Antimicrobial activity of thin metallic silver flakes, waste products of a manufacturing process

The aim of the research was to develop new products and processes from a manufacturing waste from an Italian metallurgic company. The company produced thin silver metallic films and the production scraps were silver flakes. The possibility to use the silver flakes in water disinfection processes was studied. The antimicrobial activity of the flakes was investigated in batch using Escherichia coli as Gram-negative microorganism model. The flakes did not show any antimicrobial activity, so they were activated with two different processes: thermal activation in reducing atmosphere and chemical activation, obtaining, respectively, reduced flakes (RF) and chemical flakes (CF). The flakes, activated with either treatment, showed antimicrobial activity against E. coli. The kill rate was dependent on the type of activated flakes. The chemical flakes were more efficient than reduced flakes. The kill rate determined for 1 g of CF, 1.0 ± 0.2 min⁻¹, was greater than the kill rate determined for 1 g of RF, 0.069 ± 0.004 min⁻¹. This was confirmed also by the minimum inhibitory concentration values. It was demonstrated that the antimicrobial capability was dependent on flakes amount and on the type of aqueous medium. Furthermore, the flakes maintained their properties also when used a second time. Finally, the antimicrobial activities of flakes were tested in an effluent of a wastewater treatment plant where a variety of heterotrophic bacteria were present.     

Comparative study of heavy metal and pathogenic bacterial contamination in sludge and manure in biogas and non-biogas swine farms

The objective of this study is to determine and compare the heavy metal (Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb) and bacterial (E. coli, coliform and Salmonella spp.) contamination between swine farms utilizing biogas and non-biogas systems in the central part of Thailand. Results showed that average levels of E. coli, coliform, BOD, COD, Zn, Cu and Pb in sludge from the post-biogas pond were higher than the standard limits. Moreover, the levels of E. coli, coliform, Cd and Pb were also higher than the standard limits for dry manure. The levels of E. coli, coliform and BOD on biogas farms were lower than on non-biogas farms. Following isolation of Salmonella spp:; it was found that Salmonella serovars Rissen was the most abundant at 18.46% (12/65), followed by Anatum 12.31% (8/65), and Kedougou 9.23% (6/65). The pathogenic strains of Salmonella serovars Paratyphi B var. java and Typhimurium were present in equal amounts at 4.62% (3/65) in samples from all swine farms. This study revealed that significant reduction in E. coli and coliform levels in sludge from covered lagoon biogas systems on swine farms. The presence of Salmonella as well as Cd and Pb, in significant amount in dry manure, suggests that there is a high probability of environmental contamination if it is used for agricultural purposes. Thus, careful waste and manure disposal from swine farms and the regular monitoring of wastewater is strongly recommended to ensure the safety of humans, other animals and the environment.     

Adsorptive property of Cu^2＋-loaded montmorillonite clays for Escherichia coli K_（88） in vitro

The Cu²⁺-loaded montmorillonite clays (MMT-Cu) may be a good material for the adsorbed and eliminated pathogenic bacteria from aqueous solution.     

超强静磁场对染料脱色菌Escheriehia coli的acpD基因的影响

将大肠杆菌E.coli ATCC8739置于12.0 T超强静磁场(ultra-strong static magnetic field,SMF)中进行处理,获得了磁场处理0.5、1、2、4和8 h的菌株E.coli-SMFn(n=0.5、1、2、4、8)。在37℃、pH 7、静置的条件下,菌株对偶氮染料AR14(I.C.Acid Red 14)的脱色结果指出,当反应进行到4、6和8 h时,E.coli-SMF8的脱色效率分别为18%、55%和96%,远高于E.coli ATCC8739的3%、19%和50%,表明SMF作用显著地增强了菌株的脱色效率。基因组DNA提取、PCR扩增、分子克隆以及基因测序的实验结果进一步表明,全部6例E.coli ATCC8739菌株的偶氮还原酶基因(acpD)序列均与GenBank中报道的完全一致;而E.coli-SMF8菌株的acpD-SMF8核酸序列中缺失了第99位的胞嘧啶。该缺失突变不仅使acpD-SMF8的核酸序列与acpD的存在显著不同,同时得到了具新活性中心的偶氮还原酶AzoR-SMF8。这个新的活性中心具有更强的黄素(FMN)结合能力,因此使该酶与偶氮染料的亲和力大大增加,促进了脱色效率的提高。     

氯消毒新工艺对大肠杆菌灭活作用的研究

研究了短时游离氯后转氯胺的联合消毒方法对大肠杆菌的灭活作用，并对其协同作用以及pH值和温度对协同作用的影响进行了探讨。结果表明：pH值在6．5～8范围内，温度不超过30℃时，短时游离氯后转氯胺的消毒方法对大肠杆菌的灭活具有协同作用，且随pH值的降低而加强，在低温下该方法的协同效果更加明显。     

