Transfer of paralytic shellfish toxins via marine food chains: A simulated experiment

Objective To study the transfer of paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) using four simulated marine food chains: dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense -> Arterriia Artemia salina -> Mysid shrimp Neomysis awatschensis; A. tamarense-N. awatschensis: A. taniarense A. salina -> Perch Lateolabrax japonicus; and A. tamarense -> L. japonicus. Methods The ingestion of A. tamarense, a producer of PST, by L. japonicus, N. awatschensis, and A. salina was first confirmed by microscopic observation of A. tamarense cells in the intestine samples of the three different organisms, and by the analysis of Chl.a levels iii the samples. Toxin accumulation in L. japonicus and N. awatschensis directly from the feeding on A. tamarense or indirectly ibrough the vector of A. salina was then studied. The toxicity of samples was measured using the AOAC mouse bioassay method, and the toxin content and profile of A. tamarense were analyzed by the HPLC method. Results Both A. salina and N. awatschensis could ingest A. tamarense cells. However, the ingestion capability of A. salina exceeded that of N. awatschensis. After the exposure to the culture of A. tamarense (2 000 cells(.)mL(-1)) for 70 minutes, the content of ChLa in A. salina and N. awatschensis reached 0.87 and 0.024 mu g-mg(-1), respectively. Besides, A. tamarense cells existed in the intestines of L. japonicus, N. awatschensis and A. salina by microscopic observation. Therefore, the three organisms could ingest A. tamarense cells directly. A. salina could accumulate high content of PST, and the toxicity of A. salina in samples collected on days 1, 4, and 5 of the experiment was 2.18, 2.6, and 2.1 MU(.)g(-1), respectively. All extracts from the samples could lead to death of tested mice within 7 minutes, and the toxin content in arternia sample collected on the 1st day was estimated to be 1.65x10(-5) pg STX equa Vindividual. Toxin accumulation in L. japonicus and N. awatschensis directly from the feeding on A. tamarense or indirectly froin the vector of A. salina was also studied. The mice injected with extracts from L. japonicus and N. awatschensis samples that accumulated PST either directly or indirectly showed PST intoxication symptoms, indicating that low levels of PST existed in these samples. Conclusion Paralytic shellfish toxins can be transferred to L. japonicus, N. awatschensis, and A. salina from A. taniarense directly or indirectly via the food chains.

Food sources of three bivalves living in two habitats of Jiaozhou Bay (Qingdao, China): Indicated by lipid biomarkers and stable isotope analysis

Food Sources of three filter-feeding bivalves from two habitats (intertidal oyster Crassostrea gigas, mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. and subtidal cultured scallop Chlamys farreri) of Jiaozhou Bay (Qingdao,China) were determined by fatty acid and stable isotope in analysis. Cultured scallop was characterized by significant diatom markets such as 16:1/16:0 close to 1 and high ratio of 20:5(n - 3)/22:6(n - 3), hence we assume that the scallop mainly feeds on diatoms. Fatty acid biomarkers specific to bacteria and terrestrial materials were also found in considerable amounts in scallop tissue, which suggested that there were Substantial bacterial and terrestrial input into the food of the species. Intertidal oyster and mussel, however, exhibited significant flagellate marker. 22:6(n - 3). and lower level of diatom markers. which indicated that flagellates are also part of intertidal bivalves' Planktonic food Sources: meanwhile, high level of Chlorophyta fatty acid marker, Sigma 18:2(n - 6) + 18:3(n - 3), suggested that Ulva pertusa (Chlorophyta) seaweed bed supplied important food sources to intertidal bivalves. Additionally, result of stable isotope analysis showed that phytoplankton contributed 86.2 to 89.0% to intertidal bivalves' carbon budget; macroalga U. pertusa origin source had a contribution of MIX, to 11.0%, which indicated its role Lis in important supplemental food source to intertidal bivalves. From this study. it is concluded that the dietary difference of three bivalves probably relates to the different potential food sources in the scallop farm and intertidal zone in Jiaozhou Bay.

