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Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Monitoring, removal and risk assessment of cytostatic drugs in hospital wastewater.

Cytostatic agents are applied in cancer therapy and subsequently excreted into hospital wastewater. As these substances are known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic for reproduction, they should be removed from wastewater at their source of origin.In this study the fate and effects of the cancerostatic platinum compounds (CPC) cisplatin, carboplatin, oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and the anthracyclines doxorubicin, daunorubicin and epirubicin were investigated in hospital wastewater. Wastewater from the in-patient treatment ward of a hospital in Vienna was collected and monitored for the occurrence of the selected drugs. A calculation model was established to spot the correlation between administered dosage and measured concentrations. To investigate the fate of the selected substances during wastewater treatment, the oncologic wastewater was treated in a pilot membrane bioreactor system (MBR) and in downstream advanced wastewater treatment processes (adsorption to activated carbon and UV-treatment). Genotoxic effects of the oncologic wastewater were assessed before and after wastewater treatment followed by a risk assessment.Monitoring concentrations of the selected cytostatics in the oncologic wastewater were in line with calculated concentrations. Due to different mechanisms (adsorption, biodegradation) in the MBR-system 5 - FU and the anthracyclines were removed < LOD, whereas CPC were removed by 60%. In parallel, genotoxic effects could be reduced significantly by the MBR-system. The risk for humans, the aquatic and terrestrial environment by hospital wastewater containing cytostatic drugs was classified as small in a preliminary risk assessment.     

Microbes versus microbes: control of pathogens in the food chain

Foodborne illness continues as a considerable threat to public health. Despite improved hygiene management systems and increased regulation, pathogenic bacteria still contaminate food, causing sporadic cases of illness and disease outbreaks worldwide. For many centuries, microbial antagonism has been used in food processing to improve food safety. An understanding of the mode of action of this microbial antagonism has been gained in recent years and potential applications in food and feed safety are now being explored. This review focuses on the potential opportunities presented, and the limitations, of using microbial antagonism as a biocontrol mechanism to reduce contamination along the food chain; including animal feed as its first link. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

Study of the effects of particle-phase carbon on the gas/particle partitioning of semivolatile organic compounds in the atmosphere using controlled field experiments

A controlled field experiment (CFE) methodology with a filter/sorbent sampler was used to minimize artifact effects when measuring values of the gas/particle (G/P) partitioning constant (Kp, m3 microg(-1)) for semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs) in the atmosphere. CFE sampling was conducted at three different locations (Beaverton, OR; Denver, CO; and Hills, IA). Kp values were measured for a series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). To examine the possible effects on the G/P partitioning of the amounts of organic material (om) phase, organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) in the sampled particulate material, the measured Kp values were normalized by the aerosol mass fractions f(om), f(OC), and f(EC) according to Kp/ f(om), Kp/f(OC), and Kp/f(EC). Using a log-log format, the resulting normalized values were all found to be more highly correlated with the subcooled liquid vapor pressure p(L)o than were the unnormalized Kp values. For the PAHs,the one-parameter model assuming Kp = Kp,OC f(OC) yielded only slightly less variability in the predicted Kp values than did the one-parameter model Kp = Kp,EC f(EC). The two-parameter model Kp = Kp,OC f(OC) + Kp,EC f(EC) was found to provide only small improvements over each of the one-parameter models. Overall, the data are more consistent with an absorptive mechanism of partitioning to the particulate material but do not rule out some role for adsorption to particle surfaces. The data suggest that small amounts of organic carbon (f(OC) approximately 0.02) can have significant effects on the G/P partitioning of SOCs.     

A novel dipstick developed for rapid Bet v 1-specific IgE detection: recombinant allergen immobilized via a monoclonal antibody to crystalline bacterial cell-surface layers

