<i>Escherichia coli</i> O157 is a food borne pathogen of increasing public health concern worldwide. Cattle have been implicated as the primary reservoir of <i>E. coli</i> O157. The fact that the livestock industry has rapidly expanded in Saskatchewan makes it imperative to have a clear scientific understanding of the prevalence of <i>E. coli</i> O157 in this province as well as its survival in soil under ambient conditions.<p>Longitudinal and point studies were employed to determine the prevalence of <i>E. coli</i> O157 among Saskatchewans cattle. During a 2-year period, 23 feedlot and cattle operations were examined and an overall prevalence of 15.6% was reported. The most important finding was that the prevalence rates were highly dependent on cattle density. All <i>E. coli</i> O157 isolates obtained from this study were characterized by using multiplex PCR, RAPD fingerprinting, a Vero cell cytotoxicity assay and antibiotic susceptibility tests. This characterization revealed a surprisingly highly virulent and heterogenous population of <i>E. coli</i> O157 isolates. <p>Subsequently, the survival characteristics of <i>E. coli</i> O157:H7 ATCC 43894 in sterile soil and manure-amended soil microcosms, as well as in situ under ambient environmental conditions were examined. Findings from this work indicated that desiccation had the most lethal effect on cell viability, whereas nutritionally-rich soils significantly increased survival times of the pathogen population. <p>A final study was designed to examine the survival strategy of hyper- and hypothermally adapted <i>E. coli</i> O157 cells exposed to high and low temperatures, with specific focus on the role of RpoS. Using wild type and its rpoS null allele <i>E. coli</i> O157 strains, in combination with 2D PAGE, It was found that both heat and cold post-acclimation stimulons consisted of two large sub-groups: (i) stress proteins, and (ii) housekeeping proteins. Comparative proteomic analyses revealed that the GroEL/S chaperonin complex and Pnp ribonuclease played a crucial role in growth resumption during high and low temperatures, respectively. Notably, RpoS had no control over key stress proteins in either stress stimulon. RpoS, however, showed a significantly more pronounced role during cold temperatures, where it was seen to regulate key proteins involved in homoeoviscous adaptation as well as various housekeeping proteins of both stress stimulons.

<i>Escherichia coli</i> O157 is a food borne pathogen of increasing public health concern worldwide. Cattle have been implicated as the primary reservoir of <i>E. coli</i> O157. The fact that the livestock industry has rapidly expanded in Saskatchewan makes it imperative to have a clear scientific understanding of the prevalence of <i>E. coli</i> O157 in this province as well as its survival in soil under ambient conditions.<p>Longitudinal and point studies were employed to determine the prevalence of <i>E. coli</i> O157 among Saskatchewans cattle. During a 2-year period, 23 feedlot and cattle operations were examined and an overall prevalence of 15.6% was reported. The most important finding was that the prevalence rates were highly dependent on cattle density. All <i>E. coli</i> O157 isolates obtained from this study were characterized by using multiplex PCR, RAPD fingerprinting, a Vero cell cytotoxicity assay and antibiotic susceptibility tests. This characterization revealed a surprisingly highly virulent and heterogenous population of <i>E. coli</i> O157 isolates. <p>Subsequently, the survival characteristics of <i>E. coli</i> O157:H7 ATCC 43894 in sterile soil and manure-amended soil microcosms, as well as in situ under ambient environmental conditions were examined. Findings from this work indicated that desiccation had the most lethal effect on cell viability, whereas nutritionally-rich soils significantly increased survival times of the pathogen population. <p>A final study was designed to examine the survival strategy of hyper- and hypothermally adapted <i>E. coli</i> O157 cells exposed to high and low temperatures, with specific focus on the role of RpoS. Using wild type and its rpoS null allele <i>E. coli</i> O157 strains, in combination with 2D PAGE, It was found that both heat and cold post-acclimation stimulons consisted of two large sub-groups: (i) stress proteins, and (ii) housekeeping proteins. Comparative proteomic analyses revealed that the GroEL/S chaperonin complex and Pnp ribonuclease played a crucial role in growth resumption during high and low temperatures, respectively. Notably, RpoS had no control over key stress proteins in either stress stimulon. RpoS, however, showed a significantly more pronounced role during cold temperatures, where it was seen to regulate key proteins involved in homoeoviscous adaptation as well as various housekeeping proteins of both stress stimulons.

