Density functional theory and demixing of binary hard rod-polymer mixtures

A density functional theory for a mixture of hard rods and polymers modeled as chains built of hard tangent spheres is proposed by combining the functional due to Yu and Wu for the polymer mixtures [J. Chem. Phys. {\bf 117}, 2368 (2002)] with the Schmidt's functional [Phys. Rev. E {\bf 63}, 50201 (2001)] for rod-sphere mixtures. As a simple application of the functional, the demixing transition into polymer-rich and rod-rich phases is examined. When the chain length increases, the phase boundary broadens and the critical packing fraction decreases. The shift of the critical point of a demixing transition is most noticeable for short chains.Comment: 4 pages,2 figures, in press, PR

Phototrophic Microbial Mats

Microbial mats are structured, small-scale microbial ecosystems, andsimilar as biofilms cover a substratum like a tissue. A general characteristic of amicrobial mat is the steep physicochemical gradients that are the result of the metabolicactivities of the mat microorganisms. Virtually every microbial mat isformed through autotrophic metabolism and through the fixation of atmosphericdinitrogen. Chemoautotrophic organisms fuel these processes in the absence oflight. In illuminated environments photoautotrophic organisms are the drivingforce and these mats are subject of this chapter. In the vast majority of cases, primaryproduction by the oxygenic phototrophic cyanobacteria is the basis of adiverse community that forms a living entity with a macroscopic habitus. Thisentity has its own physiology that is the result of interaction, communication,cooperation, and competition of the individual functional groups of microorganisms.Organic matter is remineralized and in sulfur-dominated environments sulfate-reducing bacteria are responsible for end-oxidation that leads to the productionof sulfide, which is used by anoxygenic photoautotrophic bacteria. Aerobic andanaerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria and proteorhodopsin-containing bacteriaare important as secondary producers and take care of the decomposition oforganic matter in a process that is aided by light

Breakpoints and drug exposure are inevitably closely linked

Contains fulltext : 154676.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Bioremediation of chromium contaminated water by diatoms with concomitant lipid accumulation for biofuel production

Hexavalent chromium compounds such as chromate and dichromate, commonly designated as Cr (VI) compounds, are widely used heavy metals in different industries and are considered highly toxic to most life forms. Unfortunately, they have become a major pollutant of groundwater and rivers around dichromate using industries. Bioremediation is widely used to decrease the amount of dichromate in wastewater but requires large amounts of precious fresh water. Here we tested two marine micro-algal species, Phaeodactylum tricornutum strain CCY0033 and Navicula pelliculosa strain CCMP543, for their ability of dichromate bioremediation and concomitantly producing lipids that can serve as biofuel. Dichromate tolerance of the strains was investigated under different growth conditions in order to obtain high biomass yields, high lipid accumulation and high dichromate removal from the medium. Both algal strains grew well and produced high biomass in media containing up to 1 mg of dichromate per liter. Variations in growth conditions revealed that dichromate removal from the medium correlated positively with biomass yield. Dichromate removal using living cells was in the same order of magnitude as with autoclaved dead cells or when using extracted extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). This suggests biosorption of dichromate to cell-associated polymeric substances as the major mechanism of the bioremediation process. For both strains, optimal dichromate removal and lipid production were achieved at a light intensity of 55 μmol m−2 s−1 and at a sodium nitrate concentration of 3 mM. The optimal temperature for dichromate removal and lipid production was 23 °C for P. tricornutum and 27 °C for N. pelliculosa. Compared to P. tricornutum strain CCY0033, N. pelliculosa strain CCMP543 produced an overall higher lipid yield under these conditio

Comparison of the active and resident community of a coastal microbial mat

Coastal microbial mats form a nearly closed micro-scale ecosystem harboring a complex microbial community. Previous DNA based analysis did not necessarily provide information about the active fraction of the microbial community because it includes dormant, inactive cells as well as a potential stable pool of extracellular DNA. Here we focused on the active microbial community by comparing 16S rRNA sequences obtained from the ribosomal RNA pool with gene sequences obtained from the DNA fraction. In addition, we aimed to establish an optimal and feasible sampling protocol that takes potential spatial and temporal heterogeneity into account. The coastal microbial mat investigated here was sampled randomly and at regular time points during one 24-h period. DNA and RNA was extracted and after conversion of the RNA fraction to cDNA, the V1-V3 and the V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene were targeted for high-throughput amplicon sequencing. We show that the community composition varies little in time and space whereas two amplified 16S regions gave significant different results. The largest differences were found when comparing the “resident community” (DNA) with the “active community” (cDNA/RNA); in the latter, Cyanobacteria dominated for almost 95% while they represented 60% of the resident fraction