Studies have reported that cell density, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, and redox reactions, can induce bioluminescence in bacteria. Conversely, the relationship between seawater components and luminescence is not well understood. The efficacy of marine luminous bacteria as biosensors, and their reactivity to fungicides (for example postharvest pesticides) are also unknown. Therefore, we studied the relationship between the luminescence of Aliivibrio fischeri and the composition of artificial seawater media and analyzed the toxicity of fungicides using A. fischeri grown only with the elements essential to induce luminescence. Luminescence was activated in the presence of KCl, NaHCO₃, and MgSO₄. In addition, we cultivated A. fischeri with other compounds, including K⁺, HCO₃^-, and SO₄^2- ions. These results suggested that A. fischeri requires K⁺, HCO₃^-, and SO₄^2- ions to activate cell density-independent luminescence. Additionally, A. fischeri cultured in 2.81% NaCl solutions containing KCl, NaHCO₃, and MgSO₄ exhibited a decrease in luminescence in the presence of sodium orthophenylphenol at >10 ppm. This result suggests that A. fischeri can be used as a biosensor to detect the presence of sodium ortho-phenylphenol.

　Silicone is widely used in packing materials, medical equipment, and separation membranes. Since microbial cells easily adhere to the surface of silicone materials and form biofilms, techniques for incorporating antimicrobial activity into silicone materials are in high demand. This study describes the preparation of silver (Ag)/silicone composite membranes through a simple two-step immersion process, utilizing an iodine solution followed by a silver nitrate solution at room temperature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations revealed that particles with sizes of several nanometers to several tens of nanometers were present on the silicone membrane surface; these particles were identified as silver iodide using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) . The Ag/silicone membrane possessed excellent antibacterial efficacy against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and the antibacterial efficacy (R) against both types of bacteria was R > 4, even after stomacher treatment or acidic treatment of pH 2-6 for 24 h. The mechanical strength of the silicone membrane was also maintained after antibacterial treatment, with Young’s modulus values of 7.9±1.2 MPa and 8.3±1.5 MPa for the untreated membrane and Ag/silicone membrane, respectively (p > 0.05) . In addition, the reduction in permeation performance of the Ag/silicone membrane was only 20%, despite the antibacterial treatment on the membrane surface. This antibacterial treatment method of silicone membranes can be conducted at room temperature (25℃) without special equipment, and may be applied to other types of silicone materials.

We assessed the properties of biofilms (BFs) formed by mono- and co-cultures of Listeria monocytogenes and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (L+P-BF) at low temperatures and examined their sensitivity to several antibacterial substances. L. monocytogenes viable counts comprised only 1-10% of total L+P-BF viable counts at 10℃ and 15℃, indicating the significant prevalence of P. aeruginosa in co-cultures. L+P-BF formed at 10℃ and 15℃ showed very high resistance to antibiotics and NaClO. Examination of the effects of nattokinase and nisin, natural food additives with antibacterial properties, showed that their application alone failed to inhibit L+P-BF development at 10℃ and 15℃. However, a combined treatment with nisin and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, a food additive that can be used as a permeabilizing agent, suppressed the formation of L+P-BF at 10℃ and 15℃. Microscopy observations of L+P-BF did not reveal pronounced morphological changes in bacterial cell morphology. We also noted that P. aeruginosa resistance to the action of nisin during BF formation was higher when it was maintained in co-culture with L. monocytogenes. The results of the present study are an important step toward developing a safe formulation of acceptable food additives that could be used for suppression of BFs formed by pathogenic bacteria during food storage.

Inhibitory effects of the powders of paprika, red pepper, black pepper, sage, oregano and thyme in a solid medium after heat treatment and gamma-irradiation on the development from spore of Bacillus subtilis were examined using calorimetry. Based on the f(t) curve (Antoce et al., 1996) from the thermogram obtained, two parameters, the growth rate constant and the growth retardation time, were used to evaluate the inhibitory effect. The inhibitory effects of paprika and red pepper powders were enhanced by the spore pretreatment with heat, but not significantly with irradiation. The inhibitory enhancement by preheating depended upon the kind of spices used. Sage, oregano and thyme powders per se inhibited the development from spores completely even at a low concentration of 0.04 g/ml. Inhibitory effects of paprika and red pepper powders were obviously observed with heat treatment but not with irradiation. With black pepper powder, by contrast, substantial enhancement was neither observed with heat treatment nor gamma-irradiation. The results suggested that the addition of those spice powders might be useful in the thermal inactivation process of solid foods contaminated with Bacillus subtilis spores.

