Bioleaching of Heavy Metals from Printed Circuit Boards with an Acidophilic Iron-Oxidizing Microbial Consortium in Stirred Tank Reactors.

In this study, bioleaching was carried out for the recovery of metals (copper, zinc, tin, lead, gold and silver) from printed circuit boards residues (PCBs), one of the most important wastes from electrical and electronic equipment, using an acidophilic iron-oxidizing bacterial consortium enriched with minerals from a gold mine in the Arequipa region, Peru. High-throughput sequencing and analysis of the 16S rRNA biomarker revealed that this consortium was predominantly composed of and bacteria, from which the latter is known to grow by chemolithotrophy through iron oxidation. After the enrichment process, the acidophilic iron-oxidizing consortium was first tested for its tolerance to different PCBs concentrations, showing best growth up to 10 g/L of PCBs and a tolerance index of 0.

Consensus standards for introductory e-learning courses in human participants research ethics.

This paper reports the results of a workshop held in January 2013 to begin the process of establishing standards for e-learning programmes in the ethics of research involving human participants that could serve as the basis of their evaluation by individuals and groups who want to use, recommend or accredit such programmes. The standards that were drafted at the workshop cover the following topics: designer/provider qualifications, learning goals, learning objectives, content, methods, assessment of participants and assessment of the course. The authors invite comments on the draft standards and eventual endorsement of a final version by all stakeholders.