Specific detection of Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli strains by using ELISA with bacteriophages as recognition agents

The use of bacteriophages, instead of antibodies, in the ELISA-based detection of bacterial strains was tested. This procedure appeared to be efficient, and specific strains of Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli could be detected. The sensitivity of the assay was about 105 bacterial cells/well (106/ml), which is comparable with or outperforms other ELISA tests detecting intact bacterial cells without an enrichment step. The specificity of the assay depends on the kind of bacteriophage used. We conclude that the use of bacteriophages in the detection and identification of bacteria by an ELISA-based method can be an alternative to the use of specific antibodies. The advantages of the use of bacteriophages are their environmental abundance (and, thus, a possibility to isolate various phages with different specificities) and the availability of methods for obtaining large amounts of phage lysates, which are simple, rapid, cheap, and easy

Ex vivo ESR measurements associated with Monte Carlo calculations for accident dosimetry: Application to the 2001 Georgian accident

Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy and the Monte Carlo (MC) technique were jointly applied to the physical dose reconstruction of the accident that occurred on 2 December 2001 in Georgia. Three people were exposed to two very-high-activity (2.6×1015 Bq) 90Sr sources. Following this exposure, the two most seriously affected victims exhibited severe radiological injuries localised in the back as well as a haematopoietic syndrome. The information concerning the circumstances of the accident in terms of sequences of irradiation and the exposure time was not clearly established. The physical dose reconstruction of the accident was performed for one victim, treated in France, using both MC simulations and ESR measurements made on one vertebra and two rib samples removed from the victim for medical reasons. The complementary nature of the two tools made it possible to estimate the dose distribution within the body with reasonable accuracy and helped to develop the treatment strategy. © 2006 Oxford University Press

How can Automatic Identification System (AIS) data be used for maritime spatial planning?

International audienc

How to build oneself while interacting with family and / or with medical team - the knowledge on “being recovered” or “being still at risk” for venous thromboembolic events (VTE)

International audienc

Suspicion of radiological overexposures in Georgia (1998): The role of IPSN

At the end of July 1998, three 137Cs sources (between 0.17 and 150 GBq) were found in the vicinity of the village of Matkhoji, located at 300 km to the west of Tbilissi. This site was a former Russian military base, abandoned since 1992 and used now as pasture and a playground for the children. The Georgian Environment Ministry requested assistance from IAEA which sent a mission to the site. This established that a predominantly chronic exposure of part of the population of the village has occurred. The IAEA requested technical assistance from IPSN. A mission, made up of 4 people from IPSN and a representative of the IAEA went to the site from 12 to 17 October 1998. This mission collected information on the circumstances of the exposure and selected a potentially explored cohort of 112 people, in three groups: children of more than five years and adults of less than 50 years attending the site and members of a family who had a source in their cattle shed. An analysis of hematologic parameters was performed on these people and 85 blood samples were taken for biological dosimetry. The hematologic analysis carried out on the spot did not show any particular anomaly. The biological dosimetry by scoring of unstable chromosome aberrations (dicentric, rings centric, fragments) in blood peripheral lymphocytes was performed on blood samples after air transportation to the specialised laboratory (LDBM) of the IPSN Two successive procedures were initiated. The first was a quick phase of triage not very precise but intended to check if some of these people presented obvious signs of irradiation. Only 50 cells per subject were scored. Seven days were needed to complete this phase. Dicentrics were found in three people only indicating a whole-body dose not exceeding 0.5 Gy on average. This triage was followed of a more complete but longer examination, where chromosome aberrations were scored in 250 cells. Six weeks were necessary to score 22 000 cells from the 85 people. In total, 30 dicentrics were scored among only 17 Georgian patients. The highest dose to the whole body estimated from a reference calibration curve was 0.3 Gy The majority of these dicentrics was found in the children having played on several occasions in the former military camp. Unfortunately, the information provided by the population was too fragmentary to permit an effective reconstruction of the individual doses

Moyens de recouvrement du brûlé grave : réflexions sur leur application aux lésions radiologiques

Après une brûlure grave, le blessé est fragilisé par le risque infectieux et une réaction inflammatoire générale. les tissus nécrosés doivent être enlevés car ils sont toxiques pour l'organisme. il faut donc restituer au malade une enveloppe cutanée, ce qui est le rôle d'un centre de traitement des brûlés. les différentes techniques possibles sont décrites : - autogreffes conventionnelles sur les brûlures peu étendues ; - substituts cutanés pour recouvrir temporairement les brûlures étendues. parmi ceux-ci on distingue : les substituts naturels : xénogreffes (peau de porc...) ou allogreffes (peau humaine), les substituts naturels transformés qui ne conservent que la trame de la matrice extra cellulaire. les peaux artificielles appartiennent à cette catégorie et permettent d'obtenir des cicatrices de grande qualité, les cultures cellulaires qui consistent en la multiplication en laboratoire des cellules d'un individu qui lui seront greffées ensuite. ce n'est pas encore une technique de routine mais elle peut permettre la survie de malades très graves. Les brûlures radiologiques soulèvent beaucoup de questions. leurs caractéristiques sont analysées : douleur intense, permanente, résistante aux antalgiques, parallélisme difficile à établir avec les brûlures thermiques... Malgré le peu de cas rencontrés, quelques réflexions et orientations sur la prise en charge des radionécroses peuvent être données : importance du confort du malade, de la sédation des douleurs, de la prévention de l'infection et de l'équilibre nutritionnel. Au stade de l'épidermite et des phlyctènes, le traitement peut être complété par l'utilisation de facteurs de croissance. Au stade de nécrose, après couverture temporaire, l'autogreffe ne doit intervenir que si on est sûr de la non-évolutivité du socle receveur. L'indication des cultures cellulaires pour apporter harmonieusement des facteurs de croissance peut être discutée

Neuro-inflammatory response in rats chronically exposed to 137Cesium

After the Chernobyl nuclear accident, behavioural disorders and central nervous system diseases were frequently observed in populations living in the areas contaminated by 137Cs. Until now, these neurological disturbances were not elucidated, but the presence of a neuro-inflammatory response could be one explanation. Rats were exposed for 3 months to drinking water contaminated with 137Cs at a dose of 400 Bq kg-1, which is similar to that ingested by the population living in contaminated areas in the former USSR countries. Pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine genes were assessed by real-time PCR in the frontal cortex and the hippocampus. At this level of exposure, gene expression of TNF-α and IL-6 increased in the hippocampus and gene expression of IL-10 increased in the frontal cortex. Concentration of TNF-α, measured by ELISA assays, was also increased in the hippocampus. The central NO-ergic pathway was also studied: iNOS gene expression and cNOS activity were significantly increased in the hippocampus. In conclusion, this study showed for the first time that sub-chronic exposure with post-accidental doses of 137Cs leads to molecular modifications of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and NO-ergic pathway in the brain. This neuro-inflammatory response could contribute to the electrophysiological and biochemical alterations observed after chronic exposure to 137Cs. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved