In recent years, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) has attracted growing interest, as it is an effective method for the rapid extraction of a number of compounds from food and environmental samples, with extraction efficiency comparable to that of classical techniques. In particular, recently, numerous analytical applications of this technique dealt with the extraction of natural compounds a...

Two PCR primer pairs were designed to amplify rRNA genes (rDNA) from all four major phyla of fungi: Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridomycota, and Zygomycota. PCRs performed with these primers showed that both pairs amplify DNA from organisms representing the major taxonomic groups of fungi but not from nonfungal sources. To test the ability of the primers to amplify fungal rDNA from environmen...

Following detection of putative Francisella species in aerosol samples from Houston, Texas, we surveyed soil and water samples from the area for the agent of tularemia, Francisella tularensis, and related species. The initial survey used 16S rRNA gene primers to detect Francisella species and related organisms by PCR amplification of DNA extracts from environmental samples. This analysis indica...

Triclosan (TCS) has been widely used as an antibacterial and antifungal agent in household cleaning and personal care products. The widespread use of TCS in the cleaning products poses a potential risk to the ecological system and human health due to its release into sediments, wastewater and ground water resources causing chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms. Therefore, it is necessary to dev...

We designed PCR primers by using the DNA sequences of the soluble methane monooxygenase gene clusters of Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b and Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath), and these primers were found to be specific for four of the five structural genes in the soluble methane monooxygenase gene clusters of several methanotrophs. We also designed primers for the gram-negative methylotroph-spec...

Taking into account that paracoccidioidomycosis infection occurs by inhalation of the asexual conidia produced by Paracoccidioides spp. in its saprobic phase, this work presents the collection of aerosol samples as an option for environmental detection of this pathogen, by positioning a cyclonic air sampler at the entrance of armadillo burrows. Methods included direct culture, extinction techni...

Two simple, sensitive, rapid, accurate and precise spectrophotometric methods were developed for the analysis of parts per million levels of widely used carbamate pesticide Carbendazim. The first proposed method A is based on the Oxidation followed by complex formation product with 2,2-Bipyridyl – Fe(III) to form orange colored chromophore exhibiting absorption maximum at 512 nm with apparent m...

1Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health Science, School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 2Southeast Regional Laboratory, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Atlanta, GA, USA 3Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary 4Royal Hobart Hospital, University of Tasmania School of Medicine, Hobart, TAS, Austra...