Understanding the quantity and quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in potential watershed sources is critical for explaining and quantifying the exports of DOM in stream runoff. Here, we examined the concentration and quality of DOM for ten watershed sources in a 12 ha forested catchment over a two-year period. DOM composition was evaluated for: throughfall, litter leachate, soil water (zero and tension), shallow and deep groundwater, stream water, hyporheic zone, and groundwater seeps. DOM quality was measured using a suite of optical indices including UV-visible absorbance and PARAFAC modeling of fluorescence excitationemission matrices (EEMs). DOM concentrations and quality displayed a pronounced trend across watershed sources. Surficial watershed sources had higher DOM concentrations and more humic-like DOM with higher molecular weight whereas deeper groundwater sources were rich in % protein-like fluorescence. The greater % contribution of proteinlike fluorescence in groundwater suggested that a larger fraction of groundwater DOM may be bioavailable. DOM for wetland groundwater was more aromatic and humic-like than that at the well-drained riparian location. Principal component analyses (PCA) revealed that the differences in surficial watershed compartments were dictated by humic-like components while groundwater sources separated out by % protein-like fluorescence. Observations from optical indices did not provide any conclusive evidence for preferential association of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) or dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) with any particular DOM quality pools.

Sol-gel coatings which elute bioactive silver ions are presented as a potential solution to the problem of biofilm formation on indwelling surfaces. There is evidence that high-temperature processing of such materials can lead to diffusion of silver away from the coating surface, reducing the amount of available silver. In this study, we report the biofilm inhibition of a Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm using a low-temperature processed silver-doped phenyltriethoxysilane sol-gel coating. The incorporation of a silver salt into a sol-gel matrix resulted in an initial high release of silver in de-ionised water and physiological buffered saline (PBS), followed by a lower sustained release for at least 6 days-as determined by graphite furnace-atomic absorption spectroscopy (GF-AAS). The release of silver ions from the sol-gel coating reduced the adhesion and prevented formation of a S. epidermidis biofilm over a 10-day period. The presence of surface silver before and after 24 h immersion in PBS was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These silver-doped coatings also exhibited significant antibacterial activity against planktonic S. epidermidis. A simple test to visualise the antibacterial effect of silver release coatings on neighbouring bacterial cultures is also reported. r

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Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesised by reducing silver salts using NaBH 4 followed by capping with varying concentrations of -cyclodextrin (-CD) and were physically characterised. Antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus was determined by a microtitre well method.The AgNPs were spherical under transmission electron microscopy, whilst dynamic light scattering showed average diameters of capped particles to be smaller (4-7 nm) than their uncapped equivalents (17 nm). Capped particles demonstrated superior photostability when exposed to intense ultraviolet radiation for 4 h as well as significantly (P < 0.05) higher (up to 3.5-fold) antibacterial activity. The influence of -CD concentration was seen to delay bacterial growth, indicating that a Trojan horse mechanism may be occurring owing to bacterial carbohydrate affinity, thereby enhancing silver ion absorption.

[1] Runoff mixing patterns for base flow and 42 storm events were investigated for a 3 year period (2008)(2009)(2010) in a 12 ha forested catchment in the mid-Atlantic, Piedmont region of the USA. Eleven distinct runoff sources were sampled independently and included: precipitation, throughfall, stemflow, litter leachate, wetland soil water, tension soil water, shallow groundwater, groundwater seeps, hyporheic water, riparian groundwater, and deep groundwater. A rigorous end-member mixing analysis (EMMA) was implemented and all base flow, storm-flow, and end-member chemistries were evaluated in a two-dimensional mixing space. End-members enclosed stream water chemistry and displayed a systematic continuum in EMMA space. Base-flow chemistry of stream waters was similar to groundwater seeps. Storm-event runoff was attributed to contributions from surficial sources (precipitation, throughfall, stemflow, and litter leachate) on the rising limb of the discharge hydrograph that was followed by soil and shallow groundwater sources on the recession limb of the hydrograph. The shapes of the storm-event hysteresis loops (wide versus tight, linear patterns) varied with hydrologic conditions from wet, hydrologically well-connected conditions to a dry, disconnected state. Detailed temporal data on endmember chemistry allowed us to explain the changes in stream water hysteresis patterns and runoff mixing space to shifts in end-member chemistry that occurred as the catchment became hydrologically disconnected. These results highlight the need to recognize the temporal variation in end-member chemistry as a function of catchment wetness and the need to collect high-frequency data on both--stream water as well as potential runoff endmembers to better characterize catchment flow paths and mixing responses.