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Gabriel, M.C., N. Howard, T.Z. Osborne. 2014. Fish mercury and surface water sulfate relationships in the Everglades Protection Area. Environmental Management (available online DOI 10.1007/s00267-013-0224-4)
Chambers, L.G, T.Z. Osborne, and K.R. Reddy. 2013. Effect of salinity pulsing events on soil organic carbon loss along an intertidal wetland gradient: A laboratory experiment. Biogeochemistry (In Press-available online)
*Osborne, T.Z., K.R. Reddy, L.R. Ellis, N.G. Aumen, D.D. Surratt, M.S. Zimmerman, and J. Sadle. 2013.
Evidence of recent phosphorus enrichment in surface soils of Taylor Slough and northeast Everglades National Park. Wetlands (In Press-available online)
Osborne, T.Z., L.N. Kobziar, & P.W. Inglett. 2013. Investigating the role of fire in shaping and maintaining wetland ecosystems. Fire Ecology 9(1): 1-5
Inglett, K.S., P.W. Inglett, K.R. Reddy, and T.Z. Osborne 2012 Temperature sensitivity of greenhouse gas production in wetland soils of different vegetation. Biogeochemistry 108: 77-90
Chambers, L.G., T.Z. Osborne, and K.R. Reddy. 2011. Short-term response of carbon cycling to salinity
pulses in a freshwater wetland. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 75(5) 1-8
White, W.R., L.R. Ellis, L.N. Sturmer, T.Z. Osborne, S. Baker. 2012. Applying a soils-based approach to clam aquaculture in Florida. J. Shellfish Res. 31(1): 360-360
Marchant, B.P. , S. Newman, T.Z. Osborne, K. Rutchey, K.R. Reddy, and R.M. Lark. (2011) Spatio-Temporal Monitoring of Soil Phosphorus in the Everglades Water Conservation Area 2A: 1998—2008. European J. Soil Sci.
Osborne, T.Z., G.L. Bruland, S. Newman, K.R. Reddy, & S. Grunwald. 2011 Spatial distributions and eco-partitioning of soil biogeochemical properties in Everglades National Park. Env. Monit. Assess. 183: 395-408
Han, Lu, S. Huang, C.D. Stanley, and T.Z. Osborne. 2011 Phosphorus fractionation in core sediments from the Haihe River, China. Soil Sed. Cont. Int. J. 20(1): 30-53.
*Osborne, T.Z., S. Newman, P. Kalla, D.J. Scheidt, G.L. Bruland, M.J. Cohen, L.J. Scinto, & L.R. Ellis.
Landscape patterns of significant soil nutrients and contaminants in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: Past, Present, and Future. (2011) Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41:6 121-148
*Reddy, K.R., S. Newman, T.Z. Osborne, J.R. White, and C. Fitz. Legacy phosphorus in the Everglades ecosystem: implications for management and restoration.. (2011) Crit Rev Env. Sci Technol. 41:6 149-186
*Cohen, M.J., J. Heffernan, D. Watts, and T.Z. Osborne. Reciprocal biotic control on hydrology, nutrient gradients, and landform in the Greater Everglades. (2011) Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41:6 395-429
Watts,D., M.J. Cohen, J. Heffernan, T.Z. Osborne, & M.W. Clark. 2010 Hydrologic modification and the loss of self-organized patterning in the ridge slough mosaic of the Everglades. Ecosystems 13: 813-827
Marchant, B.P., S. Newman, R. Corstanje, K.R. Reddy, T.Z. Osborne, & R.M. Lark. 2009. Spatial monitoring of a non-stationary soil property: Phosphorus in a Florida water conservation area. European Journal of Soil Science 60: 757-769
Rivero R.G., S. Grunwald, M. W. Binford and T. Z. Osborne. 2009. Integrating spectral indices
into functional models to predict soil phosphorus in a subtropical wetland. Remote Sensing of
Environment 113: 2389-2402.