Resumo: Infecções do trato urinário (ITU) são muito frequentes, perdendo apenas para as respiratórias. Este trabalho determinou a incidência de bactérias causadoras de ITU em pacientes de Curitiba e realizou análise de grupos filogenéticos e fatores de virulência em 313 estirpes de Escherichia coli, o principal patógeno urinário. Pacientes foram divididos em classes levando-se em conta características que influenciam aquisição e desenvolvimento de ITU: mulheres abaixo de 14 anos, de 14-47 anos (idade fértil), gestantes, mulheres acima de 47 anos (climatério), diabéticas e homens. No geral, a bactéria Escherichia coli se confirmou como bactéria mais prevalente (54,7%), seguida por Streptococcus agalactiae (18,8%), Proteus mirabilis (5,6%), Enterococcus spp (5,2%), Staphylococcus spp (4,8%) e Klebsiella spp (3,9%). Houve diferença significativa na distribuição das bactérias entre as classes de pacientes. Com relação à filogenia de E. coli, o grupo D foi o que mais ocorreu, seguido pelos grupos A, B2 e B1 respectivamente. Entre os homens, porém, o grupo B2 foi mais frequente, e as diabéticas apresentaram distribuição diferente do restante das mulheres. Os fatores de virulência que mais ocorreram foram traT e aer, seguidos de PAICFT073I, hemólise em ágar sangue, sfa, pap, cnf1, afa, formação de cápsula e hly. A ocorrência do gene aer foi significativamente maior entre as mulheres menores de 14 anos. Os grupos filogenéticos B2 e D apresentaram mais fatores de virulência que os grupos A e B1. Foram avaliadas as contagens de bactérias e de leucócitos do exame parcial de urina, sendo que as mulheres de 14-47 anos, independente de gestação, apresentaram mais bactérias que os demais. Mulheres abaixo de 14 anos e homens tiveram maior quantidade de leucócitos. O antibiograma também foi analisado: quinolonas apresentaram maior resistência entre os pacientes mais idosos. Na análise por grupos filogenéticos, B2 mostrou maior sensibilidade às quinolonas em relação aos outros grupos.

nÃo hà / A descarga de efluentes das indÃstrias tÃxteis para corpos aquosos Ã, correntemente, uma das maiores preocupaÃÃes dos ambientalistas em funÃÃo dos corantes sintÃticos usados para colorir os tecidos poluindo assim o ambiente. A aplicaÃÃo de tratamentos biolÃgicos, sobretudo com a utilizaÃÃo de bactÃrias, apresenta-se como um dos mais viÃveis economicamente, sendo um dos sistemas mais utilizados para descolorir efluentes coloridos. Neste sentido, estudos foram realizados testes para a remoÃÃo de cor dos corantes Remazol Brilliant Blue R, Orange G e Orange II utilizando cepas de Escherichia coli e de Aeromonas hydrophila, isoladas e em cultura mista. Primeiramente foi feito o isolamento das cepas bacterianas de trÃs ambientes diferentes. Em seguida, foram feitos testes para verificar qual concentraÃÃo do corante seria limite para o crescimento de cada microrganismo. AlÃm dos testes de descoloraÃÃo tambÃm foram monitorados outros parÃmetros como o pH, biomassa, remoÃÃo de DQO, proteÃnas totais e toxicidade dos metabÃlitos formados. A cepa Escherichia coli, isolada do ambiente marinho, foi capaz de descolorir concentraÃÃes de 2, 5 e 2 mg L-1, respectivamente, para os corante RBBR, Orange G e Orange II, enquanto que a cepa E. coli, isolada do efluente tÃxtil, descoloriu nas concentraÃÃes de 5, 0,5 e 5 mg L-1, respectivamente. A bactÃria Aeromonas hydrophila descoloriu respectivamente nas concentraÃÃes de 10, 5 e 5 mg L-1, enquanto que o consÃrcio das trÃs bactÃrias descoloriu na concentraÃÃo de 5 mg L-1 para os trÃs corantes testados individualmente. Nessas condiÃÃes de cultivo a diminuiÃÃo na taxa de DQO variou entre 45 e 69%, com a menor taxa observada no ensaio contendo A. hydrophila e o corante Orange II (45%) e a maior taxa de remoÃÃo no ensaio contendo o consÃrcio e o corante RBBR (69%). Bioensaios utilizando o microcrustÃceo Artemia salina mostraram que durante o processo de descoloraÃÃo foram produzidos metabÃlitos com caracterÃsticas recalcitrantes. Os resultados demonstram que as bactÃrias Escherichia coli e Aeromonas hydrophila apresentam potencial biotecnolÃgico na descoloraÃÃo de corantes tÃxteis, desde que sejam utilizadas baixas concentraÃÃes dos corantes / The discharge of effluents from textile industries for water bodies is currently a major concern for environmentalists