The use of sterol profiles, supported with other faecal source tracking methods, to apportion septic tanks contamination in rural catchments.

Identifying the origin of faecal pollution in water is needed for effective water management decisions to protect both human health and aquatic ecosystems. Traditionally used indicators of faecal contamination, such as E. coli, only indicate pollution from warm-blooded animals and not the specific source of contamination; hence, more source specific tracers are required. The study has focussed on separating the two main sources of contaminants within rural catchments in Ireland, agriculture and on-site wastewater treatment systems (predominantly septic tanks). While human-specific effluent tracers may assist in identifying potential pathways from individual septic tanks to surface waters, it is difficult to quantify the cumulative impact of such systems at a catchment scale. This study has investigated faecal sterols as a method to quantify such an impact on four small catchments in areas of low subsoil permeability with high densities of septic tanks. The results demonstrate the usefulness of faecal sterols which provide a quantitative evaluation of the respective impact between agricultural pasture inputs and on-site effluent showing differences between the four catchments. The study also highlights the need to derive more specific local reference sterol profile databases for specific countries or regions, using local source material of animal faeces and effluent. Two intensive sampling campaigns on the four catchments then used faecal sterols in parallel to fluorescent whitening compounds (FWCs), caffeine, artificial sweeteners and selected pharmaceuticals to gain further insights and confirmation about contamination hotspots as well as providing comparison between the different parameters. The combination of sterols, FWCs, caffeine, acesulfame and cyclamate has proven suitable to provide an estimate of the extent of human contamination in these rural catchments and has yielded additional information about potential pollution pathways and proximity of contamination. Overall, this methodology can help to facilitate a targeted and effective water management in such catchments.

Viability and In Vitro Gastrointestinal Transit Tolerance of Multispecies Probiotic Combinations Incorporated into Orange Juice and Drinking Water.

Little is known about how combining probiotics affects the storage survival and functional performance of individual probiotics when incorporated into non-dairy drinks. Viability of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG (LG), Limosilactobacillus reuteri ATCC 55730 (LR), Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 (Bb), and Propionibacterium jensenii 702 (PJ), either alone or in multi-species combinations included in orange juice (OJ), were assessed during storage in refrigerated conditions and compared with bottled water (BW). The tolerance of probiotics included in refrigerated OJ to simulated gastrointestinal conditions was also examined. LG and LR viabilities were significantly higher in OJ than in BW (p ≤ 0.001), while the reverse was evident for PJ. Bb maintained high viability in both drinks. LG-PJ in both drinks and Bb-PJ in BW resulted in greater viabilities among the paired combinations compared to their respective monocultures when incorporated separately (p ≤ 0.001). The viability of LG in the LG-Bb-PJ combination improved significantly in BW compared with LG alone (p ≤ 0.001). OJ did not alter bacterial tolerance to simulated gastric juice but diminished tolerance to simulated intestinal juice (SIJ). In all combinations, tolerance of LG and LR to SIJ was improved, whereas tolerance of PJ declined significantly compared with respective monocultures (p ≤ 0.001). In conclusion, probiotic storage stability and gastrointestinal transit tolerance were species-dependent and affected by carrier type and combinations. These effects should be considered when formulating probiotic products.

Benthic infaunal assemblages adjacent to an ocean outfall in Australian marine waters: Impact assessment and identification of indicator taxa.

An impact assessment of oceanic effluent releases from Belmont wastewater treatment works (WWTW) in Newcastle, Australia, was undertaken. Benthic infaunal assemblages in sandy sediments of ~25 m water depth were examined, at sites adjacent to the release point, and at increasing distances up to 2 km in both a NE and SW direction over five consecutive years (2016-2020). Localised impacts were evident for infaunal assemblages, with sites within 20 m of the outfall ("Impact" site types) exhibiting lower taxa richness and Shannon diversity, higher abundances of polychaetes and/or nematodes, higher polychaete ratios, and shifts in assemblage composition in comparison to sites at greater distances during some years. Taxa with increased localised abundances at the outfall were identified as indicators for monitoring impacts, including deposit-feeding polychaetes (Families Polygordiidae, Paraonidae and Dorvilleidae) and Phylum Nematoda. Future infaunal monitoring could include molecular tools and paired sediment analyses.

Patterns of cyanobacterial abundance in a major drinking water reservoir: what 3 years of comprehensive monitoring data reveals?

