Automatic detection of tic activity in the Tourette Syndrome.

This study presents a simple decision-support system for the detection of tic events during the Tourette Syndrome (TS). The system is based on a triaxial accelerometer placed on the patient's trunk. TS is a neurological disorder that emerges during childhood and that is characterized by a large spectrum of involuntary/compulsive movements and sounds. 12 subjects with chronic TS participated in the study and the tic events were both measured by the proposed device and visually classified through video recording. 3D-acceleration timeseries were combined through a module operator and their noise was eliminated by a median filter. Signal to noise ratio was improved by a nonlinear energy operator. Finally, a time-variant threshold was used to detect tic events. The automatic tic recognition showed a performance around 80 % in terms of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. In conclusion, this simple, automatic and unobtrusive method offers an alternative approach to quantitatively assess the tic events in clinical and non clinical environments. This overcomes the limitations of the current motor tic evaluation which is done by clinical observation and/or video-inspection in specialized neurological centres.

Contamination of bivalve molluscs by Cryptosporidium oocysts: the need for new quality control standards.

A yearlong study was carried out to investigate the presence and viability of Cryptosporidium oocysts in 203 samples of cultured shellfish from Galicia (NW Spain) and 38 samples imported from other European Union (EU) countries. Shellfish samples included mussels, oysters, clams and cockles. Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected, using a direct immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT), in 34.4% of the samples analyzed; use of the fluorogenic dye propidium iodide (PI) revealed viable potentially infective oocysts in 53.0% of these samples. There was no relation between the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts and the microbiological contamination detected in the samples expressed as Most-Probable-Number (MPN) of fecal coliforms, the different species of mollusc, or the month of sampling. One important finding was that the depuration process was ineffective in totally removing oocyst contamination. Furthermore, the existence of viable oocysts in samples with microbiological contamination levels lower than 300 fecal coliforms/100 g, which in accordance with current legislation are considered suitable for human consumption, suggests the need to include parasitological analyses in the quality control for these molluscs.

Survival of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts recovered from experimentally contaminated oysters (Ostrea edulis) and clams (Tapes decussatus).

Samples of two species of shellfish that form part of the human food chain (the oyster Ostrea edulis and the marine clam Tapes decussatus) were experimentally contaminated with Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. Changes in the viability of oocysts subsequently recovered from the shellfish were evaluated by means of an immunofluorescent antibody technique (IFAT) and inclusion/exclusion of the fluorogenic vital dye propidium iodide. There was a sharp decrease in oocyst viability during the first 4 days, with 15-25% viable oocysts remaining thereafter. In addition the infectivity of these oocysts at 10 and 31 days post-contamination was demonstrated using a suckling murine model.

Viability and infectivity of oocysts recovered from clams, Ruditapes philippinarum, experimentally contaminated with Cryptosporidium parvum.

This study confirms the important role of marine bivalve molluscs, destined for human consumption, as transmitters of cryptosporidiosis, zoonotic diarrhoeal disease caused by Cryptosporidium parvum. C. parvum oocysts recovered from seawater clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) were viable and infective in five of eight infected neonatal CD-1 Swiss mice. Oocysts were observed in clam gill and gastrointestinal tract tissue homogenates as well as in gill histological sections, by an immunofluorescent antibody technique. In vitro viability of recovered oocysts was also determined using fluorogenic vital dyes (75% viability).

Detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in bivalve molluscs destined for human consumption.

Clams (Dosinia exoleta, Ruditapes philippinarum, Venerupis pullastra, Venerupis rhomboideus, Venus verrucosa), mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), and oysters (Ostrea edulis) were tested for the presence of Cryptosporidium sp. oocysts using various stain techniques and a commercially available kit containing fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated monoclonal antibodies. All molluscs were harvested in northwest Spain (Galicia) except for R. philippinarum, which was from Italy, and 1 of the 6 oyster samples, which was from England. The results showed the presence of Cryptosporidium sp. oocysts in all of the molluscan species destined for human consumption.