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1.
Report on economic justification of the project : LIFE Stop CyanoBloom
Maja Zupančič Justin, Gorazd Lakovič, Tinkara Rozina, Bojan Sedmak, Marko Gerl, 2017, final research report

Abstract: The Annexe 17 of the Final Report of the project LIFE Stop CyanoBloom, presenting the “Report on economic justification of the project” is composed of 14 chapters. The first part of the report gives a general overview of the cyanobacteria and their blooms, and species and toxicity of cyanobacterial toxins. With a literature review, economic consequences of cyanobacterial blooms on human health, commercial fishery, tourism and recreation, and lake monitoring and management have been evaluated. The chapter on phytoplankton and bacterioplankton monitoring options presents the importance of the phytoplankton for the lake ecology and evaluation of the water quality status. Traditional phytoplankton monitoring approaches are compared to the new monitoring options applied in the project. The chapter in-lake cyanobacterial control options give a broad review of available in-lake rehabilitation and remediation options, which can be compared with the electrochemical oxidation technique presented in the following chapter and applied in the project. According to the results obtained during the pilot testing activities, a cost evaluation of the approach has been performed and presented in the report. The last chapter gathers open issues and proposals for the further work in this field.
Keywords: cyanobacteria, cyanotoxins, health risk
Published in DiRROS: 05.09.2024; Views: 109; Downloads: 249
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2.
Innovative technology for cyanobacterial bloom control : LIFE Stop CyanoBloom
Maja Zupančič Justin, Marko Gerl, Gorazd Lakovič, Bojan Sedmak, Tinkara Rozina, Neža Finžgar, Maja Čič, Mario Marinovič, Luka Teslić, Jošt Grum, Maša Čater, Tina Eleršek, Andrej Meglič, Andrey Yakuntsov, Lovro Pokorn, Tomaž Kralj, Matjaž Berčon, Branko Hamiti, 2017, final research report

Abstract: Despite the efforts invested into measures to prevent water eutrophication, like prevention and treatment of point and dispersed discharges, the eutrophication still occurs. One of the unwanted consequences of eutrophic water state is the occurrence of excessive cyanobacterial blooms. Mass occurrence of cyanobacteria is a significant health risk related to surface waters in EU and worldwide since most of the cyanobacterial genera produce cyanotoxins. Besides toxicity, cyanobacterial blooms cause an increase in the turbidity of water and create taste and odour problems. All mentioned represents substantial economic losses in sectors like aquaculture, tourism, drinking water facilities and indirect losses due to increased healthcare expenditures and environmental degradation. It is, therefore, necessary to find appropriate solutions for rapid detection and also in-lake prevention of bloom occurrence despite, for example, existing high eutrophic conditions in the water body. The proposed project represents such a solution. In the frame of the LIFE Stop CyanoBloom project, we have designed two solar powered robotic vessels for the in-lake detection and control of cyanobacterial proliferation. Each vessel is capable of three-dimensional localisation of cyanobacteria by measuring fluorescence of pigments involved in the process of photosynthesis. The vessels are additionally equipped with electrochemical cells using boron doped diamond electrodes fixed on board, producing short-lived hydroxyl radicals, which prevent cyanobacterial proliferation as well as cyanotoxins inactivation. Hydroxyl radicals cause different levels of damages to cyanobacterial cells as well as stress, that may also result in phage induced cyanobacterial lysis. Natural control of cyanobacterial density by lytic cyanophages is known for several years. The mixing of water during the electrolytic cell operation also increases the potential contacts of cyanobacteria with cyanophages, disturbs cyanobacterial buoyancy and generates additional nutrients for nontoxic phytoplankton population. Additional newly developed equipment of the vessel allows advanced automated navigation (automatic docking, avoiding obstacles, maintaining the position in windy conditions, etc.), sampling from different depths, real-time data transfer, statistical analysis and graphical presentation using the adequate software.
Keywords: cyanobacteria, cyanobacterial blooms, cyanotoxins, health risk
Published in DiRROS: 05.09.2024; Views: 89; Downloads: 667
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3.
Fate and effects of cytostatic pharmaceuticals in the environment and the identification of biomarkers for and improved risk assessment on environmental exposure
Metka Filipič, 2014, treatise, preliminary study, study

