The aim of this work was to determine the effect of various cadmium and copper concentrations on
the activated sludge dehydrogenase activity. The investigations were carried out in six aerated chambers with
activated sludge, volume of 1L each, by the continuous culture method (one control chamber, not contaminated
with heavy metals and five with 0.5; 1; 2; 4; 8 mg L-1 Cu+2 and 0.1; 0.3; 0.9; 2.7; 8.1 mg L-1 Cd2+). Cadmium
sulfate and copper sulfate as a source of heavy metals were used. The concentrations of these metal ions, causing
50% dehydrogenase activity inhibition were determined. The particular attention was paid to the toxic effect of
metal ions, as well as the variations of the microbial respiration activity proceeded during toxins exposition. The
investigation showed that even the lowest concentration of the investigated metal ions caused significant changes of the activated sludge dehydrogenases activity. Copper ions showed to be more toxic than cadmium ions.
With the increase of agricultural production, residues of crop are the main source of organic matter in the soil and they are alternatives to inorganic fertilizers. For this purpose, effects of organic residues (cotton stalk, maize stalk, almond bark) commonly grown in Turkey were investigated for some soil microbial activity in clay soil. In this study, incubation experiment was set up. Five doses (0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%) of organic residues (maize stalks, cotton stalks or almond bark) were applied to soil. Soil microbiological properties of soil samples such as CO2 respiration, dehydrogenase and urease activity were determined. According to the results obtained, maize stalk, cotton stalks and almond bark applications increased some soil microbiological activities, such as CO2 respiration, dehydrogenase and urease activities according to control soil. Maize stalk in comparison to other residues affects better on the biological properties of the soil. It is determined that enhancing effects of the added organic residues (maize stalk, cotton stalk, almond bark) into the soil were changed according to the type of organic residues, dosage and application terms.
This study aimed to determine the levels of milk cell total protein (TP), reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), total glutathione (tGSH), activities of glucose-6-phos- phate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in subclinical mastitic cows. Milk from each udder was collected and grouped by the California Mastitis Test. Then, a somatic cell count (SCC) was performed, and the groups were re-scored as control (5–87 × 103 cells), 1st group (154–381 × 103 cells), 2nd group (418–851 × 103 cells), 3rd group (914–1958 × 103 cells), and 4th group (2275–8528 × 103 cells). Milk cell TP, NADPH, tGSH levels, G6PD, and GPx ac- tivities were assessed. Microbiological diagnosis and aerobic mesophyle general organism (AMG, cfu/g) were also conducted. In mastitic milk, TP, NADPH, and tGSH levels, and G6PD and GPx activities were significantly reduced per cell (in samples of 106 cells). In addition, milk SCC was positively correlated with AMG (r=0.561, p<0.001), NADPH (r=0.380, p<0.01), TP (r=0.347, p<0.01) and G6PD (r=0.540, p<0.001). There was also positive correlation between NADPH (r=0.428, p<0.01), TP (r=0.638, p<0.001) and AMG. NADPH was positively correlated with TP (r=0.239, p<0.05), GPx (r=0.265, p<0.05) and G6PD (r=0.248, p=0.056). Total protein was positively correlated with tGSH (r=0.354, p<0.01) and G6PD (r=0.643, p<0.001). There was a negative correlation between tGSH and GPx activity (r=-0.306, p<0.05). The microbiological analysis showed the following ratio of pathogens: Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci 66.6%, Streptococcus spp 9.5%, Bacillus spp 9.5%, yeast 4.8%, and mixed infections 9.5%.
As a conclusion, when evaluating the enzyme and oxidative stress parameters in milk, it is more suitable to assign values based on cell count rather than ml of milk. The linear correlation between the SCC and AMG, milk cell NADPH, TP and G6PD suggests that these parameters could be used as markers of mastitis.
In the present work, the dried biomass of soil isolated fungus Eurotium cristatum was used for synthesizing silver na-noparticles (AgNPs). The synthesized AgNPs were spherical in shape with average diameter of 16.56 nm and displayed maximum absorbance at 418. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) study indicated the presence and binding of proteins with myco-produced silver nanoparticles. The optimum conditions for AgNPs biosynthesis were found to be at temperature of 40°C, pH of 8.0, substrate concentration of 500 ppm and fungal biomass wt. of 0.8 g. The AgNPs showed antibacterial ac-tivity against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli and Shigella flexneri. AgNPs was built-in thin film nanocomposite (TFNC) membrane and the impacts of nanomaterial composition on membrane properties and de-salination process were studied. The AgNPs produced membrane TFNC had better filtration performances than pure thin film composite membrane TFC. The TFNC membrane had enhanced water flux (32.0 vs. 16.5 dm3∙m–2∙h–1) and advanced NaCl rejection (91.7 vs. 89%) compared to the TFC membrane. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of the irrigation with desalinated water on yield and productivity of essential oil of the sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and lavender (Lavandula multifida L.). The irrigation with desalinated water reduced significantly the soil reaction, soil electri-cal conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio and exchangeable sodium percent in rhizospheric soil, it also enhanced the growth and oil yield of both plants compared with those irrigated with salt water.