Toxoplasma prevalence in Dutch slaughter pigs in the period 2012-2014

Toxoplasma gondii has frequently been named as one of the most important foodborne pathogens, in terms of its impact on human health. EFSA advised to include serological testing of pigs on T. gondii infections and audits of pig farms on risk factors for T. gondii infection (EFSA, 2011). In order to generate knowledge about the epidemiology and prevalence of T. gondii infections in pig herds we studied the long term seroprevalence on farms, persistence of infection and variation in results between and within farms. Sera which were routinely taken in Dutch pig slaughterhouses in the Netherlands for the serological monitoring of Mycobacterium avium infections in pigs (Hiller 2013) were also tested for anti T. gondii antibodies. Results of 120,666 sera, collected from January 2012 until August 2014, showed an average of 2% serological prevalence in pigs. Pigs from organic farms had a prevalence of 3,6%. Farm prevalence was much higher, ranging from approximately 30% for conventional farms to 90% for organic farms. Pigs delivered to the slaughterhouse during winter months had a higher prevalence than pigs delivered during summer months.It could be concluded that serological monitoring can be very useful in detecting farms infected with T. gondii. A test cut off of 20PP was the most appropriate

Transmission of Salmonella between broiler chickens fed with fermented liquid feed

In the light of food safety and the control of Salmonella at chicken farms, fermented liquid feed (FLF) was studied. This moistened feed reduced the susceptibility of chickens for Salmonella. To assess the effect of the fermented feed on the transmission of Salmonella between chickens, a transmission experiment was performed. Salmonella shedding was followed within groups of two susceptible chickens together with two previously inoculated chickens. The between-chicken transmission was quantified by calculating a reproduction ratio (R0) and a transmission rate parameter ([beta]). R0 and [beta] in the FLF-treated groups were reduced, but a typical infectious chicken fed with FLF, could on average still infect more than one new infectious case. FLF can therefore reduce the transmission of Salmonella in chicken flocks, but it will not prevent the occurrence of major outbreaks

The social construction of integrity: A qualitative case study in Dutch football

This study analyses how the social construction of integrity takes place within the context of football in the Netherlands. Combining a contextual approach to sports integrity with the analytic lens of sensemaking, this qualitative multi-method case study analyses–in one extreme case in Dutch youth amateur football–why and when the ‘incident’ was perceived as an ‘integrity issue’, and how the meaning of (the) integrity (issue) was socially constructed by (interactions between) stakeholders involved in the case. Our findings show why, when, and how moral norms and values are (not) debated and at stake, and that the social construction of sports integrity is intertwined with the institutional context and the role of secondary stakeholders. It provides insights that can help sports organizations to identify risks in their moral sports culture and to develop measures or policies to safeguard integrity in sports

Discos interactivos : unidad IV almacenamiento y flujo de la información genética. Proyecto papime EN210804

Se presenta un conjunto de tres CDs para la enseñanza de la Biología Celular a nivel" licenciatura. Los cds acompañan a tres libros de texto de formato pequeño, tamaño esquela. Los CD-ROM, contienen: Unidades didácticas desarrolladas con conceptos esenciales de Biología Celular, vinculados a artículos de apoyo a la docencia (en formato pdf), gráficos, tablas y animaciones de procesos celulares. Imágenes y animaciones en power point y flash (50), que permiten realizar un recorrido visual e interactivo por los conceptos y procesos involucrados en la enseñanza de la Biología Celular. Autevaluaciones, que le permiten al alumno valorar si han adquirido los conocimientos fundamentales de cada unidad. Un glosario, para que el alumno se pueda referir a él en cualquier momento de estudio, para que aclare sus dudas con respecto a los conceptos. Enlaces a sitios confiables en la red, los cuales pueden contener: imágenes en 3D, animaciones, información relevante y ejercicios de cada tema

Discos interactivos : unidad IV almacenamiento y flujo de la información genética. Proyecto papime en210804

