Occurrence of Norovirus and Hepatitis A Virus in Wild Mussels Collected from the Baltic Sea

The aim of the study was to define the occurrence of human noroviruses of genogroup I and II (NoV GI and NoV GII) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) in the Baltic Sea mussels. The shellfish samples were taken at the sampling sites located on the Polish coast. In total, 120 shellfish were tested as pooled samples using RT-PCR and hybridisation with virus specific probes. NoV GI was detected in 22 (18.3 %), NoV GII in 28 (23.3 %), and HAV in 9 (7.5 %) of the shellfish. The nucleotide sequence analysis of the detected NoV GII strains showed a 97.3–99.3 % similarity to GII.4 virus strain. This is the first report describing the NoV and HAV occurrence in wild Baltic mussels and their possible role as bioindicators of seawater contamination with human enteric viruses.     

Preparation of magnetic nanocomposite beads and optimizing the conditions for effective removal of U(VI) from aqueous solutions

Magnetic ion-imprinted polymers (IIPs) were prepared by precipitate polymerization and leached with HCl to remove uranium. Their ability to remove hexavalent uranium from wastewater effluents was studied. Batch adsorption studies to determine the optimum conditions of U(VI) removal were conducted at different levels of sample pH, sorbent amount, agitation time, and initial uranium concentration. It was observed that, under optimum conditions (i.e. pH 4, adsorbent amount of 50 mg, 45 min agitation time, and initial U(VI) concentration of 2 mg L^?1), the maximum removal of U(VI) cations was >98% and 80% for the magnetic IIP and the corresponding magnetic non-imprinted polymers (NIP), respectively. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were used to describe the adsorption of U(VI) onto magnetic IIP and NIP. The adsorption capacity of U(VI) was determined to be 1.06 and 0.85 mg g^?1 for the two isotherms, respectively. The order of selectivity was found to be U(VI) > Fe(III) > Pb(II). For six cycles of regeneration and reuse, the magnetic polymers maintained their stabilities with only a 4% loss in the extraction efficiency. The average extraction efficiencies of the magnetic polymers for the spiked acid mine drainage and sewage wastewater effluents were 71% and 58% for the magnetic IIP and NIP, respectively. From powder X-ray diffraction analysis, application of the Scherrer equation yielded magnetic nanoparticles of an average mean diameter of 11.9 nm. Thermo-gravimetric analysis revealed that the HCl-leached magnetic polymers had a magnetite residual weight of 5%.     

Tailoring mesoporosity of poly(furfuryl alcohol)-based activated carbons and their ability to adsorb organic compounds from water

In this work it was shown that polymers can be recycled into a promising adsorbent for organic dyes and phenols waste removal. For this, a series of activated carbons (ACs) were produced from mixture of ferrocene or titanium acetylacetonate with poly(furfuryl alcohol) (PFA) by steam activation. The introduction of ferrocene as Fe precursor was found to be an efficient catalyst in mesoporosity development during carbonization and subsequent steam activation at 850 °C, whereas the polymer based only and titanium-doped ACs are typically microporous. The porous structure parameters were determined from nitrogen adsorption isotherms measured at 77 K. Scanning electron microscopy was applied to monitor the metal distribution of metal-loaded char and the surface morphology of activated carbons. The adsorption capacity was found to be dependent mainly on pore size distribution. In the case of phenol adsorption, the adsorption was defined by volume of pore with size 0.8–1.4 nm; whereas, for Congo red best fit was observed for volume of pore with size 2–5 nm.

     

Alkyl polyglucosides as cell surface modification factors: influence of the alkyl chain length

The use of surfactants in a bioremediation process is aimed at increasing the efficiency of the removal of hydrophobic contaminants from the environment. The subjects of the study were three alkyl polyglucosides (APGs) of different alkyl chain length: Glucopon 215 CS UP, Glucopon 600 CS UP, and Glucopon 650 EC. The impact of these surfactants on the surface properties of the test strain Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC 14700, as well as on the biodegradation of diesel was tested. It was observed, that the length of alkyl chain has an influence on the cell surface properties. The modification of the cell surface hydrophobicity and the electrokinetic potential on the bacteria cells is dependent on the structure of Glucopon molecules. The elongation of alkyl chains in surfactant molecule caused an increase of the hydrophobic properties and a reduction of the electrokinetic potential on the bacteria cells. Moreover, the use of APGs below critical micelle concentration caused an increase of diesel oil biodegradation, especially in the case of Glucopons with longer alkyl chain (Glucopon 600 CS UP and 650 EC). The better diesel oil removal by tested strain after surfactant addition was correlated with the hydrophobic properties of bacteria strain.     

