Post harvest epidemioilogy of Salmonella enterica in pork: Prevalence in the environment, carcasses and by-products in two slaughterhouses in Greece (1996-1998)

In this study our objective was to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella enterica in the environment, on the pork carcasses and on several by-products in 2 industrial slaughterhouses over a 2-year period. In the period from 1/7/96 until 1/8/98, 1874 samples were obtained from the slaughterhouse environment (from the floor, the worker\u27s hands and their knives), product samples (from pork carcasses) and by products (livers and plucks). The prevalence of infection in pigs slaughtered at the sampling dates was estimated by testing samples from mesenteric lymph nodes and caecal content. Environmental samples were collected before the onset of slaughter. After the onset of slaughter and for every 50 pigs, a round of samplings of all sources mentioned above was repeated. Salmonella isolation and identification was carried out by standard cultural method. In total, based on the isolation method, 178/1874 (9.5%) samples were positive. The mean prevalence on floors, workers\u27 hands. workers\u27 knives, pork carcasses and by-products were 19.6% (range: 0%-100%), 5.2% (0%-50%), 3.1% (0%-37.5%), .3% (0%-88.9), 6.6% (0%-90%), respectively. The average prevalence of infection in pigs slaughtered at the sampling dates was 20.7% based on mesenteric lymph nodes and 15.2% based on caecal contents. Before the onset of slaughter, 37.5%, 6.3% and 8.7% of samples obtained from floors, worker hands and knives harbored Salmonella. This may reflect an inadequate plant hygiene. The frequent presence of Salmonella in the caecal contents and the lymph nodes may contribute to significant environmental contamination, including inspectors hands, eventually leading to final product contamination. The isolated salmonellae belonged to 22 serotypes. Among those, S. Derby and S. London were the most frequent representing 25.8% and 15.2% respectively. In conclusion, the frequent presence of Salmonella spp. in the lymph nodes, may indicate infection in the herd. Furthermore, the moderate prevalence of Salmonella on carcasses and by-products calls for further identification and institution of postharvest control options

Color stability and degree of cure of direct composite restoratives after accelerated aging

Purpose: This study evaluated the color changes and amount of remaining C=C bonds (%RDB) in three dental composites after hydrothermal- and photoaging. Methods and Materials: The materials tested were Estelite Σ, Filtek Supreme and Tetric Ceram. Specimens were fabricated from each material and subjected to L* a* b* colorimetry and FTIR spectroscopy before and after aging. Statistical evaluation of the ΔL,* Δa,* Δb,* ΔE and %ΔRDB data was performed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey's test. The %RDB data before and after aging were statistically analyzed using two-way ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls test. In all cases an α=0.05 significance level was used. Results: No statistically significant differences were found in ΔL*, Δa*, ΔE and %ΔRDB among the materials tested. Tetric Ceram demonstrated a significant difference in Δb*. All the materials showed visually perceptible (ΔE>1) but clinically acceptable values (ΔE<3.3). Within each material group, statistically significant differences in %RDB were noticed before and after aging (p<0.05). Filtek Supreme presented the lowest %RDB before aging, with Tetric Ceram presenting the lowest %RDB after aging (p<0.05). The %ΔRDB mean values were statistically significantly different among all the groups tested. No correlation was found between ΔE and %ΔRDB. © Operative Dentistry, 2007

Post harvest epidemioilogy of Salmonella enterica in pork: Prevalence in the environment, carcasses and by-products in two slaughterhouses in Greece (1996-1998)

In this study our objective was to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella enterica in the environment, on the pork carcasses and on several by-products in 2 industrial slaughterhouses over a 2-year period. In the period from 1/7/96 until 1/8/98, 1874 samples were obtained from the slaughterhouse environment (from the floor, the worker's hands and their knives), product samples (from pork carcasses) and by products (livers and plucks). The prevalence of infection in pigs slaughtered at the sampling dates was estimated by testing samples from mesenteric lymph nodes and caecal content. Environmental samples were collected before the onset of slaughter. After the onset of slaughter and for every 50 pigs, a round of samplings of all sources mentioned above was repeated. Salmonella isolation and identification was carried out by standard cultural method. In total, based on the isolation method, 178/1874 (9.5%) samples were positive. The mean prevalence on floors, workers' hands. workers' knives, pork carcasses and by-products were 19.6% (range: 0%-100%), 5.2% (0%-50%), 3.1% (0%-37.5%), .3% (0%-88.9), 6.6% (0%-90%), respectively. The average prevalence of infection in pigs slaughtered at the sampling dates was 20.7% based on mesenteric lymph nodes and 15.2% based on caecal contents. Before the onset of slaughter, 37.5%, 6.3% and 8.7% of samples obtained from floors, worker hands and knives harbored Salmonella. This may reflect an inadequate plant hygiene. The frequent presence of Salmonella in the caecal contents and the lymph nodes may contribute to significant environmental contamination, including inspectors hands, eventually leading to final product contamination. The isolated salmonellae belonged to 22 serotypes. Among those, S. Derby and S. London were the most frequent representing 25.8% and 15.2% respectively. In conclusion, the frequent presence of Salmonella spp. in the lymph nodes, may indicate infection in the herd. Furthermore, the moderate prevalence of Salmonella on carcasses and by-products calls for further identification and institution of postharvest control options.</p

Analysis of hereditary cancer syndromes by using a panel of genes: novel and multiple pathogenic mutations

BackgroundHereditary cancer predisposition syndromes are responsible for approximately 5-10% of all diagnosed cancer cases. In the past, single-gene analysis of specific high risk genes was used for the determination of the genetic cause of cancer heritability in certain families. The application of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology has facilitated multigene panel analysis and is widely used in clinical practice, for the identification of individuals with cancer predisposing gene variants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent and nature of variants in genes implicated in hereditary cancer predisposition in individuals referred for testing in our laboratory.MethodsIn total, 1197 individuals from Greece, Romania and Turkey were referred to our laboratory for genetic testing in the past 4years. The majority of referrals included individuals with personal of family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer. The analysis of genes involved in hereditary cancer predisposition was performed using a NGS approach. Genomic DNA was enriched for targeted regions of 36 genes and sequencing was carried out using the Illumina NGS technology. The presence of large genomic rearrangements (LGRs) was investigated by computational analysis and Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA).ResultsA pathogenic variant was identified in 264 of 1197 individuals (22.1%) analyzed while a variant of uncertain significance (VUS) was identified in 34.8% of cases. Clinically significant variants were identified in 29 of the 36 genes analyzed. Concerning the mutation distribution among individuals with positive findings, 43.6% were located in the BRCA1/2 genes whereas 21.6, 19.9, and 15.0% in other high, moderate and low risk genes respectively. Notably, 25 of the 264 positive individuals (9.5%) carried clinically significant variants in two different genes and 6.1% had a LGR.ConclusionsIn our cohort, analysis of all the genes in the panel allowed the identification of 4.3 and 8.1% additional pathogenic variants in other high or moderate/low risk genes, respectively, enabling personalized management decisions for these individuals and supporting the clinical significance of multigene panel analysis in hereditary cancer predisposition