Vermiculite bio-barriers for Cu and Zn remediation: an eco-friendly approach for freshwater and sediments protection

The increase in heavy metal contamination in freshwater systems causes serious environmental problems in most industrialized countries, and the effort to find ecofriendly techniques for reducing water and sediment contamination is fundamental for environmental protection. Permeable barriers made of natural clays can be used as low-cost and eco-friendly materials for adsorbing heavy metals from water solution and thus reducing the sediment contamination. This study discusses the application of permeable barriers made of vermiculite clay for heavy metals remediation at the interface between water and sediments and investigates the possibility to increase their efficiency by loading the vermiculite surface with a microbial biofilm of Pseudomonas putida, which is well known to be a heavy metal accumulator. Some batch assays were performed to verify the uptake capacity of two systems and their adsorption kinetics, and the results indicated that the vermiculite bio-barrier system had a higher removal capacity than the vermiculite barrier (?34.4 and 22.8 % for Cu and Zn, respectively). Moreover, the presence of P. putida biofilm strongly contributed to fasten the kinetics of metals adsorption onto vermiculite sheets. In open-system conditions, the presence of a vermiculite barrier at the interface between water and sediment could reduce the sediment contamination up to 20 and 23 % for Cu and Zn, respectively, highlighting the efficiency of these eco-friendly materials for environmental applications. Nevertheless, the contribution of microbial biofilm in open-system setup should be optimized, and some important considerations about biofilm attachment in a continuous-flow system have been discussed.This work has been produced thanks to the collaboration of Dip.SA (University of Bologna) and IBB (University of Minho). A particular acknowledgment is due to Dr. E. Rosales. The work was partially financed by the FCT Strategic Project Pest-OE/EQB/LA0023 and the Project ‘‘BioEnv—Biotechnology and Bioengineering for a sustainable world,’’ co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2–O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER

An overview on the reactors to study drinking water biofilms

The development of biofilms in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) can cause pipe degradation, changes in the water organoleptic properties but the main problem is related to the public health. Biofilms are the main responsible for the microbial presence in drinking water (DW) and can be reservoirs for pathogens. Therefore, the understanding of the mechanisms underlying biofilm formation and behavior is of utmost importance in order to create effective control strategies. As the study of biofilms in real DWDS is difficult, several devices have been developed. These devices allow biofilm formation under controlled conditions of physical (flow velocity, shear stress, temperature, type of pipe material, etc), chemical (type and amount of nutrients, type of disinfectant and residuals, organic and inorganic particles, ions, etc) and biological (composition of microbial community e type of microorganism and characteristics) parameters, ensuring that the operational conditions are similar as possible to the DWDS conditions in order to achieve results that can be applied to the real scenarios. The devices used in DW biofilm studies can be divided essentially in two groups, those usually applied in situ and the bench top laboratorial reactors. The selection of a device should be obviously in accordance with the aim of the study and its advantages and limitations should be evaluated to obtain reproducible results that can be transposed into the reality of the DWDS. The aim of this review is to provide an overview on the main reactors used in DW biofilm studies, describing their characteristics and applications, taking into account their main advantages and limitations.This work was supported by the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors COMPETE and by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology through Project Phyto disinfectants - PTDC/DTPSAP/1078/2012 (COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028765), the Post-Doc grant awarded to Lucia Simoes (SFRH/BPD/81982/2011). Also, this work was undertaken as part of the European Research Project SUS-CLEAN (Contract n_FP7-KBBE-2011-5, project number: 287514) and the COST Action FA1202. The authors are solely responsible for this work. It does not represent the opinion of the Community, and the Community is not responsible for any use that might be made of data appearing herein

Clinical-epidemiological characteristics of patients hospitalized for bronchiolitis at the Roberto Gilbert Hospital

