Journal articles on the topic 'Anaerobic bacteria Asia'

Using morphological analysis and biochemical testing, here for the first time, we determined the culturable gut bacterial flora (aerobes and facultative anaerobes) in the venomous Black Cobra (Naja naja karachiensis) from South Asia. The findings revealed that these snakes inhabit potentially pathogenic bacteria including Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shewanella putrefaciens, Aeromonas hydrophila, Salmonella sp., Moraxella sp., Bacillus sp., Ochrobactrum anthropi, and Providencia rettgeri. These findings are of concern, as injury from snake bite can result in wound infections and tissue necrosis leading to sepsis/necrotizing fasciitis and/or expose consumers of snake meat/medicine in the community to infections.

The Asian Central Steppe, consisting of current-day Kazakhstan and Russia, has acted as a highway for major migrations throughout history. Therefore, describing the genetic composition of past populations in Central Asia holds value to understanding human mobility in this pivotal region. In this study, we analyse paleogenomic data generated from five humans from Kuygenzhar, Kazakhstan. These individuals date to the early to mid-18th century, shortly after the Kazakh Khanate was founded, a union of nomadic tribes of Mongol Golden Horde and Turkic origins. Genomic analysis identifies that these individuals are admixed with varying proportions of East Asian ancestry, indicating a recent admixture event from East Asia. The high amounts of DNA from the anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria Tannerella forsythia, a periodontal pathogen, recovered from their teeth suggest they may have suffered from periodontitis disease. Genomic analysis of this bacterium identified recently evolved virulence and glycosylation genes including the presence of antibiotic resistance genes predating the antibiotic era. This study provides an integrated analysis of individuals with a diet mostly based on meat (mainly horse and lamb), milk, and dairy products and their oral microbiome.

Conventional aerated tank technology is widely applied for post treatment of natural rubber processing wastewater in Southeast Asia; however, a long hydraulic retention time (HRT) is required and the effluent standards are exceeded. In this study, a downflow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor was installed as post treatment of anaerobic tank effluent in a natural rubber factory in South Vietnam and the process performance was evaluated. The DHS reactor demonstrated removal efficiencies of 64.2 ± 7.5% and 55.3 ± 19.2% for total chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen, respectively, with an organic loading rate of 0.97 ± 0.03 kg-COD m−3 day−1 and a nitrogen loading rate of 0.57 ± 0.21 kg-N m−3 day−1. 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis of the sludge retained in the DHS also corresponded to the result of reactor performance, and both nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria were detected in the sponge carrier. In addition, anammox bacteria was found in the retained sludge. The DHS reactor reduced the HRT of 30 days to 4.8 h compared with the existing algal tank. This result indicates that the DHS reactor could be an appropriate post treatment for the existing anaerobic tank for natural rubber processing wastewater treatment.

Seven strains of purple nonsulfur bacteria isolated from the shallow-water steppe soda lakes of the cryoarid zone of Central Asia formed a genetically homogeneous group within the genus Rhodovulum. The isolates were most closely related to Rhodovulum strictum, from which they differed at the species level (99.5 % 16S rRNA gene identity and 42–44 % DNA–DNA hybridization level). According to genotypic and phenotypic characteristics, the strains were assigned to a new species of the genus Rhodovulum, for which the name Rhodovulum steppense sp. nov. is proposed. Cells of all strains were ovoid to rod-shaped, 0.3–0.8 μm wide and 1–2.5 μm long, and motile by means of polar flagella. They contained internal photosynthetic membranes of the vesicular type and photosynthetic pigments (bacteriochlorophyll a and carotenoids of the spheroidene series). All strains were obligate haloalkaliphiles, growing within a wide range of salinity (0.3–10 %) and pH (7.5–10), with growth optima at 1–5 % NaCl and pH 8.5. Photo- and chemoheterotrophic growth occurred with a number of organic compounds and biotin, thiamine and niacin as growth factors. No anaerobic respiration on nitrite, nitrate or fumarate and no fermentation was demonstrated. Bacteria grew photo- and chemolithoautotrophically with sulfide, sulfur and thiosulfate, oxidizing them to sulfate. Sulfide was oxidized via deposition of extracellular elemental sulfur. No growth with H2 as electron donor was demonstrated. The major fatty acid was 18 : 1 (81.0 %). The major quinone was Q-10. The DNA G+C content was 66.1 mol% (T m). The type strain, A-20sT (=VKM B-2489T =DSM 21153T), was isolated from soda lake Khilganta (Zabaikal'skii Krai, southern Siberia, Russia).

A staggering 4000 million people cannot digest lactose, the sugar in milk, properly. All mammals, apart from white Northern Europeans and few tribes in Africa and Asia, lose most of their lactase, the enzyme that cleaves lactose into galactose and glucose, after weaning. Lactose intolerance causes gut and a range of systemic symptoms, though the threshold to lactose varies considerably between ethnic groups and individuals within a group. The molecular basis of inherited hypolactasia has yet to be identified, though two polymorphisms in the introns of a helicase upstream from the lactase gene correlate closely with hypolactasia, and thus lactose intolerance. The symptoms of lactose intolerance are caused by gases and toxins produced by anaerobic bacteria in the large intestine. Bacterial toxins may play a key role in several other diseases, such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and some cancers. The problem of lactose intolerance has been exacerbated because of the addition of products containing lactose to various foods and drinks without being on the label. Lactose intolerance fits exactly the illness that Charles Darwin suffered from for over 40 years, and yet was never diagnosed. Darwin missed something else – the key to our own evolution – the Rubicon some 300 million years ago that produced lactose and lactase in sufficient amounts to be susceptible to natural selection.

Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic bacil gram-positive bacteria, able to form spores and toxin, that is transmitted among humans through the fecal–oral route. Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a typical nosocomial infection has been contributed to a signifi cant proportion of morbidity and mortality among in-patients with a case-fatality rate of 14% within 30 days after diagnosis. Profound culture and toxin examination for C. difficile are still minimal in many hospitals in various Asian countries. Consequently, C. difficile reports in Asia remain rare. Highly virulent form of C. difficile caused greater fatality and epidemics severity. Elderly age, hospitalization, exposure to antibiotics e.g., cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, clindamycin, and penicillin contributed as main risk factors. Hypervirulent strain BI/NAP1/027 demonstrated to carry CdtLoc gene locus encodes CD196 ADP-ribosyltransferase (CDT) or known as binary toxin. Virulence factors are TcdA, TcdB, CDTa CDTb in which hypersporulation and mutation of TcD gene by hypervirulent strain led to toxin hyperexpression. Early cases detection, building management team to evaluate patient positive with all C. difficile toxins, hand hygiene improvement, continuation of contact precautions after diarrhea resolution, audit of infection control, and restriction of antimicrobials should be implemented as preventative measures. Focus measures also should emphasize on development of vaccine of C. difficile to boost immune state of elderly people. This review aims to describe severity of disease caused by hypervirulent BI/NAP1/027 C. difficile strain, its mechanism or pathogenesis, risk factors, current treatment options available, along with proposed preventative measures and infection control.

