Norovirus Contamination of Bell Pepper from Handling During Harvesting and Packing

To evaluate the impact of harvesting and packinghouse operation on the contamination of green bell pepper (GBP) with viruses and enteric bacteria. Hands of 97 workers plus 40 GBP were sampled from field and packinghouse areas. RT-nested PCR were used for the identification of Noroviruses (NV) and Chromogenic agar for the quantification of coliforms and Escherichia coli. NV was found in 30.9 and 23.7% of workers’ hands, before and after 3 h of work, respectively, while 45 and 30% of field and packed GBP was positive for NV. Fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli were present in 68 and 57.3% and 12.4 and 11.1% of workers’ hands before and after 3 h of work, respectively. Fecal coliforms were detected in 85 and 15% of field and packed GBP, respectively, while E. coli was absent. There was no significant correlation between bacterial indicator and NV in the analyzed samples (P > 0.05). Handling of fresh produce by workers during harvesting and packing operations has negative impacts on fresh produce safety.     

Assessment of mercury(II) bioavailability using a bioluminescent bacterial biosensor: Practical and theoretical challenges

Critical methodological challenges in the microbial biosensor approach to assessing Hg(II) bioavailability were evaluated from the perspective of analytical chemists. The main challenge stems from the fact that the chemical speciation of Hg(II) in natural waters exerts a major control on its bioavailability, yet its natural complexation equilibria are extensively altered during conventional bioassays. New data, obtained using a bioluminescent Hg(II)-biosensor, that illustrate these challenges are presented and potential solutions proposed.     

Maternal energy expenditure does not change with flight costs or food availability in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca): costs and benefits for nestlings

We manipulated parental work load without changing brood size in a population of pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca by removing two primaries (7 and 9) from each wing of females, thus reducing wing area and increasing flight costs. At other nests, we offered supplementary food in the form of live mealworms (10–20 g daily from hatching) to reduce brood demand and thus parental foraging costs. Other nests were left as controls. The daily energy expenditure of females feeding 12-day-old nestlings was measured with doubly labelled water D₂ ¹⁸O. Females in both treatments expended the same amount of energy, fed at the same rate and had similar body masses to birds in the control group. No effect of treatment on male mass and feeding effort was detected. More nestlings, however, died in nests of handicapped females. Nestlings of handicapped females had significantly lower body mass and haematocrit values than nestlings in food-supplemented nests, with nestlings in control nests occupying an intermediate position. The effects of both treatments on nestling mass, haematocrit values and mortality rates were only noticeable in nests infested with mites. Maternal energy expenditure is apparently constrained and offspring pay the costs imposed by reduced provisioning rate or increased demand caused by ectoparasites, while receiving benefits when food supply improves. The presumption that avian reproductive costs derive from changes in a flexible energy output may not be met in many cases. Received: 24 October 1998 / Received in revised form: 15 March 1999 / Accepted: 26 April 1999     

Soil,water and plants contamination by total chrome and chrome VI

The chrome (Cr) is a metal utilized in various industrial sectors and its investigation in the environment is necessary, for the Cr (III) contain aessential micronutrients in the human nourishment and the Cr (VI), on the other hand, is toxic. In the present work soil contamination with Cr was realized in drainagelysimetersset in concentrations of 0, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 mg kg⁻¹ of total Cr, with the intuition to determine the total Cr and Cr (VI) flux in leached water, in soil and in plants of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). In the lysimeters were cultivated four plants, in three cultivation circles. In the end of the cultivations was observed, that the total applied Cr leached in the soil, evidencing the Cr mobility in latossoil with simulant characteristics to the ones utilized in this paper. The Cr (VI) concentrations in the soil increased soon after the treatment applications, but tend to decrees in the time elapse, the same tendences were observed for the total Cr concentrations in the leached water. The Cr absorption by plants was related to the Cr disponibility in the soil, for the soil concentration and the plants decreased with time passing. The Cr mobility in the soil possibilitated the groundwater contamination presenting risks to the water quality and, consequently to public health.     

Direct and indirect effects of climate and habitat factors on butterfly diversity

Many factors, including climate, resource availability, and habitat diversity, have been proposed as determinants of global diversity, but the links among them have rarely been studied. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we investigated direct and indirect effects of climate variables, host-plant richness, and habitat diversity on butterfly species richness across Britain, at 20-km grid resolution. These factors were all important determinants of butterfly diversity, but their relative contributions differed between habitat generalists and specialists, and whether the effects were direct or indirect. Climate variables had strong effects on habitat generalists, whereas host-plant richness and habitat diversity contributed relatively more for habitat specialists. Considering total effects (direct and indirect together), climate variables had the strongest link to butterfly species richness for all groups of species. The results suggest that different mechanistic hypotheses to explain species richness may be more appropriate for habitat generalists and specialists, with generalists hypothesized to show direct physiological limitations and specialists additionally being constrained by trophic interactions (climate affecting host-plant richness).     

