Immobilization of Heavy Metals in Soil Using Natural and Waste Materials for Vegetation Establishment on Contaminated Sites

Contaminated land is increasingly becoming an important issue worldwide. Many contaminants are persistent in soil for a large number of years. With the increase in public awareness regarding the consequences of contaminated soil, many researchers are concentrating on developing cost-effective and socially acceptable soil remediation technologies. Soils of many sites, which have been left derelict after industrial decline, harbor a broad suite of metal and organic contaminants. Land where such contaminants are deemed to pose a significant risk to receptors is considered contaminated under modern guidance. Remediation to break identified pollutant linkages would precede reclamation and plant establishment. One approach to break the pollutant receptor linkage is to utilize materials that effectively create soil conditions that immobilize contaminants whilst providing essential plant growth properties in terms of nutrition and water holding capacity. Materials that may achieve this include: 1) composts derived from materials such as sewage sludges and other municipal sources; 2) natural or synthetic zeolites; or 3) industrial by-products such as red-mud or other iron-rich materials such as iron grit or iron oxyhydroxides. Remediation techniques that utilize such materials may be cost-effective compared to more traditional methods and may effectively divert materials from the waste stream and could thereby make a dual contribution to sustainable development.     

Phenolic compounds in Catharanthus roseus

Besides alkaloids Catharanthus roseus produces a wide spectrum of phenolic compounds, this includes C6C1 compounds such as 2,3-dihydoxybenzoic acid, as well as phenylpropanoids such as cinnamic acid derivatives, flavonoids and anthocyanins. The occurrence of these compounds in C. roseus is reviewed as well as their biosynthesis and the regulation of the pathways. Both types of compounds compete with the indole alkaloid biosynthesis for chorismate, an important intermediate in plant metabolism. The biosynthesis C6C1 compounds is induced by biotic elicitors.     

Genetically different wine yeasts isolated from Austrian vine-growing regions influence wine aroma differently and contain putative hybrids between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces kudriavzevii

To evaluate the influence of the genomic properties of yeasts on the formation of wine flavour, genotypic diversity among natural Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains originating from grapes collected in four localities of three Austrian vine-growing areas (Thermenregion: locations Perchtoldsdorf and Pfaffst?tten, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland: location Eisenstadt, Neusiedlersee: location Halbturn) was investigated and the aroma compounds produced during fermentation of the grape must of 'Grüner Veltliner' were identified. Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis (AFLP) showed that the yeast strains cluster in four groups corresponding to their geographical origin. The genotypic analysis and sequencing of the D1/D2 domain of 26S rRNA encoding gene and ITS1/ITS2 regions indicated that the Perchtoldsdorf strains were putative interspecies hybrids between S. cerevisiae and Saccharomyces kudriavzevii. Analysis of the aroma compounds by GS/MS indicated a region-specific influence of the yeasts on the chemical composition of the wines. The aroma compound profiles generated by the Perchtoldsdorf strains were more related to those produced by the Pfaffst?tten strains than by the Eisenstadt and Halbturn strains. Similar to the Pfaffst?tten yeasts, the putative hybrid strains were good ester producers, suggesting that they may influence the wine quality favourably.     

Modeling the Tertiary Structure of the Patatin Domain of Neuropathy Target Esterase

Neuropathy target esterase (NTE) is a transmembrane protein of unknown function whose specific chemical modification by certain organophosphorus (OP) compounds leads to distal axonopathy. Therefore, solving the 3D structure of NTE would advance the understanding of its pathogenic and physiologic roles. In this study, the tertiary structures of the patatin (catalytic) domain and the N-terminal transmembrane domain of NTE were modeled using the crystal structures of patatin (PDB ID 1oxw) and moricin (PDB ID 1kv4) as templates. Sequence alignments and secondary structure predictions were obtained from the INUB server (Buffalo, NY). O and PyMol were used to build the PNTE and NTE TMD chains from these sequence alignments. The PNTE model was refined in the presence of water using the crystallography and NMR system, while the NTE TMD model was refined in vacuo using the GROMOS implementation in the Swiss PDB viewer. The modeled active site of NTE was found to consist of a Ser966-Asp1086 catalytic dyad, which is characteristic of phospholipase A2 enzymes. The Ser966 Ogamma was located 2.93 A from the Odelta2 of Asp1086. In addition, our NTE model was found to contain a single N-terminal transmembrane domain. This modeling effort provided structural and mechanistic predictions about the catalytic domain of NTE that are being verified via experimental techniques.     