as a function of synthetic dyes used to color fabrics thus polluting the environment. Biological treatments, especially with the use of bacteria, present themselves as the most economically viable and widely used to decolorize colored effluents. Thus, studies were conducted to test the color removal of dyes Remazol Brilliant Blue R, Orange G and Orange II using isolated and in mixed culture strains of Escherichia coli and Aeromonas hydrophila. Firstly, the isolation of bacterial strains from three different environments was made. Then, tests were performed to verify that the dye concentration would limit the growth of each microorganism. In addition to tests of decolorization, other parameters such as pH, biomass, COD removal, total protein and toxicity of metabolites were also monitored. The Escherichia coli strain isolated from the marine environment was able to decolorize concentrations of 2, 5 and 2 mg L-1, respectively, for the RBBR dye, Orange G and Orange II dyes, while the strain E. coli isolated from textile effluent, decolorized in concentrations of 5, 0.5 and 5 mg L-1, respectively. The bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila decolorized, respectively, at 10, 5 and 5 mg L-1, while the consortium of three bacteria decolorized at concentration of 5 mg L-1 for the three dyes tested individually. In these culture conditions the decrease in the rate of COD ranged from 45% to 69% with the lowest rate observed in the assay containing A. hydrophila and dye Orange II (45%) and the highest removal rate in the test containing the dye RBBR and the consortium (69%). Bioassays using Artemia salina showed that during the process of decolorization metabolites were produced with recalcitrant characteristics. The results show that the bacteria Escherichia coli and Aeromonas hydrophila have biotechnological potential in textile dyes, provided that they use low dye concentrations decolorizing

Presented master’s thesis is focused on the study of the elementary inactivation processes acting during sterilization of procaryotic systems in dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). Sterilization is an important biomedical and food-industry application and plasma sterilization is one of the methods, which are suitable for sterilization of heat and chemical sensitive materials. Biologically contaminated samples were treated in dielectric barrier discharge operated at atmospheric pressure. The discharge was generated in argon and in nitrogen. The plasma power density was 2725,93 mW cm–3 in argon and 2325,93 mW cm–3 in nitrogen. Gram positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis and gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli were used as a bioindicator. Bacteria were spread onto the surface of Whatman No.1 filtration paper. The influence of UV radiation, reactive species, heat and plasma discharge where the synergistic function of all of the agents was studied. Effects of UV radiation and temperature were studied separately. In order to separate the effect of UV radiation generated by DBD the quartz glass transmitting UV radiation was employed. During the plasma exposition selected samples were covered with the quartz window while other samples were directly exposed to the plasma. Covered samples were exposed to UV radiation and temperature (which cannot be eliminated), samples without quartz window were directly plasma exposed (treated). Results show that for covered samples the lower inactivation was reached than by the samples directly exposed to plasma. When studying the effect of temperature, the temperature between the DBD electrodes was measured by means of a thermocouple. Afterwards the samples were placed in an oven and exposed to the same temperature as was measured between the electrodes. By comparing the results of heat treated samples and plasma treated samples it can be assumed that the influence of the temperature during the sterilization process in DBD is very low. The discharge parameters were studied by means of the Optical Emission Spectroscopy. Plasma treated samples were assessed employing Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Damage of Bacillus subtilis cell wall due to the effect of plasma was observed while no effect of plasma on the structure of filtration paper was detected.

