Expert opinion based modelling of the risk of human infection with H5N1 through the consumption of poultry meat in Germany

According to current scientific opinion the risk of human infection with H5N1 via preparation and consumption of poultry meat is negligible.This opinion has not yet been challenged by a formal risk assessment, due to the lack of empirical data. We have developed a scenario pathway model as a conceptual framework for a formal assessment of the H5N1 risk to humans through consumption of poultry meat and parameterise the model using information derived from expert opinions. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the notion of an overall negligible risk via the oral infection route is consistent with ad hoc data and expert opinions on the relevant parameters of the model.The model is mainly based on expert opinion. A stochastic Monte-Carlo simulation was conducted which took into consideration (amongst others) the exposure and infection of chicken (broiler and layer), turkeys, ducks and geese, the probabilities of detection prior to slaughter, virus survival and contamination during slaughter, as well as during the cutting and preparation of meat in commercial plants and in private households, respectively. The empirical consumption pattern for poultry meat in Germany was taken into account in the simulation.The results show that the risk for the individual consumer is practically zero whereas up to 23 cases per year in Germany might occur if the upper (more pessimistic) ranges of the expert opinions apply.The finding of a low but non-negligible risk to the population is discussed in relation to the epidemiological information available from recent outbreaks in South East Asia.     

A non-destructive approach for assessing decay in preservative treated wood

This study investigated the suitability of the non-destructive vibration-impulse excitation technique to assess the attack of preservative-treated wood in contact with the ground. Small stakes (10×5×100 mm³) of treated and untreated Scots pine sapwood were exposed to decay in laboratory-scale terrestrial ecosystems. Different soils were used to prove the influence of different types of wood destroying micro-organisms. Wood decay was monitored periodically for one year by determining mass losses and changes in dynamic modulus of elasticity. The results show a large variability in resistance against attacking fungi, depending on wood preservative and soil type. The non-destructive approach using the dynamic modulus of elasticity proved to be a good and sensitive tool for assessing the attack of stakes in laboratory soil testing.     

Production of Wild Buffalo (Bubalus arnee) Embryos by Interspecies Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Using Domestic Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Oocytes

The objective of this study was to explore the possibility of producing wild buffalo embryos by interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT) through handmade cloning using wild buffalo somatic cells and domestic buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) oocytes. Somatic cells derived from the ear skin of wild buffalo were found to express vimentin but not keratin and cytokeratin‐18, indicating that they were of fibroblast origin. The population doubling time of skin fibroblasts from wild buffalo was significantly (p < 0.05) higher, and the cell proliferation rate was significantly (p < 0.05) lower compared with that of skin fibroblasts from domestic buffalo. Neither the cleavage (92.6 ± 2.0% vs 92.8 ± 2.0%) nor the blastocyst rate (42.4 ± 2.4% vs 38.7 ± 2.8%) was significantly different between the intraspecies cloned embryos produced using skin fibroblasts from domestic buffalo and interspecies cloned embryos produced using skin fibroblasts from wild buffalo. However, the total cell number (TCN) was significantly (p < 0.05) lower (192.0 ± 25.6 vs 345.7 ± 42.2), and the apoptotic index was significantly (p < 0.05) higher (15.1 ± 3.1 vs 8.0 ± 1.4) for interspecies than that for intraspecies cloned embryos. Following vitrification in open‐pulled straws (OPS) and warming, although the cryosurvival rate of both types of cloned embryos, as indicated by their re‐expansion rate, was not significantly different (34.8 ± 1.5% vs 47.8 ± 7.8), the apoptotic index was significantly (p < 0.05) higher for vitrified–warmed interspecies than that for corresponding intraspecies cloned embryos (48.9 ± 7.2 vs 23.9 ± 2.8). The global level of H3K18ac was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in interspecies cloned embryos than that in intraspecies cloned embryos. The expression level of HDAC1, DNMT3a and CASPASE3 was significantly (p < 0.05) higher, that of P53 was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in interspecies than in intraspecies embryos, whereas that of DNMT1 was similar between the two types of embryos. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that wild buffalo embryos can be produced by iSCNT.     