Abstract: CytoThreat (www.cytothreat.eu) project addresses the needs of the European society for assessing the risks associated with the release of pharmaceuticals into environment focusing on cytostatic pharmaceuticals. The mechanisms of action of most of the anticancer drugs are by interference with genetic material and cell signalling, which are very similar in all organisms and theoretically exposure to anticancer drug residues may affect also nontarget organisms. The aims are to provide new analytical methods needed for to determine the actual environmental exposure of these drugs, their metabolites and transformation products detection, to provide missing ecotoxicity data needed for accurate environmental risk assessment and identify biomarkers of delayed effects that may be used for development of early warning systems.
Keywords: health risks, cytostatics
Published in DiRROS: 03.09.2024; Views: 86; Downloads: 60
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4.
Development of draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) available for the production of the reference materials identified in task 3.1 : grant agreement N. 773139
Anne-Marie Chappé, A Chabirand, P. Dahlin, C. de Krom, Tanja Dreo, Pascal Gentit, L Laurenson, F. Peter, D. Spadaro, A.D. van Diepeningen, René van der Vlugt, E. van Veen, Marcel Westenberg, 2019, treatise, preliminary study, study

Abstract: A general standard operating procedure (SOP) for the production of reference material (RM) for use in plant health diagnostics was developed. The general SOP was designed based on (limited) information on existing SOPs and guidelines available with the consortium partners. The general SOP describes the different steps required in the production process, ranging from the different possible sources of the reference material, tests to confirm its identity, possibly required multiplication steps to the actual production process. For each step in the process, criteria and critical points are identified. The criteria that reference material has to meet, and their minimum required levels as identified and described in Deliverable 3.1 of WP3 form an import basis of the final production process.
Keywords: plant health diagnostics
Published in DiRROS: 03.09.2024; Views: 115; Downloads: 49
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5.
The International cookbook for wastewater practitioners : testing wastewater for public health, SARS-CoV-2
Bernd Manfred Gawlik, Sara Comero, Daniel A. Deere, Gertjan Medema, Ismahane Remonnay, Jean-François Loret, Ana Maria de Roda Husman, Stephanie Rinck-Pfeiffer, Shelesh Agrawal, Ion Gutiérrez-Aguirre, 2024, final research report

Abstract: During the 2020-2023 COVID-19 Global Public Health Emergency of International Concern, rapid progress was made with the application of Wastewater-Based Surveillance (WBS) (also known as Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE)) to provide population-scale evidence of SARS-CoV-2 shedding into wastewater. The information gained was used to help monitor, communicate, and manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Rapid and significant innovations in the field of WBS were realised in parallel in multiple jurisdictions globally. Global collaboration resulted in step-change improvements in multiple aspects of WBS simultaneously, including: health sector leadership; integration with public health surveillance; social and ethical guidance; high-level tactical wastewater catchment sampling strategies; wastewater sampling techniques; transport and storage of samples; laboratory analysis; normalisation and standardisation; data analysis and interpretation; and communication of results. Innovations in WBS relating to COVID-19 continue to take place, and the benefits of those improvements are now being applied to other targets, such as other pathogens and genes. There are many journal articles and other publications describing these innovations. However, valuable lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for WBS have not been systematically documented into a practical and readily digestible format. The purpose of this ‘Cookbook’ is to provide practical and proven ‘recipes’ for WBS for SARS-CoV-2 for two reasons: firstly to help those considering new or extended WBS programmes targeting SARS-CoV-2; and secondly to provide a valuable record of what has been learned from the 2020- 2023 period to help inform WBS programmes to respond to future pandemics and for surveillance of other targets. The Cookbook is structured into eight parts: 1. Introduction; 2. High-level Overview; 3. Health Sector Perspectives; 4. Methods and Methodologies - From data to action; 5. Methods and Methodologies - Measurement and testing; 6. Methods and Methodologies - Sampling; 6. Methods and Methodologies - Transportation protocols; 8. Conclusions. Multiple authors have contributed to each part, primarily from the European Union, as well as others from the global community of practice. The Cookbook has been drafted by a global team of authors, with one or more lead authors identified for each chapter and working with their co-authors. The chapters were then subjected to extensive peer review from the external review group. These authors and reviewers are acknowledged in the Cookbook.
Keywords: coronavirus disease, disease surveillance, innovation, public health, report, sampling, standardisation, testing, wastewater
Published in DiRROS: 02.09.2024; Views: 137; Downloads: 105
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6.
The Superblock model : a review of an innovative urban model for sustainability, liveability, health and well-being
Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, Audrey De Nazelle, Marta Cirach Pradas, Carolyn Daher, Angel M. Dzhambov, Cynthia Echave, Stefan Gössling, Tamara Iungman, Haneen Khreis, Nicolina Kirby, Jernej Tiran, 2024, original scientific article

