Beyond Harmful: Exploring Biofilm Formation by Enterococci Isolated from Portuguese Traditional Cheeses.

This study investigated the biofilm-forming capabilities of isolates from Portuguese traditional cheeses with protected designation of origin (PDO) status, specifically and . Given the absence of added starter cultures in the cheesemaking process, the characteristics of these cheeses are intrinsically linked to the autochthonous microbiota present in the raw materials and the production environment. Our findings demonstrate that all isolates possess biofilm production abilities, which are crucial for their colonization and persistence within cheese factories, thereby maintaining factory-specific microbial heritage.

Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Potential of and Essential Oils against Pure and Mixed Cultures of Foodborne Bacteria.

The spread of pathogenic and food spoilage microorganisms through the food chain still faces major mitigation challenges, despite modern advances. Although multiple cleaning and disinfection procedures are available for microbial load reduction in food-related settings, microbes can still remain on surfaces, equipment, or machinery, especially if they have the ability to form biofilms. The present study assessed the biofilm-forming properties of pure and mixed cultures of foodborne and spoilage bacteria (, , , ), using polystyrene and stainless steel contact surfaces.

Agreement between transthoracic echocardiography and esophageal Doppler on aortic flow variables in anesthetized mechanically ventilated dogs.

The use of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and esophageal Doppler (ED) for the measurement of hemodynamic variables in anesthetized dogs was studied. Fourteen mixed-breed dogs, without cardiac disease, undergoing general anesthesia for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures were included in this prospective preliminary study. Dogs were premedicated with dexmedetomidine (3 μg/kg) and methadone (0.

Niche differentiation drives microbial community assembly and succession in full-scale activated sludge bioreactors.

Network models and community phylogenetic analyses are applied to assess the composition, structure, and ecological assembly mechanisms of microbial communities. Here we combine both approaches to investigate the temporal dynamics of network properties in individual samples of two activated sludge systems at different adaptation stages. At initial assembly stages, we observed microbial communities adapting to activated sludge, with an increase in network modularity and co-exclusion proportion, and a decrease in network clustering, here interpreted as a consequence of niche specialization.

Haloarchaea have a high genomic diversity for the biosynthesis of carotenoids of biotechnological interest.

Haloarchaea are mostly components of the microbial biomass of saline aquatic environments, where they can be a dietary source of heterotrophic metazoans or contribute to flamingo's plumage coloration. The diversity of secondary metabolites (SMs) produced by haloarchaea, which might play multiple ecological roles and have diverse biotechnological applications has been largely understudied. Herein, 67 haloarchaeal complete genomes were analyzed and 182 SMs biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) identified that encode the production of terpenes (including carotenoids), RiPPs and siderophores.

Arsenic speciation in cooked food and its bioaccessible fraction using X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Thermal processing or the digestion process can alter the forms of arsenic (As) present in food. Identification of As species is necessary to accurately determine the risk associated with food consumption. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) was used to investigate As species in rice, asparagus, and garlic boiled in water containing As(V), and in their bioaccessible fractions (solubilized As after gastrointestinal digestion).

Tuning up microbiome analysis to monitor WWTPs' biological reactors functioning.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are necessary to protect ecosystems quality and human health. Their function relies on the degradation of organic matter and nutrients from a water influent, prior to the effluent release into the environment. In this work we studied the bacterial community dynamics of a municipal WWTP with a membrane bioreactor through 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Unravelling mechanisms of bacterial quorum sensing disruption by metal-based nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles are released in the environment causing a negative impact in several ecosystems such as microbial communities. To adapt to environmental changes some bacteria use a collective behaviour ruled by a cell-to-cell communication process called quorum sensing (QS). In this study, the impact of some of the most employed metal-based nanoparticles, such as zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs), titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiONPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on bacterial QS has been assessed by using two different strains of the model organism Chromobacterium violaceum and by employing different experimental conditions.

Selenium and tellurium-based nanoparticles as interfering factors in quorum sensing-regulated processes: violacein production and bacterial biofilm formation.

