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Trichinellosis is a rare parasitic zoonosis in the European Union. Meat from backyard pigs was the common source for a trichinellosis outbreak caused by Trichinella spiralis, which occurred in France and Serbia in the beginning of 2017. An epidemiological study was conducted in France and Serbia to determine the extent of the outbreak, to identify its source and to implement control measures. Three cases were exposed in Serbia and brought back to France pork delicatessen which they shared with relatives and friends. Around 47 individuals were exposed to the parasitised meat in France and Serbia and 20 cases of trichinellosis were reported (nine in France and 11 in Serbia). Nine of them were female. The diagnosis was delayed, in part because the parasitosis was not known by most physicians, which led to complications in the French cases such as facial paralysis and pulmonary embolism. Health alerts and survey networks are indispensable at a European level to control the disease.

An estimated 28,000 French people infected with HIV remain undiagnosed, leading to HIV transmission and late-stage HIV infections. An over-the-counter HIV self-test has been available since September 2015. We thus aimed to explore people's perceptions of and intentions to use the test. An anonymous online questionnaire, targeting the general population and men who have sex with men (MSM) was distributed between November 2015 and January 2016. It explored at-risk sexual behavior, perceptions of the HIV self-test, and past and intended future use. A total of 1,082 participants completed ≥90% of the questionnaire (67.1% male, 32.4% female, 0.5% other; mean age 32.8 ± 12 years). 44.8% were MSM. 41.5% declared that they did not always use or make their partner use a condom in the case of penetration with someone other than their usual partner (if applicable). 9.9% had already used the HIV self-test, with this proportion being higher in multivariate analysis for individuals with a monthly income exceeding €1,000 and those declaring to be informed about HIV. 38.5% stated their intention to use the self-test in the coming month or year; in multivariate analysis, this proportion was lower for MSM and higher for those who did not always use or make their partner use a condom in the case of penetration with someone other than their usual partner. The majority (68.4%) underestimated the testing delay to rule out HIV infection. The most frequently cited concerns were that self-test does not test for other sexually transmitted infections (49.5%) and is not free of charge (44.4%), and that users are left alone with the result (41.0%). The HIV self-test was identified as a useful tool by different at-risk populations; it may therefore enhance the number of diagnoses. The test delay must be appropriately communicated to users, while a lower purchase price may increase usage.

Introduction. Three Scorpidium species: S. scorpioides, S. cossonii and S. revolvens are often associated with habitats of high conservation value. This is the first attempt to define the chemical niches for these Scorpidium species in Wales (UK) and allows us to compare these with earlier European datasets. Methods. Water chemistry from sixteen locations was analysed using water obtained by direct squeezing of mosses sampled from a total of 77 spots, and their principal water supply, e.g. springs and seepages. Key Results. Statistical analysis by spherical k-means clustering suggests there are two distinct groups in the dataset; one characterised by S. cossonii and another by S. revolvens, associated with differences in pH and Electric Conductivity (EC) of the habitat. The Welsh habitats have higher pH and EC than Scandinavian habitats of the species, which could potentially be a result of different pollution histories or species compositions of the areas, the latter leading to different realised niches along the mineral poor to rich gradient. Conclusions. It is hoped that with this data a better understanding of the chemical niches will support site managers and environmental regulators to make evidence-based decisions to protect these species and their habitats.

Backyard-pig meat was a common source for a trichinellosis outbreak which emerged in France and Serbia in 2017. The index cases were exposed in Serbia and brought back to France pork delicatessen which was shared with relatives and friends. Around 40 individuals were exposed to the parasitized meat in France and Serbia and 20 cases of trichinellosis were reported (9 in France and 11 in Serbia). Diagnosis was delayed due to miss-acknowledgment of the parasitosis and led to complications in French cases: facial paralysis and pulmonary embolism.

Large-scale compressed air energy storage facilities offer one solution to the UK9s energy demands, using solution-mined caverns in salt lithologies. For optimum gas storage efficiency, cavern geometry should ideally be smooth: spherical to cylindrical with a circular cross-section. However, such caverns are often irregular with marked asymmetry or ellipticity, and although the reasons for non-circular cross-sections developing during solution mining in some caverns can be related to, for example, the presence of interbedded lithologies, in other instances they are not fully understood. Cavities from dissolution experiments using five main end-member salt facies fabrics from the Triassic Preesall and Northwich Halite formations have been assessed to determine factors affecting cavity geometry, formation and variability in dissolution behaviour. Identical sets of experiments were performed on each fabric type, using two solution concentration strengths: brine and synthetic seawater. Comparison of experimental results using a combination of analytical and imaging techniques shows the extent to which the salt fabric and enhancement of features within the salt influence the resulting dissolution cavity. Observations show a visible increase in micropores within the adjacent halite matrix following dissolution. Smaller-scale features provide further insights into the dissolution processes, and salt fabric behaviour under different dissolution conditions. Supplementary material: A detailed description of methods is available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4282454

