Dynamic and spatially resolved mid-infrared characterization of biofilms

<p>In this contribution we present results on non-destructive chemical imaging in the mid-infrared (MIR) region of well-defined biofilms formed by <em>Pseudomonas simiae</em>. Biofilms were grown on stainless steel slides using a static biofilm model (incubation lasted for seven days at 10 °C, with repetitive medium changes). The MIR spectra correlate with fundamental molecular vibrations and are therefore characteristic for chemical composition and structure [1, 2]. Besides a brief insight into the systematic of how the investigated biofilms were grown the main focus will be on MIR spectroscopic measurements including dynamic observation of drying processes of bacteria, as well as spatially resolved scans of the steel plates with an MIR microscope. The obtained hyperspectral chemical images of biofilms were analyzed by various spectroscopic data analysis techniques.</p> <p>Furthermore, the dynamic spectroscopic observation of the drying process of planktonic <em>Pseudomonas simiae</em> cultures in nutrient solution gave insight in dynamic variances in certain functional chemical groups of the bacteria.  These variances have also been observed in biofilm samples and may correlate with vitality. The MIR chemical images, where each pixel is composed of an entire MIR spectrum (4000-400 cm<sup>-1</sup>) provide detailed information of the investigated biofilms such as their composition and spatial structure. The overlay with conventional microscope images relates spectroscopic to visual data, both laterally resolved in the µm-range, over a scan area of up to 10 x 40 mm².</p> <p>The variation of the vibrational bands was screened, revealing high and low variance bands, to identify certain spectral regions suitable for classification of the investigated biofilm samples. Characteristic spectral bands were found and related to data from literature. Furthermore, differences in the spatial distribution of proteins and carbohydrates as part of the bacteria and extracellular polymeric substances were clearly identified.</p> <p>Acknowledgment:  <br />This work was created within a research project of the des Austrian Competence Centre for Feed and Food Quality, Safety and Innovation (FFoQSI). The COMET-K1 competence centre FFoQSI is funded by the Austrian ministries BMVIT, BMDW and the Austrian provinces Niederoesterreich, Upper Austria and Vienna within the scope of COMET -Competence Centers for Excellent Technologies. The programme COMET is handled by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG.</p> <p>References:<br />[1] Andreas Schwaighofer, Markus Brandstetter and  Bernhard Lendl , “Quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) in biomedical spectroscopy”, Chem. Soc. Rev. 46, 5903-5924 (2017)<br />[2] Jakob Kilgus, Gregor Langer, Kristina Duswald, Robert Zimmerleiter, Ivan Zorin, Thomas Berer, and Markus Brandstetter, "Diffraction limited mid-infrared reflectance microspectroscopy with a supercontinuum laser," Opt. Express 26, 30644-30654 (2018)</p>

Swiss 3R Competence Centre: Promoting the 3Rs implementation

This contribution describes the history and activity of the Swiss 3R Competence Centre (3RCC), which has been founded in 2018. Among the most relevant activities, a call for project proposals on 3Rs was launched in 2018, with 47 proposals received for selection, followed by a call for nominations for a 3Rs award, which will be announced in Sept. 2019. Implementation of a 3Rs educational program has also been carried out since 2018. The 3RCC is also developing an e-Learning module to promote the implementation of alternatives to animal testing. Finally, the centre activity is addressed to help fostering good experimental design and biostatistics practices and support.

The Whole-Institution Approach at the University of Tübingen: Sustainable Development Set in Practice

In the following paper, we scrutinize understandings and values behind Sustainable Development (SD) in a case study of the University of Tübingen, Germany. In so doing, we adopt the perspective of the whole-institution approach of SD. We do not only analyze documents, but combine our investigations with empirical research on key actors’ understandings and values of SD, as well as the competencies and the knowledge to set SD in practice. First, we demonstrate that actors’ understandings and the values behind them at the University of Tübingen are in accord with the United Nations’ understanding of SD (‘Brundtland Report’). Second, we show that at the University of Tübingen, many actors already work in line with the whole-institution approach; this shall be further fostered and strengthened by the Competence Centre for SD. Finally, we demonstrate that both knowledge and competencies are fundamental to act for SD. It is suggested that the University of Tübingen should explicitly adopt the general understanding of SD in the above-mentioned sense, and develop a sustainability strategy, not least in order to support the actors to acquire specific knowledge to reach SD for the whole university. Finally, we discuss the potential and limits of transferring the findings to other Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and the challenges of necessary global perspectives.