Hydrocarbons biodegradation by activated sludge bacteria in the presence of natural and synthetic surfactants.

Fuels, such as diesel oil, can have a substantial impact on the microbial equilibrium of activated sludge and have a negative influence on work of wastewater treatment plant. The primary objective of the research was to examine the possibility of using the surfactants to improve pollutants biodegradation by bacteria from activated sludge. The results showed that the addition of rhamnolipids allows to increase the hydrocarbon biodegradation from 47% up to 75% in the cultures inoculated with the consortium. The saponins increased the degradation of diesel oil by the two isolated strains: from 27% to 43% for Alcaligenes sp. and from 44% to 64% for Pseudomonas sp. The addition of surfactants to the cultures growth with diesel oil caused a significant decrease of the surface charge for Alcaligenes strain in the presence of saponins, but not in other cases. The obtained results revealed the potential of natural surfactants to support hydrocarbon biodegradation in wastewater treatment plants.

Equilibrium studies of cobalt(II) extraction with 2-pyridineketoxime from mixed sulphate/chloride solution.

In present paper the equilibrium of cobalt extraction with 1-(2-pyridyl)tridecan-1-one oxime from the chloride/sulphate solutions was studied. The presented results indicated that extraction depends on a number of process variables, including the pH, metal and Cl- concentration in the aqueous feed, and concentration of the oxime in the organic phase. The created cobalt-complexes with the 2-pyridine ketoxime were stable and only concentrated HCl was found to be a suitable stripping agent for coordinated metal. The separation of Co(II) from Zn(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) was also studied, but the selective recovery of the metals was possible using the multi-stage stripping process.

Best conditions for biodegradation of diesel oil by chemometric tools.

Diesel oil biodegradation by different bacteria-yeast-rhamnolipids consortia was tested. Chromatographic analysis of post-biodegradation residue was completed with chemometric tools (ANOVA, and a novel ranking procedure based on the sum of ranking differences). These tools were used in the selection of the most effective systems. The best results of aliphatic fractions of diesel oil biodegradation were observed for a yeast consortia with Aeromonas hydrophila KR4. For these systems the positive effect of rhamnolipids on hydrocarbon biodegradation was observed. However, rhamnolipids addition did not always have a positive influence on the biodegradation process (e.g. in case of yeast consortia with Stenotrophomonas maltophila KR7). Moreover, particular differences in the degradation pattern were observed for lower and higher alkanes than in the case with C22. Normally, the best conditions for "lower" alkanes are Aeromonas hydrophila KR4 + emulsifier independently from yeasts and e.g. Pseudomonas stutzeri KR7 for C24 alkane.

Best conditions for biodegradation of diesel oil by chemometric tools

Diesel oil biodegradation by different bacteria-yeast-rhamnolipids consortia was tested. Chromatographic analysis of post-biodegradation residue was completed with chemometric tools (ANOVA, and a novel ranking procedure based on the sum of ranking differences). These tools were used in the selection of the most effective systems. The best results of aliphatic fractions of diesel oil biodegradation were observed for a yeast consortia with Aeromonas hydrophila KR4. For these systems the positive effect of rhamnolipids on hydrocarbon biodegradation was observed. However, rhamnolipids addition did not always have a positive influence on the biodegradation process (e.g. in case of yeast consortia with Stenotrophomonas maltophila KR7). Moreover, particular differences in the degradation pattern were observed for lower and higher alkanes than in the case with C22. Normally, the best conditions for "lower" alkanes are Aeromonas hydrophila KR4 + emulsifier independently from yeasts and e.g. Pseudomonas stutzeri KR7 for C24 alkane.

The influence of rhamnolipids on aliphatic fractions of diesel oil biodegradation by microorganism combinations.

Twelve different bacteria-yeast combinations were tested for determination of their ability to biodegrade diesel oil. The cell surface properties of the bacterial and yeast strains were correlated with the type of carbon source used in the experiments. The highest biodegradation of diesel oil after 7 days was obtained for the following combinations: Aeromonas hydrophila MR4-Yarrowia lipolytica EH 56 (87 %) and Xantomonas maltophila MRP7-Candida maltosa EH15 (90 %). Degradation performances of 10 of 12 combinations were enhanced by the presence of rhamnolipids. The highest increases were observed for A. hydrophila MR4-C. maltosa EH15 (from 34 to 67 %), A. hydrophila MR4-C. maltosa EH60 (from 47 to 76 %) and for Pseudomonas stutzeri MR7-C. maltosa EH60 (from 29 to 79 %). The addition of rhamnolipids to the system reduces the removal time of diesel oil from the contaminated water and changes the microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons. Modification of the cell surface of the tested strain during biodegradation is a very important factor determining the removal of hydrophobic compounds.

Cell surface properties of Pseudomonas stutzeri in the process of diesel oil biodegradation.

Pseudomonas stutzeri, isolated from crude oil-contaminated soil, was used to degrade diesel oil. Of three surfactants, 120 mg rhamnolipids 1(-1) significantly increased degradation of diesel oil giving 88% loss after 14 days compared to 54% loss without the surfactant. The system with rhamnolipids was characterised by relatively high particle homogeneity. However, the addition of saponins to diesel oil caused the cells to aggregate (the polydispersity index: 0.542) and the biodegradation of diesel oil was only 46%. The cell yield was 0.22 g l(-1).

Uptake of Hydrocarbon by Pseudomonas fluorescens (P1) and Pseudomonas putida (K1) Strains in the Presence of Surfactants: A Cell Surface Modification.

