[Public health issues associated with seafood consumption]. / Problèmes de santé publique liés à la consommation de fruits de mer.

Seafood could be a solution to meet global food demand that will double by 2050. Seafood includes a wide variety of edible marine organisms, except fish and mammals. These are molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms and algae. Like any food, seafood can involve hazards transmitted to humans through food, which affect the health of the consumer. These hazards are both biological (viruses, bacteria, parasites) and chemical (toxins, allergens, chemicals, microplastics). The exposure of populations to these hazards through seafood consumption can be notably explained by their mode of production and the dietary habits. Firstly, the sanitary quality of products reflects the quality of the aquatic environment from which they are taken, which can be contaminated by various types of pollution (faecal or chemical, chronic or accidental). The products are then handled, often treated without using additives or chemical preservatives, and finally distributed without any other means of preservation than refrigeration or freezing. Finally, the dietary habits of seafood favour exposure to certain hazards. Seafood safety must be integrated throughout the food chain, under the responsibility shared by all stakeholders. Seafood safety appears to be an emerging public health issue of global scope, because the sea does not stop at borders.

A nanofibrous electrospun patch to maintain human mesenchymal cell stemness.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been extensively investigated in regenerative medicine because of their crucial role in tissue healing. For these properties, they are widely tested in clinical trials, usually injected in cell suspension or in combination with tridimensional scaffolds. However, scaffolds can largely affect the fates of MSCs, inducing a progressive loss of functionality overtime. The ideal scaffold must delay MSCs differentiation until paracrine signals from the host induce their change. Herein, we proposed a nanostructured electrospun gelatin patch as an appropriate environment where human MSCs (hMSCs) can adhere, proliferate, and maintain their stemness. This patch exhibited characteristics of a non-linear elastic material and withstood degradation up to 4 weeks. As compared to culture and expansion in 2D, hMSCs on the patch showed a similar degree of proliferation and better maintained their progenitor properties, as assessed by their superior differentiation capacity towards typical mesenchymal lineages (i.e. osteogenic and chondrogenic). Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis and longitudinal non-invasive imaging of inflammatory response revealed no sign of foreign body reaction for 3 weeks. In summary, our results demonstrated that our biocompatible patch favored the maintenance of undifferentiated hMSCs for up to 21 days and is an ideal candidate for tridimensional delivery of hMSCs. The present work reports a nanostructured patch gelatin-based able to maintain in vitro hMSCs stemness features. Moreover, hMSCs were able to differentiate toward osteo- and chondrogenic lineages once induces by differentiative media, confirming the ability of this patch to support stem cells for a potential in vivo application. These attractive properties together with the low inflammatory response in vivo make this patch a promising platform in regenerative medicine.

Session-RPE for quantifying the load of different youth basketball training sessions.

The aim of the study was to evaluate youth basketball training, verifying the reliability of the session-RPE method in relation to session duration (< and ≥ 80 minutes) and workout typology (reduced and high warm-up, conditioning, technical, tactical, game portions within a single session) categories. Six male youth basketball players (age, 16.5±0.5 years; height, 195.5±6.75 cm; body mass, 93.9±10.9 kg; and body mass index, 23.6±2.8 kg.m-2) were monitored (HR, type and duration of workouts) during 15 (66 individual) training sessions (80±26 minutes). Edwards' HR method was used as a reference measure of internal training load (ITL); the CR-10 RPE scale was administered 30 minutes after the end of each session. The results obtained showed that all comparisons between different session durations and workout portions revealed effects in term of Edwards' ITLs except for warm-up portions. Moderate to strong relationships between Edwards' and session- RPE methods emerged for all sessions (r = .85, P < .001), player's sessions (r range = .79 - .95, P < .001), session durations (< 80 minutes: r = .67, P < .001; ≥ 80 minutes: r = .75, P < .001), and workout portions (r range = .78 - .89, P range = .002 - < .001). The findings indicated that coaches of youth basketball players can successfully use session-RPE to monitor the ITL, regardless of session durations and workout portions.

Contribution of Meat Inspection to the surveillance of poultry health and welfare in the European Union.