STORM AND SEASONAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF FECAL COLIFORMS AND CRYPTOSPORIDIUM IN A SPRING1

ABSTRACT: The transmission of disease in ground water is a topic of great concern to government agencies, ground water specialists, and the general public. The purpose of this study was to compare the temporal variability in storm flow of fecal coliform bacteria densities and Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst densities in agriculturally impacted karst ground water. Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst densities ranged from 0 to 1,050 oocysts/1, and mean storm densities ranged from 3.5 to 156.8 oocysts/1. Fecal coliform densities ranged from less than 1 CFU/100ml to more than 40,000 CFU/100ml, and geometric mean storm densities ranged from 1.7 CFU/100ml to more than 7,000 CFU/100ml. Fecal coliform densities correlated well with flow during storms, but Cryptosporidium oocyst densities exhibited a great deal of sample to sample variability and were not correlated with flow. Fecal coliform densities did not correlate positively with Cryptosporidium oocyst densities. Fecal coliform densities were greatest at storm peaks, when sediment loads were also greatest. Multiple transport mechanisms for fecal coliform bacteria and C. parvum oocysts may necessitate various agricultural land management and livestock health maintenance practices to control movement of pathogens to karst ground water.     

Reliability of a questionnaire and an ergonomic checklist for assessing working conditions and health at call centres.

BACKGROUND: The purpose was to study the test-retest reliability and internal consistency of questions in a questionnaire concerning working conditions and health and the inter-rater reliability of observations and measurements according to an ergonomic checklist. METHOD: Fifty-seven operators participated in a retest questionnaire and 58 operators participated in an inter-observer test. RESULTS: The questions had fair to good or higher reliability in 142 of the total of 312. Twenty-seven of the total of 44 variables in the ergonomic checklist were classified as having fair to good or higher reliability. CONCLUSIONS: About half of the questions had fair to good or higher reliability and can be recommended for further analyses. The majority of variables in the ergonomic checklist were classified as having fair to good or higher reliability. Low reliability does not necessarily indicate that the reliability of the test, per se, is low but may signify that the conditions measured vary over time or that the answers are aggregated in one part of the scale.     

The treatment of wastewater containing pharmaceuticals in microcosm constructed wetlands: the occurrence of integrons (int1–2) and associated resistance genes (sul1–3, qacEΔ1)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of this study was to analyze the occurrence of sulfonamide resistance genes (sul1–3) and other genetic elements as antiseptic resistance...     

Energy-efficient removal of carbamazepine in solution by electrocoagulation-electrofenton using a novel P-rGO cathode

In this study,carbamazepine(CBZ) decay in solution has been studied by coupling electrocoagulation with electro-Fenton(EC-EF) with a novel P-rGO/carbon felt(CF) cathode,aiming to accelerate the in-situ generation of ·OH,instead of adding Fe²⁺ and H₂ O₂.Firstly,the fabricated P-rGO and its derived cathode were characterized by XRD,SEM,AFM,XPS and electrochemical test(EIS,CV and LSV).Secondly,it was confirmed that the performance in removal efficiency and electric ...     

Long-Term Monitoring of Scots Pine Litter Decomposition Rates Throughout Sweden Indicates Formation of a More Recalcitrant Litter in the South

Decomposition studies were carried out at sites throughout Sweden, including the four Integrated Monitoring sites. Scots pine needle litterbag weight loss measurements over 3 or 5 years were determined at 26 sites and repeated up to 27 times, depending on the site. Humus layer respiration rates were determined for 20 sites in 1987–1989 and repeated in 2007–2008. Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression was used to elucidate the relative importance of climatic and soil factors. Annual needle weight losses decreased only slowly (20–10%) over 3–5 years for all northern (>60°N) sites but decreased sharply from 30 to 10% in the third year in southern (<60°N) sites. Respiration rates of southern sites were less (40% on average) than those of northern sites. Humus layer N was positively correlated to needle weight loss during the first and the second years, but negatively correlated in the third year and to respiration rates. The results indicated that litter formed in southern Sweden became more recalcitrant in later stages of decomposition compared to litter produced in northern Sweden.