Background
The increasing production of nanoplastics and the fragmentation of microplastics into smaller particles suggest a plausible yet unclear hazard in the natural environment, such as soil. We ...investigated the short-term effects (28 days) of polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) on the activity and biomass of soil microbiota, and the functional diversity of soil enzymes at environmental relevant low levels in an incubation experiment.
Results
Our results showed a significant decrease in microbial biomass in treatments of 100 and 1000 ng PS-NP g
−1
DM throughout the incubation period. Dehydrogenase activity and activities of enzymes involved in
N
-(leucine-aminopeptidase),
P
-(alkaline-phosphatase), and C-(β-glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase) cycles in the soil were significantly reduced at day 28 suggesting a broad and detrimental impact of PS-NPs on soil microbiota and enzymes. Leucine-aminopeptidase and alkaline-phosphatase activities tended to decrease consistently, while β-glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase activities increased at high concentrations (e.g., PS-NP-1000) in the beginning of the incubation period, e.g., at day 1. On the other hand, basal respiration and metabolic quotient increased with increasing PS-NP application rate throughout the incubation period possibly due to increased cell death that caused substrate-induced respiration (cryptic growth).
Conclusions
We herewith demonstrated for the first time the potential antimicrobial activity of PS-NPs in soil, and this may serve as an important resource in environmental risk assessment of PS-NPs in the soil environment.
We present the first measurements of the double ratio of the polarization-transfer components (Px′/Pz′)p/(Px′/Pz′)s for knock-out protons from the s and p shells in C12 measured by the C12(e→,e′p→) ...reaction in quasi-elastic kinematics. The data are compared to theoretical predictions in the relativistic distorted-wave impulse approximation. Our results show that the differences between s- and p-shell protons, observed when compared at the same initial momentum (missing momentum), largely disappear when the comparison is done at the same proton virtuality. We observe no difference in medium modifications between protons from the s and p shells with the same virtuality in spite of the large differences in the respective nuclear densities.
Over the last decades, the medical device industry has grown significantly. Complex and highly functionalized medical devices and implants are being developed to improve patient treatment and to ...enhance their health-related quality of life. However, medical devices from this new generation often cannot be sterilized by standard methods such as autoclaving or sterilizing gases, as they are temperature sensitive, containing electronic components like sensors and microchips, or consist of polymers. Gamma irradiation for sterilization of such products is also problematic due to long processing times under highly reactive conditions resulting in material degradation or loss of functionality. Low-energy electron-beam treatment could enable irradiation sterilization of medical surfaces within seconds. This method is very fast in comparison to gamma irradiation because of its high dose rate and therefore degradation processes of polymers can be reduced or even prevented. Additionally, electron penetration depth can be precisely controlled to prevent damage of sensitive components like electronics and semiconductors.
The presented study focuses on two key aspects: 1.) Can new and highly functionalized medical products in future be sterilized using low-energy electron-beam irradiation; and 2.) Is the low-energy electron-beam technology suitable to be set up on-site to speed up sterilization processing or make it available “just-in-time”. To address these questions, different test specimens were chosen with complex geometry or electronic functional parts to gather information about the limitations and chances for this new approach. The test specimens were inoculated with clinical relevant test organisms (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) as well as with approved radiation resistant organisms (Deinococcus radiodurans and Bacillus pumilus) to prove the suitability of low-energy electron-beam treatment for the above-mentioned medical products. The calculation of the D10 value for B. pumilus revealed equal efficacy when compared to standard high-energy irradiation sterilization. All of the above-mentioned germs were successfully inactivated by low-energy electron-beam treatment when test specimens were inoculated with a germ load > 10^6 CFU and treated with doses ≥ 10 kGy (for B. pumilus and P. aeruginosa) and > 300 kGy (for D. radiodurans) respectively. As an example, for specialized electronic components to be sterilized, an impedance sensor for cell culture applications was sterilized and unimpaired functionality was demonstrated even after five repeated sterilization cycles to a total dose of 50 kGy. To address the second aspect of on-site suitability of this technology, the product handling for low-energy electron-beam treatment had to be adapted to minimize the size of the electron-beam facility. Therefore, a mini electron-beam source was used and a specialized sample holder and 3D-handling regime were developed to allow reproducible surface treatment for complex product geometries. Inactivation of B. pumilus inoculated medical screws (> 10^6 CFU) was successful using the developed handling procedure. In addition, a packaging material (PET12/PE50) for medical products was investigated for its suitability for low-energy irradiation sterilization. Biocompatibility assessment revealed the material to be eligible for this application as even overdoses did not impair the biocompatibility of the material.