In the European Union, Meat Inspection (MI) aims to protect public health by ensuring that minimal hazardous material enters in the food chain. It also contributes to the detection and monitoring of animal diseases and welfare problems but its utility for animal surveillance has been assessed partially for some diseases only. Using the example of poultry production, we propose a complete assessment of MI as a health surveillance system. MI allows a long-term syndromic surveillance of poultry health but its contribution is lowered by a lack of data standardization, analysis and reporting. In addition, the probability of case detection for 20 diseases and welfare conditions was quantified using a scenario tree modelling approach, with input data based on literature and expert opinion. The sensitivity of MI appeared to be very high to detect most of the conditions studied because MI is performed at batch level and applied to a high number of birds per batch.

Multiblock modelling to assess the overall risk factors for a composite outcome.

Research in epidemiology may be concerned with assessing risk factors for complex health issues described by several variables. Moreover, epidemiological data are usually organized in several blocks of variables, consisting of a block of variables to be explained and a large number of explanatory variables organized in meaningful blocks. Usual statistical procedures such as generalized linear models do not allow the explanation of a multivariate outcome, such as a complex disease described by several variables, with a single model. Moreover, it is not easy to take account of the organization of explanatory variables into blocks. Here we propose an innovative method in the multiblock modelling framework, called multiblock redundancy analysis, which is designed to handle most specificities of complex epidemiological data. Overall indices and graphical displays associated with different interpretation levels are proposed. The interest and relevance of multiblock redundancy analysis is illustrated using a dataset pertaining to veterinary epidemiology.

Stress-related hormonal and psychological changes to official youth Taekwondo competitions.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an official Taekwondo competition on the heart rate (HR), salivary α-amylase (sA-A), salivary free cortisol (sC), and Profile of Mood States (POMS) in 10 young male (14±0 years) and six female (13±1 years) athletes. POMS and hormones were measured 15 min before and directly after the competition. During the recovery phase (30 and 90 min), sA-A and sC were also measured. HR measured during the competition was expressed as a percentage of individual's maximal heart rate (%HR(max) ) to evaluate the intensity of exercise. During the competition, athletes spent 65% of the time working at HR>90% of individuals HR(max). A significant increase (P<0.0001) in sA-A (115%) was observed at the end of the match. At 30 min of recovery, sA-A returned to the pre-competition level. The peak sC values were observed at 30 min of recovery (P<0.001), returning to the pre-competition level at 90 min of recovery. A gender difference (P=0.01) emerged only for sC, although a similar trend was observed for female and male athletes. Significantly higher post-match scores emerged for Anger-hostility (pre: 6.1±1.1, post: 11.2±1.9; P=0.03) and Depression-dejection (pre: 4.5±0.5, post: 10.2±1.9; P=0.006), whereas the reverse picture was observed for Vigour-activity (pre: 23.2±1.2, post: 16.3±1.7; P=0.0006). Taekwondo competition results in temporary changes in the stress-related parameters measured in this study. The present findings suggest that this experimental paradigm can represent a useful model for further research on the effects of various stressors (i.e., training and competition) in Taekwondo athletes of different levels (i.e., novice, international).

Risk factors for sanitary condemnation in broiler chickens and their relative impact: application of an original multiblock approach.

An innovative and well-adapted statistical method, called multiblock redundancy analysis, is proposed for a complex health-event analysis to account for the thematic block organization of variables. The outcome block contained the condemnation rates of 404 broiler chicken flocks, distinguishing infectious and traumatic condemnation categories. Explanatory variables were organized in blocks related to the different production stages (farm structure and routine husbandry practices; on-farm flock history and characteristics; catching, transport and lairage conditions; slaughterhouse and inspection features). The aim was to determine risk factors for both condemnation categories, and the relative impact of the different production stages on the whole condemnation rate. Results showed that significant factors were either specific to one condemnation category or related to both categories, and each of the explanatory blocks was involved in the explanation of infectious and traumatic condemnation rates. On-farm flock information explained 40% of the overall condemnation process whereas the other explanatory blocks had similar relative impacts.

Skin lesions in broiler chickens measured at the slaughterhouse: relationships between lesions and between their prevalence and rearing factors.