Anaerobic enrichments with acetate as electron donor and nitrate as electron acceptor at 4 M NaCl from inland, hypersaline lake sediments from Central Asia resulted in the isolation of several extremely halophilic bacteria that comprised two subgroups, most with vibrio-shaped cells and a single strain with rod-shaped cells. Members of both subgroups were extremely halophilic, with growth occurring in 2–5 M NaCl with an optimum at 2–3 M. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed a close affiliation of the new isolates with Pseudomonas halophila DSM 3050 in the Gammaproteobacteria. However, phenotypic comparison of the denitrifying halophiles with the original description of P. halophila demonstrated that they were more similar to another bacterium isolated from the same source at the same time, the extremely halophilic Halovibrio variabilis, which has since been reclassified as Halomonas variabilis (DSM 3051). Direct cross-comparison showed that the characteristics of these two halophilic bacteria do not correspond with the original descriptions associated with these names and DSM numbers. While it is desirable that this problem be solved, in connection with the present investigations, this is a matter that can only be solved by a Request for an Opinion. On the basis of the phenotypic and genetic comparison of these isolates, it is proposed that the new denitrifying vibrio-shaped isolates represent a novel species, Halovibrio denitrificans sp. nov. (type strain HGD 3T=DSM 15503T=UNIQEM U232T) and that the rod-shaped isolate represents a novel genus and species, Halospina denitrificans gen. nov., sp. nov. (type strain HGD 1-3T=DSM 15505T=UNIQEM U233T).

Study on ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus removal using sequencing batch reactor Samaneh Alijantabar Aghouzi * Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang Malaysia Thomas S. Y. Choong Sustainable Process Engineering Research Center (SPERC) Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang Malaysia Aida Isma M. I. Centre for Water Research, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment SEGi University, Kota Damansara Malaysia *Corrosponding author’s Email: sam.alijani@gmail.com Peer-review under responsibility of 3rd Asia International Multidisciplanry Conference 2019 editorial board (http://www.utm.my/asia/our-team/) © 2019 Published by Readers Insight Publisher, lat 306 Savoy Residencia, Block 3 F11/1,44000 Islamabad. Pakistan, info@readersinsight.net This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). _________________________________________________________ Research Highlights The highest phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen removal efficiencies were 99.5% and 51%, respectively, in 6 hours. Particle size of sludge reduced from 26 μm to 39.81 μm in 60 days. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that N-O, N–H, S=O and C=N compunds detected. ___________________________________________________________________________ Research Objectives Ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus removal have becoming more rigorous in permits making it one of the most important and most difficult processes to maintain in wastewater treatment plants. Sequencing batch reactor is a controlled activated sludge process that is able to tackle ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus issues and has some benefits such as having a small-scale system and low construction cost (1). The main goal of this research is to investigate the ability of SBR in treating sewage containing phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen in 6 hours to achieve the allowable effluent discharge standard set by the Department of Environment Malaysia. Materials and Methods In this experiment, a sequencing batch reactor with a total volume of 7 L. The mechanical stirrer was used to avoid sludge settling with a speed of 100 rpm. A fine bubble diffuser was used to supply air. The operation time was controlled based on 1 h and 30 mins anaerobic, 2 h and 10 mins anoxic, 1 h and 50 mins aerobic, making the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6 hours. 10 L seed sludge and 30 L raw sewage samples were collected weekly from the sewage treatment plant that was located in Selangor and were kept under 4oC in cold room in order to obtain fresh samples. The sludge volume was 30% of raw sewage volume in the reactor and the reactor refilled with 3.5 liters of raw sewage at the start point of the experiment. The experiment was carried out in room temperature of 27±3 oC with the pH value ranging from 6 to 8 and dissolve oxygen value ranging from 0 to 6 mg/L. Phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen were measured according to the APHA method (2). DO and PH were measured by using DO meter (JPB-70A) and PH meter (CT-6821, Shenzhen Kedida Electronic CO). Results The highest ammonia nitrogen removal efficiencies observed to be 31.9 %, 10.3 % and 38.8 % at the respective phases of anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic, respectively. Results showed that the phosphorus removal efficiencies for anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic phases were 70.43 %, 19.16%, and 98.58%, respectively in 6 hours. The highest phosphorus removal efficiency recorded was 98.58% that took place in the aerobic phase because of the absence of sufficient nitrate which can inhibit phosphorus uptake during the aerobic phase. The most sensitive process is nitrification that helps to biological oxidation of ammonia to nitrate, which is performed by two types of microorganisms, i.e. ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) (3). Karl et al. claimed that toxic substances inhibit the metabolism of bacteria (4). Mino et al. (5) also stated that nitrification process will not be accomplished in anaerobic phase without the presence of nitrate. This will affect the phosphorus uptake in the aeration phase. Findings FTIR spectrum shows that N-O, N–H, S=O and C=N compounds were identified in the sludge. The presence of these compounds might affect the nitrification and denitrification processes and indirectly affecting the degradation the ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus. Sewage sample might also contain heavy metals as the sewage treatment plant was located in the industrial area. Acknowledgment The authors gratefully thank the financial and research support of Universiti Putra Malaysia. References Sathian, S, M Rajasimman, C S Rathnasabapathy, and C Karthikeyan. 2014. “Journal of Water Process Engineering Performance Evaluation of SBR for the Treatment of Dyeing Wastewater by Simultaneous Biological and Adsorption Processes.” Journal of Water Process Engineering 4: 82–90. APHA. Standard Methods For the examination of water and Wastewater 23rd ed. ed. Washington, D.C.2017. Chang HN, Moon RK, Park BG, Lim S, Choi DW. Simulation of sequential batch reactor ( SBR ) operation for simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus. 2000;23. Karl DM, States U. Nitrogen Cycle ☆. 3rd ed. Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, 3rd Edition. Elsevier Inc.; 2018. 1-10 p. Mino T, Loosdrecht MCM van, Heijnen JJ. Microbiology and biochemistry of the EBPR process. Water Res. 1998;32(11):3193–207.