The present study provides a detailed analysis of the factors influencing variation in cyanobacterial communities of a large shallow off-river drinking water reservoir on the east coast of Australia. Receiving multiple inflows from two unprotected mixed land-use catchments, the Grahamstown Reservoir is a model example of a reservoir which is highly vulnerable to adverse water quality issues, including phytoplankton blooms and the resulting filtration, toxin and taste and odour problems produced. The spatial and temporal distributions of cyanobacteria were assessed for a period of 3 years (January 2012-December 2014) based on samples collected from three monitoring stations within the reservoir. Relationships between cyanobacterial abundance and a range of environmental factors were evaluated by application of multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) analysis.Results of the analysis indicated that among the 22 physico-chemical variables and 14 cyanobacterial taxa measured, the vertical temperature gradient within the water column and nutrient availability were the most powerful explanatory factors for the observed temporal and spatial distribution patterns in the densities of cyanobacterial taxa. The abundance patterns of the dominant cyanobacterial taxa-Aphanocapsa, Aphanothece, Microcystis and Pseudanabaena-were strongly linked with rainfall and run-off patterns into the reservoir, while Coelosphaerium and Microcystis were the taxa most influenced by the apparent occurrence of thermal stratification. The findings demonstrate the capacity of rigorous multivariate data analysis to identify more subtle relationships between water quality variables, catchment factors and cyanobacterial growth in drinking water reservoirs.

Distribution, abundance and activity of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol-producing Streptomyces in drinking water reservoirs.

While cyanobacteria have been widely recognised as the most common cause of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol related taste and odour (T&O) episodes in drinking water supplies, many reported occurrences could not be attributed to these organisms. The Streptomyces genus of soil bacteria also includes producers of these compounds, however their potential role in such occurrences is poorly understood and often disregarded on the basis that they are terrestrial rather than aquatic organisms, with their detection in water samples assumed to reflect the presence of dormant spores rather than metabolically active vegetative cells. Using qPCR and a differential cell lysis technique for DNA extraction, allowing distinction of spores from vegetative cells, the aim of this study was to determine the distribution, abundance and potential activity of Streptomyces species across a range of aquatic and marginal habitat zones in two drinking water reservoirs, including: exposed soil, submerged sediments, plant debris and emergent macrophytes at the margins; marginal and offshore surface waters; deep offshore waters; and offshore benthic sediments. Marginal substrates including soil, sediment and plant debris were identified as the dominant habitat zones for Streptomyces, (concentrations up to 1.1 × 107 cells g-1) supporting the concept of 'wash-in' from the margins due to run-off or water level rise following rainfall, as the likely pathway for Streptomyces induced T&O in reservoirs. However, vegetative cells were also found to comprise a substantial proportion of Streptomyces populations in the reservoir water mass itself (>90% in some surface and bottom water samples), suggesting the potential for these bacteria to be metabolically active in the water and therefore contribute to in situ production of T&O metabolites.

Sweat Facilitated Amino Acid Losses in Male Athletes during Exercise at 32-34°C.

Sweat contains amino acids and electrolytes derived from plasma and athletes can lose 1-2L of sweat per hour during exercise. Sweat may also contain contributions of amino acids as well as urea, sodium and potassium from the natural moisturizing factors (NMF) produced in the stratum corneum. In preliminary experiments, one participant was tested on three separate occasions to compare sweat composition with surface water washings from the same area of skin to assess contributions from NMF. Two participants performed a 40 minute self-paced cycle session with sweat collected from cleansed skin at regular intervals to assess the contributions to the sweat load from NMF over the period of exercise. The main study investigated sweat amino acid composition collected from nineteen male athletes following standardised endurance exercise regimes at 32-34°C and 20-30% RH. Plasma was also collected from ten of the athletes to compare sweat and plasma composition of amino acids. The amino acid profiles of the skin washings were similar to the sweat, suggesting that the NMF could contribute certain amino acids into sweat. Since the sweat collected from athletes contained some amino acid contributions from the skin, this fluid was subsequently referred to as "faux" sweat. Samples taken over 40 minutes of exercise showed that these contributions diminished over time and were minimal at 35 minutes. In the main study, the faux sweat samples collected from the athletes with minimal NMF contributions, were characterised by relatively high levels of serine, histidine, ornithine, glycine and alanine compared with the corresponding levels measured in the plasma. Aspartic acid was detected in faux sweat but not in the plasma. Glutamine and proline were lower in the faux sweat than plasma in all the athletes. Three phenotypic groups of athletes were defined based on faux sweat volumes and composition profiles of amino acids with varying relative abundances of histidine, serine, glycine and ornithine. It was concluded that for some individuals, faux sweat resulting from exercise at 32-34°C and 20-30% RH posed a potentially significant source of amino acid loss.