1. This slaughterhouse-based study was to evaluate correlations between cutaneous lesions which are linked to animal welfare. The relationships between these lesions and various rearing factors were investigated. 2. The percentage of lesions in each flock was determined by observation at the slaughterhouse. Fifty-five flocks slaughtered between May 2005 and May 2006 in 8 slaughterhouses were investigated. 3. Data relating to farm management and housing factors during the rearing period were collected retrospectively from 36 of the 55 flocks scored for lesions. 4. A negative correlation was observed between (i) presence of breast blisters and deep hock burns, (ii) presence of breast blisters and deep footpad dermatitis, and (iii) presence of breast burns and scratches. 5. We proposed an assessment of broiler chicken welfare at the slaughterhouse on the basis of several criteria: (i) footpad dermatitis, hock burns and breast burns, (ii) scratches, and (iii) breast blisters. 6. The presence of contact dermatitis was related to litter quality and several management factors. Only scratches and breast blisters were related to high stocking density. The type of lesion was related to genotype. Genotype A (fast-growing) had fewer breast blisters but deeper footpad lesions than B (slower-growing).

Postmortem condemnations of processed broiler chickens in western France.

A total of 404 broiler chicken flocks processed in 15 slaughterhouses in western France were studied to estimate the condemnation prevalence and describe the official reasons for condemnation and the main macroscopic lesions observed in a sample of the condemned carcases. The condemnation rate was 87 per 10,000 birds slaughtered (95 per cent confidence interval 79 to 95 per 10,000) but differed significantly according to the type of poultry produced (standard, light, heavy or certified). The main reasons for condemnation were emaciation and congestion, with rates of 30 and 22 per 10,000 birds slaughtered, respectively. Congestion was significantly associated with arthritis and ascites, whereas infected skin lesions were associated with bruises and abnormalities of colour, odour or conformation.

Enhanced surveillance of shellfish mortality to improve early detection and investigation of outbreaks of exotic or emerging infectious diseases: An example of a mass mortality outbreak of mussels, France 2014.

This paper explores the relevance and feasibility of enhanced surveillance of mussel-related mortality based on regular telephone interviews of a key informant in a farming community. Based on qualitative analyses of data collected through semi-structured interviews, this method of participatory disease surveillance enabled the retrieval of high quality data during an outbreak of mussel mortality which occurred in Pertuis Charentais, France, in 2014. The findings illustrated that such an enhanced surveillance approach compared with the institutional shellfish health surveillance system could improve the early detection of outbreaks of mussel mortality by one week. This approach enabled a detailed description of the outbreak, showing higher incidence proportion in the Northern water bodies. It also captured relevant data for hypothesis generation for further outbreak investigations, integrating a global view of the health and disturbance of the coastal marine ecosystem. However, to be effective and sustainable, this flexible approach requires a pre-existing knowledge of the structure of the information network of the farmers' community. Such a community-based enhanced surveillance could increase the reactivity of the entire system to enable the earliest possible and most appropriate interventions to protect shellfish populations against exotic or emerging infectious diseases. This would also help to improve the vigilance of mussel farmers and foster their commitment, which is an essential element for sustainable shellfish health surveillance.

Immunoreactivity for thyroid transcription factor-1 in stage I non-small cell carcinomas of the lung.

Thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) is a nuclear protein regulating the transcriptional activity of lung-specific genes in the normal and neoplastic bronchioloalveolar cells. It has been implicated in the normal growth and development of the lung, and the disruption of the TTF-1 locus leads to neonatal death with pulmonary hypoplasia. We evaluated retrospectively the prevalence and clinical significance of TTF-1 immunoreactivity in 222 patients with stage I non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) with a follow-up time of at least 5 years, and we investigated its relationship with other markers of tumor growth, namely cell proliferation and angiogenesis. TTF-1 immunoreactivity was documented by using the commercially available monoclonal antibody 8G7G3/1 in 72% of 97 adenocarcinomas, 5% of 119 squamous cell carcinomas, and in the glandular component of two adenosquamous carcinomas. Four large cell carcinomas were completely unreactive. In adenocarcinomas, but not squamous cell carcinomas, TTF-1 immunoreactivity correlated significantly with microvessel density (p = 0.04) and inversely with the tumor proliferation fraction assessed by Ki-67 immunostaining (p = 0.03). Also, TTF-1-immunoreactive adenocarcinomas showed a trend for a size less than 3 cm (p = 0.08). TTF-1 expression was not related to specific growth patterns, tumor grade, or tumor cell typing. TTF-1 immunoreactivity did not significantly affect patient survival, although patients with more than 75% immunoreactive neoplastic cells showed a trend for longer overall and disease-free survival. Our findings suggest that TTF-1 could be involved in the development of small pulmonary adenocarcinomas, but it has not prognostic implications in patients with stage I NSCLC.