The bidara plant (Ziziphus mauritiana Lam) is widely distributed in various Asian countries. Bidara leaves contain secondary metabolites, the main content of which is flavonoids. As a gram-negative anaerobic bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis is one of the normal flora of the oral cavity. However, over quantities of this bacteria can promote chronic periodontitis. This research aims to analyze the bidara leaf ethanolic extract as an inhibitory agent of Porphyromonas gingivalis. This research design is experimental laboratory research with a post-test controlled group of Porphyromonas gingivalis inhibition. A total of 25 samples consisted of 5 groups of ethanol extract of bidara leaves at concentrations of 1%, 3%, 9%, positive control betel leaves, and negative control aquadest. Bacteria incubation was held for 48 hours, and the free bacterial zone was analyzed by the One Way ANOVA test. The results of the analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the control group and the treatment group. This study concludes that the ethanol extract of bidara leaves had a strong inhibitory effect on Porphyromonas gingivalis.

From discovery in the early 1990s to completion of full-scale anammox reactor, it took almost two decades to uncover the secret veil of anammox bacteria. There were three milestones during the commercialization of anammox: the development of the first enrichment culture medium, the completion of the first commercial anammox reactor, and the fast start-up of full-scale anammox plant. Till now, the culture of anammox bacteria experienced a big progress through two general strategies: (a) to start up a reactor from scratch and (b) to seed the reactor with enriched anammox sludge. The first full-scale anammox reactor took 3.5 years to realize full operation using the first approach due to several reasons besides the lack of anammox sludge. On the other hand, the first Asian anammox reactor started up in two months, thanks to the availability of anammox seed. Along with the implementation of anammox plants, anammox eventually becomes the priority choice for ammonium wastewater treatment.

Clostridium butyricum CBM 588 is used as a probiotic in eastern Asian countries and has been recently approved as an animal feed additive in the European Union. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of C. butyricum MIYAIRI 588 (CBM 588) on abundance of selected genera of caecal and crop bacteria, volatile fatty acids and growth performance of broiler chickens. We studied counts of anaerobic bacteria in caeca and crops of broiler chickens by plate-count method and evaluated their growth performance. CBM 588 significantly reduced E. coli counts in caeca of broiler chickens at days 10 and 42 and also enhanced their growth performance. Additionally, it significantly increased the amount of butyrate in the caeca that provides energy to enterocytes, resulting in increased weight gains. Out of the obtained results we conclude that C. butyricum CBM 588 influences caecal microbiota of broiler chickens and positively affects their growth performance.

Streptococcus suisis a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive coccus that can cause severe disease to both pigs and humans. Its zoonotic potential was first recognized in 1968 when the first human case of meningitis was reported in Denmark. Since then, over 1600 human cases have been reported worldwide, the vast majority of which originated in Southeast Asia, and, thus,S. suishas been fairly characterized as an emerging pathogen. Infection in humans presents most commonly as bacteremia and/or meningitis while less common clinical manifestations such as endocarditis and septic arthritis can occur.S. suisinfection is extremely uncommon in Greece and this is the third human case to be reported. Correct identification is of importance for optimization of antimicrobial treatment and epidemiological monitoring.

Actinomycosis is a rare anaerobic, gram-positive bacterial infection caused by Actinomyces. As an infection site for the disease, the cervicofacial area is common but the nasal cavity and the nasopharynx are rare. Actinomycosis causes chronic purulent granulomatous infection and is characterized by extensive infiltration, necrosis, and bone destruction on CT. Extranodal natural killer/T cell (NK/T cell) lymphoma, nasal type is more common in East Asia than elsewhere, comprising up to 7%-10% of all non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Early nasal symptoms are nonspecific and similar to chronic rhinosinusitis, such as nasal obstruction and nasal bleeding. With disease progression, inflammation and necrosis of the mucosa increase. We experienced a case of extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma in a 60-year-old female, who was diagnosed with opportunistic infection of actinomycosis. We report this case with a review of literature.

Clostridium spp. is a large genus of obligate anaerobes and is an extremely heterogeneous group of bacteria that can be classified into 19 clusters. Genetic analyses based on the next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and metagenome analyses conducted on human feces, mucosal biopsies, and luminal content have shown that the three main groups of strict extremophile anaerobes present in the intestines are Clostridium cluster IV (also known as the Clostridium leptum group), Clostridium cluster XIVa (also known as the Clostridium coccoides group) and Bacteroides. In addition to the mentioned clusters, some C. butyricum strains are also considered beneficial for human health. Moreover, this bacterium has been widely used as a probiotic in Asia (particularly in Japan, Korea, and China). The mentioned commensal Clostridia are involved in the regulation and maintenance of all intestinal functions. In the literature, the development processes of new therapies are described based on commensal Clostridia activity. In addition, some Clostridia are associated with pathogenic processes. Some C. butyricum strains detected in stool samples are involved in botulism cases and have also been implicated in severe diseases such as infant botulism and necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm neonates. The aim of this study is to review reports on the possibility of using Clostridium strains as probiotics, consider their positive impact on human health, and identify the risks associated with the expression of their pathogenic properties.

Phellinus linteus is known to be a medicinal mushroom which is very good to human health. They are used as medicinal mushroom in many Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, China, Thailand and Vietnam. Because of long time growth and over-havest by humans in natural conditions, they are artificially cultured in these countries. There were advances of liquid culture of mushroom such as time saving and scaleable in culture in comparison with culturing of mushroom in decaying wood. In this study, Phellinus linteus is cultured in optimum liquid medium, lyophilized, ground into fine powder and evaluated for microbiological and total of Asen and Lead to ensure the biomass product will meet safety standards for users. Results are as follows: Total of anaerobic bacteria 2,2 × 10­4 CFU/g, Coliforms< 1,0 × 101 CFU/g, Coagulase positive with Staphylococci <1,0×101 CFU/g, total amount of yeast-mold < 1,0 × 101 CFU/g, not detected of E.coli, Clostridium perfringens and Salmonella spp.. Furthermore, we did not find any Asen and Lead which are supposed to remain in our sample.

Three trials were undertaken to study storage conditions and handling procedures required to maximise the postharvest storage life of honeydew melons (Cucumis melo L. var. inodorus Naud.).Honeydew melons treated with chlorine (1000 mg/L), benomyl (250 mg/L) + guazatine (500 mg/L), shrink wrap (17 ym Cryovac XDR film), Semperfresh, wax, or combinations of these treatments were stored at 4 or 8�C, for 4 or 6 weeks. Benomyl plus guazatine reduced the development of storage rots associated with Alternaria and Fusarium spp. The use of shrink wrap and wax reduced water loss by melons but increased fungal infection in some cases. Shrink wrapping combined with the fungicide treatment effectively reduced the incidence of fungal breakdown in the storage period for up to 4 weeks. Wax coating with full strength Citruseal wax caused anaerobic tissue breakdown. Melons were affected by chilling injury at 4�C. Control of bacterial rots with benomyl + guazatine or with chlorine was variable. Semperfresh did not reduce the incidence of fungal breakdown or water loss from the melons. The results indicate that storage of honeydew melons for 4 weeks at 8�C by pretreating with fungicide is possible but the melons soften and rot after 6 weeks, making them unsaleable. Four weeks should be adequate to allow for sea freighting of honeydew melons to markets in South East Asia. Further research is required to determine the optimum storage temperature for honeydew melons.

