Culturable antibiotic-resistant fecal coliform bacteria in soil and surface runoff after liquid dairy manure surface application and subsurface injection.

Land application of manure, while beneficial to soil health and plant growth, can lead to an overabundance of nutrients and introduction of emerging contaminants into agricultural fields. Compared with surface application of manure, subsurface injection has been shown to reduce nutrients and antibiotics in surface runoff. However, less is known about the influence of subsurface injection on the transport and persistence of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. We simulated rainfall to field plots at two sites (one in Virginia and one in Pennsylvania) 1 or 7 d after liquid dairy manure surface and subsurface application (56 Mg ha-1 ) and monitored the abundance of culturable antibiotic-resistant fecal coliform bacteria (ARFCB) in surface runoff and soils for 45 d. We performed these tests at both sites in spring 2018 and repeated the test at the Virginia site in fall 2019. Manure subsurface injection, compared with surface application, resulted in less ARFCB in surface runoff, and this reduction was greater at Day 1 after application compared with Day 7. The reductions of ARFCB in surface runoff because of manure subsurface injection were 2.5-593 times at the Virginia site in spring 2018 and fall 2019 and 4-5 times at the Pennsylvania site in spring 2018. The ARFCB were only detectable in the 0-to-5-cm soil depth within 14 d of manure surface application but remained detectable in the injection slits of manure subsurface-injected plots even at Day 45. This study demonstrated that subsurface injection can significantly reduce surface runoff of ARFCB from manure-applied fields.

Deactivation of E. coli in water using Fe3+-saturated montmorillonite impregnated filter paper.

In areas with high exposure to pathogen contaminated water and lack the economic means for water treatment, low cost and convenient point-of-use drinking water disinfection materials/devices are essential. Using a simple craft paper making method, Fe3+-saturated montmorillonite impregnated filter paper was constructed to filter live Escherichia coli (E. coli)-spiked water. The Scanning Electron Microscopic images of the E. coli cells in contact with the Fe3+-saturated montmorillonite impregnated filter paper showed: 1) Fe3+-saturated montmorillonite particles were uniformly coated on the cellulose paper fiber, creating large mineral surface for cell contact; and 2) E. coli cell membrane was dehydrated and damaged, resulting cell deactivation upon contacting with the Fe3+-saturated montmorillonite particles impregnated in the paper. The E. coli cells passing through the Fe3+-saturated montmorillonite impregnated filter paper were not viable as further confirmed by the microfluidic dielectrophoresis analysis. They remained non-viable at room temperature even after 5 days, as shown by the results from both the Colony Counting test and the Colilert test. More than 99.5% deactivation efficiency was achieved when the ratio of the volume of the E. coli contaminated water to the mass of Fe3+-saturated montmorillonite was maintained at <1:1.5 (mL/mg). The Fe3+-saturated montmorillonite impregnated filter paper maintained ~74% E. coli deactivation efficiency even after the 8th consecutive use. About 0.52 mg Fe3+, which is bioavailable, could be leached into the water for every 2 L E coli-contaminated water that is treated with the filter paper. The treated water could therefore provide iron supplement to a person at a level within the range of the FDA recommended human daily intake of iron. The results from this study has clearly demonstrated promising potential of using the Fe3+-saturated montmorillonite impregnated filter paper for low cost (~$0.07/L treated water for this study) and convenient point-of-use drinking water disinfection.

Manure Injection Affects the Fate of Pirlimycin in Surface Runoff and Soil.

Antibiotics used in animal agriculture are of increasing environmental concern due to the potential for increased antibiotic resistance after land application of manure. Manure application technology may affect the environmental behavior of these antibiotics. Therefore, rainfall simulations were conducted on plots receiving three manure treatments (surface application, subsurface injection, and no manure control) to determine the fate and transport of pirlimycin, an antibiotic commonly used in dairy production. Rainfall simulations were conducted immediately and 7 d after application of dairy manure spiked with 128 ng g (wet weight) pirlimycin. Soil samples were collected from all plots at two depths (0-5 and 5-20 cm). For injection plots, soil was collected from injection slits and between slits. Pirlimycin concentrations were higher in soil within the injection slits compared with surface application plots at 0 and 7 d. Pirlimycin concentrations in the 0- to 5-cm depth decreased by 30, 55, and 87% in the injection slit, between injection slits, and surface application plots 7 d after application. Pirlimycin concentrations were 106 ng g in sediment and 4.67 ng mL in water from the surface application plots, which were 21 and 32 times that of the injection plots, respectively. After 7 d, pirlimycin levels in runoff sediment and water decreased 80 to 98%. Surface application resulted in six and three times higher pirlimycin concentrations in water and sediment than injection. These results indicate that pirlimycin is most susceptible to loss immediately after manure application. Thus, injection could be considered a best management practice to prevent loss of antibiotics in surface runoff.

In vitro experiment of allergic reactions induced by traditional Chinese medicine injections / 中国中药杂志

Allergic reactions caused by traditional Chinese medicine injections (TCMIs) become a greatest concern in the clinic application safety. The integral animal evaluation method commonly used in the preclinical evaluation for allergic reactions of TCMIs was not sensitive, specific, quick and objective in observation indexes. Therefore, more researchers have paid attention to the in vitro test method for evaluating allergic reactions induced by TCMIs. Currently, the methods for evaluating allergic reactions induced by TCMIs are mainly targeted at type I allergic reaction and anaphylactic reaction, with only a few in vitro methods for evaluating type II allergic reaction. In this paper, researchers summarized relevant literatures published about evaluation methods for allergic reactions induced by TCMIs in recent years.

Evaluating aeration techniques for decreasing phosphorus export from grasslands receiving manure.

Because surface-applied manures can contribute to phosphorus (P) in runoff, we examined mechanical aeration of grasslands for reducing P transport by increasing infiltration of rainfall and binding of P with soil minerals. The effects of three aeration treatments and a control (aeration with cores, continuous-furrow "no-till" disk aeration perpendicular to the slope, slit aeration with tines, and no aeration treatment) on the export of total suspended solids, total Kjeldahl P (TKP), total dissolved P (TDP), dissolved reactive P (DRP), and bioavailable P (BAP) in runoff from grasslands with three manure treatments (broiler litter, dairy slurry, and no manure) were examined before and after simulated compaction by cattle. Plots (0.75 x 2 m) were established on a Cecil soil series with mixed tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.)-bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] vegetation on 8 to 12% slopes. Manures were applied at a target rate of 30 kg P ha(-1), and simulated rainfall was applied at a rate of 85 mm h(-1). Although the impact of aeration type on P export varied before and after simulated compaction, overall results indicated that core aeration has the greatest potential for reducing P losses. Export of TKP was reduced by 55%, TDP by 62%, DRP by 61%, total BAP by 54%, and dissolved BAP by 57% on core-aerated plots with applied broiler litter as compared with the control (p < 0.05). Core and no-till disk aeration also showed potential for reducing P export from applied dairy slurry (p < 0.10). Given that Cecil soil is common in pastures receiving broiler litter in the Southern Piedmont, our results indicate that pairing core aeration of these pastures with litter application could have a widespread impact on surface water quality.