Intra-habitat heterogeneity of microbial food web structure under the regime of eutrophication and sediment resuspension in the large subtropical shallow Lake Taihu, China

Planktonic microbial community structure and classical food web were investigated in the large shallow eutrophic Lake Taihu (2338 km(2), mean depth 1.9 m) located in subtropical Southeast China. The water column of the lake was sampled biweekly at two sites located 22 km apart over a period of twelve month. Site 1 is under the regime of heavy eutrophication while Site 2 is governed by wind-driven sediment resuspension. Within-lake comparison indicates that phosphorus enrichment resulted in increased abundance of microbial components. However, the coupling between total phosphorus and abundance of microbial components was different between the two sites. Much stronger coupling was observed at Site 1 than at Site 2. The weak coupling at Site 2 was mainly caused by strong sediment resuspension, which limited growth of phytoplankton and, consequently, growth of bacterioplankton and other microbial components. High percentages of attached bacteria, which were strongly correlated with the biomass of phytoplankton, especially Microcystis spp., were found at Site 1 during summer and early autumn, but no such correlation was observed at Site 2. This potentially leads to differences in carbon flow through microbial food web at different locations. Overall, significant heterogeneity of microbial food web structure between the two sites was observed. Site-specific differences in nutrient enrichment (i.e. nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment resuspension were identified as driving forces of the observed intra-habitat differences in food web structure.

Safety of tetanus toxoid in pregnant women: A hospital-based case-control study of congenital anomalies

Reported are the results of the Latin American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC), a hospital-based case-control study of 34 293 malformed and 34 477 matched nonmalformed newborn controls. No statistical differences were found between the malformed and control groups, exposed or not exposed to tetanus toroid.

The Sales Process Practice of Food and Drink SMEs - A Holistic Conceptual Framework: Steps, dimensions, barriers and enablers.

Purpose –The research examines the sales process practised by SMEs, and barriers and enablers that hinder and support effective selling practices from the selling organisation’s perspective in Scottish-based Food and Drink firms. Design/methodology approach - – The paper adopts an interpretivist perspective with qualitative data gathered through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. 20 people involved in selling activities were interviewed from 15 SMEs across Scotland. Thematic analysis established key findings regarding the sales process practice. Findings – Five themes emerged that affect the operationalisation of the selling process: the owner manager has considerable involvement in the sales process, SMEs with some degree of sales knowledge take a more systematic approach, SMEs lack awareness of how CRM technology can assist them, power is tipped in favour of the buyer and, the geographic location of the SME places constraints on how SMEs conduct business Research limitation/implication – Thematic analysis was chosen over other more traditional methods due to the lack of relevant quantitative data. The phenomenon of the research and research methodology means that it will not be possible to repeat this study and replicate its findings. However, the process that has been adopted does provide a basis for future research. Originality/value - The paper identifies areas where future research is required in the field alongside suggestions where policy makers and government business agencies might focus intervention to assist SMEs improve delivery of the sales process and selling effectiveness

Valve surgery in active infective endocarditis: a simple score to predict in-hospital prognosis

Aims Surgery for infective endocarditis (IE) is associated with high mortality. Our objectives were to describe the experience with surgical treatment for IE in Spain, and to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality. Methods Prospective cohort of 1000 consecutive patients with IE. Data were collected in 26 Spanish hospitals. Results Surgery was performed in 437 patients (43.7%). Patients treated with surgery were younger and predominantly male. They presented fewer comorbid conditions and more often had negative blood cultures and heart failure. In-hospital mortality after surgery was lower than in the medical therapy group (24.3 vs 30.7%, p = 0.02). In patients treated with surgery, endocarditis involved a native valve in 267 patients (61.1%), a prosthetic valve in 122 (27.9%), and a pacemaker lead with no clear further valve involvement in 48 (11.0%). The most common aetiologies were Staphylococcus (186, 42.6%), Streptococcus (97, 22.2%), and Enterococcus (49, 11.2%). The main indications for surgery were heart failure and severe valve regurgitation. A risk score for in-hospital mortality was developed using 7 prognostic variables with a similar predictive value (OR between 1.7 and 2.3): PALSUSE: prosthetic valve, age ≥ 70, large intracardiac destruction, Staphylococcus spp, urgent surgery, sex [female], EuroSCORE ≥ 10. In-hospital mortality ranged from 0% in patients with a PALSUSE score of 0 to 45.4% in patients with PALSUSE score > 3. Conclusions The prognosis of IE surgery is highly variable. The PALSUSE score could help to identify patients with higher in-hospital mortality.

