Chlorhexidine leads to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Antimicrobial resistance is a major public-health concern. We evaluate chlorhexidine role in selection of resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutants and their antibiotic cross-resistance. Mutation frequency and mutation rate after short-term exposure to sub-inhibitory concentrations of chlorhexidine were compared to those after spontaneous chlorhexidine-exposure, in P.

The secretome of Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 17978 type II secretion system reveals a novel plasmid encoded phospholipase that could be implicated in lung colonization.

Acinetobacter baumannii infections are compounded with a striking lack of treatment options. In many Gram-negative bacteria, secreted proteins play an important early role in avoiding host defences. Typically, these proteins are targeted to the external environment or into host cells using dedicated transport systems.

'Supermutators' found amongst highly levofloxacin-resistant E. coli isolates: a rapid protocol for the detection of mutation sites.

Fluoroquinolone resistance is gradually acquired through several mechanisms. In particular, chromosomal mutations in the genes encoding topoisomerases II and IV and increased expression of the multidrug efflux pump AcrAB-TolC are the most common mechanisms. In this study, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols were designed for high-throughput sequencing of the quinolone resistance determining regions of topoisomerases genes (gyrA, parC and parE) and/or the expression regulation systems of multidrug efflux pump AcrAB (acrRAB, marRAB and soxSR).

Kinetics and metabolic versatility of highly tolerant phenol degrading Alcaligenes strain TW1.

A bacterium that could completely metabolize phenol in batch culture supplied with up to 1200 mg phenol l(-1) at room temperature (25 degrees C) was isolated from the activated sludge of the industrial wastewater treatment plant of a Coke company (Cairo, Egypt). Morphological and physiological characterization showed strain TW1 was a motile, strictly aerobic, gram negative and short-rod occurring singly or in clusters. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed strain TW1 belonged to the beta group of Proteobacteria, showing 100% identity to Alcaligenes SCTI.

Solar-based detoxification of phenol and p-nitrophenol by sequential TiO2 photocatalysis and photosynthetically aerated biological treatment.

Simulated solar UV/TiO(2) photocatalysis was efficient to detoxify a mixture of 100 mgphenoll(-1) and 50 mgp-nitrophenol (PNP) l(-1) and allow the subsequent biodegradation of the remaining pollutants and their photocatalytic products under photosynthetic aeration with Chlorella vulgaris. Photocatalytic degradation of phenol and PNP was well described by pseudo-first order kinetics (r(2)>0.98) with removal rate constants of 1.

Sequential photochemical-biological degradation of chlorophenols.

UV/TiO2/H2O2, UV/TiO2 and UV/H2O2 were compared as pre-treatment processes for the detoxification of mixtures of 4-chlorophenol (4CP), 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) and pentachlorophenol (PCP) prior to their biological treatment. When each chlorophenol was initially supplied at 50 mg l(-1), UV/TiO2/H2O2 treatment supported the highest pollutant removal, COD removal, and dechlorination efficiencies followed by UV/TiO2 and UV/H2O2. The remaining toxicity to Lipedium sativum was similar after all pre-treatments.

Sequential UV-biological degradation of chlorophenols.

The sequential UV-biological degradation of a mixture of 4-chlorophenol (CP), 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP), and pentachlorophenol (PCP) was first tested with each pollutant supplied at an initial concentration of 50 mg l(-1). Under these conditions, the chlorophenols were photodegraded in the following order of removal rate: PCP>TCP>DCP>CP with only CP and DCP remaining after 40 h of irradiation. The remaining CP (41 mg l(-1)) and DCP (13 mg l(-1)) were then completely removed by biological treatment with an activated sludge mixed culture.