26. Jahrestagung der WEFTA (Western European Fish Technologists´ Association) in Gdynia, Polen

Die 26. Jahrestagung der WEFTA fand vom 22. bis 26. September 1996 erstmalig in Polen statt. Gastgeber war P. Bykowski vom Institut für Seefischerei (MIR) in Gdynia, das im Jahre 1996 sein 75jähriges Jubiläum feiern konnte . Die Tagung wurde von etwa 70 Delegierten aus den 16 WEFTA Mitgliedsstaaten und Gästen aus den USA, Rußland, Israel und Litauen besucht. Die Konferenz wurde von Z. Polanski, dem Direktor des Institutes und von M. Brzeski, dem Zweiten Bürgermeister der Stadt Gdynia eröffnet. In 10 Vortragssektionen und einer Postersektion wurden den Teilnehmern insgesamt 38 Vorträge und 24 Poster geboten.

International Seafood Conference 25. Jahrestagung der WEFTA (West European Fish Technologists' Association)

The 25th annual meeting of WEFTA was held in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands, in November 1995 as an "International Seafood Conference". In 12 sessions 40 oral presentations and 60 posters were presented. The topics included among others: Quality assurance, consumer demands and behaviour, processing, packaging, distribution, nutrition, storage, analytical methodology. The conference was attended by 210 participants from 33 countries.

The Freshwater Biological Association at Wray Castle: Recollections of its first director

In 1937 the Development Commission provided an annual grant to the Freshwater Biological Association to pay for a director and secretary. The author moved to the Lake District in the same year, and at that time T.T. Macan was working on invertebrates; K.R. Allen on fish; C.H. Mortimer on chemistry and physics of the aquatic environment, and Marie Rosenberg on phytoplankton. They were backed by George Thompson as laboratory assistant and Rosa Bullen as secretary. The work of the Association continued and expanded throughout the Second World War with some far-reached discoveries made. For example, the recovery of lake sediment cores and the examination of diatom remains, so starting the discipline of archaeo-limnology. Also, a hydrological survey of the Windermere catchment area found significant traces of sulphuric acid in rain gauges. This was more than 30 years before "acid rain" became fashionable.

The Freshwater Biological Association at 75

The year 2004 marked the 75th anniversary of the Freshwater Biological Association. The author reflects the history of the Association focusing on the main events of the last 25 years since 1979.

Interrelated contributions to freshwater science over 78 years: A guide to published work from the Freshwater Biological Association, Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, 1929-2006

This article introduces a new listing of published scientific contributions from the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) and its later Research Council associates – the Institute of Freshwater Ecology (1989–2000) and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (2000+). The period 1929–2006 is covered. The authors offer also information on specific features of the listing; also an outline of influences that underlay the research, and its scientific scope.

The first fifty years of the Freshwater Biological Association

A brief history of the Freshwater Biological Association is given in this article. The association has been in existence for fifty years, having been founded in 1929.

The Freshwater Biological Association and the International Biological Programme (1961-1976)

The involvement of the FBA in the primary productivity program is reviewed.

List of Publications of the Freshwater Biological Association 1929–1978

This bibliography covers the literature published by the Freshwater Biological Association between the years 1929-1978.

The MLH1 c.1852_1853delinsGC (p.K618A) Variant in Colorectal Cancer: Genetic Association Study in 18,723 Individuals

Colorectal cancer is one of the most frequent neoplasms and an important cause of mortality in the developed world. Mendelian syndromes account for about 5% of the total burden of CRC, being Lynch syndrome and familial adenomatous polyposis the most common forms. Lynch syndrome tumors develop mainly as a consequence of defective DNA mismatch repair associated with germline mutations in MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2. A significant proportion of variants identified by screening these genes correspond to missense or noncoding changes without a clear pathogenic consequence, and they are designated as "variants of uncertain significance'', being the c.1852_1853delinsGC (p.K618A) variant in the MLH1 gene a clear example. The implication of this variant as a low-penetrance risk variant for CRC was assessed in the present study by performing a case-control study within a large cohort from the COGENT consortium-COST Action BM1206 including 18,723 individuals (8,055 colorectal cancer cases and 10,668 controls) and a case-only genotype-phenotype correlation with several clinical and pathological characteristics restricted to the Epicolon cohort. Our results showed no involvement of this variant as a low-penetrance variant for colorectal cancer genetic susceptibility and no association with any clinical and pathological characteristics including family history for this neoplasm or Lynch syndrome.