Detailed methodology

We investigated the metabolic response to iron (Fe) limitation of two bacterial strains of Alteromonas macleodii , isolated from a coastal and an oceanic marine environment. Bacteria were grown under Fe-limited and Fe-replete conditions, and comparative analyses of cellular properties and total proteomes were conducted. Respiration was reduced by a factor of two in both strains, but the growth rate of the oceanic strain was less affected by Fe limitation (reduced by 1.2-fold) than the coastal strain (reduced by 2-fold). Fe limitation led to significant changes in the expression of several key enzymes associated with carbon catabolism, specifically those involved in the citric acid cycle, glycolysis, and oxidative phosphorylation. The strain-specific overall responses to Fe limitation were in part reflected in different metabolic strategies of the carbon metabolism and energy acquisition. Our study provides novel insights on how Fe limitation can affect bacterial heterotrophic metabolism, and how this could influence the coupling of the Fe and carbon cycles in the ocean.

Introduction Une patiente de 46 ans hospitalisee en fevrier 2017 pour douleur abdominale, diarrhee, fievre prolongee, myalgies et œdeme facial se revele etre le cas index d’une epidemie de trichinellose a Trichinella spiralis (9 cas/22 personnes exposees). L’origine de cette epidemie est la consommation de viande de porc dans une ferme Serbe. Pieges diagnostiques, complications et traitements intempestifs sont decrits. Materiels et methodes Neuf personnes au total ont un diagnostic de trichinellose. Les cas exposes sont les personnes ayant consomme le porc en Serbie, lors des fetes de fin d’annee, et ensuite en France, avec le porc seche ramene par le cas index. Le diagnostic serologique a ete confirme aupres du Laboratoire de reference sur la trichinellose humaine. La viande analysee (Laboratoire de reference pour les parasites transmis par les aliments) a montre une charge parasitaire elevee (51 et 62 larves par gramme). Resultats Tous les cas ont presente une fievre, souvent elevee, parfois tres prolongee (de 1 semaine a 1 mois), sauf un patient, qui avait recu des corticoides pour paralysie faciale. Des myalgies tres intenses sont retrouvees chez tous les patients sauf un. Des myalgies thoraciques font consulter en cardiologie. L’œdeme facial est note chez 6/9 patients, avec pour l’un d’entre eux un œdeme periorbitaire ayant fait consulter en ophtalmologie. Une embolie pulmonaire a ete retrouvee chez le cas index, d’origine multifactorielle : voyage, deficit en proteine S, et trichinellose. Une paralysie faciale, des oedemes des membres inferieurs sont aussi notes. Tous les cas ont eu un taux d’eosinophiles eleve, sauf un (sous fortes doses de corticoides). Les taux d’eosinophiles diminuent en 24 H apres instauration d’une corticotherapie, compliquant le diagnostic. Quatre patients ont recu des corticoides avant le diagnostic. L’evolution a montre une allergie cutanee chez 2/9 patients sous albendazole, et une elevation des ALAT surtout. Le cas index a recidive avec signes cliniques et biologiques a l’arret d’une 1ere cure d’albendazole, necessitant une seconde cure. Enfin, les serologies en Elisa ont ete negatives 2 fois sur 9, alors que le WB etait positif sur le meme bilan. Un patient qui a ete traite sur des criteres clinico-biologiques a eu deux serologies negatives, et une positive a 3 mois du debut du tableau. Conclusion Cette epidemie de trichinellose met l’accent sur les myalgies intenses, et l’eosinophilie elevee (pas toujours d’origine allergique !). La frequence de prescription de corticoides a complique le diagnostic. La trichinellose est une vascularite parasitaire (embolie chez le cas index). Enfin, une serologie en Elisa peut etre negative, alors que le WB est positif sur le meme serum, et une serologie negative au debut n’infirme pas le diagnostic.

