Physical and Chemical Correlates of Microbial Activity and Biomass in Composting Municipal Sewage Sludge

Various physical and chemical parameters were monitored to evaluate their influence on the microbial communities present in composting municipal sewage sludge. Temperature, moisture content, depth, pH, protein content, total nitrogen, total carbon, lipid phosphate biomass, and the rates of microbial incorporation of substrates into lipids were measured at several times throughout the 17- to 19-day composting runs. Temperature was found to have the most consistent and dramatic effect on microbial activity and biomass. When temperatures exceeded 55 to 60°C, microbial activity fell dramatically, usually by more than 1 order of magnitude. Microbial activity was generally greatest in samples taken from the 35 to 50°C areas of the composting piles. Changes in the composition of the compost over time included increased pH, increased protein content, and decreased total organic content. The changes in these parameters appeared to reflect the microbial activity and biomass present. The results of this study indicate that the rate of composting may best be optimized by controlling the composting temperatures, provided that the other parameters fall within reasonable limits in the starting material.     

Improvements in and Environmental Applications of Double-Vial Radiorespirometry for the Study of Microbial Mineralization

Several variations in the scintillation mixture and the filter paper arrangements for double-vial radiorespirometry were compared. Improved efficiencies (44%) and shorter response times were found by adding wetting agents and methanolic NaOH to the scintillation mixture in the filter paper. The scintillation chemicals used did not contain dioxane and were found to be nontoxic to the test microbiota in this system. Covering the inner reaction vial with aluminum foil minimized the reduction in counting efficiency when testing colored or dense environmental samples. Mineralization rates were determined with ¹⁴C-labeled glucose, acetate, and glutamate and [¹⁴C]cellulose- and [¹⁴C]lignin-labeled lignocellulose for composting cow manure, forest soil, and arctic lake sediment microbiota. This improved method can be used in a variety of procedures involving the measurement of microbial mineralizations of organic compounds. Since no liquid scintillation cocktail is used for counting, the radioactive wastes are aqueous or can be incinerated, making disposal easy.     

Rates of Production of Individual Volatile Fatty Acids in the Rumen of Lactating Cows

The rumen fermentation rates in individual lactating cows were measured in four different experiments. The results disclosed that the amounts and proportions of volatile acids formed could vary widely. In one case, a marked difference in the proportions of the acids produced arose within the experiment and correlated with a difference in the proportion of methane formed.

The average rate of production per day was 10.5 moles butyric acid, 12.8 moles propionic acid, and 40 moles acetic acid. Manometric estimations of rate gave lower results than those obtained by the zero-time method, due to delay after sampling and to failure of the acids to liberate stoichiometric quantities of carbon dioxide.

For those experiments in which zero-time rates were estimated, the average specific absorption rates, i.e., the amount absorbed per hour per micromole of acid in the rumen, were 0.37 for butyric acid, 0.38 for propionic acid, and 0.26 for acetic acid.

The carbon dioxide, acids, and microbial cells produced in the rumen fermentation are estimated to account for about 90% of the carbon found in the milk and respiratory CO₂ of the cows. The carbon dioxide from the fermentation was about 27% of the carbon dioxide exhaled.

     

Rapid coral colonization of a recent lava flow following a volcanic eruption,Banda Islands,Indonesia

Compared to the catastrophic impacts of various environmental disturbances and the subsequent recovery of scleractinian coral communities from these events, little is known about the early successional dynamics of coral communities following major volcanic eruptions. The 1988 volcanic eruption of Gunung Api, Banda Islands, Indonesia, provided a unique opportunity to study the rate at which a reef-building coral community develops on an andesitic lava flow. Coral colonization was studied at three locations varying in substrate characteristics. Five years after the eruption, the sheltered lava flow supported a diverse coral community (124 species) with high coral cover . Tabulate acroporids were a dominant component of the lava flow coral community, with some colonies measuring over 90 cm in diameter. Higher average coral diversity, coral abundance and cover were recorded on the andesitic lava flow than on an adjacent carbonate reef not covered by the lava, and on a substrate of unstable pyroclastic deposits located on the southwestern coast of the volcano. In some areas of high coral diversity and environmental stability, andesitic lava flows may create local hot-spots of coral diversity by providing a structurally complex, predator-free and stable substrate for the recruitment of coral species from the adjacent and regional species pools.     

Effect of chromium nicotinic acid supplementation on selected cardiovascular disease risk factors

The effects of daily supplemental chromium (200 μg) complexed with 1.8 mg nicotinic acid on plasma glucose and lipids, including total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, were assessed in 14 healthy adults and 5 adults with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) using a double-blind crossover study with 8-wk experimental periods. Eight of the 14 healthy subjects and all 5 subjects with NIDDM also underwent an oral glucose tolerance test with assessment of 90 min postprandial plasma glucose and insulin concentrations. No statistically significant effects of chromium nicotinic acid supplementation were found on plasma insulin, glucose, or lipid concentrations, although chromium nicotinic acid supplementation slightly lowered fasting plasma total and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose concentrations, and 90-min postprandial glucose concentrations in individuals with NIDDM.     

Reevaluating the classification of Halobacteroides and Haloanaerobacter species based on sequence comparisons of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene

Abstract The 16S rRNA gene (rDNA) sequence analysis of four halophilic anaerobes: Halobacteroides halobius, H. lacunaris, Haloanaerobacter (Hb.) chitinovorans and H. acetoethylicus confirmed that they were all members of the family Haloanaerobiaceae. H. lacunaris and H. halobius were found to be more closely related to each other and were distantly related to Sporohalobacter lortetti and the members of the genera Haloanaerobium and Halothermothrix . These data are in agreement with their assignment to the genus Halobacteroides . Further analysis indicated that Hb. chitinovorans was closely affiliated to members of the genus Halobacteroides , and therefore we propose to transfer it to the genus Halobacteroides as H. chitinovorans comb. nov. This transfer would invalidate the genus Haloanaerobacter , as Hb. chitinovorans is the only member of this genus. The 16S rDNA sequence analysis of H. acetoethylicum indicated that it was very closely related to members of the genus Haloanaerobium , viz. Haloanaerobium (Ha.) praevalens, Ha. salsugo , and Ha. alcaliphilum , and hence we propose to transfer it to the genus Haloanaerobium as Ha. acetoethylicus comb. nov.