Human Endogenous Retrovirus HERV-Fc1 Association with Multiple Sclerosis Susceptibility: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are repetitive sequences derived from ancestral germ-line infections by exogenous retroviruses and different HERV families have been integrated in the genome. HERV-Fc1 in chromosome X has been previously associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Northern European populations. Additionally, HERV-Fc1 RNA levels of expression have been found increased in plasma of MS patients with active disease. Considering the North-South latitude gradient in MS prevalence, we aimed to evaluate the role of HERV-Fc1on MS risk in three independent Spanish cohorts. Methods: A single nucleotide polymorphism near HERV-Fc1, rs391745, was genotyped by Taqman chemistry in a total of 2473 MS patients and 3031 ethnically matched controls, consecutively recruited from: Northern (569 patients and 980 controls), Central (883 patients and 692 controls) and Southern (1021 patients and 1359 controls) Spain. Our results were pooled in a meta-analysis with previously published data. Results: Significant associations of the HERV-Fc1 polymorphism with MS were observed in two Spanish cohorts and the combined meta-analysis with previous data yielded a significant association [rs391745 C-allele carriers: p(M-H) = 0.0005; ORM-H (95% CI) = 1.27 (1.11-1.45)]. Concordantly to previous findings, when the analysis was restricted to relapsing remitting and secondary progressive MS samples, a slight enhancement in the strength of the association was observed [p(M-H) = 0.0003, ORM-H (95% CI) = 1.32 (1.14-1.53)]. Conclusion: Association of the HERV-Fc1 polymorphism rs391745 with bout-onset MS susceptibility was confirmed in Southern European cohorts.

Association between CASP8-652 6N Del Polymorphism (rs3834129) and Colorectal Cancer Risk: Results from a Multi-Centric Study

The common 2652 6N del variant in the CASP8 promoter (rs3834129) has been described as a putative low-penetrance risk factor for different cancer types. In particular, some studies suggested that the deleted allele (del) was inversely associated with CRC risk while other analyses failed to confirm this. Hence, to better understand the role of this variant in the risk of developing CRC, we performed a multi-centric case-control study. In the study, the variant 2652 6N del was genotyped in a total of 6,733 CRC cases and 7,576 controls recruited by six different centers located in Spain, Italy, USA, England, Czech Republic and the Netherlands collaborating to the international consortium COGENT (COlorectal cancer GENeTics). Our analysis indicated that rs3834129 was not associated with CRC risk in the full data set. However, the del allele was under-represented in one set of cases with a family history of CRC (per allele model OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.69-0.90) suggesting this allele might be a protective factor versus familial CRC. Since this multi-centric case-control study was performed on a very large sample size, it provided robust clarification of the effect of rs3834129 on the risk of developing CRC in Caucasians.

Fisheries in a changing scene [includes section on proposed Morecambe Bay barrage scheme]: paper presented at Association of River Authorities, Annual Conference, Morecambe, 1967

The report looks at trends developing in the area of the Lancashire River Authority which will, by the turn of the century, bring tremendous pressures to bear on its natural resources, particularly land and water. It looks at difficulties maintaining an environment suitable for all, human or otherwise, including construction of energy plants and increasing population. It explores the scheme of harnessing water on Morecambe Bay, including fishery advantages and disadvantages. The report looks at fish deaths and diseases in Morecambe Bay and the Lancashire area, providing statistics.