Improved culture enrichment broth for isolation of Arcobacter-like species from the marine environment

Arcobacter-like species are found associated with many matrices, including shellfish in marine environments. The culture media and conditions play a major role in the recovery of new Arcobacter-like species. This study was aimed to develop a culture media for isolation and enhanced growth of Arcobacter-like spp. from marine and shellfish matrices. For this purpose, 14 different Arcobacter-like spp. mostly isolated from shellfish, were grown in 24 different formulations of enrichment broths. The enrichment broths consisted of five main groups based on the organic contents (fresh oyster homogenate, lyophilized oyster either alone or in combination with other standard media), combined with artificial seawater (ASW) or 2.5% NaCl. Optical density (OD420nm) measurements after every 24 h were compared with the growth in control media (Arcobacter broth) in parallel. The mean and standard deviation were calculated for each species in each broth and statistical differences (p < 0.05) among broths were calculated by ANOVA. The results indicated that shellfish-associated Arcobacter-like species growth was significantly higher in Arcobacter broth + 50% ASW and the same media supplemented with lyophilized oysters. This is the first study to have used fresh or lyophilized oyster flesh in the enrichment broth for isolation of shellfish-associated Arcobacter-like spp.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Toxic elements and speciation in seafood samples from different contaminated sites in Europe

The presence of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (THg), methylmercury (MeHg), arsenic (TAs), inorganic arsenic (iAs), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr) and iron (Fe) was investigated in seafood collected from European marine ecosystems subjected to strong anthropogenic pressure, i.e. hotspot areas. Different species (Mytilus galloprovincialis, n=50; Chamelea gallina, n=50; Liza aurata, n=25; Platichthys flesus, n=25; Laminaria digitata, n=15; and Saccharina latissima, n=15) sampled in Tagus estuary, Po delta, Ebro delta, western Scheldt, and in the vicinities of a fish farm area (Solund, Norway), between September and December 2013, were selected to assess metal contamination and potential risks to seafood consumers, as well as to determine the suitability of ecologically distinct organisms as bioindicators in environmental monitoring studies. Species exhibited different elemental profiles, likely as a result of their ecological strategies, metabolism and levels in the environment (i.e. seawater and sediments). Higher levels of Cd (0.15–0.94 mg kg-1), Pb (0.37-0.89 mg kg-1), Co (0.48–1.1 mg kg-1), Cu (4.8–8.4 mg kg-1), Zn (75–153 mg kg-1), Cr (1.0–4.5 mg kg-1) and Fe (283–930 mg kg-1) were detected in bivalve species, particularly in M. galloprovincialis from Ebro and Po deltas, whereas the highest content of Hg was found in P. flesus (0.86 mg kg-1). In fish species, most Hg was organic (MeHg; from 69 to 79%), whereas lower proportions of MeHg were encountered in bivalve species (between 20 and 43%). The highest levels of As were found in macroalgae species L. digitata and S. latissima (41 mg kg-1 and 43 mg kg-1, respectively), with iAs accounting almost 50% of the total As content in L. digitata but not with S. latissima nor in the remaining seafood samples. This work highlights that the selection of the most appropriate bioindicator species is a fundamental step in environmental monitoring of each contaminant, especially in coastal areas. Furthermore, data clearly shows that the current risk assessment and legislation solely based on total As or Hg data is limiting, as elemental speciation greatly varies according to seafood species, thus playing a key role in human exposure assessment via food

Systematic review and meta-analysis of within-subject and between-subject biological variation estimates of 20 haematological parameters

Interpretation of the complete blood count (CBC) parameters requires reliable biological variation (BV) data. The aims of this study were to appraise the quality of publications reporting BV data for CBC parameters by applying the BV Data Critical Appraisal Checklist (BIVAC) and to deliver global BV estimates based on BIVAC compliant studies. Relevant publications were identified by a systematic literature search and evaluated for their compliance with the 14 BIVAC criteria, scored as A, B, C or D, indicating decreasing compliance. Global CVI and CVG estimates with 95% CI were delivered by a meta-analysis approach using data from BIVAC compliant papers (grades A-C). In total, 32 studies were identified; four received a BIVAC grade A, 2 B, 20 C and 6 D. Meta-analysis derived CVI and CVG estimates were generally lower or in line with those published in a historical BV database available online. Except for reticulocytes, CVI estimates of erythrocyte related parameters were below 3%, whereas platelet (except MPV and PDW) and leukocyte related parameters ranged from 5% to 15%. A systematic review of CBC parameters has provided updated, global estimates of CVI and CVG that will be included in the newly published European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine BV Database.</p

On Imprimitive Representations of Finite Reductive Groups in Non-defining Characteristic

In this paper, we begin with the classification of Harish-Chandra imprimitive representations in non-defining characteristic. We recall the connection of this problem to certain generalizations of Iwahori-Hecke algebras and show that Harish-Chandra induction is compatible with the Morita equivalence by Bonnaf\'{e} and Rouquier, thus reducing the classification problem to quasi-isolated blocks. Afterwards, we consider imprimitivity of unipotent representations of certain classical groups. In the case of general linear and unitary groups, our reduction methods then lead to results for arbitrary Lusztig series

Are pesticide residues associated to rice production affecting oyster production in Delta del Ebro, NE Spain?

Pesticide usage in Delta del Ebro (NE Spain) during the rice growing season has been associated with oyster episodes of mortality that occur early in summer. However, there are no studies that have directly evaluated pesticide levels and effects in oysters (Crassotrea gigas) cultured in Ebro's Bays. In this study pesticide levels in water, metal body burdens and up to 12 different biochemical markers were monitored in gills and digestive glands of oysters transplanted from May to June in 2008 and 2009. Biochemical responses evidenced clear differences in oysters from 2008 and 2009. Oysters transplanted in 2009 showed their antioxidant defenses unaffected fromMay to June and consequently increased levels of tissue damagemeasured as lipid peroxidation and DNA strand breaks and ofmortality rates. Conversely oysters transplanted in 2008 increase their antioxidant defenses from May to June, had low levels of lipid peroxidation and DNA damage and lowmortality rates. Some pesticides in water such as bentazone and propanil together with high temperatures and salinity levels were related with tissue damage in oyster transplanted in 2008 but the observed large differences between years indicate that abiotic factors alone could not explain the high mortalities observed in 2009. An analysis of recent reported studies pointed out in the direction that in addition to abiotic factors the use of oysters sensitive to diseases may explain the observed responsesPostprint (published version