Management of preparation of waste water samples - strategic intervention to prevent the dissemination of antibioticoresistance

Introducere. Zona Umedă Construită (ZUC) Orhei, la moment, prezintă cel mai mare sistem complex din Europa de tratare a apelor reziduale. ZUC Orhei deservește aproximativ 26000 de locuitori, câteva instituții economice, publice, inclusiv medico-sanitare. Mărimea și capacitatea ZUC Orhei, necesită un management particular, în evaluarea calității tratării apelor reziduale din punct de vedere microbiologic. Scopul lucrării constă în prezentarea metodologiei prelevării și pregătirii probelor de ape reziduale pentru analize moleculare în vederea eficientizării procesului de tratare a apelor reziduale din ZUC, ca strategie de intervenție pentru a preveni diseminarea rezistenței la antibiotice (RAM) în apele de suprafață. Material și metode. Lucrarea se bazează pe protocolul de prelevare a apelor reziduale, elaborat în cadrul proiectului PhageLand. Au fost descrise modalitatea de prelevare și manipulare a probelor pentru analize moleculare (metagenomică). Rezultate. Punctele de colectare a probelor au fost selectate urmând procesul tehnologic: apă reziduală brută; 4 puncte de pe liniile platformei de stuf filtrant (RBF); 4 puncte de pe liniile platformei cu flux vertical (VF) și produsul final. Probele au fost colectate folosind sticle sterile din borosilicat de 1l. Odată ajunse în laborator, un volum de apă (250ml pentru efluenți și 50ml pentru apă reziduală brută) a fost filtrat prin membrane cu ∅ porilor de 0,2 µm folosind un dispozitiv de filtrare la vid (3 filtre/ probă). Filtrele au fost introduse în tuburi Eppendorf sterile de 2 ml și depozitate la (–20ºC) până la livrarea către Universitatea din Varșovia pentru extracția ADN și analiza metagenomică. Concluzii. Metodologia prezentată a permis realizarea unei caracterizări a comunităților bacteriene, resistomului cu scopul eficientizării procesului de tratare a apelor reziduale din ZUC Orhei.Background. The Orhei Constructed Wetland (CW), now, presents the largest complex system in Europe for wastewater treatment. Orhei CW serves about 26,000 inhabitants, several economic, and public institutions, including medical and sanitary ones. The size and capacity of Orhei CW require particular management, in assessing the quality of wastewater treatment, especially from a microbiological point of view. Objective of the study is to present the methodology of sampling and preparation of wastewater samples for molecular analysis in order to streamline the wastewater treatment process in the CW, as an intervention strategy to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance (ARM) in surface waters. Material and methods. This paper is based on the wastewater sampling protocol, developed within PhageLand project. The method of sampling and handling of samples for molecular analysis (metagenomics) has been described. Results. The collecting points of wastewater samples were selected based on the technological process, as follows: raw wastewater; 4 points from the lines of the filter reed platform (RBF); 4 points from the lines of the vertical flow platform (VF) and the final product. Samples were collected using sterile borosilicate bottles of 1L. Once in the laboratory, a known volume of water (250ml for effluents and 50ml for raw wastewater) was filtered through membranes with a pore ∅ of 0.2 µm using a vacuum filter device (3 filters/sample). The filters were inserted into sterile 2 ml Eppendorf tubes and stored at (– 20℃) until delivery to the University of Warsaw for DNA extraction and metagenomic analysis. Conclusion. The presented methodology allowed us to carry out a characterization of bacterial communities and resistome to streamline the wastewater treatment process in Orhei CW

SCREENING FOR IODINE DEFICIENCY – MORE THAN A MEDICAL APPROACH

Working as a team began more and more important in many fields, including medicine. After an era of fragmentation, when the need of deepen the knowledge led to supra-specialization, we witness now the reassembly of these distinct parts, in order to obtain a comprehensive view. This is true not only for research, but also for the clinical practice. We present the building of a team who started with a screening and continued with other evaluations in a city from the eastern part of Romania. The goal of the study was to evaluate the iodine status in a former iodine deficient area. Two parameters were necessary, evaluation of thyroid volume and urinary iodine in a representative group of children. The initial pure endocrinological team increased by adopting new members: medical (nurses, epidemiologist, biochemist) and non-medical (schoolteachers). The results induced new studies and the team had growth and proved the utility of interdisciplinarity

Phylogeography of Francisella tularensis subspecies holarctica and epidemiology of tularemia in Switzerland.

