Survival of Yersinia enterocolitica and Escherichia coli in spring water

Survival of pure and mixed cultures of Yersinia enterocolitica and Escherichia coli in sterile spring water stored at 4 degrees C was evaluated. Y. enterocolitica increased two or three logs during the first 3 weeks of incubation, and at the end of 64 weeks viable cells in numbers corresponding to the initial inoculum level were still detectable. However, after 1 week of incubation, the number of E. coli in water started to decrease and in 13 weeks time no E. coli was detected. More rapid decrease of E. coli was observed in mixed cultures.     

Ecophysiology of ochratoxigenic Aspergillus ochraceus and Penicillium verrucosum isolates. Predictive models for fungal spoilage prevention - a review

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a secondary metabolite produced by several species of Aspergillus and Penicillium; among them Aspergillus ochraceus and Penicillium verrucosum are two ochratoxigenic species capable of growing in different climates and thus contamination of food crops with OTA can occur worldwide. OTA can be found in a wide range of foods such as cereals, coffee, cocoa, spices, beer, wine, dried vine fruit, grapes and meat products. OTA is toxic to animals, it presents neurotoxic, immunotoxic and nephrotoxic effects. It has been implicated in a human kidney disorder known as Balkan Endemic Nephropathy. This review focuses on the ecophysiology of ochratoxin-producing Aspergillus ochraceus and Penicillium verrucosum, the effect of environmental factors on their germination, mycelial growth, and OTA production. Knowledge of environmental conditions required for sucessive stages of fungal development represent the first step towards preventing mycotoxin formation. Predictive models for different stages of fungal development are presented, which allow prediction of the time before spoilage as a function of the abiotic factors. Finally, the implications of these studies in management of barley, coffee and grapes are described. This can help to identify the critical control points in their production, storage and distribution processes.     

Clinical investigation of traumatic injuries of permanent incisors in Izmir, Turkey

470 injured teeth of 370 patients who consulted the Dental Clinic of Ege University, Izmir, Turkey for examination or treatment between 1981-1993 were evaluated. Information concerning sex, age of patients at the time of injury, cause of trauma, number of injured teeth, type of tooth and type of trauma were recorded. More boys suffered traumatic injuries (64.8%) than girls (35.2%). Patients aged 11-15 years old exhibited the highest number of injuries (34.4%) followed by the 6-10 years old group (24.5%). Most injuries involved one tooth (60%) and maxillary central incisors were the most often affected teeth (66.2%). The leading cause of injury was undefined falls (45.1%). At the initial examination, cases seen after a long posttraumatic period showed more complications than those presented within a short time period. Educational programs about the importance of dental trauma, the benefits of immediate attendance and conservation of avulsed and fractured teeth would be very helpful for patients. Additionally improving the knowledge of the dental practitioner about trauma would be another important point in solving the problem.     

Apatite as an interesting seed to remove phosphorus from wastewater in constructed wetlands.

Intensive use of phosphates has resulted in high P levels in surface waters and therefore eutrophication problems. Over the last decade many studies have revealed the advantage of using specific materials with efficient phosphorus retention capacities. Recent studies state that Ca materials are of particular interest for long-term retention of P, but can induce negative effects. To improve P retention and avoid negative counter-effects we tested the potential of natural apatites. Apatite sorption was evaluated using batch and open reactor experiments. Batch experiments identify sorption mechanisms and the influence of the ionic characteristics of the solution; open reactor experiments evaluate sorption capacities in relation to the ionic composition of the solution and biomass development. In parallel, observation of the material by electron microscopy was used to give more precision information about the mechanisms involved. This work reveals the strong chemical affinity between apatites and phosphorus. Compared to other calcareous materials apatite is better able to maintain low outlet P levels. After more than 550 days feeding, sorption was still present and low P outlet levels were still being obtained when sufficient contact time and calcium content in the solution were ensured. This work demonstrates the advantages of using apatites for phosphorus removal in constructed wetlands. The behaviour of apatite in phosphorus retention is explained and its suitability for use in such extensive systems defined.     

Karyotype description of Pomacea patula catemacensis (Caenogastropoda, Ampullariidae), with an assessment of the taxonomic status of Pomacea patula.

Mitotic chromosomes of the freshwater snail Pomacea patula catemacensis (Baker 1922) were analyzed on gill tissue of specimens from the type locality (Lake Catemaco, Mexico). The diploid number of chromosomes is 2n = 26, including nine metacentric and four submetacentric pairs; therefore, the fundamental number is FN = 52, No sex chromosomes could be identified. The same chromosome number and morphology were already reported for P. flagellata, i.e., the other species of the genus living in Mexico. The basic haploid number for family Ampullariidae was reported to be n = 14 in the literature; so, its reduction to n = 13 is probably an apomorphy of the Mexican Pomacea snails. Lanistes bolteni, from Egypt, also shows n = 13, but its karyotype is much more asymmetrical, and seems to have evolved independently from P. flagellata and P. patula catemacensis. The nominotypical subspecies, P. patula patula (Reeve 1856), is a poorly known taxon, whose original locality is unknown. A taxonomical account is presented here, and a Mexican origin postulated as the most parsimonious hypothesis.     

Introducing fuzziness in object models and database interfaces through aspects

Imperfection in information can be considered a crosscutting concern that manifests itself in diverse kinds of imprecision, uncertainty, or inconsistency in the data models of a software system. The extension of existing programming and querying interfaces for the different aspects of information imperfection requires a proper modularization of the different concerns of numerical imprecision handling, so that the extensions do not interfere with existing programming practices and do not obscure the original design. Aspect‐oriented design (AOD) enables such a form of nonintrusive extensions to be added to existing software libraries, clearly separating fuzziness or other imperfections in data as a differentiated concern that can be considered from the early phases of development. In this article, a general framework for aspect‐based extension of data models and fuzzy databases is described, and some design and implementation issues of such AOD‐based extensions on OJB database libraries are described as a case study. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 21: 1199–1216, 2006.