1 - Introduction to foodborne parasites

Monitoring of pollution induced changes on populations and communities can be loosely divided into effects on functional attributes and effects on structural attributes. By functional attributes I mean the types, kinds and rates of flow of energy and materials through the system whereas structural attributes are the numbers of individuals, species and related characteristics such as biomass and how they vary through time. Clearly there are no hard and fast boundaries between functional and structural attributes since biomass can be regarded as both a functional and structural attribute. However, there are different strategies involved in applying monitoring programmes to functional and structural attributes and it is these that I wish to consider.

Parasites in Food: From a Neglected Position to an Emerging Issue

Foodborne parasites (FBP) are recognized as being a neglected pathogen group, often associated with marginalized or disadvantaged populations, especially those living in regions where water supply or sanitation are inadequate. Nevertheless, we are also increasingly recognising that FBP are not just restricted to such places, and even those that do have a circumscribed endemic area may also travel further in our globalised world; FBP are relevant everywhere, including Europe.Against this background, COST Action Euro-FBP (FA1408) was established and ran for a period of 4 years, addressing a number of different questions related to FBP, particularly in the European setting. In this special issue (SI), some of the issues and outputs associated with Euro-FBP are considered in greater depth, as an output also of the final Euro-FBP meeting. As well as more general issues regarding, for example, globalization and climate change, use of economic models, and the value of risk-based surveillance that puts the topic in perspective, individual articles are included that address specific parasites. These include protozoan parasites, such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and Toxoplasma, as contaminants of water, shellfish, and fresh produce, fishborne parasites such as Anisakid nematodes, and meatborne parasites, such as Trichinella. Some of the works provide specific data on occurrence or outbreaks, whilst others are concerned with techniques. In addition, implementation of some of the educational and collaborative tools that are unique to COST Actions are described. COST Actions are not generally intended to deliver a scientific endpoint, and Euro-FBP does not do so. However, the articles in this SI, along with other articles published elsewhere during and subsequent to the course of the Action, as direct outputs of the Euro-FBP activities, indicate that FBP are indeed a relevant topic for European scientists.

Foodborne parasites (FBP) are a neglected topic in food safety, due to lack of awareness of their importance for public health, their biological diversity, and, for many FBP, lack of standardized detection methods, which complicates identification of the infection vehicle. The COST Action FA1408, A European Network for Foodborne Parasites (Euro-FBP), aims to limit the impact of FBP on public health by facilitating multidisciplinary cooperation and partnership among researchers, and between researchers and stakeholders. Outbreaks represent a common topic overarching specialization in one or more FBP, thus providing a platform for knowledge exchange. This report summarizes the outcomes of a meeting within the Euro-FBP consortium entitled ‘Outbreaks and Outbreak Investigations’. Recent and historical outbreaks of trichinellosis, opisthorchiasis, and cryptosporidiosis were used as examples to underline the complexity of the topic, the different foods implicated and their traceability, and the lack of standardized detection methods for some parasites. Possible solutions to overcome current limitations were also illustrated. The meeting provided an opportunity to learn from recent advances in the study of bacterial foodborne outbreaks, with an emphasis on genome analysis.

Food-borne parasites (FBPs) are a neglected topic in food safety, partly due to a lack of awareness of their importance for public health, especially as symptoms tend not to develop immediately after exposure. In addition, methodological difficulties with both diagnosis in infected patients and detection in food matrices result in under-detection and therefore the potential for underestimation of their burden on our societies. This, in consequence, leads to lower prioritization for basic research, e.g. for development new and more advanced detection methods for different food matrices and diagnostic samples, and thus a vicious circle of neglect and lack of progress is propagated. The COST Action FA1408, A European Network for Foodborne Parasites (Euro-FBP) aims to combat the impact of FBP on public health by facilitating the multidisciplinary cooperation and partnership between groups of researchers and between researchers and stakeholders. The COST Action TD1302, the European Network for cysticercosis/taeniosis, CYSTINET, has a specific focus on Taenia solium and T. saginata, two neglected FBPs, and aims to advance knowledge and understanding of these zoonotic disease complexes via collaborations in a multidisciplinary scientific network. This report summarizes the results of a meeting within the Euro-FBP consortium entitled ‘Analytical methods for food-borne parasites in human and veterinary diagnostics and in food matrices’ and of the joined Euro-FBP and CYSTINET meeting.

