Distribution of Selected Dissolved and Particulate Heavy Metals in Lake Kenyir, Malaysia

This study was conducted to determine the concentration and possible sources of dissolved and particulate heavy metals in Lake Kenyir, Terengganu, Malaysia. The heavy metals studied included Cd, Fe, Pb, Zn and Cu. The findings indicated that the mean concentrations found in the dissolved form for surface waters were in decreasing order of Fe>Zn>Pb~Cu>Cd. A similar trend was also recorded for the particulate form i.e., Fe>Zn>Pb~Cu>Cd. In terms of vertical distribution, most of the heavy metals showed a trend of increasing concentrations from the surface to the bottom waters. The main sources of heavy metals were from anthropogenic activities such as discharge of untreated sewage, surface runoff and boat activity. However, the levels of dissolved heavy metals were still lower compared to other study areas in Malaysia. The dissolved heavy metal concentrations were equivalent with Class II based on the National Water Quality Standard for Malaysia.

Potential Applications of Microparticulate-Based Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs) Vaccine Platform for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs): Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and Syphilis

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a major global health issue. Approximately 250 million new cases of STDs occur each year globally. Currently, only three STDs (human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis A, and hepatitis B) are preventable by vaccines. Vaccines for other STDs, including gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, await successful development. Currently, all of these STDs are treated with antibiotics. However, the efficacy of antibiotics is facing growing challenge due to the emergence of bacterial resistance. Therefore, alternative therapeutic approaches, including the development of vaccines against these STDs, should be explored to tackle this important global public health issue. Mass vaccination could be more efficient in reducing the spread of these highly contagious diseases. Bacterial outer membrane vesicle (OMV) is a potential antigen used to prevent STDs. OMVs are released spontaneously during growth by many Gram-negative bacteria. They present a wide range of surface antigens in native conformation that possess interesting properties such as immunogenicity, adjuvant potential, and the ability to be taken up by immune cells, all of which make them an attractive target for application as vaccines against pathogenic bacteria. The major challenge associated with the use of OMVs is its fragile structure and stability. However, a particulate form of the vaccine could be a suitable delivery system that can protect the antigen from degradation by a harsh acidic or enzymatic environment. The particulate form of the vaccine can also act as an adjuvant by itself. This review will highlight some practical methods for formulating microparticulate OMV-based vaccines for STDs.

Particulate Mycobacterial Vaccines Induce Protective Immunity against Tuberculosis in Mice

Currently available vaccines fail to provide consistent protection against tuberculosis (TB). New, improved vaccines are urgently needed for controlling the disease. The mycobacterial antigen fusions H4 (Ag85B-TB10.4) and H28 (Ag85B-TB10.4-Rv2660c) have been shown to be very immunogenic and have been considered as potential candidates for TB vaccine development. However, soluble protein vaccines are often poorly immunogenic, but augmented immune responses can be induced when selected antigens are delivered in particulate form. This study investigated whether the mycobacterial antigen fusions H4 and H28 can induce protective immunity when assembled into particulate vaccines (polyester nanoparticle-H4, polyester nanoparticle-H28, H4 nanoparticles and H28 nanoparticles). The particulate mycobacterial vaccines were assembled inside an engineered endotoxin-free production strain of Escherichia coli at high yield. Vaccine nanoparticles were purified and induced long-lasting antigen-specific T cell responses and protective immunity in mice challenged by aerosol with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A significant reduction of M. tuberculosis CFU, up to 0.7-log10 protection, occurred in the lungs of mice immunized with particulate vaccines in comparison to placebo-vaccinated mice (p < 0.0001). Polyester nanoparticles displaying the mycobacterial antigen fusion H4 induced a similar level of protective immunity in the lung when compared to M. bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), the currently approved TB vaccine. The safe and immunogenic polyester nanoparticle-H4 vaccine is a promising subunit vaccine candidate, as it can be cost-effectively manufactured and efficiently induces protection against TB.

Characterization of particles and their relation with residual aluminum in water treated with pulsating floc blanket clarifiers and conventional clariflocculators using PACl

A pulsating floc blanket clarifier (PFBC) employing cyclic contractions and rarefactions to a bed of densely concentrated suspension of flocculated particles in fluidized state, was compared with conventional clariflocculator (CC) at pilot scale (8,000 L/day) in continuous mode of operation. For influent turbidity varied from 2 to 20 NTU, coagulation-flocculation behavior exhibited under the two fundamentally different treatment processes with PACl influenced inter-related performance parameters. The residual turbidity was found lower by 74%, flocs and fine colloids in suspension larger by 73 and 75% respectively, and the total and dissolved residual aluminum lower by 50 and 49% respectively on average for PFBC compared to CC. Particulate form comprised major fraction (≈72%) of total residual aluminum for both. PFBC abetted formation of a more consolidated floc structure which rendered the shape, size and morphology such that the settling velocity was 50% to 410% higher than that of the CC flocs. Reaction-limited aggregation (RLA) process and inter-particle bridging were dominant and the resulting floc structure and its formation mechanism have been presented.