Se presenta un conjunto de tres CDs para la enseñanza de la Biología Celular a nivel" licenciatura. Los cds acompañan a tres libros de texto de formato pequeño, tamaño esquela. Los CD-ROM, contienen: Unidades didácticas desarrolladas con conceptos esenciales de Biología Celular, vinculados a artículos de apoyo a la docencia (en formato pdf), gráficos, tablas y animaciones de procesos celulares. Imágenes y animaciones en power point y flash (50), que permiten realizar un recorrido visual e interactivo por los conceptos y procesos involucrados en la enseñanza de la Biología Celular. Autevaluaciones, que le permiten al alumno valorar si han adquirido los conocimientos fundamentales de cada unidad. Un glosario, para que el alumno se pueda referir a él en cualquier momento de estudio, para que aclare sus dudas con respecto a los conceptos. Enlaces a sitios confiables en la red, los cuales pueden contener: imágenes en 3D, animaciones, información relevante y ejercicios de cada tema

Dietary Supplementation with Soluble Plantain Non-Starch Polysaccharides Inhibits Intestinal Invasion of Salmonella Typhimurium in the Chicken

Soluble fibres (non-starch polysaccharides, NSP) from edible plants but particularly plantain banana (Musa spp.), have been shown in vitro and ex vivo to prevent various enteric pathogens from adhering to, or translocating across, the human intestinal epithelium, a property that we have termed contrabiotic. Here we report that dietary plantain fibre prevents invasion of the chicken intestinal mucosa by Salmonella. In vivo experiments were performed with chicks fed from hatch on a pellet diet containing soluble plantain NSP (0 to 200 mg/d) and orally infected with S.Typhimurium 4/74 at 8 d of age. Birds were sacrificed 3, 6 and 10 d post-infection. Bacteria were enumerated from liver, spleen and caecal contents. In vitro studies were performed using chicken caecal crypts and porcine intestinal epithelial cells infected with Salmonella enterica serovars following pre-treatment separately with soluble plantain NSP and acidic or neutral polysaccharide fractions of plantain NSP, each compared with saline vehicle. Bacterial adherence and invasion were assessed by gentamicin protection assay. In vivo dietary supplementation with plantain NSP 50 mg/d reduced invasion by S.Typhimurium, as reflected by viable bacterial counts from splenic tissue, by 98.9% (95% CI, 98.1–99.7; P<0.0001). In vitro studies confirmed that plantain NSP (5–10 mg/ml) inhibited adhesion of S.Typhimurium 4/74 to a porcine epithelial cell-line (73% mean inhibition (95% CI, 64–81); P<0.001) and to primary chick caecal crypts (82% mean inhibition (95% CI, 75–90); P<0.001). Adherence inhibition was shown to be mediated via an effect on the epithelial cells and Ussing chamber experiments with ex-vivo human ileal mucosa showed that this effect was associated with increased short circuit current but no change in electrical resistance. The inhibitory activity of plantain NSP lay mainly within the acidic/pectic (homogalacturonan-rich) component. Supplementation of chick feed with plantain NSP was well tolerated and shows promise as a simple approach for reducing invasive salmonellosis

A Comparison of DSM-IV and DSM-5 Panel Members' Financial Associations with Industry: A Pernicious Problem Persists

Lisa Cosgrove and Sheldon Krimsky examine the new competing interest disclosure policy of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and report that DSM panel members still have considerable financial conflicts of interest

Prevalence of <i>Mycobacterium avium</i> in Slaughter Pigs Based on Serological Monitoring Results and Bacteriological Validation

Mycobacterium avium (MA) is a potential food safety hazard in pigs. Blood samples of slaughtered pigs in the Netherlands and Germany were tested for the presence of MA antibodies to estimate the serological prevalence in the tested population. In the Dutch and German population 1.0% and 1.7% samples were positive, and 0.5% and 17.4% of the herds were at risk for having a MA infection respectively. The validity of the applied MA-ELISA was evaluated under field conditions. The specificity of the MA-ELISA was high (>98.4%). The average herd sensitivity was 18%. In the affected herds on average 50% of the animals were tested bacteriological positive for MA. It can be concluded that serological screening for the presence of MA antibodies is capable of identifying pig populations that are at risk for a MA infection