Deammonification Potential of Pig Slurries and Vapor Condensates from Sewage Sludge Drying—Substrate Quality and Inhibition

Deammonification is a well-established process for sludge liquor treatment and promising for wastewaters with high nitrogen loads because of its low energy demand compared to nitrification/denitrification. Two wastewaters with high NH4-N concentrations and a rising significance in Germany—pig slurry (12 samples) and condensates from sewage sludge drying (6 samples)—were studied for their deammonification potential. Furthermore, a comprehensive quality assessment is presented. Both wastewaters show a wide range in terms of CODt, CODs, TN and NH4-N, whereby condensates show a greater variability with no direct relation to dryer type or temperature. In the slurries, CODt shows a relative standard deviation of 106% (mean 21.1 g/L) and NH4-N of 33% (mean 2.29 g/L), while in condensates it reaches 148% for CODt (mean 2.0 g/L) and 122% for NH4-N (mean 0.7 g/L). No inhibition of ammonium-oxidizing-bacteria was detected in the slurries, while two out of five condensates showed an inhibition of >40%, one of >10% and two showed no inhibition at all. Since the inhibition could be avoided by mixing, deammonification can be recommended for condensate treatment. For slurry treatment, the importance of employing some form of solid-liquid-separation as a pretreatment was noted due to the associated COD

Wasser in der Stadt : Transformation städtischer Bestandsquartiere

Wie können Siedlungsräume fit für die Zukunft gemacht werden? Damit hat sich das BMBF-Projekt TransMiT – federführend geleitet vom Institut für Siedlungswasserwirtschaft und Abfalltechnik – beschäftigt. Explizites Ziel war es, neben der Entwicklung innovativer (Entwässerungs-) Infrastrukturen (smart, multifunktional und damit emissionsarm und ressourceneffizient) die Institutionalisierung den Transformationsprozess unterstützender kommunaler (Planungs-) Prozesse

Erweitertes Schwammstadtkonzept : Ausreichend Wasser für eine lebenswerte Stadt

Eine Stadt wie ein Schwamm: Stephan Köster und Maike Beier, Wissenschaftler*innen am Institut für Siedlungswasserwirtschaft und Abfalltechnik der Leibniz Universität Hannover arbeiten mit einem Forschungsteam seit vielen Jahren an Lösungen, um mit besonderem Blick auf die städtische Wasserwirtschaft praxistaugliche Transformations- und Entwicklungspfade für Städte und ihre Wasserinfrastrukturen aufzuzeigen

Climate Impact and Model Approaches of Blue-Green Infrastructure Measures for Neighborhood Planning

Nowadays, most cities deal with the problem of “Urban Heat Islands”. Especially existing city districts cannot easily be adapted. In this paper, the effects of blue-green infrastructure elements (BGI) on air and surface temperature in courtyards are examined, based on on-site measurements and simulations. Recognizable effects on the temperature were observed: BGI lower the number of hot days in the courtyard, including a faster air temperature drop at night, but water elements increase the number of tropical nights due to their heat capacity. Model simulations with PALM-4U proved to be useful to analyze the effects of BGI on the microclimate. Besides analyzing existing structures, the effects of planned measures can be quantified by simulation. However, for this application, needs of improvement were recognized to evaluate the influence of BGI on the microclimate more realistically. For decision support, standard indicators such as the number of tropical nights and hot days are not differentiated enough to quantify specific climate stress of urban residents. It is suggested to consider summer days additionally, percentiles could be used instead of fixed thresholds and the entire course of the year should play a role in the evaluation of the elements and urban design

Dynamization of Urban Runoff Pollution and Quantity

At present, the annual loads from long-term series simulations are mostly used for the evaluation of rainwater management and treatment measures although the relevance of the temporal distribution of both pollution and quantity has a recognizable influence on the performance of the treatment. With the idea of dynamizing the simulation output values in relation to (i) single rainfall events, (ii) specific catchment characteristics, and (iii) the duration of the dry period between two rainfall events measurement devices and scenario studies were established in a joint research project in Lower Saxony. First measurement results of surface runoff qualities of an urban sub-catchment in Braunschweig/Germany are presented in a high temporal definition for several pollution parameters. A correlation analysis was performed identifying additional explanatory parameters that have an influence on the first flush effect, such as rainfall characteristics or antecedent dry period. First calculations of the possible reduction in the decentralized storm water treatment by disconnecting the first flush showed values of 42–65%, depending on the pollution parameters. The comparative evaluation of the data with different statistical methods shows that the uncertainties in the calculation of rainwater pollution, or the duration of the first flush, are still very high and do not yet allow researchers to derive a pollution forecast for, e.g., a throttle control solely from the recording of the rain and area characteristics

Impact of seeding on the start-up of one-stage deammonification MBBRs.