Primary and Memory Response of Human Monocytes to Vaccines: Role of Nanoparticulate Antigens in Inducing Innate Memory

Innate immune cells such as monocytes and macrophages are activated in response to microbial and other challenges and mount an inflammatory defensive response. Exposed cells develop the so-called innate memory, which allows them to react differently to a subsequent challenge, aiming at better protection. In this study, using human primary monocytes in vitro, we have assessed the memory-inducing capacity of two antigenic molecules of Schistosoma mansoni in soluble form compared to the same molecules coupled to outer membrane vesicles of Neisseria lactamica. The results show that particulate challenges are much more efficient than soluble molecules in inducing innate memory, which is measured as the production of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-6, IL-10). Controls run with LPS from Klebsiella pneumoniae compared to the whole bacteria show that while LPS alone has strong memory-inducing capacity, the entire bacteria are more efficient. These data suggest that microbial antigens that are unable to induce innate immune activation can nevertheless participate in innate activation and memory when in a particulate form, which is a notion that supports the use of nanoparticulate antigens in vaccination strategies for achieving adjuvant-like effects of innate activation as well as priming for improved reactivity to future challenges.

Extraction of bioavailable phosphorus in soils and sediments using an ultrasonic washing machine

For improving the management of watershed eutrophication, methods for measuring bioavailable phosphorus (BAP) are more important than measurements of total phosphorus (TP). BAP in particulate form (P-BAP) is an important substance that promotes eutrophication, especially during rainy seasons. Only a portion of particulate phosphorus (PP) is taken up by algae that contribute to eutrophication. Erosion and runoff associated with rainfall transport PP bound to sediments and soil particles to surface waters, thus increasing PP concentration. This research evaluated an extraction method using an ultrasonic washing machine for extraction time and frequency. Extraction at a frequency of 28–45 kHz and an extraction time of 1 min resulted in extracted P concentrations almost the same as concentrations extracted using conventional methods. This new method requires less time and is more efficient than conventional methods because it extracts P from multiple samples in a single step. Results indicate that extraction using an ultrasonic washing machine is a promising method for rapidly obtaining BAP from sediments and soil particles.

DRAINMOD-P: A Model for Simulating Phosphorus Dynamics and Transport in Drained Agricultural Lands: II. Model Testing

HighlightsDRAINMOD-P was tested using a dataset from a drained field with desiccation cracks.Surface and subsurface phosphorus losses were mainly in the particulate form.Surface runoff was a major pathway for phosphorus loss in this field.The model performance in predicting edge-of-field phosphorus loss is promising.Abstract. The recently developed phosphorus (P) model DRAINMOD-P was tested using a four-year dataset from a subsurface-drained field in northwest Ohio with significant potential for desiccation cracking or preferential flow. The model satisfactorily predicted subsurface drainage discharge, with a monthly Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.59 and index of agreement (IOA) of 0.89. Lack of annual water budget closure was reported and was likely caused by uncertainty in measured surface runoff and/or modeling approaches representing macropore flow. More than 80% of predicted surface and subsurface P losses were in the particulate form. Surface runoff was the major pathway for P loss, contributing 78% of predicted total P (TP) load. On average, predicted macropore flow represented about 15% of drainage discharge and contributed 21% of DRP loss via subsurface drains. The performance of DRAINMOD-P in predicting monthly dissolved reactive P and TP losses through subsurface drains can be rated as poor (NSE = 0.33 and IOA = 0.60) and very good (NSE = 0.81 and IOA = 0.95), respectively. DRAINMOD-P demonstrated potential for simulating P fate and transport in drained cropland. More testing is needed to further examine newly incorporated hydrological and biogeochemical components of the model. Keywords: Agricultural drainage, Edge-of-field phosphorus load, Macropore flow, Phosphorus model, Sediment yield, Water quality modeling.