A cell-to-cell communication system called quorum sensing (QS) promotes the transcription of certain target genes in bacterial cells leading to the activation of different cellular processes, some of them related to bacterial biofilm formation. The formation of bacterial biofilms favours antibiotic resistance, which is nowadays a significant public-health problem. In this study, the effect of selenium (SeNPs) and tellurium (TeNPs) nanoparticles was examined in two bacterial processes mediated by QS: violacein production by Chromobacterium violaceum and biofilm formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Quorum Sensing versus Quenching Bacterial Isolates Obtained from MBR Plants Treating Leachates from Municipal Solid Waste.

Quorum sensing (QS) is a mechanism dependent on bacterial density. This coordinated process is mediated by the synthesis and the secretion of signal molecules, called autoinducers (AIs). -acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) are the most common AIs that are used by Gram-negative bacteria and are involved in biofilm formation.

Unravelling the interactions among microbial populations found in activated sludge during biofilm formation.

Microorganisms colonize surfaces and develop biofilms through interactions that are not yet thoroughly understood, with important implications for water and wastewater systems. This study investigated the interactions between N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL)-producing bacteria, yeasts and protists, and their contribution to biofilm development. Sixty-one bacterial strains were isolated from activated sludge and screened for AHL production, with Aeromonas sp.

Mechanism of Hg(II) Immobilization in Sediments by Sulfate-Cement Amendment.

Reactive amendments such as Portland and super-sulfate cements offer a promising technology for immobilizing metalloid contaminants such as mercury (Hg) in soils and sediments through sequestration in less bioavailable solid forms. Tidal marsh sediments were reacted with dissolved Hg(II) in synthetic seawater and fresh water solutions, treated with Portland cement and FeSO amendment, and aged for up to 90 days. Reacted solids were analyzed with bulk sequential extraction methods and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscopy, and synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Hg L- and S K-edge.

Study of Fresh and Hardening Process Properties of Gypsum with Three Different PCM Inclusion Methods.

Gypsum has two important states (fresh and hardened states), and the addition of phase change materials (PCM) can vary the properties of the material. Many authors have extensively studied properties in the hardened state; however, the variation of fresh state properties due to the addition of Micronal® DS 5001 X PCM into gypsum has been the object of few investigations. Properties in fresh state define the workability, setting time, adherence and shrinkage, and, therefore the possibility of implementing the material in building walls.

Membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment plants reveal diverse yeast and protist communities of potential significance in biofouling.

The yeast community was studied in a municipal full-scale membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment plant (MBR-WWTP). The unexpectedly high diversity of yeasts indicated that the activated sludge formed a suitable environment for them to proliferate, with cellular concentrations of 2.2 ± 0.

Arsenic speciation in the dispersible colloidal fraction of soils from a mine-impacted creek.

Arsenic and iron speciation in the dispersible colloid fraction (DCF; 10-1000 nm) from an As-rich mine waste pile, sediments of a streambed that collects runoff from waste pile, the streambed subsoil, and the sediments of a downstream pond were investigated by combining asymmetrical-flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF)/inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray absorption (XAS) spectroscopy. Calcium, Fe and As (Fe/As molar ratio ∼ 1) were the main components of the DCF from waste pile. TEM/EDS and As and Fe XAS analysis revealed the presence of nanoparticle scorodite in this same DCF, as well as Fe nanoparticles in all samples downstream of the waste pile.

Do firstborn children have an increased risk of ADHD?

Objective: Although previous reports have found no birth-order influence on ADHD risk, the authors hypothesize that being the firstborn is a risk factor for developing ADHD.

Method: They selected all of the currently treated ADHD outpatients (n = 748) from our database. Families with adopted sons, nonnuclear families, and families with only one child and with sons (affected or unaffected) younger than 6 or older than 18 years were excluded.

Immobilization of Hg(II) by coprecipitation in sulfate-cement systems.

Uptake and molecular speciation of dissolved Hg during formation of Al- or Fe-ettringite-type and high-pH phases were investigated in coprecipitation and sorption experiments of sulfate-cement treatments used for soil and sediment remediation. Ettringite and minor gypsum were identified by XRD as primary phases in Al systems, whereas gypsum and ferrihydrite were the main products in Hg-Fe precipitates. Characterization of Hg-Al solids by bulk Hg EXAFS, electron microprobe, and microfocused-XRF mapping indicated coordination of Hg by Cl ligands, multiple Hg and Cl backscattering atoms, and concentration of Hg as small particles.