The objective of this research was the evaluation of the effects of exogenous added surfactants on hydrocarbon biodegradation and on cell surface properties. Crude oil hydrocarbons are often difficult to remove from the environment because of their insolubility in water. The addition of surfactants enhances the removal of hydrocarbons by raising the solubility of these compounds. These surfactants cause them to become more vulnerable to degradation, thereby facilitating transportation across the cell membrane. The obtained results showed that the microorganism consortia of bacteria are useful biological agents within environmental bioremediation. The most effective amongst all, as regards biodegradation, were the consortia of Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp. strains. The results indicated that the natural surfactants (rhamnolipides and saponins) are more effective surfactants in hydrocarbon biodegradation as compared to Triton X-100. The addition of natural surfactants enhanced the removal of hydrocarbon and diesel oil from the environment. Very promising was the use of saponins as a surfactant in hydrocarbon biodegradation. This surfactant significantly increases the organic compound biodegradation. In the case of those surfactants that could be easily adsorbed on cells of strains (e.g., rhamnolipides), a change of hydrophobicity to ca. 30-40% was noted. As the final result, an increase in hydrocarbon biodegradation was observed.

Modification of cell surface properties of Pseudomonas alcaligenes S22 during hydrocarbon biodegradation.

Biodegradation of water insoluble hydrocarbons can be significantly increased by the addition of natural surfactants one. Very promising option is the use of saponins. The obtained results indicated that in this system, after 21 days, 92% biodegradation of diesel oil could be achieved using Pseudomonas alcaligenes. No positive effect on the biodegradation process was observed using synthetic surfactant Triton X-100. The kind of carbon source influences the cell surface properties of microorganisms. Modification of the surface cell could be observed by control of the sedimentation profile. This analytical method is a new approach in microbiological analysis.

Biodegradation of diesel/biodiesel blends by a consortium of hydrocarbon degraders: effect of the type of blend and the addition of biosurfactants.

Biodegradation experiments for diesel/biodiesel blends in liquid cultures by-petroleum degrading microbial consortium showed that for low amendments of biodiesel (10%) the overall biodegradation efficiency of the mixture after seven days was lower than for petroleum diesel fuel. Preferential usage of methyl esters in the broad biodiesel concentration range and diminished biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons for 10% biodiesel blend was confirmed. Rhamnolipids improved biodegradation efficiency only for blends with low content of biodiesel. Emulsion formation experiments showed that biodiesel amendments significantly affected dispersion of fuel mixtures in water. The presence of rhamnolipids biosurfactant affected stability of such emulsions and altered cell surface properties of tested consortium.

Influence of solvent and counter ion on copper complexes with N-alkyl-pyridine-2-carboxamides as studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

The interactions of copper(II) with N-alkyl-pyridine-2-carboxamides (M) were studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The influence of solvent and counter ion (Cl-, ClO4-) on the type of ions (complexes) observed was discussed. By cone voltage increase, the fragmentation "in source" of the ions discussed was achieved. In methanol solution containing N-alkyl-pyridine-2-carboxamide (M) and CuCl2 the singly- and doubly charged-ions [M+CuCl]+ and [M2+Cu]+2 were detected. In acetonitrile solution containing N-alkyl-pyridine-2-carboxamide and CuCl2, the copper(I)-containing ions [M+CH3CN+Cu]+ were formed. The use of Cu(ClO4)2 instead of CuCl2 resulted in more abundant doubly-charged ions in both methanol and acetonitrlile solutions and, for the former solution, the ions containing methoxyl anion, namely [M+CuOCH3]+, were observed. When water was used as a solvent, the abundant ions corresponding to the protonated ligands were formed, while the ions corresponding to copper complexes were characterised by low abundances.

[The significance of cardiac symptoms in patients referred to pediatric cardiology outpatient clinics]. / Znaczenie objawów ze strony ukladu krazenia bedacych przyczyna skierowania do kardiologa.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the significance of cardiac symptoms in patients referred to paediatric cardiology outpatient clinics. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All patients above l month of age referred to paediatric cardiac outpatient clinics between 01-Apr-2004 and 31-Dec-2004. Data was collected prospectively in Internet data base. Patients were divided into 3 groups: patients referred by paediatricians to regional paediatric cardiology outpatient clinic (group 1, N=3383), patients referred to Academic Paediatric Cardiac outpatient clinics by paediatricians (group 2, N= 7461) and by cardiologists (group 2a, N=793). RESULTS: Average age of patients was 6.4 +/- 5.8 years. The most common reasons for referral included cardiac murmur, chest pain, syncope, earlier diagnosed congenital heart disease (CHD). The proportion of patients referred by cardiologists and paediatricians because of murmur was 30% vs 56%, arrhythmia 12.6% vs 8% and CHD 44% vs 8%. The percentage of the significant cardiac pathology in all groups (l/ 2/ 2a) was 38/35/76; in patients with chest pain -- 9/18/0; with syncope -- 56/70/80; with murmur -- 19/21/43; with CHD -- 68/69/93 and with arrhythmia -- 57/80/92. CONCLUSIONS: l. There were no significant differences between patients referred by paediatricians from regional and academic outpatient cardiology clinics. 2. Isolated cardiac symptoms such as chest pain, cardiac murmur and syncope were caused by significant cardiac pathology only in about 1/5 cases. 3. Cardiac murmur was the most common reason for referral to cardiac outpatient clinic in younger patients, in older group syncope and arrhythmia were more frequent.

Mass spectrometric decompositions of copper complexes with esters and amides of nicotinic acid.

Mass spectrometric decompositions of complexes of nicotinic acid esters and amides with copper are discussed. Liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry (LSIMS) was used as an ionisation technique and metastable ion spectra were recorded by using B/E linked scans. The fragmentation pathways consist mainly of the loss of one ligand molecule and also the cleavage of amide or ester bonds. It may be possible, on the basis of cleaved neutral fragments, to determine the site of coordination in the gas phase. It was also found that the presence of a chlorine atom affects the fragmentation pathways of complexes.