Immune and neuroendocrine response to restraint in male and female rats.

A parallel study of the modification in the opioid and immunological systems induced by acute restraint (RT) was carried out in male and female rats 24 hr after the treatment. beta-Endorphin-like immunoreactivity (beta-ELI) was measured in two brain areas (ventral hypothalamus [HYP] and periaqueductal gray matter [PAG]) and in the pituitary (anterior and neurointermediate lobes), together with plasma corticosterone (C) and ACTH. Immune function was measured as mitogen-induced Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production by splenocytes. RT reduced beta-ELI levels in the PAG in males and females. Plasma levels of C and ACTH did not differ from the basal levels in restrained animals. RT reduced IFN-gamma production in both sexes, but this effect was more marked in females than in males. The possible relationship between the immune and opioid system is discussed.

Effects of formalin-induced pain on exploratory behaviour in rabbits.

We have used formalin to assess the long-term behavioural and hormonal effects of persistent pain in rabbits. Behaviour has been recorded over 10 min sessions both before and after 10 min, 4 and 24 hours after injection of formalin. A low dose of formalin (0.1 ml at 5%) elicited licking of the injected paw which lasted only a few minutes. Exploratory behaviour was greater than in the control (sham-injected) animals in all post-injection sessions. Following a larger dose of formalin (0.5 ml at 8%) licking occurred in all post-injection sessions, while exploration was lower than the controls only immediately after injection. Twenty-four hours after the formalin injection, testosterone levels were unaffected. Corticosterone levels increased over the course of the experiment but this increase was equal for the experimental and the control groups. Results suggest that different pain intensities and durations have opposite effects on exploratory behaviour in rabbits.

Decrease of hippocampal choline acetyltransferase activity induced by formalin pain.

The involvement of the hippocampal choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity in the response to tonic pain was investigated in rats injected with formalin, either 50 microliters 10% or 50 microliters 0.1%. Hippocampal ChAT activity was found to be reduced both 30 and 60 min after injection of the higher concentration of formalin but only 30 min after the lower one. Results indicate that the decrease in ChAT activity depends upon the presence of the nociceptive input rather than its magnitude. The hippocampal formation is involved in the specific behavioural response to pain, namely licking.

Testosterone metabolism in the olfactory epithelium of intact and castrated male rats.

To study the ability of the olfactory epithelium (OE) to transform testosterone (T) into its active metabolites estradiol (E2) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and the influence of castration on this ability, 24 adult male rats were either castrated, and subsequently treated with oil or T, or sham operated. In all groups the in vitro conversion of T by the OE into E2 and DHT is relevant, demonstrating for the first time the presence of aromatase and of 5 alpha-reductase in this tissue. In particular conversion of T into E2 is lowered by castration and restored by T replacement, suggesting that aromatization in this tissue is androgen dependent. The ability of circulating T to influence morphological and physiological features of the OE suggests the hypothesis that androgens may vary the functioning of the olfactory apparatus and modulate the efficiency by which olfactory information is conveyed to the brain.

The effect of medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic lesions on testosterone plasma levels and testosterone conversion in the hypothalamus of male rats.

Male Wistar rats were submitted to bilateral high frequency lesions in the medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic area or to sham procedure. The behavioral effect of the lesions was observed and plasma testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) were measured by radioimmunoassay. In vitro metabolism of T was studied in the hypothalamus. Lesions produced a permanent deficit in male sexual behavior, an increase of plasma T and E2, and of hypothalamic T aromatization, and a decrease of T conversion to 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Behavioural and hormonal effects of restraint stress and formalin test in male and female rats.

The formalin test was used to measure the analgesia induced by restraint in male and female rats. Animals were restrained for 30 min or left undisturbed in their cage and then (1) killed immediately to collect blood for hormonal determinations; or (2) subcutaneously injected with formalin in the hind paw (or sham-injected), introduced to an open field for recording of behaviour, and killed at the end of this procedure. In both experiments, corticosterone was found to be higher in females. In Experiment 1, the ability of restraint to be stressful was confirmed by the increase in corticosterone in both sexes and by the decrease of testosterone in males. In Experiment 2, restraint-treatment induced a reduction in licking and flexing that was limited to the second phase. The reduction occurred in different periods and to a different degree in the two sexes; it was greater in females. Spontaneous behaviours showed sex differences in restraint-treated but not in formalin-treated animals. The results show that the hormonal effects observed after restraint are not present after the formalin test and that the marked analgesia observed with phasic painful stimuli does not occur with a longer-lasting one such as that induced by formalin, after which only partial and short-lasting effects were observed.

