Solar irradiation is the process by which sunlight eradicates bacterial growth. In the study, samples of river water and partially processed water from wastewater treatment plants were treated with the solar disinfection unit. Results showed that 99 % of bacteria in highly contaminated samples were disinfected after less than 30 minutes of exposure to midday sunlight.
"A solar disinfection unit has been designed and successfully tested for disinfection of contaminated water under polychromatic solar light," say the researchers. "Our solar disinfection unit may be more efficient than other units because the exposure surface exceeds that of other tested units, thus maximizing the irradiation time."
(L.F. Caslake, D.J. Connolly, V. Menon, C.M. Duncanson, R. Rojas, J. Tavakoli. 2003. Disinfection of contaminated water by using solar irradiation. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 70. 2: 1145-1150.)
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SOURDOUGH BREAD TOLERATED BY CELIAC SPRUE PATIENTS
Sourdough bread containing select bacteria may be tolerated by patients with a rare digestive disease that causes gluten intolerance, say Italian and Irish researchers. Their findings appear in the February 2004 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Celiac Sprue (CS), one of the most common food intolerances in Western culture, is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. A gluten-free diet has been the only treatment option available to patients up to this point.
In the study, sourdough containing wheat, nontoxic oat, millet, and buckwheat flours was mixed with lactobacilli and fermented for twenty-four hours. CS patients were able to tolerate
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Contact: Jim Sliwa
jsliwa@asmusa.org
202-942-9297
American Society for Microbiology
17-Feb-2004