RESEARCH

UV interacts with DNA (and RNA) via a physical process where photons absorbed by pyrimidine bases in DNA, result in dimer formation (links two bases) which inhibits replication. An organism that cannot replicate cannot reproduce and infect. The impact of the UVA spectrum in polychromatic lamps may result in indirect damage to cellular DNA through catalyzing the formation of chemical intermediates such as reactive oxygen species. Some DNA regions are coding to proteins, those regions are known as ‘genes. The goal of this study is to build a biosensor, which is a set of genes coding for an easy to detect activity (here luminescent) cloned under the desired promoter. We hypothesized that UV exposure promotes intracellular superoxide formation. Better understanding of the biological process inside UV irradiated cells could potentially lead to improve disinfections efficiency by understand the mechanism of combined treatments.

Biofuels in general and ethanol in particular may have many advantages over fossil fuels. As a consequence, there is a constant search for better methods of biomass conversion. To date, industrial production of fuels from biomass has focused on specially grown crops, but this practice carries with it a host of problematic issues. Therefore, there is increasing interest in the production of such fuels from lignocellulosic waste, such as agricultural wastes. Such wastes are very rich in cellulose that can be fermented to ethanol after proper pretreatment (i.e. saccharification). Nevertheless, one problem of using such waste is the presence of high concentrations of lignin that inhibit enzymatic conversion of the cellulose to sugars. The aim of this project is to test the use of various advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to degrade the lignin using various wastes. The effects of these catalytic processes on saccharification and fermentation are currently being evaluated. Results showed that ozonation of model phenolic compound results in three phase kinetics; while the first phase transition after mild ozonation is sufficient for maximal enzymatic activity. These results have tremendous implications advancing the current knowledge and application of preozonation of agriculture waste on bioethanol production from waste. We are currently writing a paper based on these exciting new results. In the current phase we are investigating ozonation of newspaper, oil mill waste, banana and other agriculture waste for bioethanol production.

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse and important marine ecosystems, providing homes to hundreds of thousands of species, making them an important reservoir for biological diversity and complexity. Their importance for human benefits like tourism, fishing, building materials, coastal protection and drug discovery cannot be underestimated. Despite the understanding of coral reefs’ importance knowledge on their reproduction, recruitment, genetic connectivity remains extremely limited.

During the last four decades degradation is apparent in the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba (GOE/A) s’ coral reefs. The reefs are threatened by increased anthropogenic perturbations, especially from intensive development of the rapid urban expansion of Eilat and Aqaba cities by “light pollution”. Since corals are highly photosensitive – many species synchronize their spawning through detection of low light intensity from moonlight and coral reef structure is strongly influenced by illumination. Therefore, light pollution is, likely altering the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems in many other ways that have yet to be explored.

This research is focus on how the artificial light pollution in Eilat is affecting coral reproduction, hormonal secretion, recruitment phylogeny and gene connectivity along the shoreline of the GOE/A from north to south. Here we aim to (1) assess whether light-induced differences (due to depth or light pollution) in recruitment phenology result in a barrier to gene flow between coral populations, (2) determine whether light pollution affects recruitment rates by hampering coral recruitment on light-polluted shallow reef substrates, and (3) determine how light pollution affects reproduction hormonal secretion in the water and within the coral tissue. By using the coral Stylophora pistillata as a model coral we hope to answer those key questions.

Concerns about pharmaceuticals in the environment are increasing, mainly due to the lack of knowledge about the fate and impact of these compounds in the water cycle.  After their therapeutic use, pharmaceuticals are released in raw sewage water and when waste water treatment is inefficient – or does not exist at all, they can be discharged into rivers, streams, or lakes. These compounds are detected in treated wastewater, which is the main source of water contamination. Effluents containing micropollutants will enter aquatic water cycles as rivers, groundwater and drinking water by direct discharge, irrigation, or artificial recharge. Many pharmaceutical substances have already been shown to produce adverse effects on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Concentrations of many micropollutants in drinking water are limited under the existing legislation, but pharmaceutical residues are not commonly subject to environmental monitoring or regulations, even though they have potential adverse effects on human and ecosystem health.

The main objective of this study is to compare different strategies and regulatory perspectives from different countries, discuss the legislative and regulatory challenges involved in addressing pharmaceutical residues, and to create a list of recommended pharmaceutical standards that should be measured and monitored, and regulative recommendations for policy makers locally in Israel and internationally.

As more than 60% of the world’s population is projected to live in the cities, water shortage is encouraging reuse for both agriculture and households. The growing amounts of wastewater requires a high quality and complete treatment. Membrane technologies of effluent reverse osmosis as the main reclamation process, seems to enlarge due to growing wastewater quantities, water shortage and land area limitation. Wastewater RO concentrate is the harmful byproduct and the bottleneck for wide reverse osmosis implementation, as it requires a special treatment before being discharged to the environment.

Wastewater RO concentrate is rich in micro-pollutants and other effluent organic matter. Those micro-pollutants (e.g. pharmaceutical drugs residue) are not degrade by conventional treatment and require some special application for their removal. Advanced oxidation process (AOP) have the potential to distract and degraded those compounds.

This research is focus on the most effective technology for micro-pollutant removal, advanced oxidation processes (AOP), which include Ozonation, UV-photolysis and a combination of the two with H2O2. The effect of AOP on 7 pharmaceutical compounds, found in wastewater concentrate, is been evaluated.