Sodic soils have low organic carbon content, microbial load and their activities which were the biological indicators of soil health. Soil organic carbon is the kay factor which derives the soil functions. A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different amendments and micronutrient mixture on soil biological properties. Gypsum+GM, DSW (distillery spent wash) and GLM (Glyricidi...

Data on the occurrence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), in parallel with those obtained for bacterial indicators and amoebae, are presented with the aim to collect information on the spread of NTM in drinking water distribution systems in Italy. Samples were collected from taps of hospitals and households in Central and Southern Italy. The concentration values obtained for the more tradit...

Microbial quality of reclaimed water used for irrigation in two golf courses located in the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was evaluated. Bacterial indicators for faecal pollution (total and faecal coliforms, Escherichia coli and enterococci) were tested by membrane filtration using appropriate selective media. In addition, somatic E. coli bacteriophages, enteric viruses (enter...

Culture-based methods for fecal indicator microorganisms are the standard protocol to assess potential health risk from drinking water systems. However, these traditional fecal indicators are inappropriate surrogates for disinfection-resistant fecal pathogens and the indigenous pathogens that grow in drinking water systems. There is now a range of molecular-based methods, such as quantitative P...

A study was conducted to evaluate the. use of volatile organic microbial metabolites, particularly geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, as indicators of activity of specific groups of microorganisms (actinomycetes, bacteria, or fungi) in soil. Substrates and selective antibiotics were added to soil microcosms to establish different soil microbial communities; volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the...

Interest in the use of active and intelligent packaging systems for meat and meat products has increased in recent years. Active packaging refers to the incorporation of additives into packaging systems with the aim of maintaining or extending meat product quality and shelf-life. Active packaging systems discussed include oxygen scavengers, carbon dioxide scavengers and emitters, moisture contr...

Soil microbial communities are very sensitive to changes in land use and are often used as indicators of soil fertility. We evaluated the microbial communities in the soils of four types of vegetation (cropland (CP), natural grassland (NG), broadleaf forest (BF) and coniferous forest (CF)) at depths of 0–10 and 10–20 cm on the Loess Plateau in China using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profilin...