Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of acute and chronic Q fever in humans. Although the isolates studied so far showed a difference in virulence potential between those causing the two forms of the disease, implying a difference in their proteomic profile, the methods used so far to diagnose the two forms of the disease do not provide sufficient discriminatory capability, and human infections may be often misdiagnosed. The aim of the current study was to identify the outer membrane Com1 (CBU_1910) as a candidate protein for serodiagnostics of Q fever. The protein was cloned, expressed, purified, and used as an antigen in ELISA. The protein was then used for the screening of sera from patients suffering from chronic Q fever endocarditis, patients whose samples were negative for phase I immunoglobulin G (IgG), patients for whom at least one sample was positive for phase I IgG, and patients suffering from any kind of rheumatoid disease. Blood donors were used as the control group. Following statistical analysis, 92.4% (122/132) of the samples tested agreed with the negative clinical diagnosis, and 72.2% (26/36) agreed with the positive clinical diagnosis. Moreover, a significant correlation to the presence of the disease (p = 0.00) was calculated. The results support the idea that a Com1 antigen-based serodiagnostic test may be useful for differential diagnosis of chronic Q fever. Further studies are required to compare more immunogenic proteins of the bacterium against samples originating from patients suffering from different forms of the disease.

Pseudomonas sp. strain phDV1 is a Gram-negative bacterium capable of degrading aromatic hydrocarbons. Here, we present the complete genome sequence of this strain, which consists of 4,727,682 bp, with a 62.3% G+C content and 4,574 genes.

Coxiella burnetii is the agent that causes acute and chronic Q fever infections in humans. Although the isolates studied so far have shown that the two forms of the disease differ in virulence potential thus, implying a variance in their proteomic profile, the methods used do not deliver enough discriminatory capability and often, human infections may be mis-diagnosed. The current study adds further knowledge to the results that we have already published on the Coxiella outer membrane protein 1 (Com1). Herein we identified the proteins GroEL, Ybgf, OmpH, and UPF0422 as candidates for serodiagnostics of Q fever; following cloning, expression and purification they were further used as antigens in ELISA for the screening of patients' sera associated with chronic Q fever endocarditis, sera negative for phase I IgG, sera with at least one sample positive for phase I IgG and sera from patients who suffered from various rheumatic diseases. Blood donors were used as the controls. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ) were calculated and we also performed binary logistic regression analysis to identify combinations of proteins with increased diagnostic yield. We found that proteins GroEL and Ybgf, together with Com1, play the most significant role in the correct diagnosis of chronic Q fever. Of these three proteins, it was shown that Com1 and GroEL present the highest sensitivity and specificity altogether. The results add to the existing knowledge that an antigen-based serodiagnostic test that will be able to correctly diagnose chronic Q fever may not be far from reality.

BACKGROUNDGrape pomace from Vitis vinifera Asssyrtiko is an important sub‐product of the Greek wine industry. However, its accumulation is a serious problem with a negative environmental impact. Grape pomace is rich in bioactive compounds and its utilization for alternative uses, such as a fertilizer, is an interesting area of research. On the other hand, its high concentration of phenolic compounds inhibits germination processes. Therefore, there is a need to decrease the high phenolic level in grape pomace before it can be used as a fertilizer. The main objective of our study is the fast reduction of polyphenols in grape pomace, and more specifically catechin and epicatechin in Vitis vinifera Assyrtiko. For this purpose, Chlamydomonas reinhardii was used for polyphenol biodegradation in grape pomace extract. It is shown that the bioremediation proceeds very fast, while the final product has a high potential to be used as a soil conditioner.RESULTSThe results of this study identify that after 6 days of cultivation, C. reinhardtii was able to reduce the total polyphenolic amount by 43%, while catechin and epicatechin were decreased by 100%. In addition, it is shown that the final aqueous product is rich in minerals, such as sodium, phosphorus and potassium.CONCLUSIONSThrough this work we were able to develop a method that allows for the efficient decrease of polyphenols in grape pomace. C. reinhardtii biodegrades a sufficient amount of polyphenols in grape pomace with a high rate, while the product obtained 6 days after cultivation contains high concentrations of minerals and low levels of polyphenols. These results suggest that there is a great potential in using the Vitis vinifera Asssyrtiko biodegraded product as a soil conditioner. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

In June 2016, a Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis outbreak (n = 56) occurred after a christening reception in Central Greece, mainly affecting previously healthy adults; one related death caused media attention. Patients suffered from profuse diarrhoea, fever and frequent vomiting episodes requiring prolonged hospitalisation and sick leave from work, with a 54% hospital admission rate. The majority of cases experienced serious illness within <12 h of attending the party. We investigated the outbreak to identify the source(s) of infection and contributing factors to the disease severity. From the retrospective cohort study, the cheesy penne pasta was the most likely vehicle of infection (relative risk 7·8; 95% confidence interval 3·6-16·8), explaining 79% of the cases. S. enterica ser. Enteritidis isolates were typed as phage-type PT8, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type XbaI.0024, multiple locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis-type 2-9-7-3-2. The strain did not share the single-nucleotide polymorphism address of the concurrent European S. enterica ser. Enteritidis PT8 outbreak clusters. Following five consecutive years with no documented S. enterica ser. Enteritidis outbreaks in Greece, this outbreak, likely associated with a virulent strain, prompted actions towards the enhancement of the national Salmonella molecular surveillance and control programmes including the intensification of training of food handlers for preventing similar outbreaks in the future. Advanced molecular techniques were useful in distinguishing unrelated outbreak strains.