Mikrosondenuntersuchungen an unterschiedlich stark mit Schwermetallen belasteten Böden. 2. Gehalte an Schwermetallen und anderen Elementen in Huminstoffaggregationen,Streustoffen und Holzkohlepartikeln

Electron microprobe studies on soil samples with varying heavy metal contamination. 2. Contents of heavy metals and other elements in aggregations of humic substances, litter residues and charcoal particles EMA point analysis show that the organic matter constituents of heavy metal contaminated soils are highly enriched with heavy metals. The maximal trace element accumulation were for Cu up to 13,000 mg/kg, for Zn up to 48,000 mg/kg, for Cd up to 2,100 mg/kg and for Pb up to 193,000 mg/kg. The affinity for the accumulation of the different heavy metals in aggregations of humic substances can be described by the sequence Cu > Pb ? Cd > Zn ? Ni > Co. In very strongly acidified humic top soil horizons the Pb and Cd accumulation in the organic matter constituents is in competition with the accumulation in Fe and Mn oxides. The heavy metal contents (especially of Cu) of the organic matter are often correlated with the content of organically bound calcium. The EMA results also show that high heavy metal amounts occur in combination with Ca-accumulations in the epidermis and the outer bark parenchym of decayed roots. EMA point analysis of the interior of fungus sclerotias show that sclerotias can contain high amounts of heavy metals, in particular lead (up to 49,700 mg Pb/kg). From statistical results of EMA point analysis follows that lead and other heavy metals attached to humic substances are not only bound as metal organic complexes but also as organic metal phosphate complexes. Also charcoal particles of polluted soils contain high amounts of heay metals. The accumulation affinity is quite similar to that of humic substances.     

A host-targeting signal in virulence proteins reveals a secretome in malarial infection

Malaria parasites secrete proteins across the vacuolar membrane into the erythrocyte, inducing modifications linked to disease and parasite survival. We identified an 11-amino acid signal required for the secretion of proteins from the Plasmodium falciparum vacuole to the human erythrocyte. Bioinformatics predicted a secretome of >320 proteins and conservation of the signal across parasite species. Functional studies indicated the predictive value of the signal and its role in targeting virulence proteins to the erythrocyte and implicated its recognition by a receptor/transporter. Erythrocyte modification by the parasite may involve plasmodial heat shock proteins and be vastly more complex than hitherto realized.     

Effect of noble gas doping in single-bubble sonoluminescence

The trillionfold concentration of sound energy by a trapped gas bubble, so as to emit picosecond flashes of ultraviolet light, is found to be extremely sensitive to doping with a noble gas. Increasing the noble gas content of a nitrogen bubble to about 1% dramatically stabilizes the bubble motion and increases the light emission by over an order of magnitude to a value that exceeds the sonoluminescence of either gas alone. The spectrum also strongly depends on the nature of the gas inside the bubble: Xenon yields a spectral peak at about 300 nanometers, whereas the helium spectrum is so strongly ultraviolet that its peak is obscured by the cutoff of water.     

Ökologische Standorteigenschaften urban-industriell überformter Böden des Brücktorviertels in Oberhausen (Ruhrgebiet)

Ecological characteristica of soils which were transformed by urban and industrial impact of the Brücktor district in Oberhausen (Ruhr area) This paper presents the results of Urbic Anthrosols from eight different sites which contain partly alkalizing material of technogenic origin in an urban-industrial area of Oberhausen. The alkalinity of the technogenic material in the top soil layer (0–3 dm depth) would enable these Urbic Anthrosols to neutralize an annual H⁺-deposition of 0.2 mol per m² for about 185 to 1630 years (median nearly 1000 years). The cation exchange potential of these soils is nearly always low and in the layers dominate ferrimagnetic Fe oxides which have a minor P-sorption capacity. Also these soils are deeply enriched with plant nutrients (up to > 2.5 kg N/m³, up to > 1 kg P/m³), which show high concentrations of plant available, mobile fractions. In the profiles with deposit layers of a coarse texture the root growth is prevented by cementation or actually limited to the upper 20 cm. Furthermore their usable field capacity for water of the rooting zone is low. Therefore the vegetation cannot take up the plant available nutrient fractions which can be leached through the profiles.     

Epidemic disease in a sheep herd with a possible relationship to a pestivirus

In connection with a case of epidemic disease with high morbidity and mortality in a flock of sheep, a pestivirus infection could be diagnosed. Pathological-anatomical abnormalities were very similar to the character of BVD/MD. Scientific findings on pestivirus infections in sheep are discussed.