells

Zearalenone is mycotoxin harmful to the health of humans and animals and is present in food and feed. Therefore, last few decades, great attention is paid to the development of biological detoxification methods with reference to the application of lactic acid bacteria in binding and removal of mycotoxins from food and feed. The aim of this work was to investigate the ability of lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (ATCC 53103) and Lactobacillus plantarum A1 to bind zearalenone unto the cell surface. The results showed that Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (ATCC 53103) and Lactobacillus plantarum A1 can bind signifi cant concentration of zearalenone, depending on the bacteria concentration in the medium and the incubation time. However, with longer time of incubation part of bounded mycotoxins were released back into the medium which indicates that the reaction of adhesion of toxin to the bacterial cells is reversible. Determination of zearalenone concentration was performed by competitive ELISA test

Genetic Diversity of Indigenous Saccharomyces sensu stricto Yeasts Isolated from Southern Croatia

Alcoholic fermentation is a polimicrobial process involving a large number of genera and species of yeast and bacteria. The major yeast genera involved in this process belongs to the Saccharomyces spp. The aim of this study was the isolation, identification and determination of genetic diversity of indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae natural population taken from cv. Plavac mali from secluded wine growing areas of Southern Croatia. Must samples were taken during the spontaneous alcoholic fermentation followed by yeast isolation. A total of 40 isolates that were physiologically confirmed to belong to the Saccharomyces sensu stricto group were furthermore differentiated by molecular methods. PCR-RFLP analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) region of the 18S ribosomal DNA identified 37 of the isolates as S. cerevisiae and two of the isolates as S. bayanus/pastorianus. All isolates were further analyzed by RAPD fingerprinting. The results of this study showed that in some cases the RAPD assay may be useful to separate species within the Saccharomyces sensu stricto group. The molecular analysis confirmed genetic diversity of S. cerevisiae indigenous population and additionally the involvement of indigenous S. paradoxus and S. bayanus was determined. The population structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has indicated that each vineyard is characterized with particular S. cerevisiae microflora. It is an important step towards the preservation and exploitation of yeast biodiversity in Southern Croatia

The Effect of Experimental Fungal Emulation on Colonization of Soybeans by Moulds of the Genus Aspergillus and Fusarium and on Aflatoxin B1 Accumulation in Relation to Temperature and Moisture Content in vitro

One strain of Aspergillus flavus ATCC 26949 and one strain of Fusarium graminearum ZMPBF 1244 were used to investigate the effect of growth in mixed culture on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) accumulation in respect to time and temperature of cultivation in vitro. The experiments were carried out with aflatoxigenous mould A. flavus ATCC 26949 in pure culture and in mixed culture, respectively, the latter with the common mould F. graminearum ZMPBF 1244. F. graminearum does not produce aflatoxins and chromatographycally similar compounds. The amount of biomass was estimated by measuring the chitin content; the aflatoxin accumulation by means of UV light and ELISA method. It was established that the accumulation of AFB1 primarily depend on the temperature of cultivation, rather than on growth of the mycelium. The biomass of the mixed culture of A. flavus and F. graminearum after 35 days of cultivation reduces the amount of AFB1 by 55 to 76% in respect to highest values obtained in experiments with the pure culture of A. flavus. Decrease of this toxin amount is more pronounced in the substrate at the higher water content and at the higher temperature of cultivation. As a general rule, cultures grown in mixed culture under investigate temperature conditions produced less amount of AFB1 than A. flavus grown in pure culture

Utjecaj inkubacijske temperature i koncentracije aflatoksina M1 u mlijeku na larve račića Artemia salina

Temperature-dose relationships with aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) were studied using the brine shrimp Artemia salina larvae as an biological indicator in the temperature range from 20 °C to 40 °C. Increase in the incubation temperature resulted in sensitivity increase by the brine shrimp to AFM1. Optimum sensitivity occured at 30 °C. Positive results were obtained at 0.18 μg AFM1 x L-1 of whole pasteurized milk with a mortality of over 15%. Greater than 90 % mortality occurred at dose levels of 0.9 μg AFM1 x L-1 and above. The test can be conducted during 30-60 hours.Proučavani su utjecaji inkubacijske temperature i koncentracije aflatoksina M1 (AFM1) na larve račića Artemia salina kao biologijskog indikatora u temperaturnom rasponu od 20 °C do 40 °C. Povišenje temperature inkubacije uzrokovalo je povećanu osjetljivost račića na AFM1. Optimalna osjetljivost očitovala se pri 30 °C. Pozitivni rezultati dobiveni su pri koncentraciji AFM1 0,18 μ g x L-1 pasteriziranog mlijeka uz izraženu smrtnost višu od 15 %. Smrtnost viša od 90 % očitovala se pri koncentracijama AFM1 0,9 μ g x L-1 i višim. Test se može provesti u tijeku 30-60 sati

EFFECT OF GROWTH BIOSTIMULATORS AND SOYBEAN SEED TREATMENTS WITH FUNGICIDES ON SYMBIOTIC NITROGEN FIXATION EFFICIENCY

Glavni cilj ovih istraživanja je provjera utjecaja predsjetvene bakterizacije soje, tretiranja sjemena soje fungicidima i primjene Bioalgeena-S90 kao biostimulatora rasta na nodulaciju i učinkovitost simbiozne fiksacije dušika. Istraživanje je provedeno 2004. godine u uvjetima staklenika postavljanjem trofaktorijelnog pokusa u četiri ponavljanja. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na pozitivan učinak bakterizacije na broj i masu suhe tvari kvržica, sadržaj ukupnog dušika u nadzemnom dijelu biljke i u stabljici te koncentraciju ureida u ksilemu. Primjena biostimulatora rasta Bioalgeena-S90 povećala je sadržaj dušika u nadzemnom dijelu biljke i u stabljici dok na koncentraciju ureida, broj i masu suhe tvari kvržica nije imala utjecaja. Primjena fungicida uz dodatak aminokiselina uzrokovala je signifikantno smanjenje mase suhe tvari kvržica, sadržaja N u nadzemnom dijelu biljke i u stabljici te koncentracije ureida u ksilemu.The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of rhizobial inoculation, treatment of soybean seed with fungicides and application of Bioalgeen-S90 as a growth biostimulator on nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation efficiency. The pot experiment was conducted in 2004 in a randomized complete block design in four replicates with a three factorial arrangement of treatments. The positive effect of rhizobial inoculation on nodule number, nodule dry weight, total nitrogen content in soybean aerial parts and stem, ureide concentration in xylem was determined. Foliar application of Bioalgeen-S90 significantly increased nitrogen content in soybean aerial parts and stem but on nodule number, nodule dry weight and ureide concentration in xylem the influence was not determined. Significantly lower nodule dry weight, total nitrogen content in soybean aerial parts and stem, ureide concentration in xylem were determined in pots with fungicide and amino acid treatments