Tularemia, an endemic disease that mainly affects wild animals and humans, is caused by Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica (Fth) in Switzerland. The Swiss Fth population consist of multiple different subclades which are distributed throughout the country. The aim of this study is to characterize the genetic diversity of Fth in Switzerland and to describe the phylogeographic relationship of isolates by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. This analysis is combined with human surveillance data from reported cases over the last 10 years and in vitro and in silico antibiotic resistance tests to provide insight into the epidemiology of tularemia in Switzerland. We sequenced the whole genomes of 52 Fth strains of human or tick origin collected in Switzerland between 2009 and 2022 and analyzed together with all publicly available sequencing data of Swiss and European Fth. Next, we performed a preliminary classification with the established canonical single nucleotide polymorphism nomenclature. Furthermore, we tested 20 isolates from all main Swiss clades for antimicrobial susceptibility against a panel of antimicrobial agents. All 52 sequenced isolates from Switzerland belong to major clade B.6, specifically subclades B.45 and B.46, previously described in Western Europe. We were able to accurately reconstruct the population structure according to the global phylogenetic framework. No resistance to clinically recommended antibiotics could be identified in vitro or in silico in the western B.6 strains

New Evidences on the Process Sensitivity of Some Renewable Blends Based on Starch considering Their Melt Rheological Properties

The degradability and processability of new renewable materials based on starch and PVOH were studied using the melt flow index (MFI) method by measuring the melt rheological properties which depend not only on the extrusion conditions and material formulation but also on the macromolecule characteristics which can be modified by chemical degradation. These results were correlated with other material properties like color and cross-linking degree. The obtained results show that flowing in the melted state of the studied materials is accompanied by a second process of chains chemical degradation. It was observed that, at the same level of additivation, under identical extrusion conditions, the melted blends with corn starch as main component are highly mechanically sensitive and degrade mostly by chains scission and those with PVOH as major component are highly temperature sensitive and degrade mainly by cross-linking. The obtained results show also that each PVOH-starch blend requires particular formulation and individual windows of melt processing conditions. These results are a good proof that the MFI method is a good path to study the degradability and moldability of process sensitive polymeric materials like those based on starch and PVOH

Controlling the Melt Resistance to Flow as a Possibility of Improving the Miscibility and the Time Behavior of Some Blends Based on Starch

The paper proves that the miscibility of some blends based on starch can be improved by finding for each of them the melt resistance to flow at which the nonstationary flow and the melt degradation are avoided and the developed shear rate homogenizes optimally the material composition. The obtained results show that, for process sensitive materials like starches, the border between good and less miscibility is so narrow that the window of melt processing conditions and the best formulation must be found for each of them. The improving of miscibility by controlling the melt resistance to flow proves to be a good method to prevent retrogradation and plasticizer leaching and so to handle the new compounds behavior during usage

Layered Composites Based on Recycled PET/Functionalized Woven Flax Fibres

Extended Abstract Plastic waste is generated by a variety of sources including packaging, automotive, consumer goods, electrical and electronics industries, leading to a significant growth in the volume of waste and the impetuous need to reduce it The paper aims at developing new layered composite materials based on recycled thermoplastic polymer (PETpolyethylene terephthalate) from the food industry reinforced with woven flax fiber functionalized with nano (micro) particles of titanium or alumina and testing the composite in terms of physico-mechanical (tensile strength, bending, shock, etc.), morphological (SEM), structural (FTIR), and thermal (Vicat) properties. Based on this technology, the new composite will exhibit improved physical, mechanical and thermal properties, as well as resistance to mold attack. In this regard, in the first stage, the surface of flax fibers were chemically modified using aluminum (AlCl3), and titanium (titanium butoxide) precursors followed by precipitation. The woven flax whose surface was functionalized with nano (micro) alumina or TiO2 particles were subsequently used to obtain layered composite materials. Layered composite materials were obtained by alternating functionalized / not functionalized woven flax fiber with sheets made from recycled PET. The recycled PET sheets and layered composites based on recycled PET and functionalized / not functionalized woven flax fiber were obtained by press molding using an electrical press at the following optimum parameters: plate temperature -254ºC, preheating time -8 min; pressing time -2 min; cooling time -15 min; pressing force -100 kN. Special attention must be paid to the pre-drying process (at 100-110ºC) to remove adsorbed water. In the absence of the pre-drying operation, the resulting sheets exhibit holes, porosity and discontinuities, making them unusable for the development of layered composite materials. Physical, mechanical and thermal analyses results for specimens of layered composite materials based on recycled PET / functionalised woven flax fiber show significantly improved values compared with the control samples obtained from recycled PET / not functionalized flax fiber. Improved mechanical and thermal properties are due to links developed at the woven flax fiber / polymer phase interphase. Results have also been confirmed by SEM, while the degree of adhesion and the interpenetration of polymer phase / woven flax fiber are superior in the case of composites made of functionalized flax fibers in comparison with the unfunctionalized ones