Performance comparison of commercial TiO2: separation and reuse for bacterial photo-inactivation and emerging pollutants photo-degradation

This research aims to compare the disinfection and degradation effectiveness in water of a commercial suspension of nano-TiO₂ (TiO₂Levenger) with the standard TiO₂Degussa P25. Photo-inactivation and photo-degradation experiments were conducted with UVA-vis light. Concerning the disinfection, the effects of TiO₂ dose (0–2 g/l), water matrix, bacterium type (Gram-positive or Gram-negative), and bacterial regrowth after the photo-treatments were studied for each catalyst. The experimental results show that Enterococcus sp. (Gram-positive) was more resistant to the photo-treatments than Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) for both catalyst; however, postirradiation trends showed similar behavior for both bacteria, favoring regrowth for short-treated cells and decay for longer-treated ones. Caffeine was selected as a model substance of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. In terms of caffeine removal, the effects of TiO₂ dose (0–2 g/l) and water matrix were analyzed. Besides, the comparison between mechanical coagulation-flocculation-decantation and simple decantation of TiO₂ was carried out. The results show that simple decantation allowed the recovery of 97.5% of TiO₂ Degussa P25 and TiO₂ Levenger within 1 day of simple decantation, while applying the proposed mechanical coagulation-flocculation decantation 99.7% of recovery of both catalysts was achieved in 2 hours. Finally, the subsequent reuse of both catalysts was proved with little loss of efficiency in terms of photo-disinfection during the four cycles. Nevertheless, the standard TiO₂ Degussa P25 photo-degradation efficiency of caffeine decreases considerably as compared to commercial suspension of TiO₂ Levenger concerning the reutilization.

     

Evaluation of the effectiveness of red mud-supported catalysts in combination with ozone and TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> in the treatment of solution containing benzene,toluene, and xylene

Ozone and a Fe²⁺/TiO₂-based catalyst were examined in the degradation of a synthetic solution of benzene toluene and xylene (BTX) in an advanced oxidation process (AOP). The catalyst beads were made from the slurry waste of aluminum production process, by inserting the TiO₂ content and subsequent calcination. The reduction of the BTX concentration load was monitored by the reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and BTX concentration. Different levels were used on factors: pH, time of treatment, initial concentration of BTX, and percentage of TiO₂. The process was conducted in a bubble column reactor with the insertion of catalyst beads. A response surface methodology technique (CCD) was used to build a model based on COD reduction results. The model was optimized using the normal-boundary intersection (NBI) algorithm to maximize COD reduction and minimize the variance attributed to the process. Optimization led to COD reductions of 80% in 2 h of experiment. Correlation analysis of coefficient models from experimental data R²_adj was 0.9966, showing a good fit of model data. In the optimized conditions, the possible increase of the biodegradability ratio of the BTX solution, through the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and COD, was also analyzed. Under pre-treatment conditions, the BOD/COD ratio was 0.13. After the treatment, it increased to 0.56.

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Effect of the Incorporation of Lysozyme on the Properties of Jackfruit Starch Films

Jackfruit starch based biodegradable films containing lysozyme were characterized for their antimicrobial activity, thickness, solubility, water vapor permeability and mechanical properties. The biodegradable films had good appearance and antimicrobial activity against Micrococcus lysodeikticus. The thickness of the biodegradable films were not affected by the variation in pH, but the addition of lysozyme increased the thickness, the thickest films being those with the highest lysozyme concentrations. The variation in pH of the filmogenic solutions affected the solubility of the biodegradable films, water solubility being greatest at pH 7.0 and with the highest lysozyme concentration. The permeability of the biodegradable films was increased by incorporating lysozyme. The lysozyme concentration and pH variation caused changes in the mechanical properties. The addition of 8% lysozyme increased the tensile strength and Young’s modulus for all the pH values studied. With respect to the release of antimicrobial activity, the diffusion of lysozyme was shown to follow Fickian transport mechanism.     

Pharmacopollution and Household Waste Medicine (HWM): how reverse logistics is environmentally important to Brazil

Pharmacopollution is a public health and environmental outcome of some active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDC) dispersed through water and/or soil. Its most important sources are the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare facilities (e.g., hospitals), livestock, aquaculture, and households (patients’ excretion and littering). The last source is the focus of this article. Research questions are “What is the Household Waste Medicine (HWM) phenomenon?”, “How HWM and pharmacopollution are related?”, and “Why is a reverse logistic system necessary for HWM in Brazil?” This article followed the seven steps proposed by Rother (2007) for a systematic review based on the Cochrane Handbook and the National Health Service (NHS) Center for Reviews Dissemination (CDR) Report. The HWM phenomenon brings many environmental, public health, and, social challenges. The insufficient data is a real challenge to assessing potential human health risks and API concentrations. Therefore, the hazard of long-term exposure to low concentrations of pharmacopollutants and the combined effects of API mixtures is still uncertain. HWM are strongly related to pharmacopollution, as this review shows. The Brazilian HWM case is remarkable because it is the fourth pharmaceutical market (US$ 65,971 billion), with a wide number of private pharmacies and drugstores (3.3: 10,000 pharmacy/inhabitants), self-medication habits, and no national take-back program. The HWM generation is estimated in 56.6 g/per capita, or 10,800 t/year. The absence of a reverse logistics for HWM can lead to serious environmental and public health challenges. The sector agreement for HWM is currently under public consultation.     

Removal of a red dye using noncommercial peroxidase extracted from rice bran

The present study investigates the application of a noncommercial peroxidase enzyme, which was extracted from rice bran, to decolorize wastewater that was simulating effluent from a textile manufacturer using a red dye in its coloration process.