Evaluation of dispersion methods for enumeration of microorganisms from peat and activated carbon biofilters treating volatile organic compounds

To enumerate microorganisms having colonized biofilters treating volatile organic compounds, it is necessary firstly to evaluate dispersion methods. Crushing, shaking and sonication were then tested for the removal of microflora from biofilters packing materials (peat and activated carbon). Continuous or discontinuous procedures, and addition of glass beads had no effect on the number of microorganisms removed from peat particles. The duration of treatment also had no effect for shaking and crushing, but the number of microorganisms after 60 min of treatment with ultrasound was significantly higher than that obtained after 0.5 min. The comparison between these methods showed that crushing was the most efficient for the removal of microorganisms from both peat and activated carbon. The comparison between three chemical dispersion agents showed that 1% Na-pyrophosphate was less efficient, compared with 200 mM phosphate buffer or 1% Na-hexametaphosphate. To optimize the cultivation of microorganisms, three different agar media were compared. Tryptic soy agar tenfold diluted (TSA 1/10) was the most suitable medium for the culture of microflora from a peat biofilter. For the activated carbon biofilter, there was no significant difference between Luria Bertoni, TSA 1/10, and plate count agar. The optimized extraction and enumeration protocols were used to perform a quantitative characterization of microbial populations in an operating laboratory activated carbon biofilter and in two parallel peat biofilters.     

Preparation and certification of a reference material on PCBs in pig fat and its application in quality control in monitoring laboratories during the Belgian "PCB-crisis"

In this article, the production and validation of a new certified reference material "PCBs in animal fat" for the control of the maximum level of 200 ng/g setup by the European Communities for veterinary products from Belgium is described. Three materials are established: a blank, one material with about 100 ng/g and one with about 200 ng/g (sum of seven PCBs). Data on the production and certification are given. Additionally, this material was used as an unknown test material in the quality assurance program of the Belgium meat monitoring system (before the certification of the material). While the certification was performed with an uncertainty of less than 10%, the round robin exhibited larger deviations. However, these deviations were less than 20% for most of the 30 participating laboratories. Only two had significantly higher deviations.     

Prenatal diagnosis,prediction of outcome and in utero therapy of isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) can be associated with genetic or structural anomalies with poor prognosis. In isolated cases, survival is dependent on the degree of lung hypoplasia and liver position. Cases should be referred in utero to tertiary care centers familiar with this condition both for prediction of outcome as well as timed delivery. The best validated prognostic indicator is the lung area to head circumference ratio. Ultrasound is used to measure the lung area of the index case, which is then expressed as a proportion of what is expected normally (observed/expected LHR). When O/E LHR is < 25% survival chances are < 15%. Prenatal intervention, aiming to stimulate lung growth, can be achieved by temporary fetal endoscopic tracheal occlusion (FETO). A balloon is percutaneously inserted into the trachea at 26–28 weeks, and reversal of occlusion is planned at 34 weeks. Growing experience has demonstrated the feasibility and safety of the technique with a survival rate of about 50%. The lung response to, and outcome after FETO, is dependent on pre-existing lung size as well gestational age at birth. Early data show that FETO does not increase morbidity in survivors, when compared to historical controls. Several trials are currently under design. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transient population dynamics in periodic matrix models: methodology and effects of cyclic permutations

Many biological populations are subject to periodically changing environments such as years with or without fire, or rotation of crop types. The dynamics and management options for such populations are frequently investigated using periodic matrix models. However the analysis is usually limited to long-term results (asymptotic population growth rate and its sensitivity to perturbations of vital rates). In non-periodic matrix models it has been shown that long-term results may be misleading as populations are rarely in their stable structure. We therefore develop methods to analyze transient dynamics of periodic matrix models. In particular, we show how to calculate the effects of perturbations on population size within and at the end of environmental cycles. Using a model of a weed population subject to a crop rotation, we show that different cyclic permutations produce different patterns of sensitivity of population size and different population sizes. By examining how the starting environment interacts with the initial conditions, we explain how different patterns arise. Such understanding is critical to developing effective management and monitoring strategies for populations subject to periodically recurring environments.