Not only would the application of biostimulant formulations boost vegetable yields under typical and different biotic stress circumstances, but it will also be user ecologically friendly. Due to their hydrophobic character huge molecular volumes, production highly stable (~ 2 years shelf-life) emulsifiable concentrate (EC) is bottleneck plant growth regulator uses. Gibberellic acid (0.25% EC) B...

The biodegradability of the principal component of synthetic detergent products known as linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS) has been contentious, hence the need to evaluate its primary biodegradation by indigenous microorganisms in wastewater ecosystem. The native microbial consortium of a wastewater ecosystem found to utilize detergent components were characterized using standard and convent...

Microbial degradation of the chiral 2-phenylbutyric acid (2-PBA), a metabolite of surfactant linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS), was investigated using both racemic and enantiomer-pure compounds together with quantitative stereoselective analyses. A pure culture of bacteria, identified as Xanthobacter flavus strain PA1 isolated from the mangrove sediment of Hong Kong Mai Po Nature Reserve, wa...

The GREAT-ER (Geo-referenced Regional Exposure Assessment Tool for European Rivers) project team has developed and validated an accurate aquatic chemical exposure prediction tool for use within environmental risk assessment schemes. The software system GREAT-ER 1.0 calculates the distribution of predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) of consumer chemicals in surface waters, for individua...

Microbial proteases, especially from Bacillus spp., have been widely exploited for a broad variety of applications, such as the improvement cleaning efficiency conventional detergents. In this work, statistical design experiment was used to optimize concentrations three-component mixture: licheniformis SMIA-2 protease, Linear Alkylbenzene Sulphate and hydrogen peroxide, in an attempt prepare en...

Concentrations of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) were measured in surface waters and sediments from the Coosa River watershed to examine their distribution downstream of a suspected source. Samples from eight sites were analyzed using liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry. To examine PFC bioaccumulation, sediments were also utilized in 28-d exposures with the aquatic oligochaete, Lumbr...

A reliable sperm cell toxicity test procedure has been developed for the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. The sensitivity and discriminatory ability of the test were investigated with regard to surfactants and their biotransformation products. Aromatic and aliphatic surfactants of anionic (linear alkylbenzene sulfonates [LAS]) and nonionic (alcohol polyethoxylates [AE] and nonylp...

Eutrophication and contamination by toxic organic pollutants are the major problems in water quality management. Despite the fact that both problems have been subjected to extensive research and modelling, they have traditionally been treated separately. Because the models used are single-issue models, many interactions between nutrient cycles and organic contaminant fate and effect are missed....