Living in biofilms is the common way of life of microorganisms, transiently immobilized in their matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), interacting in many ways and using the matrix as an external digestion and protection system. This is how they have organized their life in the environment, in the medical context and in technical systems – and has helped make them the oldest, most successful and ubiquitous form of life. In this book, hot spots in current biofilm research are presented in critical and sometimes provocative chapters. This serves a twofold purpose: to provide an overview and to inspire further discussions. Above all, the book seeks to stimulate lateral thinking.

Bacterial biofilm is a complex structure with diverse bacterial cells in a highly organized and ordered group within a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances they produce. Microbes attach to surfaces to develop biofilms, a sophisticated process regulated by factors such as nutritional status and biotic/abiotic surface features. An established biofilm structure mainly comprises bacterial cells, proteins, nucleic acid, and exo-polysaccharides that are extracellular macromolecules excreted as tightly bound layers in microbes, providing a perfect niche for bacteria to exchange genetic material between cells. In addition, bacterial cells in the matrix also communicate via quorum sensing, which greatly impacts biofilm processes. Under clinical circumstances, bacterial biofilm shows great resistance to antibiotics, disinfectants, and body defense systems, making it difficult for clinicians to eradicate and facilitate many infectious disease processes, leading to chronic infections of patients with long-term hospitalization and high mortality rates. Therefore, it is very important to understand the recent advances in forming, regulating, and eradicating biofilms in human infections to better prevent, control, and treat biofilm infections in humans. Written by an international team of basic and clinical researchers, the chapters of this book provide novel insights and advanced knowledge for life science researchers, clinical researchers, doctors, and other interested readers on some of the latest developments in biofilms.

This book discusses Prosthetic Joint Infection (PJI), which remains one of the most common problems necessitating revision arthroplasty. It pursues a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together opinions from the leading experts in the field. The book identifies the potential causes of these infections, provides sound diagnostic criteria guidelines, and explains how these prosthetic infections are managed from orthopedic surgery, clinical and diagnostic perspectives. PJI can lead to multiple revision surgeries and significant patient morbidity. Periprosthetic infection rates remain around 1–2% after primary total hip and knee arthroplasty and account for approximately 7–12% of all revision cases. Orthopedic hardware infections are much-feared and costly complications that can occur when these devices are implemented both in traumatic cases as well as in joint replacement surgery. Because these infections can lead to higher morbidity, it is important to understand their pathophysiology and the principles behind their diagnosis and initial treatment. The pathogenesis of these kinds of infections is intimately connected to the biofilm-producing trait characteristic of many microorganisms, which can have a critical effect on the likely success of treatments. The book offers a unique guide for all scientists working in arthroplasty who are seeking an update on the field, and for newcomers alike.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.This new book highlights some of the exciting research that has recently been done in the important and far-ranging field of biofilms and microbial agents. It discusses antimicrobial agents in relation to biofilm control and resistance. The book also introduces biofilm formation and mitigation st

A Complete Guidebook on Biofilm Study has emphasized the biofilm-related issues in the present context related to research and development. For this purpose, experimental design and relevant experimental protocols for the biofilm studies have been highlighted here. In addition to that, inhibitors from natural or synthetic sources against microbial biofilm development have been addressed. This approach has been further substantiated by bioinformatics as well as nanotechnology-based reports. Both, the image processing related to biofilm study and the characters of substratum associated with biofilm development have also been included for a better understanding of the beginners in this field. Further, how biofilm helps and/or hampers in food processing and waste management system, that discussion has been considered in this book. Similarly, human benefits from biofilm and reverse of it have also been included considering host-pathogen interaction, immunity aspects, and others. - Carrying huge resources/information/ideas in a compiled manner for biofilm study/work - Has highlighted how biofilm-related experiment has to be designed based on protocols - This book has focused majorly about biofilm-related gene regulation along with the development of different inhibitors for therapeutic aspects. This paradigm has been further discussed based on the nanotechnology and bioinformatics approach - Biofilm studies related to waste management, food processing, and image processing, which are newly upcoming have been emphasized in this book

