ANISE: an application to design mechanobiology simulations of planar epithelia.

SUMMARY: TiFoSi (Tissues Forces & Signaling) is an efficient computational tool for performing mechanobiology simulations of planar epithelia. A drawback of this tool is that it relies on an XML configuration file (input data) that can be cumbersome to set up and/or decode due to the endless possibilities of the software. Moreover, some modeling know-how is needed in order to provide equations that describe gene regulatory interactions. These factors limit the usability of this tool for users with a weak computational and/or mathematical background. Here, we introduce ANISE (grAphical coNfigurator of TiFoSi In Silico Experiments), a web-app that allows to easily setup the configuration of mechanobiology simulations using TiFoSi. The application covers all the configuration modules in TiFoSi comprehensively (from basic to advanced editing options) and uses a graphical approach (e.g. to build the modeling equations of gene regulatory networks). AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: http://github.com/lsym-uveg/anise (server: http://lsymserver.uv.es/lsym/ANISE).

Analysis of pharmaceutical biodegradation of WWTP sludge using composting and identification of certain microorganisms involved in the process.

Pharmaceuticals (PhCs) are organic contaminants that have been detected in wastewater, surface water, and soils throughout the world. The presence of 10 commonly used PhCs in Spain (azithromycin, benzylpenicillin, citalopram, fluconazole, fluoxetine, ibuprofen, irbesartan, olanzapine, telmisartan, and venlafaxine) was analysed at four wastewater treatment plants, and the changes in their concentrations during treatment were assessed. Although certain some PhCs were degraded in the treated water, their presence in sewage sludge increased in all cases. The sewage sludge was composted using rice straw to degrade the PhCs, and the composting efficiency was modified by changes in the relative C/N ratio of the composting blend. Using a simple microbiological culture process for enrichment, 11 different strains of microorganisms that degraded specific PhCs were identified. Ibuprofen and azithromycin were metabolized by one and four strains, respectively, and both PhCs were used as a carbon source; in addition, six strains used irbesartan as a nitrogen source.

Mobility and efficacy of abamectin and imidacloprid against Rhynchophorus ferrugineus in Phoenix canariensis by different application methods.

BACKGROUND: Rhynchophorus ferrugineus is the most destructive pest of palms. As detection of early infestation stages is difficult, preventive measures, mostly chemical control, are crucial. Stipe injection of insecticides has developed rapidly as a suitable technique. However, pesticide movement within palms and palm reaction to wounding remain controversial. We used abamectin and imidacloprid applied by crown spray, stipe and frond injections to disentangle how these pesticides move within P. canariensis and how tissues wounded by injection heal. Furthermore, we established their lethal doses to larvae of R. ferrugineus. RESULTS: Maximum residues of imidacloprid (0.1 mg kg(-1) ) were detected in crown and frond samples for up to 2 months after stipe injection, whereas maximum residues of abamectin were found in frond tip samples (0.5 mg active substance kg(-1) ) 5 months after stipe injection. Based on the lethal concentrations calculated, these doses could satisfactorily protect palms for up to 3 months after treatment. No significant wound damage was observed 2 years after injection. CONCLUSION: Stipe injection, irrespective of the active substance considered, resulted in better distribution and higher persistence compared with frond injection and, especially, crown spray. As a consequence, our results point to stipe injection as a good alternative to control R. ferrugineus.

Validation of a multiclass multiresidue method and monitoring results for 210 pesticides in fruits and vegetables by gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry.

A rapid, sensitive, accurate and reliable multiresidue method for the identification and quantification of 210 relevant pesticides in four representative fruit and vegetable commodities (tomato, potato, spring onion and orange) has been developed and validated by gas chromatography in tandem with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. The method has been fully validated and applied to 292 samples from different countries. Prior to instrumental analysis, an extraction procedure based on a sample extraction of multiclass analytes, using the ethyl acetate method was employed. Mass spectrometric conditions were individually optimized for each compound in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode to achieve maximum sensitivity. The pesticides were separated in less than 25 min. This was followed by an exhaustive control of the retention times. The Retention Time Locking Method was applied, working at a constant pressure throughout the analysis. System maintenance was reduced by using a purged capillary flow device that provided backflush capabilities by reversing column flow immediately after elution of the last compound of interest. Istotopically labelled internal standards were employed to improve the quality of the analytical results.

Comparative study of the main top-down approaches for the estimation of measurement uncertainty in multiresidue analysis of pesticides in fruits and vegetables.

Practical "top-down" approaches appear to be the most suitable for the evaluation of measurement uncertainty in pesticide residue testing laboratories, where analytical procedures are routinely applied to a large number of pesticide/food combinations. The opposite approach, "bottom-up" evaluation of measurement uncertainty, leads to great difficulties in evaluating all of the pesticides in a consistent way. Among the top-down approaches, there are two main ways in which measurement uncertainty can be estimated: One is based on default values, which are based on previous extensive interlaboratory experience and the proven accuracy of the laboratory; these include the Horwitz equation or the fit-for-purpose relative standard deviation (FFP-RSD). The other is based on experimental data from the quality control work of the laboratory: within-laboratory reproducibility, interlaboratory validation, or a combination of results obtained in proficiency tests. The principal existing guidelines from various bodies (Eurachem, Nordtest, and Eurolab) all propose different approaches for calculating measurement uncertainty. In this paper, the main top-down approaches are evaluated and compared using the data from the European Proficiency Test Database for Fruits and Vegetables and the Multiresidue Method validation databases obtained from the National Reference and Official Laboratories in Europe. The main conclusion of the comparative study is that a default expanded measurement uncertainty value of 50% could satisfy all of the requirements for facilitating and harmonizing, worldwide, the intercomparability of the pesticide residue confidence results between laboratories.

Efficiency evaluation of the main multiresidue methods used in Europe for the analysis of amitraz and its major metabolites.

This paper compares the performance of the three most widely employed multiresidue methods [quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS), mini-Luke, and ethyl acetate] currently used for the determination of amitraz residues in fruits. A fast and differentiated analysis of amitraz and its two main metabolites, N-2,4-dimethylphenyl-N-methylformamidine and 2,4-dimethylformanilide, was performed by HPLC-electrospray ionization-MS/MS using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in the positive mode. A test of the stability of the standard solutions showed a rapid hydrolysis of amitraz to the amide and amidine derivatives in solutions containing water, including QuEChERS extracts of crops that were previously acidified. Two useful mass transitions were used to confirm the presence of each analyte in the sample extracts. LOD values ranging from 0.4 to 2.0 microglkg were obtained. Linearity of response over 2 orders of magnitude was demonstrated (r2 > 0.999) in solvent and pear extract. The recovery studies were performed on pear blanks spiked at two concentration levels, 50 and 500 microg/kg (n = 5). Best recoveries, ranging from 75 to 103%, were obtained by the application of the QuEChERS method with CV < 8% in all cases. The QuEChERS method was applied to a monitoring study carried out by the Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Office Stuttgart laboratory. From the 63 pear samples analyzed, 21 contained amitraz residues (expressed as sum) ranging from 0.02 to 2.9 mg/kg. Amitraz parent was detected only in a few cases at very low concentration levels, with N-2,4-dimethylphenyl-N-methylformamidine being the metabolite almost entirely representing the total residue. These results emphasize that the residue situation is clearly underestimated if only the parent compound is targeted, and they reinforce how important it is to include amitraz in the target scope of pesticide residue laboratories, especially since the concentrations detected exceeded the Acute Reference Dose in the majority of cases and pose a health risk to the consumer.