The incidence of allergy to airborne proteins derived from tree and grass pollen, feces of mites, spores of molds, and pet dander has been increasing over the last decades. Since precise diagnosis is a prerequisite for successful immunotherapy, there is a rising demand for rapid, reliable, and inexpensive screening methods such as dipstick assays. With the purified recombinant major birch-pollen allergen rBet v 1a as model protein, crystalline bacterial cell-surface layers (S-layers) were tested for their applicability as an immobilization matrix for dipstick development. For this purpose, S-layers were deposited on a mechanically stable microporous support, cross-linked with glutaraldehyde, and free carboxylic acid groups of the S-layer protein were activated with carbodiimide. In the present test system, rBet v 1a was immobilized via the monoclonal mouse antibody BIP 1, which, unlike the allergen, is too large to enter the pores of the S-layer lattice, and which therefore formed a closed monolayer on the outermost surface of the crystal lattice. Moreover, BIP 1 is known to modulate IgE binding to the allergen. After incubation of the dipsticks in serum, washing of the reaction zone under tap water, and binding of an anti-IgE alkaline phosphatase conjugate, 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate/nitro blue tetrazolium was used as substrate, forming an IgE concentration-dependent colored precipitate on the S-layer surface. The investigation of patient sera previously tested with the CAP system confirmed the specificity of the S-layer-based dipstick assay. Since the dipstick is easy to handle and the whole test procedure takes only 90 min, this test system should be applicable for rapid determination of specific IgE and for first screening in the doctor's practice.     

Integral Antireflective Surface Production on Optical Glass

Integral antireflective surfaces with extremely high laser-damage thresholds were prepared on optical glasses by controlled corrosion in neutral solution. Properties of such surfaces are discussed and compared with gradient antireflective surfaces produced on phase-separated borositicate glasses.     

SEM studies of the morphology and chemistry of polar ice

Determining the microphysical location of impurities in natural ice from the polar regions is necessary for understanding the physical properties of ice and for assuring the integrity of ice core records. SEM, using a cold stage and X-ray microanalytical techniques, has proved to be the most powerful method so far for undertaking such work. Methods are adapted from those used to study frozen hydrated biological material. Sublimation within the cryo-chamber is often needed in order to concentrate impurities onto a plane, but this can lead to artifacts that must be recognized. Over 100 samples from different depths and sites in Greenland and Antarctica have been examined. Typical physical features, including air bubbles, clathrate hydrates of air, and dust particles are identified. The dust is found preferentially at grain boundaries in some samples; by pinning the boundaries, it can slow grain growth. Of the soluble material, chloride seems to be found most frequently in the ice lattice. Other impurities are found at grain boundaries, and only when the bulk concentration exceeds a threshold, at triple junctions. These findings give new insights into processes determining the physical properties of ice samples and of ice sheets, and new impetus for theoretical studies of the energetics that lead to this distribution.     

ZnO with Additions of Fe2O3: Microstructure, Defects, and Fe Solubility

Zinc oxide (ZnO) crystals with additions of iron (III) oxide exhibit a characteristic inversion domain microstructure with domain boundaries on two different habit planes: parallel to {0001} basal planes and parallel to {2 1 1 5} pyramidal planes of ZnO. The structural inversion of the domains is proved by electron diffraction experiments. In the present transmission electron microscopy study, emphasis is placed on the early stages of domain formation in sintered polycrystalline material and in diffusion couples with single crystals of ZnO. For solute iron content >0.5 at.% of the cations, defects nucleate at the surface and in the interior of ZnO grains at >900°C. These primary defects propagate along the basal planes of ZnO and gradually widen in the positive c -axis direction of the ZnO host crystal. The widening along c is promoted by a second defect on {2 1 1 l } planes that moves away from the basal plane defect. The c -axis orientation in the ZnO region swept by the second defect is inverted, finally resulting in the inversion domain microstructure. A low iron content ≈0.1 at.% was measured in the inverted domains. Energy-filtered imaging and quantitative electron energy-loss spectroscopy show that the inversion domain boundaries (IDBs) parallel to the basal planes contain a full close-packed monolayer of iron whereas the pyramidal IDBs are occupied by iron with ≈2/3 of the content of the basal IDB. Based on experimental observations and arguments of structural chemistry, a mechanism is proposed explaining the nucleation and oriented growth of the inversion domains that are finally induced and driven by the trivalent iron ions at octahedral sites in the primary defects.     

Investigations of lattice location and mobility of carbon in GaAs using the channeling technique

In order to get information about the lattice location and the mobility of ¹²C in GaAs wafers, the channeling technique in combination with nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) is a powerful method. The targets were implanted with ¹²C ions (2.6 × 10¹³−2.6 × 10¹⁵cm⁻²) at energies between 60 and 3000 keV. This corresponds to implantation depths of about 0.1 to 3 μm. Using the nuclear reaction ¹²C(d, p)¹³C a depth distribution of the implanted carbon is obtained. The relationship between the concentration of ¹⁴C in random and along the 100 and 110 axial directions gives information about the substitutional lattice location of carbon within the GaAs crystal. In addition, we measured lattice defect depth distributions with a 1.5 MeV ⁴He⁺ beam before and after thermal annealing at temperatures up to 600°C.