259 Background: There is evidence that some false positive PSA tests can reflect prostatic inflammation that leads to Proliferative Inflammatory atrophy (PIA) that promotes malignant change. Report from circumcision trials in Africa suggest that dominant bacterial flora in un-circumcised men was anaerobes. As circumcised men have a lower incidence of PC this presentation reviews the literature on lack of circumcision and that on Vitamin D deficiency and as a cause of diminished host surveillance that could have potential to synergise as causes of PC. Methods: Three papers reporting incidence of PC in Jewish and non-Jewish men undergoing prostate biopsy for prostate symptoms and 7 series reporting case controlled studies published between 1952 and 2001 have provided data on circumcision and PC risk. There were 10 papers referred to in the IARC 2008 report on plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and PC. These have been reviewed together with 8 more published from 2008-10 and 3 that have examined impact of an index of life-time sun exposure on PC risk. Results: The 2 of 3 series of prostate biopsy reported 1951-65 demonstrated significant excess and 1 a non-significant excess of PC in the non-Jewish population. Of the 7 case controlled reported from 1971-2001, only 1 reported significant (OR 1.38) and 1 non-significant (OR 1.15) excess of lack of circumcision in those with prostate cancer, the remaining 6 studies having an excess cancer in those who have been circumcised (OR 0.50 – 0.82 pooled risk 0.70). Only 1 of the 18 plasma 25-OH Vit D series showed significant reduction of PC overall (6 did have reduction in prognostic subsets though 2 had higher incidence in the same sub-groups. In contrast all 3 series that have examined an index of life-time sun exposure showed significant reduction of PC (OR 0.18, 0.32 and 0.52 n= 850). Conclusions: The inconsistencies in the circumcision data suggest that it is not the surgery alone but the confounding variable of the hygiene rules that at least contribute to the reduced PC in Jewish men, and mirrors the similar differences seen in the protective value against AIDS of circumcision in Xhosa African and Asian Muslim men.

Introduction. Melissa officinalis L. is a member of family Lamiaceae. The plant a widely cultivated in many countries of Asia (Iran, Turkiestan), North America, Europe and Poland. It growth to 1 m high. Leaves are green with characteristic smell of lemon and flowers are white or pink. The plant produce of essential oil which the components are: neral, geraniol, geranial, β-caryophyllene, tymol, linalol, citronellol, cytronellal, geranyl acetate, α-humulene, germacrane D, n-eikosane, didydrocitronellolacetate, 5-cedranone, β-ocimene Z and β-ocimene E. The oil is used in therapy. It showed antiinflammatory and antymicrobial activity towards bacteria, fungi, viruses and insects. Aim. The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of melissa oil against anaerobic bacteria. Material and methods. The bacterial strains were isolated from oral cavity. A total 32 strains anaerobes and 8 standards strains were investigated. The melissa oil (Semifarm) was dissolved in DMSO and distilled water to obtained a final concentrations of 2.0, 1.0, 0.5, 0.25, 0.12 and 0.06 mg/ml. The inoculums containing 105 CFU/spot was seeded with Steers replicator upon the surface of agar with or without essential oil (bacterial strains growth control). Incubation was performed in anaerobic conditions in anaerobic jar, in 37°C for 48 hrs. The MIC was defined as the lowest concentrations of melissa oil inhibiting the growth of the tested anaerobes. Results. The results showed, that the melissa oil presented high antibacterial activity against all tested anaerobes. The most susceptible from Gram-positive bacteria were the cocci from the genus of Finegoldia magna, Micromonas micros and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius and Gram-positive rods Actinomyces odontolyticus and Bifidobacterium bivia (MIC < 0.06 mg/ml). The 92% of Gram-positive bacteria was inhibited in concentrations < 0.06-0.25 mg/ml. From Gram-negative rods the most susceptible was the Bacteroides vulgatus (MIC < 0.06 mg/ml). The strains from genus of Prevotella bivia and Prevotella buccalis were the lowest sensitive. The minimal inhibitory concentration for these strains was 1.0 mg/ml. But 47% of this strains was inhibited by concentrations in range < 0.06-0.25 mg/ml. Conclusions. The melissa oil showed high activity against all tested anaerobic bacteria, The Gram-positive bacteria were the most susceptible to tested oil than Gram-negative anaerobic rods.

Liver abscess is a serious intraabdominal infection can be due to result of bacteria, fungi, or parasites infection. Until the end of the last century, pyogenic liver abscesses were predominantly caused by mixed aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, the most frequent isolate being Escherichia coli [1]. Klebsiella pneumoniae (K.pneumoniae) is a known cause of pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) in the absence of hepatobiliary disease. In settings of hepatic infection, it has also been known to cause disseminated infections including meningitis and endopthalmitis. Patients with diabetes mellitus and the preexisting hepatobiliary disease are particularly susceptible to infection as well as those from Southeast Asia [2]. We present a case of Klebsiella liver abscess with bacteremia.

Mikania micrantha is an economically damaging invasive weed, which is widely naturalized in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. This weed has reported yield losses in various cash crops and plantation crops in South East Asia including India. M. micrantha was found to change the soil microbial communities (bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes) as well as the soil chemical properties. It enhances a significant increase in aerobic bacteria but decreases in anaerobic bacteria due to which infested soil were free from other weeds. Similarly, in soil chemical characteristics significant increases in pH, total N and P were observed and a decrease in soil organic matter where M. micrantha is prevalent. It has allelopathic properties which affect neighbouring crops, weeds, insects and pathogens. This weed produces allelochemicals (phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids and terpenes) that may be released by volatilization and decomposition of plant debris. It was also found that the aqueous leaf extract of invasive weed M. micrantha inhibited seed germination and seedling growth of various cereals, vegetables, and other plants. A similar result was found in test crops but there was no affected case found in the greenhouse experiment. This review will help the researchers and scientists in understanding the harmful effect of this invasive weed.

