Publications by authors named "J Genolla Subirats"
Article Synopsis
- Wastewater Treatment Plants produce a large amount of sludge, necessitating cost-effective and eco-friendly management methods.
- Sludge Treatment Wetlands (STW) have proven effective in converting sludge into agricultural biosolids, with this study focusing on optimizing the final rest period in the Mediterranean region.
- Monitoring two WWTPs in Spain over 9 months revealed that a 6-month rest period after ceasing sludge feeding in summer is effective for producing high-quality biosolids with low contamination levels for agricultural reuse.
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) exhibit varying biodegradability during the acidogenic and methanogenic phases of anaerobic digestion. However, there is limited information regarding the end products generated during these processes. This work investigates the biotransformation products (BTPs) generated in a two-phase (TP) acidogenic-methanogenic (Ac-Mt) bioreactor using advanced suspect and nontarget strategies.
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- Human activities that introduce chemical pollutants into the environment can significantly alter microbial communities, potentially leading to increased antibiotic resistance, particularly through mechanisms like horizontal gene transfer.
- A study comparing metagenomes from polluted and unpolluted environments revealed that polluted areas had higher levels of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) and specific mobile genetic elements, suggesting pollution enhances the prevalence of these resistance traits.
- The findings indicate that various types of pollution, especially from petroleum, contribute to the proliferation of multidrug resistance among bacteria, posing a serious public health concern linked to the ongoing global issue of antimicrobial resistance.
It is generally thought that antibiotics confer upon the producing bacteria the ability to inhibit or kill neighboring microorganisms, thereby providing the producer with a significant competitive advantage. Were this to be the case, the concentrations of emitted antibiotics in the vicinity of producing bacteria might be expected to fall within the ranges of MICs that are documented for a number of bacteria. Furthermore, antibiotic concentrations that bacteria are punctually or chronically exposed to in environments harboring antibiotic-producing bacteria might fall within the range of minimum selective concentrations (MSCs) that confer a fitness advantage to bacteria carrying acquired antibiotic resistance genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe environment plays a critical role in the development, dissemination, and transmission of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) enter the environment through direct application to the environment and through anthropogenic pollution. Although there is a growing body of evidence defining minimal selective concentrations (MSCs) of antibiotics and the role antibiotics play in horizontal gene transfer (HGT), there is limited evidence on the role of non-antibiotic PPCPs.
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