Glucocorticoid receptors in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in relation to age and to sport activity.

Glucocorticoid receptors (GR) are ubiquitous molecules and are present also in the hippocampus and in several other nervous and immune tissues. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are a good model for studies of GR in humans. Glucocorticoids are important for maintaining cellular and humoral homeostasis and are key mediators of neuroendocrine-immune regulatory interactions. The increase of cortisol is immunosuppressive and reduces GR concentration both in nervous and immune systems. Variation of glucocorticoids in healthy aged subjects and athletes has been shown. Prompted by these results, we have investigated in man a possible relationship between GR binding capacity in the PBMCs and age, in relation also to plasma testosterone and cortisol. The same parameters have been examined in a group of soccer players for comparison with the sedentary group. GR binding capacity was higher in younger subjects than in older ones, and lower in the group of athletes than in the younger and older sedentary subjects. In the sedentary group a negative correlation was present between GR binding capacity and age. Plasma cortisol was higher and testosterone lower in the athletes; they were negatively correlated in athletes and positively correlated in the sedentary subjects. The results for athletes agree with their lower anabolic/catabolic balance. The mechanism of reduced GR levels in relation to age and sport activity could involve a loss or an involution of receptor synthesis. However other possibilities, such as altered distribution of lymphocyte subpopulations with different receptor concentrations and with different cytokine production, cannot be excluded. Several neuroendocrine-immune interactions could be responsible for reduced GR levels with age and sport activity in man.

Glucocorticoid receptors in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in relation to explosive performance in elite handball players.

Ten handball players, members of the Italian National Team (aged 20-25 years), were studied in two sessions corresponding to different performance levels. The first session occurred one week after the end of the regular season of the Italian Handball Federation: it corresponded to the beginning of the training cycle for the European Handball Championship. The second session occurred ten weeks after the first session. During this period, training consisted of 3 weeks of active recovery and 7 weeks of increasing workload. For each session, jumping performances (maximal height in a single jump, average mechanical power for a 15-s set of consecutive jumps) were evaluated. Venous blood samples were collected in resting conditions immediately before jumping performances to assess cortisol and testosterone plasma concentrations and glucocorticoid receptors (GcR) binding capacity and affinity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). All the parameters, except GcR binding affinity, increased in the second session. The trends of variation in jumping performances, steroid hormone levels and GcR binding capacity were similar. For testosterone, this agrees with the hypothesis that an adequate level of this hormone is a prerequisite for improvement in explosive performances. For cortisol, higher GcR binding capacity after 10 weeks of training (with respect to initial values) indicated an up-regulation of GcR concomitant with the increase in hormone levels and performances. These findings suggest that the adaptation to training, confirmed by the improvement in performance, is characterized by a high value of GcR binding capacity and that it is mediated, among other factors, by the hormone levels and up-regulation of the receptors.

Changes in brain serotonin and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid levels in the rabbit following tonic immobility.

The effect of tonic immobility on serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and on 5- hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels in different brain areas has been investigated, following two different schedules of treatment. The massed treatment consisted of a series of consecutive trials up to 15 min, the spaced treatment in 4 series of trials within 24 hours. Massed treatment produced a decrease in 5-HT in the mesencephalon and of 5-HIAA in the pons-medullary area, but similar changes were also elicited in animals treated with the procedure of induction not followed by immobility. The spaced treatment, which resulted in a potentiation of the immobility duration, i.e., sensitization, produced a reduction of 5-HT levels in the mesencephalon and of 5-HT turnover in the striatum. The procedure of the induction per se acts preferentially on 5-HIAA by increasing its levels. In the striatum, which appears selectively responsive to the spaced treatment of immobility, a negative correlation has been found between serotonin levels and immobility duration. Results suggest that elicitation of tonic immobility is associated with reduced levels of 5-HT in the brain.