La bronquiolitis es una enfermedad infecciosa aguda que provoca una obstrucción inflamatoria de la vía respiratoria inferior. Afecta con mayor frecuencia se da a niños menores de 2 años, con pico máximo de incidencia entre los 3 y los 6 meses. Es considerada la primera causa de ingreso en lactantes menores de un año, de tal manera que, no existe un consenso con respecto a su definición clínica; y por ello, su tratamiento varía en todo el mundo. Con el objetivo de, describir las características clínico-epidemiológicas de la población de estudios, además de clasificar los pacientes según la evolución de la enfermedad que padecen, este estudio se realizó con un método descriptivo, prospectivo y longitudinal de pacientes pediátricos ingresados con diagnóstico clínico de Bronquiolitis, en el Hospital Dr. Roberto Gilbeth, en el periodo comprendido entre enero 2021 - diciembre del 2022. Como resultado se obtuvo que, predomina el sexo femenino, con grupo etareo de 0 meses hasta los 2 años de edad, predominando, así como sintomatología la dificultad respiratoria, seguida de polipnea y tiraje intercostal, siendo menos frecuente el aleteo nasal, asociados a factores predominantes como: patologías respiratorias en la etapa neonatal, malas condiciones socioeconómicas, hábitos de fumar de los padres y hacinamiento, concluyendo que la presencia de signos de dificultad respiratoria, lleva a la hospitalización de los pacientes con bronquiolitis.Bronchiolitis is an acute infectious disease that causes inflammatory obstruction of the lower respiratory tract. It most frequently affects children under 2 years of age, with a peak incidence between 3 and 6 months. It is considered the first cause of admission in infants under one year of age, in such a way that there is no consensus regarding its clinical definition; and therefore, its treatment varies throughout the world. With the objective of describing the clinical-epidemiological characteristics of the study population, in addition to classifying the patients according to the evolution of the disease they suffer, this study was carried out with a descriptive, prospective and longitudinal method of pediatric patients admitted with a clinical diagnosis of Bronchiolitis, at the Dr. Roberto Gilbeth Hospital, in the period between January 2021 - December 2022. As a result, it was obtained that the female sex predominates, with an age group of 0 months to 2 years of age, respiratory distress prevailing, as well as symptoms, followed by polypnea and intercostal indrawing, nasal flaring being less frequent, associated with predominant factors such as: respiratory pathologies in the neonatal stage, poor socioeconomic conditions, parental smoking habits and overcrowding, concluding that the presence of signs of respiratory distress leads to hospitalization of patients with bronchiolitis

“Proceso de atención de enfermería en paciente con pie diabético grado iv: un estudio de caso”

This case study focuses on the assessment and management of the health status of a 76-year-old male patient with a diagnosis of diabetic foot, a history of type II diabetes mellitus, and arterial hypertension. Using Marjory Gordon's functional patterns as a key tool, the aim was to highlight the essential role of nursing in the assessment, therapeutic management, and favorable evolution of the patient. During his hospitalization, real and potential problems were identified, which allowed the development of specific and personalized interventions to improve his health. The general objective was to implement and evaluate nursing interventions based on these functional patterns, focusing on reducing signs of infection, decreasing pain, and promoting wound granulation. A comprehensive assessment of the patient was performed and specific strategies for the management of diabetic foot were applied, including pain control, wound treatment, and infection prevention. Clinical evolution was monitored through records of vital signs, wound characteristics, and response to therapies. The results showed a significant reduction in signs of infection, decreased pain, and improvement in the granulation process. The patient responded positively to the treatment and showed a positive clinical evolution during his hospital stay. The conclusions underline that the use of functional patterns allowed the development of an effective care plan, with personalized interventions that significantly improved the patient's condition. This highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach tailored to individual needs in the care of people with diabetic foot.El presente estudio de caso se centra en la evaluación y gestión del estado de salud de un paciente masculino de 76 años de edad con diagnóstico de pie diabético, antecedentes de diabetes mellitus tipo II e hipertensión arterial. Utilizando los patrones funcionales de Marjory Gordon como herramienta clave, se buscó resaltar la función esencial de la enfermería en la evaluación, el manejo terapéutico y la evolución favorable del paciente. Durante su internación, se identificaron problemas reales y potenciales, lo que permitió desarrollar intervenciones específicas y personalizadas para mejorar su salud. El objetivo general fue implementar y evaluar intervenciones de enfermería basadas en estos patrones funcionales, enfocándose en reducir signos de infección, disminuir el dolor y promover la granulación de la herida. Se realizó una evaluación integral del paciente y se aplicaron estrategias específicas para el manejo del pie diabético, incluyendo el control del dolor, tratamiento de la herida y prevención de infecciones. La evolución clínica se monitorizó a través de registros de signos vitales, características de la herida y respuesta a las terapias. Los resultados mostraron una reducción significativa de los signos de infección, disminución del dolor y mejora en el proceso de granulación. El paciente respondió positivamente al tratamiento y mostró una evolución clínica positiva durante su estadía hospitalaria. Las conclusiones subrayan que el uso de los patrones funcionales permitió desarrollar un plan de cuidado efectivo, con intervenciones personalizadas que mejoraron de manera significativa el estado del paciente. Esto destaca la importancia de un enfoque integral y adaptado a las necesidades individuales en el cuidado de personas con pie diabético

Bench scale investigations of bacterial regrowth in drinking water distribution systems

Laboratory reactors operated under conditions relevant for drinking water distribution systems were used to examine the impact of support surface, chloramine residual, biodegradable organic matter (BOM) concentration, shear, and temperature on the growth of heterotrophic microorganisms. In terms of both heterotrophic bacterial growth-supporting and corrosion characteristics, mild steel and stainless steel/polycarbonate substrata bracket metallic pipe materials, such as ductile iron. Results of gradually increasing disinfectant dosage studies suggest that a 0.5 mg/L free or combined chlorine residual on polycarbonate surfaces, and 0.5 mg/L free chlorine or 2.0 mg/L combined chlorine residual on ductile iron substrata would be needed to reduce biofilm HPC numbers to approximately 103 CFU/cm2. Regression analysis suggests low or very low correlation between biofilm and suspended HPC numbers.</jats:p