Gnotobiotically grown rotifer<i>Brachionus plicatilis</i> sensu strictu as a tool for evaluation of microbial functions and nutritional value of different food types

Axenic rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis sensu strictu, clone 10) were obtained by treating amictic eggs with glutaraldehyde. Depending of the batch of rotifers, total disinfection could be obtained by exposure to 50–100 ppm from 1 to 2 h at 28 °C. The hatched axenic neonates were used to test the effect of microbial communities (MCs) which were isolated from either normal-performing or crashed rotifer cultures. These MCs were either used directly or were first regrown on Marine Agar. MCs were introduced to gnotobiotic Brachionus cultures in combination with three different food types, i.e. Chlorella, wild-type yeast and the mnn9 yeast mutant, which is deficient in cell wall-bound mannoprotein. In the absence of MCs or when heat-killed MCs were added, Chlorella was always the best food, while lower growth rates were observed with wild-type yeast and the mnn9 mutant as food. In the presence of live MCs and when rotifers were fed with Chlorella, the added MCs had no effect on rotifer performance. When yeasts were used as major food, all the tested MCs were able to increase the rotifer growth rate. The experiments with heat-killed MCs yielded no increase in rotifer growth rate, suggesting that the observed enhancement in rotifer growth rate was truly a probiotic effect rather than a nutritional effect. The results of this study demonstrate that gnotobiotic rotifer cultures obtained from axenic amictic eggs can be used as a test system for studying microbial-attributed as well as nutritional functions in the aquatic food chain. In addition, since the MCs originating from the crashed rotifer cultures did not decrease the growth rate in the tested rotifer cultures, it is likely that the observed crashes were not due to the presence of a standing deleterious MC

On the Automatic Prediction of PM10 with In-Situ Measurements, Satellite AOT Retrievals and Ancillary Data

Abstract: Daily monitoring of unhealthy particles suspended in the low troposphere is of major concern around the world, and ground- based measuring stations represent a reliable but still inadequate means for a full spatial coverage assessment. Advances in satellite sensors have provided new datasets and though less precise than in- situ observations, they can be combined altogether to enhance the prediction of particulate matter. In this article we evaluate a method- ology for automatic multi-variate estimation of PM10 dry mass con- centrations along with a comparison of three different cokriging es- timators, which integrate ground measurements of PM10 , satellite MODIS-derived retrievals of aerosols optical thickness and further auxiliary data. Results highlight the need for further improvements and studies. The analysis employs the available data in 2007 over the Emilia Romagna region (Padana Plain, Northern Italy), where stag- nant meteorological conditions further urge for a comprehensive air quality monitoring. Qualitative PM10 full maps of Emilia Romagna are then automatically yielded on-line in a dynamic GIS environment for multi-temporal analysis on air quality

Mobility of carrageenan chains in iota- and kappa carrageenan gels

International audienc

Validation of PM MAPPER Aerosol Optical Thickness Retrievals at 1x1Km2 of Spatial Resolution

The polar-orbiting MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrora- diometer (MODIS) on-board Terra and Aqua satellites is a key instru- ment for the daily monitoring of global aerosol properties over a large spectral range. Its aerosol retrieval algorithm is set to a size of 10×10 km2 of spatial resolution, and hence may not be adequate for detailed analy- sis at local scale. PM MAPPER is a software system capable of handling the multispectral data acquired by the MODIS sensors. It produces maps of Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) at increased spatial resolution up to 1×1 km2 , which are then available online in a GIS environment. This article shows the validation results of these products, obtained by com- parison with AOT measurements of several ground-based radiometers of the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) over Europe, for a period of 3 years (2007-2009). They show a good correlation between satellite prod- ucts and ground measurements. Different sizes of the spatio-temporal window to associate satellite and ground observations have been tested, and trends have been searched by tuning the comparisons for different years, seasons and land-cover classes. An optimal spatio-temporal win- dow for this kind of validation is also suggested. This could be used for other purposes as well, e.g. to perform improvements of AOT retrieval algorithm with machine learning techniques

Augmented Flavours: Modulation of Flavour Experiences Through Electric Taste Augmentation

10.1016/j.foodres.2018.05.030Food Research International11760 - 6

Vocktail: A virtual cocktail for pairing digital taste, smell, and color sensations

10.1145/3123266.3123440In Proceedings of the 25th ACM international conference on Multimedia1139 - 114

Enzyme-linked immunoassay for dengue virus IgM and IgG antibodies in serum and filter paper blood

Background: The reproducibilty of dengue IgM and IgG ELISA was studied in serum and filter paper blood spots from Vietnamese febrile patients. Methods: 781 pairs of acute (t0) and convalescent sera, obtained after three weeks (t3) and 161 corresponding pairs of filter paper blood spots were tested with ELISA for dengue IgG and IgM. 74 serum pairs were tested again in another laboratory with similar methods, after a mean of 252 days. Results: Cases were classified as no dengue (10%), past dengue (55%) acute primary (7%) or secondary (28%) dengue. Significant differences between the two laboratories' results were found leading to different diagnostic classification (kappa 0.46, p < 0.001). Filter paper results correlated poorly to serum values, being more variable and lower with a mean (95% CI) difference of 0.82 (0.36 to 1.28) for IgMt3, 0.94 (0.51 to 1.37) for IgGt0 and 0.26 (-0.20 to 0.71) for IgGt3. This also led to differences in diagnostic classification (kappa value 0.44, p < 0.001) The duration of storage of frozen serum and dried filter papers, sealed in nylon bags in an air-conditioned room, had no significant effect on the ELISA results. Conclusion: Dengue virus IgG antibodies in serum and filter papers was not affected by duration of storage, but was subject to inter-laboratory variability. Dengue virus IgM antibodies measured in serum reconstituted from blood spots on filter papers were lower than in serum, in particular in the acute phase of disease. Therefore this method limits its value for diagnostic confirmation of individual patients with dengue virus infections. However the detection of dengue virus IgG antibodies eluted from filter paper can be used for sero-prevalence cross sectional studie