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Knowledge-driven management for wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) performance becomes increasingly important considering the globally growing production of wastewater and the rising demand of clean water supply. Even though the potential of microbial organisms (bacteria and protists) as bioindicators for WWTP performance is well known, it is far from being fully exploited for routine monitoring programs. Therefore, we here used massive sequencing of environmental (e)DNA metabarcodes from bacterial (V3-V4 region of the SSU rRNA gene) and eukaryote (V9 region of the SSU rRNA gene) communities in 21 activated sludge samples obtained from full-scale municipal WWTPs in Germany. Microbial community patterns were compared to standard WWTP operating parameters and two traditionally used WWTP performance indicators (Sludge Biotic Index and Sludge Index). Both indices showed low concordance and hardly correlated with chemical WWTP performance parameters nor did they correlate with microbial community structures. In contrast, microbial community profiles significantly correlated with WWTP performance parameters and operating conditions of the plants under study. Therefore, eDNA metabarcode profiles of whole microbial communities indicate the performance of WWTP and can provide useful information for management strategies. We here suggest a strategy for the development of an eDNA metabarcode based bioindicator system, which can be implemented in future standard monitoring programs for WWTP performance and effluent quality., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To assess anatomical risk factors in patients after lateral patellar dislocation (LPD) and controls using MRI., Methods: MR images of 186 knees after LPD and of 186 age- and gender-matched controls were analysed. The presence of trochlear dysplasia was assessed by evaluation of trochlear inclination, facet asymmetry, and trochlear depth; patella alta was evaluated by the Insall-Salvati index and Caton-Deschamps index; the lateralised force vector was measured by the tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance., Results: Compared with controls, dislocators had significantly lower values for all three parameters of trochlear dysplasia (-32 %, -32 %, -44 %) and significantly higher values for patella alta (+14 %,+13 %) and TT-TG (+49 %) (all P < 0.001). Trochlear dysplasia was observed in 112 dislocators (66 %), of whom 61 (36 %) additionally had patella alta and 15 (9 %) an abnormal TT-TG. As isolated risk factors, patella alta (15 %) and abnormal TT-TG (1 %) were rare. Only 25 dislocators (15 %) had no anatomical risk factors. Trochlear dysplasia in conjunction with abnormal TT-TG or patella alta is associated with a 37- and 41-fold higher risk., Conclusion: Most dislocators have anatomical risk factors, varying in severity and constellation.

In  a surveillance study from 2008 to 2011, in total 310 food products, predominately packed in cartonboard, were collected from the German market. First, the packaging materials were analysed for their content of six photo-initiators and five amine synergists by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). If high amounts of these substances were detected, subsequently the foodstuffs were analysed by means of HPLC-MS or tandem MS, respectively. Benzophenone (BP) was detected in 49% of the packaging materials and was thus the most often determined compound, followed by 4-methylbenzophenone (MBP, 8%), 1-hydroxy-cyclohexylphenylketone (HCHPK, 7%) and methyl-o-benzoylbenzoate (MOBB, 5%). In total, 99 foodstuffs were analysed and in 20 cases one or more photo-initiators and/or amine synergists were detected in quantities above the legally acceptable limits in food. This resulted in several notifications in the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF); the best known is MBP in breakfast cereals. Contamination of the foodstuff by the photo-initiators and/or amine synergists also occurred when it was in indirect contact with the printed packaging material and no adequate barrier material was used to prevent migration. The data also clearly demonstrate that polyethylene films are not suitable to inhibit migration. Storage of samples until the best before date showed that HCHPK, BP and MBP migrate very easily via the gas phase. In contrast, 4-phenylbenzophenone and 4,4'-bis(diethylamino)benzophenone migrated only very slowly or, respectively, not in quantifiable amounts into the foodstuffs. Differences in transfer rates for HCHPK, BP and MBP from several packagings into food and Tenax(®), respectively, lead to the assumption that both the food matrix as well as the extent of cross-linking of the printing ink during curing may have an influence on the level of migration.

A non-papillate, slow-growing Phytophthora species, which could not be assigned to any existing taxon, was isolated from rhizosphere soil of a declining oak in Northeast France, and from the rhizosphere of Phragmites australis at Lake Constance in south-west Germany in 1998 and 2004, respectively. We describe this species, previously informally designated Phytophthora taxon 'G', as Phytophthora gallica sp. nov. Morphology, growth rates, and pathogenicity against cuttings of riparian tree species and leaves of reed are described and compared with those of morphologically and phylogenetically similar Phytophthora species. P. gallica produces colonies with limited aerial mycelium and variable growth patterns. Gametangia are not formed in single or mixed cultures with tester strains of known mating types. P. gallica produces globose and elongated irregular chlamydospores, of which a high proportion is abortive. In water culture irregular hyphal swellings and non-papillate persistent sporangia are formed abundantly. P. gallica is moderately aggressive to Alnus glutinosa and Fagus sylvatica, weakly aggressive to Quercus robur and Salix alba and non-pathogenic to Fraxinus excelsior and Phragmites australis. According to ITS and mtDNA sequence data P. gallica belongs to a distinct Phytophthora clade, with P. boehmeriae and P. kernoviae being the closest relatives. The origin of P. gallica and its ecological role in wet ecosystems remain unclear.