Interlaboratory comparison investigations (ICIs) and external quality assurance schemes (EQUASs) for flame retardant analysis in biological matrices: Results from the HBM4EU project.

The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) is coordinating and advancing human biomonitoring (HBM). For this purpose, a network of laboratories delivering reliable analytical data on human exposure is fundamental. The analytical comparability and accuracy of laboratories analysing flame retardants (FRs) in serum and urine were investigated by a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) scheme comprising interlaboratory comparison investigations (ICIs) and external quality assurance schemes (EQUASs).

CsrA regulates a metabolic switch from amino acid to glycerolipid metabolism.

CsrA plays a crucial role in the life-stage-specific expression of virulence phenotypes and metabolic activity. However, its exact role is only partly known. To elucidate how CsrA impacts metabolism we analysed the CsrA depended regulation of metabolic functions by comparative C-isotopologue profiling and oxygen consumption experiments of a wild-type (wt) strain and its isogenic mutant.