Investigation of phage and molasses interactions for the biocontrol of E. coli O157:H7

Resistance to antibiotics is one of the most critical health problems in the world. Therefore, finding new treatment methods to be used as alternatives to antibiotics has become a priority for researchers. Similar to phages, certain products containing antimicrobial components, such as molasses, are widely used to eliminate resistant bacteria. Molasses has a strong antimicrobial effect on bacterial cells, and this effect is thought to be due to the breakdown of the cytoplasmic cell membrane and cell proteins of the polyphenols in molasses. In the present study, phage–molasses interactions were investigated to examine the effects of concomitant use. It was found that molasses samples increased the size of phage plaques by up to 3-fold, and MIC and 1/2 x MIC concentrations of molasses increased the burst size of phages. Although no synergistic effect was found between the phage and molasses, the antimicrobial activities of the components and the effect of molasses on phage activity were demonstrated. © 2022, Canadian Science Publishing. All rights reserved.Emine Ku€bra Tayyarcan is supported by the 100/ 2000 doctoral scholarship provided by the Council of Higher Education, Turkey

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Sorption of As(V) from waters using chitosan and chitosan-immobilized sodium silicate prior to atomic spectrometric determination

A natural biosorbent containing amine functional groups, chitosan, and a novel sorbent, chitosan-immobilized sodium silicate, were prepared and utilized for the selective sorption of As(V) from waters prior to its determination by atomic spectrometric techniques, namely, hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Chitosan was synthesized from chitin and sodium silicate was used as the immobilization matrix due to its straightforward synthesis. Through sequential sorption studies, it was shown that chitosan-immobilized sodium silicate has exhibited a better chemical stability than the chitosan itself which demonstrates the advantage of immobilization method. Both chitosan and chitosan-immobilized sodium silicate were shown to selectively adsorb As(V), arsenate, from waters at pH 3.0 at which neither chitin nor sodium silicate displayed any sorption towards As(V). The sorption of arsenate by chitosan is supposed to have electrostatic nature since pH of 3.0 is both the point at which the amino groups in chitosan are protonated and also the predominant form of As(V) is H2AsO4−. A pre-oxidation step is required if both As(III) and As(V) are to be determined. Desorption from the sorbents was realized with 1.0% (w/v) l-cysteine prepared in a pH 3.0 solution adjusted with HCl. Among the possible interfering species tested, only Te(IV) and Sb(III) were shown to cause a decrease in the sorption capacity especially at high interferant concentrations. High concentrations of Sb(III) also resulted in gas phase interference during hydride generation

Synthesis, characterization and application of a novel mercapto- and amine-bifunctionalized silica for speciation/sorption of inorganic arsenic prior to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric determination

A bifunctional sorbent, (NH2 + SH)silica, containing both amine and mercapto functionalities was prepared by modification of silica gel with 3-(triethoxysilyl)propylamine and (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane. In addition to the bifunctional sorbent, silica gel was modified individually with the functional mercapto- and amino-silanes, and the mono-functional sorbents, namely (SH)silica and (NH2)silica, were also mechanically mixed ((NH2)silica + (SH)silica) for the sake of comparison of sorption performances. It has been demonstrated that (SH)silica shows quantitative sorption only to As(III) at two pH values, 1.0 and 9.0, while (NH2)silica displays selectivity only towards As(V) at pH 3.0. On the other hand, the bifunctional (NH2 + SH)silica possesses the efficient features of the two mono-functionalized sorbents; for example, it retains As(III) at a wider pH range, from 1.0 to at least 9.0 with the exception at pH 2.0, and it also shows quantitative sorption to As(V) at pH 3.0. This property gives the bifunctional (NH2 + SH)silica a better flexibility in terms of sorption performance as a function of solution pH. The mechanically mixed (NH2)silica + (SH)silica exhibits a similar but less efficient sorption behavior compared to the bifunctional sorbent. Desorption of both As(III) and As(V) species can be realized using 0.5 M NaOH. The validity of the proposed method was checked through the analysis of a standard reference material and a good correlation was obtained between the certified (26.67 μg L−1) and determined (27.53 ± 0.37 μg L−1) values. Spike recovery tests realized with ultrapure water (93.0 ± 2.3%) and drinking water (86.9 ± 1.2%) also confirmed the applicability of the method