VASCONCELOS, Fábio Roger. Bactérias com Potencial Biotecnológico na Descoloração de Corantes Têxteis. 2010. 64 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Fortaleza-CE, 2010 / Submitted by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-07-14T12:39:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2010_dis_frvasconcelos.pdf: 490074 bytes, checksum: c033f812460c47d5fd980f329dc81fa3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-07-14T12:40:02Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2010_dis_frvasconcelos.pdf: 490074 bytes, checksum: c033f812460c47d5fd980f329dc81fa3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-14T12:40:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2010_dis_frvasconcelos.pdf: 490074 bytes, checksum: c033f812460c47d5fd980f329dc81fa3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / The discharge of effluents from textile industries for water bodies is currently a major concern for environmentalists as a function of synthetic dyes used to color fabrics thus polluting the environment. Biological treatments, especially with the use of bacteria, present themselves as the most economically viable and widely used to decolorize colored effluents. Thus, studies were conducted to test the color removal of dyes Remazol Brilliant Blue R, Orange G and Orange II using isolated and in mixed culture strains of Escherichia coli and Aeromonas hydrophila. Firstly, the isolation of bacterial strains from three different environments was made. Then, tests were performed to verify that the dye concentration would limit the growth of each microorganism. In addition to tests of decolorization, other parameters such as pH, biomass, COD removal, total protein and toxicity of metabolites were also monitored. The Escherichia coli strain isolated from the marine environment was able to decolorize concentrations of 2, 5 and 2 mg L-1, respectively, for the RBBR dye, Orange G and Orange II dyes, while the strain E. coli isolated from textile effluent, decolorized in concentrations of 5, 0.5 and 5 mg L-1, respectively. The bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila decolorized, respectively, at 10, 5 and 5 mg L-1, while the consortium of three bacteria decolorized at concentration of 5 mg L-1 for the three dyes tested individually. In these culture conditions the decrease in the rate of COD ranged from 45% to 69% with the lowest rate observed in the assay containing A. hydrophila and dye Orange II (45%) and the highest removal rate in the test containing the dye RBBR and the consortium (69%). Bioassays using Artemia salina showed that during the process of decolorization metabolites were produced with recalcitrant characteristics. The results show that the bacteria Escherichia coli and Aeromonas hydrophila have biotechnological potential in textile dyes, provided that they use low dye concentrations decolorizing / A descarga de efluentes das indústrias têxteis para corpos aquosos é, correntemente, uma das maiores preocupações dos ambientalistas em função dos corantes sintéticos usados para colorir os tecidos poluindo assim o ambiente. A aplicação de tratamentos biológicos, sobretudo com a utilização de bactérias, apresenta-se como um dos mais viáveis economicamente, sendo um dos sistemas mais utilizados para descolorir efluentes coloridos. Neste sentido, estudos foram realizados testes para a remoção de cor dos corantes Remazol Brilliant Blue R, Orange G e Orange II utilizando cepas de Escherichia coli e de Aeromonas hydrophila, isoladas e em cultura mista. Primeiramente foi feito o isolamento das cepas bacterianas de três ambientes diferentes. Em seguida, foram feitos testes para verificar qual concentração do corante seria limite para o crescimento de cada microrganismo. Além dos testes de descoloração também foram monitorados outros parâmetros como o pH, biomassa, remoção de DQO, proteínas totais e toxicidade dos metabólitos formados. A cepa Escherichia coli, isolada do ambiente marinho, foi capaz de descolorir concentrações de 2, 5 e 2 mg L-1, respectivamente, para os corante RBBR, Orange G e Orange II, enquanto que a cepa E. coli, isolada do efluente têxtil, descoloriu nas concentrações de 5, 0,5 e 5 mg L-1, respectivamente. A bactéria Aeromonas hydrophila descoloriu respectivamente nas concentrações de 10, 5 e 5 mg L-1, enquanto que o consórcio das três bactérias descoloriu na concentração de 5 mg L-1 para os três corantes testados individualmente. Nessas condições de cultivo a diminuição na taxa de DQO variou entre 45 e 69%, com a menor taxa observada no ensaio contendo A. hydrophila e o corante Orange II (45%) e a maior taxa de remoção no ensaio contendo o consórcio e o corante RBBR (69%). Bioensaios utilizando o microcrustáceo Artemia salina mostraram que durante o processo de descoloração foram produzidos metabólitos com características recalcitrantes. Os resultados demonstram que as bactérias Escherichia coli e Aeromonas hydrophila apresentam potencial biotecnológico na descoloração de corantes têxteis, desde que sejam utilizadas baixas concentrações dos corantes