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), predicts world oil and gas consumption to increase from year to year (Sebayang, 2018). In 1999, Indonesia was one of the 2nd largest oil producers in the Asia Pacific (Dzulfaroh, 2020). However, now the situation has reversed, Indonesia's oil reserves are very depleted and it is predicted that they will only be able to last for less than 10 years (RI, 2021). Meanwhile, the demand for oil and natural gas is still high, especially for power generation. Therefore, a new alternative that is environmentally friendly is needed (Kholiq, 2015). One of them is by utilizing biogas. Biogas is a gas produced by methanogenic bacteria, by degrading (decomposing) organic compounds under anaerobic conditions. One of the compounds that can be used as a source of biogas is feces. Usually human feces will only accumulate and settle at the bottom of the septic tank. This fecal sediment must be drained for 2-5 years (Sudarmadji, 2013). If this waste is managed properly, it has the potential as an alternative power plant, through the biogas it produces. Furthermore, this biogas is connected to the gas storage box. In the box is also equipped with a pressure detector. If the pressure is appropriate, then the gas will be released to the generator that has been assembled coupled with a biodigester. The generator converts heat energy into kinetic energy, then into mechanical energy, and finally into electrical energy (Biogas, 2018). 1 m3 of biogas is able to produce electricity equivalent to 1.25 Kwh or the equivalent of turning on a light for 6 hours (Talakua, 2019). Meanwhile, biogas processed waste (slurry) contains organic material with complete nutrition (Muanah, 2019), so it can be used as fertilizer. In addition, slurry can also be used as raw material for bricks (Syaifuddin, 2018).

Rumen, main compartment of the stomach of ruminant herbivores, have a low redox potential and anaerobic ecosystem in where various microbial populations inhabit, such as bacteria, anaerobic gut fungi (AGF), protozoa and archaea. These microbial groups have a symbiotic life whilist both synergetic releationship and inhibition of some activities could be observed when they are cultured as mixture. Relatively higher enzyme activities of the AGF is well documented although our knowledge about the possible effects of coculturing with lactic acid bacteria on their enzyme activity is still limited. In current work, AGF Neocallimastix GMLF11 was cocultured with Enterecoccus sp and Bifidobacterium sp separately and its enzyme activities (inulinase and sucrase) were determined at 45 oC after 24, 36 and 48 hours incubation periods. The highest supernatant specific sucrase (EC 3.2.1.48) activity of Neocallimastix GMLF11 and Enterecoccus sp coculture was determined as 21,4 mol/min/mg/ml protein for 36h incubation while cell associated specific sucrase activity of same mixture was observed as 22,4 mol/min/mg/ml protein for 48 h incubation. Neocallimastix GMLF11 and Bifidobacterium sp coculture showed the highest cell associated specific sucrase activity at 48h incubation as 22,4 mol/min/mg/ml protein, whilst that activity was determined as 24,6 mol/min/mg/ml protein for supernatant samples at the end of 24h incubation period. The highest cell associated and supernatant specific activities of pure culture of Neocallimastix sp was 8 and 12,3 mol/min/mg/ml respectively. Axenic cultures of Enterecoccus sp and Bifidobacterium sp showed 20,7 and 21 mol/min/mg/ml protein supernatant enzyme activity respectively, while cell associated specific activities of that cultures were calculated as 15,9 and 17,6 mol/min/mg/ml protein respectively. These results suggest that enzyme activities of these microbial groups are remarkably induced when they were grown in coculture.

The study on sediments in the marginal basins of the Tibetan Plateau is of great significance for global climate change. The geological information of the Linxia Basin has been intensely investigated; however, the profiles of the microbial communities in this basin remain largely unknown. Here, based on the 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing method, the bacterial community structure vertical succession is studied with different thicknesses of sedimentary samples. The bacterial community with a total of 1,729,658 paired reads distributed within 1,042 phylogenetic amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) from twenty sediments, and three surrounding soil samples were sequenced. First, high-throughput sequencing results highlight the surrounding soil sample bacterial community structures were significantly different from those recovered from the sediment samples. In addition, as observed in the PCoA and PERMANOVA, there is a dramatic change shift event of the community structure at M311. Our data suggest that shifts in relative abundances of the abundant taxa (˃1%) and the significant variations in the diversity of bacterial community implied community structure responses to changes in different sedimentary layers. Predicted community function changes demonstrate that the sediment bacterial community aerobic chemoheterotrophy has been significantly increased, and we believe that the possible influence of the lithofacies changes from the anaerobic system to the aerobic environment, possibly accompanied by the significant uplift of the plateau that has previously been associated with enhanced aridity in Central Asia at ∼8 Ma. Taken together, these results illustrate the potential for the microbial community as a biological indicator in sediment ecosystems to reconstruct paleoenvironments.

ABSTRACT The function and change of global soil carbon (C) reserves in natural ecosystems are key regulators of future carbon-climate coupling. Microbes play a critical role in soil carbon cycling and yet there is poor understanding of their roles and C metabolism flexibility in many ecosystems. We wanted to determine whether vegetation type and climate zone influence soil microbial community composition (fungi and bacteria) and carbon resource preference. We used a biomarker (phospholipid fatty acids, PLFAs), natural abundance 13C and 14C probing approach to measure soil microbial composition and C resource use, along a 1900–4167-m elevation gradient on Mount Gongga (7556 m asl), China. Mount Gongga has a vertical mean annual temperature gradient of 1.2–10.1°C and a diversity of typical vegetation zones in the Tibetan Plateau. Soils were sampled at 10 locations along the gradient capturing distinct vegetation types and climate zones from lowland subtropical-forest to alpine-meadow. PLFA results showed that microbial communities were composed of 2.1–51.7% bacteria and 2.0–23.2% fungi across the elevation gradient. Microbial biomass was higher and the ratio of soil fungi to bacteria (F/B) was lower in forest soils compared to meadow soils. δ13C varied between −33‰ to −17‰ with C3 plant carbon sources dominant across the gradient. Soil organic carbon (SOC) turnover did not vary among three soils we measured from three forest types (i.e., evergreen broadleaved subtropical, mixed temperate, coniferous alpine) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) turnover decreased with soil elevation. Forest soil microbial PLFA 14C and δ13C measurements showed that forest type and climate were related to different microbial C use. The 14C values of microbial PLFAs i15, a15, 16:1, br17 decreased with elevation while those of C16:0, cyC17, and cyC19 did not show much difference among three forest ecosystems. Bacteria and bacillus represented by C16:1 and brC17 showed considerable microbial C metabolism flexibility and tended to use ancient carbon at higher altitudes. Anaerobes represented by cyC17 and cyC19 showed stronger C metabolism selectivity. Our findings reveal specific C source differences between and within soil microbial groups along elevation gradients.