Abstract: Introduction Current urban and transport planning practices have significant negative health, environmental, social and economic impacts in most cities. New urban development models and policies are needed to reduce these negative impacts. The Superblock model is one such innovative urban model that can significantly reduce these negative impacts through reshaping public spaces into more diverse uses such as increase in green space, infrastructure supporting social contacts and physical activity, and through prioritization of active mobility and public transport, thereby reducing air pollution, noise and urban heat island effects. This paper reviews key aspects of the Superblock model, its implementation and initial evaluations in Barcelona and the potential international uptake of the model in Europe and globally, focusing on environmental, climate, lifestyle, liveability and health aspects. Methods We used a narrative meta-review approach and PubMed and Google scholar databases were searched using specific terms. Results The implementation of the Super block model in Barcelona is slow, but with initial improvement in, for example, environmental, lifestyle, liveability and health indicators, although not so consistently. When applied on a large scale, the implementation of the Superblock model is not only likely to result in better environmental conditions, health and wellbeing, but can also contribute to the fight against the climate crisis. There is a need for further expansion of the program and further evaluation of its impacts and answers to related concerns, such as environmental equity and gentrification, traffic and related environmental exposure displacement. The implementation of the Superblock model gained a growing international reputation and variations of it are being planned or implemented in cities worldwide. Initial modelling exercises showed that it could be implemented in large parts of many cities. Conclusion The Superblock model is an innovative urban model that addresses environmental, climate, liveability and health concerns in cities. Adapted versions of the Barcelona Superblock model are being implemented in cities around Europe and further implementation, monitoring and evaluation are encouraged. The Superblock model can be considered an important public health intervention that will reduce mortality and morbidity and generate cost savings for health and other sectors.
Keywords: urban geography, transport, public health, pollution, sustainable development, Barcelona (Spain)
Published in DiRROS: 07.08.2024; Views: 222; Downloads: 215
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7.
A framework for the evaluation of biosecurity, commercial, regulatory, and scientific impacts of plant viruses and viroids identified by NGS technologies
Sébastien Massart, Thierry Candresse, José Gil, Christophe Lacomme, Lukas Predajna, Maja Ravnikar, Jean-Sébastien Reynard, Artemis Rumbou, Pasquale Saldarelli, Dijana Škorić, Eeva J. Vainio, Jari P. T. Valkonen, Hervé Vanderschuren, Christina Varveri, Thierry Wetzel, 2017, original scientific article

Abstract: Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies and bioinformatics have generated huge new opportunities for discovering and diagnosing plant viruses and viroids. Plant virology has undoubtedly benefited from these new methodologies, but at the same time, faces now substantial bottlenecks, namely the biological characterization of the newly discovered viruses and the analysis of their impact at the biosecurity, commercial, regulatory, and scientific levels. This paper proposes a scaled and progressive scientific framework for efficient biological characterization and risk assessment when a previously known or a new plant virus is detected by next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies. Four case studies are also presented to illustrate the need for such a framework, and to discuss the scenarios.
Keywords: NGS, pest risk analysis, virus diseases, biological characterization, plant health, regulatory agencies
Published in DiRROS: 25.07.2024; Views: 216; Downloads: 112
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8.
Feasibility of droplet digital PCR analysis of plasma cell-free DNA from kidney transplant patients
Barbara Jerič Kokelj, Maja Štalekar, Sebastian Vencken, David Dobnik, Polona Kogovšek, Matjaž Stanonik, Miha Arnol, Maja Ravnikar, 2021, original scientific article