In this study, antibacterial polyelectrolyte/silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) composite powder was mixed with epoxy resins as fillers to impart antibacterial activity. Either an anhydride-type or a polyamideamine-type curing agent was applied to a bisphenol A-type base compound to prepare the epoxy resins. Antibacterial assays of these resins against Escherichia coli were performed using the shake tube technique; suppression of antibacterial activity was found for the anhydride-type resin, although the polyamideamine-type resin did exhibit antibacterial activity. The anhydride-type resin is considered to have suppressed antibacterial activity because carboxylate ions derived from unreacted anhydride in aqueous medium can induce chemical adsorption of silver ions and/or charge repulsion of E. coli.

The thermotolerant yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus, growing at high temperature (45℃) , showed stronger survival under heat shock at 50℃ than the brewing yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which was unable to grow at 45℃. The survival rate of K. marxianus decreased to 10% during heat shock at 50℃ for 20 min, and to less than 0.01% at 60℃ for 20 min. Cells with damaged cellular membranes were infrequently observed at 50℃ and had decreased significantly from heat shock at 60℃. The metabolic activity of K. marxianus was retained at 50℃, whereas that of S. cerevisiae was not. The trehalose content of K. marxianus was approximately two times that of S. cerevisiae. These results suggest that K. marxianus protects itself from heat shock-induced damage through the use of trehalose (a protective molecule in S. cerevisiae) as well as other different factors.

Nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N) and nitrite-nitrogen (NO₂-N) are constituents of the nitrogen cycle. NO₃-N is toxic to humans, primarily due to its reduction to NO₂-N. In Japan, NO₃-N and NO₂-N levels in tap water must not exceed 10 mg/L and only NO₂-N alone not 0.04 mg/L, respectively. In this study, we verified the effect of microorganisms and ultraviolet (UV) to increase of NO₂-N in water. First, all tested drinking-waters including tap water and commercial mineral water in PET bottles had < 2 mg/L NO₃-N and undetectable levels (< 0.01 mg/L) of NO₂-N. However, we found that NO₂-N was generated in tap water left to stand at room temperature for several days, leading to increases in CF and TC counts and reduction of NO₃-N. We also demonstrated that direct UV and sunlight irradiation of NO₃-N-containing drinking water generated NO₂-N in 1-2 h, with NO₂-N reaching > 0.04 mg/mL by 4-6 h. On the other hand, NO₃-N and NO₂-N were undetectable in commercially purified water.

Feline calicivirus (FCV) is frequently used as a surrogate of human norovirus. We investigated eligibility of FCV for anti-viral assay by investigating the stability of infectivity and pH sensitivity in comparison with other viruses. We found that infectivities of FCV and murine norovirus (MNV) are relatively unstable in infected cells compared with those of coxsackievirus (CoV) and poliovirus (PoV) , suggesting that FCV and MNV have vulnerability. Western blotting indicated that inactivation of FCV was not due to viral protein degradation. We also demonstrated sensitivity of FCV to low pH, the 50% inhibitory pH value being ca. 3.9. Since human norovirus is thought to persist longer, in infectivity and to be a resistant virus, CoV, which is robust and not restrained in use as PoV, may be more appropriate as a test virus for disinfectants, rather than FCV and MNV.

This is the first confirmed report of terbinafine low susceptibility Trichophyton rubrum, BGUTR13, in Japan collected from the whole sole of the elderly over 65s with cotton swab sampling method at the special nursing care-home in 2016. We revealed BGUTR13 showed low susceptibility (MIC, >128 μg/mL) against terbinafine. But, BGUTR13 exhibited normal susceptibility to itraconazole, did not showed cross-resistance. Also, the squalene epoxidase gene of terbinafine low susceptibility strain BGUTR13 which is the target of terbinafine contained newly confirmed one mismatch. We suggested the possibility that the resistance mechanism of terbinafine low susceptibility strains is due to the loss of sensitivity of squalene epoxidase inhibitors and does not affect antifungal drugs with other different mechanisms of action.