Abstract It has been shown that the golden apple snail (GAS, Pomacea canaliculata), which is a serious agricultural pest in Southeast Asia, can provide a soil amendment for the reversal of soil acidification and degradation. However, the impact of GAS residue (i.e., crushed, whole GAS) on soil bacterial diversity and community structure remains largely unknown. Here, a greenhouse pot experiment was conducted and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to measure bacterial abundance and community structure in soils amended with GAS residue and lime. The results suggest that adding GAS residue resulted in a significant variation in soil pH and nutrients (all P < 0.05), and resulted in a slightly alkaline (pH = 7.28–7.75) and nutrient-enriched soil, with amendment of 2.5–100 g kg−1 GAS residue. Soil nutrients (i.e., NO3-N and TN) and TOC contents were increased (by 132–912%), and some soil exocellular enzyme activities were enhanced (by 2–98%) in GAS residue amended soil, with amendment of 1.0–100 g kg−1 GAS residue. Bacterial OTU richness was 19% greater at the 2.5 g kg−1 GAS residue treatment than the control, while it was 40% and 53% lower at 100 g kg−1 of GAS residue and 50 g kg−1 of lime amended soils, respectively. Firmicutes (15–35%) was the most abundant phylum while Bacterioidetes (1–6%) was the lowest abundant one in GAS residue amended soils. RDA results suggest that the contents of soil nutrients (i.e., NO3-N and TN) and soil TOC explained much more of the variations of bacterial community than pH in GAS residue amended soil. Overuse of GAS residue would induce an anaerobic soil environment and reduce bacterial OTU richness. Soil nutrients and TOC rather than pH might be the main factors that are responsible for the changes of bacterial OTU richness and bacterial community structure in GAS residue amended soil.

ABSTRACT Delafloxacin is an investigational anionic fluoroquinolone antibiotic with broad-spectrum in vitro activity, including activity against Gram-positive organisms, Gram-negative organisms, atypical organisms, and anaerobes. The in vitro activity of delafloxacin and the percent microbiological response in subjects infected with fluoroquinolone-susceptible and nonsusceptible Staphylococcus aureus isolates were determined from two global phase 3 studies of delafloxacin versus vancomycin plus aztreonam in patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI). Patients from 23 countries, predominately the United States but also Europe, South America, and Asia, were enrolled. The microbiological intent-to-treat (MITT) population included 1,042 patients from which 685 S. aureus isolates were submitted for identification and susceptibility testing per CLSI guidelines at the central laboratory (JMI Laboratories, North Liberty, IA). The comparator fluoroquinolone antibiotics included levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Nonsusceptibility to these antibiotics was determined using CLSI breakpoints. S. aureus isolates were 33.7% levofloxacin nonsusceptible (LVX-NS). The delafloxacin MIC90 values against levofloxacin-nonsusceptible S. aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus isolates were all 0.25 μg/ml. Delafloxacin demonstrated high rates of microbiological response against LVX-NS isolates as well as isolates with documented mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR). S. aureus was eradicated or presumed eradicated in 98.4% (245/249) of delafloxacin-treated patients. Similar eradication rates were observed for delafloxacin-treated subjects with levofloxacin-nonsusceptible S. aureus isolates (80/81; 98.8%) and MRSA isolates (70/71; 98.6%). Microbiological response rates of 98.6% were observed with delafloxacin-treated subjects with S. aureus isolates with the S84L mutation in gyrA and the S80Y mutation in parC, the most commonly observed mutations in global phase 3 studies. The data suggest that delafloxacin could be a good option for the treatment of infections caused by S. aureus isolates causing ABSSSI, including MRSA isolates, where high rates of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin nonsusceptibility are observed. (The phase 3 studies described in this paper have been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifiers NCT01984684 and NCT01811732.)

