Comparative study of As (V) uptake in aqueous medium by a polymer inclusion membrane-based passive sampling device and two filamentous fungi (Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus sp.).

In this work a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) is proposed as passive sampler material and compared with two filamentous fungi for As (V) uptake to evaluate its ability as chemical surrogate material for the monitoring of this metalloid in aquatic environments. Results show excellent passive sampling characteristics of the device since a linear uptake profile as a function of time was observed. The correlation coefficients between the PIM passive sampler with Aspergillus niger (r = 0.83) and Rhizopus sp. (r = 0.13) uptake, show that the first species is the best modeled by the PIM, suggesting its potential as a chemical substitute in bioavailability studies.

Infection of cultured human and monkey cell lines with extract of penaeid shrimp infected with Taura syndrome virus.

Taura syndrome virus (TSV) affects shrimp cultured for human consumption. Although TSV is related to the Cricket Paralysis virus, it belongs to the "picornavirus superfamily," the most common cause of viral illnesses. Here we demonstrate that TSV also infects human cell lines, which may suggest that Penaeus is a potential reservoir of this virus.