With these results, the principal suitability of low-energy electron-beam treatment for sterilization of medical products containing electronics like sensors is demonstrated. The low-energy technology and the specialized 3D-handling regime allow the on-site setup of the technology in hospitals, medical practices or any other point of care.
•Inactivation of contaminated 3D objects by low-energy electron-beam treatment.•Adapted handling scheme for complete electron-beam surface treatment.•Reproducible inactivation of bacillus spores and clinically relevant pathogens.•Unaltered biocompatibility after electron-beam treatment of investigated devices.•Maintained functionality of impedance sensors after repeated treatment.
We report on the first Q^{2}-dependent measurement of the beam-normal single spin asymmetry A_{n} in the elastic scattering of 570 MeV vertically polarized electrons off ^{12}C. We cover the Q^{2} ...range between 0.02 and 0.05 GeV^{2}/c^{2} and determine A_{n} at four different Q^{2} values. The experimental results are compared to a theoretical calculation that relates A_{n} to the imaginary part of the two-photon exchange amplitude. The result emphasizes that the Q^{2} behavior of A_{n} given by the ratio of the Compton to charge form factors cannot be treated independently of the target nucleus.
We report measurements of the induced polarization P→ of protons knocked out from 2H and 12C via the A(e,e′p→) reaction. We have studied the dependence of P→ on two kinematic variables: the missing ...momentum pmiss and the “off-coplanarity” angle ϕpq between the scattering and reaction planes. For the full 360° range in ϕpq, both the normal (Py) and, for the first time, the transverse (Px) components of the induced polarization were measured with respect to the coordinate system associated with the scattering plane. Px vanishes in coplanar kinematics, however in non-coplanar kinematics, it is on the same scale as Py.
We find that the dependence on ϕpq is sine-like for Px and cosine-like for Py. For carbon, the magnitude of the induced polarization is especially large when protons are knocked out from the p3/2 shell at very small pmiss. For the deuteron, the induced polarization is near zero at small |pmiss|, and its magnitude increases with |pmiss|. For both nuclei such behavior is reproduced qualitatively by theoretical results, driven largely by the spin-orbit part of the final-state interactions. However, for both nuclei, sizeable discrepancies exist between experiment and theory.
We present measurements of the polarization-transfer components in the H2(e→,e′p→) reaction, covering a previously unexplored kinematic region with large positive (anti-parallel) missing momentum, ...pmiss, up to 220MeV/c, and Q2=0.65(GeV/c)2. These measurements, performed at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI), were motivated by theoretical calculations which predict small final-state interaction (FSI) effects in these kinematics, making them favorable for searching for medium modifications of bound nucleons in nuclei. We find in this kinematic region that the measured polarization-transfer components Px and Pz and their ratio agree with the theoretical calculations, which use free-proton form factors. Using this, we establish upper limits on possible medium effects that modify the bound proton's form factor ratio GE/GM at the level of a few percent. We also compare the measured polarization-transfer components and their ratio for 2H to those of a free (moving) proton. We find that the universal behavior of 2H, 4He and 12C in the double ratio (Px/Pz)A(Px/Pz)H1 is maintained in the positive missing-momentum region.
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