Cohen, M.J., S. Lamsal, T.Z. Osborne, J.C. Bonzongo, S. Newman & K.R. Reddy. 2009. Mapping mercury concentrations in the Greater Everglades. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 73: 675-685
Grunwald, S. T.Z. Osborne, & K.R. Reddy. 2008. Temporal trajectories of phosphorus and pedo-patterns mapped in Water Conservation Area 2A, Everglades, Florida, USA. Geoderma 146:1-13
W. G. Harris, M. M. Fisher, X. Cao, T. Osborne, and L. Ellis 2007. Magnesium-Rich Minerals in Sediment and Suspended Particulates of South Florida Water Bodies: Implications for Turbidity
J. Environ. Qual. 2007 36: 1670-1677
Bruland, G.L., T.Z. Osborne, K.R. Reddy,
Osborne, T,Z., P.W. Inglett, and K.R. Reddy.(2007) The use of senescent plant biomass to investigate
relationships between potential particulate and dissolved organic matter in a wetland ecosystem. Aquatic
Botany 86(1): 53-61
Rivero, R.G., S. Grunwald, K.R. Reddy, T.Z. Osborne and S. Newman . 2007. Characterization of the Spatial distribution of soil properties in Water Conservation Area 2A, Everglades, Florida. Soil Science 172: 149-166.
Corstanje, R., S. Grunwald, K.R. Reddy, T.Z. Osborne and S. Newman. 2005. Assessment of the spatial distribution of soil properties in a northern Everglades marsh. Journal of Environmental Quality 35(3): 938-949
This portable device enables on-site pathogen detection in water. Contamination of water sources by various biological or nonbiological contaminants constitutes global public health concerns. Pathogens are rapidly introduced in water and can enter the human body directly and indirectly. Every year, approximately 1.6 million people worldwide, in countries of all economic levels, die due to waterborne diseases. The prominent source of disease-causing agents in water is fecal pollution, including bacteria present in fecal matter from humans and warmed-blooded animals. Coliform bacteria, specifically E. coli, is a prime indicator of fecal contamination in freshwater since they are present in the intestines of humans and warm-blooded animals. Monitoring the presence of pathogens in recreational and drinking water sources is crucial to prevent people from contracting these diseases.
Currently, there are accurate and sensitive laboratory assays to detect pathogens in water, mostly involving culturing of samples and separation/filtration strategies. However, they require costly and bulky tools and trained personnel. Additionally, the turnaround times are too long due to microbial culturing. There is a growing trend to develop small, cost-effective, on-site platforms for more repaid results. However, they also present limitations, such as low sample volumes, long incubation times, and high detection limits. On the contrary, nucleic acid amplification tests provide low detection limits and faster turnaround times. However, some of them, such as PCR-based tests, require trained personnel and sample preparation.
Researchers at the University of Florida have developed an on-site portable platform for rapid and cost-effective detection of pathogens in water involving isothermal nucleic acid amplification. This platform, with a rotating valve design, accepts larger volumes of liquid and integrates all the necessary sample preparation steps for a nucleic acid assay, shortening the assay time and eliminating the need for trained personnel.
Portable platform for on-site, rapid, and cost-effective pathogen detection in environmental water samples
This portable, handheld device enables on-site detection of pathogens in environmental water samples. It integrates all the necessary steps for a nucleic acid assay, including cell lysis, nucleic acid enrichment and purification, amplification, and detection. The device consists of a buffer unit containing multiple buffer wells with a ball valve at the bottom of each well. This unit sits above a mixing unit, including a mixing well and a pin, with the ability to rotate to align with each buffer well. When the mixing unit aligns with a buffer well, the pin engages with the ball-based valve to release the buffer from the buffer well into the mixing well. The mixing unit further contains a drain connecting to a detection unit on its bottom.
This detection unit includes a well containing an absorbent layer for enrichment of the nucleic acid, such as chromatography paper, cellulose paper, a membrane, or glass microfiber paper. After nucleic acid concentration, amplification of DNA by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) or RNA by reverse transcription LAMP (RT-LAMP) takes place by connecting the device to a portable heat source. This heat source is a battery-powered coffee mug functioning as a water bath to provide a constant temperature or other alternatives. Subsequent detection of pathogens involves turbidity measurement or colorimetric detection by the naked eye or a smartphone camera. All the wells contain the necessary buffers and reagents for each step, including lysis, binding and wash buffers, and LAMP and RT-LAMP mixes.
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