1. Benthic sediment as stores and sources of bacteria and viruses in streams : a comparison of baseflow vs. stormflow longitudinal transport and residence timesJennifer D Drummond, José Gonçalves, Tomás Aquino, Susan A. Bernal, Esperança Gacia, Ion Gutiérrez-Aguirre, Valentina Turk, Maja Ravnikar, Stefan Krause, Eugenia Martí Roca, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: The presence of bacteria and viruses in freshwater represents a global health risk. The substantial spatial and temporal variability of microbes leads to difficulties in quantifying the risks associated with their presence in freshwater. Fine particles, including bacteria and viruses are transported and accumulated into shallow streambed (i.e., benthic) sediment, delaying the downstream transmission during baseflow conditions but contributing to their resuspension and transport downstream during stormflow events. Direct measurements of pathogen accumulation in benthic sediments are rare. Until now, the dynamic role of benthic sediment as both a store and source of microbes, has not been quantified. In this study, we analyze microbial abundance in benthic sediment along a 1 km reach of an intermittent Mediterranean stream receiving inputs from the effluent of a wastewater treatment plant, a known point source of microbes in streams. We sampled benthic sediment during a summer drought when the wastewater effluent constituted 100 % of the stream flow, and thus, large accumulation and persistence of pathogens along the streambed was expected. We measured the abundance of total bacteria, Escherichia coli (as a fecal indicator), and presence of enteric rotavirus (RoV) and norovirus (NoV). The abundance of E. coli, based on qPCR detection, was high (4.99∙102 gc /cm2) along the first 100 m downstream of the wastewater effluent input and in general decreased with distance from the source, with presence of RoV and NoV along the study reach. A particle tracking model was applied, that uses stream water velocity as an input, and accounts for microbial exchange into, immobilization, degradation, and resuspension out of benthic sediment during baseflow and stormflow. Rates of exchange into benthic sediment were 3 orders of magnitude higher during stormflow, but residence times were proportionately lower, resulting in increased longitudinal connectivity from up to downstream during stormflow. Model simulations demonstrated mechanistically how the rates of exchange into and out of the benthic sediment resulted in benthic sediment to act as a store during baseflow and a source during stormflow.
Keywords: E. coli, norovirus, rotavirus, benthic sediment, pathogen transport, microbial risk
Published in DiRROS: 12.07.2024; Views: 7; Downloads: 0
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2. Biocompatible polyelectrolyte multilayers with copper oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles for inhibiting bacterial growthNives Matijaković Mlinarić, Stefanie Altenried, Atiđa Selmani, Juraj Nikolić, Aleksander Učakar, Anamarija Zore, Anže Abram, Sandro Lehner, Andrijana Sever Škapin, Monika Kušter, Eva Roblegg, Davor Kovačević, Qun Ren, Klemen Bohinc, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: The prevalence of bacterial infections presents a significant challenge in the medical field, demanding effective strategies to impede bacterial adhesion and growth on various surfaces. The conducted study investigates the efficacy of polyelectrolyte multilayers─comprising poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and alginate (ALG)─embedded with zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) to inhibit bacterial adhesion on stainless-steel surfaces. Surface characterization involved zeta potential, contact angle, and roughness assessments. The effect of NP composition, size, and morphology in conjunction with polycation or polyanion terminating multilayers was evaluated against planktonic and surface-adhered Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells. Surfaces with the positively charged PAH-terminating multilayer displayed higher water contact angles (≈ 63°) than the negatively charged ALG-terminating multilayers (≈ 45°). Multilayers containing ZnO NPs showed a significant inhibition of planktonic E. coli growth, >99%. Moreover, complete growth inhibition of surface-adhered E. coli was achieved for multilayers containing both ZnO and CuO. Due to their larger specific surface area, rod-like ZnO NPs displayed higher antibacterial activity. The samples with ALG as the terminating layer showed more substantial antibacterial properties than samples with PAH as the terminating layer. Biocompatibility tests on immortalized human keratinocyte cells revealed good compatibility with multilayers incorporating NPs. In summary, this study underscores the potential of ZnO and CuO NPs within PAH/ALG multilayers for antibacterial applications without compromising their cytocompatibility.
Keywords: polyelectrolyte multilayers, alginate, poly(allylamine hydrochloride), CuO, ZnO, nanoparticles, Escherichia coli
Published in DiRROS: 06.06.2024; Views: 130; Downloads: 110
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