Domoic acid (DA), a toxin produced worldwide by some species of the genus Pseudo- nitzschia, is responsible for contamination of marine molluscs, mammals, birds, and for human intoxication, and when detected in high levels results in closures of shellfish farms, thus causing severe economic losses to aquaculture. Studies on algal production of DA in cultures and field samples require sensitive methods capable of measuring trace concentrations of domoic acid. Measuring domoic acid concentrations at trace levels is still a significant challenge. A sensitive and reliable double derivatization using o-phthaldialdehyde-mercaptoethanol/9- fluorenylmethylchloroformate (OPA-MeSH/FMOC-Cl) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection has been adapted for the determination of trace levels of dissolved (dDA) and particulate domoic acid (pDA). The selectivity toward domoic acid is greatly improved by eliminating the reaction between FMOC-Cl and primary amines. Compared with the original Pocklington method, the sensitivity obtained by the double derivatization is largely enhanced (×6) and the reproducibility is significantly increased (

Aims: PCR has been shown previously to be the most sensitive technique to detect a clonal population in marrow aspirates (MAs), and the clinical standard for evaluation of bone marrow lymphoma involvement today is bone marrow trephine biopsy (BMTB). The goal of this study was to compare morphological evaluation of B cell neoplasm in BMTB (histology and immunohistochemistry) and PCR analysis in MA, with both specimens obtained at the same time, in patients with a known molecular marker of the disease. Methods: This was a retrospective evaluation of 98 consecutive BMTB specimens from 60 patients with a known B-cell neoplasm and a previous PCR marker of the disease ( BCL2 and/or IGH ). Results: Considering the IGH PCR cases alone, a B cell clone was detected in 85% and 39% of the morphology (M) positive and negative groups, respectively. Five M(+), IGH (−) cases were found, including two cases of follicular lymphoma (FL), one case of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, and two cases of mantle cell lymphoma. The FLs had about 20% and 50% of BMTB involvement each. All other cases had minimal lymphoma localisation. The two FLs were also BCL2 - MBR (+). Use of BCL2 - MBR detected all M(+) cases and 66% of M(−) cases whenever it was an initial marker of disease. Conclusions: IGH PCR alone is not good enough for BMTB assessment, especially in FL. On the other hand, the PCR study for BCL2 is more sensitive than morphology, without any false negative results in this series, suggesting that BCL2 - MBR PCR on MA can be used as an alternative and more sensitive examination for disease evaluation, providing that there is careful analysis of data, adequate knowledge of PCR pitfalls and absence of other haematological disorders.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the T-cell receptor (TCR) Vbeta repertoire in the two main histological subtypes of nodal non-anaplastic peripheral T-cell lymphoma: Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) and angioimmunoblastic lymphoma (AIL). Frozen lymph node tissues of eight NOS and six AIL were analyzed. A reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was carried out to assess the expression of the 24 Vbeta gene families. Our study showed a broad TCR Vbeta repertoire in AIL and NOS, with a slight increase in the number of Vbeta families in AIL (16 vs 10 on agarose gels). Nevertheless, there was a clear difference in four cases. A predominant Vbeta family was observed in two NOS, whereas no predominant Vbeta family was observed in the AIL. Two AIL showed the whole Vbeta repertoire, whereas it was never observed in NOS. This pattern may help to categorize these histopathological entities and further suggests a differential T-cell response. These results show that numerous reactive T-cells are present both in AIL and NOS. Possibly, they play a role in the growth of these lymphomas.

International audience; BACKGROUND: Activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations characterize a subgroup of non-small-cell lung cancer that benefit from first line EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI). However, the existence of polyclonal cell populations may hinder personalized-medicine strategies as patients' screening often depends upon a single tumor-biopsy sample. The purpose of this study is to clarify and to validate in clinical testing conditions the accuracy of EGFR genotyping using different tumor sites and various types of samples (transthoracic, surgical or endoscopic biopsies and cytology specimens). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of 357 consecutive patients addressed for EGFR mutation screening in accordance with the directive of the European Medicines Agency (stage IV NSCLC). Fifty-seven samples were EGFR mutated and 40 had adequate tumor specimens for analysis on multiple spatially separated sites. Ten wild type samples were also analyzed. A total of 153 and 39 tumor fragments, from mutated and non-mutated cases respectively, were generated to analyze tumor heterogeneity or primary-metastatic discordances. After histological review of all fragments, EGFR genotyping was assessed using the routine diagnostic tools: fragment analysis for insertions and deletions and allele specific TaqMan probes for point mutations. EGFR copy number (CN) was evaluated by qPCR using TaqMan probes. RESULTS: The identification of EGFR mutations was independent of localization within primary tumor, of specimen type and consistent between primary and metastases. At the opposite, for half of the samples, tumor loci showed different EGFR copy number that may affect mutation detection cut-off. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest series reporting multiple EGFR testing in Caucasians. It validates the accuracy of EGFR mutation screening from single tumor-biopsy samples before first line EGFR-TKI. The unpredictable variability in EGFR CN and therefore in EGFR wild type/mutant allelic ratio justifies the implementation of sensitive methods to identify patients with EGFR mutated tumors.

