Search results for "microbial"

Contribution to development of microbial bioindicators for assessing the impact of agricultural pratices on soil

2015

Soil is the support of agricultural production. It performs many functions essential to the provision of ecosystem services necessary for the well-being of our societies. Soil physicochemical and biological properties have been altered by the development of intensive agriculture while it is a non-renewable resource, revealing the need to develop new management practices suitable for the sustainability of soil quality. This also marked the entry into the “Agroecology” era, which promotes the development of new agricultural systems optimizing services provided by biodiversity to reduce the use of inputs and energy use. To achieve this aim, the development of a range of indicators to assess th…

Effect of the natural winemaking process applied at industrial level on the microbiological and chemical characteristics of wine.

2013

The composition of yeast and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) communities and the chemical evolution of the large-scale commercial vinification of Catarratto IGT Sicilia, carried out under the biological regime, was followed from grape harvest until bottling. Simultaneously to the maximum growth of yeasts, LAB counts reached high level of concentration (6-7 log CFU mL(-1)) during the first steps of the alcoholic fermentation. Yeast identification was determined applying different molecular methods. The highest species biodiversity was observed on grape and must samples taken soon after pressing. Saccharomyces cerevisiae was detected at dominant concentrations during the entire winemaking process.…

Biomolecule-corona formation confers resistance of bacteria to nanoparticle-induced killing: Implications for the design of improved nanoantibiotics

2018

Abstract Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections are a global health threat. Nanoparticles are thus investigated as novel antibacterial agents for clinical practice, including wound dressings and implants. We report that nanoparticles' bactericidal activity strongly depends on their physical binding to pathogens, including multidrug-resistant primary clinical isolates, such as Staphylococcus aureus , Klebsiella pneumoniae or Enterococcus faecalis . Using controllable nanoparticle models, we found that nanoparticle-pathogen complex formation was enhanced by small nanoparticle size rather than material or charge, and was prevented by 'stealth' modifications. Nanoparticles seem to preferentia…

Synthesis and antimicrobial screening of tetra Schiff bases of 1,2,4,5-tetra (5-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-yl)benzene

2014

Abstract In the present study, novel tetra Schiff bases were synthesized by condensation of 1,2,4,5-tetra (5-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-yl)benzene with different aromatic aldehydes. The chemical structures were confirmed by means of IR, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, and elemental analysis. All compounds were screened for antibacterial ( Staphylococcus aureus ATCC-9144, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC-155, Micrococcus luteus ATCC-4698, Bacillus cereus ATCC-11778, Escherichia coli ATCC-25922, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC-2853) and antifungal ( Aspergillus niger ATCC-9029 and Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC-46645) activities by paper disc diffusion technique. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of …

Impact of anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor configuration on treatment and filterability performance

2017

Abstract Submerged and external anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactors (AnDMBRs) have been compared in terms of removal efficiency, filtration characteristics and microbial community structure. High COD removal efficiencies were obtained with both submerged and external AnDMBRs. To obtain an effective dynamic membrane (DM) layer enabling high quality permeate, longer time was required in the external AnDMBR configuration compared to the submerged one. A difference in microbial community structure was identified using pyrosequencing analyses between the submerged and external AnDMBRs. The number of archaeal types decreased in the bulk sludge of the external AnDMBR. External sludge recirculat…

A critical analysis of the cold plasma induced lipid oxidation in foods

2018

Abstract Background Cold plasma is an emerging, economical and environment-friendly technology with potential applications in food and bioprocessing industry, including microbial decontamination, enzyme inactivation, shelf-life extension, and physicochemical modification. These advantages stem from the cocktail of reactive species and the physical processes that are associated with gaseous electrical discharges. However, when oxygen is present as a component of the gas in which plasma discharges are made, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) could result in decreased food quality. The lipids oxidation induced by an oxygen-containing cold plasma process can eventually affect the acceptability a…

Activity–Bioavailability balance in Oral Drug Development for a Selected Group of 6‐Fluoroquinolones

2002

Abstract A nomogram is proposed to select the best candidate in drug development studies with quinolones and is intended to substitute other possible models. The nomogram is referred to as an activity–bioavailability balance (ABB) because it includes the following two criteria: ABB= 1 / gm MIC ( drug candidate ) 1 /gm MIC ( ciprofloxacin ) · F calc \( drug candidate \) F calc ( ciproflaxacin ) . The in vitro activity of a group of 4′ N ‐alkyl‐ciprofloxacin derivatives was determined together with that of ciprofloxacin, initially against some reference strains and subsequently against 159 clinical isolates of eight selected species. The inverse of the geometric mean of the lowest concentrati…

Nanostructuring Biopolymers for Improved Food Quality and Safety

2018

Abstract Food-grade biopolymers, apart from their inherent nutritional properties, can be tailored designed for improving food quality and safety, either serving as delivery vehicles for bioactive molecules, or as novel packaging components, not only improving the transport properties of biobased packaging structures, but also imparting active antibacterial and antiviral properties. In this chapter, the potential of different food-grade biopolymers (mainly proteins and carbohydrates but also some biopolyesters) to serve as encapsulating matrices for the protection of sensitive bioactives or as nanostructured packaging layers to improve transport properties and control the growth of pathogen…

In vitro antimicrobial activity of bioactive compounds from plants against mycotoxigenic fungi

2015

Iron oxide/oleic acid magnetic nanoparticles possessing biologically active choline derivatives

2018

Abstract In recent years, synthetic magnetic nanoparticles have made a major contribution to biomedicine. Interest in iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles conditioned by the fact that they are nontoxic, and possess the unique opportunity to deliver medicines to certain organs by external magnetic field. We have developed a synthetic procedure, which is based on binding of the first biologically active substance with the magnetic core, and subsequent immobilization of another biologically active substance (ligand) on the modified surface of nanoparticles thus creating plasma membrane-like structures. Using the proposed methodology, we have obtained new nontoxic magnetic nanoparticles, functiona…