Analysis of the usefulness of biological parameters for the control of activated sludge wastewater treatment plants in an interlaboratory study context.

The quality of the sludge in Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) depends on the suitable colonization of the flocs by microorganisms. Due to the functional importance of these biological constituents, several biological or biological-related parameters have been commonly used for the control of depuration efficiency. According to national and international water regulation recommendations, interlaboratory studies have a great relevance to determine which parameters are more reliable for their extensive application in routine control.

Reactive Transport Modeling of Subaqueous Sediment Caps and Implications for the Long-Term Fate of Arsenic, Mercury, and Methylmercury.

A 1-D biogeochemical reactive transport model with a full set of equilibrium and kinetic biogeochemical reactions was developed to simulate the fate and transport of arsenic and mercury in subaqueous sediment caps. Model simulations (50 years) were performed for freshwater and estuarine scenarios with an anaerobic porewater and either a diffusion-only or a diffusion plus 0.1-m/year upward advective flux through the cap.

[Assessment of results in the early diagnosis of breast cancer program in Asturias Community].

Objective: To evaluate and disseminate the intermediate results of a breast cancer early detection program in the Asturias Community.

Material And Methods: We report the results of screening examinations performed between 2005 and 2009, using the indicators proposed in the European Guidelines on Quality Assurance in Mammography Screening. The information sources for breast cancer cases diagnosed were the pathology information system and the information on the characteristics of the tumour from the pathology report.

Assessment of plausible bioindicators for plant performance in advanced wastewater treatment systems.

Three full-scale advanced biological systems for nitrogen removal showing different efficiencies were assessed during one year, to investigate the protist communities supported in these wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). The main goal of this research was to explore the differences of these communities from those observed in conventional activated sludge systems. The final objective was to provide background support for the proposal of bioindicators in this type of biological systems, where scarce information was available until now, since only conventional systems had been previously studied from this point of view.

A new species of the genus Metacystis (Ciliophora, Prostomatida, Metacystidae) from a wastewater treatment plant.

Unusual prostomatid specimens were found in the biological reactor of a wastewater treatment plant in a health resort in Valencia, Spain. These ciliates were attached to flocs unlike other free-swimming prostomatid ciliates described to date in the mixed liquor of activated sludge plants. The morphological study of this species led to a typically different combination of characteristics: elongated cell shape, 20-30 somatic kineties, 2 perioral kineties, and 1 circumoral kinety, 1 large vacuole protruding at the terminal end, a lorica tapered toward the aperture with a smooth neck, and 11-16 annular ridges.

Efficacy of the NaviTip FX irrigation needle in removing post instrumentation canal smear layer and debris in curved root canals.

Introduction: This study evaluated the effectiveness of the NaviTip FX (Ultradent Products Inc, South Jordan, UT), a 30-gauge brush-covered irrigation needle, in removing debris and smear layer in vitro.

Methods: Forty mesio-buccal maxillary and mandibular first molar root canals with 20 degrees to 30 degrees curved roots were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10). The irrigation protocol after cleaning and shaping was as follows: NaOCl/EDTA/nonbrushing (NaED) group: passive use with 5.

Significance of moist root canal dentin with the use of methacrylate-based endodontic sealers: an in vitro coronal dye leakage study.

This in vitro study compared the effect of different levels of moisture of root canals, from none to wet, on the coronal seal after filling with resin-coated gutta-percha cones/EndoRez [RGPC/ER (groups 1-4)], Resilon/Epiphany [RE/EP (groups 5-8)], and gutta-percha/Grossman's cement [GP/G (groups 9-12)]. The length of 76 single-rooted extracted human teeth was standardized to approximately 17 mm. After instrumentation with size 10 K-Files, #2 and #3 Gates Glidden burs, and preparation to the working length with K-Type files, the smear layer was removed with 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid followed by flooding with distilled water.

Ciliate contributions to bioaggregation: laboratory assays with axenic cultures of Tetrahymena thermophila.

Protists, mainly ciliates, play several essential roles in biological wastewater treatment, such as the transfer of matter and energy, bacterial predation, and the removal of organic material. Moreover, during the treatment process, the formation of bioaggregates-flocs and biofilms-is essential to obtaining high-quality effluents. In the present study, Tetrahymena thermophila was used as a model organism to demonstrate the contribution of ciliates to bioflocculation.