Microorganisms for Sustainable Environment and Health covers hazardous pollutants released from natural as well as anthropogenic activities and implications on environmental and human health. This book serves as a valuable source of basic knowledge and recent developments in the clean technologies and pollution-associated diseases and abnormalities in the context of microorganisms. Focused on current solutions to various environmental problems in the field of bioremediation, it provides a detailed knowledge on the various types of toxic environmental pollutants discharged from different sources, their toxicological effects in environments, humans, animals and plants as well as their biodegradation and bioremediation approaches. This book helps environmental scientists and microbiologists learn about existing environmental problems and suggests ways to control or contain their effects by employing various treatment approaches. - Provides information on waste treatment approaches using microbes - Includes applications in biofuel and bioenergy production - Covers green belt development, hydroponics, phytoremediation, wetland treatment technology, and common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) - Discusses dissemination of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic microbes and strategies to combat multi-drug resistance (MDR)

Practical guidance for dental hygienists on how to maintain dental implants in daily practice The newly revised Second Edition of Peri-Implant Therapy for the Dental Hygienist provides a comprehensive guide to biofilm-focused assessment, maintenance, and home care for the prevention of long-term implant complications. The book offers clinical protocols ranging from single titanium and ceramic implant-borne restorations to the fixed full arch final prosthesis. The text also discusses pre-surgical regenerative procedures, implant placement, and patient communication to support hygienists and other dental professionals in talking to patients about implant dentistry. The book is a valuable clinically oriented resource guide for dental professionals seeing patients with titanium and ceramic dental implants. This new edition introduces readers to new information on ceramic implant instrumentation and ‘Mastering the Arch’, as well as detailed information on how to remove, assess, and provide maintenance for full arch prostheses patients. A new companion website provides dental instructor materials, review questions and answers, lesson plans, videos, PowerPoint slides, skills evaluations, and learning objectives. The book includes: Useful clinical photographs, illustrations, and patient cases to demonstrate the concepts discussed throughout the book Researched protocols for assessment, professional in-office maintenance, and biofilm-focused patient home care to meet all the peri-implant therapy challenges Updated classification, guidelines, and treatments for peri-implant disease Technology and resources for prevention of peri-implantitis and complications that can be prevented with early detection and patient awareness Ideal for dental hygienists and dental hygiene and dental students, Peri-Implant Therapy for the Dental Hygienist is also an essential reference for any dental professional seeking a one-stop resource for maintaining dental implants and managing their complications.

Seawater desalination is a rapidly growing coastal industry that is increasingly threatened by algal blooms. Depending on the severity of algal blooms, desalination systems may be forced to shut down because of clogging and/or poor feed water quality. To maintain stable operation and provide good feed water quality to seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) systems, ultrafiltration (UF) pre-treatment is proposed. This research focused on assessing the ability of UF and other pre-treatment technologies to reduce biofouling in SWRO systems. An improved method to measure bacterial regrowth potential (BRP) was developed and applied at laboratory, pilot and full scale to assess the ability of conventional UF (150 kDa) and tight UF (10 kDa) alone and in combination with a phosphate adsorbent to reduce regrowth potential and delay the onset of biofouling in SWRO. The improved bacterial regrowth potential method employs a natural consortium of marine bacteria as inoculum and flow cytometry. The limit of detection of the BRP method was lowered to 43,000 ± 12,000 cells/mL, which is equivalent to 9.3 ± 2.6 μg-Cglucose/L. The reduction in bacterial regrowth potential after tight UF (10 kDa) was 3 to 4 times higher than with conventional UF (150 kDa). It was further reduced after the application of a phosphate adsorbent, independent of pore size of the UF membrane. Pilot studies demonstrated that the application of tight UF (10 kDa) coupled with a phosphate adsorbent consistently lowered the bacterial regrowth potential and no feed channel pressure drop increase was observed in membrane fouling simulators (MFS) over a period of 21 days. The study also showed that non-backwashable fouling of UF membranes varied strongly with the type of algal species and the algal organic matter (AOM) they release. The presence of polysaccharide (stretching -OH) and sugar ester groups (stretching S=O) was the main cause of non-backwashable fouling. In conclusion, this study showed that an improved BRP method is suitable for the assessment of SWRO pre-treatment systems and it can be a useful tool to develop potential strategies to mitigate biofouling and improve the sustainability of SWRO systems.