Robotic Assembly of Naturally Varying Food Items via Teaching by Example

T. G. Williams, J.J. Rowland, and Lee M.H., Robotic Assembly of Naturally Varying Food Items via Teaching by Example, 9th Int. Symp. on Intelligent Robotic Systems (SIRS 2001), July 2001, France, pp133-142.

Teaching from Examples in Assembly and Manipulation of Snack Food Ingredients by Robot

T. G. Williams, J.J. Rowland, and Lee M.H., Teaching from Examples in Assembly and Manipulation of Snack Food Ingredients by Robot, Proc. IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), Nov., 2001, pp2300-2305.

Teaching by Example in Food Assembly by Robot

T. G. Williams, J.J. Rowland, Lee M.H. and M.J. Neal Teaching by Example in Food Assembly by Robot, Proc. 2000 IEEE Int. Conf. On Robotics and Automation, San Francisco, April 2000, pp3247-52.

Review of inspection techniques based on the elastic and inelastic scattering of X-rays and their potential in the food and agricultural industry

C.R. Bull, R. Zwiggelaar and R.D. Speller, 'Review of inspection techniques based on the elastic and inelastic scattering of X-rays and their potential in the food and agricultural industry', Journal of Food Engineering 33 (1-2), 167-179 (1997)

X-ray simulations for imaging applications in the agricultural and food industry

R. Zwiggelaar, C.R. Bull, and M.J. Mooney, 'X-ray simulations for imaging applications in the agricultural and food industry', Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 63(2), 161-170 (1996)

A European Perspective on the Precautionary Principle, Food Safety and the Free Trade Imperative of the WTO

A European Perspective on the Precautionary Principle, Food Safety and the Free Trade Imperative of the WTO. European Law Review, Vol.27, No.2. April 2002, pp.138-155. RAE2008

The Internet and the Human Right to Food: The European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed

Salmon, Naomi, 'The Internet and the Human Right to Food: The European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed', Information and Communications Technology Law, (2005) 14 (1), pp. 43-57 Special Issue: GATED COMMUNITIES RAE2008

Investigating the removal of some pharmaceutical compounds in hospital wastewater treatment plants operating in Saudi Arabia

The concentrations of 12 pharmaceutical compounds (atenolol, erythromycin, cyclophosphamide, paracetamol, bezafibrate, carbamazepine, ciprofloxacin, caffeine, clarithromycin, lidocaine, sulfamethoxazole and Nacetylsulfamethoxazol (NACS)) were investigated in the influents and effluents of two hospital wastewater treatment plants (HWWTPs) in Saudi Arabia. The majority of the target analytes were detected in the influent samples apart from bezafibrate, cyclophosphamide, and erythromycin. Caffeine and paracetamol were detected in the influent at particularly high concentrations up to 75 and 12 ug/L, respectively. High removal efficiencies of the pharmaceutical compounds were observed in both HWWTPs, with greater than 90 % removal on average. Paracetamol, sulfamethoxazole, NACS, ciprofloxacin, and caffeine were eliminated by between >95 and >99 % on average. Atenolol, carbamazepine, and clarithromycin were eliminated by >86 % on average. Of particular interest were the high removal efficiencies of carbamazepine and antibiotics that were achieved by the HWWTPs; these compounds have been reported to be relatively recalcitrant to biological treatment and are generally only partially removed. Elevated temperatures and high levels of sunlight were considered to be the main factors that enhanced the removal of these compounds.

Nutrição Artificial nos Serviços Farmacêuticos Hospitalares

Projeto de Pós-Graduação/Dissertação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências Farmacêuticas