This article investigates the possibilities for understanding waste as a resource, with a particular focus on understanding food waste as a food resource. It considers the popular yeast spread Vegemite within this frame. The spread’s origins in waste product, and how it has achieved and sustained its status as a popular symbol of Australia despite half a century of Australian gastro-multiculturalism and a marked public resistance to other recycling and reuse of food products, have not yet been a focus of study. The process of producing Vegemite from waste would seem to align with contemporary moves towards recycling food waste, and ensuring environmental sustainability and food security, yet even during times of austerity and environmental concern this has not provided the company with a viable marketing strategy. Instead, advertising copywriting and a recurrent cycle of product memorialisation have created a superbrand through focusing on Vegemite’s nutrient and nostalgic value.John Scanlan notes that producing waste is a core feature of modern life, and what we dispose of as surplus to our requirements—whether this comprises material objects or more abstract products such as knowledge—reveals much about our society. In observing this, Scanlan asks us to consider the quite radical idea that waste is central to everything of significance to us: the “possibility that the surprising core of all we value results from (and creates even more) garbage (both the material and the metaphorical)” (9). Others have noted the ambivalent relationship we have with the waste we produce. C. T. Anderson notes that we are both creator and agent of its disposal. It is our ambivalence towards waste, coupled with its ubiquity, that allows waste materials to be described so variously: negatively as garbage, trash and rubbish, or more positively as by-products, leftovers, offcuts, trimmings, and recycled.This ambivalence is also crucial to understanding the affectionate relationship the Australian public have with Vegemite, a relationship that appears to exist in spite of the product’s unpalatable origins in waste. A study of Vegemite reveals that consumers can be comfortable with waste, even to the point of eating recycled waste, as long as that fact remains hidden and unmentioned. In Vegemite’s case not only has the product’s connection to waste been rendered invisible, it has been largely kept out of sight despite considerable media and other attention focusing on the product. Recycling Food Waste into Food ProductRecent work such as Elizabeth Royte’s Garbage Land and Tristram Stuart’s Waste make waste uncomfortably visible, outlining how much waste, and food waste in particular, the Western world generates and how profligately this is disposed of. Their aim is clear: a call to less extravagant and more sustainable practices. The relatively recent interest in reducing our food waste has, of course, introduced more complexity into a simple linear movement from the creation of a food product, to its acquisition or purchase, and then to its consumption and/or its disposal. Moreover, the recycling, reuse and repurposing of what has previously been discarded as waste is reconfiguring the whole idea of what waste is, as well as what value it has. The initiatives that seem to offer the most promise are those that reconfigure the way waste is understood. However, it is not only the process of transforming waste from an abject nuisance into a valued product that is central here. It is also necessary to reconfigure people’s acculturated perceptions of, and reactions to waste. Food waste is generated during all stages of the food cycle: while the raw materials are being grown; while these are being processed; when the resulting food products are being sold; when they are prepared in the home or other kitchen; and when they are only partly consumed. Until recently, the food industry in the West almost universally produced large volumes of solid and liquid waste that not only posed problems of disposal and pollution for the companies involved, but also represented a reckless squandering of total food resources in terms of both nutrient content and valuable biomass for society at large. While this is currently changing, albeit slowly, the by-products of food processing were, and often are, dumped (Stuart). In best-case scenarios, various gardening, farming and industrial processes gather household and commercial food waste for use as animal feed or as components in fertilisers (Delgado et al; Wang et al). This might, on the surface, appear a responsible application of waste, yet the reality is that such food waste often includes perfectly good fruit and vegetables that are not quite the required size, shape or colour, meat trimmings and products (such as offal) that are completely edible but extraneous to processing need, and other high grade product that does not meet certain specifications—such as the mountains of bread crusts sandwich producers discard (Hickman), or food that is still edible but past its ‘sell by date.’ In the last few years, however, mounting public awareness over the issues of world hunger, resource conservation, and the environmental and economic costs associated with food waste has accelerated efforts to make sustainable use of available food supplies and to more efficiently recycle, recover and utilise such needlessly wasted food product. This has fed into and led to multiple new policies, instances of research into, and resultant methods for waste handling and treatment (Laufenberg et al). Most straightforwardly, this involves the use or sale of offcuts, trimmings and unwanted ingredients that are “often of prime quality and are only rejected from the production line as a result of standardisation requirements or retailer specification” from one process for use in another, in such processed foods as soups, baby food or fast food products (Henningsson et al. 505). At a higher level, such recycling seeks to reclaim any reusable substances of significant food value from what could otherwise be thought of as a non-usable waste product. Enacting this is largely dependent on two elements: an available technology and being able to obtain a price or other value for the resultant product that makes the process worthwhile for the recycler to engage in it (Laufenberg et al). An example of the latter is the use of dehydrated restaurant food waste as a feedstuff for finishing pigs, a reuse process with added value for all involved as this process produces both a nutritious food substance as well as a viable way of disposing of restaurant waste (Myer et al). In Japan, laws regarding food waste recycling, which are separate from those governing other organic waste, are ensuring that at least some of food waste is being converted into animal feed, especially for the pigs who are destined for human tables (Stuart). Other recycling/reuse is more complex and involves more lateral thinking, with the by-products from some food processing able to be utilised, for instance, in the production of dyes, toiletries and cosmetics (Henningsson et al), although many argue for the privileging of food production in the recycling of foodstuffs.Brewing is one such process that has been in the reuse spotlight recently as large companies seek to minimise their waste product so as to be able to market their processes as sustainable. In 2009, for example, the giant Foster’s Group (with over 150 brands of beer, wine, spirits and ciders) proudly claimed that it recycled or reused some 91.23% of 171,000 tonnes of operational waste, with only 8.77% of this going to landfill (Foster’s Group). The treatment and recycling of the massive amounts of water used for brewing, rinsing and cooling purposes (Braeken et al.; Fillaudeaua et al.) is of significant interest, and is leading to research into areas as diverse as the development microbial fuel cells—where added bacteria consume the water-soluble brewing wastes, thereby cleaning the water as well as releasing chemical energy that is then converted into electricity (Lagan)—to using nutrient-rich wastewater as the carbon source for creating bioplastics (Yu et al.).In order for the waste-recycling-reuse loop to be closed in the best way for securing food supplies, any new product salvaged and created from food waste has to be both usable, and used, as food (Stuart)—and preferably as a food source for people to consume. There is, however, considerable consumer resistance to such reuse. Resistance to reusing recycled water in Australia has been documented by the CSIRO, which identified negative consumer perception as one of the two primary impediments to water reuse, the other being the fundamental economics of the process (MacDonald & Dyack). This consumer aversion operates even in times of severe water shortages, and despite proof of the cleanliness and safety of the resulting treated water. There was higher consumer acceptance levels for using stormwater rather than recycled water, despite the treated stormwater being shown to have higher concentrations of contaminants (MacDonald & Dyack). This reveals the extent of public resistance to the potential consumption of recycled waste product when it is labelled as such, even when this consumption appears to benefit that public. Vegemite: From Waste Product to Australian IconIn this context, the savoury yeast spread Vegemite provides an example of how food processing waste can be repurposed into a new food product that can gain a high level of consumer acceptability. It has been able to retain this status despite half a century of Australian gastronomic multiculturalism and the wide embrace of a much broader range of foodstuffs. Indeed, Vegemite is so ubiquitous in Australian foodways that it is recognised as an international superbrand, a standing it has been able to maintain despite most consumers from outside Australasia finding it unpalatable (Rozin & Siegal). However, Vegemite’s long product history is one in which its origin as recycled waste has been omitted, or at the very least, consistently marginalised.Vegemite’s history as a consumer product is narrated in a number of accounts, including one on the Kraft website, where the apocryphal and actual blend. What all these narratives agree on is that in the early 1920s Fred Walker—of Fred Walker and Company, Melbourne, canners of meat for export and Australian manufacturers of Bonox branded beef stock beverage—asked