Thin film microextraction: Towards faster and more sensitive microextraction

Thin film microextraction (TFME) is an analytical tool that has been proven to be suitable for integrated sampling and sample preparation of a wide variety of routine and on-site applications. Compared to the traditional microextraction techniques, the most important advantage of TFME is its enhanced sensitivity due to the relatively larger extractive phase spread over a larger surface area. The technique, in this way, facilitates fast extraction kinetics and high extractive capacity. Moreover, TFME offers high versatility for device development over classical SPME technologies due to the plethora of available extractive phases, coating methods and geometry options. The goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of the contemporary advances in this exciting field covering novel extractive phases, technological and methodological developments, and relevant cutting-edge applications. Finally, a critical discussion of the future trends on TFME is also presented

Electrospun amino-functionalized PDMS as a novel SPME sorbent for the speciation of inorganic and organometallic arsenic species†

Sol–gel based amine-functionalized SPME fibers (PDMS-weak anion exchanger) were prepared and used for direct mode extraction of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and arsenate (As(V)) from aqueous solutions followed by HPLC-ICPMS determination. Two different methods of coating were employed: (i) electrospinning and (ii) dip coating. Electrospinning was used for the first time for preparation of sol–gel based SPME fibers and was found to be superior in terms of extracted amount of arsenicals, coating homogeneity, accessibility of amine groups on the surface, and preparation time for a single fiber. Various parameters such as solution pH, extraction time, agitation speed, extraction temperature, and ionic strength were studied. Optimum extraction conditions were determined as pH of 5.0, extraction time of 30 min, agitation speed of 700 rpm, and extraction temperature of 20 C. Extraction ability of the novel coating decreased by the addition of NaCl as a consequence of the competition between anionic arsenic species and chloride ions for active sites of the weak anion exchanger. This novel sol–gel coating prepared by electrospinning was found to be promising for SPME applications. Vibrational spectroscopy revealed the alignment of PDMS chains by elongational force under electrospinning process. The chain alignment accordingly orients the pendant amino functional groups perpendicular to the fiber surface, which may develop the free active functional groups available to the medium and lead to the enhancement of the extraction performance. Moreover, the proposed coating strategy through electrospinning might be able to break new ground for various applications in analytical chemistry as well as other disciplines

Sorption efficiency of chitosan nanofibers toward metal ions at low concentrations

Chitosan fibers showing narrow diameter distribution with a mean of 42 nm were produced by electrospinning and utilized for the sorption of Fe(III), Cu(II), Ag(I), and Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The ion concentrations in the supernatant solutions were determined using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The filtration efficiency of the fibers toward these ions was studied by both batch and microcolumn methods. High efficiency in sorption of the metal ions was obtained in the both methods. The effects of sorbent amount (0.10−0.50 mg), shaking time (15−120 min), initial metal ion concentration (10.0−1000.0 μg·L−1), and temperature (25 and 50 °C) on the extent of sorption were examined. The sorbent amount did not significantly alter the efficiency of sorption; however, shaking time, temperature, and metal ion concentration were found to have a strong influence on sorption. By virtue of its mechanical integrity, the applicability of the chitosan mat in solid phase extraction under continuous flow looks promising

Chitosan-immobilized pumice for the removal of As(V) from waters

A novel sorbent, chitosan-immobilized pumice, has been prepared for the sorption of As(V) from waters prior to its determination by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. The success of the immobilization has been checked with such characterization techniques as scanning electron microscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, and elemental analysis. Points of zero charge of the sorbents were determined with potentiometric mass titration. Batch-type equilibration studies have shown that the novel sorbent can be employed at a wide pH range resulting in quantitative sorption (>90 %) at pH 3.0-7.0 and greater than 70 % sorption at pH >8.0. These results demonstrate the advantage of immobilizing chitosan onto pumice, because, under the same conditions, pumice displays <20 % sorption toward As(V), whereas chitosan gives approximately 90%sorption only at pH 3.0. The validity of the method was verified through the analysis of ultrapure, bottled drinking, and tap water samples spiked with arsenate; the respective sorption percentages of 93.2 (±0.7), 89.0 (±1.0), and 80.9 (±1.3) were obtained by batch-type equilibration. Arsenic sorption was also examined in the presence of common interfering ions resulting in competing effects of PO3- 4 and NO- 3on As(V) adsorption