When discussing ecology and environmental awareness, we frequently tell our students that all are mutually dependent and that if one element of an environment is disturbed, there are many, often farreaching consequences for all organisms within that environment. That said, we quickly move on to another topic, thinking that we have increased our students' knowledge about their environment and factors affecting environmental change. We can better help our students understand the interrelatedness of if we can help them to see why are interdependent. Charles Elton (1927), a pioneering animal ecologist, suggests that the structure and activities of animal communities primarily depend on food supply. McInerney (1993) concurs, noting that in nature everyone is someone else's dinner (p. 293). These remarks suggest that all are part of an intricate food and survival chain in which they obtain necessary nutrients directly or indirectly from other (Goodwin 1992). The movement of nutrients and energy among and the resulting interactions are typically represented by food chains or webs (Krebs 1988; Ricklefs 1990; Smith 1980). The structure of a food web is based on the functional relationship of three groups of organisms: autotrophs, heterotrophs and decomposers (which are really heterotrophs but are given their own category because of their nutrient recycling role). Each of these groups relies, directly or indirectly, on the others for attaining their essential nutrients and energy. Even though the movement of nutrients and energy between any two depends on one eating the other, the overall flow pattern for each within the food web is fundamentally different. Nutrients can cycle through the food web an infinite number of times, whereas energy can only flow through the web once (or in some cases, with minimal cycling among the heterotrophs). We often teach the concepts of food chains and webs using lectures supplemented with various diagrams showing the simplicity and/or complexity of various food webs. Students in these situations often fail to see the dynamic interactions among the that make up the food web, as well as the impact of environmental disturbances on the organisms in the food web. Teaching food webs is a perfect opportunity to supplement student learning with student doing. The activity we describe is one that can be used to teach the dynamic nature of food webs and to demonstrate the impact of environmental disturbances on the within a food web to students of all ages. By having students become a member of a food web and actually seek its nutrients from the other living things around it, the students model the behaviors they and other display on a daily basis. The result of this activity is a greater understanding of and appreciation for the interdependencies of things.

Regulatory approval of biosimilars predominantly relies on biosimilarity assessments of quality attributes (QAs), particularly the potentially critical QAs (pCQAs) that may affect the clinical profile. However, a limited understanding exists concerning how EU regulators reflect the biosimilarity assessments of (pC)QAs in European public assessment reports (EPARs) by different stakeholders. The type and extent of information on QAs and pCQAs in EPARs were evaluated for seven adalimumab biosimilars. Seventy-seven QAs, including 31 pCQAs, were classified and assessed for type (structural and functional attributes) and extent (biosimilarity interpretation and/or test results) of information in EPARs. Reporting on the QAs (35–75%) varied between EPARs, where the most emphasis was placed on pCQAs (65–87%). Functional attributes (54% QAs and 92% pCQAs) were reported more frequently than structural attributes (8% QAs and 22% pCQAs). About 50% (4 structural and 12 functional attributes) of pCQAs were consistently reported in all EPARs. Regulators often provided biosimilarity interpretation (QAs: 83% structural and 80% functional; pCQAs: 81% structural and 78% functional) but rarely include test results (QAs: 1% structural and 9% functional and pCQAs: 3% structural and 9% functional). Minor differences in structural attributes, commonly in glycoforms and charge variants, were often observed in adalimumab biosimilars but did not affect the functions and clinical profile. Despite the variability in reporting QAs in EPARs, the minor observed differences were largely quantitative and not essentially meaningful for the overall conclusion of biosimilarity of the seven adalimumab biosimilars.

Ensuring Safe Food for Infants: The Importance of an Integrated Approach to Monitor and Reduce the Risks of Biological, Chemical, and Physical Hazards

Role of Biotechnology in the Control of Foodborne Parasites

Benthic communities from two grassland streams in New Zealand were contrasted to quantify seasonal variation in food-web and community attributes. Connectivity food webs were used to describe trophic links and energy flows Community attributes webs were used to describe trophic links and energy flows. Community attributes ere used to describe the distribution of species and biomass across taxa and functional feeding groups. The food webs produced are amongst the largest published reflecting detailed taxonomy across fish, algae and macro-invertebrates. All food-web attributes - species richness, number of links, connectance, mean chain length. average number of links down and prey:predator ratio - showed significant variation across seasons. Community structure showed less seasonality, and low variation Variation in food supply was important in structuring the community, e.g. primary production was correlated with the vertical dimensions (mean chain length) of the food webs and seemed to determine the proportion of species and biomass that were composed of browsers. Organic matter availability (as seston or standing crop) seemed to be important in dictating the proportion of species and biomass that were composed of collector-gatherers and filter feeders. Cluster analysis reveals that the two streams differed in fundamental ways. Dempsters Stream was characterised by a structurally complex, species-rich community, with a high proportion of predators and a predominance of browsers. This appears to be based on high algal productivity. Sutton Stream was characterised by a simpler food web with a greater contribution of collector-gatherers and filter feeders, reflecting higher availability and standing crop of organic matter. When clustered by food-web attributes, species richness was important in dictating which communities clustered together, identifying the species-rich spring and particularly summer food webs of Dempsters Stream as distinct from the other communities. On the other hand, when clustered according to community attributes, the spring and summer Dempsters communities grouped with the autumn and summer Sutton communities, whereas the autumn Dempsters community was most distinctive, due to a high species richness of Plecoptera and a high predator biomass. A comparison of seasonal and whole year summary food webs showed that web size. the number of links, and the average number of links down were over-estimated in the summary webs. Other attributes of the summary food webs, such as connectance. mean chain lengths and prey:predator ratios approximated the average of those from the seasonal food webs, the summary webs clustered separately from all the other food webs due to their higher species richness. Thus a food web gathered in a single season does not accurately reflect the food-web structure during any other season, or of the whole year.

Chapter 9 - Forest Structural and Functional Attribute Upscaling Using Spaceborne LiDAR Data

Production and food web efficiency decrease as fishing activity increases in a coastal ecosystem

Social support for nursing students: A concept analysis study

Soil food web stability in response to grazing in a semi-arid prairie: The importance of soil textural heterogeneity

Structural–functional approach to identify post-disturbance recovery indicators in forests from northwestern Patagonia: A tool to prevent state transitions