Toxoplasma gondii in edible fishes captured in the Mediterranean basin

The issue of whether market fish can be involved in the transmission of Toxoplasma gondii in the marine environment is highly debated since toxoplasmosis has been diagnosed frequently in cetaceans stranded along the Mediterranean coastlines in recent times. To support the hypothesis that fishes can harbour and effectively transmit the parasite to top‐of‐the‐food‐chain marine organisms and to human consumers of fishery products, a total of 1,293 fishes from 17 species obtained from wholesale and local fish markets were examined for T. gondii DNA. Real‐time PCR was performed in samples obtained by separately pooling intestines, gills and skin/muscles collected from each fish species. Thirty‐two out of 147 pooled samples from 12 different fish species were found contaminated with T. gondii DNA that was detected in 16 samples of skin/muscle and in 11 samples of both intestine and gills. Quantitative analysis of amplified DNA performed by both real‐time PCR and digital PCR (dPCR) confirmed that positive fish samples were contaminated with Toxoplasma genomic DNA to an extent of 6.10 × 10^?2 to 2.77 × 10⁴ copies/ml (quantitative PCR) and of 1 to 5.7 × 10⁴ copies/ml (dPCR). Fishes are not considered competent biological hosts for T. gondii; nonetheless, they can be contaminated with T. gondii oocysts flowing via freshwater run‐offs (untreated sewage discharges, soil flooding) into the marine environment, thus acting as mechanical carriers. Although the detection of viable and infective T. gondii oocysts was not the objective of this investigation, the results here reported suggest that fish species sold for human consumption can be accidentally involved in the transmission route of the parasite in the marine environment and that the risk of foodborne transmission of toxoplasmosis to fish consumers should be further investigated.     

Real‐time elastosonography of lipomatous vs. malignant subcutaneous neoplasms in dogs: Preliminary results

Real‐time elastography is a recently introduced ultrasound technique allowing the investigation of elastic properties of tissues. A diagnostic accuracy study was conducted to test the performance of this technique in the assessment of subcutaneous lesions in dogs. Fifty‐two dogs were prospectively included in the preliminary study (34 malignant and 18 benign lesions). B‐mode ultrasound was performed assessing the shape, margins, heterogeneity, and echotexture of the lesions. On elastosonography, assessment of the percentage of softness/hardness was recorded. A qualitative assessment was performed according to the Tsukuba elasticity score with a 1–5 score, representing the increased percentage of high stiffness areas. Results were compared with cytology/histopathology of the lesions. Receiver Operating Curves of the overall diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were obtained. Fisher's exact test and Pearsons's Chi‐squared test estimated the relationship between the B‐mode appearance of the lesions and final diagnosis. A hardness cutoff of 50.25% was identified between lesions, with malignant neoplasms having higher percentages. A 100% specificity and 89% sensitivity for correctly detecting the nature of the lesion on elastosonography was established. Qualitative assessment of the Tsukuba elasticity score established 1.5 as the cutoff between elastograms of lipomatous and malignant lesions, with 100% sensitivity and 61% specificity in differentiating them. Real‐time elastosonography is a novel, noninvasive, and accurate technique for differentiating malignant from benign lipomatous lesions in dogs. This method could be considered as a complementary tool with additional diagnostic value for routine invasive procedures, such as fine needle aspirates.     

Quantification of cholesterol oxidation products in commercial fish meals and their formation during storage

Twenty‐two samples of commercial fish meals from Norway, Chile and Peru were analysed for cholesterol and oxysterols using gas chromatography. Cholesterol content ranged from 25.2 to 64.8 g kg^?1 total lipids. Detectable levels of the oxysterols 7β‐hydroxycholesterol and 7‐ketocholesterol were found and their identity was confirmed by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. Samples of fish meal exhibited wide variability in oxysterols content, 7β‐hydroxycholesterol ranging from 3.9 to 105.6 mg kg^?1 total lipids (0.4–9.4 mg kg^?1 dry matter) and 7‐ketocholesterol from 2.0 to 56.2 mg kg^?1 total lipids (0.2–5.0 mg kg^?1 dry matter). The formation of 7β‐hydroxycholesterol and 7‐ketocholesterol in one sample of Norse LT94 fish meal stored at room temperature was also studied. Oxysterol content increased during the first 42 days of storage by about 350% and then decreased with further storage. The low amount of oxysterols measured indicates a limited degree of cholesterol oxidation in commercially available fish meals.     