PEM式臭氧消毒在地上游泳池水处理中的应用

采用臭氧法水处理系统对地上游泳池的循环水进行灭菌消毒,研究了臭氧用量、循环水流量和运行时间等因素对臭氧法灭菌效果的影响。结果表明,3组PEM臭氧发生器应用于21.2 m3的地上游泳池,在4 m3/h的循环水流量下运行12 h后,水中的细菌总数与大肠杆菌群数达到国家标准,去除率均在99%以上。与盐电解法水处理系统相比较,臭氧法水处理系统的优势在于:杀菌快速高效、出水水质的理化指标较好和运行费用低廉。     

气体二氧化氯对葡萄表面细菌杀菌规律研究

研究气体二氧化氯杀灭金黄色葡萄球菌、大肠杆菌、李斯特单增菌和腐生酵母菌4种葡萄表面的危险致病菌的杀菌规律。在实验范围内,随着气体二氧化氯浓度的增加和杀菌时间的延长,杀菌效果明显增加。当杀菌时间超过12min,杀菌量级几乎不再增加。杀菌效率随温度的增加而减小,在实验温度条件下,只有大肠杆菌的杀菌效果减少了5.38～6.09log量级,其他3种菌均减少了6log量级以上,杀菌作用温度在实验条件下对杀菌效果影响不大。研究表明,当气体二氧化氯的杀菌浓度为25mgl-1、杀菌时间12min、杀菌温度25℃的条件下,金黄色葡萄球菌、李斯特单增菌和腐生酵母菌均减少了6.4log量级以上,而大肠杆菌达到5.76log量级;同时表明二氧化氯气体的杀菌保鲜功能也是食品安全技术非热杀菌手段。     

环球扫描

《自然》2013年5月9日中国公民需以实际行动拯救环境到2015年,中国政府计划在全国117个主要城市将PM2.5和PM10浓度分别削减5%和10%,其他污染物削减10%以上。中国需要对煤炭资源利用和机动车尾气排放建立一套国家标准。2011年,中国占世界     

大肠杆菌IscA膜表面表达菌株在吸附水体重金属中的应用

为构建一种能够高效、同时吸附水中多种重金属离子的大肠杆菌,利用融合蛋白表达技术,首先将大肠杆菌前脂蛋白信号肽Lpp、膜蛋白OmpA的N端部分氨基酸和铁硫簇组装蛋白IscA的编码基因序列进行融合,构建pET-Lpp-OmpA-IscA表达载体,将此载体导入大肠杆菌BL21菌株.在IPTG诱导下,IscA蛋白可表达于细胞膜表面.然后对IscA膜表面表达菌株对重金属的吸附能力进行评估,包括测定最大吸附容量、绘制吸附浓度依赖曲线和时间依赖曲线,以及对菌株清除工业污水中重金属的性能进行初步探索.研究结果表明,与本底对照菌株相比,IscA蛋白在细胞膜表面表达能够使菌株对水中的Cu~(2+)、Ni~(2+)、Cd~(2+)、Pb~(2+)、As~(3+)、Co~(2+)、Hg~(2+)这7种重金属的吸附能力提高2～5倍不等,并且在pH为6～8范围内保持其吸附能力基本不变.此菌株能够在30 min内将各种重金属溶液中超标5倍的金属含量降低至最大允许排放浓度以下,并且对吸附的重金属具有不同程度的回收能力和菌株再生能力.此外,该菌株能够同时吸附工业污水中的多种重金属,有效降低各种重金属含量.因此,利用膜表面表达技术对大肠杆菌进行改造,成功提高了大肠杆菌对多种重金属的吸附能力,为利用微生物治理环境重金属污染提供了良好的应用前景.     

四环素对大肠杆菌抗生素抗性基因进化的影响

为了解环境中低浓度抗生素对抗生素抗性发展的影响,以大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli,E.coli)为基础材料,通过亚抑菌浓度四环素处理,得到由敏感到抗性的菌株,研究了四环素对大肠杆菌产生抗生素抗性基因(antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs)的影响,采用同位素标记相对和绝对定量技术(isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification,iTRAQ),分析四环素处理前后,大肠杆菌总蛋白差异表达情况.结果表明,大肠杆菌经1/2MIC浓度的四环素诱导,20 d后可由敏感转至耐药,表明环境中的低浓度四环素的刺激对大肠杆菌耐药性的形成影响较大.并且,检测到四环素抗性基因tetA、tetE和tetZ,β-内酰胺类抗性基因blaTEM和blaFOX,多重耐药性基因acrA、marA和marR.蛋白结果表明大肠杆菌在四环素胁迫下以特定的节能存活模式,通过诱导细胞防御和修复系统来应对环境压力,并表现出对离子传输的严格调节,来抵抗四环素毒性的影响.研究结果为进一步解析环境中抗生素胁迫的抗性机制提供了参考.