his company chemist to emulate Marmite yeast extract (Farrer). The imitation product was based, as was Marmite, on the residue from spent brewer’s yeast. This waste was initially sourced from Melbourne-based Carlton & United Breweries, and flavoured with vegetables, spices and salt (Creswell & Trenoweth). Today, the yeast left after Foster Group’s Australian commercial beer making processes is collected, put through a sieve to remove hop resins, washed to remove any bitterness, then mixed with warm water. The yeast dies from the lack of nutrients in this environment, and enzymes then break down the yeast proteins with the effect that vitamins and minerals are released into the resulting solution. Using centrifugal force, the yeast cell walls are removed, leaving behind a nutrient-rich brown liquid, which is then concentrated into a dark, thick paste using a vacuum process. This is seasoned with significant amounts of salt—although less today than before—and flavoured with vegetable extracts (Richardson).Given its popularity—Vegemite was found in 2009 to be the third most popular brand in Australia (Brand Asset Consulting)—it is unsurprising to find that the product has a significant history as an object of study in popular culture (Fiske et al; White), as a marker of national identity (Ivory; Renne; Rozin & Siegal; Richardson; Harper & White) and as an iconic Australian food, brand and product (Cozzolino; Luck; Khamis; Symons). Jars, packaging and product advertising are collected by Australian institutions such as Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum and the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, and are regularly included in permanent and travelling exhibitions profiling Australian brands and investigating how a sense of national identity is expressed through identification with these brands. All of this significant study largely focuses on how, when and by whom the product has been taken up, and how it has been consumed, rather than its links to waste, and what this circumstance could add to current thinking about recycling of food waste into other food products.It is worth noting that Vegemite was not an initial success in the Australian marketplace, but this does not seem due to an adverse public perception to waste. Indeed, when it was first produced it was in imitation of an already popular product well-known to be made from brewery by-products, hence this origin was not an issue. It was also introduced during a time when consumer relationships to waste were quite unlike today, and thrifty re-use of was a common feature of household behaviour. Despite a national competition mounted to name the product (Richardson), Marmite continued to attract more purchasers after Vegemite’s launch in 1923, so much so that in 1928, in an attempt to differentiate itself from Marmite, Vegemite was renamed “Parwill—the all Australian product” (punning on the idea that “Ma-might” but “Pa-will”) (White 16). When this campaign was unsuccessful, the original, consumer-suggested name was reinstated, but sales still lagged behind its UK-owned prototype. It was only after remaining in production for more than a decade, and after two successful marketing campaigns in the second half of the 1930s that the Vegemite brand gained some market traction. The first of these was in 1935 and 1936, when a free jar of Vegemite was offered with every sale of an item from the relatively extensive Kraft-Walker product list (after Walker’s company merged with Kraft) (White). The second was an attention-grabbing contest held in 1937, which invited consumers to compose Vegemite-inspired limericks. However, it was not the nature of the product itself or even the task set by the competition which captured mass attention, but the prize of a desirable, exotic and valuable imported Pontiac car (Richardson 61; Superbrands).Since that time, multinational media company, J Walter Thompson (now rebranded as JWT) has continued to manage Vegemite’s marketing. JWT’s marketing has never looked to Vegemite’s status as a thrifty recycler of waste as a viable marketing strategy, even in periods of austerity (such as the Depression years and the Second World War) or in more recent times of environmental concern. Instead, advertising copywriting and a recurrent cycle of cultural/media memorialisation have created a superbrand by focusing on two factors: its nutrient value and, as the brand became more established, its status as national icon. Throughout the regular noting and celebration of anniversaries of its initial invention and launch, with various commemorative events and products marking each of these product ‘birthdays,’ Vegemite’s status as recycled waste product has never been more than mentioned. Even when its 60th anniversary was marked in 1983 with the laying of a permanent plaque in Kerferd Road, South Melbourne, opposite Walker’s original factory, there was only the most passing reference to how, and from what, the product manufactured at the site was made. This remained the case when the site itself was prioritised for heritage listing almost twenty years later in 2001 (City of Port Phillip).Shying away from the reality of this successful example of recycling food waste into food was still the case in 1990, when Kraft Foods held a nationwide public campaign to recover past styles of Vegemite containers and packaging, and then donated their collection to Powerhouse Museum. The Powerhouse then held an exhibition of the receptacles and the historical promotional material in 1991, tracing the development of the product’s presentation (Powerhouse Museum), an occasion that dovetailed with other nostalgic commemorative activities around the product’s 70th birthday. Although the production process was noted in the exhibition, it is noteworthy that the possibilities for recycling a number of the styles of jars, as either containers with reusable lids or as drinking glasses, were given considerably more notice than the product’s origins as a recycled product. By this time, it seems, Vegemite had become so incorporated into Australian popular memory as a product in its own right, and with such a rich nostalgic history, that its origins were no longer of any significant interest or relevance.This disregard continued in the commemorative volume, The Vegemite Cookbook. With some ninety recipes and recipe ideas, the collection contains an almost unimaginably wide range of ways to use Vegemite as an ingredient. There are recipes on how to make the definitive Vegemite toast soldiers and Vegemite crumpets, as well as adaptations of foreign cuisines including pastas and risottos, stroganoffs, tacos, chilli con carne, frijole dip, marinated beef “souvlaki style,” “Indian-style” chicken wings, curries, Asian stir-fries, Indonesian gado-gado and a number of Chinese inspired dishes. Although the cookbook includes a timeline of product history illustrated with images from the major advertising campaigns that runs across 30 pages of the book, this timeline history emphasises the technological achievement of Vegemite’s creation, as opposed to the matter from which it orginated: “In a Spartan room in Albert Park Melbourne, 20 year-old food technologist Cyril P. Callister employed by Fred Walker, conducted initial experiments with yeast. His workplace was neither kitchen nor laboratory. … It was not long before this rather ordinary room yielded an extra-ordinary substance” (2). The Big Vegemite Party Book, described on its cover as “a great book for the Vegemite fan … with lots of old advertisements from magazines and newspapers,” is even more openly nostalgic, but similarly includes very little regarding Vegemite’s obviously potentially unpalatable genesis in waste.Such commemorations have continued into the new century, each one becoming more self-referential and more obviously a marketing strategy. In 2003, Vegemite celebrated its 80th birthday with the launch of the “Spread the Smile” campaign, seeking to record the childhood reminisces of adults who loved Vegemite. After this, the commemorative anniversaries broke free from even the date of its original invention and launch, and began to celebrate other major dates in the product’s life. In this way, Kraft made major news headlines when it announced that it was trying to locate the children who featured in the 1954 “Happy little Vegemites” campaign as part of the company’s celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the television advertisement. In October 2006, these once child actors joined a number of past and current Kraft employees to celebrate the supposed production of the one-billionth jar of Vegemite (Rood, "Vegemite Spreads" & "Vegemite Toasts") but, once again, little about the actual production process was discussed. In 2007, the then iconic marching band image was resituated into a contemporary setting—presumably to mobilise both the original messages (nutritious wholesomeness in an Australian domestic context) as well as its heritage appeal. Despite the real interest at this time in recycling and waste reduction, the silence over Vegemite’s status as recycled, repurposed food waste product continued.Concluding Remarks: Towards Considering Waste as a ResourceIn most parts of the Western world, including Australia, food waste is formally (in policy) and informally (by consumers) classified, disposed of, or otherwise treated alongside garden waste and other organic materials. Disposal by individuals, industry or local governments includes a range of options, from dumping to composting or breaking down in anaerobic digestion systems into materials for fertiliser, with food waste given no special status or priority. Despite current concerns regarding the security of food supplies in the West and decades of recognising that there are sections of all societies where people do not have enough to eat, it seems that recycling food waste into food that people can consume remains one of the last and least palatable solutions to these problems. This brief study of Vegemite has attempted to show how, despite the growing interest in recycling and sustainability, the focus in both the marketing of, and public interest in, this iconic and popular product appears to remain rooted in Vegemite’s nutrient and nostalgic value and its status as a brand, and firmly away from any suggestion of innovative and prudent reuse of waste product. 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