Abstract: Increasing research demonstrates the potential of donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) as a biomarker for monitoring the health of various solid organ transplants. Several methods have been proposed for cfDNA analysis, including real-time PCR, digital PCR, and next generation sequencing-based approaches. We sought to revise the droplet digital PCR (ddPCR)-based approach to quantify relative dd-cfDNA in plasma from kidney transplant (KTx) patients using a novel pilot set of assays targeting single nucleotide polymorphisms that have a very high potential to distinguish cfDNA from two individuals. The assays are capable of accurate quantification of down to 0.1% minor allele content when analyzing 165 ng of human DNA. We found no significant differences in the yield of extracted cfDNA using the three different commercial kits tested. More cfDNA was extracted from the plasma of KTx patients than from healthy volunteers, especially early after transplantation. The median level of donor-derived minor alleles in KTx samples was 0.35%. We found that ddPCR using the evaluated assays within specific range is suitable for analysis of KTx patientsʼ plasma but recommend prior genotyping of donor DNA and performing reliable preamplification of cfDNA.
Keywords: kidney transplantation, droplet digital PCR, plasma cell-free DNA, minor allele quantification, assay evaluation, graft health monitoring
Published in DiRROS: 19.07.2024; Views: 237; Downloads: 113
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9.
Managing the deluge of newly discovered plant viruses and viroids : an optimized scientific and regulatory framework for their characterization and risk analysis
Nuria Fontdevila Pareta, Maryam Khalili, Ayoub Maachi, Mark Paul Selda Rivarez, Johan Rollin, Ferran Salavert Pamblanco, Coline Temple, Miguel A. Aranda, Denis Kutnjak, Maja Ravnikar, 2023, original scientific article

Abstract: The advances in high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies and bioinformatic tools have provided new opportunities for virus and viroid discovery and diagnostics. Hence, new sequences of viral origin are being discovered and published at a previously unseen rate. Therefore, a collective effort was undertaken to write and propose a framework for prioritizing the biological characterization steps needed after discovering a new plant virus to evaluate its impact at different levels. Even though the proposed approach was widely used, a revision of these guidelines was prepared to consider virus discovery and characterization trends and integrate novel approaches and tools recently published or under development. This updated framework is more adapted to the current rate of virus discovery and provides an improved prioritization for filling knowledge and data gaps. It consists of four distinct steps adapted to include a multi-stakeholder feedback loop. Key improvements include better prioritization and organization of the various steps, earlier data sharing among researchers and involved stakeholders, public database screening, and exploitation of genomic information to predict biological properties.
Keywords: plant viruses and viroids, high throughput sequencing (HTS), biological characterization, plant health, regulatory agencies, Pest Risk Analysis (PRA), virus disease
Published in DiRROS: 12.07.2024; Views: 214; Downloads: 104
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10.
Content of trace elements and human health risk assessment via consumption of commercially important fishes from Montenegrin coast
Neda Bošković, Danijela Joksimović, Oliver Bajt, 2023, original scientific article

Abstract: Muscle tissues of Mullus barbatus and Merluccius merluccius were analyzed for the presence of selected trace elements (As, Hg, Cd, and Pb) to determine the value of the daily intake of trace elements from fish consumption and to assess the risk to human health. The mean concentrations of As in the muscle tissue of M. barbatus and M. merluccius for the entire period were 19.689 mg/kg wet weight (ww) and 8.356 mg/kg ww, Hg 0.497 mg/kg ww and 0.153 mg/kg ww, and Pb 0.031 mg/kg ww and 0.025 mg/kg ww, respectively. The concentrations of Cd in all fish sampled were below the detection limit (<0.02 mg/kg ww). The evaluation of the potential health risk assessments based on the target hazard quotient (THQ) and estimated daily intake (EDI) indicated that the intake of As in both fish species and Hg for M. barbatus could pose an appreciable risk to human health. The calculated hazard index (HI) was higher than 1 for both fish species. The continuous monitoring of trace elements’ concentrations in fish is strongly recommended, as the results demonstrate potential health risks due to the presence of As and Hg.
Keywords: trace elements, Mullus barbatus, Merluccius merluccius, human health risk assessment, Montenegro, Adriatic Sea, hydrobiology
Published in DiRROS: 12.07.2024; Views: 187; Downloads: 99
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