Intrinsically Microporous Polymer Retains Porosity in Vacuum Thermolysis to Electroactive Heterocarbon.

Vacuum carbonization of organic precursors usually causes considerable structural damage and collapse of morphological features. However, for a polymer with intrinsic microporosity (PIM-EA-TB with a Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) surface area of 1027 m(2)g(-1)), it is shown here that the rigidity of the molecular backbone is retained even during 500 °C vacuum carbonization, yielding a novel type of microporous heterocarbon (either as powder or as thin film membrane) with properties between those of a conducting polymer and those of a carbon. After carbonization, the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) morphology and the small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) Guinier radius remain largely unchanged as does the cumulative pore volume. However, the BET surface area is decreased to 242 m(2)g(-1), but microporosity is considerably increased. The new material is shown to exhibit noticeable electrochemical features including two pH-dependent capacitance domains switching from ca. 33 Fg(-1) (when oxidized) to ca. 147 Fg(-1) (when reduced), a low electron transfer reactivity toward oxygen and hydrogen peroxide, and a four-point-probe resistivity (dry) of approximately 40 MΩ/square for a 1-2 µm thick film.

An interim prosthesis program for lower limb amputees: comparison of public and private models of service.

This study compared the outcomes of an interim mechanical prosthesis program for lower limb amputees operated under a public and private model of service. Over a two-year period, 60 transtibial amputees were fitted with an interim prosthesis as part of their early amputee care. Thirty-four patients received early amputee care under a public model of service, whereby a prosthetist was employed to provide the interim mechanical prosthesis service. The remaining 26 patients received early amputee care under a private model of service, where an external company was contracted to provide the interim mechanical prosthesis service. The results suggested comparable clinical outcomes between the two patient groups. However, the public model appeared to be less expensive with the average labour cost per patient being 29.0% lower compared with the private model. The results suggest that a public model of service may provide a more comprehensive and less expensive interim prosthesis program for lower limb amputees.

Extensive bacterial diversity indicates the potential operation of a dynamic micro-ecology within domestic rainwater storage systems.

The concept that domestic rainwater storage tanks may host sustainable microbial ecosystems has not previously been addressed. The bacterial diversity, cultivated from more than 80 samples from 22 tanks at various locations across eastern Australia, is presented here as prima facie evidence for the potential operation of a functional micro-ecology within rainwater storage systems. Cultivated isolates were found to comprise members of four major bacterial divisions; Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes, including more than 200 species from 80 different genera. The pattern of abundance distribution was typical of that observed in most natural communities, comprising a small number of abundant taxa and a multitude of rare taxa, while the specific composition resembled that previously described in a number of natural aquatic systems. Although Proteobacteria from alpha, beta and gamma sub-classes were dominant, a set of core taxa comprising representative genera from all four phyla could be identified. Coliform and other species specifically associated with faecal material comprised <15% of the species identified, and represented <1.5% of total average abundance. The composition of the cultivated populations and scope of diversity present, suggested that rainwater tanks may support functional ecosystems comprising complex communities of environmental bacteria, which may have beneficial implications for the quality of harvested rainwater.

Click chemistry as a route to surface functionalization of polymer particles dispersed in aqueous media.

Proof-of-principle studies are described which show unequivocally that Huisgen click coupling can be performed successfully at the surface of polymer nano/submicron-size particles dispersed in aqueous media, thereby defining a generic strategy for attachment of a wide variety of functional molecules and providing a powerful, versatile route for the synthesis of surface functional particles.

Altered amino acid excretion in children with autism.

Autism is a complex and life-long behavioural disorder of unknown aetiology. Recent reports have indicated the involvement of digestive tract dysfunction and possible complications from inadequate nutrition. In this study, 34 autistic children (12 untreated and 22 receiving therapeutic treatments related to digestive function and nutritional uptake) and 29 control subjects (all 5-15 years of age) were investigated to determine whether there were any anomalies in the urinary excretion of amino acids, glucose, sucrose, arabinose and tartaric acid using GC/FID and GC/MS analysis techniques. Significantly lower relative urinary levels of essential amino acids were revealed for both the untreated (mean +/- SEM, 32.53 +/- 3.09%) and treated (31.98 +/- 2.87%) autistic children compared with the controls (37.87 +/- 1.50%). There were no significant differences in measured excretions of sugars or tartaric acid. It was concluded that the untreated autistic children had evidence of altered metabolic homeostasis.