Treating nitrogen-rich reject water from anaerobically digested sludge with deammonification has become a very beneficial side stream process. One common technique is the one-stage moving bed bioreactors (MBBRs), which in comparison with the other deammonification techniques can be started up without seeding anammox bacteria. This study investigated the impact of biofilm seeding on the start-up of one-stage deammonification MBBRs. Two lab-scale reactors were run in parallel with partial nitritation for 56 days until 11% of the carrier area in one reactor was replaced with fully developed deammonification biofilm to work as the seeding material. The seeded reactor started nitrogen reduction immediately up to a plateau of 1.3 g N m(-2) d(-1); after another 54 days on day 110, the reduction significantly increased. At the same time, the non-seeded reactor also started to reduce nitrogen due to deammonification. The development was followed with both nitrogen analyses and fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses. On day 134, the biofilm in both reactors contained>90% anammox bacteria and reached maximum nitrogen removal rates of 7.5 and 5.6 g N m(-2) d(-1) in the seeded and non-seeded reactor, respectively. Over 80% of the inorganic nitrogen was reduced. In conclusion, the seeding did not contribute to a shorter start-up time or the achieved anammox enrichment, although it did contribute to a partial, immediate nitrogen reduction. The boundary conditions are the most important factors for a successful start-up in a deammonification MBBR system

Wasserstoff für die Sektorkupplung : Wasserstoffforschung verbindet Abwasser, Nahverkehr und Wärmeversorgung

[no abstract available

Comprehensive Biology and Genetics Compendium of Wilms Tumor Cell Lines with Different WT1 Mutations

Simple Summary Wilms tumor is a childhood kidney tumor arising from embryonal cells. Wilms tumors are heterogeneous with several distinct subgroups that differ in their response to treatment. The genetic basis for these diverse forms of Wilms tumor is not fully understood. One subgroup of Wilms tumors is associated with mutations in the WT1 gene, encoding a transcription factor with a role in early kidney differentiation. Patients with WT1 mutant Wilms tumor may harbor germline mutations in this gene. Cell lines from Wilms tumors are notoriously difficult to establish and only few exist. We developed a method to cultivate cells from the WT1 mutant subtype of Wilms tumors and have established 11 cell lines with different mutations in WT1 to date. These cells will be instrumental to study the biology and genetics ultimately to develop precision treatments Purpose: WT1 mutant Wilms tumors represent a distinct subgroup, frequently associated with CTNNB1 mutations. The genetic basis for the development of this subtype is currently not fully understood. Methods: Live WT1 mutant Wilms tumors were collected during surgery of patients and cell cultures established in mesenchymal stem cell medium. They were studied for mutations in WT1 and CTNNB1, their differentiation capacity and protein activation status. Four cell lines were immortalized with a triple mutant ts SV40 largeT antigen and Telomerase. Results: 11 cell lines were established from Wilms tumors of nine patients, including a left and right tumor from the same patient and a primary and second tumor from another patient. Six patients had germ line and three were tumor specific mutations. All cell lines harbored only mutant or deleted WT1 genes. CTNNB1 was wild type in three, all others carried mutations affecting amino acid S45. They had variable and limited capacities for mesenchymal differentiation, a high migratory capacity and a low invasive potential. All cells showed an activation of multiple receptor tyrosine kinases and downstream signaling pathways. Conclusions: These cell lines represent an important new tool to study WT1 mutant Wilms tumors, potentially leading to new treatment approaches

ADAM10 and ADAM17-Novel Players in Retinoblastoma Carcinogenesis

Van Meenen D, Doege A, Alefeld E, et al. ADAM10 and ADAM17-Novel Players in Retinoblastoma Carcinogenesis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022;23(20): 12621.A disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM) family proteins, acting as sheddases, are important factors in a number of pathologies, including cancer, and have been suggested as promising therapeutic targets. The study presented focuses on the involvement of ADAM10 and ADAM17 in retinoblastoma (RB), the most common malignant intraocular childhood tumor. A significant correlation between ADAM17 expression levels and RB laterality and RB staging was observed. Levels of ADAM10 or ADAM17 regulating miRNAs miR-145, -152, and -365 were significantly downregulated in RB cell lines, and reduced miR levels with simultaneously upregulated ADAM10 and ADAM17 expression were found in RB patients. The involvement of both ADAMs analyzed in ectodomain shedding of the neuronal cell adhesion molecule L1 (L1CAM), shown to induce pro-tumorigenic effects in RB, was confirmed. Lentiviral ADAM10 and ADAM17 single or ADAM10/17 double knockdown (KD) induced caspase-dependent apoptosis and reduced cell viability, proliferation, growth, and colony formation capacity of RB cells. Moreover, differential phosphorylation of the serine/threonine kinase AKT was observed following ADAM17 KD in RB cells. Chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays revealed that ADAM17 and ADAM10/17 depletion decreases the tumorigenic and migration potential of RB cells in vivo. Thus, ADAMs are potential novel targets for future therapeutic RB approaches