Frozen tissue is considered the gold standard if DNA is to be extracted for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. In molecular studies from paraffin-embedded material, only positive results are usually taken into account. Our goal was to evaluate both the sensitivity and the specificity of PCR techniques for immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) gene rearrangement according to various lengths and types of fixative before paraffin embedding. One set of studies compared IgH rearrangement in a case of mantle cell lymphoma tissue that had been fixed in 14 different ways before paraffin embedding and frozen tissue. Formalin fixation was found not to be deleterious for DNA, amplification being possible up to 15 days after fixation with good sensitivity. In contrast, the performance of PCR decreased for samples fixed in Bouin's liquid for longer than 6 hours or after 48 hours of incubation in a vacuum infiltration processor (in which Bouin's liquid-fixed and formalin-fixed samples are mixed). In addition, we undertook a retrospective study of 20 routinely processed B-cell lymphomas, with frozen formalin-fixed and Bouin's liquid-fixed tissues for each case. Of the 14 positive cases on frozen material, 13 were also clonal from paraffin-embedded tissues. Whatever the IgH locus analyzed, each time the adapted control was positive, results from paraffin-embedded material were identical to results obtained from frozen tissue. In this study, we showed that the use of paraffin-embedded tissue is efficient for the study of IgH gene rearrangement. Whenever adapted controls are used, it is even possible to assess negative results.

Domoic acid (DA), a toxin produced worldwide by some species of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia, is responsible for contamination of marine molluscs, mammals, birds, and for human intoxication, and when detected in high levels results in closures of shellfish farms, thus causing severe economic losses to aquaculture. Studies on algal production of DA in cultures and field samples require sensitive methods capable of measuring trace concentrations of domoic acid. Measuring domoic acid concentrations at trace levels is still a significant challenge. A sensitive and reliable double derivatization using o-phthaldialdehyde-mercaptoethanol/9-fluorenylmethylchloroformate (OPA-MeSH/FMOC-Cl) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection has been adapted for the determination of trace levels of dissolved (dDA) and particulate domoic acid (pDA). The selectivity toward domoic acid is greatly improved by eliminating the reaction between FMOC-Cl and primary amines. Compared with the original Pocklington method, the sensitivity obtained by the double derivatization is largely enhanced (x6) and the reproducibility is significantly increased (

In this study we show that metals, and in particular copper (Cu), can disrupt the lytic cycle in the Emiliania huxleyi - EhV86 host-virus system. Numbers of virus particles produced per E. huxleyi cell and E. huxleyi lysis rates were reduced by Cu at total metal concentrations over 500 nM in the presence of EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), and 250 nM in the absence of EDTA in acute short term exposure experiments. Zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and cobalt (Co) were not observed to affect the lysis rate of EhV86 in these experiments. The cellular glutathione (GSH) content increased in virus infected cells, but not as a result of metal exposure. In contrast, the cellular content of phytochelatins (PCs) increased only in response to metal exposure. The increase in gluthatione content is consistent with increases in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on viral infection, while increases in PC content are likely linked to metal homeostasis and indicate that metal toxicity to the host was not affected by viral infection. We propose that Cu prevents lytic production of EhV86 by interfering with virus DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) synthesis through a transcriptional block, which ultimately suppresses the formation of ROS, a biochemical response required for successful virus infection.

The development of human activities and industrialization has led to an increased release of metals to the aquatic environment. Several metals (such as copper, zinc, and iron) are essential for many physiological processes but can be toxic at enhanced concentrations; others (such as cadmium, lead, and mercury) are not physiologically essential and are toxic at very low concentrations in both plant and algal cells. To cope with the deleterious effects of metals, eukaryotic cells produce strong metal-binding proteins and peptides (including the thiol phytochelatins) involved in metal tolerance and detoxification mechanisms. Plants and algae are also able to maintain the homeostasis of essential metal ions in different cellular compartments by interactions between metal transport, chelation, trafficking and sequestration activities, which regulate the uptake and distribution of these metal ions. In this chapter, we present an overview of the metal ion-binding properties of phytochelatins and related ligands and their involvement in metal ion homeostasis, metal tolerance and detoxification mechanisms. Enzymatic processes implicated in thiol biosynthesis and regulation, and in metal ion sequestration activities, are also described. In addition, this chapter assesses our state of knowledge on the induction of thiols by phytoplankton in laboratory and field experiments.