Aquatic food security: insights into challenges and solutions from an analysis of interactions between fisheries,aquaculture, food safety,human health,fish and human welfare,economy and environment

Fisheries and aquaculture production, imports, exports and equitability of distribution determine the supply of aquatic food to people. Aquatic food security is achieved when a food supply is sufficient, safe, sustainable, shockproof and sound: sufficient, to meet needs and preferences of people; safe, to provide nutritional benefit while posing minimal health risks; sustainable, to provide food now and for future generations; shock‐proof, to provide resilience to shocks in production systems and supply chains; and sound, to meet legal and ethical standards for welfare of animals, people and environment. Here, we present an integrated assessment of these elements of the aquatic food system in the United Kingdom, a system linked to dynamic global networks of producers, processors and markets. Our assessment addresses sufficiency of supply from aquaculture, fisheries and trade; safety of supply given biological, chemical and radiation hazards; social, economic and environmental sustainability of production systems and supply chains; system resilience to social, economic and environmental shocks; welfare of fish, people and environment; and the authenticity of food. Conventionally, these aspects of the food system are not assessed collectively, so information supporting our assessment is widely dispersed. Our assessment reveals trade‐offs and challenges in the food system that are easily overlooked in sectoral analyses of fisheries, aquaculture, health, medicine, human and fish welfare, safety and environment. We highlight potential benefits of an integrated, systematic and ongoing process to assess security of the aquatic food system and to predict impacts of social, economic and environmental change on food supply and demand.     

Development of Functional Spaghetti Enriched with Long Chain Omega‐3 Fatty Acids

Results concerning the production of spaghetti enriched in long chain (LC) n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and, in particular, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) are reported. Pasta enrichment was obtained by adding different amounts of integrator (0.6, 1.2, and 1.8%) containing EPA (C20:5 n‐3) and DHA (C22:6 n‐3) in a microencapsulated form to commercial semolina. The addition of 1.2% integrator yielded spaghetti that provides ≈20% of the recommended daily intake of LC n‐3 PUFA with high sensorial acceptability and low loss of LC n‐3 PUFA after cooking (<10%). Thus, spaghetti fortified with EPA+DHA could be used to increase consumption of LC n‐3 PUFA and to decrease the dietary n‐6/n‐3 ratio.     

Biological and molecular characterization of a recombinant isolate of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Watermelon mosaic virus</Emphasis> associated with a watermelon necrotic disease in Italy

The biological and molecular characterization is reported of a Watermelon mosaic virus isolate, denoted WMV-Le, associated with a necrotic phenotype of watermelon plants grown in the Provinces of Lecce and Taranto (Apulia, southern Italy). The fully sequenced WMV-Le genome consists of 10,045 nucleotides and is 99.1% similar to that of WMV-C05-270, a French isolate from melon of the WMV molecular group 3. Using recombination detection program RDP3, putative recombination breakpoints were identified close to nucleotide positions 42 to 1892, covering the 5′UTR/P1/HC-Pro region. The event represents the insertion of a sequence fragment of an isolate similar to WMV-FBR04-37 in the background of an isolate similar to WMV-FMF00-LL1. The field symptomatology was reproduced in watermelon plants grown in an experimental greenhouse but the virus induced severe symptoms also in Cucumis sativus, C. melo, Cucurbita maxima and C. pepo .     

Study of flavonoids of Sechium edule (Jacq) Swartz (Cucurbitaceae) different edible organs by liquid chromatography photodiode array mass spectrometry

A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based method was developed for the characterization of flavonoids from Sechium edule (Jacq) Swartz (Cucurbitaceae) edible organs, a plant cultivated since pre-Colombian times in Mexico where the fruit is called chayote. Chayote is used for human consumption in many countries; in addition to the fruits, stems, leaves and the tuberous part of the roots are also eaten. Eight flavonoids, including three C-glycosyl and five O-glycosyl flavones, were detected, characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic data, and quantified in roots, leaves, stems, and fruits of the plant by LC-photodiode array-MS. The aglycone moieties are represented by apigenin and luteolin, while the sugar units are glucose, apiose, and rhamnose. The results indicated that the highest total amount of flavonoids was in the leaves (35.0 mg/10 g of dried part), followed by roots (30.5 mg/10 g), and finally by stems (19.3 mg/10 g).     

Characterisation of Mycoplasma capricolum P60 surface lipoprotein and its evaluation in a recombinant ELISA

This paper reports the identification and characterisation of a 60kDa surface protein antigen (P60) of Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies capricolum (Mcc), and describes its diagnostic application. Genomic localization and presence in P60 of conserved functional domains suggested a structural and functional relationship with the immunodominant antigen P48 of Mycoplasma agalactiae, a basic membrane protein. A rP60-ELISA was developed, and it resulted in a high specificity for Mcc infections after evaluation with 125 goat sera. The comparison with an existent ELISA based on whole Mcc cell lysates showed that the two assays have comparable sensitivities, but the rP60-ELISA has the significant advantage of a greater specificity. Results indicate that P60 is a potential marker of Mcc infection, especially useful in areas where the presence of M. capricolum subspecies capripenumoniae is also reported.