Steady state protein levels in Geobacter metallireducens grown with iron (III) citrate or nitrate as terminal electron acceptor

Geobacter species predominate in aquatic sediments and submerged soils where organic carbon sources are oxidized with the reduction of Fe(III). The natural occurrence of Geobacter in some waste sites suggests this microorganism could be useful for bioremediation if growth and metabolic activity can be regulated. 2-DE was used to monitor the steady state protein levels of Geobacter metallireducens grown with either Fe(III) citrate or nitrate to elucidate metabolic differences in response to different terminal electron acceptors present in natural environments populated by Geobacter. Forty-six protein spots varied significantly in abundance (p<0.05) between the two growth conditions; proteins were identified by tryptic peptide mass and peptide sequence determined by MS/MS. Enzymes involved in pyruvate metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle were more abundant in cells grown with Fe(III) citrate, while proteins associated with nitrate metabolism and sensing cellular redox status along with several proteins of unknown function were more abundant in cells grown with nitrate. These results indicate a higher level of flux through the TCA cycle in the presence of Fe(III) compared to nitrate. The oxidative stress response observed in previous studies of Geobacter sulfurreducens grown with Fe(III) citrate was not seen in G. metallireducens.     

Zebrafish as a new model for phenotype‐based screening of melanogenic regulatory compounds

Although many hypo‐pigmenting agents are currently available, the demand for novel whitening agents is increasing, in part due to the weak effectiveness and unwanted side effects of currently available compounds. To screen for novel hypo‐pigmenting agents, many methodologies such as cell culture and enzymatic assays are routinely used. However, these models have disadvantages in terms of physiological and economic relevance. In this study, we validated zebrafish as a whole‐animal model for phenotype‐based screening of melanogenic inhibitors or stimulators. We used both the well‐known melanogenic inhibitors (1‐phenyl‐2‐thiourea, arbutin, kojic acid, 2‐mercaptobenzothiazole) and newly developed small molecule compounds (haginin, YT16i). All the tested compounds produced inhibitory effects on the pigmentation of zebrafish, most likely due to their inhibitory potential on tyrosinase activity. In simultaneous in vivo toxicity tests, a newly developed melanogenic inhibitor YT16i showed massive abnormalities in terms of deformed morphologies and cardiac function. Together, these results provide a rationale in screening and evaluating the putative melanogenic regulatory compounds. We suggest that the zebrafish system is a novel alternative to mammalian models, with several advantages including the rapidity, cost‐effectiveness, and physiological relevance.     

Studies on the interaction between tetraphenylporphyrin compounds and bovine serum albumin.

The interaction of three porphyrin compounds with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was examined by fluorescence emission spectra at the excitation wavelength 280 nm and in UV-Vis absorption spectra. Through fluorescence quenching experiments, it was confirmed that the combination of three porphyrin compounds with BSA was a single static quenching process. The binding constant K(A), the thermodynamic parameters enthalpy change (DeltaH(0)), Gibbs free energy change (DeltaG(0)) and entropy change (DeltaS(0)) were obtained. It was found that hydrophobic interaction played a main role in tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) or tetraparacholophenylporphyrin (TClPP) binding to BSA, while tetraparamethoxyphenylporphyrin (TMEOPP) mainly based on van der Waals' force. According to F?ster energy transfer, the separate distance r, the energy transfer efficiency E and F?ster radium R(0) were calculated. The results obtained from the above experiments showed that three porphyrin compounds were tightly bound to BSA.     

Effect of ovotransferrin, protamine sulfate and EDTA combination on biofilm formation by catheter-associated bacteria

AIMS: To determine the effect of a composition comprising ovotransferrin (OT), protamine sulfate (PS) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) on biofilm formation by catheter-associated bacteria. METHODS AND RESULTS: The in vitro activity of OT, PS and EDTA alone and in combinations against biofilm formation by Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus epidermidis was investigated. All the three compounds either alone or in combinations failed to inhibit the growth completely at the concentrations tested. However, the subinhibitory concentrations of three compounds in a composition showed synergistic inhibitory effect on biofilm formation by K. pneumoniae, Ps. aeruginosa and S. epidermidis. Furthermore, 79-95% reduction in Ps. aeruginosa and S. epidermidis biofilm formation was observed in a clear vinyl urinary catheter treated with the composition. CONCLUSION: The subinhibitory concentrations of OT, PS and EDTA in a composition were effective in reducing biofilm formation by catheter-associated bacteria. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study shows that a synergistic composition-comprising non-antibiotic generally regarded as safe (GRAS) compounds such as OT, PS and EDTA may be used in the prevention of catheter-related infections.