Data generated by camera trapping in 40 areas in Europe including East and South Europe: report of the field activities (May 2022)

The new-born European Observatory of Wildlife (EOW)2 is a part of the EFSA-funded ENETWILD project, and has the aim of improving the European capacities for monitoring wildlife populations, implementing international standards for data collection, providing guidance on wildlife density estimation, and finally, to promote collaborative, open data networks to develop wildlife monitoring. As a next step, the EOW has engaged and enhanced the existing network of collaborators, and a number of participants are currently preparing field operations to estimate wild mammal density (focused on wild ungulates and other medium to big sized mammals) in certain areas from their respective countries. A field camera trap (CT) based protocol provided by the EOW is going to be applied. An online training course held in May 2022 provided specific training on camera trapping methods and protocols, specifically the random encounter method (REM) and other methods which do not require individual recognition. Here we also present the new field protocol, which is compatible with the subsequent application of artificial intelligence to process and analyze photo trappings using the online app AGOUTI. This strategy aims at promoting a network of professionals/researchers capable of designing, developing field work and analysing data, contributing also to disseminate the experience and train other colleagues in their respective countries. By now, the overall number of countries participating in the EOW is 25. Some participants from 12 countries could already estimate mammal densities during the previous seasons 2019/2020/2021, which will also apply the same methodology in different populations during 2022 in their respective countries. The number of density values finally obtained through this experience by the end of 2022 will exceed 40 different locations in a total of at least 30 countries, since some countries are on the process to confirm their participation. The EOW website is presented. This coordinated field trial activity over a range of European countries, involving different experts and professionals, follows the original plan.EFSA-Q-2022-00057Peer reviewe

ANALYSIS OF THE p53 GENE IN MYELOID MALIGNANCIES ASSOCIATED WITH CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITIES INVOLVING THE SHORT ARM OF CHROMOSOME 17

p53 protein is encoded by a tumor-suppressor gene located on the short arm of chromosome 17. We looked for mutations or rearrangements of the p53 gene in five patients with acute transformation of a chronic myeloproliferative disorder and cytogenetic anomalies involving the short arm of chromosome 17. Two patients had a isochromosome i(17q); three more patients showed the presence of unbalanced translocations involving chromosome 17. One of these patients had a single base pair deletion, causing a frameshift mutation, in the exon 5 of the p53 gene. The karyotype of this patient showed a translocation t(5;17)(q11;p11), with loss of a normal homologue of both chromosomes 5 and 17. In all other cases the configuration of the p53 gene, as tested by PCR-SSCP analysis of exons 5 to 9 and Southern blot, was normal. Our data suggest that mutations of the p53 gene occur in a minority of hemopoietic malignancies characterized by monosomy for the short arm of chromosome 17. However, the unbalanced translocation t(5q;17p) could be a chromosomal abnormality specifically associated with loss of function of the p53 gene

Minimal residual disease status in transplanted chronic myelogenous leukemia patients: low incidence of polymerase chain reaction positive cases among 48 long disease-free subjects who received unmanipulated allogeneic bone marrow transplants

Forty-eight long-term disease-free chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients, who had received unmanipulated allogeneic bone marrow transplants (BMT) for eradication of the Philadelphia (Ph1)-positive clone were studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using a very sensitive PCR procedure and very stringent criteria for preventing and revealing contamination. Nine patients (18%) were positive at the first PCR examination, but only one patient remained PCR positive four years after. However, a second PCR analysis performed on new bone marrow samples obtained at a median interval of 14 months (range 6-16) after the first specimen collection from six of nine originally positive cases, and from 16 of 39 originally negative cases, showed that only one of the six positive cases remained positive, whereas negativity was confirmed in all the originally negative patients. These data are evidence that the Ph1-positive clone is apparently completely eradicated in the majority of CML patients who survive disease-free long-term after an unmanipulated allogeneic BMT and that only sporadic cases remain PCR-positive four years post-BMT. The data also show that at least two sequential bone marrow samples for each patient must be analyzed before drawing conclusions regarding the stable persistence of BCR/ABL transcripts and the minimal residual disease status