Distribution of TiO2 Nanoparticles in Acidic and Alkaline Soil and Their Accumulation by Aspergillus niger

The nanoparticles of TiO2 (TiO2 NP) have been used as a plant-growth stimulant or catalyst in pesticide formulas. However, due to high resistance of TiO2 NP to abiotic weathering, dissolved Ti is unlikely to act as an active compound in these preparations. Even if soil is acidic, TiO2 NP do not dissolve easily and preferably remain as undissolved particles. The low dissolution rates of inorganic nanoparticles in the soil environment make Ti in TiO2 NP largely unavailable for plants and soil microorganisms. To characterize the behavior of TiO2 NP in soil under different pH conditions, we analyzed TiO2 NP-size distribution in two soil materials, an alkaline and acidic one. We also cultivated Aspergillus niger, a fungus ubiquitously found in soils, in the growth medium spiked with TiO2 NP to assess accumulation of the nanoparticles in fungus. In soil suspensions, the dissolved Ti was present in low concentrations (up to 0.010 mg L−1). Most of the TiO2 NP remained in particulate form or appeared as aggregates sized 100–450 nm. In experiment on Ti accumulation by A. niger, TiO2 NP either settled down to the bottom of the flask with growth medium or were actually accumulated by the fungus; about 7.5% of TiO2 NP were accumulated in fungal mycelia. Most of the TiO2 NP remain in particulate form in soil solutions, regardless of soil pH. Filamentous fungus A. niger has the ability to accumulate bioavailable TiO2 NP, which hints at the possibility that some soil fungi can affect spatial distribution of this type of nanoparticles in soils.

Micronutrient export from glacier to fjord, southwest Greenland: potential impacts on open ocean primary productivity

&lt;p&gt;The accelerated melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet could potentially enhance fluxes of key nutrients, to the surrounding oceans, impacting marine biogeochemical processes and ecosystems. Iron (Fe) is one key micronutrient for marine phytoplankton that may be affected by this increase in meltwater flux, with high export of dissolved and particulate Fe from glacial meltwaters into fjords and a potentially significant increase in the supply of labile and potentially bioavailable Fe to the Greenlandic shelf. However, biogeochemical processing within estuarine-like fjord systems may result in depletion of nutrients, acting as a sink of micronutrients before they can reach the coastal ocean. The extent to which glacially derived micronutrients, specifically Fe, reach coastal waters remains an unanswered question.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here, we address this question by assessing the concentration of dissolved (&lt;0.45 &amp;#181;m) and labile particulate (determined using the Berger leach) bio-essential trace metals (Fe, Cd, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn) in two contrasting glaciated fjords in southwest Greenland; one fed predominantly by marine terminating glaciers and the other by a land terminating glacier. We investigate the difference in size fractionated concentrations between fjords and the transport of these metals from stations close to glacial termini down to the fjord mouths. Our findings reveal that each micronutrient exhibits a distinctive behaviour, with some metals enhanced in meltwaters (e.g. dissolved Fe and Mn) and some depleted (e.g. dissolved Cd), relative to marine waters. The spatial variability in our dataset highlights that concentration of Fe and other trace metals (Cd, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn) enriched in meltwaters become depleted towards the mouth of the fjords, with non-conservative loss from surface waters. Despite this depletion, the concentrations of these metals in waters that reach the coastal zone are significantly higher than typical surface ocean values, both in dissolved and labile particulate form. These data can ultimately be used in combination with a physical understanding of the fjord systems to constrain the capacity of fjords to enhance productivity downstream and deliver micronutrients into coastal and open ocean systems. Furthermore, the direct comparison of land- and marine-terminating glacial fjords could provide valuable information on the potential future impact of retreating glacial systems with enhanced melting.&lt;/p&gt;

Synthetic Polymer Aerogels in Particulate Form

Aerogels have been defined as solid colloidal or polymeric networks of nanoparticles that are expanded throughout their entire volume by a gas. They have high surface areas, low thermal conductivities, low dielectric constants, and high acoustic attenuation, all of which are very attractive properties for applications that range from thermal and acoustic insulation to dielectrics to drug delivery. However, one of the most important impediments to that potential has been that most efforts have been concentrated on monolithic aerogels, which are prone to defects and their production requires long and costly processing. An alternative approach is to consider manufacturing aerogels in particulate form. Recognizing that need, the European Commission funded “NanoHybrids”, a 3.5 years project under the Horizon 2020 framework with 12 industrial and academic partners aiming at aerogel particles from bio- and synthetic polymers. Biopolymer aerogels in particulate form have been reviewed recently. This mini-review focuses on the emerging field of particulate aerogels from synthetic polymers. That category includes mostly polyurea aerogels, but also some isolated cases of polyimide and phenolic resin aerogels. Particulate aerogels covered include powders, micro granules and spherical millimeter-size beads. For the benefit of the reader, in addition to the literature, some new results from our laboratory concerning polyurea particle aerogels are also included.